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Good morning!
The plank game went really well. The catos were great for getting it higher. She seemed very comfortable on it – back and forth, different angles, on and off the board in the middle, turning around, etc. Turning to her right away from you was hard – it is not that important on the plank at this point, but definitely something to see if she can do easily on the flat (for handling).
I think the next stages of this would be about getting the RDW foundations going (I am assuming you are doing a RDW 🙂 ) Then you can attach it to the plank. And separately, teeter foundations too! You can rest one end of the board on the 16” table and the other end on the ground, so she can run up it.
She totally remembered the lazy game! And was moving pretty quickly through it, which is great because most dogs stroll when the handlers are being ‘lazy’ like this LOL!!
Adding the tunnel was great – she seemed to enjoy it and picked up more speed! And she was doing what we want: Moving fast and independently on the line without a ton of sprinting from the handler. YAY!!!
Adding the sends: this went super well too! She barely needed a cue on the sends – she seemed to be recognizing the line and driving to it. The distances were not a problem for her.
Since this went so well, you can spread this out more (go to 15 feet or 18 feet, getting closer to full size competition distances!) and add in the handling games. That will mean more running for you and I think she is ready for that…and that she will really like it too!!! Yay!
Great job!!
Tracy
Good morning!
This sequence had some good spots to play with for him!!! For the handling choices, at this point I mainly look at it from the viewpoint of getting the fastest possible lines with no questions from Kaladin. Pretty fun to be at that level of obsessing!!!
He came off the line at :08 (missed 4). It looks like you started to look which turned your shoulders, and I don’t think there was a verbal. You were more connected for sure at :40, a little closer, and sounds like you said jump. He got it easily there with a lot of speed. I am not sure he needs a lot of connection in those spots anymore (maybe through the clutter boxes he does?) but definitely the verbal will help support the line. Being quiet with the softer connection is part of what pulled him off the line.
Looking at the send to 5 before the Serp-blind:
He had a little extra yardage at :41 (you were a little late with the send). I am not sure, though, if getting a collection stride with a brake arm, for example, will be faster. So you can be more lateral as he exits 4 (without layering, which you noted as a little slower and also looked like he was not driving as hard) and sending sooner – that way you can use your verbals and run through the serp sooner. It might chop off a tenth of a second…. But at this level, we will take that tenth of a second as that can end up being a winning margin!The other place to talk to him more is after the blind on 6 and heading to 7 – running around the tree worked great 🙂 but you were quiet on the first run so he looked up at you a tiny bit. That is a spot where keeping him looking ahead can take off another tenth or two.
Leading out on the other side of the tunnel: that was harder than expected, but I am guessing he doesn’t have a ton of experience with layered openings (I also say “dude!” When the dog does something surprising LOL!). He got it when you were further ahead of him, but we still want to build the skill of taking the jump with you parallel or behind him. You can move the jump closer to the tunnel to decrease the distance challenge for now. And you can place a toy or bowl on the landing side of the tunnel – he was looking at it but not taking it when released, so having the reward as part of the focal point can help jumpstart the behavior too.
Have fun in Winnipeg!!! Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Levy did well with sequence 2 Part 2 when I used the Front crosses at both 3 and 4 and was on the landing side of 7 to 8. >>
Awesome!!!!
>>Trying to serp to the blind did not go well. by the time I did the serp both Watson and Levy were in front of me so no chance for the BC and of course they went to the tunnel when I tried to flick them to the jump. >>
Were they correctly coming to the jump, but you were not able to get blind? That might mean you were not far enough across the jump – one thing you can do is send them away on the line more so you can layer the jump as you run a parallel line to them, then you can be closer to the exit wing as they are on their way to the backside.
And there is countermotion too: as they are coming to the backside, you are looking at the landing side but also moving forward towards the tunnel.
>> it worked fine for Levy but not for Watson. It was timing just didn’t give Watson enough connection and didn’t complete the BC in a timely manner. >>
Was he going off course to the jump straight ahead? If so, yes, it might have been timing but also, it might have been that he didn’t see enough connection. He is so small so you might have to connect downwards more and keep your arms back more.
>>This is a note to me that Levy needs more distance work and a stronger get out. He found taking the jump with the tunnel in between us difficult. Your suggestion for Watson (send from other tunnel entrance) worked like a dream. He nailed it the first time easily and I was way ahead.>>
Yay! I am glad it worked! You can totally build up the distance gradually. The key will be lots and lots of thrown rewards. That will really help commitment, because the toy appears out ahead on the line as you are running and they don’t have to look back to you 🙂
Thank you for the update! It sounds like the boys are doing really well!!!
Tracy
Hi! This went really well!!
>> My yard set up looks small and tight but I did measure it>>
It looked good to me 🙂 It is a really tight setup, very deliberately to put all sorts of stuff in your way LOL!!
She did great with the layering! A couple of ideas for you:
– she wants to look at you a bit on the tunnel exits, so you can tell her how to exit the tunnel when you want a straight line/extension exit – for her, saying “GO!” before she enters will help. If you are quiet when she enters, she looks at you (:15) and that is useful if you need a tight turn (which we don’t need here).
>>She did well on the backside wrap when I was not really supporting it very well>>
Yes! On the first run at :08, you were a little late telling her about it and did not turn to it as soon as she needed. But on the second run at :19, you were earlier with the info and you turned to it, so she nailed it. Yay!
For the threadle stuff:
yes, you can do one jump threadle work but for this sequence, you don’t need this type of threadle 🙂 On the very last rep, prepping for the big sequence:
the threadle is on the other side – do a BC or FC so she lands from the first jump there on your left, then do a threadle to get the other side of 6 (you will be in the ‘box’ of jumps and on the same side as the tunnel.Great job here! Stay cool!
Tracy
Hi!
>> Is your opinion to use wrap cues for rears or should I use a “switch” command? >>
It depends LOL!!! It depends on exactly what each verbal means:
About switch:
The way most people use switch to mean ‘turn away for a rear cross’ – that is not specific enough in terms of how much of a turn we want so it can get messy and unclear for the dog and they end up ignoring it (and relying on physical cues). I use ‘switch’ in one situation only: when I am turning the dog away and then sending her on a big layering line. So I will say “switch” then the obstacle name of the next obstacle (like ‘switch tunnel’) and it means ‘turn away, get on the line, and ignore my handling position until I cue something else’. It has been SUPER useful with all of the layering required lately!About directions like wraps, etc:
I use directionals on my rear crosses, because they indicate which direction to turn and exactly how much of a turn we want (like wrap-to-the-right, or soft-turn-to-the-left). So you if you have a wrap verbal for each side, and a soft turn verbal for each side, then I highly recommend directionals. And then I choose the directional verbal based on what the course requires (on this sequence, it would be a wrap).
If the wrap verbal always means turns towards you, then you either need to add a wrap-away and soft-turn-away, or add the more specific verbals about which direction the dog should turn. The dogs appreciate the clarity of the very specific verbals (and with a little practice, we humans totally *can* remember them LOL!)Looking at the video:
great job sorting out the RC cues! The trick is motion towards the center of the bar of the RC jump, and having her see that *before* she makes a takeoff decision.
On some of the reps, you didn’t show enough of that line to the center of the bar before she made a takeoff decision, making the info late, like at :05 and :24
On one of the reps, you pushed in too soon and your feet ended up looking like you wanted the backside, which pushed her off the jump (:35).
And on a bunch of reps, you were able to show the line to the center of the bar and got a lovely RC: :13, :44, :54.I think visuals are really important, so I grabbed screenshots of each of those moments so you can see what she was seeing. Here is the link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V8qdUtK1wU37fcnYBMDJPJ8k6VOYVsgz_MH3dpRva3M/edit?usp=sharing
On the rep at 1:08 – you were a little too far away and a little late on the info, but she did the RC… so she had probably figured out it was a RC session LOL!! She is definitely smart like that!
So definitely mix in cueing straight lines so she is still reading the info and not assuming it is a RC 🙂2nd setup: she found the jump really well! Super!!!! My only suggestion on this one is to keep moving rather than stand still and throw. We want her to learn the cue of having motion support the line and not dilute the decel in favor of chasing the toy 🙂 To protect your knee, you can be walking or slow jogging, as long as it is steady motion with no transition to decel. You can now adding getting closer to the ‘tunnel’ exit 🙂 and walking forward so she drives ahead of you to the jump. And you can also send to your ‘tunnel’ and get waaaaaay ahead, to see if she can find the jump from behind you.
Great job on these!
TracyGood morning! I hope the weather is cooling off a bit!
She did super well with finding the jump! You can also send to the tunnel from further away so you are ahead of her, past the jump (move the jump in closer so it is easier to get past it). Many young dogs struggle to find the jump after a tunnel when the handler is ahead!
For the motion override game: this was hard! There was steam coming out of her ears LOL! At the very end, you were marching in place – I think that is where you should start the next session. Just march in place and when that gets easy for her – go to shuffling along rather than walking. That way she can process the sit cue, specifically. She was processing that it was *something* about stopping, but she was not 100% sure if it was sit or stand or down.
You will see she starts to have lightbulb moments and then working up to running will be easier. Doing it on your left looked a little like heeling when you lifted your left arm and decelerated ever-so-slightly at :41, so resist temptation to do that LOL!!! Just keep your arms in the casual position so there are no additional cues besides the verbal.Great job here!
TracyGood morning! Really good session here, and the neighbor dog is indeed a big distraction! He was great about ignoring it!
>> I am limiting sessions to 5 minutes because by then we’re both super hot and brain dead.>>
Perfect – 5 minutes in the zillion degree temperatures can be a LOT!!!
>>Yes he’s jumping up at me but not in frustration. >>
Yes, it totally looked like he was excited about the reward and not frustrated 🙂
Looking at the different handling cues:
He did well with the go lines, and these were the only spots you needed a bit more connection 🙂 So add more eye contact as you run forward – he had a question on the first one (a little curling in towards you) and the bar down at 4:06 on the first jump, mainly because he couldn’t quite see enough connection.
You can also mix in go lines more often, to kind of ‘cleanse the palate’ and keep him looking forward 🙂
The wraps looked really good here, and I think the wrap reps had the best connection and timing too! He is nice and tight on the turn. Yay!
The rear crosses are going well too. Be sure to complete the side change – at the very end (last rep) you stopped without finishing the cross, so he was not sure if he should complete the rear of if he should turn back to you in the original direction.
>> Am I correct to use the wrap verbal on the rear cross here? >>
Yes, in this context. Other rear crosses can have left/right turn verbals or even ‘jump’ verbals if there is a lot of extension on the exit.
>> I was shocked how fast he remembered the back command for the backside.>>
Yes! You were not quite that clear at 1:52 (not far enough ahead for a baby dog so he didn’t see the connection) but much better at 3:17!!! The more you can connect on backside cues and the less arm pointing forward you use, the better he will read the cues (I know, totally counterintuitive on sends, but works GREAT!)
>> So we didn’t do the last tunnel plus back side.>>
No worries, it was 80 million degrees out! You can start with tunnel next time. And when you switch sides, start with the tunnel too – that will geta lot of motion going, especially if dog-on-left is the harder side.
Great job!!
Tracy
Good morning! This went really well!
I agree that he had a bit of a side preference here:
All of the reps where he was on your right (turning to his left) looked great. Then at first he was not as sure when he was on your left (turning to his right), Pointing at the jumps is not helpful – the adjustment that helped him was when you strolled a little closer to the jump at :42 – :45. That got the big lightbulb moment for him!Then you were able to add more motion, verbals, etc. NICE!!!
He is ready for you to add the tunnel and more distance and more running! If the weather remains ridiculously hot, you don’t need to drag the tunnel out – you can replace it with a cone for him to go around. You can also add more distance between the jumps – try to get up to 18 feet between the center of each bar, he seems ready for that too!
Great job 🙂
TracyGood morning! Really good session here!!!
>>3. Using my marker for throwing the toy away from me. I missed it on the 1st & 2nd ones and then realized I did and was better after that. Though I still said ‘yay’ before chase it on one of them. Sigh. Hard habit to break!>>
I feel this pain!!! It is definitely a hard habit to break (what is that old song by Chicago?) But it is worth it when they are young.
The hardest part is to say the marker *then* move the reward. The dogs figure us out, thankfully, and he was definitely looking forward more here! YAY!!!
>> I probably need to throw the toy sooner.>>
You can mark sooner and have the toy in the air right after that, especially on the tunnel exits.
>>1. Not moving on my lead out. Not always perfect, but better (I think??)>>
Yes! Like at :33 and :51and 1:03, where you praised, released, he moved, then you moved. Click/treat for you both!
You can also do moving lead outs, where you are walking away and release while you are walking. The trick is that your motion and the release do not start simultaneously. Either you are in motion the whole time (like those running lead outs that are super useful) or you stop, release, then move.
If you stop then release and move simultaneously – that is when motion gets built into the reelase by accident.>>2. Keeping the toy in my hand. This led to a few amusing elevations by James that I think I edited out, but overall when he was running he was able to keep the springs in the box.>>
Yes, you took them out LOL!! You can use a toy that can scrunch into your hand better, this one was very visible so he might have come flying up to it when other cues were not as clear? On the reps here, you were pretty darned clear! Yay!
He is ready for you to move more – try this jogging and then build up to running! And add in the crosses. With the crosses, keep the big connection (and this is where a toy that can scrunch up into your hand will help a lot too).
Great job!!
TracyGood morning!
Yes, the heat has been awful!!! Hopefully it breaks soon.
She did well on the mountain climber game!!
And she was fine to jump off when she lost her balance after turning around – she can even have a cookie for bravery 🙂Since she was happy to run up the board, you can add in a target at the top by duct taping something to the top of the board or underside so it sticks up and out a bit. Yes, I carry duct tape and a target to different facilities LOL!!
That way you can place a reward on it before she gets on the board. Then she can run up the board looking straight ahead to the reward, and you can add some independent handling (like moving past the end of the board). A bit of cream cheese is perfect, because you can put a dab of it on the target and she can lick it while you are moving away from the board or doing a rear cross, etc.Looking at the wing-tunnel-wing game:
I grabbed some screenshots so you can have a visual of the moments I am pinpointing here 🙂 Here is the link to them:https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Rr771QKL3b0oZ1bxOYQqgTh74QRtfmquG3tYqoGNv4/edit?usp=sharing
I think we can get better commitment by getting clearer connection and taking your arm cues out of it 🙂 You were tending to point ahead of her at the obstacles, which blocks connection and turned your shoulders away from the line. If you tried to move away, you got a refusal. If you held still til she saw the line, she got it but then you needed serious hustle to get the next part, which caused questions there.
Ideally, your arm follows her nose the whole time. So if she is behind you, your arm is pointing to her. Yes, the arm can go forward but that is best for after she passes you 🙂 And always have your eyes on her eyes as you move – that turns the line of your shoulders to the line you want her to take, and makes it very visible for her.
Looking at various moments:
You had a refusal at 1:29 (same thing happened at 2:14) – by using the arm to point forward, the send was turned away and there was no verbal, plus lots of other obstacles around. You can reward her for effort. She did get it at 1:52 but you had to hold position.
Compare to 1:41 where you had better position, better connection, and said tunnel. You can connect even more, look even more directly at her and point forward less.
Same at 1:45, after the tunnel: You were looking ahead and pointing ahead so she had a question about the line.
She got it better at 1:55 but that was based on you getting closer to the jump.When you ran with connection and had minimal or no pointing? She nailed it 🙂 Check out 2:10! You will tighten that turn by adding decel as she exits the tunnel, but let’s celebrate the connection first! And you had more gorgeous connection (and no questions from Tarot) at 2:43 as she exited the tunnel. That rep also had some decel so you got the collection before take off on the wrap!!
At 2:49, you did a big send by pointing ahead of her and that changed the line of the cue: connection blocked and shoulders turned away from the jump, so she came to you.
So definitely work the sequences with your arm low and back to her nose, and making eye contact (as you keep moving) the #1 thing. If you make the clear connection, she will not look at you at all 🙂 If you break connection by looking ahead and pointing ahead, she will look at you to figure out what you want.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
You and Fusion were AMAZING in class!!! Well done!!!!!!!!!!And I am glad we got it done before the rains came.
>>One question meant to ask the brake arm is this only used for tirns or can it be used for general collection eg before the weaves>>
I suppose it can be used before the weaves to help the dog. Ideally, the weave entries would be so well-trained that we would not need to, but it would be interesting to experiment with brake arms to see if the dog is more successful that way! Try it and let me know!
Tracy
OMG! I am glad you are all safe! Sorry about your truck, what a pain!!!!!!!!!
Looking forward to the videos when you have a chance to get to the field!Tracy
Yes, that was my screw up, sorry!!!! Thankfully you got the correct link in time. Stay cool!!!!!
Tracy
Hi!
She is doing really well with the layered line and finding the tunnel! Super!
One thing to consider with the verbals – it sounds like you were using ‘push’ for 4 (which is a front side) and for 6 (which is a backside). I think a ‘jump’ verbal is better for 4, and then push can be for the true backside at 6.
>>We are having trouble with commitment if I am moving. I feel that I’m looking at the landing spot, but maybe I’m not doing it correctly.>>
There were a couple of things happening here:
Yes, on the true countermotion reps where your feet were moving forward to the next jump (at :43 and 1:15) – you were looking at her and not back to the landing. So as she is moving to the backside entry wing, you can shift your connection to look at the landing as you move past the jump, and your dog-sde arim can point to the landing spot.
You were starting to do that at 1:31 and she came in a lot better. Be sure not to rotate your feet though, because that will make it a lot harder to keep moving forward on those backsides to be ahead for the next line.
Also, the backside push verbal is a compound verbal that means ‘go to the other side AND jump the bar’. I think she has understanding of the first part (go to the backside) but not of the 2nd part (jump to bar) so you will want to train that. To train it, lower the bar, don’t move as fast, and cue the behavior, Keep walking through it it and as she is approaching the backside entry, shift your connection to the landing spot (eyes and arm). And, this is the important part: toss the reward to the landing spot as you keep moving past it. The placement of reward is super important here – dropping it independently of your position really helps solidify understanding to take the bar rather than relying on your physical cues to help her come in to take it.
When she can do it with you walking (and not rotating your feet), you can start to go faster: jogging then eventually running.
On the reps where she did come in (:56, 1:03, 1:24, 1:45, 2:02 you were helping without countermotion by staying on landing side and rotating your feet. That definitely got her to successfully come over the bar, but I think using the countermotion and dropping the toy on landing as you move past the jump will help get her to do it without needing any foot rotation.
During the training, remember not to get caught up in trying to execute the handling move 🙂 Look for the training opportunities and how to build the skills, as these are more important than the handling moves. When you were having trouble getting the blind cross exit on the backside, you started to get frustrated and stopped rewarding her so she slowed down a lot… then 1:51 – you sent to where she went on 4 and then told her she was wrong. She starting getting careful (trotting) so you will want to do 2 things to avoid her slowing down:
– keep rewarding and breaking the skills down is a handling move is going wrong, rather than withholding reward
– stop and watch the video and see why it is going wrong, as the video will givey you great info!>>Also, I know you have been busy, so it might not have been posted yet, but did I miss an email about the conditioning guest instructor camp webinar being posted?>>
The email is probably flying around in spam somewhere LOL!! The webinar is posted here:
Recording Of Special Guest Instructor Live Zoom with Stefanie Theis!
Great job!!
Tracy
