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Hi! “in in” is a great threadle verbal and I am a BIG FAN of having verbals the same for all dogs in the household LOL!!!!
His a-frame and teeter are coming together really quickly!! Th RDW is a bigger project but I am confident he will do well too 🙂
T
Hi! I am glad to hear he is being more focused! I think it is a combination of things coming together. Yay!!!
The forced fronts are looking good – I don’t think your arm was wrong on the video – but you can make it clearer by having your dog-side leg forward (under the arm) and not back. On reps 1, 2, nd 4, the arm closer to the jump was cuing the FFC but the leg closer to the jump was back: so he wasn’t sure if he should take the jump (because he would see the leg back through the uprights) or come to the backside. On rep 3, it looks like the right arm and right leg were both forward and that was the clearest cue for him. It is a small detail but many dogs read it the same way – he sorted it out but I think it will be easier for you both if the arm and leg match 🙂
And great job rewarding the start line stay (it looked lovely here!) and balancing with the front side of the jump. Super!!!!
Nice work!!!
TracyGood morning!
>>Thank you for helping me out here as I am struggling with which arm to use for tandem turns – and there’s a story to this….>>
Ha! I have some similar stories LOL!!!!!!
>>in 2014 I went to One Mind camp, where I was in the beginner group taught by a certain brilliant Canadian coach. >>>
Kayl? I find her to be a brilliant handler instructor, I have really enjoyed her clinics.
>>Janita had shown us how to do the TT using the dog-side arm, but my coach said it was OK to use the opp hand. I tried using the dog-side arm at first, but not very successful, so then switched to opp arm – this was working a little better, >>
So that is the thing about OMD that was vague in some ways: I was taught by many of them that the opposite arm was for a tandem turn (among other things) and the dog side arm was for a ‘flick’ (threadle wrap).
>>>but then Janita happened to walk by and when she saw this she jumped in to show me how to do it properly with the dog-side arm – well, she had me drill this for about 15 minutes until I got it right – so now it it literally drilled into me to use the d-s arm, which is why I often alternate – b/c I’m trying to use opp arm, but keep resorting to d-s arm – >>
Ha! I feel that pain, I might have some really distinct memories that are similar LOL! Eek!!!!
>>though I now think that it would work much better for me to use the opp hand for TTs all the time. So I guess what I need to do is some “drills” where I use the opp arm all the time – only thing is, I think I need a robot dog to try this on, or I might drive poor Yowza insane…..>>
I think as long as Yowza continues to get cookies and toys, she is happy 🙂 One the tandem turns: you can use both arms! There will be verbals attached pretty soon too, and that will help. I think the most important thing is to find what is comfortable and works specifically for you and Yowza. For example, on threadles: I sometimes use the dog side arm, sometimes the opposite arm. It totally depends on the situation and my position. The verbal is always attached – and my older dogs say it is fine. My youngsters have no idea about any of it, so I have to be extra perfect.
So keep playing with it, and try using both arms for now: actively thinking about engaging your opposite arm along with the dog side arm which is very natural. You can walk around the house doing tandem turns with no dogs involved lol! The tandem turn is really the only cue that I use both hands for, and that also makes it clear for the dogs.
Let me know what you think!
TracyStay warm! I think that she is going to be really independent and fast but also accurate: watching her learn, she seems to check in at first but then when she really understands: independent and fast and accurate in a great way. Yay!
Because this whole generation of pups is MUCH better with transitions for turns and not as good with collection on sends, I take is as feedback from them that I have just not emphasized send collection enough. We did it waaaaaay back in MaxPup over the summer on the prop and we have done some on the wing… but I need to bring it back on jumps to help the puppers understand. We want them to read transitions AND sends as turn cues, we need both of the tools 🙂 Stay tuned! I am going to ‘ask’ my youngsters about it tomorrow when it stops raining here 🙂
T
Good morning!
He is totally figuring out the jumping! I se the side-to-side action developing 🙂 On your next session, yes to staying in motion LOL! And I think you can job or run. And if he is happy with that… make the angles harder, I think he is ready for that too. If he starts to add strides when the angles get harder, you can to a shorter bar for a bit – if you don’t have a shorter bar, use weave poles (I use weave poles as jump bars all the time at home for the littles, when working on jump striding 🙂Great job here!!! Keep me posted 🙂
TracyGood morning! Lots of nice work here, he is really putting together grown up pieces!!
He seemed very happy with the teeter tip! Lots of motion and noise and he was dandy with it. He was not quite as fast to the end when you removed the lower table but I think he will get faster with more experience on that,
I like that you added running past so he would not rely on you. The quick releases got the better of him for a few reps, so make sure you go back and reward a lot in position after every couple of quick releases. And yes, the down is a little quicker without the target so I think if you reward in position, then the you won’t need to go back to the target. I think he was running off because of the quick releases shifting the balance of reinforcement out of the stay at the end.Box work:
on the flat, add a wing before and after it to begin the chain (the MM can be tucked in behind the exit wing) – sending to a wing (or hanging back near it) will allow you to alter your starting position and also change the exits based on where you place the 2nd wing. He was ‘cheating’ a little on the box on the flat when you angled the MM to a new spot, so I think that you can help him see the line with the wing and more gradual angles. It creates an independent behavior chain with the box in the middle which transfers nicely to the frame.Then on the a-frame – he was definitely transferring the concept nicely! He does need something out ahead for him to focus on as he comes over the apex – he was looking at you a bit. So having the wing out ahead as part of the chain will basically allow him to do “through the box to the wing to the MM” without needing to know where you are LOL! And that helps give him the visual of turns and such.
I like how he was setting up his striding over the top, so I think this will be easy for him.The turn aways are looking good!
The lap turn is going well, the arm was clearer and it looks like he was able to lock onto it perfectly. As line distractions increase, you can extend the arm even more and shake it to help get his attention as needed (and we will add threadle verbals at some point too :))
On the tandem turns – he was reading those nicely too, and he had great commitment to the jump when you flipped him back to it! Yay! And good job rewarding it lots to keep building the commitment.His question on the tandems started after the GO balance moment (which was really nice :)) It looks like the lower body line was a little too similar to the go line, so one thing on tandem turns is you can turn your line of motion to be a bit more parallel to the line you want him to take – and in this case, you would be facing the weaves. That will make the line of motion look even more different and help him out.
So back to threadle verbals:
>> With the tandem turn – will they wrap the wing or to slice to the far wing?>>
Technically, with a tandem turn, you would complete a rear cross on the flat, he would take the jump and turn back to the tunnel (in this situation, it might differ and involve the front side of the jump in other situations – the tandem is basically a rear cross on the flat).
Other applications don’t have the rear cross and your feet would keep moving forward, so it is just the threadle element – you could move forward on the line you did and do a threadle-slice, or you could do a threadle-wrap like you did at :25.
The slice and the wrap after the threadles need different verbal cues and that can alo help him sort out the Go versus the arm cue. Have you picked a cue for both? I have ‘close’ as my threadle slice cue and I cannot remember what I wanted as my threadle-wrap cue because I never use it and haven’t trained it in quite a while hahahaha So pick some words for now, and we will be adding threadles soon!Great job here, let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I think this is going well!
Great job mixing up short stays and longer stays, and all the ways to reward her. Yay! She is getting the idea for sure. I think you can add in tugging in between cookie rewards – she likes the cookies but the tugging seems to be more fun, and it will keep her even more engaged. She liked the tug reward at the end the best!
One thing to add is teaching her to line up at your side, or between your feet. That way you don’t have to face her and back away. Or, you can face her but then turn so you can walk forward (and reward her lots of letting you turn away).I think the obedience class will be fun to add (remember to bring your toys, some obedience classes focus on food rewards but Miss Ruby loves loves loves her toys too!) Keep me posted on how it goes 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning! She did a great job with the leg bumps! Such a fun session to watch 🙂 It cracked me up when she used your legs as a double jump but she only did it once and was beautiful on all of the rest. Yay! I really liked how she was bending when you started her further behind you hip. Yes, she thought it was super weird to be held back there 🙂 but she did fine once you let her go. You can also get her going from those angles by rewarding her with a treat further away behind your hip, then calling her back into the leg bumps – that will also add more speed to the bending 🙂
Normally the next steps would involve getting another person to add their legs, so it would be 4 bumps instead of 2! But covid makes that really difficult so for now, stick to adding more distance with cookie tosses which will add more speed.About the tunnels:
>>have a smaller cloth tunnel I could use in the basement. But those are hard to secure down. Real floppy. She goes though tunnels at Bonnies and she is pretty speedy. I want to keep it that way. >>
Yeah, I agree, we want to keep her fast and happy in the tunnels. So if the home tunnel might roll around or flop, don’t use it. Working the games at Bonnie’s, even if it is only sometimes, is still good! There is no rush on more tunnels 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
Sounds like it is time to block off the a-frame LOL! I feel that pain LOL!!!
He did really well with the goat tricks, they are looking great!
He was happy to climb on the purple things! It took a heartbeat to get back on the toy but he did. Yay! I think if you have a couple of yoga mats or cheapie rugs to put down, he will have more grip on the floor and then the tugging and the climbing will be easier.
The yoga block was harder but he can figure it out, in terms of all 4 feet on it. A bit if value building for interacting with front feet, then you can either wait til he offers 3 feet or all 4 – or, if you have a second one, put them side by side to make a bigger playing field.
He had a little trouble with the release/reset and didn’t see the cookie 🙂 The shaping games are a good opportunity to clarify releases for him – you can use a release word and then a game of tug. or a marker for a cookie toss so he knows where to look and what to do when he gets off. That will help stay training too!
The puppy obstacles were adorable! Soooooo cute, the whole crew!!!!!!Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>First, she is starting to understand what is wanted by stay. Been working it many different ways. She has her cot, working it at doors, a bit with heeling and walking around her and in an agility setting. Sometimes for the last, I have the Manner Minder behind her. I am using the “catch” command when I treat. What do you think about that?
I think it is great to mix things up and apply the stay in a variety of situations. This can help you use clear and consistent releases, and make it super fun 🙂
>>She is running thru a curved big dog tunnels with plenty of gusto (with a cue). I set up a shorter straight plus we have the toy straight. I want to improve on the verbal only and am very interested in the threadle work. She will take it from the threadle position. At first I didn’t quite notice where we will be going with that and thought just a different look at the entrance.>>
Excellent news on the tunnels! And yes, we are adding more about the tunnel threadles on Tuesday, stay tuned 🙂
>>She can do both the lap turn and tandem turn. After the turn she is running thru a hoop and then to a toy.
Awesome! This is good!!
>>I haven’t tried leg bumps but we have been doing the ladder. She doesn’t stay straight and wants to walk off the side. I am luring to correct??>
The ladder is REALLY hard for baby puppies. You can lure but I prefer to start them closer to the end – start at the last run so they exit straight, then gradually work your way back to the entry so she learns how to exit straight. It might take several sessions for her to figure out how to remain straight.
>>We need to work more on retrieve. She is a little thief and takes great pleasure in stealing anything at her level (shoes, socks, other clothing) and having you chase her to get it….depending on the item, I try to ignore her. She doesn’t seem to be interested in destroying anything, but I don’t want to give her the opportunity.>>
I do a lot of trading – when the pup takes something, I just walk over, drop a kibble to her, and take the thing. That makes it a lot more boring to steal things LOL!!
>>I mentioned I lowered most of my obstacles, it appears now I also need to drop all the bars. She went over a 12″ jump on her own. I wasn’t near her…>>
HA! OMG these puppies are keeping us on our toes!!!! My youngest pup is about 14″ tall and she has shown she can jump 20″… but jumping over the back of my big dogs. Oh lordy! LOL!!!!
>>What date is this class over??
We wrap up in late-February, about 2 weeks after the last live class which is on Feb 16.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
TracyGood morning!
Yay for serps and threadles! I noticed a few things that were interesting!
On the serps: it looks like he was very happy to hold his stays on your right… but was breaking them on your left (I think that is what was happening). Interesting! You can build in rewards for both but definitely on your left – I like to lead out to serp position, assume the stance – then throw a reward back.The other thing I saw on the serps was that he thought coming on tight like that over the bar was really hard! (It is hard; he is not wrong LOL!) So a couple of ideas: stay a little closer to the jump set up so he has to start the turn before arriving at the bump. And you can be closer to the exit wing, and less centered on the bump, so he feels like he has more room. And start him from angle (Position 1)for a while so he can slide right on in the serp. And last idea – like many herding dogs, driving into you with pressure to turn is really difficult, so you can add value by rewarding him when he gets to your target hand even if he is only halfway over the bump LOL!!
Now, on the threadles, because he didn’t have to come over the jump – easy peasy, he came right in. And the MM help with the reward. Nice! He was able to find it really easily, the only question was when he didn’t want to leave the MM at the end LOL!
So that leads me to one more idea to get him happier on the serps – you can start it on just a wing, so it is kind of similar to the threadles… and then add just a bump to the one wing, so he comes in over the bump. Then when he is happy with that, you can add the other wing so it looks like the full jump again.Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
She is doing really well on these! On the serp line moving away from the tunnel at :05 and :15, she looked to be very comfortable to with the challenge! And she had no problem balancing the serps with the post turns.
Going towards the tunnel at :22 – serping the blue jump was easy! On the next rep, serping the pink jump (:29 and :37) was much harder: partially because of the angle, it was a little turned away – and partially because of the delicious tunnel right there LOL! You got her to do the jump at :42 by tuning your feet but then she read it as a line to the other end of the tunnel.
Good job breaking it down but don’t turn your feet – I think it was more of a tunnel distraction thing, because at 1:06 you were pulling away to the other side of the tunnel and she still had a taste of the delicious tunnel out ahead 🙂 She got it at 1:15 and 1:25 but you had a decel and some sideways rotation.
So on the serp jump that close to the tunnel, it is more of a proofing thing for her: stay close, keep your feet facing forward, just use your upper body and name calling 🙂 – but for now, don’t move to fast so she can process it without the excitement of you running 🙂 And angling the jump to face her a bit will help too, making the jump more visible.
Nice job on the backside FCs, those looked independent and connected!
On the last sequence, she did really well getting the serp line moving away from the tunnel and the backside serp! You can stay closer to the jump on the backside serp at 1:35 to set the line. She did not appear to be distracted by the tunnel on that side, either it is an easier turn side for her, or the tunnel was further, or both!
Great job! Let me know what you think.
TracyHi!
>> hey lady – are you sure you know what you’re doing?>>
HA! Young dogs are so judgey LOL!!!
I think he is doing well with gradually increasing the heights, you can keep moving them up on the easy lines and then move them up when the hard lines are getting easy too. An it was a good call to not do the zig zags yet because they are pretty tiring in ways that sequencing is not.
The serp lines are definitely looking good! One thing to consider is how you use the serp arm, or maybe I should say when. I think you can present the serp arm position a little earlier for him – like when he is out of the tunnel at :04 and :33, and when he is landed from the previous jump at :13 and :58.
You were tending to bring the serp arm back as he was already approaching takeoff in these spots then move it forward again, which is not a problem for the serp jump… but it might be a problem for the accidental backside of the next jump when the lines are straight – he might read it as a push away.Yes, you were a little late turning at :42 and he is really starting to enjoy his serpy lines 🙂 He read the backside nicely on the next rep and had strong independence when you left for the FC!
He had a little question about the backside at 1:09, you can see he slowed down and looked up a bit. It looks like your left shoulder was a little closed forward and that caused your connection to move forward, so he was not sure about the line. He definitely likes the arm back and bigger eye contact. Your position and verbal were both really good!
Nice job at 1:15 with the shoulder turn to the other side of the tunnel, to balance out the serp line!
When you switched sides:
He is reading the difference in your line and shoulders really nicely!
At 1:39 and 2:19 we can obsess on the serp arm timing some more – especially at 2:19 where the arm came back as he lifted off, and you were moving a bit off the line towards the center of the tunnel… and he flipped himself back out to the tunnel entry. That was correct per the sequence, but not necessarily per the line of motion – and I think he might be reading the timing of the arm cue as predicting the turn back out, if that makes sense? His decision to come in on the serp jump was already made before the serp arm cue. And if he is reading it that way, it would explain why he goes back out to the backside of a jump.So you can try opening up the serp arm sooner and then holding it until after he turs back out to the line you want, so there is no in-and-out motion over the serp jump that might make him predict the push out to the backside. Let me know if that makes sense or if I need more coffee to explain it 🙂
We get a good camera angle on the backside verbal being too closed forward at 1:46 so he ended up on the front side – compare it to your left arm being a little back at 1:57 and he was much clearer on going to the backside. Nice!! At 2:14, you had the arm back and added more connection (which caused a tiny bit of foot rotation) – thought that was too much. Very Goldilocks, right? Too hot, too cold, just right 🙂 He feels that the arm back and gentler connection is the ‘just right’ for now 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
I am glad you have this place to set up the training stuff and do the live seminars! Yay!
I watched without the sound 🙂 I hate it when the sound gets out of sync! Your figure 8s and tunnel threadle reps looked really good! He will begin turning his head to the tunnel earlier and earlier but you did a good job of not really doing much to help other than saying the verbal/arm/moving that way. Yay! I think my only suggestion on those is to not move your toy from hand to hand LOL! Small decel but it catches the attention of the dogs if we do it.
As you added more speed coming into the tunnel threadles – he is doing a great job bypassing the end of the tunnel in front of him. AS you move up the line to the threadle entry, try to not turn your feet until after he turns his head. I think you might have been turning before he turned his head, like at :49. It was subtle and i had to freeze frame it LOL! You can keep your feet facing the line you are on (and not the tunnel entry) until he turns his head, then you can turn and ‘seal the deal’ but moving towards the tunnel too. That way, he learns that he doesn’t need to wait for you to turn your feet before he can put himself into the tunnel. Same at 2:06 – keep your feet facing that exit door until after he turns to the tunnel.
Tandem at 1:00 went well, you can get a little closer to the turn wing by sending him to the middle wing more laterally.
1:17 he needed more of a wrap cue (can’t hear it with the sound on mute hahahaha) but also you can show him more of your tandem turn arm.
You were earlier and more obvious at 1:23, good reward too! And then nice job adding the wrap at 1:40 and also fading out the foot rotation after the tandem so he went back to the wing more independently.
>>When I did the blind after the tandem 360 he broke stride and trotted. I’m not sure if I was late and got in his way?>>
This was at 1:56 – I don’t think you were in the way there, I think his brain was smoking because the tandem to the independent wrap to the blind was HARD and then as he exited at :58, you were connected but your dog-side shoulder was closed forward, so he was not 100% sure of which line to be on. Your dog side arm (right arm here) can be pointing back to his nose and that will show him the line more clearly. So mainly it was just lack of experience on crazy-new-move plus he needed a little more connection.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
