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It was great seeing you last weekend, even with social distancing and masks and a LOT of sweat 🙂
Both of your boys looked awesome 🙂Interesting thoughts about Roadie! I don’t think you ever really saw my Voodoo when he was Roadie’s age: slow, legs flopping everywhere. I kind of thought he was going to be slow and I fully embraced the idea that he would be the medium speed dog that I would be able to Q a lot with, maybe work on those BIG titles that are harder to get when your dog goes a zillion miles an hour like Export and Matrix. And I do remember thinking that maybe he just was not as clever as my terriers and terrier mixes 🙂
Yeah, well… have you seen Voodoo recently? Turns out that thoughtful young male dogs are simply learning and processing. Somewhere around 2.5 years old, Voodoo said “I GOT THIS!” and now he is so fast that I can barely keep a thought in my brain. Definitely NOT the easy dog to Q with. In fact, we don’t Q often but when we do lay down a clear round, we are easily 2 seconds faster than many of the top teams out there.
So the lesson? To chill out with my baby boy puppies and let them learn, develop the relationship. I am sure my Contraband is considered slow right now… but he and Roadie are both going to grow up to be FAST with a tremendous understanding of what to do! Fun times ahead 🙂
T
Good morning!
>>Glad you liked the BC from 3 to 4. Probably not my “go to” move but I didn’t see any other way to get downstream, so we went for it.
It worked perfectly!
>> Also, I was further away from 2 on a move that was mostly a forced front but, again, necessity is the mother.
Yes! About 18 months ago, I had the chance to train what Nicola Giraudi – he was just back from winning the AWC and being crowned World Champion. He was (sorta) an OMD instructor – and he set up a course with a backside at 2, and put us waaaaaaay downstream for a forced front cross, basically 3 miles away. His reasoning was same as yours: the dogs will read it if the proper understanding is in place and it allows us to get where we need to be. And I totally tried it because I am a big fan of getting where I need to be, and if the current World Champ was telling me to do it…. worked like a charm!
>> And once you let a RC slip into your handling, you are probably behind for a good long time.
Agreed! Of course, in certain situations it is the best choice, but we do need to strategize to not get left in the dust 🙂
>>Still, I was very surprised that he curled in on #13. Even looking at it now, I expect him to honor the pressure.
I think we need to teach him that is it both acceptable and appropriate to lead change away on that pressure. It is one of those “by permission only” behaviors (in other words, we don’t want them to do it without a physical and verbal cue) but this is the week we show it to him. You won’t need it a lot but holy cow it will be helpful when you do use it!
>> A tremendous amount of our work is still “motion based”* versus trained. And most of it will be forever.
Same here! There are things we are training training training… but motion is what is the strongest cue I have to offer the dogs. I have not trained the verbals to the level of the Russian handlers 🙂
>>Ps: The phrase “motion based” was used as a slur describing Linda’s handling system; I think it was Bud Houston but I could be mistaken. I tend to use it when I want to remind myself that motion IS the most powerful cue. And if you want to go counter to motion, you had better put in the training time.>>
Yes! Interesting that some think it is a slur. I think it is just the truth LOL!!! But there was a lot of trash talking for a while among the top handlers/system developers in North America. It was pretty ugly which is why I am pretty unaffiliated. I admire LM for what she has brought to the table for all of us to learn from, and what she and Jenn Crank and that group continue to do. And I love talking to LM when I see her in various places – she is happy to share her current way of thinking – and the last time I chatted with her, we were absolutely talking about how the trained skills needed to be in place for when we had to move counter to the natural line of motion (we were both students at a Justine Davenport/Jessica Patterson seminar).
I find this stuff fascinating and educational!
T
Hi!
>>Yes you were right. Timing was not an issue,all that was needed was a deep breath and courage. Next step is to try with the weaves. Don’t know that you will get me to do it at a trial but with more practice ???
I have used all sorts of positive reinforcement to get people to try the crazy handling moves at trials: anything from cash to yummy snacks to adult beverages. Name your price! LOL!!!
>>Course 1
I could lead out beyond 2, complete my fc before she takes off for 2 and rc 3 or blind 3 (need to practice the blind)! Which brings me to a question is it better to lead out between 2-3 and run into the fc or lead beyond 2 ?>>Doing the cue in motion will help you get set up for the next cue. How far you lead out will depend on what you choose for the next cue and how fast you run LOL!! If you do the RC on 3, then lead out almost to 2 but past it doesn’t make sense – you will be too far ahead for a RC on 3. If you do a double cross (FC-BC or BC-BC) – then lead out near 2 – experiment with how close to it you need to be so you can move when you release but not be too far ahead.
>>I had to work out which would be best at 9. I knew with the tunnel I needed strong connection, a German would work but I didn’t like where it put me for 11 etc. The slicing rear was easiest for me.
The RC worked nicely! The German has a lot of running yardage to get to where the RC put you, so while I normally do like Germans, I think the slicing RC was more effective here!
>Trying to sort out the nuances,. Mo mo tight turn on the wedding of 9….. Right turn right after 9
I think right was the one that worked best.
As we use more verbals, she is becoming more responsive to them and it has gotten me into trouble when I am not precise in the one I choose>>That is good that she is responding! The verbals need to be practiced more in the walk through – both so you choose the right ones and so you deliver them appropriately – if mo mo mo is a tight turn verbal, make sure you don’t hollar it LOL!
>>13-14-15 I think you were putting in a little snooker practice. Still need to figure out how to set the line to 15. She has a good tunnel send it only I could direct her.
True confession: 15 was not supposed to be on that side of the tunnel – but by the time I saw the error, lots of folks had already run it. LOL! Sorry not sorry? Normally my course design isn’t that bad LOL!
>>Walking the courses for all of this camp is helping me look at which choices would be best for Tokaji and me. So often I second guess my handling choices because they are not what I see others doing>>
Well… other people have different systems for their individual dogs, and also other people might be choosing things that won’t work for your dog 🙂 Tokaji is like Voodoo – very specific early aggressive handling or things go wrong very quickly. So, it is not surprising that both of us choose handling that is far different than what we see others doing at trials! Don’t let the voice in your head second guess you – only look at what others are doing if they have a dog that is similar and have a handling toolbox that is similar. For example – your slicing RCs are magnificent! Such a strong tool! Mine with Voodoo are NOT as good, he wants to wrap back to me. SO where you would hit a homerun with a slicing RC, I would be doing a forced BC. Different toolboxes, both effective.
Let me know what you think!
TOopsie! I posted it but forgot to click on the all-important “Publish” button. It should be visible now, and here is the link so you don’t need to look for it:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/2vJyDqH-8F5ObJXn02TOW6UtF4PCX6a823UervVZzEq4T5zjX_rqc_AcJSQeIddLHave a great weekend!
TracyGood morning!
>>(I never thought to ask…when I add a link, I have a choice to open a new window. Would that make it easier for you?)
Thanks for asking! I am happy with any of the options – I change how I open/view the videos depending on the device i am on, so any option is fine for me 🙂
I am happy that Course 3 went well! But I admit that now I will have to find another place to use “goat rodeo” in a conversation. Challenge accepted.
Great job on this run!!! I give you a massive cyber socially distant high 5 for your opening – throwback exit of 2 and REALLY NICE blind cross 3-4!
Because in online classes we instructors often spend a lot of time pointing out all the things that can be better (guilty as charged!), I also want to point out the brilliances here at the opening:
Freeze the video at :09 as he is just getting to the entry wing of 2: You are both clearly cuing the #2 jump AND you are also long gone up the line. Then freeze the video at :10 when he is over the bar at 2: You are heading directly to the perfect path for 3-4 and completely trusting his commitment. Gorgeous handling! It was also a challenge to his jumping skills (having you cue and leave that early) and those backside slices are HARD. So, look at where he is jumping #2: tight and clean, not touching the bar or wing. The zigzags are starting to pay off.
Now freeze on :11 as he is lifting off for 3: blind cross completed, reconnection in place, you are on a pretty darned perfect path. You had connected just long enough on your left side to be sure he committed to 3 then started the blind early enough that he could read the next line with no problem.
OK one more freeze on this opening: when he landed from 3 at :12 – note your exit line connection – your eyes on his eyes, your right arm low and back: perfect. It made the line to 4 extra clear so you could just leave for the next line.
I really love your work on this opening!The 5-6-7-8-9 section looked really good too – I think you can push him harder through here, he showed really strong understanding and so you can drive through the backside serp-blind at 7 sooner… which can set you up for a blind cross 9-10. You were already in a really good spot for it, but you probably didn’t feel comfy because you pulled him in for the rear cross at :21. And yay for him finding 9 and NOT the tempting tunnel!
The RC at 10 set off a domino effect – by having tp push up closer to get 11 and support 12 (the tunnel) – you showed big hustle to get to the tunnel exit and it made you a little late getting to the RC on the flat to turn to the poles – that is where he ended up on the back jump of 13. When you re-did that section at the end (:51), you pressured into the RC line much earlier and it set it up really well for him! I bet he can read it if you show the RC pressure before he enters the tunnel even more strongly – he still wanted to exit turning to his left, an a bit more pressure on the line before the entry can help convince him to exit already looking to turn right.
>>IF I could have gotten a tight turn on 18 after a slice, then that might have been the winning line but I was very confident that wouldn’t happen. And if you drift out too far, you miss the lovely straight exit line.
Agree that the tight turn is the winning line, so now challenge accepted on how to get it and NOT end up with a goat rodeo on the ending line 🙂
Looking at the line after the weave poles… the way to get the slice nice and tight on 18 to get the ending line has to do with how you handle 15-16 to set up your next handling. At :35, you rotated towards him on threadle so at :36, he caught up to you on jump 16. You had to RC 17 and that put you behind for 18 (which makes it harder to get the wrap too – the wrap was strong here, but handling the wrap from ahead will allow you to turn your feet sooner so you can cue the turn earlier and head up the ending line sooner.
So 2 ideas for the ending line to get the slice at 18:
When you threadle, keep your feet moving forward up the line rather than rotating towards him. That will keep you further up the line so you can stay ahead 16-17, which puts you ahead for whichever side of 18 you want. Then when you keep moving ahead – as soon as his head turns back to 16 from the threadle: blind cross 🙂 This is a spot where I would use the handling from the skills set of threadle-blind when his head gives you permission.
The other option which sounds crazy but is super effective on a line like this: 3 blinds:
double blind to get the threadle – and when his head turns back to 16, blind #3 to get him on your right for 17.
Then you can wrap from ahead or slice 18 from far enough away that you get a lovely ending line set up – either on your left like you did here, and there is also a possibility of a FC to so the ending line on your right side.Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Time flies, I remember when he was a wee baby puppy!!! Happy birthday, Enzo!!!These are looking good. On the straight lines, remember to start him close enough that he can’t take a tiny stride or patter his front feet before the first jump. But I think the “easy” grids where the toy is ahead and you are ahead are really good. The send to the backside to start the grid – that was harder 🙂 Note how he is doing all sorts of tap dancing with his front feet to sort out how to approach the first bar. So keep this on 3 jumps, low bars, and you can open up the angles a little so it is less sideways on the jumping effort – making that element easier will allow him to think through how to approach the first jump. When he figures that out, the flat angles will be easy. I can’t figure out if he is sorting out how to use his body or sorting out how to grip the footing or both- so try this outdoors on dry grass and see what he does – we should see less pattering on the takeoff side, and more weight shift back. I suggest taking this all out onto dry grass (definitely NOT a wet grass grid!). The ones that are now easy (where he starts facing the grid, not the backside pushes) can go into maintenance mode, which means you cycle them up and down depending on fitness cycles and competition challenges ahead. Right now he is probably in an ‘up’ part of the cycle meaning competition shape (even if he is not competing in live trials) so you can visit the easy grids as a warm up once a week or every two weeks. The harder grid (backside push) is still in the learn stage, so the lower bars/easier angles can be worked on once or twice a week for a couple of reps.
Let me know if that makes sense!!
THi!
He did really well generalizing this concept to several different “obstacle”!! He is ‘leading’ with his head through the turns which will make for really lovely turns on course in the future (note how he turns his head around the item). I do feel your pain about having to hold up the different obstacles that are not freestanding, like the soft crate LOL!
At the end when he was cutting in between you and the soft crate – it was partially because of the length of the obstacle plus the standing (sorta standing) – 2 changes at once. When you went back to being low/kneeling – he was great!
At this stage, based on what we will be adding in the next couple of weeks – prioritize being able to stand. Do that with the obstacle really close to you to minimize cutting in between you and the obstacle. You can start to feed from your hands when he gets the idea too! Standing nice and close to it is the top priority, and if that goes well for 2 or 3 short sessions, you can add a little bit of distance between you and the obstacle – but that is low priority for now 🙂Great job!!!!
TracyGooooood morning!
I do realize that plenty of these games require 85 arms for proper execution LOL!!!! It will get easier when we chain things together 🙂 And yes, he was setting up to turn towards you on some of the RC reps but that bowing out on the line will go away with more experience. He is smart and he will realize that extra yardage in some cases is NOT efficient in terms of being the fastest path to the reinforcement (like in rear crosses). However, in some cases, he might decide tat shaping his own line is indeed the fastest and most efficient path – and if the stop watch agrees, then we go with it. Some of the fastest agility dogs (especially small and medium sized ones) have figured out how to shape their lines to produce the fastest times 🙂 I am all for that! It is a team sport and if the dog has figured out a faster way…. cool! The hard part is making sure that it is the fastest way, and not a question from the dog or a push away from pressure.I am generally OK with props that are used positively, like you did here: he could see it, he could make a choice, and he was being heavily reinforced. It falls into the ‘get the behavior’ category. And then yes, we fade it. I hate props that are designed to be punishing to the dogs, like the ones that are not really visible and the dogs run into them 🙁 Icky and unfair!! And then when Sly said “whew that was hard, I need to do it differently”, you respected that and didn’t force the issue.
The drive to handler game where he gets treats next to your leg from your hand will be great for driving in to pressure (he won’t be sad about the relatively easy access to treats!) and I have another one coming soon that involves turning on the wing. It is something that will gradually build up over time 🙂Have a great day!
TracyGood morning!
Starting with the rear crosses – yes, he was a good boy to move ahead to the prop!! The more he moves ahead, the easier the rear crosses will be. Good job continuing to reward even when he turned the ‘wrong’ way – that will help him understand what the cue of you cutting behind means because it will predict where the reinforcement will appear. The reason he was not picking up the rear cross turn is because the info was just a little late, in terms of the pressure and cutting in behind him. But at this stage – no worries! You had to wait til he was definitely driving ahead, which made the info late because he was committed to turning towards you (not away) by the time you were able to do the RC. So, for the next session – start with several warm ups of parallel path (straight) where you are really close to him (no lateral distance) but moving straight. And start pretty far from the prop, 10 feet if possible. Then when he is totally saying “yes, I am driving ahead” you can slip in a rear cross – where you are moving forward, he passes you and you cut behind him when he is still 3 feet or so from the prop. That will help him read the turn. On this video, you were *very close* to having it perfect so I am sure it will go really well when you are able to add more distance and he is more experienced in driving ahead to it.Your stay games look really good! I LOVE how he was asking to do it by offering up the sits: “please momma can we play the stay game?!?!” Hahah!!! The goal is that the pups think stays are SO MUCH AWESOME FUN and you are well on your way to that here. Yesssss! And yes, be careful of watching for breaks before the release word – if it happens, do several easy ones in a row and then add a harder one. But this is going well – the next step is to take the easy versions of it to as many different places as possible. Also, have you tried the tug-sit-tug yet? That will emphasize the self-control and arousal modulation on the toy, so it is an important step for the pups.
Great job working on the food and toy play in different places – excellent thing to prioritize right now! When you feel he is ready, insert the food (low value) into a toy game in an environment where he is super comfy and see how it goes 🙂
Lovely work here!!!
TracyBoom!!! There it is!! I was all excited to see The double crosses and then a TRIPLE cross!! Pretty darned perfect. You have great connection, ran perfect lines, and trusted her (or at least pretended to :)) Very cool!!!! She responded beautifully, tight and fast. Love it!!!! Now I need to convince you to do it at trials!!!!
THi there!
Yes, the set up is correct and 2-3 is really hard! She turns after landing on 2 and I think the forward-facing decel at :02 is not a strong enough cue. You rotated towards he a bit at :36 and it was definitely tighter! At 1:03 you were forward facing (not rotating) and she didn’t come in until you moved backwards a bit. Compare that to 1:13 where you used the same verbal but you turned your feet and she landed tighter.>>I could do a FC after 2 and a rear at 3 ?
Yes! Or a FC to a BC 🙂 Or a BC to a BC 🙂 All should work really nicely.
Loved the blind 6-7! It was especially terrific at 1:20. And good job with your left cue on the tunnel entry! Yes, she needs you to go help the weave entry a little but you got ahead again nicely.
Nice send to the backside at 9 but yes, it should be the front LOL! The blind you did on 9 was really nice though at :21. I thought your blind there at :51 was good too, but for some reason she dropped the bar (hard to tell why – you were not late starting it and you were not talking over the bar. My guess it that she needed you to reconnect sooner – you took an extra couple of steps before reconnecting). You were late starting it at 1:26 (she was already over the bar) so she was wide but you were close to the 9 jump and she did not drop the bar – it is possible that at :51, even though the timing was better, you were really far ahead and she was rushing?
The RC on 11 was GREAT and the the line 12-13-14 also looked really good on the first run! On the 2nd run, that RC was also really great. You pulled away from 14 at :58 too soon after hte Rc on 13, so she came off the line there.
It is a little hard to see what happened on 15-16 at :32 – looked like maybe you got ahead and off the line, and didn’t make enough connection to show 16. You showed the line all the way through at 1:38 and it helpd get her through 14-15-16.
Course 2:
Nice wrap on 2 at 1:40 and 1:54 and 2:15!
That set you up for a really nice opening line on ALL the reps!
Very nice blind 8-9 at 1:48! – you started nice and early and you were on a good line – just remember to reconnect immediately so she can read it sooner. You had the earlier reconnection at 2:03 and 2:24 and 2:52and she read it really well!On that pesky #9 jump 🙂 On the first rep at 1:49 – your turn cue was too forward and a little late so she was correct to get the tunnel. You were much earlier at 2:05 so she got the turn, but then you had pulled away so she didn’t see the backside cue to 10. You can be lateral like that at 2:06, as long as you remember to open back up to show the 10 backside.
Nice job at 2:12, it had all the pieces of the puzzle to get the line! Same thing at 2:29 – nice job getting it – keep sending to the 10 backside from further away, it looks like you were in her way there as she was trying to land.>>9-10 I liked 2.43 best. I was able to stay ahead better.
YES! I agree – that slicing rear cross is SUCH a strong skill that you nailed it and then you were 6 miles ahead. Also at 2:57 – really nice! And being closer to the 9 jump is actually getting a better turn, I think it allows you to decelerate and that helps get her to turn there.
About 9 – I notice that you used a whole bunch of different verbals…. It should be the verbal that is for the 90 degree right turn – which one is that?
I couldn’t really see most of the 14-15 line, the video cut off right there at each rep – was she missing 14? Or getting the wrong side of 15? Yes, the camera down there will help.
The very end of the video started at 14 and it all looked great – nice turn, terrific weave entry, really pretty ending line!Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I think it is super cool Jess puts up sequences that allow you to use the tools you are working on at home! Yay!
>>– I kept saying “go” but didn’t say “go Jump”…I guess maybe that might have helped keep him more on the path to the jump than turning to question it?
I thought your GO was well-timed at the start (I could hear it long before the little blur went into the tunnel) and you kept saying it, which is great. You can try adding the jump verbal but I think he just had a little question because the jump was so far away AND you were hard to see (not ahead). When you look at the video, it looks like you were looking forward and running like mad – I think the looking forward is what caused him to ask the question. Looking at him more directly will help on those big lines: plan to connect to his eyes at the exit of the tunnel (while you continue to sprint and yell GO GO GO 🙂 ) I know we are currently working on *not* having to be that connected – he is doing well with that when you are ahead, so now you can use the skill set sequence (tunnel-jump-jump) to work on it with you parallel and then with you a little behind him.
About the startle sensitivity – that is pretty normal! You can make it happy times when something startling happens – when I knock over wings, I always play a long game of frisbee or give out tons of treats (startle = good!). On the teeter, you can do one-rep sessions with SUPER high value jackpots each time you introduce a new teeter, so he doesn’t have time to sensitize to it (instead, he thinks teeters are jackpot dispensers :))
In quiet environments, he is more likely to think about things that are startling. When we get back to the busy environments where there is more noise – the startling stuff will be less obvious so it will go away.Have fun at dock diving!!
TracyHi!
>>First, before I forget to mention it: I know it is more fun to design a big course in all dimensions but then it is much harder to set up a stationary camera to film it. You could probably get a similar number/type of challenges in a long and narrow course and it would be much easier to film. The “squarer” the course is, the further back the camera needs to be. If it gets really bad, then I have to go to a wide-angle lens but those are so distorting that it is very difficult to coach from such a video.>>
Great idea!! I will incorporate a long and lean course design!!!
>>>As far as slice versus wrap on 11, Robin Anne and I walked both and debated. Because of Patt, I tend to ALWAYS want to slice. 😊 In this case, we decided to wrap and avoid the extra long path on the slice.
This might be one of the times that the extra yardage of the slice is worth it! Plus the it isn’t that much longer, if it is longer at all – the wrap here is one of the ‘roll back’ wraps where the dogs have to turn so much against the slice, that there is a lot of yardage in the wrap line too.
>>As far as the end, we don’t have a subtle lead change away. There is “switch” which is a 90 degree turn away. And there is what we did. 😊 My intent was to set the line so that I was pushing on it as he went into the tunnel. In that case, the go-on was just “don’t turn back”.
Alrighty then, we are going to teach him a lead change cue. Stay tuned for a how-to for adding it to your tool box – it is easy and super useful.
>>On jump 2, we actually warmed that up a number of times but he couldn’t keep it in his head for even one lead-in jump. I should try again with more of a step.
Interesting! Let me know if you tackle it again, I would like to see more of what he is doing there.
>>As you pointed out, the rest of it was mostly a goat rodeo.
“Goat rodeo” might just be my new favorite phrase LOL!!!
Looking forward to #3!
TracyHi! She was completely on task here, yay!! And I agree with you: I would rather work on short bursts with youngsters to show them the ideal handling, than to try and pull them through big courses with crap handling 🙂 LOL!!!
Some ideas for you:
Looks like the first section here is 9-14 with the puppy cannon to start: she had a question about the jump after the tunnel (slowed down, head high), so be sure to tell her before she enters the tunnel at :02 what the exit will look like. You were too quiet there 🙂
The 10-11-12-13 line looked good, the RC on 13 went really well! It is a valuable tool. Based on how well she read the 10-11 sending, I bet you can send from further away and blind cross the exit of the tunnel (as long as you are down there before she enters it).2nd rep – she did a bit of rushing on the 11 jump before the tunnel: you had a big transition to extension and exciting verbals, so she pulled the rail at :17. This is a good one to set up and show her to reward ‘no touching’ on the bar. Sometimes da momma will take off like a rocket 🙂 it is a good bit of distraction training, as the bar before or after a tunnel is often something that dogs struggle with.
FUN to see her weave with you layering! What a good girl!!!3rd rep – she set up the jump on 11 better at :29 but you also didn’t run away as fast. She had good success and you can definitely layer in more excitement as a proofing game.
At :36, after the weaves, I think she should have taken the jump. You were running past it with connection – it was a massive distance but I want her to just take that line and not scoot in at the last minute. You said “come” but I don’t think it was a threadle or bypass cue – I looked back at your verbal list and couldn’t find ‘come’ there (except in relation to the tunnel) so maybe it is a general attention cue or ‘come this direction’ cue.Nice balance on at :41 to turn tight and NOT weave 🙂 Yay!
1-2-3 section:
Loved the backside variations on the opening! Great idea to show her ALL the things she will need to know, because she is going to see this opening a LOT in her career. It wasn’t exactly my most creative moment in course design 🙂
Since you want to show her grown up handling, try to be in motion the whole time on these: maybe not FAST motion yet, but definitely in motion.
On the push-to-serpentine: try not to stand still quite as long on the sends to the backside, let her know that this is going to be a moving cue (:46 & :53) because you are going to send and move away as she is moving to the backside. You can be moving just a little but it will help her with the countermotion of continuing to the backside AND taking the jump as a default behavior.
Same with the threadle at :58 and 1:04 – don’t build in any stops or decels (dogs are brilliant at shaping us to change our motion) and also don’t cue the bar as a separate entity: the threadle cue means come in-go out, right? So steady, unchanging motion and letting her find the bar herself will set you up for those running threadles that I know you want 🙂2-3-4-5-6 section:
You can look for the perfect path on the FC 3-4 at 1:11 and 1:20. Your timing was REALLY good and her commitment was also really good!! You ended up moving a bit between the uprights of 3 which did not show the path to 4 as well, so she had to push back to find it at 1:12 and 1:21. Staying outside the wing of 3 to get on the perfect path to 4 will be a great commitment/timing challenge as well.On the 5-6: Ideally we can convince her to land from 5 and be facing 6 (that was a hard line!). A left cue (for the left turn that is almost 90 degrees, I think your actual word ‘left’ is for tighter turns) or soft brake arm can help there, all in the space between 4 and 5. You had your come cue going between 5 and 6 on the second rep (along with an arm and name call) – this is all the stuff she can see before 5 so help her land facing 6.
At 7 (Backside) at 1:30 – wheeee! She was such a good girl to get to the backside! She doesn’t fully understand the default to taking the jump yet, but you can isolate this like you did on the 1-2-3 line and show the steady motion with thrown rewards. You can help her at first by throwing the reward out to the landing side as soon as she gets to the backside… then start to delay it until she makes the decision to turn away to take the threadle jump.
You can also play with delaying the blind cross there so it is a forced blind (rather than a regular blind to a threadle) as that can help her find the bar as well.I like how you kept moving at 1:38 on the push to the backside and rewarded the default to jump! That was great training moment to show her what the real cue would look like (constant motion) without making it too hard with sprinting 🙂
You got the threadle at 1:46 (yay!!). There was a lot of deceleration to get it, so keep working in that smooth steady motion (no changes of motion) so you can eventually build it up to full on sprinting.Great job with these – she really has SO much understanding and skill already, the future is really exciting!
Tracy
