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Ah! That is right! I am much better with faces and names in person than in writing 🙂
>>I have a couple questions on the first skill sets. I realize the numbers are preprinted on all of them, so we should plan based on the lines mostly just guided by the numbers. Does that make sense? Like #3 the path starts at 2, we start there and follow the arrow? I’m guessing yes. This is fun homework.Did you intend that #4 and #5 are the same and we plan them from each side? I’m not sure I’ve got a handle on that yet though.
The arrows/lines are just to help give an idea of which way the dog should turn around the wing – kind of suggesting handling without helping tooooo much 🙂 Feel free to ignore the lines and handle them based on what you see, as if they are a course map at a trial (a very short map haha)
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Thanks 🙂
TracyHello and welcome! I am so excited to see you back here 🙂
Great job on the video (and you can always submit stuff that you have made up, even if it isn’t on the course map LOL!! I think your stuff might be better haha!!)
On the video – all sorts of terrific stuff. Some general things to know (I didn’t mention them over and over because I didn’t want you to get bored of hearing them haha):
* FABULOUS job on your connections. Truly fabulous!
* You are also doing a great job with the timing of your verbal cues: early and often!! Yay!
* Your backside slices look independent and amazing. Well done on every single one of those!I think the skills drills well really well, overall. There are a couple of little tweaks we can add as you move onto the sequences. Here are some specifics:
first rep, great timing and connection – we can tighten up his backside jumping. The get back cue seems to mean both turn tight and slice, so you might consider a different cue for the tighter turns, or giving him a wrap cue plus some decel? And if that is not strong enough, we can add a physical cue but based on the rest of the video: I bet decel is all he needs.
On your lead out. one tweak to get a smoother line: you can line him up on a slice to face the backside so he doesn’t zig zag on 1-2.
2nd rep – great connection and timing on this one, it really shows off some of your strengths as a team! As with the first rep, you can angle his line up position to face the backside entry for a smoother line 1-2.
3rd rep – This was a front side wrap – verbal started perfectly – you can show a bigger transition by slowing down and rotating sooner. He was a little wide here (now bear in mind, he was never CRAZILY wide on any of these, it is more about the tiny detail of getting collection before takeoff, or does he land then adjust to make the turn – on this one, he landed then adjusted so the decel & rotation can be sooner).
4th rep – front side RC – we can play with starting the pressure sooner to tighten it up? I thought you were good but he disagreed, and the dog is always correct LOL! So try starting to pressure in towards the other side sooner – the line was good but a bit earlier will get him to turn more before takeoff. He had the bar down on the 2nd jump – it might have been a slightly late cue, he was jumping a little straight but also could have been the toy throw and praise happening as he was taking off. Or both 🙂
5th rep – FC after backside – timing and connection were great, his line was great, line up from 1 definitely better to you can a sweet line there.
After he lands from the FC, you can decel and rotate sooner to try to convince him to collect before takeoff – decel but still moving forward when he lands, and try to rotate as he is passing you. It will test his commitment but that is fine 🙂 at :49, he was a little wide (turning on landing) because the cue was a little late.
Nice backside slice here!6th rep – front side wrap – you were rotating sooner here and he turned better! I think you are rotating and moving forward so the motion is still carrying him a little wider than needed.
On the 2nd wrap, you had a clear deceleration and he turned much tighter! Yeah!
Loved the independent get back at the end of it!7th rep – at 1:11, you had a clear decel going into the wrap and he collected really well! Compare it to the 2nd wrap at 1:13, which didn’t really have much transition into decel – and he jumped wider and more on the center of the bar (which generally means he didn’t see enough turn cue). We are onto something here, in terms of what he reads really well! Another nice independent backside slice at the end!
8th rep – nice line up here, he could go directly to the backside! Good timing and connection and verbals on the backside and FC! At 1:24, as you moved out of the FC, you ran away from the next jump and then back towards it, which created a bit of a zig zag line for him. So, you can run pretty literally on his line for a few steps towards the next jump, then slide off it when he lands. That will help keep it nice and tight!
You had a VERY clear decel at 1:26 for the wrap and he read it perfectly – he collected before takeoff and was on the turn side of the bar 🙂
9th rep – another nice independent get back! I sense a theme here LOL! You can play with starting the rotation sooner, as he is passing you on the way to the backside – which will probably mean a little bit of decel so you can get turned – both of which will help tighten up the turn (it was a nice turn though) but more importantly – it will get you finished with the move and ready for the next turn cue (wrap) at 1:35. There was not a lot of decel transition going into it so he was a little wide – at 1:37 you can see him land, then adjust, then drive around the wing (which means the wrap cue was a little late).
Nice ending on a backside slice… you are really rocking those!10th rep – also really nice! AS with the previous rep, you can play with starting the spin on the backside sooner , as he is passing you, to be able to get up the next line there. I liked your use of “left” rather than wrap – it set up a great line for the push to the backside at the end!
So the main theme I see emerging is: as you handle these challenges, add in more deceleration, making it both obvious and early – to get him to collect and turn tight before takeoff! And keep working your excellent connection, it looks *awesome*.
Well done here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi Eileen! Great to see you and Ivan here! We can totally focus on speed speed speeeeddddd!! IT will be fun 🙂
Tracy
Hello and welcome! I am looking forward to Pose joining us, as the 3rd of your dogs to CAMP over the years 🙂 We need shirts or something LOL! I think blind crosses were frowned upon during that first CAMP or two hahahahaha! She is doing really beautifully in her training and I am looking forward to her debut this summer!
Tracy
Hi!
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TracyHi!
The serpentines are looking good! The first rep on the first video was nicely done – he found the serp jump really nicely! He looked up at you between the jumps, which means he needs a little more experience and connection there to help smooth it out. The 2nd rep there was a fun FC sequence – looked great!
2nd video – this was really nice too, he found the line nicely! You can work in a little more countermotion on the serp to the tunnel, meaning that you can run forward more to the tunnel so your feet are poking into the gap before he takes off – that can tighten up the turn to the tunnel a bit. But overall, the serping looked great!The progressive grids were a good challenge for him – the first 2 reps were a bit of a warm up and he kind of flung himself over the last jump. He settled in for the 3rd rep a bit with better form. As you extended the distance, he was still figuring out his striding – added a short stride on rep 4 and then extended it on rep 5. That is pretty normal for him the first time he sees a new challenge on a jump grid (sorting out the striding). So when you revisit this grid at some point, you can repeat the session just like this and I bet he will be very smooth.
Great job here!!!!
TracyHi!
>> For the first try going right and left Chapter ran around the third jump. It didn’t matter if it was the go or the FC. I do think I’m still late on this and need to spin faster in the cross even on the reps where he got it.
I don’t think it was handling, I think it is more about the dog training (getting more value on finding the line). In general, your timing and crosses were good!!! Here are details:
First video:
First two reps on the pinwheel looked really good! He got all the jumps. He was a little wide after the middle jump, but that is normal young dog behavior and will get tighter as he learns more.
On rep 3, he went around the jump at :30. I think he came in with a lot more speed on the other two jumps and couldn’t quite control his speed to get in for the red jump there. More speed is also an indicator of more arousal, so that could also play into why he was wider.
4th rep – He went around the red jump at :44 on this one too. The timing of your FC was good – your motion was perhaps a little too far over but not so much that I think it was a problem. I just think he was drifting a bit (more speed and arousal) and then when you turned he lifted his head to look towards you. He got it on the last rep at 1:00 – really nicely timed FC and you called him, which helped too!So to help him ‘find’ the last jump on the pinwheel – get him wilder before the start of the sequence, play tug, have him do the tunnel a few times… and then do the pinwheel but stay super connected and don’t run toooo fast. You can click and reward for him taking that 3rd jump. Being more aroused is what will make it harder for him, so we can teach him how to find it in higher arousal.
2nd video on the other side: first rep was good! Good timing and position on the FC really helped him.
2nd rep was the blind – I think the send ti the middle was a little too quick for him for now and you broke connection to peel away and head to the blind – but he did get the 3rd jump and the correct side of the blind!
Last rep – I think you were not moving in as much to the pinwheel jump (at least compared to the other reps) so he didn’t drive out to it. These just had a bit too much decel on the jump before the pinwheel jump, which caused you to slow down and turn a little too early. One more step of motion til after he lands from the previous jump is all he needs.Nice job on these – he is doing a great job with putting these bigger concepts together!!
TracyHi!
I think the angled approach to serp training worked a lot better for her – you were able to tighten the jumps up really quickly! And she got the idea beautifully and all you had to do was run forward showing the serp cue. Yay! So the next step would be to add a 3rd jump, still with all the jumps slightly angled. When she can do that, you can work them all back to being flat.
>>Is this class over now?
Yes, today is the last day.
>>And …. talk to me about CAMP. I have a not-too-large space, 5 jumps, a tunnel, weaves and a teeter. What do you think? What can we do for Demi?
CAMP has 3 different sizes of courses: a tiny one with skills that has 2 or 3 jumps. A bigger one with a tunnel and a couple of jumps, and then “full” courses (that you can also just do parts of) So you will be plenty busy in a not-too-large space 🙂
Grear job with Demi in this class, she is really looking great!!
TracyHi!
Yes, I think she was anticipating that when you arrive in position off the start line, look at her, put your hand in place… release is next so she was very ready. Too ready haha!! So you can show her the entire physical process and physical cue… and separate it from the actual verbal release by either praising then releasing or praising and throwing a reward back. She wasn’t being naughty… just being an over-achiever haha!!!
Nice job on the sequences!!! First rep – really lovely! Nice connection and running line! She had a question on the last jump heading back to the tunnel at :12 – you can open up your chest to her more so she can do the in-and-out serpentine – your shoudler was forward poitning your chest to the tunnel, so she came in and looked at you (not sure of the go back out element). It will look like how you handled the first jump on this rep and also the first jump on the next rep.
I love how you call her a rock star… because it is true LOL!! She is growing up to be SO AWESOME!!
2nd rep – really nice serp cue on the lead out! A bit of broken connection caused her to miss 4 at :58 – it was what I call “soft” connection where your arm came forward a little bit and you were looking forward to the green jump. She came in to you. Ideally, your arm would stay back and your eyes would be on her eyes the whole time… but also you can revisit the lazy game where you stroll by that jump with a bit of pointing and minimal connection and reward when she takes it. Her lack of experience requires you to be super connected, but we can also teach her to pick up the lines even if you are not entirely perfect 🙂 Perfect is impossible but training the lines is totally possible – so when I make a handling error of soft connection, I often repeat the sequence twice (or that section of the sequence): first repeat is ‘lazy’ to help the dog learn to cover my butt when I screw up. And 2nd repeat is a better attempt on connection from me so I can learn to be more perfect 🙂
The next rep had better connection! You can ramp up the connection even more but also I am glad she was finding the lines even when the connection wasn’t perfect. Yay!!
Great job on these!!!
TracyHi!
>>, I am planning on having two different verbals one for the backside slice and one the backside wrap, I have not started training the back side wrap, so yes, thanks for the reminder of the toy/reward position. I thought about it mid way through this training.
I think you can start training the backside wrap verbal on a wing where he does a full circle (360 degrees) around it – I am 99% sure I have seen him do this 🙂 And the verbal on the wing there is fine because that is the only time he will do a full circle around the wing (no a “U turn” wrap).
T
Hi there!
Threadle video – the first rep was the best rep in terms of line of motion, where your feet were facing the line of travel and you didn’t turn them – on the next reps, you were turning your feet and then it became all about the physical timing of the foot rotation. So send to the first jump and head towards the MM – with your upper body doing a bit of turning. I think you are using the dog-side arm too much and it is turning your feet, so less arm motion will help you be able to move forward. Using the dog-side arm only on those threadles means it is mainly a verbal cue, so you don’t need as much of a physical rotation as you work through these.
Jump grid: I think on the first rep she just needed a warm up on the MM as the target – she was looking at you and not really powering. THe 2nd rep was much better! On the 3rd rep, she came in with more extension lost her balance and flung herself to save it LOL! Oopsie. She fixe it on the last rep – so it is a good thing to keep showing her motion on these grids to challenge her to stay nice and balanced.
Serp sequences – the serping is looking great!! She is finding the serp jump really nicely on the first 2 reps out of the tunnel! You can be closer to it so you don’t have turn turn your shoulders forward to cue the next jump.
On the 3rd rep at :13, you used an arm change on the serp – I think a threadle is a better place for an arm change and the one-arm serp is easier like you did on :20 (next rep) – that rep was really lovely!On the threadles- I suggest backchaining them – starting her in the gap between the 2 jumps then gradually working backwards to add in the previous jump. She was not getting it while you were moving properly, so you were altering your movement and adding motion changes… so it did pull her in but it didn’t teach her to threadle. The foot movement (running line) you did at 1:33 was completely correct – feet facing forward up the line. But she doesn’t yet disciminate the verbal cue & arm from the motion – so keeping the correct line of travel (no foot rotation and not change of motion, keeping it a steady pace), you can isolate the exit of the previous jump to the last jump and work through that with you moving (catch yourself if you end up turning your feet!). To get it on a verbal only/one arm threadle will take a little longer – I am a bit too instant gratification for that, which is why I use an arm change on the hard threadle lines like this one. Be careful of rewarding for just coming in through the gap, as the in in means come in AND go back out, so breaking down the cue to get both parts will make it smoother and easier. The other thing you can do is angle the jumps slightly so the correct side is easier to see, and then you can keep moving through them. For example, on the tunnel exit, you can angle the next jump so that is it harder to see the incorrect line, and easier to get into the gap for the correct side of the jump. Then you can gradually angle them back, while maintaining the motion and line of travel. The key is to get the motion installed as part of the cue. Threadles are one of the hardest skills!
Great job on these! She is really blossoming 🙂 See ya in CAMP!!
Tracy
Hello and welcome!!!! That is a great profile photo 🙂 Can’t wait to see more of you and Juno!!
Tracy
