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Good morning!
He did really well in both sessions here! Both the width and the handling (angles and motion) were highly successful! Super! So…. tighten a little more. If this was a 4 inch width, try 3 inches and repeat the handling challenges. He will let you know how he feels about it all. I am guessing he will be fine 🙂
And we might see striding at 3 inches? If so, that is when you can start adding the real cue and also put the training into an every-other-day routine, so we don’t over-work the repetitive behavior.And you can still do handling challenge stuff on 12 poles that are still 5 inches open or so 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>> Well, darn. I just wrote you a short novella to go along with our video from today, hit the wrong key, and all the text evaporated. So, I’ll try again…>>
Ugh, I hate when that happens!!!! At least in this software, hitting the “back” arrow has gotten me back to my novellas.
>>>First and foremost, Keiko is fine. No limping, no hesitations to do anything physical
Excellent!!!! She looked fine in the video here too.
>>I found our work today, and the resulting video, rather interesting. You’ll see that I started with the second set of poles offset, nudged them closer, and then did the last 4 runs with them both straight up, about 16″ apart. >>>
>>Her pacing was interesting. I noticed in the first sets with the easier pole angles, she entered the straight poles with one leg through, then bounced the rest of the way. When the poles were all straight up, she tended to use single legs and/or a walk, and then bounce on the way out.>>>
Yes, interesting session! VERY high accuracy, which is good. I think she is officially in the “think less, weave more” stage (I am in that stage with my medium sized dog, Hot Sauce, who thinks deeply and is 100% in it to get it right LOL!)
So a couple of ideas:
First, I think she finds the game with the wings to be stooooopid and boring LOL! Noted! She just doesn’t seem to get a thrill wrapping the wings here. So you can use a tunnel instead of the weaves 🙂 I have found that certain dogs just think certain games are stupid. LOL! I don’t take it personally. I think she will enjoy the tunnel (it is on my list for Hot Sauce today too)Second – you can structure the sessions a little differently: start with an easy, slightly open warm up. Then close the poles top almost-but-not-quite closed, maybe an inch open, for a couple of reps early on before brain or body gets tired, and then end with a couple of easy speed reps. That will help with striding so she rehearses the striding we like and ends with easier versions of it.
>> I’m not going to worry about it at this point. >>>
Agree! We plan ways to make it super fun and get her super silly – then that plus the understanding will result in striding.
>> A couple of my Aussies have actually used the single step to get into the poles, then bounced the rest of the way. >>
yes, that lead change is part of the weight shift, I believe.
>>One thing I noticed was when the poles were all straight, she seemed to want a second cue of “through” for the second set. >>
That is fine! Some dogs prefer it (I say poles poles poles poles poles) and some don’t like it (my smallest dog finds it distracting and misses when I do that).
>> However, if I’m going to be cuing more than once, I’m wondering if I should switch to my usual weave cue and drop the “through.” What are your thoughts? Too soon, or are we ready?>>
Yes, add the real cue, because there is real weaving 🙂 Start it on the slightly open poles when you get the bouncing, so it names the bouncing. There is no rush to close the poles, so you can keep them a little open for now to add it.
>>I do think we need to do a few sets from the lower part of the clock to keep that fresh.>>
yes, and that would be fun to do from a tunnel!
>>What should we focus on next? Is it good to mix things up, or should I work on straight poles, but father apart, then gradually bring them in closer. Do we go all the way around the clock, or stick with the top section? Looking forward to hearing from you!>>
The main thing to work on is speed driving to the poles, as that will translate to striding. So try replacing the wings with some tunnel fun 🙂 with slightly open poles for a few sessions.
Then yes close them up, but have the 2 straight sets further apart, maybe 4 feet so she can bounce bounce and go fast 🙂I like to at least spot check all the way around the clock for now – but when we are getting her driving into poles that are straight, I do it from head on, high speed 12 o’clock entries 🙂
Getting the poles to 4 straight at normal regulation distance is the lowest priority at the moment 🙂
She is doing really well! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
About striding… how tall is she? She might be right on the line where either striding works, so we will let her choose 🙂 and if it looks uncomfortable or slow, we can help her out.Hi! This also went really well! She was not as coordinated with her jumping on the first couple of reps, but then she got it – neutral position requires her to think more!
Only one suggestion for you: alternate sides more frequently. Do only 1 or 2 on the left, then switch to the right for a rep or two, then back to the left… and so on. Your set up was PERFECT but if you do too many reps in a row on one side, she isn’t really listening to the verbals, she is just assuming she should go the same way like at 1:45 when you wanted right and she went left 🙂
So start it in easy positions but changes sides a lot – and then gradually work your way to center on both. That should really help solidify the verbals because she will listen more and assume less 🙂Great job here!!!
TracyYay! Great job with the turning away, that little bit of hand help really got her going nicely. Super!!! I see what you mean about her doing it on her own 🙂 I am really glad she likes it…. but also you can use the cookie rewards to keep her with you and line up for the next rep: line her up and have her do the minny pinny, then as you reward, use the cookie in your hand to also move her to the new position for the next rep. Or, reward right away and use a 2nd cookie to line her up 🙂 She won’t be sad about any extra cookies LOL!
Great job here – onwards to the neutral position below!
Tracy
Hi there!
He is doing well here! A couple of ideas for you as you add more motion and excitement: When you are behind, you can overcompensate for the curling by rewarding him on the other side so he turns away to get the reward, or releasing and tossing treats to that side or forward (using event markers so he knows where to look and go) – but the release to the treats on the yellow target might not be a reward LOL! So you can also use a toy out ahead (that will be both a good challenge and strong reinforcement!).
The cone added QUITE the party to it! LOL! Good boy. With the added excitement, feeding in position will help with the weight shift. And having you move more slowly helped too. I was tracking where he was successful and where he was jumping/pouncing into position: 2 things stood out:
try to start with the ‘get on’ side of the wobble board (closer to the cone) on the ground so the target side is up – that was when it was more leapy for him for whatever reason.He also seemed to do better when you were behind or parallel and decelerating, so keep moving past slowly…. casually walking past for 2 or 3 more steps until he has stopped and shifted back while you are moving. Then you can build it up to running. You can also use a toy: tugging, then let him drive across the board as you walk by, then reward with the toy (thrown back to him with the marker that he can move to get it).
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Big progress here!!!
The first downhill video looked really good so going to the end position was the right move. Excellent job introducing the concept, with the bang game warm up, some back chaining, then running down the board entirely. Yay! He did great. Just be sure to help him turn around LOL! And I think you need to tape the target down – he is hitting it with more force now (which is good!).For the next 2 sessions, do the exact same thing as here: little bang game warm up, quick back chain, then down the whole thing with tip. I think you will be able to add some more tip pretty quickly!
Question – how is the target fading on the plank going? He is just about ready for several big pieces to come together, so adding that to the routine will be a good fit for stuff coming up soon 🙂
And fingers crossed for good weather so the teeter can go live outside for a while too 🙂
Great job and safe travels this weekend!!
TracyGood morning! So much great stuff here!
Question – what are the AAC (and CKC) rules about the dog putting front feet off the board while the board is in the air, so front feet touch before the board hits the ground? I know it is fine in Europe, and fine in UKI… but it is a fault in USDAA and I think the AKC judges might be horrified LOL!!! I am asking because I think she wants to do that (you can see it on the first elevator rep) and I LOVE when they do it, but not if it will incur faults. My Contraband is doing it too but he will only be competing in UKI where that teeter performance is admired not faulted LOL!! If you don’t know, I can put the question out on Facebook.
I ask about it because the elevator game is looking really good! One little detail is to have her hop on closer to the end like you did on the 1st rep. On the 2nd rep, she was further up the board so she stepping into position later than the first rep. But I am loving how nicely it transferred to outdoors!
I am not surprised that she was perfectly fine with the rebound game. She has been super confident with everything so far! And her leaping into her Tee position looks great. This game can be revisited every now and then (especially on new-to-her teeters), but you don’t need to spend much time on it.
Downhills – I guess the hardest part is getting her to not kill herself jumping on LOL! She was cracking me up though, what a nut! I am glad she is feeling so confident LOL! Note the focus to the target at 1:22, yessss! One thing to add is to clarify the release. If you are going to throw the cookie back and she can move to get it, that is perfectly great but I suggest a specific marker for that (I use ‘catch’) versus the formal release to come off the board, versus a ‘that was good, I am coming back to reward you’ marker (soooo many words LOL!) I suggest it because you had yes marking things a lot and I don’t know if she fully understood when she should move or not, and I want to be careful we don’t accidentally create self-releasing 🙂 And because she is so wild for this game, reward in position by going back more, to help convince her to stay in position.
She doesn’t drive as fast when you start behind her but that is fine for now, don’t obsess on that too much, we can fold it in more later on.Another question: how is the target fading going, on the plank? That will be something we add to the teeter games pretty soon, so be sure you are making progress on that too 🙂
Great job here! I think she is doing really well!
TracyGood morning! This is getting exciting, we are close to the full teeter!!
>>Jumping on the end for food is now his favorite game >>
I can relate, I work for food too LOL!
Downhills: Good start to this! He did a great job here! A couple of ideas to keep progressing this track:
For now, don’t hang back, move with him and past him. He is decelerating more than we want when you hang back, so we will leave that alone for now and revisit it later when he is more experienced with this game an we have convinced him to smoke you and go all the way to the end. Based on the bang game… it will happen, no worries there LOL!Also, have the up end start higher so as he is running to the ground, there is less tip – he is stopping a little short and less tip to the ground will help that. Then when he goes directly to the end of the board, we can gradually add more tip. I used my Teach It to keep one end pretty high, and it was a great balance and plankrobatics game for my dogs to leap onto the end and turn around (which seems to have increased their confidence a lot too, a nice side effect of not having a table LOL!)
His targeting is looking really good and he got better and better about not looking at you or self-releasing to the cookie bowl 🙂Bang game:
He definitely is nailing the bang game! He is basically the perfect demo of what to do. You can use it as a warm up before the full downhill runs to help keep the joy of being at the end nice and fresh in his brain (and taste buds). He is doing a great job of leaping into position right at the end, looking at the target, weight shifting and holding position. All the things!
He actually got FASTER with it as you added height too. Wow! That is unusual in a great way! You need no more height on the bang game now, it looks parallel to the ground. So I think using it as a warm up for the other downhills is a good use, and doing easier versions of it in different places will help generalize the behavior.Elevator game: Mechanics are looking good and he is definitely getting the idea of the game. Note how he was starting to focus ahead on the target! One suggestion: be super consistent with the countdown so he can be prepared and ready for the teeter to drop (especially with the next level of it coming :)) You did something different with the countdown each time – this is probably the only game where we need to be as perfectly consistent with the 3-2-1 Target as possible.
I bet he would be fine with more height on this too, which might allow you to stand also.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I think he is getting it now – his little feet were going to the right spot just about all the time. YAY!!! He did get a little confused when you were behind him at the end and when you did the rear cross, but that is fine because we don’t need to focus on those for now.
I think you can do 2 things: start him closer to the edge of the board so he leaps into position on the plank (like he will be doing on the bang game) and also, name it. Hold him, say your target cue, let go, let him leap into position then reward!
My guess is one maybe 2 short sessions of this with the name… then we put it onto the teeter. It should be easy to transfer!
Great job!!!! This is a big important piece of the puzzle that is coming together really nicely!
TracyHi!
The vacuum provided a nice distraction! And he was definitely looking forward more 🙂
He is doing well on these and it was good to add angles to both sets. He did have more trouble finding the straight entry when you were moving (he really had to slow himself down to think about it) – so that is the place to hang out for a few sessions in terms of same angles and you moving slowly. When he is driving to that entry with you moving slowly, you can start to add more of your speed. If he is successful with that, you can then angle poles 3-4 more. My guess it will take several sessions to get it but that is normal and fine 🙂 The straight line approaches from 12 o’clock are hardest with motion because they require the most collection for now, so you can definitely work more of those and then I am sure he will be fine with them too.>>Overall, though, I think I did way too many reps even if this isn’t real weaving yet! I think I need to give myself a certain number of treats or set a timer on my watch to make sure I don’t overdo it>>
Since you mentioned it, I counted: 40 reps. Yep, too many! With poles 1-2 straight, he is doing repetitive weave behavior and actually striding, so you have reach the spot where less is more 🙂 Setting a timer or only bringing out 10 cookies is a good tactic so you don’t keep going for too long. He is close to having the poles closed, so the less is more approach is totally useful 🙂
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyGreat question! Yes, if there is something you want to train or a course you want to run with a weave challenge, you can start with ‘easier’ poles like open 2x2s or channels to work the skill – then close them up and try them. That definitely saves the dog’s body while allowing us to train the concepts 🙂
TracyHi! Both videos were really nice sessions! You did a great job mixing up the angles and he did really well finding the angles (especially on the fireplace side, he was impressive!) That extra moment to line him up really helps him be successful, and he was doing well on both the sends where you were stationary and also when you were moving. Super!!!!
So – I suggest one more session just like this, with a couple of reps on each side. If it is highly successful, the next session after that can be the same in every way except you can tighten up both sets of poles a tiny by, maybe an inch for both of them. You might find that you get to that within a day, or a couple of days – his success will lead you.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
I am super happy with how this session went – he was finding both straight sets and also doing the correct “bounce” striding. Nice! Since you left off at a 5 foot distance, start there on the next session and then inch the poles in closer together by maybe 2 inches at a time, tops, over the course of several short sessions. You will probably see him be highly successful for the first while, then it gets harder – when it gets harder, sit at that level or give back an inch for a few sessions. This is exactly where I was with my dogs who are the same size as him 🙂And the new camera/phone sounds NICE!
>>Question on how he is exiting the 2nd set. I used Nemo so he would be more excited and run more, but I am noticing him exiting towards me a bit as opposed to staying straight on the reward line. Is that an issue if he’s not looking at me when weaving? Because if the course went to the left next, I’d want him exiting that way.>>
I don’t think it is a concern, as long as he is looking straight in the poles til he is done – you can throw a bit sooner, but it won’t be a problem when the poles get added into courses and there are other things to look at and drive to.
>>2nd question applies to weaves but is a bit more general. It has to do with his relaxed outlook on agility 95% of the time. He’s definitely a thinker and gains speed when he understands what he’s doing and he’s still young (almost 18 months), but I am starting to feel like he should be picking up more speed than he usually shows. >>
That is a bigger question for sure! Yes, conditioning will help but also a combination of stimulation and experience and maturity will help too.
By stimulation, I mean the goofy tricks that get him pumped up before he does an agility thing, such as barking or jumping up or spins, or anything that gets him a little wild. That takes time to build but it worth it before training sessions at home and TOTALLY worth it in new environments.
Experience is all about getting into the new places – and for many young dogs, that suppresses the behavior that they ‘know’ so we see either over-arousal or under-arousal. I think that this generation of Covid pups will take longer (they will be older than previous generations) to get into the right state of arousal in new environments simply because they have not had the same early experience to work through. For example, with my 2.5 year old dog, she was doing silly things outside the ring at agility and flyball for a LONG time, long before she was asked to go into the ring and do things. So it was a pretty easy transition into the ring because of the 14 months of hanging out outside the ring. My 2 youngsters? Not even close LOL!!! So I am being careful to not expect them to go into the ring at 18 months or 2 years like all of my other dogs did, because they have not had even 1/3rd of the experience in that environment that the others did.
And, maturity… baby dogs grown up and get fast at different rates. My Voodoo is one of the fastest dog in the country at 20″ (or at least was in him prime, not so sure anymore now that he is 8). But – at 18 months, he was gangly, immature, NOT fast, very handler focused, but very good looking LOL! It was fine, I was thinking I would have a medium-speed and very consistent dog, so I kept training and introducing him to new places, and play, and letting him mature, and figuring out which silly tricks pumped him up. Somewhere around 2.5 years old… boom! Switch flipped, so fast I was left in the dust. Maturity!
And every dog is different – my dogs that were fast at 18 months were immature too, so while they were super speedy they were also very wild and a little over-aroused. I think Elektra is going to be like Voodoo – thoughtful and slow for a while, and that is fine with me LOL!>>He slows down if the space is smaller/more restrictive or he isn’t sure about the footing because it is new. He is also pretty sensitive to the environment (other dogs/people moving around). So maybe I am seeing a stress reaction to environment but last night in class he would barely get out of a trot for an easy jumps/tunnel handling sequence. >>
yep – environment suppressing behavior. In that situation, I would think back to the steps we would have taken in normal times that we could not take due to Covid, such as regularly hanging out watching dogs run courses or hearing dogs barking in crates, while doing silly tricks. That would explain why it is harder to transfer agility training to a new environment: lack of experience in processing those things, while also being asked for difficult behavior (sequencing).
For picking up speed to the poles… use a tunnel instead of wings! That gets the juices flowing.
And for the RDW – my Hot Sauce didn’t start really running on the plank until after I started the a-frame and after I started the whole dog walk… then the light bulb went on and she was fast fast fast!
One of the things I am planning with my youngsters is a catch up period for all of the ringside environmental stuff they missed (Elektra has had ZERO of this, Contraband has had maybe 10% of what I would normally do) – several months of just going to different places, doing tricks and stuff near distractions, and asking for the simplest possible sports-specific tricks. Maybe by the fall they will be ready to show off their sequencing skills in a harder environment, but their responses will let me know.
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
