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Ah, fabulous!!!! Your “here here” verbal sounds pretty distinct from your tunnel cue, and that is perfect. He did really well sorting out the difference on the double whammy – going into the tunnel was easy, the threadle to go BACK in is harder. You did a great job of being as patient as possible (it is so hard being on Team Chill LOL!!!!) and double gold star for both of you on that last rep at :39 – you were very patient, not helping with motion – and BOOM! Look at him turn his head (another god star moment) and find his way back into the tunnel independently. Yesssssss!!! Very happy with that, it is exactly what we are looking for. Yay! Great job!!! I have a game coming tomorrow to build on all of the tunnel fun, I think he will be ready!!
Nice work here – and have fun at the Canadian Open LOL!! I am almost ready to go measure Speedstakes LOL!!!
Tracy
Thanks for the repost of the video, it was a great session!!! I think the main thing on this session was figuring out the timing of the transitions, and you were really getting beautiful sequences. Connection looked REALLY great – I don’t think he jumped up at your hand at all? About the transition: at this distance, the transition was critical in getting him to commit. When you maintained your driving forward til he arrived at your leg then decelerated then turned – perfection! Really great! That was when he would commit easily and you could then do the spin or the FC or the turn and burn (all of these looked great – he is sorting out how to use his body to wrap into a tight turn, which is really nice to see with a boy pup that isn’t even 6 months old (my 10 month old boy pup says “go fast first, sort out body after falling on head”.
On the reps where he did *not* commit – I think there were only 4 – you decelerated before he arrived at your leg and either tried to send or, because of the fast decel, ended up sending with the other leg (dog side leg didn’t step forward). He will be able to commit eventually on that cue, but at this age – not quite ready for that (we will do that in the proofing stages later on, where we basically show the puppy all the ways we screw up and pay them for saving us LOL!!!).
So, keep your acceleration going until he has arrived at your leg, then slow down, then rotate – that really supported the commitment and it also looked like you had no trouble rotating and running to the next one. The distance between the barrels is impressive! And great job keeping the super high rate of reinforcement – it must have been hot out and he looked happy to keep run run running 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi! Good question 🙂 Using the different hands in the early stages has 2 purposes –
First, to help the pups ‘see’ any of the hand cue possibilities they might encounter on course. Different moves plus us handlers being late or early 🙂
Second – the hand use will get built into the transitions when we are moving, so you will generally find that you will send (or cue the wing/barrel) with the dog side hand and rotate away for a front cross (for example) – and so the last picture the pup sees before he reaches the wing or barrel is the sideways or backwards look we are working on here. The pup will be happy to commit anyway, even though we are already turned away. In past generations, pups would ask questions and *not* commit when we worked to be very timely with our cues, so this has helped lay a better foundation.You can see the transitions in the rocking horse games, along with some ‘freeze frames’ with what I mean about the pup seeing us sideways or backwards as they move to the barrel.
Ultimately, regarding which arm and when: that is part of the handling language we develop with each dog. Early on with the pups, we show them everything 🙂 Then you can choose which hand based on your preference for whatever is easiest – and since the pups will be happy to commit, your choice of which hand will be pretty easy, kind of a win-win situation 🙂
Let me know if that makes sense (or if I need more coffee LOL!!)
Thanks,
TracyTaking it easy is always good 🙂
Yes, these were hard for him! When you spread them out, did you mean adding space between the wings? I think if you put the wings end-to-end rather than overlapping, I think he should be ok with it at that angle. You can also try them bar a lower height so he can find his rhythm, and then add back the height. Let me know if that makes sense, and keep me posted on how he does!
TracyGood morning!
Wow, great job on this first run!!!! He was really driving his lines and executing the skills!
Great job on the opening line – it is complex for a baby dog and he nailed it. You can play with being a little further across 2 to be closer to his line to push to 3.
I was SUPER happy with his collection on the wrap jump at :08 and :32 and :42 – WOW! You did a great job with the transition there and he responded with true collection. Yay! I know you’ve been working on that, and it is showing! You had a little more connection on the exit at :09 and :43 so the turn stayed tight – at :33 you left without as much connection so he widened the turn, not sure if he shoudl chase you or go to the tunnel – so be sure to maintain the strong exit line connection before sending to the tunnel there to keep the turn tight.Nice connection from the tunnel to the jump at :13! At :35, you didn’t have the same connection (you were further ahead and turned more forward) so he didn’t commit and came to you. At :45, you had the connection and a little outside arm help so he had no questions there.
And you got the rear cross on the ending line on both runs – that is a hard skill for a youngster and he got it! Yay! You can then re-establish connection more strongly to his eyes when he lands from the RC and you are giving the go cue, that will help smooth out that line when he is ahead. (When he is ahead, connecting to his eyes is more like connecting to the back of his head LOL but he can see it :))
Course 2:
He was moving beautifully on the opening here – you gave him a go cue at :57, which is why he didn’t read the RC – the motion and verbal right cue were too late for him to pick up the line. You can just use the right verbal and RC motion there.
On the 2nd rep, you totally gave that go cue you mentioned while he was looking at the weaves – that falls into the category of “only say go when your dog is looking the direction you want him to go in” hahaha!! I learned that the hard way 🙂 Plus, you had just rewarded weaves so he was feeling very weavey 🙂
So, try not to use go in the opening – when you repeated it with directionals, it was BEAUTIFUL! You can also lead out more and try a blind cross in the opening, between 2 and 3!
And the rest looked fabulous – nice 180 to the weaves, and look at the little guy do his weaves! Then he got right back in the line to the ending.I am really impressed with how far he has come this summer – he is doing REAL AGILITY now!! So fun to see! You’ve done a great job with his homework and now we can really see all of the elements coming together. So exciting!!!!! Well done 🙂
TracyGood morning! I think YouTube likes to mess with you: this video was frozen until the very end where you were partying with him LOL!! Can you repost it so I can see what caused the party 🙂
T
Good morning!
>>Yikes – there are so many skills I’m feeling like some are being neglected…I haven’t done turn-aways or get outs for awhile so I may try that tomorrow along with tunnel. It’s just so darn miserable outside these days.>>
I feel that! The dog days of summer 🙂 You can prioritize skills and also schedule them like appointments 🙂 For the handling skills, I prioritize: my pups don’t really need to know much about backsides, so I taught the 360 for commitment and did a bit of the backside slice, but the training is mainly all about the front side stuff. Same with threadles – I figure I won’t need those any time soon, so I did a bit then put them on the back burner in favor of serps and the ‘front side’ stuff for now. I also have a rolling calendar on a white board here at home – when I decided it was a good idea to have 3 dogs under the age of 2 years old, I figured I would need to get organized 🙂 Now, the calendar is for the fitness stuff for the older dogs – I have what needs to be done each day, so I can mindlessly look at it and get it done. And the same can be applied to the handling and puppy training: make a calendar! You can plug in your classes and other commitments, then on the days that are free you can choose a game or two, put it on the calendar. And if you get it done – YAY! And if not – no worries, there is always the next day 🙂 There is so much to do with puppies that it can be overwhelming, so my mantra is that it all gets done, eventually 🙂
Serps with motion – I don’t think moving the hand was a problem, motion catches the eye nicely, like a squirrel 🙂 It helps him AND it can be part of the cue forever, so it is fine to be doing 🙂
He did really well with the motion except for the first rep on each side. You were not moving fast, but he still thought it was too fast LOL! So you can use the first rep with motion to be soooooooo very slow (like you were on the 2nd rep on each side) and then add speed once you have re-established the success. I thought he did really well with the in-then-out pattern here!
Threadles looked really strong, also really great with the in-then-out. For whatever reason, he didn’t appear to have trouble with the motion as much? Either way, he was really good at these! And your mechanics helped – spot on! Very nice job on these – no worries about the extra MM clicks, I do that all the time too and my dogs love it LOL!!360s – very nice when he was on your left! My only suggestion is that you send less (by pointing and waiting for him to move) and you cue him as more of a release so you can start moving forward on the line sooner. That will add challenge because you willl be right on his tail 🙂
When he was on your right (turning to his left) – I don’t think he was weaker on his left turn or that he was hot – I think it was the angle you were starting on – it was a much harder angle when compared to the more straight line approach you had on the other side. So, it challenged him because there was even more pressure on the line and countermotion, which si why he had to think about it a little more 🙂 But it was a good challenge and he rose to the occasion and did great!Backside slices are going nicely. He does better with you moving to where the barrel meets the bump, which is normal and fine. He was starting to get the idea of being more independent on the last 2 reps and you were further over – NICE! As you add more lateral distance, a suggestion for a suble change in the cue to help him. As we move the handler away, the backside cue looks a little like the get out cue, with the opposite hsoulder coming forward of the body as you make connection, which rotates the upper body to the line (your feet were good, don’t change a thing there :)) So it might feel a tiny bit like you are using the opposite arm to help him push away to the backside. You were connecting but leaning forward a bit, so he was reading it as a front side cue because it didn’t really turn your chest ot the backside. Let me know if that makes sense 🙂
Wrap blind spins look really good, he has great commitment so it makes it easier! And 5 bonus points for knocking over the camera hahahaha So on the next session of these, start further back so you can do the FC part of the spin as he is arriving at the barrel then move awya then do the BC – the goal is that you feel like you have more time and odn’t have to spin as fast LOL!! I think he is ready to see these in the rocking horses because his commitment looks so good 🙂
>>, I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong in the wrap video from yesterday and I’ll say my brain is still confused.
On the spins, we need to turn towards the dog for the first part (FC element) then we look to our other side (BC element). On the ‘regular’ blinds, we turn away from the dog while looking to the other side. The regular blinds have motion that is more like the post turn/race track with our bodies turning away from the dog. The spins are more like FCs, except we throw in a BC after the FC 🙂 Let me know if that makes sense, I might need more coffee 🙂
>>I watched my videos from there again and I think he is mostly just slower and more deliberate, asking more questions about what he’s supposed to do
The TCOTC building is certainly distracting – so many smells and a smaller enclosed space. He might need to work in higher arousal there (being home doesn’t require that fro what I can see). I have stuff coming about how to do that on Saturday, I figure it is important for all of our dogs now 🙂
Great job!
TracyHellooooo! The links here are both to the backside session, can you repost the rocking horses? The backside session looked really good! He is clearly more comfy with these on your right side (turning to his left) then he was on your left side (turning to his right), for whatever reason 🙂 Interestingly, when he was on your right, he was shaping the line to the backside just like his sister Amore was doing in class on Tuesday – race-tracking it LOL!!! That is fine: if he is working out the best approach to the backside without being so tight that he hits the wing or the bar, then I am *perfectly* happy with that 🙂 My only suggestion when he is on your right is to look at him a tiny bit more and less at the wing/barrel, for now.
When he was on your left – harder side for sure! You can start him both closer to the barrel and also further away laterally, so it is easier for him to go to the backside and harder for him to cut in front of you (he is impressively slippery there! LOL!). You can also angle the set up a little, moving the wingless jump so it is less of a flat backside and more of a weird 180 jump, so he can kinda see it – that might give him more of a visual marker to help him get around the barrel. Then you can flatten it back out pretty quickly. Stay connected like you were (you were pretty connected on that side) and also stay on the line of travel to where the barrel meets the bar – you were helping by moving over, but we do want him to see the barrel so he can mark off it. It is totally normal that one side is great and one side is less great, but it will even out pretty quickly 🙂
Nice work here!!!
TracyWelcome! She is adorable 🙂 I am sure the terriers will teach her all the things she needs to know LOL!!!
About how often to play… I try to do one training session per day with a 10 week old puppy. However, with that in mind: it is VERY simple stuff because they are soooooo young! Set a timer for 2 minutes and shape something simple. Or just play with tug toys and cookies. The beginning games are pretty simple and so they are a great place to start. Be sure to quit while things are going well, have a really high rate of success, and don’t push forward too quickly (you have plenty of time as she grows up :)) If you want to see another really young baby pup, check out Teak the Whippet! She also start super young.
Have fun and keep me posted!
TracyHi there!
1st run:
1-2-3 looked great!
He was moving realy fast so this might be a good spot to do the RC on 4 – you can have the FC (or a BC) as Plan A and then decide based on where you are when he is approaching the tunnel. You were roughly parallel to him as he was approaching tunnel 3 so the FC caused him to have to wait to get past you.At :21 and :29, you were not as early on your FC rotation as you were on the first rep, which is why he didn’t come through the gap at :22 and was wide at :29.
O nthe 2nd rep, you did the RC – definitely smoother! You can move in deeper to the tunnel so you can stay in motion, which will help keep him powering through as well.He was definitely convinced that tunnel 5 went back to 1. I think it had to do with your shoulder movement when you said “push” – you pulled your shoulder forward, which is very similar to how you set the RCs on the flat like at 1:22. So when you were calling him, he was fine. And when you cued the backside without pulling your shoulder: also fine. But when you rolled your shoulder forward to the backside (with or without the push verbal :)) he said “I know this! Turn away!” So the best option is to call his name then deliver the backside cue with an open shoulder, rather than pulling it forward.
On the 6-7 line, you had a bit of extra convergence the first 2 times through there so then when you were being careful not to do that and trying to get the serp, he was in a backside vortex abd it was hard to convince him otherwise.
2nd video: This went well! Timely rotation on 2, nice RC 3-4-5, and you kept your shoulder open on the 6 backside until he was definitely coming to the backside 🙂 And great job connected and clearly telling him that it was the front side of 7 🙂 And then great job getting him to the 8 backside. Nice!!
Sequence 2:
1-2-3 looked great! As he is rounding the entry wing of 3, keep yoru chest facing the bar as you move to 4 (try not to turn your shoulders forward) – that will smooth out his line to 4. You turned a little forward there so he considered the front side of 4.
The rest looked pretty great! You can play with sending and leaving at 5 one step sooner, and then calling him more on the tunnel exit (#6), he seemed to have a tiny hesitation there trying to see where you were.Great job on your distractions with the jump before the tunnel, he ticked the bar but was otherwise fine on the single jump. You can try the single jump with you further ahead as that seems to be a big challenge for him.
On the set point – yes, that was hard! How far apart were the 2 jumps? I do give him a gold start for creativity when he basically weaved them LOL! To help him out on the difficulty of the set point, you can have the 2nd jump lower for now until he gets more comfortable with the added challenge of it in front of a tunnel and with you moving. Maybe 6″ on the 2nd jump?
Tunnel to jump – nice distractions 🙂 He did look at you like you were nuts but he did a great job on the jumping 🙂 This is also a place where you can play with being further and further ahead.
I think the backsides after the tunnel looked GREAT to start! You were able to convince him to really leave for the backside. We found the threshold of where his understanding breaks: when you are closer to the far wing, and not using an pressure – he will take the front. But when you are moving to the center of the bar and/or use one tiny step of pressure- he gets the backside every time. YAY! That is already a lot of progress, wow!! You can keep working on getting further across but this is already in great shape. Nice work!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyYou are very welcome!!! It was great seeing you and Tokaji work. The depth of your skills and teamwork was really amazing, and it was so fun to see you develop new superpowers!!!
THi!
Yep, sounds like it might be a “dirt is icky” issue, so your idea of dragging 2x2s or channels to a dirt arena is exactly what I was thinking. A couple of sessions with super high value rewards should be all he needs 🙂 If it doesn’t improve or if the skill also deteriorates elsewhere, get him checked out to make sure nothing is ouchy. When are the trials?
THi!
Yep, sounds like it might be a “dirt is icky” issue, so your idea of dragging 2x2s or channels to a dirt arena is exactly what I was thinking. A couple of sessions with super high value rewards should be all he needs 🙂 If it doesn’t improve or if the skill also deteriorates elsewhere, get him checked out to make sure nothing is ouchy. When are the trials?
THi there!
Great job on all of these courses! Soooo much good work here!
Course 1 – I really loved your run on this course! You had the right combination of connection, good handling choices, and trusting his job as you did your. YES! The opening looked great – I could see you pushing the limits of your trust by moving past 3 so nicely, he had no trouble! Same with jump 8, the backside after the 2nd tunnel – connection and strong cues, and a lot of trust. He nailed it! That allowed you to set a great line 8-9-10. And really nice ending after the poles!
Only 2 little tweaks for you – you can try setting him up further back from jump 1, it sounds like he ticked it. And on the 13 bar (bummer that it came down!) that is more of a threadle rear cross to set the line. You handled it as a ‘normal’ rear cross, so he was slicing it and tried to adjust in the air but couldn’t quite get it done.2nd video (course #3):
Also super lovely!
The opening looked great – you are connected but also trusting him so nicely 🙂
One small detail on 2-3 – you can stay closer to this line on the wing of 2 towards 3 to tighten it up a tiny bit. You were laterally away from the line, so he landed a little wide and had to use an extra stride to push back in.He seems to have super nice weaves, so you can use that be be further ahead when he exits – that way as soon as you see him look at the backside, you can start the blind. You started it as he was in the air at :18 so he pulled the bar. You can also check out the jump proofing skill set in the custom skills sets – sometimes we humans are late (but only sometimes hahaha) so we reward LOTS when the dogs keep the bars up when we are late 🙂
Being further ahead will also make the threadle to the tunnel sooner.
And if you think his weaves are strong enough, you can leave him in them entirely and run to the landing side of 8 to serp/push him to the tunnel – that will replace having to do 3 moves (BC then Threadle then rear cross)The rest of it went really nicely. The RC at 10 got you ahead again, the threadle to 13 looked really strong. You can leave the ‘get around’ at jump 15 even sooner – you were helping him more than needed there by decelerating, which made you late for the blind and he ticked the bar. Then you pulled up right before the last jump so he pulled up (he is very honest LOL!!)
3rd video (also course 3) –
the opening looked good again! Yay! You can see how being a little later on 2-3 affected how he took the jump at 3, he was still adjusting for it as he lifted off.
The BC at 7 went a lot more smoothly and you then did the threadle sooner too so got a nice turn at 8! But then you pushed into the RC too early and he didn’t take 9. I think leaving him in the poles to run to the landing side of 8 will be so much easier 🙂
Middle section looked lovely again!
You drove through the ending line brilliantly! You were on takeoff side of 15 at the same time he was (:40) and that got you a great turn AND you were way ahead for the ending. NICE!4th video (course 2):
1-2-3-4 looked really good! You did the wrap on the inside of 5, and it went well as a threadle-wrap! But…. it will be faster to find the slice 🙂 (I know, I am a pain in the butt hahaha!) Exiting on the line you had him exit 5 was perfect, so pushing him to the other side of 5 to enter will create a nice fast slice line there.I also think you can slice the other way over 7 – in this section, start by finding the exit line that works best to show 8-9 (that would be the wing more towards the center of the course) and then you can look at the slice going into it – you can push him around the far wing to create that slice to the exit wing. When in doubt, look for as much of a race track line as possible. If you find yourself doing 2 threadles in a row, you can consider the other line to see if it is faster.
I will definitely be a pain in your butt on the 11-12-13 section LOL!! You 11 was well done at :32, really nice commitment and you were in a great place! It will be faster and easier on him if you then pushed into the gap with a convergence line to get the backside of 12 (which will then land him facing 13). The FC to take him to the far wing of 12 for a wrap is more yardage for sure and also that wrap is harder, physically, then the slice would be. It is also harder to handle, because you almost sent him into the tunnel on the FC 🙂
The rear cross on the flat on the ending line seemed like the best option! Doing the RC between 16 and 27 might have pulled him off the line based on the angles, and it might not have been possible to get far enough ahead for the blind. He read the RC well and drove ahead nicely.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
