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Hi!
>>I need to re focus on working on her tugging more.
She has good tug drive, so you can bring it back in by just throwing the toy around, not even training or trying to elicit tug. Just sill throws or dragging it on a really long line.
>>And I’m feeling like I should be doing more to train a RDW. Any suggestions on methods or classes?>>
I hear great things about Kirsten O’Neill’s class! But there are so many options out there, I think you can do well with any of them.
On the wingin’ it video:
>>Got cream cheese! She’s a fan.>>
Ha! Of course LOL
This was mainly an exposure session, showing her that ye, 2 tight blinds in a row DO exist. That first rep was probably a “I HAD NO IDEA YOU WOULD DO 2 BLINDS IN A ROW!!”surprise response because she was almost automatically going to the tunnel.
On the blind to the center wing, I think she has heard “yes” enough with acceleration that she is assuming tunnel at this stage (like at 1:37) Be sure you are not blocking the wing in the middle after the blind, her questions were mainly not being able to see the wing that well and there was pressure (and yay-ing) to the tunnel 🙂
By the third rep, she had it (until you said yay and accelerated so she went to the tunnel).
>>0:58 – is this what you meant by saying to keep going on?>>
Basically yes – if it s a quick and easy fix, keep going if it is mostly in flow. But if it can’t be fixed or there is a stop if you fix it? Don’t fit it, just go with the flow even if you have to freestyle your way around a sequence in that moment 🙂
The race track was fun and easy 🙂 Super!!!
Looking at the set point:
>This was the first time she saw my cobbler together spider thingee and the first time she did an 8in jump. I think I should compress her distance a bit more so she doesn’t look like she is reaching so much with her front end to edit the bounce.>>
I would not change the set up at all – she needed to sort out the spider set up and the distance is fine. What you were seeing in terms of reaching with the front rather than powering off the rear is a product of the stationary target (that is my #1 beef with jump grids: stationary targets!). The dish is not something the dogs drive to, especially when you are stationary, so what you are seeing in her mechanics is her preparing to stop, rather than her preparing to power through the set point.
So rather than change the setup, change the reward and get it moving 🙂 The moving target reward produces pretty amazing form! You can out the cookie bowl on a piano mover and drag it 🙂 Or attach the toppl to a line and drag it. That will get her really jumping plus it adds in handler motion pretty early on in the training (which is a GOOD thing!) You can use a toy too. But the food might have more value here. And start off with a brisk walk, then if she is fine, go to a jog then running 🙂 That will give us a better picture of her form and help her sort out more powerful mechanics.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
The wingin’ it game is looking good! He was reading the cues correctly, including the rear cross (and those are HARD rear crosses!)
All of the verbals can come sooner, before he enters 🙂 The earliest ones were right as he entered. Ideally, he is still a solid 4 to 6 feet before the entry and you use the verbals. You can put a line down on the ground or a cone for him to pass (I am sure he will ignore it) to help you time the verbals. He was reading the physical cues mostly, and turning after he exits – the verbal cues coming earlier (before entry) will help him be turned as he exits – that will give you even more independence.
The only other thing to consider is on one of the rear crosses, you did the rear but then the go verbal. He turned left (correctly, per the rear cross) so for now the left cue will match the physical cue meter. Eventually the verbals will override physical cues, but not quite yet.
He was super fearless and happy to do the teeter games!
Great job getting him backing up the board! You can scoot your position further away so he has to back up a little more 🙂
He was totally happy to leap on the end of the board, but I don’t think he quite know what to do when he got there 🙂 he knows it is something with the end but it mainly watching you.
So, we can clarify that for him and give him a target for his feet on the bang game. A target will give him a strong focal point to drive to and stick too, but putting his front feet on and staying there til released. It will help create a nice, independent 4-on behavior. To get him started, you can get a piece of cardboard that is maybe 4 inches wide, cover it with duct tape. And then on the ground, teach him to smack it with his front feet and stay on it 🙂 Then you can add it to the end of a flat plank – go to the end and put your front feet on the target. And then when understands it, we add it back to the bang game here.
Mountain climbers are going well.
He might be pacing himself to your speed a bit – when you were ahead he was faster but when you were alongside, he slowed to your speed. I think there was a food reward already placed on the target each time, but if not – definitely have one there so he doesn’t feel the need to think about what you are doing.We can also help him think less about the mountain climber tgame and run harder to the top: do it at the very beginning of training when he is at his most spicy. And do a grand total of one rep – for a MONSTER huge unexpected reward. And when he wants more? Nope! Ha! Surprising him with a mind-blowing reward and then not doing more reps will actually go a long way to building up his drive to the top without stopping to think about the tip.
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
The behind the back start to the bang game works great! You can send her behind your back, cue target position, and start walking forward: can she stay in position while you move ahead? Eventually you will be running forward but start at a walk for now.
She was curling in towards you to be able to track the cookie delivery from your hand (poor starving Roux hahaha) so as you add walking forward, you can either toss the treat back to her or release her forward to it, to get her eyes off of your hands.
Nice job with the angled approaches! She didn’t seem to have ANY questions from any angle, and was lovely flying up the teeter and into her position. Hopefully you never ever see those crazy angles at a trial, but she will be well-prepared if she does see the,!
Two wings seemed to be more stable! Do you have something shorter but just as stable to use so you can start adding more tip to the mountain climber game?
The grid went really well here! Before making the angles harder on the jumps, the next step would be to put the toy on the ground about 10 feet past the last jump: that will challenge her learn to control her power and still have organized jumping. And if that goes well? You can make the angles of the jumps here a tiny bit flatter.
Great job!!! Have a great weekend!
Tracy
Hi!
For the toy experiment, a question: does she consistently play with toys outside when the agility equipment is not out? Just a grassy yard? That is a starting point – just play with nothing visible in terms of obstacles. Play Frisbee or ball or tug or all of the above 🙂 Then it becomes… can you just play with the toy(s) while a wing or jump is sitting out there? Not doing the wing or jump, just playing. That can build up into adding it to the actual sequencing.
On the first video, the running by the tunnel on the first sequences is legit – it is not really on the line and a young dog can be very literal about tunnel meaning to go on a dead straight line to a tunnel. She had a bit of a light bulb moment at the end when she realized that it was actually legal to shift leads and get into a tunnel. Yay! Nice job breaking it down for her!
On the 2nd video:
I liked that little circle sequence then go go go! It was helping her find the tunnel entries and also switch from handler focus for the turns to go go go focus. She did GREAT in both directions!!! I forgot to mention on Kaladin’s page that having the last jump further away was great!“I don’t eat bagels” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA you are better off without them, bagels are NOT helpful for running those giant UKI courses 🙂
Nice blind at 1:50! And she was GREAT with the go, looking ahead 1000%
Last sequence- she also turns really well on tunnel exits, so I don’t think you needed as strong of a tunnel turn cue for her either. That produced a lot of collection. The name and shoulder turn is probably all she needs there. The rest looked great and I am LOVING how she has NO questions on the go go go line!! Behold the power of peanut butter!!
Great job here!!!
Tracy
Hi! These are looking really strong!
A couple of small details to consider:
When running the big long lines, you can be more directly connected to her as she exits the tunnel. If you are running foward and looking forward, she looks at you. If you are running forward and looking at her (and syaing your verbals loudly to her over and over :)) then she will look ahead and not at you.
say you go verbals sooner and louder and repeat them 🙂The push wraps are going well!
You can show her a little more of the wing at :17 – she had a really nice turn there when she locked onto it!
Shge had trouble with the push wrap at 1:58 – you showed the wing nicely and were perfect in your timing of leaving… but there is a LOT of countermotion when you do that so she had a question and did not commit. So keep the perfect timing, but look behind you to the landing spot and point back to it with the opposite arm as you move forward to help her colmmit even with all the countermotion. Then you can drop the reward in behind you at the landing spot to help affirm her commitment.
On the next rep, you stayed at the jump a step or two longer so she committed, but your timing on the first rep was really perfect 🙂
The threadle wrap skill is coming along nicely too! As you build these up, you can keep your feet facing forward and just use your upper body (hands, mostly) to flip her away. You were doing a tandem turn and facing the jump with her, but we can fade that out so she flips away on cue and you don’t have to turn your feet. That will give you a tremendous positional advantage and a TON of speed on the next line!
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
This was a hard session but really useful to help you connect and move more! It is nearly impossible to be stationary and rely on verbals… if you aren’t allowed to use verbals LOL!! And the NZ courses are simply to big in yardage and too fast for you to be standing still at all.
The more you moved and connected (like 1:00 – 1:09 2:51 – 3:07 and 4:40- 4:53 were my favorite examples), the better she did. Yay! And you kept your arms nice and low, which really helped too. If you didn’t keep moving, she would ask good questions (hit a bar, come off a line, back jump).
>>Fusion thought I was crazy. >
She was paying attention beautifully!! And she didn’t seem to be getting mad. It looks like you were giving her LOTS of rewards, which really helped 🙂 She was a bit tired by the end and slowing down, so do shorter sessions.
I think this sequence was very too complex to do with no verbals, so the next session should be done on one of the easier sequences (like from the hot topics) but spread them out as much as possible so you can run run run. When you can run it clean without verbals… then you can add your verbals back in 🙂 That way we can prioritize motion and connection over verbals, which will really help you be able to drive her around those big courses.
So for the next session, take a look at the package 4 hot topics – that includes the course walk throughs so you can really plan your motion and connection (but not your verbals yet :))
Great job here!!!
Tracy
Hi! These went really well.
I agree, he is definitely getting more fluid with the threadle wraps! He had more trouble with the TW on jump 2 at the end… maybe because of the tunnel being right there? The rest of the TWs were fasters and the Push wrap with the untnel there was slower too. So maybe he needs to practice these with the tunnel close by! (You will actually see that in the games posted tomorrow LOL!)
On the sequence with the TW on 3:
Try the BC exit of the TW on 3 instead of keeping him on your left – that might be the fastest option there! Even with the extra yardage of the FC exit, it was still faster than the push wrap 🙂On the sequence: On the first run, I don’t think he needed that strong of a turn cue on the tunnel, he added more collection than needed. The rear crossed worked perfectly on the 2nd run!
Loved the TW on the first run!!!! He really powered through it!!! You can send him to the tunnel more so you are further ahead to set it to get a nicer line from the previous jump. And, leave sooner – decel but don’t stop entirely, and move forward again as soon as he turns his head and takes the first step to the wrap direction. That will be perfect!
The push-to-slice on 2 that you did at the end was the faster option, but I think that had more to do with his comfort doing that skill with a tunnel clsoe by. The TW and push wrap there were both harder/slower for him than they were in other places on this setup!
Great job here!
TracyYes! We have MaxPup 4 coming (probably end of September) and some skills classes (haven’t decided those topics yet 🙂 )
Tracy
Hi!
Sequence 3: This one had really good connection! A few ideas from the walk through:
Lead out more so you can be ahead and more timely with the blind in the opening 2-3. Remember that the blind starts no later than landing of 1… and if your plan has you on the takeoff side of 2, then you will be late 🙂
And as you added more of your speed, the connection was not as strong so the timing started to get late. Keep the connection as you run run run! But overall the plan looked really good.On the run:
Because of the shorter lead out, the BC 2-3 late at 4:24 and 4:44, which made the right for 3 late as well. Plan your lead outs to be miles ahead!He needed a turn cue before the threadle at 4-5. A name call or a brake arm will get him turning on 4 which makes the threadle easier. You got it when you stopped moving, but we want you to keep moving 🙂
On this sequence, for the 10 backside you do need to be on the serp line. On the first run, you moved up to the wing and rotated, so he was ready for a FC but then you opened up so she tried to adjust (bar down).
On the 2nd run you were in a better spot but stopped to help him over the bar, which pulled him off the line. So definitely training the independence will make a big difference on the backside bars so you can keep moving.And remember to drive the ending lines all the way through so he doesn’t look back at all 🙂
Great job on all of these!!!!!!
Tracy
This one is sequence 4, just for tracking purposes.
On the walk through:
You were not quite as connected here as you were in the other 2 walk throughs:
Exit line connection on the landing of 1 and exit FC at 5 is needed
and also through the backside at 8.
Seems like you had your verbals and motion added sooner but less connection – we want it all LOL!!On the run: The plan went really well!
The timing on FC cues starting can be sooner on both runs (starting your decel right after he exits the tunnel). Really good timing of the right cues before the tunnel and great backside timing ! You were connected here during the run, but I will keep bugging your to connect during the walk through too 🙂He got to the 8 backside but ran past the bar. I think that is more of a training thing to work on and not as much of a handling/planning thing. He got it when you stood still there, but we want you to keep moving like you did on the first run. So to strengthen the skill: lower the bar a little and angle the jump a tunnel bit so it is less severe of a backside (we want him to be able to see more of the bar). And keep moving through it, even if it is just as a walking pace. Then as you move past it, throw the toy behind you to the landing side to reward his commitment. As he gets better with you being able to stay in motion, you can add more and more motion as well as angle the jump back to the flat angle like it is here.
Hi! This one went really well too!
Small details to consider:
Positionally, you can be closer to jump 1 to set the serp line to 2, and that also puts you in a good spot for 4-5. When you walked it and ran it, you were on the line near the wing of 2, which sets a wider line. So when you ran it, being far from one had him jump long then turn after landing at 4:29 and 4:44 .As you sorted the plan on this one, the BC 4-5 seemed uncomfortable so you started looked forward to 5 when cuing the turn in the walk through, rather than back at your insivible dog landing from 4. When you ran thew sequence, the turn cues for 5 were as rehearsed, so they ended up late at 4:34 (wide turn and bar tick) and 4:49 (wide). So remember to plan for the next cue beginning basically as soon as you exit the cross and the timing will be very natural feeling and the turns will be lovely!
The rest was very connected and lovely! And nice timing of your right verbal before the 3 tunnel!
Hi! Overall, all of these went really nicely!!!
This one went really well! You had SUPER good connection in the walk through including exit line conenction. which makes a big difference for your run!
Add more speed into it – you definitely had to hustle with him, so rehearse the hustle in the walk through. That will help with the timing of the cross on 5 and on 8, because you can drive up to the position then decel so he sees the cues earlier. And as you add more of your speed, add the verbals in earlier in the walk through – all of that will be great for rehearsal, even on the simpler stuff. And adding verbals earlier gives you more time to rehearse, so you can sort it if you are saying right for a left turn 🙂
The runs went really well – only two spots to tweak a little:
you can start your cross at 5 sooner, as soon as you see him out of the tunnel and looking at 5.
For the FC on the backside at 8, you were sending from pretty far away in terms of being across the line (you were more on a serp line), so he (correctly) jumped out to your position which made the turn wide. To tighten it, plan to get right on his line (closer to the entry wing) for the FC rather than send him from a lateral position.The rest was really strong and super connected!!
Tracy
Hi! Lots of good work here! She is so fun!!!
Two tweaks in mechanics will help smooth these circle wraps out:
One tweak is to switch hands as you are cuing the wrap. The dog side shows her the wing entry but does not come across your body. As she is passing you, the opposite shows the landing side and your connection should also shift to the landing side.
Doing it all on one hand gets you tangled up when the hand comes all the way across you – it causes too much rotation. So then you have to really have to accelerate which catches her attention so she doesn’t always take the wing as your arm moves away too. The opposite arm and shifting connection will also help you be able to move forward and commit her behind you, even when you are passing the wing (so she doesn’t drive to the next obstacle without finishing commitment).
The other tweak is to be sure she sees the wing and you don’t block it by standing no her line. She needs to see it especially that first one after the tunnel and she definitely commits to it better when she can see it!
The wobble board looks great! She is definitely happier to be on it. She is still building up her core strength, though – look at how she starts to wobble and shake when she is on it 🙂 Since she is still building core strength, you can take your time building this up (revisit it a couple of times a week) and take your time building up the teeter. She needs a lot of core strength for both!
The race tracks and wing sends are going well! Those are bigger distances and that is GREAT! She did better when your arms were down and you had great connection like at :19-:22 and :53- :58 and 1:13 – 1:18 for example.
If you looked ahead (:28 for example) or pointed ahead with the dog side arm (:46 for example) she had questions and looked at you or came off the line. Sending with the outside arm worked well because she could still see the connection 🙂 So keep emphasizing that connection and I think you will see a lot of commitment!
>. a couple of times tried to send fro stationary to far away once in motion she has a good send.>>
On the stationary sends, two things were happening to cause her questions:
the dog side arm was high and forward, blocking connection. And the dog side leg did not step forward. So she was confused. But when you stepped forward or used the opposite arm so connection was clear? She was committing nicely!Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>> I used PB in a topple here which does involve waiting for her to finish licking her chops between reps.>>
I also use cream cheese, which seems just as yummy as PB and requires less licking of chops LOL!! Be sure to fling the toppl even out of the tight crosses to get her driving out past you. It will also build the Toppl as an indicator to drive away and not hang out near your hands hoping for a
>>I did the big lines drills from pkg 3 with Kaladin this evening and am planning on letting Lift open up on them (without the circle wraps) tomorrow morning.>>
Perfect!
>>But it will be good to have options since her big feelings tend to shift around to different things.>>
Truer words were never written LOL!! Adolescents are different every day LOL!
On the video:
Nice job on the tight blinds! Great timing and connection!
She did indeed have a question on the right turns on the wing after the tunnel…
>> I was looking back at her (since I saw her beady eyes as she darted behind me and jumped up), but is my arm just not back far enough when she’s on my left and approaching the wing.>>
Correct! I think it is the difference between being connected so she can see you… and seeing her but not really being connected, so she doesn’t see the connection and doesn’t have a ton of bandwidth for lack of info at the moment.
The arm position is the key: extended back to her with big eye contact makes a huge difference, When you move the arm forward to be parallel to you or ahead of you: it reads as a side change to a blind then when she reads the indications that it is not correct (you hesitate or stop), she jumps up.
Something similar happened at 1:49-1:51: great connection on the exit of the tunnel, then your arm moved forward so she had questions. And it is possible that it is even harder on right turns so the connection has to be even clearer.
I grabbed screenshots so you an see the difference in connections when she was successful and not successful:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JpW6F8yvtErT-K0JB2VpEf5_Ix0Nw9MLSmzA5Qoo0Hk/edit?usp=sharing
Rewarding her straight was good but amping up the connection will help too – you can keep her moving and drive her right back to the tunnel, then amp up the connection and arm position on the next tunnel exit. I think this will also build more resilience to the little bloopers of connection (we humans are NOT perfect, Lift, sorry!) because the bloopers are not paired with stops or hesitations… they are paired with ‘keep running no matter what’.
You can really see her regulating that at the very end where she found the wrap to the right even with the countermotion!! WOW!!!! You just kept going and so she figured it out. YAY!!! You maintained connection back to her while she was figuring it out and kept handling. I think she just has trouble with big countermotion (like all young dogs do) so dropping the toppl behind you at the wing as you leave for the next line will totally help her build up the skill.
Great job here!!
TracyHi! Nice work here!!
Super nice double blinds at the beginning here! Good timing (especially at :16), SUPER connection (very clear as you looked downwards and kept your arms low) and nice running lines! Yay!
He had some trouble with the wrap on the center wing, going to his left… you were looking at him a bit too much at first (add in shifting your connection back to where you want him to go, where the landing spot would be) but then even with good connection shifts and repeated toy throws, he was surprised by the countermotion and had trouble with it. I think it was a left turn thing… it is just harder for him to turn left there for some reason.
This did not seem to be a question for the right turn on the other side: SMOOTH AS SILK!
So for the left turns, really exaggerate the handling with decel and connection shift then big obvious reward drops right next to the wing. He will sort out those left turns 🙂
The one jump serp looked good! He had one little blooper at 1:57 – maybe you were further past the jump there so he had a question? You made it clearer on the other reps and he was perfect.
2 jump serps – you can add a little more direct connection and open up the serp shoulder more to show the lines. It looks likes you you were pointing forward to indicate the jump then as he approached it, swinging the serp arm forward. You can go directly to the serp arm – that will let him see the serp info sooner so he can organize jumping towards you sooner.
If he has trouble, you can angle the jumps a bit so you don’t need to change the cue. The angled jumps will help him see the line more easily and organize the jumping effort while you run 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
