Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Good morning!
Playing with the threadle wrap indoors is a good antidote for this crazy weather we’ve been having this summer!>>The pointing did help to focus her forward toward the first jump!!>>
Yay! She is getting so good at this skill! She was adorable on the video: processing the cue for a couple of questions then BOOM! She had it and leaned her whole self toward the jump 😁
>> However, I’m still not getting my feet to point forward as much as I think they should be.
When moving into it, you might find that decelerating helps a lot – both to get the turn and to keep your feet straight. Going too fast might cause your feet to go different places and trying to move away too quickly might pull her off the jump.
>> I think I also got a little more distance with the push wrap because I TRIED to not stay and control it.
I thought you were really good about not over-controlling! You left for the next line as soon as you see her turning to the jump. And the threadle wrap did put you a lot further ahead of the push wrap. The push wrap looked great… but you were much further behind than with the threadle wrap.
When you started the sequence: really nice timing of leaving the threadle wrap at 2:04 and 2:39. The easiest way to exit that is to do a blind cross to get her onto your right side. You did a post turn t 2:40 and it got her to look back at 1, which is why the bar fell.
Nice turn cue on the tunnel! I am not sure if she needs you to decel on the tunnel turn cue too – using only the verbal might be very effective and keep you moving up the line.
On the push to the backside at 5-6 (2:11 and 2:46) – one small detail is to have your dog-side arm pointing back to her more and keep it lower. It high and parallel to your torso, so it was blocking your connection which caused her to look at you over 5 rather than look at the line.
Another small detail: You can decelerate into the FC on the backside wrap (at 6). You ran hard into it at 2:12 (and 2:47) then when you did the FC and rotate, your momentum carried your backwards by a step or two and off the line and caused her to drop the bar as you got back on the line. So as you are pushing her forward to the backside, you can also slow down. That will give you better control of the momentum on the FC. Plus, the slowing down (decel!) cues a nice tight turn which makes it even easier for her.
At the exit of the last tunnel – nice blind! Remember to reconnection to get the 9 jump too
On the last rep – SUPER nice job handling the ending dog-on-left and getting the threadle! She read that perfectly!!
>>Felt like I was running and cuing well, and then I looked at the video…more like a T-rex lumbering about waving their hands!>>
NOT AT ALL!!! You were running and cuing well, really connected and with a lot of HUSTLE!!!! This sessions looked lovely!
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
>>Had a hard time getting her out to the blue jump #5 which slowed me down for 6 to 7.>>
Yes – the send to that jump is important for getting the 6-7-8 line. The key was when you kept connection and faced the line longer, she committed nicely. When you raised your arm and turned your shoulders, she was cued to *not* take the 5 jump.I grabbed screenshots so you can see what I mean. On the first one, you had turned too much so she did not take 5, But then on the 2nd screenshot, she saw such better connection and you were facing the line, so she got on it nicely. Here is the link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iM5n2qwHWSKg9v5WuHX_HM-wQpjTny4LaM_qgdir7HM/edit?usp=sharing
>>Do not seem to be able to get the blind in and pick her up on the correct side 7 to 8. Last rep we came close to disaster. Is the way we are doing it wrong?>>
What was happening was that you were a little too close to the entry wing of the backside. So at :21 to :30, you kept connection and she came in front of you, setting up a rear cross to the next line.At :52 – she knew it was a backside but then you rotated your shoulders to your left so she was cued to turn to her left (not to her right) which is why she almost hit you when you stepped in to get the right turn. I think you were trying to get the blind there?
To make it work with the blind, you will want to send her away to 5 and run down the line to the center of the bar of the backside jump (not to the entry wing). Then you will be further ahed before she even gets to the backside – and you can get the blind a lot more easily.
>>I found it harder to get to the blind on the takeoff side, unsurprisingly.>>
Yes, this is a little harder for sure! If you send even further away to 4 and 5, you can get down the line to the BC on the takeoff side:
You got to the BC at :42 but did a spin on the 4 jump which delayed you from getting there earlier. If you send to 4 from far away like you did here then takeoff for the BC, she will find 5 on her own and as she is jumping 5 you can be already starting the blind 🙂 It will feel really early but will work really well 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>is it easiest then to use the same for all contact gear>>
I think 4 on is only good for the teeter. 2on 2off is fine for the dog walk (it is a clear position). It will probably be relatively easy to teach her a running dog walk!
T
For the teeter – 4on. She is too small and light in weight to do a 2on 2off because if the board bounces under her, it will bounce her right off 🙂 So with a 4 on, she can put all of her weight on the board and hold on better when it moves under her.
T
Hi! The weather has been SO HOT this year that maybe Summer Camp 2025 needs to start in April!
>>I tried this, that and the other and Sprite is NOT understanding the RC with one step. She defaults to the backside. If I follow through with another step then she might get it. I’ll try to film later when/if it cools down.>>
Yes, try to get some film! And you can also help her out in 2 ways:
– angle the jump slightly so the RC line is more obvious
– add a placed reinforcement to help draw her focus to the line you want. That can really help jump start the behavior.>>I’m happy to try to plot a handler path, but I don’t think I can upload a photo to this site or a pdf. Is there a way to do that?>>
Yeah, the site is annoying in that any uploads are always too large. So you can put it into a google doc and share the link, or email it to me (agilitydals@yahoo.com) or FB messenger and I can put it into docs!
Have fun!
TracyHi!
I agree – this has been a crazy summer, especially with all the weird weather!!>>(I don’t think Syn, in in in is going to work :)), and then using to cue the entire behavior instead of just the coming in part.>>
Excellent point! What about ‘close close’ or something? Do you use ‘dig dig dig’ for anything?
>>We actually had this distance challenge in 2 of our AKC Open Jumpers runs this weekend and I was thrilled with her committmen>>
Yay! Happy dance!!!
On the video: she is driving ahead really well!!
I think you need to cue forward focus on the jump with an arm point – at the beginning as you moved backwards, it looked like she was holding the stay beautifully but not sure when you want her to look at jump 1. So indicating it by slowly pointing your hand to it can help!
On the straight lines:
As soon as you see her feet up for jump 1… get moving 🙂 You stood still at :16 and :50 as she was approaching 2. She found the line but you want to be as far ahead as possible 🙂
>>The push wrap actually worked better for us because she understood the skill better, although I still need to move away quicker. I’m such a control freak!!>>
Ha! You crack me up! Yes, trust her, don’t be a control freak LOL! And also yes, it is the stronger skill for now.
Push wrap at 1:08 worked well , nice acceleration from you and she drove ahead well!
At 1:32, you didn’t step out as well from the wrap (you stepped kind of to the side) then you decelerated a bit at 1:36 so she looked at you when she exited the tunnel and didn’t take the last jump. One of the things that made the decel more obvious there was that you reached for the toy and kept your arms at your side. On the other reps, your arms were pumping and that gives a lot of support to the forward motion – so keep pumping your arms on the big lines, even if your legs are not sprinting.
>The threadle wrap did not work as well because Syn really didn’t understand the skill. >
Yes, the threadle wraps are a work-in-progress (they are a newer skill) but I think you will find them very effective! One thing that will help is if you keep your feet straight facing the tunnel rather than rotate and face her. The feet face forward and the upper body does all the threadle work (arms/hands/connection/shoulders). As her understanding grows for flipping away independently, you will find yourself MILES ahead of her – that is a huge advantage! So for now, it is perfectly fine to just walk through the threadle wraps as you build the skill, and we will gradually add more and more speed.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
These went well – he gave you a really honest reading of what he was seeing in the handling.On the first video – he was definitely reading the cues correctly, even if they were not what you planned 😁
On the first run: at :10 you were facing him on the jump before the backside, then turned forward so he took the tunnel. Plus, you were blocking the wing a little, which opens up the tunnel more. The verbal didn’t start til he was about in the tunnel so he didn’t hear it in time to make a line adjustment.
It is rewardable! So, even if you are *convinced* he was wrong… reward anyway then watch the video 🙂 so the video will show you why he ended up where he did.
You can see when you did not reward and just stopped moving that he got a little stressed, running in a wide circle.You had a MUCH bigger cue at :26 so he did turn! Yay! Then you turned back towards the tunnel and he took the threadle side of it (also rewardable – he was responding to exactly what he saw).
At :44, he came to the backside really well (note your position pretty far across the bar – nice!!). As he started coming towards the bar, you accelerated forward and looked forward, which pushed him past the bar. Also rewardable 🙂
At :52 you held position at the backside jump longer so he did come in. Yay! You can keep moving like you wanted to on the previous rep (which will help keep the bar up):
For the backside, as you move forward, you can shift your connection and look at the landing side of the jump, and also point to the landing side of it. That will help him get committed.
2nd video – good job getting the FC at the backside! The FC rotation makes it harder to get across the bar, so you ended up moving a bit too far past it and had trouble showing the line to it, so he didn’t take it). O the last run, you got the FC and moved forward to the jump so he got it. Super!
I think you will find it easier to do the blind! You are in great position and it will be far quicker to show the line if you don’t need to rotate your feet! It might feel riskier but if you start the blind before he takes off from the previous jump, you will have plenty of time to show the connection and threadle to the backside jump.
Just be sure that you are running forward the whole time on the 3-4-5 line. On a couple of the reps you were decelerating and facing him, then did a rotation on jump 4 (like on the 2nd run and also at 1:01) That made it harder for you both! On the last run, you ran forward beautifully and he got it really well 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I really struggle with verbals, which cue means what, using the right one at the right time, balance between being a blathering idiot and running completely silent and then concentrating so much on the verbals that I f-up the rest of the handlin>>
This is totally relatable LOL!!! Good news though – the next training package focuses on rehearsing all this specifically so everything goes much more smoothly in the run 🙂
Looking at the video:
The went really well! You were super connected and getting your verbals in!!! I only have subtle details for you to consider:1-2 looked good each time. From 2-3 (backside on 3) you can more immediately run to the backside – for a few steps at :07 and :31 it looked like you wanted the front side them you pushed in to the backside. I think your line at 1:01 was the best of the reps with the clearest line most directly to the backside.
Nice FC on the backside at 4 at :11 and :35 – great timing and connection so the turn was fantastic!
The flip went well!
The first run didn’t quite have enough connection to cue 7, but the next 2 runs were great! Nice BC 7-8 on the 2nd and 3rd run!!!>>would you suggest any different ones for this sequence
The other option on this one is to look for more slice opportunities on the 2/6 jump. For example, you can turn him to his left over 1, slice 2 (a serp) from the other direction so he lands facing 3.
And you can FC 4 like you did then slice 5 to his left (rather than flip to his right) so he is jumping 6 to his left on a slice to 7.
Great job here! Looking forward to seeing how the next one goes!
Tracy
Hi! He is doing great here!
The best reps were when you had a decel into it and less arm showing the circle – let him find the circle based on the decel and initial hand cue. That way he won’t rely on a cue to turn away and can respond to the verbal and initial cue. The decel is to help set up the wrap.
And as soon as he turns his head away and takes the first step to the bar, you can start moving forward – but throw the reward to the landing side to continue to solidify the commitment. He is looking really strong here!!
Great job!!
TracyHi!
>>We are a bit behind because dark early and weather has been horrible so think got too focused on trying to get things done rather that leaving it early enougn.>>No worries! You have challenging winter weather, and we have extremely challenging summer weather… so the class will be extended 🙂 That way we are not fighting the weather as much.
On the video:
>>the amount of movement relative to size is huge.>>
This is an excellent point! So true!!
She is already more confident getting on it! Some of her “shaking” when she is because she is really young and her core strength is still developing. When she is full adult and her core strength is fully developed, it will be much easier for her. Keep going with this very gradually progressing to having no pillows under it. She gets happier with it each time!
Great job :)
TracyHi!
>>Between the trial and 106 temps you will see videos from 5 am!!
Totally relatable… I am often out there at sunrise trying to some time to train the pups!
>>I won’t be trialing for awhile but can maybe go with Ginger to a training yard and work on the fun mommy play away from home.>>
I am sure Ginger would enjoy having a training partner! And also, do you remember the pattern game from Max Pup 1? It is fantastic for getting the pups to engage with us in new environments!
>>I have a question- since it is a 360 wrap I used by backside wrap cue for the first wing. Is that wrong? >>
It is correct! I would recommend using the backside wrap cue for sure.
On the video:
There is a decel element to the circle wraps – you get to the wing (begin sure she can see the wing), decel to let her get past you, then move forward again when she is past you and turning to the wing.
As you decel, you can lean forward a bit so your first step after she passes you is forward towards the wing, and not backward (which puts you a little behind her). That leaning forward to move forward immediately after she passes you will give you the feeling of countermotion in a bigger way.
For example, you over before she passes you at :03 and :18 which pushed her off the wings.
Your timing was much better at :14 and :24, for example.
The rep at :36 was GREAT with decel then moving directly forward, no backward steps at all. Yay! 1:02 really good too!
About stepping backwards – you don’t want any step backwards to delay your forward motion, or to accidentally change her line. At :40 you stepped backwards as she was passing you, so she pulled off the wing.
The threadles are going well! The first set were more like tandem turns where your feet turned with the her to the other side of the wing. The more slowly you moved your arms, the better she got the turn way.
On the other side, the first few reps had too much foot rotation before she got to the correct side, so she had questions. When you kept your feet straight, she got it really well!
The next step here is to cue the threadle wrap with your upper body and send her back to the wing… but keep your feet facing forward so you are not turning with her. That will eventually turn into the masters-level fancy threadle wraps!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Yes, totally normal for 14 month old pups to have changes in focus or arousal… adolescence is a challenging time!
To help him out, build in lots of breaks and decompression into everyday life… snuffle mats, long sniffy walks (where possible, I know it is hard at this time of year), chew bones… and tons of sleep! Adolescents need a ton of sleep.
Also, the neuroscience people tell us that adolescent dogs are *less* sensitive to reinforcement and *more* sensitive to punishment (even if is it withholding reinforcement). Plus, if they are stressed at all, it takes them twice as long as normal to bounce back to baseline. Being a teenager is hard!!
So you can help him out by providing lots of decompression, simplifying things, using crazy high value rewards, and keeping sessions really really short 🙂
And often with adolescent dogs, they might be perfect in training one day… and completely feral the next. No worries! Try to get videos of it and we can figure out how to help him out.
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Wow, it sounds like Lift did GREAT!!! YAY! Sounds like her behaviors from home appeared in the new locations (indoors and outdoors) and also that you got really good ideas for more training fun. Super!!!!
>>She nailed it so I do think her stickiness at the seminar was partly the new space.>>
Yes, it could be the new space. And also, latent learning so she totally had it at home after sleeping on it.
>>I also got a shingles vaccine this morning and so far feel OK but we might not be doing much tomorrow either if it hits me later.
Hope you are feeling fine! I didn’t have a reaction from the shingles vaccine so I hope you don’t have one either 🙂 It is still better than getting shingles!!
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Hi!
>>IF it ever cools down here, do you think we should try what ‘we think we know already’ with bars up? He is going to be jumping 20, Preferred – not 24.>>
What is the highest bar he has jumped so far? You can use the sequences he has already done and raise the bars a little. Or, you can use the new sequences and raise a bar on the easy parts 🙂
>>I was going to draw that line on screenshot but I don’t see how I can attach a screenshot here? Just to make sure I understand it right >>
Most attachments are too big to attach in the forum, so feel free to email it to me at agilitydals@yahoo.com
Super nice job with the countermotion – he is really excellent when his commitment! Well done tweaking the game to use 3 wings, and also well done sending to the wing behind you with arm, leg & looking behind you, then moving forward before he got to the wing. Perfect! As he exits that first wing, you can connect back to him more (dog-side arm pointing back to him, and look for his eyes) so he has a clear view of where to be. That will also let you send him past you to the next wing even more.
I think he is ready for you to do 3 wings in a row, plus the race tracks around the outside of the wings 🙂
The Golden thought the game looked fun and wanted to join! But it was better to put her inside LOL!!!
Great job here!!!!
TracyHi!
The warm up with the end of the sequence went well in both directions There was a little blooper at :28 where you did not make not enough connection, so it looked like a blind to him and he changed sides. Remember to reward after handler errors! The next reps had more connection and he had no questions.
BC reps:
Nice connection out of the blinds here! You can start them sooner – as he is exiting the tunnel, you can handle that next line with more lateral distance. That way you can start the blind sooner (when he lands from the previous jump). You were starting it as he was over the blind cross jump, so starting it sooner will make for better turns especially as the bar gets higher.Remember that connection and low arm will send to the tunnel and jumps. Your arm was getting higher (like at 2:17 and 3:19) and that was causing him to not be sure if he should go to the tunnel or which side to be on. Be sure to reward if there is a blooper so he doesn’t slow down or get confused.
I think when you went to the FC version he was a little done because he was frustrated – not enough reward for trying to figure out handler bloopers 😁 At :28 you released him and stayed by the jump, then pointed forward and looked ahead to the tunnel… but that blocks connection and turns your shoulders away from the tunnel entry. So that was unclear and there was not any motion, so he started sniffing.
You got your connection and motion much clearer and he did the jump line really well! Yay!!!! The FC timing can come sooner (same as the BC timing) but the most important thing was the strong connection and motion.
I am not sure why he was avoiding the tunnel at the end – it is possible the tunnel was really hot inside and he did not want to go in it again.
So really emphasize the connection! And you can use a toy that can scrunch up more in your hand, so he doesn’t have it moving as much right in front of him 😁
Side note: his stays looked great!!!
Nice job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
