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Hi! This was really nice!!! He was fast and sassy – I can’t remember the last time I heard him bark in excitement on course. Yay! He seemed to be moving GREAT and looked like he was feeling very confident. Yes, he thought the rear cross at the weaves was weird LOL but that is fine đ The rest looked great.
The next step is to see how he feels the next day, physically. Make sure he till feels loose and not tight or sore.Great job!
TracyHi!
>Since this is already set up in my yard I was going to practice it some more later this week and just set her up in different parts of the circle to change it up.>
Sounds good!
> Iâm not sure if I want to do it separately or do it when I get her spayed. I always get nervous when dogs have to be put under.>
Yes, that is legit, I don’t want to put the dog under extra times if I can avoid it.
>Just to clarify, putting the wrap on her actual pads doesnât make it slip?>
If you are using power flex, you will get more grip with her pads wrapped – I think of it as unwrapped pads are like running in socks, and wrapped pads are like running in high level grippy sneakers đ
>Iâve already been thinking a lot about being very picky as to what judges Iâll show her under and what venues to run. Probably just UKI (judge and facility dependent) and ISC. Sheâs just very different from Emmie and the lines/spacing are going to be a very big deal for her.>
Yes, especially in these early days of trialing. Picky is the way to go!
>One thing Iâve been struggling with is when to actually raise her bars up. I feel like I should raise them because sheâs 2.5 and I want her to get used to the height she needs to actual jump. But at the same time she seems to be having a hard time figuring out her jumping in general. My goal this summer was to do a lot of jump grids/exercises to get her used to her actual height and get her stronger.>
One of the conditioning exercises that I think would be high on the list is hind end organization and strengthening of hind end and core used to tuck it in. It can be as simple as stands to tight tuck sits to start (I use some of that conditioning in jump work too, to help the dogs sort out hind end). And then the full height bars can be introduced both in the straight grids where they provided a set point for her, and eventually at the end of bending grids too.
Let me know how it goes!
Tracy
Hi!
>
I think as soon as he understands that it is a magic cookie area, he will be happy to partake!
>This is kind of what barn hunt is for us and I think we might start scent work as my husband is interested in training Ronin in that if he canât get rehabbed enough to do agility. Even if he is, we might do that anyway!>
Fun! And even though nose work is a relatively ânewâ sport, there are some cool studies about how it is really great for the dogâs brain and body!
>And regarding the mats, itâs interesting you think he is shorter strided on them. Heâs not very fast and they feel pretty sticky to me so Iâm surprised at that idea but certainly not discounting it. >
It is something I have seen a lot and since a lot of your MaxPup classmates run at this facility too⌠I see it in their striding as well to varying degrees. You probably wonât see him slip. You will probably see him shorten up and slow down (my Elektra is like that).
> I would consider trying to go back up at On the Run to train again like I used to, but this location and timing and instructor works out so well for me Iâm not sure that will work. >
It is a hard call – yes it is convenient and the instructor is good, but if he is rehearsal unwanted behaviors then youâll want to pursue other options.
>I was wonderfully oblivious until one time Reacher choked on a Zukes that heâd eaten out of a Lotus ball and it fell out of his mouth and it was like the air got sucked out of the whole place. I was like âWhat? Whatâs wrong everybody?â and then I got the talk about how next time Iâd have to pay $50 for that. Eeek. Sorry no thatâs too much pressure when it wasnât like I intentionally threw the Zukes on the floor or a big thing of cheese or anything. >
UGH this story crushes my soul. I was hoping they would chill out about the food there but at this rate, they are going to end up limiting the people who want to be there. Not good at all!
>But on to some video! So yesterdayâs training class was pretty interesting. I tried the teeter again with someone standing kind of close by. He bailed again. But now after watching the video I do not think itâs the proximity of the human thatâs the issue. But will be curious to see what you think.>
Hard to know for sure: the âjudgeâ was right there then she got weird by freezing and turning away, that is just strange behavior and the dogs know it LOL! You can ask people to just act normally when they are nearby LOL!!!
He did seem to be looking at her but it may or may not have anything to do with the teeter question. The thing to try is a teeter with no one around and see what he does.
>So based on the fact that he hopped off the side towards the person, and even wandered closer to her I am not sure thatâs it. I>
He might have been trying to check out what she was doing or who she was.
> Maybe there is pain. >
This is also a possibility – the teeter is one of the last obstacles the sports vets add back after rehab for injury, because there is a lot of slam on the dogâs body. The times I have experienced regression on the teeter have been pain-based: one dog had a UTI, one dog had a luxating patella. Got the medical issue taken care of and then there were no more teeter issues. And I have certainly seen other pain-based issues in other dogs crop up.
>Iâm trying to get massage this week and we have chiro on Saturday. He has no regular vet appts until Oct. but if I need to do mid-year check up of course I will. >
Might be worth it, because he is a good age to do baseline bloodwork and x-rays of the hips/spine/etc.
>ButâŚI may have them check that teeter because another dog in class (an Aussie) who is solid on the teeter did it, but I noticed he was really looking at the floor at the tipping point both sides like he thought about bailing.>
Yes, if it tips too slowly or moves weirdly, the dogs will start bailing!
>The first part of the video is a bit of our warm up and I was getting him a little excited and there was an exciting dog in the ring so he might have gotten a little too wound up. I kind of didnât care because he was barking more.>
He was definitely pumped up! It sounded like some of the barking was âyeehaw!â And some of it was alarm barking? But I donât really know his âvoiceâ all that well đ If you feel he is tipping over into overarousal, you can add in a pattern game to balance him back to optimal arousal.
>Regardless, Iâll be curious to see what you think about this, but thinking to do only teeters at home for a bit and start back at the beginning of the training plan for with it barely tipping, etc. and see how he does.>
Yes, but clear any potential pain issues first – training at home if there is pain will make things worse, so we want that to be clear before adding more training.
>Then, he did a nice dogwalk contact but could not get that weave entry. Tried again later and still didnât get, so we quit with weaves again too. Seems we stopped weaving and now the teeter. Either young dog weirdness or pain or something else. Need to get to the bottom of it either way.>
There was a jump right on the other side of the weaves – maybe that is a visual he has never seen? But also yes – weaves and teeter are very hard on the body so there might be something going on. He was really doing great in the weaves so to have both the weaves and teeter disappear are cues for further investigation.
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
Having a strong stay so you can get the food into the bowl is awesome! And the reward was visible for most of it (it was out of frame when the jumps were angled, but that was no problem).
She was consistent and smooth with her mechanics here, both with the straight jumps and angled jumps. Super!!!! What was the distance? She can do a slightly bigger distance, I believe.
>Was using food and she seemed blah so I put a toy out and she was like wtf you want me to do with this so I went back to the bowl lol.>
I think the âmehâ feeling you got was because the food bowl was a little close and it was stationary⌠so she was actually decelerating, preparing to stop, rather than powering through. Definitely get the targets moving as soon as she shows understanding of what you want, even if that only takes 1 or 2 reps. You can use a dragging toy, or you can attach the food bowl to wheels and drag it đ Youâll see her really power through! Fun!
Nice work here!!
Tracy
Hi!
Either one is a good next step, they have all sorts of stuff appropriate for her level (and higher level stuff too :)) CAMP is only offered in the summer, and the MasterClass can be done whenever đ
Have fun!
TracyYay for the coordinates! She was definitely moving better!
There were lots of failures on jump 1 – remember to make things much easier if you get 2 failures, to keep the rate of success really high. It was hard to see what exactly was happening at jump 1 (she was just outside of the camera view) but when you are too far ahead and and moving into the release pretty quickly, she avoids the first jump – that is a consistent thing so lead out less, stand still for a few seconds, really connect, then release to set her up for success.
>Good news is she did the big loop exactly to my handling. >
Yes but also there was a moment early on where she came off the line a couple of times. I think that has to do with jumping mechanics more than handling, so you can set up speed looks where you basically trot or job along and reward her randomly for finding jumps. Start with a lower bar if needed (and also keep pursuing xrays etc to make sure there is nothing going on – she is moving MUCH better on grass but still avoiding jumps so you will want to be sure youâve looked at all the options).
>On one part I was too far behind and she cut in and didnât take a jump and another one I think I was too much on her line so she went around. >
Yes, you can work on her having a better understanding of staying on the line but those spots looked more like she was struggling with mechanics a bit and pulling off the line.
>One of the reps I had her take jump 5 and wrap back to me.>
Yes, that was super nice!!! And she is totally moving a lot better on grass.
> So sheâs really trying hard to listen and watch my cuesâŚI felt like the wrap back to me I was actually timely and she did it so nicely.>
Yes, I agree that she was really listening to the cues and it looked great!
>Iâll wait to hear back but Iâm really just debating not trialing her on mats anymore. >
I agree that her form is very different on the mats, and that is not a good thing at all – that is where frustration and injuries can happen!
>I donât want to keep rehearsing that at trials when I canât fix it. >
>>However I would like to keep taking class there because itâs the closest thing to me in the winter. Plus we can work on it then.>>I agree that you donât want any rehearsal and the other thing to note is that you canât fix it in training on the mats either⌠you might end up just teaching her how to jump with poor/restricted form or frustrating her by stopping her a lot to bring her back to do things. She was getting a little stressed by that at the trial. So the only possibilities would be to see if you can wrap her feet over the pads enough that she has more grip and can move normally. And if not? You might need to find alternate winter training (turf for example) – even if it I less regular, it is better to have fewer sessions with good footing and mechanics than to have more sessions on poorer footing and rehearsals of unwanted mechanics.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>Had the BEST weekend so far with Wayne and agility!>
Yay! This is awesome!!!!
>Overall he was a rockstar, but we did find a few triggers I need to work with him on.
For those triggers, how did he do with the volume dial games/eating food? You can also do pattern games, because those can really help him regulate the arousal changes he had when encountering the other dogs.
>Several times he looked over to the other dog leaving the ring and Wayne was definitely overaroused. Several times I struggled just getting him off leash because he was so amped. >
Before taking the leash off, if he is locked onto another dog, you can ask for a simple behavior like a hand touch or following you with a bit of âshadow handlingâ or a high 5, whatever he likes to do that can help break him out of looking at the other dog.
Plus, it was SUPER QUIET in there which probably made the barking of high arousal dogs stand out even more to him. It might be easier to ignore them in noisier trials.
>We also had an on course distraction with a dead lizard in the dirtâŚLOL!>
Ewwww! LOL!!!
>His 2nd run on Friday he hit his first ever 6 string of weaves in flow and in trial! >
This was great! He got right into the weaves there like a professional!
>Over the 3 days he successfully hit 10 our of 12 sets of 6string weaves!>
Wow, good boy!!!! The weavers run looked great – he got his poles really well and also found his lines really well. Super!
â¨>His other big accomplishment was the dog walk (remember I commented on this in our last zoom) He attempted the DW on Saturday and made it about 2/3 the way across the top and stopped and bailed off. First run on Sunday with a DW he took the whole thing and hit the contact!!>
It is great that he is feeling good about getting right on the dog walk!! Yes, we donât want him jumping the contacts but I am happy with his confidence in terms of getting right on the obstacles.
Congrats on all of the success – the Q is nice but the other stuff are all BIG WINS and very exciting for the future!!
Tracy
Hi!
>So next time, hands down, mostly. Eyes on dog eyes. Move! Trust!>
Yes – trust, connect (because it is an important part of the cue), and use your arms to run not point đ
> Iâm happy with the progress she has made in the last few trials. >
Me too! Significant improvements!!
>Oh, absolutely on the caffeine! Two cups, strong and black, every morning!>
Coffee is the key to success in agility, in my opinion LOL!!
Have fun!
TracyHi!
>My new mantra is âheâs doing the best he can with where his brain is taking himâ so itâs up to me to help him do better. As much exposure as I can to new and novel sights and situations. >
Yes, that is exactly what he needs! He gets better and better as you continue on this path.
>Have him entered in a seminar this Thursday â topic is stopped contacts, something that he does have in his toolbox. I did that on purpose, taking a skill he has to a new location with new people.>
That is smart! The skill doesnât have to be challenging when the environment might be challenging.
â¨>Motion is tough for him â wait until everyone is settled before bringing him put and setting him up.>
Yes, coming in when everyone was walking out is hard! So if possible, especially at a trial⌠wait til everyone has settled before bringing him in. But since that is not always possible, bringing him in early and doing tricks for treats (for now, eventually without treats) will help him get used to people moving.
â¨>When I lost him at the start line, it was to a new dog in class standing up by the fence line â he needs to check out new so I just have to always be aware of that.>Yes – but also remember that the transition at the very start is a hard moment for him (and for all dogs!). He was focused til you threw the leash away towards the ring edge⌠that drew his eyes directly to the new distraction and off he went. He is sensitive to how long it takes and also to the leash throws, so try to get the leash off fast and just drop it next to you rather than do big long throws that might cause his attention to follow the leash.
â¨>Reward reward and reward â all errors were mine. Stopping a sequence without rewarding will lead him to check out.>
â¨Yes, this is an important one! I think the most important thing is to NOT stop. Just keep going even if he is off somewhere doing something, or if you have to make up a sequence. For example, when he went to follow the leash/see the other dog, you called him back, reached for him⌠and he was a little unsure about coming back. Instead, just start the course without him and run an invisible dog. Just ignore him til he rejoins you then keep going and reward when something goes well.This can happen on court too – handler error, dog error⌠doesnât matter, the run never stops. Then you can reward when something goes well!
When you were a little late on the blind and stopped and walked away, he was struggling to stay motivated. So always keep going no matter what đ
>We have a couple of trial runs this Saturday. My plan is to pick out some short 4 or 5 obstacle courses and run them. Iâve got to hold myself accountable for sticking to the plan! What usually happens is I get to the line, say we got this and run the full course â overconfidence or denial? >
I think our brains mess with us: the course looks very doable compared to what you do in class, so the training plan gets abandoned⌠but that doesnât help him. Yes, hold yourself accountable and make it a great experience for him.
>This time maybe I shouldnât walk the full course LOL.>
I love this idea LOL!!! Just walk the section you are going to do đ
Nice work here! Keep me posted on how the weekend goes!
TracyHi!
He did super here! Yay! He seemed to have no questions about finding the jump with the tunnel there.
You can throw the toy sooner on the reps where yo are not turning to the tunnel, so he can continue straight on the line and not curl in towards you – try to throw the toy as soon as you see him lock onto the jump.
And since he did so well, you can start cueing the turn to the tunnel sooner: when he is approaching the jump during the layering, but before he takes off, you can start the FC to the tunnel and see if he still commits to the jump.
Great job!
TracyHi!
The Go reps look good! And so do the RCs. That first RC is a left not a right, you caught yourself after the fact LOL But good RC line so she read it anyway on the RCs.For the backside wrap:
Throwing the toy to landing was good – she was getting to the correct side of the jump but then was not sure what to do with herself. As you move forward past the wing, you can help her by looking back to the landing spot and throwing the toy there. You hung out on the landing side longer on the last rep (3:20) but you will want to keep moving through and throwing the reward to the landing side so she doesnât rely on your being there.
>I added the barrel for a reminder for the back side wrap. I donât even remember training it in level 1>
Having the barrel in for a couple of reps is fine, I am not sure it helped more than the reward placement on the landing side but either way you got some good reps in. Now⌠fade it out asap đ because it can get caught a a lure/aid for jumping form that is hard to fade if you leave it there too long.
Nice work here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>I cheated a little and had the favorite toy as the one I threw lol but he seemed to get it pretty well!>
Ha! That is not cheating, that was smart training. Otherwise, he might have just locked onto the toy on the ground.
The session went really well! He was not even looking at the toy on the ground on the first balance rep where you went straight: awesome!!! He looked at it a little on the 2nd go rep but that was mainly because your toy throw was a little late and he was not sure where to look.And by comparing the go line with the RC (like the last rep), it looks like he is truly reading the RC line! That last rep was a really strong rear cross and it was created by him following handling, not by the toy on the ground. Super!!!
You can start playing with all of the wind in your hair skills in one session: go, rear crosses, FC wraps, backside wraps. That will keep both of you really locked into the handling cues.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning! Was this her first session? I thought it went great! It is a pretty weird/hard skill and she was happy to go do it.
You can give her a bigger visual on the jump to lock onto – I think the low jump bar might have visually gotten a little lost with all the other stuff there plus your motion. A big jump bump will pop more visually, so she can probably find it more easily.
When she was running past it on your left side, I think it was because you were going fast so she was going fast, and the visual of the dog walk might have drawn her past it a little.
Since we donât want to move the dog walk and we donât want to add extra handling, you can send to the start wing from further away on that side and do a slow jog rather than run up the line.
Also, rather than a go verbal (which she might be interpreting very literally as go straight even if there is no obstacle :)) you can use a jump verbal and see if that makes more sense to her.
She did great on the other side, there was only one drift in between the jump and the tunnel in the video (:51). She might have come off the line as you started looking forward and getting ready to throw the toy. The other reps were strong!
Overall, this went really well so for the next session, do a quick warm up like this then open up the tunnel to add that visual and add the advanced level.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning! She is definitely getting the idea here!
>She tends to jump at me a lot while she turns away. >
One small suggestion that I think will really help: as you move your arm back to start the turn away cue, let your eyes follow your hand as it moves, rather than look at her. That will draw her focus down to your hand as your hand leads her through the turn, which also turns your shoulders to the line. When you look at her, it keeps your shoulders straight so there is less info on the turn cue for her to follow.
>less motion from me. >
Yes, that is the other thing that will help – as you decelerated more during this session on the video, she got better and better. The arm and leg movement should be relatively slow for now because going too fast or trying to do a quick hand flick doesnât give her time to process the cue. She followed the cue really well with the hand movement going slow and low đ
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
He did really well with the flatwork rear crosses! He is getting the idea and that is also helping with the RCs on the jump.
>He has a really hard time working when he knows the toy is on the ground somewhere else.>
Yes, the toy on the ground is hard but it really helped him direct his focus to the line you wanted. Super! You might have to put it a little further from the wing, it looks like he turned really well on the last rep but plastered the wing trying to get to the toy.
It looks like he had trouble going to the start wrap with the toy on the ground, so you can exaggerate the cue by using a big step to it (and you can be closer to it) so he goes to it (even with the toy on the ground on his mind :))
With the toy on the ground:
You can add in balance reps: Have a 2nd toy in your hand or pocket. And, even though the toy on the ground is on the RC line, you can cue him to go straight. That should take him past the toy – it will be hard! But he is a smarty and can do it. Then when he goes straight, you can give him a toy from your hand or pocket.
Great job here!
Tracy
