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Good morning! Is that the new SOTC turf? Looks gorgeous!
These were supper high energy and fun sessions here!! She really responds to all or your readdeeeeeeeeee LOL! Love it!
Her speed is fine, she was running and happy (not trotting or sad). She had a question here and there about whether to go to the wing, but that can be answered a couple of ways:
In terms of handling, be sure to use your dog side leg to step to the wing on the sends. On the rep where she ended up cutting in front of you and going around the wing the wrong way, the dog side leg didn’t have enough involvement so that was the line of your body she was reading. Also, on the sends, make more connection with her – you were looking forward, which changes the line of the upper body. When you are up close next to the wing, the connection is not as important because the wing is so obvious and right there. When you are adding distance, that connection is more important so on the send – step with the dog side leg, use a little less dog side arm, and look at her more and it will be great. A lovely example was the rep at about 1:31, all the elements were in place and she rocked it.
2 other ideas:
First: stop saying GO! That will mean something entirely different when she is on jumps (straight line extension) so we don’t want it to mean wrap tight, which is what will happen by using it here. Now, all of us want to say *something* to our dogs, so I suggest either a silly noise for now, or just slap on your wrap cue. Have you decided what you want your tight turn verbal to be? Folks tend to use things like dig dig dig or check check check or something – she is ready for that, so you can add it at this point.Second: as you get further away on the sends (and as you add the countermotion games), you can throw the toy past the wing more to maintain the balance and excitement of leaving you (that will also maintain the speed of running to the wing). So using the toy she loves, or giant easy-to-see cookies, or a ball, you can send and as she is heading to the wing, toss it out past the wing as the reward (especially on the countermotion where you will be turning and leaving).
You can do the chair game, but do it right up close to the wing and don’t do too much of it. She LOVES the excitement of your interaction when you are sending and moving, and I don’t want to remove that (chair sitting is boring LOL!!!)
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
The wing wrapping is going really well! TONS of good value, so all of your position changes in the first half of the video didn’t phase her at all. She was able to continue her wrapping even when you were sideways or backwards, which will be great for cuing turns later in her training. You can use toys more with this now – the toy will make it even more exciting and also more difficult because the toy is distracting. The sending is also going well – I think she was surprising on the first one (when she didn’t go) because you were so far away but then did well on the second one. You can amp it up by starting with your hand on her collar and a bit of gently opposition reflex & ready ready ready – then step into it. As you step into the send, try to keep looking at her (connection) more than looking at the wing – that will really help as you add distance.
At this moment, she is a bit faster coming back to you than she is heading away to the wing (normal!) so you can change up the placement of the toy: rather than always tug back at you, you can toss it out to the wing so she gets it as she arrives or turns past the wing. This will help balance out the speed.
You can start back up close and add in the countermotion now! Fun!On the targeting: the travel plank works a bit better for the 2o2o, which might be why the 4on feels awkward on it. You are on the right path with it, particularly on the 2nd clip where you started her further back and she moved into the 4on at the end. Here is a suggestion on the travel plank – start her at the ‘far’ end 🙂 of it and ask her to stand & stay there, so you can go to the target end, then have her come forward to the target. Then after a cookie or two, release her off the plank, play tug, then reset the whole game (rather than having her back up on the plank or placing her there). That can make it feel less awkward.
But, as teeter prep (which I believe this is, if I remember correctly), we can tweak the game a bit to make it less awkward and more action-packed 🙂 The hand touching element looks good, so we can move to more of an actual target. So many choices here for a 4on: I personally use duct tape with Hot Sauce (so fancy, I know hahaaha). The duct tape started folded up so it was a 3-dimensional and more visible target, and then I faded it to flat (and finally faded it out). With my other small dogs I have taped a spoon to the underside of the board so the spoon was the target (and convenient treat holder). The spoon can either be just below the board (so the dog looks down for it at the very end) or it can be sticking up so it is a more visible target. A friend of mine uses a pipe cleaner taped to the end of the board, sticking up, as a target for her smaller dogs.The goal for the 4 on is that there is a weight shift into the rear and the elbows are tucked into her rib cage (so her front legs are not reaching forward) and she rides the teeter down looking ready to pounce.
Do any of these targets sound interesting to you? If no you have no preference, the duct tape is the easiest because she is closest in build & size to Hot Sauce.
After you pick a target, you can introduce it in a shaping s session or two, just c/t for nosing it in your hand then on the travel plank. Then when she is actively seeking her target and has value, we can put it on a wobble board. If moment serves, she really likes the wobble board! That will be a fun way to get her thinking about the posture/position we’ll want on the teeter while on something that is moving. That will translate nicely into the teeter games after that.
Let me know if it all makes sense 🙂
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
Yes, I am sure that there will be different challenges with Spot, but I admit that it is really nice for him to already be able to work & play in that environment <3The wing shaping is looking good!! Nice session here where you were able to rotate sideways and backwards - he really seems to have great value for the wing. So, onwards! Add in the next steps, particularly the sending: sending forward & leaving, and sending him backwards to it with one step (like we did on the little foot target). If that continues to go well, you can add in all the countermotion stuff too! It will take a few sessions but it looks like he will pick it up really quickly.
Nice work here!
TracyGreat question: yes, if there is a high rate of accuracy and success – we slap on the actual target verbal cue (because it is the actual behavior). If he struggles, we can use a noise or an interim cue.
T
Wow, what a great opportunity to play with him in a distracting area! Even the ‘quiet’ moments were distracting. He did a GREAT job, so proud of him thinking through it and maintaining focus.
On the targeting – excellent podium practice too LOL!! He seems to have good understanding of targeting the hand. A couple of little tweaks to move forward to the next level: keep the target hand lower and leave it in position, bringing the cookie to it (from the other hand). That will help him keep his head down and not want to lift it to get the cookie or look for the cookie. In order to keep the hand down, I suggest either sitting on the floor or kneeling but I also will do this in a chair so my back and knees don’t get angry LOL!!
Also, after he touches the hand once or twice, release forward and off the plank – we don’t want him to chain in backing up on the plank, because that could come back to bite you at a later date on an actual DW, for example: target then back up onto it to re-target LOL!!!Good adjustment to NOT go the added excitement of the collar, he is not quite ready to maintain the weight shift with the opposition reflex of the collar hold. You can add that in gradually as he gets more experienced – just a soft verbal ready ready ready, or light touch of your hand, building up eventually to being able to really pump him up. But for now, the accuracy and understanding is more important.
The RC/stays are looking really good, he was in the middle if a busy intersection there!! Lovely focus. He really only got distracted when another puppy said hello. He also seems to be getting the idea of both the stay and the RC element here – and you noticed him trying to anticipate the RC so you added some rewards for NOT rear crossing. Well done, this will translate nicely when we build on it.
The skills are progressing really nicely, but I am most excited by his focus in the trial environment. Yay!!!!!!
T
Yes – if he was blown away by a tunnel in the living room, you can play with cookies to get him engaged. And, separately, you can have the tunnel sitting in a corner or something and just play tug with the tunnel there. That is a good thing to do – try to get engagement (first with food, if needed, then with the toy) near the obstacles and near new or weird things 🙂
Tracy
Good morning! Well, he figured it out on the wing instantly LOL! Good boy – he is really so smart AND he loves to shape & offer & work. So cool!!!! Because he loves to work, you can do tug sessions near obstacles where he is simply asked to tug and not do the wing or tunnel – that will help keep some balance on handler focus as we build value for the obstacles.
Good job on using the verbals here and you had a great progression in this session: adding a step with the leg, adding more excitement at about 1:40, etc. he was pretty perfect. At this stage, you don’t have to cookie him if he goes without the physical or verbal cue. And to help prevent that, you can take his collar in the transition between the tugging and the send, to give yourself that heartbeat to get ready (he would like to just giddy up LOL!).
Yes to adding a little more distance. On the foot target game you posted above, add the countermotion to make sure he understands that concept of you leaving while he is sent to target something. After a couple of sessions on that, we can add the countermotion games to the wing.
Well done here!Tracy
OMG this was so funny, I have never seen an indoor pillbug LOL!!! Good for you!!!! YEs, I can see why he would think it was too weird to tug LOL! But you can just leave the tunnel there and let him acclimate to it, then the tugging will come back.
The game using cookies went well – you made it a little harder by having him between you and the tunnel (I call those ‘inside’ turns) but he did really well – it is easier if you are between him and the tunnel (outside turns). On a few of the reps, he came around the other side of the tunnel to get to you – that was fine, because it was what he saw from your position after the cookie toss – you were a little too far ahead so it looked like the cue was to come to the side of the tunnel he ran to. Good boy! I really like how he ran but didn’t jump up or cut you off or cut behind. Nice!!!!
It will be even easier outside but very clever to create it inside 🙂
TGood morning! He has a ton of value on the target, nice!!!!! You can get the toy moving a little more before the target comes out, so he thinks about the target less LOL!!! He seemed to be tugging well but if the toy moves more so he can chase it, he will focus on the toy more.
Because he has such good value, you can move to the next steps of sending and then tossing the treat away for him to chase, so he can eat it then run back to the target (for another tossed treat). As you do the send, take his collar (after the toy play) so you can get the target out without him starting the game without you 🙂 Then use your dog-side leg to send (this will be really important as you add more distance). Also, no need to say get it or go at this point (those words will be attached to other behaviors) so you can say something like “hit it” or just make a silly noise.
He looks ready to move to the other levels for sure! Nice job here!
TracyHi – all the links are working for me – can you send me the exact link that isn’t working so I can double check? What is the error you are seeing?
Thanks!
TracyGood morning!
The toy race video was just fine, I can see plenty 🙂 She was having a great time LOL! And it always cracks me up when we have planned out our low versus high value toy and the dog decides that we are wrong Ha! Anyway – she did a nice job of driving straight here and that is exactly what we want. The distraction toy was visible but she did really well ignoring it. So for the Go toy, throw it further to extend the distance of the Go – and you can repeat the cue so it becomes more of a GO GO GO to help support the longer distance. The only trouble she had here was bringing the toy back! She got to it, won the race, and took a lap of honor (a really joyous run too, adorable!) but we can tweak the game to convince her to drive right back to you: you don’t need a distraction toy – you can be holding the second toy (it will be a distraction in your hand) and do a toy race to the toy out ahead. Then as soon as she is opening her mouth to pick up the toy on the ground, do a front cross, run away, call her urgently, and when she turns to drive towards you: present toy #2. The timing of toy #2 can be quite early to start to help her want to drive right back, but then you can delay it til she is increasingly closer to you. Ideally, she brings the toy race toy – so you can use a “get it” or “Bring it” cue if you have one, to help encourage that. It helps build the retrieve plus helps build future tight turns!Teeter bang: She found the whole game interesting, I love when she had to sniff the teeter. The initial loud bangs were a bit startling but I think she decided they were fine and stopped reacting. Because of her lovely toy drive, you can also do this with a tug toy: bang = wild game of tug. I recommend that at trials too: being 20 feet from the ring and when a dog bangs the teeter, she gets to play or eat.
Nice work here!!
TracyGood morning!
your pill bug games are looking great! She figured out the cookie recall element immediately after the first rep haha! Took her a bit long to eat that first cookie but as soon as she realized that the chase was ON, she was much quicker to grab it and chase you. Yay! She also did a lovely job of staying on your correct side (nice connection for you!) The slippery floor helped you stay ahead on this, but we don’t want her to kill herself getting to you – so as soon as the weather allows, take this to dirt or grass so she can really dig in. I just posted the next steps so she is ready for more of this 🙂RC foundations: She seemed to have no problem with turning on either side of you (and nice job going back to the toy as well). For now, keep your hand a bit lower as you cue it so she doesn’t jump up during the spins – I think she was jumpy when the hand had the cookie and when it didn’t have the cookie, so a lower hand will help that (and a slower hand cue for now will help too). You can also toss the treat after she turns, to change her focus downwards and not up at the hand.
The stay work for the diagonal RC foundation looks great! The stay is the hardest part and she didn’t move her little feets at all. That made the head turn very easy. You can mix in releasing her forward for the reward as well to start building in the drive ahead out of a rear cross. We will be adding these to wings at some point soon too!Nice work!
TracyGood morning!
The wing wrapping while you are sitting is looking really good – nice value and she is bending her body and zipping around it so nicely! She is also doing a great job of leaving the cookies to go do it, You can add a bit more distance! If you have decided on your wrap cues, you can slap them on with this game too (after she gets her reward, when you are pretty sure she is going to wrap, just start the verbal :))Looked like a nice transition from the tugging to the collar grab and into the game! Clean transitions like that are so helpful!
On the GO with distractions – make sure you move, maybe even push her back a little so you can be running first. When she cut across you at 2:05, you were mainly standing still so there was not a lot of support of the cue with motion (now, she might have cut across you anyway because that was the closer toy, but at least we can try LOL!!)
On your 2nd big transition (2:45) when she moved away from you taking the collar – you can mix in quick collar take and immediate toy throw to help preserve the quality of that transition. She was a good girl to move back to the chin hold but we also want the good collar grab.She did cut across you with you moving on the next rep – so you can dial back the excitement of the distraction toy. Have it out there before you engage her with the GO toy, then try it – that way the distraction toy is present but doesn’t get thrown, so it should be less interesting. Then we can work it up to you putting it down at your side and so on,
Contacts – nice job adding the target and the verbal! She is looking up at the cookie hand because it is moving, so try to move it less by dropping the treat into the target hand (this takes some coordination LOL!!). Then after the release, have her come off the target to play with a toy – we want value but not SO much value that she doesn’t release 🙂 The release to tugging is actually what builds the speed. And that will allow you to reset her in a standing position to restart. I like the stand because it is more balanced and less slam on the shoulders as she moves into target position (compared to starting from a sit). This game looks ready to take on the road to lots of different planks!!
Nice work here!!!
TracyHi there!
He certainly loves this tuggie! It looks like his toy drive is definitely expanding – it might not be perfect in all places yet (and that is normal) but he is getting happier and happier to tug! With the toys that he loves and in the comfy places, you can work a bit on getting the toy back smoothly (just relaxing your hands til he releases it) and then reward that by giving him the toy back for more tugging 🙂He also seems to really love the wing wrap! Nice job building all of that value! He was great about doing it and there was even some distance! You added in the sends – remember to use your dog-side leg on the sends. When you did use it (like at 1:32) he wasn’t sure if he should go or not. But when you did use it (Ike 1:42 and after) he was great. So the next step now: rather than him offering it, you can put it on cue. After each reward, line him up at your side, hold his collar, get him jazzed up – then send with arm & leg. If you have decided what wrap verbals you want to you, you can add them now too!
And I believe he is ready for the next level where you start to leave for a FC while he is wrapping.NIcely done!!
Tracy
