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ood morning! Lots of great stuff on these videos!! He is incredibly responsive and clearly knows his lines (you’ve done a great job training that!) so a lot of his responses are super subtle – I had to put it up on the big screen to watch his head to see what he was thinking in different situations 🙂 I have some ideas to add to what you are already doing to make it even smoother 🙂
Video 1: Juno really turns like a dream!! Love it! On the FC, I think you can push your timing up sooner and see what he does in terms of maintaining commitment. He had a really nice turn there, so you can cue it as soon as he is out of the tunnel and be moving out of it back towards the tunnel sooner, as he is passing you – there is not really any place to run to on this particular sequence but it will be useful for bigger courses :)) The connection looked really nice! I liked both of your spin reps but the 2nd one was REALLY nice! You can totally push the timing up sooner too – as he is passing you, rotate away and leave and see what he does, rather than watching for takeoff. With blind crosses, there is always a moment we do not see the dog. At this stage for Juno, we can play with the timing of seeing him pass you and seeing him looking at the jump – but not seeing that last stride to the jump because you are rotating – and being done with the spin in time to see him taking off 🙂 It will feel wicked early 🙂 but I think he is at the level we can try it, because it will keep you way ahead of him on those big courses.
On thing to incorporate more of is leaving your arm back and lower on the simpler lines, so he can see your eyes/upper body a bit more, rather than using the arm to support the line next to you or out ahead. When the arm is forward, he sometimes does little tiny head checks or slows himself down to figure out the line. Sequence 3 starts with the little speed circle – your arm was coming a bit forward of your body, which blocks connection so ideally you keep it lower and behind you. That will also make it easier for him to set up the serp at :40 – with the arm back, he will see the connection and shoulders better so he can commit to the serp jump while turning – he got it at :40 but had to rotate a bit on takeoff to set himself up.
And if you have your arm further back on the little pinwheel opening you can also look at his eyes more to send to the tunnel, which will make it easier to get the serp at :50 (with the wrap exit). You were a little late getting up there so he had a little trouble setting the turn. However: Your connection over the bar looked GREAT at :51, though, and that really helped him find the next line!! Yay!I love the extra sauce sequence LOL!!! Great connection here! And since you connected so nicely coming into it and his commitment looks good… we can break connection for the blind sooner 🙂 When you are around the wing and you see him looking at the bar… break connection to do the blind sooner rather than waiting for him to take off to then start the blind. That will make these blind cross exits even easier!
Nice connection after the blind here, he totally knew it was the tunnel and not back to the jump.2nd video – no worries about not taking #7 on the early reps, the rest is looking good!
I liked your line for the FC the best on that first rep at :08 – he didn’t really have to go around you and go go directly to the next jump for the spin. You were a little more in his way on landing of the FC at :18 and at :54 so he had to slow down more (still a good line especially at :18, I am being picky LOL!) He as able to keep looking forward to his line after the cross, which means the exit line connection was clear.
On the lap turn at :31, good connection and it set him up nicely for the jump! This is clearly a very strong skill of yours and definitely useful to have in the toolbox!!
On your exit of the spin at :10, :21 and the send after the lap turns at :33 and :46 and 1:08 – to look back to him more, dog-side arm back. You were looking forward and that was causing tiny hesitations from him (again, I am being picky 🙂 but he is ready for that!) Your connection after the lap turns on the send was better than after the spin – but the FC was faster than the lap turn so having a bit more arm back so he can see the connection will make it perfect.When you added 7 – be sure to connect more to him at the tunnel exit – he is looking at you at :58 and 1:11 (you were a little more connected there at 1:11). He reads the lines based on your motion and verbal, so the added connection is mainly to get it even faster and will make it easier when you have to time a tight turn or something.
Video 3:
Nice connection 1-2, arm back and a bit of eye contact. Yay! That is ideal for him, he doesn’t need anything stronger in this type of situation. At :09 you were looking forward (not connected to him when he exited the tunnel) and so the turn cues were late (over the bar at :10)
Good connection on the lap turn! You do such a great job with those! After that
you looked forward at :14, turned the shoulder away – that caught his attention, he was not totally sure of the next line, and the bar came down. Of course in a perfect happy world, the dogs should not hit the bar 🙂 and I do proof for my disconnections as a distraction, but the connection break is a source of the distraction that causes them to hit the bars. Keep connection there to support it (and I will be adding the proofing games to the class in coming weeks :))2nd rep – you were amore connected peripherally so you were also earlier on the turn cues at :23. Nice!!!
More lovely connection on the lap turn at :25 but a bit late stepping forward, so a bar down. You held longer at :37 but you can also play with moving away sooner to see if that helps him maintain the speed and the jump form. Meaning – after you have turned him and committed him to the jump, as he is passing you, you are already moving up the next line.
Nice connection on the speed circle line at :41!! You can start that spin sooner at :42 so you are finished with the exit line connection before he lands. You nailed it on the next rep:
Check out your connection on the jump – tunnel line at :54 and :55. Nice low arm, lovely connection – perfect! Also at :57 – nailed it!! That allowed you to see the timing better, which set you up for a fabulous spin! Yeah!!!Great job here!! Let me know what you think! The next steps would be to now spread it all out, giving him 20 foot distances or more between the jumps to challenge the connection and commitment at higher speeds.
Let me know what you think!! Nice work!
TracyHi!
First rep – yes, you can turn sooner on the post turn at :05 – you can run deeper into the tunnel so you don’t end up standing still
The takeoff collection on the wrap at :08 was beautifully connected!! Freeze the video as she is jumping at :09 – your right shoulder is closed forward. Even though you are looking at her and talking too her, the connection is blocked because your right shoulder (dog-side shoulder) is closed forward. She landed and looked up at you to sort out the line, rather than just drive it. This is where exit line connection is so important to show the landing line and opening up your right shoulder back to her with show that (arm across the body patterns us humans to do that :))The tandem turn at :16 and lap turn at :24 are also looking good on the entry of it! You can start your tunnel cue sooner and stick to the line more on both. – she had a tiny hesitation at :17 and :25 to figure out what the next line is, so you can be telling her to take the tunnel as she is in the air but also keep your shoulders more open to the line there. It might seem simple on easy lines but it becomes more important on harder lines.
The connection going into the throw back at :30 looked good – I couldn’t see what she did on landing or over the bar, so we will just assume it was perfect 🙂 Your arm was back to make connection for a moment at :31 but then you pulled your shoulder forward as you said tunnel – and it set up a big zig zag. If you want to keep her on the right there, keep the shoulder back and move to the tunnel. Pulling your shoulder changes the connection and line, which she is reading (good girl 🙂 )
Last sequence – yes, on the backside push at :38, you can keep your arm down and make more connection. Connect to her as she exits the tunnel and she will get it, plus it will allow you to keep moving up the line which will help with a better turn on the wrap because you will have more time to set it up. On the wrap turn: she has lot of power coming into it, so when you want a tight turn try to resist the temptation to match the power and rush through it. Instead, shift to a slower more intensely connected mode and then you will feel that you have plenty of time to make the transition. As she lands from the previous jump, slow down, shift the connection to her eyes more directly (use your hand there in front of the jump rather than swooshing to landing) and then, maintain a very clear exit line connection back to her (exaggerated with arm across the body). At :41, you accelerated away from the wrap without connecting back to her so she drifted wide to get a look at your position then came back in to pick up the line.
So for the transition, start to anticipate it – as she is over the previous bar, start to shift into the “I am slowing down and looking at you!” And then it will be easier to feel the transition when she lands. You don’t need to be near the wing to do it, you can do it from wherever you are.
And over-exaggerate the exit line connection for now – I think you will find it makes a big difference on all of the turns.
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
On the first video, with the tandem turn and the lap turn: the turns on the jump itself looked really good! I couldn’t see the tunnel exit on the angle of the video – but you can definitely give her more info before she enters the tunnel. A verbal or body cue can help! I am not sure if it is needed on this first sequence, but might be needed on the next video – see below 🙂Tracy
Hi!
She is doing really well on this!
One suggestion is to release with the word for the behavior you want, rather than the OK cue – she seems to make her decisions very quickly, so the OK cue might be cuing the line when you don’t want it 🙂 For the threadle, she did better on the 2nd rep when you released with the in in rather than ok in in. And on the rep where she took the tunnel instead of the serp, it might have been because on the previous rep, the OK cued was followed by the tunnel cue, so she was anticipating and trying to go fast 🙂 And since we like fast 🙂 rather than use OK for all 3 releases, you can use 3 different releases on this game: in in for the threadle, tunnel for the tunnel 🙂 and ok yowza for the serp 🙂 That way she is more likely to be correct on the first rep of each new thing.Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Lots of good work here, sorting out how to show her the cues! The rears and backsides are all cued behaviors. The precision of the motion on the rear crosses is what she reads very strongly, and I think your shoulders/upper body are a big component of that, plus how your arm moves is going to change the line of your upper body. If you pull by turning your shoulders or pointing forward, it shows her a go line – and that is great when you want the go 🙂 but when you wanted the RC or the backside, it was causing oopsies. Here are specifics:
– on the first 2 rear cross reps you had a bit of pull with your shoulder and flick in to the rear cross, so the pressure into the path for the RC was a bit abrupt and she ended up not being sure what you wanted. But then at :14 – you were smoother and moved forward up the RC line with your feet facing the bar longer and not big arm cues: she got it! Nice!
At :20 and :29 she had a bit of confusion: your upper body is pulling to the go line by turning your shoulders/arm coming forward, but feet showing RC line. The feet were spot on, so try to keep your dog-side arm back and not swooshing forward, which will also keep your shoulders supporting the line you want.
Breaking it down totally helped!! It helped her see what you wanted, it helped you rehearse setting the line nicely. And :51 on the full line, you set up a good line which you then were able to repeat as you added the wing back.When you switched sides, the upper body moving to help showed her the go line so she had questions: you showed go line at 1:08 and cut in too late at 1:16. When you broke it down there too, you showed it all nicely, then showed it nicely again on the next RC line when you ran the full line.
So definitely keep your shoulders from pulling or straightening out, that is making it harder to show the RCs. Your RC lines were really good, so I think just letting her read the motion without needing extra help from your shoulders or arm to turn will get it all very smooth 🙂
Staying closer to the wing, practically touching it, til she arrives back at your side will help set the RC line more immediately too. It will feel super weird to wait that long 🙂 but it will help you step right into the RC and not show any motion on the Go line.
On the backsides: First push looked good! Nice!!!
On the circle cue at 1:30 – this is another spot where your shoulders were over-helping 🙂 You had her on the line to the circle wrap than at the last moment, you pulled your shoulders forward: so she read that as a front side cue. On the backsides for now, keep your arm back, no shoulders needed – you were clearer at 1:37 but leave your arm back more. It can move with her nose as she passes you, but using it to send her past you is making her think your want the front because your shoulders move. For example: at 1:48, your arm moved forward with her rather than sending her – perfect! But at 1:54 it was too early, move of a send so she wasn’t sure there. Think of the arm as support rather than a send – motion and connection are the send cues. She is doing really well on commitment to the backsides!! They are really hard turns – you can throw the toy sooner on the reps when she is on your left side, and you can also move through a little slower to allow her the time to think about organizing for the wrap.Let me know if the ideas about shoulders make sense. Also, you did a great job with ALL the verbals here – so helpful!!!!
Nice work 🙂
TracyGood morning!
So funny that he likes squishing balls! But it is a useful reward so I am glad he is having fun 🙂 I think he has found the rhythm of this set up here – I can see the lead changes percolating nicely and he isn’t having to think too hard about this at all. YAY!! Doing it with 4 wings was perfect – he got stronger and stronger as the session progressed. The first rep was good – but then later reps were super! On the last reps, he was very quick with his leads and also I didn’t see a real difference turning to his left versus turning to his right. And the 6 foot distance worked perfectly too, with enough room to get it right but also close enough for challenge.
Yes, feel free to put this one away until we build on it. This is also a good strengthening exercise so keep it in the rotation for his fitness as he grows up too – I learned the basic outline of it form a conditioning specialist and then tweaked it to fit our needs for jump foundations 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
You and Eden were so awesome in class!!! I am glad you grabbed the spot 🙂 And holy cow, I hope your older guy feels better – that must HURT to have a torn 3rd eyelid but it sounds like he is recovering! Whew!!
I have found that Viszlas *are* very sensitive to their mommas (and dads too :)) which is part of what makes the breed so interesting and fun! A great combination of power & athletic ability plus brains and sensitivity. They are such cool dogs and are on my list of future breeds to get 🙂
No worries about not having a perfect session – you got out there and got lots of rewards, she looks like a happy V to me! It was pretty much correct, in terms of remembering the drill 🙂 It looks like you rewarded every single rep and never told her she was wrong – that is the makings of a great session.
The GO reps were really good! She is enjoying the wind in her hair 🙂 On the first couple of rear cross reps where she turned but did not take the jump: you were just a little bit early driving across her line. You fixed that by moving forward more like at :34 and she committed nicely! On the rep at :49 where she turned to the wrap instead of the rear, you were a little late showing the RC info by driving forward to the go line for a few steps before doing the RC. She commits early (yay!) so those few steps forward sealed the deal. You were earlier on the last rep and she got it – nice!!
2 things will make the rears even easier: add more distance between the wing and the jump, so you have more time to show her the RC line versus the go line. And, stick closer to the wing as she wraps – you were pretty close but if you wait there til she has finished the wrap and is just about back at your side and then start moving forward, you will be able to show the RC diagonal almost immediately.
Overall, though, this was a useful session for helping her learn the difference, and she had a lot os success! Nice work!!!
TracyYay! Great update! It is possible he was hot and that dampened his enthusiasm for training and eating. Heat can be an appetite suppressant! I am glad he is back to his happy self 🙂
T
Good morning!
He was definitely sorting out how to work through the grid, which is perfect! The little ticks appeared to be from his front feet, lifting off for the first bump for the most part – he is generally organized and consistent in his form so it is possible that he is just not fully realizing that we would like no touching of the bumps LOL!! My favorite rep was the one that started at :27 but there was not a ton of difference between that rep and the others. So we can take a side trip to help him understand the no-touching of the bumps… cavalettis! Have you done any with him? Basically we want to ask him to trot through cavalettis and not touch them. I use cones with little bars through them – at this stage, they should be the height of his wrists (so pretty low) and the distance between them should be the approximate same as his his shoulder height (so Contraband does them at wrist-height and 20 inches apart). Start with just 3 and help him as needed to trot through (not leap through) – one way to help is with a cookie target at the end, and the other way to help is a cookie lure on the nose 🙂 I start by walking backwards leading the pup through with a cookie on the nose, then toss it as a reward, then after they grab it: repeat the slow backwards lure 🙂
When they get the hang of it, we fade the lure but getting the form is most important at first so a lure is fine (“get the behavior” as Bob Bailey says LOL!!)
Let me know if that makes sense!
And with the grid – I think we can replace the bumps with low bars and see how it goes.
And if you get a playback error note from YouTube about this video, please disregard – Elektra literally walked across my keyboard and somehow sent an error form. Oops!
Nice work here!!!
TracyGood morning!
That soft arm and keeping the arm back on the backside sends is a stylistic thing – a lot of folks like to use their arm pointing forward but I have found that that actually ends up putting the dogs on the front side by accident because it turns out shoulders to the front. So, with young dogs (and sometimes with adult dogs) we keep the arms low and pretty back to use connection and shoulders to get the backside.
And poor guy, choking up all his cookies!!! And we will work on getting him to drive in closer – it is pretty normal for a Border Collie to want to have a little more room LOL! I believe the scientific term for it is “border collie-ing” hahahaha 🙂
His rear crosses to the right are looking really good! I am super happy with how he is maintaining the drive ahead AND reading the rears – it shows both excitement and thoughtfulness which is kind of the holy grail of dog sports. He was a little “head up” on the early rear cross reps, potentially waiting for a toy throw or being a little uncomfortable with being that far ahead. But he sorted it out really quickly. The go reps looked really good too! And he was great when you switched it up to the left – good boy
And holy moly the backside wraps look FABULOUS!!! You were clear about when you wanted the backside versus the front side for the RC, both in position and the line you ran (and the verbals). He is bending really nicely on the circle wraps PLUS the commitment as you run forward past him is strong too! On the reps where he was wrapping on your right side (closer to the tunnel), your position was great and you were being supportive but not blasting past him – you can start to add a bit more blasting past him 🙂 You did more blasting past on the circle wraps at 2:11 on the other side (when he was on your left) and he did really well! The continuing past him with more speed helps him keep turning his head – if you are still there, he will look up at you more. The only suggestion on the left side circle wrap rep is to be in the position on the wing (where it meets the bar) that you showed on all the right side reps – that left side rep at 2:11 was the only time you were blocking the wing a bit.One other noteworthy thing is that he did all of this reading of the handling while facing 2 straight tunnels: GOOD BOY!!! Those tunnels are stimulating, to say the least, and he was fast AND thoughtful. Perfect! Great job!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
The ladder grid is going really nicely! The hardest part for him is the stay, I think LOL!!! He is super keen to do the jumps, even in the semi-boring grids 🙂 Good job balancing the grid rewards with the stay rewards, especially the stay rewards when you were all the way out at the target. He looks really consistent in his striding in the grid and organized, and good form too! There was really not much difference in his effort on any of the reps, they were all strong. I take that to mean that he is feeling comfortable with the puzzle the grid presents and is having no really trouble with is. So next time you visit it – a little challenge because he is “of age” 🙂 This is one of grids we use to show a height challenge – so you can keep the 1st bar at 4, then have the 3rd bar at 4 – and the middle bar at 8. That will ask him a slightly more challenging question about how to set up for a taller jump.Find the jump – with the advanced technique of tunnel under the dog walk – that is actually a great visual for him to see! This was another session that he found pretty easy no matter what the challenge was – yay!! On the reps where you were near the jump or you were ahead – easy peasy!!
One question he had was at 1:07 and the reps after it – you were pretty lateral and keeping connection. When he exited the tunnel, you ever-so-slightly moved your left arm back and for a heartbeat it looked like a threadle cue. He saw that and considered threadling, good boy! Good to know he sees everything! So you can have your arm low and back but in a more relaxed, less-back cue. Subtle difference: on the reps where he considered threadle (1:07 was a good example of this), your arm was high and opening up back. Compare it to :17 and the rep after it, where you were beautifully connected by just running forward (:43 is another good example) – great connection and arm back but lower and not opening up back. Let me know if that makes sense, i might need more coffee LOL!Great job on these!!
TracyHi! Great job on all of these, things are really coming together! When you are able to get back to running, it will be so easy to put it all together. Paco looks really fast and focused on these!
First video – go versus RC
When you are able to run, we will add more running to the go cue. But he is driving ahead really nicely on that line for now! Your rear crosses look really good – you can add more acceleration to them, even if it is a faster walk (until you can run again :)) He is reading the RCs really nicely because he is perfectly happy to let you get right on his tail as he moves up the line – literally! You are giving very clear early cues and he appears to have no questions on this side. You can add more distance between the wing and jump here, for more challenge 🙂2nd video – other side – also terrific! He seems equally strong on his left and right sides, which is great (and unusual :)) Great job with your verbals here! You can add more loudness to the go verbal, and een without running – let him see you going from slow at the wing to fast as you drive the line (both the go line and the RC line) – for now, a fast walk is going and then when you are ready, we will build in the running. He looks great!
You can totally also add in the advanced level backside wraps, I bet he will be fine with them too.
Blind Cross Diamond:
Yes, these blinds are a bit weird at first but I think you will find them useful – you did a great job with them, especially the connection on the exit – he was really tight on the turns!!! I am impressed! For now, don’t move too quickly – just plan which way to turn and what your connection will be. Then we will gradually increase your speed til you are super comfy and then you won’t even have to think about it.2nd diamond video looks really good!!! His commitment is strong now and your connection is really clear. Not being able to really run at the moment is actually a good thing for the training, because he has really expannded his commitment skills. Plus, you can move through the blinds carefully to get the mechanics right, and then they will become second nature.
Race track
OMG the happy look on his face as he was going around the race track – love it! He did an AWESOME job of staying out on the line. Even though you are not supposed to be running, you made this game look nice and easy. When he didn’t turn at the very end, you were a little late telling him with the body cue and he was totally in ‘race track yeehaw!’ mode 🙂 A little bit of earlier deceleration will help tighten that up.Overall – most of this feedback is boring, in the “that looks great!” category LOL!!!! Your connection is looking lovely and other than accidentally throwing in spin here or there, your mechanics are also looking good. You can add more distance and the advanced levels of all of these games – he looks ready! And when you are able to run, you can of course add in the running.
Great job!
TracyHi! Mouse gives very clear feedback and he also does it with great timing LOL!!! He must have been a top level dog trainer in a past life 🙂
When he feels the connection is good – he is perfect with his lines and turns. YAY! But the instant he feels that perhaps the connection is not clear enough – feedback in the form of discussion and jumping up. LOL!
So any time he is quiet and on a line, take that as a sign that you are rockin’ it!!!On the video:
Just about all of your opening lines were perfectly connected and lovely!!
1st rep – a perfect opening here! On this rep as well as some of the others, your connection when he exits the tunnel that 2nd time should look the same as it did when he exited the tunnel the first time: arm back, eyes on his eyes. Then decel and turn for the wrap. On this one, you were using your arms to cue a lot and it ended up pulling him off the jump. The arms are only useful after you start to rotate on the crosses.2nd rep -Your opening was lovely again! Yay! On the exit of the 2nd tunnel, you pulled your shoulder forward and away at :36 – it closed off connection so he gave us his opinion there 🙂 the connection before the turn cue match your gorgeous connection when he exits the tunnel the first time, and take your time shifting connection. You were gorgeous at :43 with the connection to the cross! You were looking at him more so it was more of a shift to the landing spot? I think he will end up being more of a soft shift to your hand – he turns really nicely on these!!
At :53 – you pulled your left shoulder forward a titch and your arm pulled forward – so he came in at you to let you know you broke connection. Have you ever played the lazy game with him? We thank him for his feedback in that tiny moment of connection break but we can also teach him to cover you sometimes too 🙂
I think that little break threw off your rhythm on the way to the tunnel – your shoulders turned forward and towards the other end of the tunnel and he couldn’t see your connection so he took the tunnel exit at 1:00. All of the other reps were lovely, so it was cool to see the contrast! He definitely likes his connection!When you picked back up after that – your connection was lovely and so was his commitment! He is a nice turning dog, naturally, so we probably don’t need to obsess toooooo much on getting him to collect, so it is more a matter using your transition to commit so you can turn and go (Carl might need a more emphatic connection, it will be fun to see!)
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi there!
First rep was lovely! You can turn sooner/faster on the opening line as long as you don’t sacrifice your connection on the jump before the tunnel at :05. The wrap FC looked good! If you try that one again, I think putting the bar up to full height for it would give us a better idea if it is correct for her. The exit line connection looked FAB there!Your lap turn session mirrored my training with Voodoo on this! He was doing the exact same thing. The causes of my errors look to be similar to yours: the dogs are going balls-out to the jump, they know what throw-backs are, slices are easier… and the handling was accidentally cuing the slice. She was driving right in to your hand (good girlie!!!) but then your connection/arm/leg were shifting to the jump before she is turned on the flat – so she sliced. With confidence and complete commitment that she was correct. LOL! :35 is a good example of that. Compare your motion there to your position/motion/connection at :48 when she got it right: your connection stayed forward in the area in front of you and nothing indicated the slice jump.
The things that I found to be helpful when the dog is going a zilliom miles an hour like Mochi are to move a little further from the jump to give yourself more room to set it up, and also follow your hand with your eyes – and move slowly through the cue. Any fast motion will cause them to think “SLICE” and the slower motion, focused on the hand, will slow the her down into the lap turn.
On the throwbacks – She likes these and is really good at them! You can try this on a higher bar and see how she does. She was questioning the commitment a little at 1;14 but only because I think she was trying to figure out if you wanted the lap turn or not. You helped by shifting your connection back to the landing spot (like at 1:20) and that really helped commit her!
Great job! And your exit line connections are looking great 🙂
Let me know what you think!Tracy
