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Hi!
>>In general, I want more GO with Differ so she can cover a lot of ground without me supporting her. She’s got enough natural handler’s focus to get turns.>>
I agree with wanting more Go go go and line driving with small dogs! Extension and commitment are the name of the game in her height class – and then we get turns while maintaining extension. The small dog turns so NOT need to look like big dog turns, in terms of weight shift/collection. With the smalls, we try to cue on time and then let them set up what they need to do to get the turn as fast as possible with minimal collection. That is partially because it is faster that way, and partially because they are built really differently than the big dogs so they use their bodies differently. The fastest small dogs out there are NOT the ones with the very tight turns 🙂 they are the ones that know how to get on a line and GO 🙂
You can see this in play on your minny pinny – she is setting up her own turns! Note how on the first rep at :03, she is on the center of the bar on the 3rd jump, looking at the slice line, lands then turns. Now watch that turn percolate – she is efficient so she changes her style: next rep at :06 she turns her head over the bar. Then when you move the camera angle, at :10 she is taking off for jump 3 on the inside of the bend (yes!) and turning her head before takeoff (double yes!). She does it at :15 going the other direction as well. Be a little later on your strike cue, let her land with all 4 feet then cue it – she was sure happy to drive to the toy and dropping her form when you cued it as she was taking off/jumping (she hit the bar on the last one at :33)
Now the next step is to get her to turn her head more to enter the grid – you can accomplish that by starting her on more of an angle, so she is basically lined up on the exit wing and then you send her into the entry wing. Then we let her natural brilliance and efficiency work its magic LOL! If you see her turn her head as she approaches the entry wing, you can mark it (quiet yes marker, I am sure you have something like that you can use) and then reward at the end with strike cue.
Also, nice job getting your reward in low because it keeps her head low. I think she is doing a great job sorting out the turns here!!!Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
The technical difficulties were no trouble at all – it was only a few seconds but I know how slowly time moves when the tech is not cooperating 🙂 Zoom was relatively well-behaved yesterday LOL!!I think that Kai did well in class yesterday but I agree that he was not his usual self. Usually, with the young boys, hormones are not an issue at 6 months (plus there are no girls in season around, right?) It is more likely that his molars are setting so he might be a little painful in the mouth? Or he is having a growth spurt, which can make pups sleepy or sore, or distracted…. Or even a slightly upset belly can be the cause.
You are handling it fine – lots of rewards short sessions, etc. Give him a couple of days off, with no training, and see how he bounces back. And if he is still a little not himself, you can head to the vet and see if they find something? Keep me posted, let me know what you think!
TracyHi1 I bet going back to school has been hard! Hopefully it is going pretty smoothly, New York is leading the nation in making good decisions from what we see from the outside.
She did well here! I think the set up, visually, can be swapped to make it clearer for her: the single upright can be the post you send her around, and the 2 wings can be the ‘jump’. And between the 2 wings, you can lay a pool noodle or a jump bump on the ground for her to lock on to – that can help her see it as you are moving. You can help her by moving the manners minder to more where she can see it coming over the bump – she is young so we can help 🙂
As far as which games to do: I like the wind in your hair game for her, where she starts by learning to find the jump and then she learns to run to it (again, just a pool noodle or jump bump for now, no need for a bar). And has she learned a tunnel? If so, you can start the smiley face games 🙂 If she hasn’t learned a tunnel yet – let’s teach her a tunnel, I think she will enjoy that 🙂
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! It is fun to see your videos! Thanks for coming to all the live classes 🙂
The dogs are all doing really well! I am impressed with your stamina, running with 3 dogs (plus the pup!)
You’ll find themes with each dog, but in general: your ‘regular’ connection looks great and you are really emphasizing your exit line connection, which is really helping them!! My ideas/suggestions are focused on other details because your connection was generally spot on 🙂Dash: Great job on the connections with him!
Course 1: great exit line connection on the front cross! You can start the FC sooner: as he is landing from 1 and looking towards 2, decelerate then before he passes you, start the turn. The goal is to be finished and showing exit line connection before he takes off. The timing of your FC on the 2nd sequence was earlier, you showed very clear exit line connection, and his turn was great!
The 3rd sequence had the spin: your connections all looked good but you can totally start this one sooner too – as he lands from the previous jump, keep moving forward but decelerate so then you can rotate as he passes you.
The earlier cues will challenge his commitment, but that is why we are here 🙂 If you stay connected like you were, and you decelerate into the rotations rather than slam on the brakes, I think he will do a great job 🙂Lily (first video) Your regular connection and exit line connection on the first sequence both looked great! You can cue sooner but decelerating and rotating before she passes you. And, for the tightest possible turn, stay closer to the wing on this FC as you turn and exit – you were running on a path closer to the tunnel, so she went a little wide chasing your path.
Course 2 – once again, lovely connection!!! You are rocking the exit line connection! As with the first sequence – try to be earlier on the FC so you are rotating as she is passing you. On the 3rd sequence – the spin can come sooner 🙂 I sense a theme here! On your spins, you tend to wait til the dogs are in the air and then spin, but we can move up the timing on those: as long as you move forward and decelerate while you are moving forward, I bet they will commit when you start the rotation just before the pass you.Lily video 2: You are doing a great job with your ‘regular’ connections here! I think the front cross can be a bit sooner, but you can also exaggerate the exit line connection here. This was the only time where it was not as clear (at least not compared to the others, which were perfect :)) So she was a little wider on the exit of the turn.
Pearl: Also nice connections with her! O nthe first sequence, you can be earlier on the front cross and, like with Lily, stay closer to the line of the wing to set the tightest possible line.
Now you are going to chuckle: your timing on the 2nd sequence with her (front cross) was my favorite timing of yours on these videos! She committed! She was turning tight! But she back jumped. Hmmmm…. LOL! I think that is more of a training thing than a handling thing: Connection and timing both looked *lovely* so we need to convince her to come around the wing independently and not back jump. You can start that by embedding just the wing in the sequence rather than the full jump – it is easier to wrap the wing when you are on time like this, and harder to back jump. And then you can use this timing and reward on the exit line when she comes around the correct side of the wing.
On the 3rd sequence, you were late on the spin, maybe helping her to not back jump. Understandable! But it makes for a wide turn and she slows down. So I think we can work on getting her to finish the wrap of the wing and not back jump when you cue early and leave, so you can be on time. Embedding the wing into the course is the first thing I suggest, then throwing a reward back to her as you run away and she exits the wing wrap will help too!
Great job on these! Let me know if my ideas make sense 🙂
TracyHi!
>>“To make that feel more comfy, you can kind of anticipate the timing: when Juno is lifting off, you can start the next cue because you know that landing will happen right after liftoff” because I tend to cue on commitment vs them landing the obstacle because that seems REALLY late to me. I’ve done a lot of OMD stuff and if I understood their 3 c’s (Connect, commit, cue) correctly in that order, then what you said above makes more sense. >>
I think as the sport has evolved (or at least as our understanding has evolved :)) I realize that if we commit and *then* cue…. we will be late. Connection is actually a commitment cue – so we use connection to both commit AND cue the dog – plus using good connection allows us to be as early as the dog will let us be. Juno will let you be pretty early, plus we train for the dogs to understand the cues from way back (and, also, a TON of verbals 🙂 and I think most or all of the OMD people in the US now use a ton of verbals as well)
I think of it as a turn cue or an obstacle cue as a hamburger of info, delivered as a unit when the dog needs it: the entire hamburger which includes bun, meat, lettuce, tomato – however the individual likes it 🙂 Back a few years ago, when we were trying to connect then commit then cue, it was like giving you a hamburger in parts: the bun then the burger then the lettuce then the tomato (then the fries lol). The dogs much prefer getting as much info as possible at the same time, rather than in bits 🙂
So the connection and motion the dog is seeing implies commitment – and if they don’t understand it naturally, we can totally train it.
>>When I was doing this exercise I was thinking it was more about awareness of where your dog is vs waiting for that moment to cue?>>
100% correct! We cannot cue at a specific moment if we do not know where the dog is. If you can see Juno, then you can easily get the timing 🙂
Let me know if that makes sense 🙂
TracyHi! Yay for videos! Dottie did a great job here! I think she is a total lefty on this set up – her left turns seemed more organized and independent even from the harder angles. Her right turns got more and more organized as they went along.
One thing I notice is that she was bending nicely on the 1st and 2nd bar, but looking up on the 3rd bar – because cookies and momma haha 🙂 So you can use you reward placement to kee her bending. For example, if she is turning to her right, you can have the cookie in her left hand and draw her across your feet to continue turning, in order to get it. And vice versa – when she is turning to her left, the cookie can be presented from your right to keep her turning. You did this on the very firt rep, so keep doing that and present it nice and early so she keeps turning to it.
The turn away reps were DEFINITELY hard LOL!!! My dogs looked at me like I was nuts, just like she was doing here haha! You can totally help her at first with a bigger hand cue – start with left turn away on this, I think it is her easier side, and it might help get the concept more comfy. But the hand cue and a little leg step will also totally help and they are pretty easy to fade out.>>After I watched it I saw a few things I should do differently but then you wouldn’t have anything to write (haha).>>
What else did you see that you would do differently? I am interested to hear your thoughts!
Nice work!
TracyHi!
>>I’m not sure if I’m handling this right….>>
The handling instructions in the demo were to “do whatever you need to do to make it work” LOL! You pretty much did that – when the wing was on her right shoulder, you were pretty exaggerated and that worked! When the wing was on her left shoulder, she needed you to face that first interval more to turn her into it. You got it by leaning back a bit and that helped for sure! Also, an old-school front cross (starting her on your right and then front crossing to your left) will work as well.
She was doing a really nice job of figuring out her leads, and that is exactly what we want! Yay! As her understanding gets even more developed, you will see her start to do this sooner – she was doing it right as she arrived at the wing here (probably figuring out the pattern) but it got earlier and earlier as she understood it more.
And nice job with the stay work – I love how she would get the cookie then go line herself up at the wing again LOL!!!Great job!
TracyHi!
This set up worked really well!! You were patient and clear on each element, and it really helped her. That one extra moment of help on the push got the ball rolling and then at :31 you didn’t even need the push.
Once the wing gets to a certain point far enough back (like at :56 and after), you don’t need the right cue anymore because that might actually cue a turn that is too tight for the angle there. You can use a physical cue on the send and then immediately start the push cue.
The serp element looked great and the reward placement was spot on (I think she landed on it on the first rep? LOL!) So now… using this same set up: add more motion 🙂 Let’s challenge her to do things as well as she did here, with you moving faster through the serp. Have the wing start in the flat position to get the motion going (so the serp jump is not a backside) and then you can move it back out. You can still step to the backside a tiny bit to help support that, but see if you can move away with progressively more and more speed. Maintain your connection, though, it was great here!!!
Nice work!!
TracyHi! The extra distance away from the set up here gave her an extra moment to organize her speed, and she did really well! I like that distance as a starting point for her. Her turns towards you were great on both sides. The left turns away were very easy for her – she is a total lefty on this set up 🙂 The right turns were much harder when turning away – she was offering left then would catch herself and go right LOL!! She might have just been trying to go fast – so you can hold her collar, start saying the cues – and watch her head – don’t let go until you see her looking in the correct spot. If that is still too hard, you can start the right turns in an easier position (then gradually move them back to a harder start position). The left turns can stay at this spot, she did well on those!
Great job! Let me know if the right turn away idea makes sense 🙂
TracyHi! Great job in class today, it was so fun having there live!!
>>Ok whew because I talk a lot!
Ha! Same here LOL!
>>Who is this little bean who’s having so much fun! It’s like we’ve unlocked “her happy.” I can’t tell you how much joy this brings me.>>
Yay!! She looks like she is super happy AND she is serious about going fast. So fun!
This session went really well – she is finding the jump like a pro. There were a couple of blips of connection: On the tunnel sends at :14 and a little bit at :35, you looked forward to the tunnel and not at her, so she had a question (she didn’t go at :14 and veered into you a step or two at :35). Compare that to the great camera angle at :54 on your tunnel send: you had your dog-side arm back and your eyes right on her eyes, perfect connection: so she accelerated to the tunnel. Yay!
I think her question when she didn’t take the jump at :51 was also a connection question (harder to see because it was away from the camera) – it looks like you looked forward, which broke connection and pulled her in to you. Also, the toy throwing arm was getting ready to throw, which is something worth looking at according to Eden LOL! The other reps were all really connected so she had no trouble.
The lateral distance is looking good! You can move the jump even further away from the tunnel. And you can also run in closer to the tunnel and wait for her for a heartbeat… then drive forward to see if she can drive ahead of you to the jump.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>However I’m not really sure why my arm was floating in the air after the send before it came back and down in most of the reps. I think I’m going to blame lack of caffeine.>>Generally I blame centrifugal force but I also like to blame lack of caffeine 🙂
He did really well here. When you were connected immediately after the barrel wrap (like at :03,:23, where you were pretty immediate and also at 1:42 where you were not as immediate but still nice and early). But when you looked forward and didn’t connect til you were between the uprights up the jump, he went past the jump (:28) or was wider coming in to the jump (:48, :52, 1:09, 1:37). This is good to know: connection is helping clarify the serps for him! So, as you move away from the barrel, add more connection and look back at him more (no peeking forward as you run LOL!) I think that will make for very tight serp lines coming into the jump. The exit lines all looked great, and also the FC wrap looked great too.
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! He is doing really well – he has added speed and is shifting his lead legs, which is exactly what we want. I see what you mean about him sometimes not being able to catch one of the intervals – I think part of that is the learning curve of the set up and not relying on waiting for your handling, and part of it is developing the coordination to keep repeating the lead changes. So, I was mulling it over… and I have an idea LOL! Start with the first 3 wings at this same distance… but have the 4th wing further away (6 or 7 feet?) and the 5th wing even further (8 feet or so?). That should give him time to get the balance and rhythm back and get into the next gap (he is consistently getting the 1st and 2nd gap, it is the 3rd gap where he might lose the lead change, right?)
We will be progressing on this in a couple of weeks, so it will be fun to see how we can help him find his rhythm as you add more wings.
Let me know if that makes sense!
TracyHi Lori and Paco!
Wow, I am impressed with his left/right turns on the first video: powerful and fast but also turning really well!! He got the right turn at the end when he had to turn away – it seems to have caused his brain to hurt for a moment, it looks like he went for a zoomer? That can happen when we add something new and difficult.His left turn away from you on th 2nd video was awesome, maybe he is a lefty? He did start to get distracted towards the end – you were creating a ton of success but it is possible that there is so much thinking in this game that he can only do 2 or 3 reps before he needs a brain break 🙂 My dogs all go through that on the hard stuff too! So maybe set up the sessions where you do 2 reps then a break or do something else, then come back.
He is muscling up so nicely now that it looks like you can add more jumping challenge – have the noodle/pail as one of the outside wings of the minny pinny, and a jump bar as the middle wing. That will give him practice turning over a bar.
Sends’n’serps
he did a great job finding the serp jump even with the tempting reward out ahead – brilliant! He also nailed it when you were way ahead AND moving faster. And no trouble at all with the wraps to balance it. Check out how he is leading with his head around the wing on the lalalala wraps at the end! SO nice, such lovely turns.
You can add more speed to this now – send to the wing and run through the serp. Wheee!>> I don’t think I had my hand up enough on the serp.
This is my only suggestion for you – have your hand held out a little more back towards him, extended away from your body, so your shoulders are turned to face the jump. That will make it more serpentine-looking and will help when we make it harder 🙂
>>He had no problems doing it though
Correct! He nailed it! He was reading your connection and your position perfectly.
You can also add in the new game from today, where we proof the serpentine right next to a tunnel – I think he is ready!
Great job! Have fun 🙂
TracyWow, this looked great! Your left turn exit on the first rep was fabulous! Nice timing of the verbal and physical cue. And his wraps looked really good too (nice verbals!) And by doing the turn exit on the tunnel first, you made it a little harder for yourself on the go (because he might have been expecting a turn). But you really emphasized the connection (arm back, big eye contact) – BOOM! Nailed it. Not only did he read it nicely, but he found a new gear of speed AND turned so nicely on the wing. You are beginning to rotate and leave earlier on the wings, and he is doing a great job of committing AND turning. Happy dance!!!! Great job!!!!! He is really looking terrific!!!
T
Hi!
>>Keiko was really focused today, and seemed really happy to work.
I think she is really enjoying the cooler fall weather!! She looked fast and happy on these videos 🙂
She had lovely speed and found the jump perfectly when you were driving ahead on the first 3 reps here. On the go on at :21 where you were stationary – she committed but she wanted to know why you were not moving haha!! You can throw a little earlier on those (where you are stationary) so she drives forward without looking back at all. When you had a similar go on at :50, you threw it earlier and she drove out with no questions (you were also a little further up the line). At 1:34 you were in the same position and also tossed sooner – we can see Keiko’s confidence growing because she didn’t look back at all on that one!! Good throw there too!
The lateral distance at :34 – not a problem at all. Your sequence of the wrap then a turn on the tunnel exit then a wrap the the go on worked nicely to help her pay attention! You had some figure 8s in the middle with front crosses, and she read those really well: note that she is leading with her head to make the turns, 1:41 was a good example of that! It creates nice, bendy turns.
One small detail: when sending her on a go or get out, try not to say her name right before it. On the sequence that started at 1:39, you gave her the around cue then the get that tunnel cue 🙂 then you said “Keiko get out”. The name call added in there caused her to think about coming to you for a heartbeat, so she slowed down. You can also see it at 1:57 – you said her name, she shifted towards you, then you told her to go on so she had to shift back. She drove the line better when you said “get out” or go on without her name, like at 1:35.
My only other suggestion is to move more and send less – she is doing well on the sending but she checks in or slows down, especially as she starts to get tired. So be sure to do lots of reps where you are moving along the lines too.
Because she is finding the jump so nicely, you can now move to the rear cross game that go added this week! Have fun!!! Great job here 🙂
Tracy
