Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi! These went really well – they are HARD to do but very worthwhile.
>>Here are the comparisons of our walk-through to runs. It’s a lot tougher with him still versus Túlka. I don’t know where he will be yet so it’s tough to imagine his position. I don’t see him yet in my head when I do the dog cues.>>
Yes, it is a LOT harder with the young dogs. That is why I ran a couple of these with Ramen and left in my bloopers 🙂 I could have had an easy time running them all with CB or an even easier time running them all with Voodoo… but there is so much good learning about the youngsters that it is worth it to do this with them 🙂
>>I’m still not getting things on the first run so we need more work here.
Getting it right on the first run with a baby dog is not really expected as we begin this process… but you will very soon be able to nail it! Ideas on that below 🙂
>>Just setting the 5-minute timer for a walkthrough still adds pressure and throws me off. >>
That is GREAT!! Learning to process through pressure is perfect and also all of the science tells us that if we learn/rehearse in the same state (arousal, pressure, etc) as we are asked to produce the behavior in (arousal, pressure, etc) then we are FAR more likely to be successful 🙂
A couple of main takeaways from your walk throughs that will make a massive difference:
When the plan is handling from ahead (all of these sequences have us handling from ahead), you will need to rehearse looking back behind you for the dog. You were looking forward immediately on almost all of the sequences here. That throws off your timing, because you are rehearsing timing turns and line cues when the dog is already at the next jump, but those cues come when he is still behind you on the previous jump.
For example on the sequence 1 walk through, you can add in looking back for him as he exits the send at 1 (so you can cue the turn on 2 when he exits the wrap) as well as exit line connection on the FC 5-6, which keeps you connected back to him as he is jumping 5… and you can then start the turn cues for 6 when he is jumping 5 🙂 Same goes for the FC on the 8 backside: maintain connection to him behind you and on the exit, so you are well-rehearsed with the line and connection.
And maintain that connection all the way through the walk through, so your brain does not have to manage doing that (plus all the other things) for the first time during the run.
You were connected on the run, but your brain was working that skill for the first time and that caused other things to slip. Human brains are NOT good at multi-tasking 🙂 But the human brain is very good at rehearsing which is why we want to rehearse properly: the timing was pretty much what you rehearsed when you were looking forward so the right verbals were late on 6 because you had rehearsed doing it when he was arriving at 6 (rather than as he was exiting 5).
Looking back at him when he would be behind you will immediately improve the timing because you are more connected to where he actually will be, and cuing at the correct timing.
You can see that on tunnel 3 and jumps 4-5 on sequence 2 as well – connecting behind you as you finish the cross will allow you to start the cues for 5 before he even lands from 4.
>> He wasn’t a help during the walkthrough so I tied him up for the third one.>>
Yes, he was distracting 🙂 And that caused the end of the walk through to go a bit sideways LOL!
During the run, you were very connected! The cues were late though, due to rehearsing them late by looking forward.
And this sequence opened up another thing to consider in the walk through: your running lines with him behind you (related to looking ahead to soon). By looking behind you, you will see that you either have to keep driving forward and not layer the next line (you were too far ahead) or get in closer to the 5 jump, so he can catch up and be sent into the layering line. By looking ahead immediately, it gives the impression that he will be ahead on the 6-7-8 line but the reality was that he was still behind you at 5. So on the first run, you hit the brakes hard on 6 (he started to turn) then you tried to send him ahead with verbals – he tried to adjust but hit the bars.
By looking back behind you, you will see that he had a lot of yards to run still so you can either keep moving forward (not layer) or plan to stick close to 5 and send him ahead smoothly.
Skipping back to sequence 1 – you can move along the line from the tunnel exit 4 to the FC on 5 for longer as well – connecting to the invisible dog as he enters and exits the tunnel will help you feel that you have more time to support 5. You stopped a little short and had to send to 5, which delayed the FC there.
>>For the third run I knew during the walkthrough the difference between the threadle and backside didn’t feel right and I felt like I wasn’t helping him. >>
This is another spot where planning the lines by looking for him behind you when you are ahead will smooth it all out. You were ahead on the 4-5-6 (threadle) and 9-10-11 (backside) lines – that would mean the cues would happen on the 4/9 jump. That could be the turn cues for 4 and a threadle cue before he lifts for 4. And the backside push cues starting when he is back at 9 – verbal plus more line support (parallel line motion) and connection, so you see him committing before you move away to 11. It is hard to “see” young dogs in walk throughs, but planning by looking back to where they will be will help make it all feel smoother!
One other thing to add to the plan revolves around the tunnel: plan to be watching the line to the tunnel entry, so you can give your cues when he is still at least 6 feet before entering (and connect to the tunnel exit as well for the next line). That will help make the 4-5 line on sequence 1 a lot easier (you can be cuing the 5 jump before he enters 4), as well as the 3-4 line on Seq 2 and 7-8 line on Sequence 3 (go go go!)
So the main thing to do for the next runs would be to look back for him, deliver cues back to him (physical and verbal cues) until you can visualize him committing to the next line. That will improve connection and timing!
The other thing you can do if you are not comfortable with your plan is to watch the video of the walk through before you run him. You can look to see if your connection is clear to where he would be and if the cues look clear to the dog behind you.
We have more coming tonight on the exit line connection, so take a look at those before trying the last sequence here – it will make a big difference in connection and timing.
Great job here!!!
Tracy
Hi!
For the decel, practice without her so you can sort out what feels best:
You can think of it as “fast forward, slow forward, rotate” or “lean forward (dropping your shoulders like a sprinter), stand up (get upright), rotate”. As you do this, give yourself something to run around as you decelerate, like a jump wing or big cone. Decelerate enough so you can get close to it and have your hand on it while you go around it 🙂 That is HARD lol! It is a game I learned from a running coach who was fixing my running transitions.Also, try the Drink In Hand game as part of this – decelerate enough so that you do not spill the drink. It is posted here:
>>Should I have a separate command for a threadle wrap?>>
Yes, highly recommend a different verbal because it is such a different behavior. I repeat the word “close” for my threadle slices and repeat the word “in” for my threadle wraps.
Tracy
Hi! I hope Muso is feeling better, please keep me posted about her and ALL of the dogs.
>>This one kicked our butts and I had to give up. This is our last try (3rd Try I think) after a lot of messing around in the tight group of jumps and getting really frustrated.>>
Oh yes, this is a beast of a course especially with a youngster! All of the obstacles in the way, all of the layering, eek! You had a ton of great skills showing here! And it will all come together – this is a good course for skill training with the youngsters, not necessarily trying to run it all as one course yet, so working pieces then walking away was perfect.
The opening line was hard for 1-2 – The wrap cue alone was not enough on 1 to get her off the line to the poles (motion did support the poles for a step or two at :07 and :20 plus I am sure she is getting a TON of value for finding poles at this stage of training). You can isolate that by rewarding just for the wrap and alternating a soft turn cue with a weave cue.
Turning her to the other way on 1 was a good compromise but watch your right foot at :27… stepped right to the poles so Muso said “I GOT THIS MOM” lol! Good girl!
MUCH better line of motion at :34 then things got rolling nicely 2-3-4-5! Nice job finding the backside at 6 with the tunnel entry highly visible.
If you are feeling spicy, you can do a BC to a threadle wrap at 6 to get way ahead for the 7-8-9 line. That is a good skill to work, getting the blind to threadle wrap with the tunnel right there!
NICE teeter at :50!!!!
A little too much ‘here’ before the DW at :53 pulled her off of it, but I would just chalk it up to lack of experience doing the dog walk in course work. For now, she probably needs a little more support getting in it, but she won’t need that for long.
The RDW looked good! YAY! You can give the Zoom cue for the weaves earlier, so she drives through the down contact without looking back at you – exact timing to be determined as the RDW continues to build up, but for now try it no later than the top of the down ramp and see how she does.
Nice send to tunnel 12 and layering the 1/6 jump!
The tunnel exit sets up the line to the 13 backside, so be sure to use the verbal to support it along with some motion – I think you were calling her more than saying the verbal, but it was a little hard to hear.
Looking at the 14 jump: This is a WICKED part of the course! So many clutter obstacles all around a technical handling section!
Your first few reps had a slice plan, going to the far side. This had a lot of yardage so might not have been the fastest line, but still a good skill to have.The FC on 13 at 1:23 put you too far behind for the push to 14, plus you said here and the outside arm was up across your chest… all of which pulls her in to the front. You went to the backside verbal sooner at 1:38 but almost pushed her to the weaves exiting the FC.
I think the blind cross instead of a FC on the landing of 13 will give you a lot more time to show the backside. The opposite arm is fine to use as a get out arm, pointing ahead of you to the entry wing of 14. If you point it to her, it draws her into you.
I like the threadle wrap better for her at 2:00 as it is less yardage and she can turn really well – you were a little out of position there but you totally nailed it at 2:43!!!!! YAY! Super!!!!
>> I don’t think we have the skills to get 16, unless I’m missing something…>>
That is probably the hardest section of the course. I put it in there because we are seeing this now on European courses, which means it will be hitting North American shores pretty soon. A turn cue on the tunnel will help – you said left but it was a little late so I am sure she didn’t process it in time. You can let her see more of you turning away to get a bit more turn.
But mainly… the dogs need a very independent threadle slice cue to threadle with a layered dog walk. I don’t think Muso even knows such a thing could exist! I am 1000% sure my 2 year old dog doesn’t know this either LOL!! So you can start teaching it from the tunnel but without the dog walk there. You can lay a line on the ground so you won’t go past it and begin by threadling from a distance. That line can be at the tunnel exit to start – then work it back so it is at the middle of the tunnel, tunnel entry, etc. And alternate sending her to the backside of 16, getting the threadle, and getting a super tight turn on the tunnel so she goes to 17 and not 16 at all. Good tools to have!
When she can do that, we add in the layering concept: I start by just lining up jump wings on either side of the tunnel, to simulate where the DW would be over it. Then you can eventually move the dog walk back into place.
This will take probably a few weeks to build up, so take your time and break it down into small pieces. There is no huge rush for this skill, because it has not hit our courses *yet*. I might revise that opinion based on what we see on the European Open courses this weekend, and at the West Coast Open and Canada Open coming up soon 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning! Nice work on the sequence here!
>>Had a lot of trouble getting jump 2. I know I was using a high arm and probably losing connection. Have to try to stem this. Do you think this was the problem here?>>
Yes! That #2 jump was the only hard part. The first rep had a really good blind and yes, you can keepo your hands lower but if your arms are high and you are connecting below them, she is generally fine with that connection 🙂 Because you are tall, connecting *under* your arms can work really well too (it is how a lot of the European handlers do it too!)
You were a little early with the blind at :23 so she didn’t take it, but you kept going which was great. After that? I think something happened and she was avoiding the jump a bit:
At :45, the blind might have been a little too early too and also it sounds like she was choking on a cookie a bit? Then stopped taking it entirely at :52 and after for a few reps, then when she *did* take it, she was setting up the jumping awkwardly like at 1:46 and 2:12 and 2:57. She dropped the bar at 2:12, but then took it perfectly with the bar down at 2:33!She also had a little bit of avoidance on that jump when it was the 6 jump at 1:30. Yes, you disconnected a little but she drifted behind you and away from the jump.
So my guess is that something felt weird happened and she was avoiding it: maybe the cookie choking moment? Or maybe the light was making it harder to see: she was going through shade with some sunspots so the visuals might have been odd.
Either way, I don’t think it is something to be too concerned about because she did great on the rest. You can throw a reward to her for that jump a lot of build up the value for it, since she was concerned about it for some reason.
Two small details for the rest:
– The front cross on the backside on the 6 jump went well! You can decelerate into it a but more so you can stay closer to her landing line – that will set up a tighter turn. Your momentum caused you to step back across the bar, which cued a wider turn. Compare to how tight of a turn you got on the push wraps on jump 11 at :38 and 2:28 – those were SUPER tight because you stayed close to her line (but got out of the way when she needed to run that line).
– You can send to the 9 tunnel from further away – can you send to it without going past the exit of it? That will make the blind to the push wrap easier (those were really well) and it will also make getting past the 10 jump to set up the threadle wrap a LOT easier. You did it at 2:50, but you had to turn on some serious hustle to get there and the turn cues back to 11 were a little late so the turn was wide. Sending to the tunnel from a lot further away will make that section a lot easier 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!!
<, I feel better already about what I need to do. In addition to leading out with more connection, handling more aggressively, and cuing sooner and bigger, I need to work more on being able to run ahead of contacts and weaves.>>
I am glad you are feeling strong in the plan! When training at home, take simple behaviors and get him WILD with his toy 🙂 then run a really simple sequence or do a short lead out. That will help teach him work through internal arousal – because being in the trial environment is very arousing, in a good way! (There is a TON of science that supports working the dogs in the same ‘state’ they will be in at a trial, so I always try to work the dogs in relatively high arousal – starting with simple stuff will set up the most success, and then you can gradually add the more complicated stuff. If things are too hard (2 failures), even with behaviors he supposedly ‘knows’? Make the behavior simpler but keep the arousal level high 🙂
Plus he will move faster like this, which will give you a better sense of the timing needed for him at trials.
>>I have been training with food instead of a toy>>
Don’t be afraid of the arousal that the toy brings 🙂 It will serve you both well in the future! And you can still use food to trade for the toy. Is he in a group class? That can help him learn to process arousal too!
Note about arousal and adolescent dogs: At not quite 2 years old, he is FULL ON adolescent LOL which means his toughtful, decision making brain areas are simply not fully developed yet – and that means he might need more time to process cues (so give them early) and might have trouble regulating arousal (this is why we train in arousal, to help his body learn to self-regulate). And support him a LOT because it is hard to be a teenager!
>> and have not been doing FEO because he loves to tug and gets too distracted when I run with a toy. He keeps an eye on me and knocks bars hoping that it will soon be time to tug. I don’t know what to do about that.>>
Train with a toy in your hand at home all the time so he habituates to it. And throw the reward (or have someone else throw a different one) when he looks forward at lines. That is an important skill to sort out now to make future training and trialing a lot easier.
>>I was able to set up for Live 2 this morning and hope to start working on that tomorrow. Thanks for extending the end date for the class. I’m hoping to at least get through all the skills while I still have your help. Then I plan to work on the courses.>>
Awesome! The live games will be PERFECT for running with a toy in your hand!!!! Yay!
Have fun! Stay cool!
Tracy
Hi!
We have 3 more weeks of games coming 🙂 and plus with the challenging weather, I have pushed the end date back a few weeks. So we will go well into September (I have not yet picked a final date) so everyone has time to play the games without baking in the heat 🙂Tracy
Good morning!
This is a really strong start to the threadle wraps!! It is a HARD skill made extra hard because he is big. He was thinking about it a lot so wasn’t speeding through it yet, but I prefer to have the thoughtful approach first, then speed when he understands it.
It took a couple of reps to sort out both the hand cues and the line of motion. After :43, though, you nailed it: line of motion parallel to his line (and not towards the wing) and very visible hand cues that were low. They were not quite as visible at the beginning, but as soon as you made your opposite arm more visible, he was able to read the cue to come past the wing a lot better! Yay!
Two ideas for the next step:
Keep moving very slowly so you can fade out the hand cues to turn away: keep your hands in the position they are in to cue coming to the correct side of the wing, then let him turn himself away to it 🙂 You can help him a little at the beginning, then try to help him less and less so he turns himself away. The cue is a compound behavior (come in then turn away) so we want him to eventually do both without any additional cues.
You can throw the reward to the ‘landing’ side of the wing (other side of it) as soon as he turns his head away to it… but you don’t need to have him do the full circle around the wing for now. By tossing it for the head turn, you will both be isolating the decision to turn away, and keeping it fun so he can extend and chase the reward 🙂 Doing the full circles are hard on his body so probably not as much fun as chasing a treat for a half circle 🙂 And we can easily build up to the full circles by gradually changing the line of the treat throw (and trusting his understanding of coming around wings).
>>And he also was ‘done’, after few mins. “It’s hard” + “it’s hot” (seriously. 74F but full sun. Big Black dog)>>
Yes, plus the big thinking to process the cues can be ‘expensive’ on the brain – that plus the heat can tire the dogs out pretty quickly. You can mix in more mindless silly games between reps like chasing a treat or toy on a straight line, so he can work the hard stuff for a little longer.
>>questions about Cues for those turns/wraps. Do I use the same cue first to get him to ‘this side of the jump’ and then cue for turn/wrap? Since seems like both are starting with the same thing, to get the dog on this side of the wing. >>
It will be far easier for him if you use two entirely different cues. Yes, he has to come to the other side of the jump but the jumping effort is radically different, as different sits and downs are! So if you tell him to come to the backside but he doesn’t know if it is a slice or wrap… the slice versus wrap info will be late and he will have a harder time setting up the jumping. If you use different cues to mean ‘come to the backside and slice’ (I use “close close” for this behavior) versus ‘come to the backside and wrap’ (I use ‘in in in” for this behavior) then he will have a lot more time to process and set up the mechanics.
>>to add to my confusion with cues, there is also ‘regular’ backside jump when dog is ahead of me and I’m not passing the jump line. For that one I use ‘push’.
Yes, so many words LOL!!! There are actually 4 different verbals I recommend for the ‘backside’ of the jump:
– threadle to slice (I use ‘close close’ for that)
– threadle to wrap (I use ‘in in in’ for that)
– push to slice (I use ‘back back back’ for that)
– push to wrap (I use ‘digdigdigdig’ for that)I can remember them all by practicing a lot 🙂 and the dogs are able to set up their jumping and lines a lot better because the info is being delivered sooner.
Great job here!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Only by the power of Dr. Pepper can I do it after staying up to train Ven.
This is HIGHLY relatable! I start with coffee in the morning (only one cup now because it sucks getting old LOL!) and then move to Dr. Pepper later in the day LOL!!! Maybe Dr. Pepper can provide a sponsorship for us 🙂
>>Yes! I was beginning to despair ever being able to run UKI as hard as it was going.
The good news is that most of UKI is NOT the crazy circle wraps or threadle wraps – it is generally big fast fun lines and a lot of tunnels LOL!! But those also require independent commitment, which is why we emphasize it sooooo much.
>>I could also try what we do in his agility class where the treats are up high out of reach and not on me. We run a few obstacles and then run to the bowl on the shelf to get his reward. Of course it’s not 105 degrees there.>>
I give thanks for air conditioning Every.Single.Day. LOL!!!! Having the treats on the shelf is a good thing to do sometimes but not all the time – because it places more value on leaving the obstacles and lines than it does on taking the obstacles and lines. So yes, have the treats used like that sometimes but mix in a LOT of thrown rewards out on the line in different places. Be predictable in that yes, he will get rewards but also be unpredictable and variable and when/where/type of reward. Sometimes you can have the reward in your hand to throw, sometimes an instructor or classmate can throw it. But you will want a ton of rewards tossed on lines at this stage to really pump up his forward focus and commitment skills.
And, mixing up when/where/type of the reward being presented is actually *better* for learning. It provides a ‘surprise!’ element which is where we get the dopamine release from and it is that dopamine release which both encodes the learning AND builds up the motivation to do it again. The science on this (reward prediction errors) is SUPER cool and using a marker like “get it!” for thrown rewards and a marker like “let’s go!” for the cookies on a shelf are a key part of that dopamine release (Schulz’s monkey experiments showed that the dopamine spike happened when the animals got the indication that reward was available, not when they actually got the reward).
Being super predictable (cookies always on the shelf, or cookies always delivered from your hands, or same type of treats, etc) is fine for rehearsing stuff like mechanics and still good to do. But it is the surprise element of different placements, different types of food, toys, etc, that brings the BIG learning and motivation. Dopamine is hugely important in terms of building motivation and it is directly linked to movement as well.
Back to the video 🙂
>> First session I wasn’t sure the ball was going to work because he was still focusing on my hands since the ball was in my hand. So I went simple “lazy” with one wing and worked getting him to do a thing and then get his treat from the ball away from me. What do you think?>>
This went well! The more you pair the tossed reward with the cues here, the more he will anticipate it and turn himself away.
You can toss the lotus ball back the instant he turns his head to the wing, particularly on the right turns which seemed harder than the left turns. The throw will help build the commitment as we move placement around the wing to gradually build up to the full circle away from you.
Make sure you have a clean start to each rep – have him a little behind you (a stay is fine here) so he can see the hands and line, and hear the verbals before he starts to move.
The neighbor’s dog was not being helpful LOL but he came back and worked well! Good boy!
It will probably take a session or two (and some sleep for latent learning) for you to see a major shift in his ability to turn away and as you do countermotion, but it will definitely happen! I bet if you do another easy session or two before leaving for CO, he will have it cemented into his brain when you get back!
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
Interesting that the teach it device does not work as effectively on the clip & go teeter! Good job setting up a target for her 🙂 She was working through the differences in the teeter boards nicely and driving up the board well (the smaller dogs really feel the differences more than the bigs, imo).
>> Sends ahead nicely when I stay on the same side but had some confusion on sending ahead so I could RC>>
She probably needs another session or two on just the simple running up the board with the clip & go before you add more handling to it – it does feel entirely different, I’m guessing. I figure latent learning will works its magic and she will figure it out really well. If it is easy to take the teach it places, maybe you can bring it to Fusion and show her the teeter there too, if it is not a clip & go?
>>And she gave a definite no to tugging anywhere in the training room with the wobble board at all>>
That is really good information from her! Sounds like the wobble board makes her just uncomfortable enough that she doesn’t want to cut loose and tug yet. Also, if it is heavily associated with food, then she might not be as interested in tugging. You can ask her if she wants to tug in the hallway outside the wobble board room 🙂 but also, the tugging is not that important yet and we can trust her feedback about it 🙂
On the tunnel/wings video: this went well!
>>Did too much counter motion on the first wrap so was more conservative after that.
I think it was not as much of a countermotion question as it was a connection question: you turned and moved away with good timing, but without enough connection to support her line continuing to go behind you.
You can open up your connection back to her more at :17 as you turned and moved away by pointing back behind you and looking at the ‘landing’ spot on the other side of the wing. Your shoulders closed forward, which broke connection so she stopped looking at the wing and started looking at you (more about that coming tonight in CAMP!)
Yes, it is a spin to the other side of the tunnel not a blind but the blind to rear cross looked good too 🙂
When you added the spin: A subtle detail here which will make a big difference on more complex turns:
remember to open up connection back to her by pointing the dog-side arm back to her and making big connection. At 1:27 and later at 2:02 and 2:20 you were looking back at her but with your arm closed forward at your side, she doesn’t see the connection and the side info that it brings. You can see her for a stride or two slow down and zig zag, figuring out where to be, then sorting it out from the motion and tunnel verbal. You can see a difference in her speed and confidence when you sent her to the tunnel on other reps where there was a lot of connection, so adding the connection all the way through and adding exit line connection will help support those lines a lot.I grabbed some screen shots to give you a visual of what she was seeing in the 2 spots she had questions: the FC at the very beginning and the spin exits.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H69Ldx1wzgChjmT3SF0irkWxsU1IOcks_ggVEQ4xZZI/edit?usp=sharing
>>What should the verbal be for the spin to the other entrance? I feel like it’s not a check check for wrap right since that is coming right back on your approach line and “right” is the softer cue to turn to the other wing.>>
The answer is… it depends LOL!!! I think if we put a bar there, the collection required and the need to come right back around the wing would put it closest to a wrap verbal. I would definitely use a wrap verbal for medium and large4 dogs for that reason. For the smalls? It depends on exactly how much collection you needed on the bar and that might vary in different contexts. For now, since she is being asked to come directly back around the wing here, I would still use a wrap verbal.
>>Looking ahead to the 2wings: Did I miss some backside wrap prep work?>>
This picks up from MaxPup 2:
Feel The Wind In Your Hair, Part 2: Rear Crosses and Backside Wraps!
And from the gentler backside wraps in the Straight Lines Four Ways game here in MaxPup 3:
Great job here! Hopefully the weather behaves itself!!
Tracy
Hi!
It is a great kitchen game while it is 1000 degrees outside with 10,000,000% humidity! A cato board and a plastic lid are really all you need 🙂T
Hi!
>>I had to walk some of these quite a few times in order to remember which way we should turn.
>>Ha! You did a great job though – almost perfect on these really challenging games! Wow!!!!! And you had your verbals going too – impressive!!! It was one of your best training sessions with her!
Your connection was super strong throughout the sessions here- you really seemed to be emphasizing it, and it paid off! Yay! Towards the end, there were small connection bloopers like at 4:16 and 4:40, but I think that was just the result of trying to get ahead on the FCs.
You were more commonly connection like you were at :58- 1:09. Those were particularly excellent connection in and out of the crosses!!
I only have a couple of suggestions for you, to try to make things even easier!
You started with some tight blinds back to the tunnel but then switched to spins (FC-BC combos). The spins totally worked better in this context.
Along with the spins, you had FCs going – to set up the turns you can decelerate into them rather than come to sudden stops. That will cue the turn sooner and will also make it easier for you to power to the next line. Sudden stops often get us off balance, but a deceleration can let you lean into the next line. It will also feel better on your knee!
As you exit the FCs and spins going back to the tunnel, try to give the next cue (tunnel!) immediately. You don’t have time to praise her, because that doesn’t give her any info and she ends up looking up at you which draws her off the line.
The Ladders went great on both 2 wings and 3 wings – really locking in the connection helped her so much! Her countermotion understanding looked great – like at 1:42 and 2:25, she is going around the wing towards the tunnel and you are already moving up to the next wing. Super!
On these FC and BC exits here, decelerate into the wing to let her get past you. That way you can decel and lean forward, allowing you to move directly forward behind her tail as she passes you. What was happening was that you were coming to sudden stops, so your momentum was carrying you to the side or into stepping backwards, which changes the shape of the line and the cue. The decel will smooth that out and take out any extra steps (while also being kinder to your knee :))
Excellent work here! Let me know if the decel idea makes sense!
Tracy
Hi!
>>we can’t work in the mornings because my work day is starting at 6am so I can train my new analyst in India. By the time I get a break, it’s already in the 90s and no shade in the yard.>>
OMG! That is way too early to start work. Don’t they know you have a puppy that needs to be trained without baking him? Darned work getting in the way of the fun stuff!!!
After watching the videos, I think there is a simple answer to make it all easier!
What was happening here (in the good moments of commitment and in the harder moments) was that he was following your hand cues. When the cues were good (meaning he could see your hand on the ‘landing’ side of the wing) and you connected and didn’t move to the side to get forward on the line too early… he committed really well! But if one of those things happened too early, he didn’t commit as well. You did a really great job of getting those things to all work and get commitment – I believe the blinds had slightly less countermotion so it was easier for him to commit than the fronts where you were moving forward sooner?
But either way, I bet you felt like you were working REALLY HARD to support his commitment! And any time we have to work that hard… it is not the handling we need to pump up, it is the commitment! He has more value for going where you hands go and for being near you.
To make these easier to handle, we need to balance the value with going to the wing so he is happy to go behind you to the wing and not stick close to you for the rewards. Placement of reinforcement will take care of it! Using a lotus ball or tug toy: as soon as he turns to the wing, fling it behind the wing to the ‘landing’ spot with one of your hands as you continue walking forward. That will pump up the value of commitment because chasing the lotus ball/toy will be fun! I suggest flinging it because he will enjoy chasing it – dropping it will be a little more boring LOL!! And it won’t create a wide turn, because he will follow your motion as we fade the toy drop.
Let me know if that makes sense! I think it will make it easier for you both! Nice work here 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
>>These seem to be threadles to me but maybe I’m doing them wrong.>>
Some tandem turns are definitely threadles too, it would depend on where the jump bar goes 🙂 If he is going to the backside of the jump before turning away to take the bar, then yes it is a threadle (threadle rear). You can also do tandem turns on the front side of a jump if he does over the bar as part of turning away – those are more closely related to a regular rear cross.
On the video:
Working the tandems on just the wing at the beginning – you can make your tandem turn hands more obvious to him by letting him see them, very clearly. On these, you were using the dog-side hand mostly so he was looking up at you for more info. You can use your opposite hand as well for a two-handed cue, or use just the dog side hand but make it lower and more obvious, so he is sure it is the tandem turn and not a send cue. He was waiting for your feet to turn on these to confirm the info, so there was a bit of a delayed response.Adding the stay before the tunnel – this is a good camera angle to see the cues: hands and motion! At 1:38 and 1:52, your left hand is up but it is fairly high up and your dog-side shoulder is closed forward, so I am pretty sure he didn’t see the hand cues. Because you started moving at the same time he did, he was going by the motion info he saw and went to the other side of the wing.
Also, your motion should be turned parallel to the line you want him to take (which is going to feel like you are turning away from the wing a bit). You were moving towards the wing, so motion was indicating a FC wrap there.You started to move over more to show the line more clearly and your arm got MUCH more obvious after that, making it much easier for him to see! Super!!!
On the other side: these first couple of reps showed how well he reads motion cues:
even with a the outside arm being obvious, you stepped forward to the wing (with your right leg) and leaned forward (shoulders and arm) so he went to the other side of the wing at 2:5 and 3:03. Keep rewarding those because they are excellent pieces of feedback from him (and he was correct :))On the next reps, you started moving more on the parallel line (turning away from the wing to go past it, rather than moving towards it) so he was able to see the tandems better after that. Very nice!
Adding the tunnel:
The tunnel made it easier to show the parallel line to set up the tandem, which led to a lot of success! Remember to stay connected and moving forward as you cue the turn. If you are disconnected and leaning towards the wing on the turn, he is (correctly) going to go to the other side.For example, compare 4:04 (you stepped in towards the wing before he was past you and seeing the turn cues, so he went to the other side) with the rep at 4:15 where you hed the parallel line longer and turned him away more clearly, so he got the tandem. Yay!
The rep at 4:34 didn’t have the same level of connection and hand visibility, sohe didn’t quite get the info in time. Compare to the conenction last rep that had better connection so he was able to get it. Nice!!!!
So overall, the more upright you are (not leaning towards him) but also making your hands visible while moving forward parallel to the line you want him to take (not towards the wing), the better he was able to read the cues. You can mix in some regular front cross wraps so you can make the difference between those and the tandem turns very obvious as you switch between the 2 cues.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
The 3 wing ladder looked great – this is a REALLY hard game with all 3 wings and you did a great job with your connections! And a great job remembering what to do, these circle wraps always scramble my brain LOL!!! You had super strong connection on the tunnel exits and strong connection on the exits of the wings too, that really helped set up nice lines. He only had 2 questions about commitment, at 1:09 and 1:45. In both of those cases, you said something to him urgently while you were moving forward and he was still on the takeoff side, which caused him to look up at you (I think it was a turn cue at 1:09 and it was a big YES! at 1:45 🙂 ) Once he passes you, stay quiet for now until he finishes his commitment and then you can say the next cue.
The tandem turns aer going well! To get a more reliable turn away cue visible to him, set him up for a clean start to each rep rather than loop him back around and move immediately. Setting him up in a sit so you could be a little ahead and showing the cues (especially the hand cues) before you both started moving resulted in much better turns (like at 2:19 and after that). When you started moving at the same time and he was at your side, he didn’t see the cues before he had to make a wing decision, so he went ot the other side of it (like at 1:59).
When that happens, don’t mark him as wrong – assume handler error with the cue (because it always is our error LOL!) reset with a cookie, start again.
Your hand cues were clearer when he was on your left side than when he was on your right – you might need to exaggerate the hands a little more on that side so he can see them clearly to get the turning away.
To keep things spicy here so he is reading the cues rather than repeating what he just did, you can add a wing wrap before the tandem turn wing. And you can also mix in sending to the other side of the wing for a front cross. That way you will get better feedback from him about the clarity of the cues.
On the teeter:
>>He seems to be slowing down. Is that just a confidence issue that will get better as he grows?>>
Yes, I see what you mean: he was stopping a little after the pivot point to drop the board. It might be that there was too much tip, or that he was processing the handling. You can let him sleep on it for a couple of days (latent learning!), then go back to it. If he still stops short, you can reduce the amount of tip back to where he will run to the end. Then drop it more gradually over the course of a few weeks, a quarter of an inch at a time (or less :))
Great job here!!!! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! I feel your pain about having to do morning or evening for training. Our evenings are still so hot that it is getting outside at sunrise here, or no training for the day.
>> Teagan got distracted after he found a rib bone in the grass. I assume some animal dropped it in my yard. Luckily, I got it away from him, but he kept looking for it. >>
Yikes! I am glad you got it away before he swallowed it!!!
The sequences are going well here! Starting on jump 1 with the dog side arm (rather than the RC like on run 1) went really well. You had clear connection on these runs, so now you can add in more distance on the sending:
Try not to go as close to 4 as you send, and keep moving (rather than stopping on the sends) so it is easier to get back down the line for the blind, starting it when he lands from 4 and looks at 5. You were doin the blind as he was jumping 5, which made it a little late.
I think the hardest part for you was trying to figure out what to do with the toy during the blind 🙂 You can either leave it in one hand, or have it in your pocket – you were switching it from hand to hand which was delaying the connection back to him. Remember that it is the connection on the new side that seals the deal of the blind, not the hand or toy – so keeping the toy out of the picture is a good thing (and it is not a precision reward here, so it can be in your pocket.
Your connection on the exit of the blind at 3:17 was great! Try to do that all like that, with your eyes back to his eyes and your arms low and back. He read it really well!
Great job here! Stay cool!
Tracy
