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Good morning!
>Aelfraed had to concentrate very hard to hold his position. You can tell by the eery quiet, lol>
Ha! That made me bust out laughing!
Good job rewarding all those stays! He stood up at 1:04 on video and :23 on video 2 but didn’t otherwise move forward – will he sit on a verbal cue with you out there? Rewarding the stand can be a slippery slope that gets more stands. Asking him to sit again can help, as long as you lead out more before releasing or rewarding – so that sit-stand-sit doesn’t become a chain.
Looking at the blinds:
Super nice timing of the BC at :27 & :48 on video 1, and at :11 & :28 on video 2!
On both videos – you can be more laterally away from jumps 1 and 2 so you are heading to 3 the whole time. You were tending to be moving more straight up the line towards 2, so he was jumping straighter. If you are heading towards 3, he will see the positional cue and be ready to turn.
Your positional cue on 3 for the FC at 1:15 on video 1 was really strong, he was turning over 2 before you even started the FC (and you can start it sooner :))
On video 2 at :42, you were near 3 but facing straight and stepped forward so he jumped straight over 2 before turning after landing (good boy!) Being slightly rotated back to him and dropping your left arm & leg back into the FC will set up earlier turn cues there. This is more of what you did at 1:02 and the turn was definitely better!For the lead out push at 1:36 on video 1 – you can wait longer to release, until you are at or past the center of bar 2. That will get a better turn to 3. You were a little further across the bar at 1:48 and the turn was already better! Ideally, you would get to the center of the bar or past it, set up in a stationary serp position, then release him. You might have been releasing a little early to protect the stay, so you can get to the position and throw the reward back instead of releasing.
What I mean by getting to position is being at the landing side of 2 (kind of close to the jump) with your upper body showing him the line and your feet pointing to 3 – and be stationary in that position when you release him. When he lands from 1 and looks at 2, you can start moving towards 3. Being stationary there sets the turn really well while also committing him to 2.
Moving through the position (rather than stopping to set the line at the bar of 2) made you early in the motion at 1:15 on video 2, so he was a good boy to not take 2! Good job rewarding him.
At 1:22 you compensating by releasing earlier but that read as a straight line, so he was jumping straight over 2 and made a grunt noise at you LOL! At 1:31 you were further across the bar but it still read as a straight line to him. So definitely use that position across the bar, but be stationary when you release til he locks onto 2 – that should be perfect!
Next steps here are to add challenge by spreading the jumps out, to get closer to competition distances!
Nice work!
Tracy
Good morning!
>We started with lead outs. Skizzle did a good job holding his position. It wasn’t super obvious for him where to go, but after a few reps, I think he was patterned to it.>
Lead outs are one of the few places where we do want the dogs to pattern and recognize the patterns. There are a handful of different openings we teach them – and then they can actually recognize the different openings on course. Thankfully, there are not zillions of variations on course openings 🙂 The ones we are working on here are some of the typical openings.
Nice job building up the stay and starting him gradually further and further back! He did beautifully finding the line and holding the stay! When you trust hm more, you can lead out further to be able to start the blinds sooner 🙂 But he is totally recognizing the set up – zipping towards 3 the instant he gets the turn cues. Super!
>From the example videos, it seemed like you expected the dog to know to take jump 3 from your movement?>
Yes – your line of motion and connection shows the dog where 3 is. You can see it on your first couple of reps:
At :16, you did the blind really well so he changed sides, but you were moving straight and not towards 3, so he was going to go past it (til you threw the reward :))
Compare that to :25 where you were closer to 3 when you did the blind, so he knew exactly where to go: to 3!You can also do the blind on the way to 3 as you add longer lead outs. At :43, the blind cross timing is good but you were moving towards the landing side of 2 rather than towards 3. Yo can trust his commitment to 2 and be moving closer to 3 for the blind (rather than closer to 2). But he is clearly recognizing the structure of the lead out line because he totally zipped away to 3 when he saw the new connection 🙂
The FC went well too – you can be closer to 3 on those as well. Moving towards 2 supports the straight line, so you can see him jumping straight over 2 at 1:06. He makes the turn after landing, but you can be closer to 3 on the lead out – that positional cue provides really strong turn info too.
>I have a couple questions – do you use a verbal to tell the dog to turn left after the 2nd jump to take the 3rd? Assuming that might be a soft left verbal?>
For the gigantic dogs, or dogs that don’t turn well, I might use the soft turn verbal. For smaller dogs and dogs that turn well (this is Skizzle :)), the soft turn cues might get too much collection because they can work this line in extension. A ‘jump’ verbal is all you probably need, just to support the line.
>2nd question: I’m catering a bit to Skizzle with having him stand and wait. He doesn’t like to sit in wet grass, and sometimes would prefer not to sit or lie down in grass. It seems to be working all right.>
I call it teamwork! He has given his opinion and you are taking that into consideration. We don’t want him to start the run with an ‘ick’ feeling, and we don’t want the two of you fighting about the position. And a stand stay is a great start position!!
> I think I’m decent at holding criteria for the stand stay position. >
Yes! A stand is great! You can totally use it.Sometimes he might prefer a sit or down but it doesn’t really matter – what matters is that you are both comfy, he holds the stay, and no one is fighting with the other 🙂
>Bonus question – will there be a “live” MaxPup 4? Having a blast, and planning for post-MP3.>
Yes! It is actually on today’s to-do list: pick the MaxPup 4 start date! I figure it will take us through the summer and into the fall.
Great job here!
Tracy
Thank you for the kind words!!!! The Syracuse-area/Fleischmann Field crew has been putting up with me since as far back as 2005 (!) so I really appreciate all of the support and willingness to try new crazy things. And it was SUPER fun for me to see all of these amazing youngsters in person. They did great!!! Baby Ember is fantastic and SO MUCH FUN!!!!! I am excited to see more of you and Em 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
>Resilience Games/Arousal Management: She almost focuses MORE when I turn up the dial -but only at home or in safe spaces. >
>
We are having to stay in the baby phases and basics of the resilience games when we are out in the real world. >Yes! What you are seeing is the science of what is happening in her brain and body. Increasing arousal (optimizing it, actually, like with the volume dial game) does sharpen focus and that is what we use it for when we can.
But if her brain is also being bombarded with challenging stimuli in harder places (especially if she is concerned or anxious about something), there is limited ‘bandwidth’ in her nervous system to regulate that arousal. So it is possible that in the harder places, she gets overaroused and the volume dial game doesn’t work nearly as well as the pattern games. The pattern games reset the brain and nervous system to ideal arousal in a different way.
Part of the challenge with adolescent dogs is to find that balance – things keep shifting until she is adult. But having the pattern games and having the volume dial in your tool box can help you pull out a tool for whatever situation she is in.
>I may try to get a video or two of the resilience games from the parking lot of the trial this weekend if I can do so safely/respectfully and in a way that I can still give Macklynn my complete focus. >
Bringing a tripod can help – I have a cheap one that lives in my car so I don’t forget 🙂 I have also clipped my phone to my car door in the past – that way I can get hands-free video of the dog in a harder environment.
The threadle wraps are going well! Be sure that your line of motion is clearly parallel to her line before she starts moving, and not to the barrel. Compare :15 (where you stepped a bit towards the barrel, so she did a normal wrap) to :22 where you were on a perfect line parallel to her intended threadle wrap line and she had no questions about the threadle wrap on that rep or the reps after it. . SUPER!
She had one miss of the barrel when you were moving forward in steady motion (on the left turn side). You can add a bit of decel into this (it is a handling move that has decel anyway) to help commitment override motion.
>We were given permission to play solo in the ring after my other dog’s class the last couple of weeks, >
So fun!!!! What a great opportunity! She seemed super happy and engaged.
>we’ve used that time to test some of our more basic skills in a new environment. >
Perfect! Hard environment should also mean easier skills.
>There were two straight tunnels set up, so I wanted to give her a chance to open up to a little more speed than we can get in my yard. Hope this isn’t counterproductive!>
Not counterproductive at all! It is a skill she needs to know, and it makes that environment really fun 🙂 The biggest goal is that she really enjoys being in the agility ring – and you accomplished that here from what I could see. Everything else comes together nicely if the dog is having fun 🙂
My only suggestion is to take the harness off when she is running – it looks like a front clip harness which can restrict forward ‘reach’ of shoulders, so you can take it off and let her really extend. Otherwise, keep setting up these fast & fun games with super fun toy dragging!!!!
Great job 🙂
TracyGood morning!
>Ah yes, the arms. That really may be critical all around. >
The arms are the hardest part of agility. We humans love to use our arms and hands but the dogs need to see our shoulders and eyes 🙂
>I’m really not trying to be dense, but this is a long standing issue, so I’m thinking about it in reverse. In what situation would I want to raise my arms? >
This is an excellent question!! I hope I have enough coffee on board to answer it 🙂
I use my opposite arm as get out cue and for threadle wraps and tandem turns, as well as some soft turn collections.For the dog-side arm… when you are ahead, you can have it pointing back to her nose (which keeps it low if you think about it at her nose). That helps with connection especially if you have to decelerate into a turn. I have it high and back for serps and threadles, and countermotion (like pointing to the landing spot, you will see some of that in week 4).
When the dog is behind me or parallel to me, I try to never have it parallel to my body or pointing ahead because those are the 2 biggest connection-blockers. And if the dog is ahead of me, I am in run run run catch up mode, no arm pointing needed 🙂 The days of using the arm to ‘show the line’ are gone because it turns out we were blocking connection.
I don’t know if I ever sent these? This first one might answer some of the questions better with visuals:
And this is the most fun way to keep our hands from flying around. It was a life saver for the dog in the video (he used to get SO MAD when I disconnected). I start with water and then made it harder with better drinks, like coffee and milkshakes LOL!
>Or maybe not, might be a lost cause, but I’m definitely willing to try.>
You’ll get it! You are motivated 🙂 It takes practice but then it locks in and makes handling easier for sure.
>So that’s how I can manage to get these blinds after a tunnel to work!>
Yes! Her tunnel commitment is super strong so you can definitely start the crosses before she enters.
>I missed the walk through on that course, otherwise I suspect I wouldn’t have put that blind there.>
I love that you went for it! You needed to be a little further ahead but you can plot sending her away sooner during your walk through to make the blinds easier.
>I can see that Georgie absolutely relies on connection, when I fail at that, things always go wrong. Georgie is not tolerant of sloppy handling. If I’m off by a split second, she’ll wing it. >
This is 100% normal with a young fast dog, and it gets easier when they have more experience and can ‘read’ cues sooner. And if she doesn’t get the info clearly, she is allowed to try to figure it out on her own – she will started ‘knowing’ what the correct course is and will find it in those moments where things might not be as clear. That way you won’t need to be as perfect. 3.5 years old is still young, in terms of agility 🙂
>She’s quite the taskmaster, she even barks at me in practice/on course if my handling is not clear. Or should I say she yells at me. >
Think of it as a bit of loud feedback 🙂 Usually when we get barked at, it is the dog yelling CONNECT! CONNECT!!! They are pretty tolerant of us being late as long as we are connected.
>She’s my first border collie, and it’s a humbling experience to run her.>
And also probably an absolute blast to run!
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
Yay! Both girls were on fire today. I guess a little rest and less partying was all they needed 🙂 The sequences looked terrific!
>It’s a little frustrating when I review my videos because it looks like I’m barely moving! In real time, I feel like I’m making improvements on moving with my girls more but in the videos, it looks like I’m barely moving sometimes! >
You were totally moving! Both girls thought your movement was spot on – and Kashia in particular will not go fast if she feels you are not going fast.
>Same with my helicopter arms. I’m always trying to be cognizant of where my arms are and not lifting them too high or flailing them around. In real time, it feels like I’m getting better at it, but when I watch my videos, it sure doesn’t seem like it!>
Your arms were good here! There was one spot where the arm caused a question but overall, the girls saw your cues clearly. Sometimes our arm movement is just physics (centrifugal force causing them to move) and that is fine – you were not blocking connection and the connection on the exit of the blind was perfect each time! The dogs will let you know if they feel you are flinging your arms too much 🙂
Sequence 1 went great with both dogs!
Kashia’s runs: she definitely liked running sequences and not exercises LOL!Great job with the out jump at :11! I think you were surprised that she ran hard to that jump because had to really take off for the next one 🙂 But you got it, no problem, nice timing!!! She is doing really well with all the distance!
Kastella was totally back to her normal speed too! She has great tunnel commitment – you were actually a little early on the blind after the tunnel at :29 (you were finished with it when she landed from the jump before the tunnel). She followed the motion and stayed on her line, but being that early might make it harder for when you do a blind and don’t want that end of the tunnel 🙂
Sequence 2:
Kashia’s runs:Fantastic timing of the blind at :42! You saw her committing to the jump after the tunnel, then did the blind right on time. Great connection! That produced a TON of speed before the blind and even more after it.
When you did the blind on the landing side of 5 at :59 – also fantastic timing and connection!
And on both runs, getting the backside of 6 went easily because of the blind. Super nice connection there too.
She didn’t look as fast about going to jump 3 on that 2nd run but then super fast going from 4 to 5, so I timed the difference between the 2 runs – the first run was about a second faster! That is good to know: staying closer to her line and putting the blind between 4 and 5 got a significant amount more speed 🙂 Yay!
Kastella’s runs also looked fabulous! The first 2 runs had the BC between 4 and 5 – for whatever reason, she was not as sure about finding 3 on the first run. I think maybe your left arm as too high and blocked connection, so she looked at you to double check. And that made the blind a little later than it was on the 2nd run:
On that run, you had better connection as she exited the tunnel so she ran hard to the 3rd jump. That allowed you to nail the timing of the blind: perfect!The last run for Kastella had the blind on landing of 5 – perfect timing and connection here too. She LOVED chasing you when you were that far ahead!
So I timed all of her runs: the first run where she had the question heading to 3 as the slowest by about a second. Those questions eat up a lot of time! But then the super smooth 2nd and 3rd runs were nearly identical in time – so for Kastella, you can get ahead like that (and Kashia goes faster when you re not as far ahead).
Great job here! It is fun to compare times when all of the handling is pretty perfect 🙂 When is your next trial, so you can go for blinds like this?
Tracy
Good morning!
I love the cover photo for the video – she is such a gorgeous dog!
> I have some additional tunnel bags on order, in the meantime, I have adjust each time she goes through.
She is a powerful girl so those tunnel bags will definitely help.
The shorter tunnel length certainly makes things spicy with timing! But you did it! I think the hard part was sending from a standstill around the wing to the tunnel, so you can move into it more and the sequences will feel much easier.
In the first part of the session, you were alternating between getting the blind after she exited, and timing the blind to start before she entered. She read all of them really well – and on the blinds she saw before she entered, you can see her already turning to the new line before she exited the tunnel. Yay!
Towards the end, when you were sending to the wing without as much motion, you ended up doing a spin (FC-BC combo) at :34 and :48. Those are also useful tools to show before a tunnel because it adds good turn info without ending up on the other side of you.
>I’ve added a little something at the end as a follow up to the work on “Don’t Hit the Handler.” This clip was from a run last weekend. When I watched the video, I realized how lucky I was she didn’t take me down. Good girl, Georgie, and I’ll try to do better next time.>
Good girl Georgie! She worked her buns off to get that new line for you!!! And that is what I mean by connection overriding timing on blinds: you were a little late because you were driving to position and she is fast 🙂 But you still showed her the connection enough that she was able to pick up the new line. Yay! One way to show it even sooner is to run with your arms in tighter to your ribs, like an Olympic sprinter 🙂 That can get the connection info to her really quickly and get you further ahead too! Having arms out slows down us humans, and blocks connection which delays info.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Looking at the threadle wraps:
The most important part was that your feet need to be facing a line parallel to his path to the correct side of the wing. When you did that he was spot on with finding the threadle! When your feet faced the wrong line, he was spot on with finding the line they were facing 🙂Here are visuals. On the first photo, he went to the other side of the wing. On the 2nd photo, he went to the threadle side of the wing.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dLsohB1WdEh3ETT11-F30l9YqDQLBO5WMGpwPoBKAMU/edit?usp=sharing
When you did the first rep with the tunnel. you were too far from the wing and converging to it, so he was not sure what you wanted. When you add the tunnel back to it, give yourself a bigger head start so when he exits, you are closer to the wing and also showing the line you want.
>He’s going wide on the threadles. I know it’s me. >
Easy fix: add decel! The threadle wraps are not a steady-motion, keep-moving thing. They should have decel as part of the cue, which will immediately tighten up the turn.
You had decel on the wraps on the 2nd video and he read the wraps really well!
Just be sure you are not blocking his view of the wing, especially on the wing after the tunnel – I think you were on his line a few times so he has no choice but to go wide to get to the wing (I mean, he can go through you, but it is preferred that he not do that LOL!) You can really see it at 2:50 and 3:48, for example: you are where he needs to be so he has to push out really wide around you. Let him see the full wing so he can drive directly to it.
His commitment is looking good!!! Great job here!
Tracy
She is doing really well with her stay and finding the line here!!! Yay!
You can definitely spread the distances out – she is ready for that challenge and it will give you more timing to get the handling cues in 🙂 Try for 7 meters between obstacles and see how she does!
For all of these options (BC, FC, lead out push) you can trust her commitment to 2 and be heading towards or positioned closer to jump 3.
For example with the blinds at :31 and :39 and :52 you were heading to the landing side of 2 before heading to 3, so she jumped straight over 2 then adjusted after landing. The line of motion into the blinds should support 2 while allowing you to be moving laterally up the line towards 3 – and your position nearer to 3 will help cue the turn even more easily.
For the FC – On a lead out, you can be stationary right at the wing of 3 (the exit wing) and start the FC as soon as she lands from 1 and look at 2. The position near 3 will automatically cue the turn on this type of lead out.
For the lead out push – you can get into position just past the center of the bar, feet pointing to 3 and upper body opened up back to her – and be stationary for a moment before you release, so she can read the line. These are basically lead out serpentines, so you can get into the good ol’ strike a pose position 🙂 When you were moving into it, you were releasing while showing straight line info, so she was jumping straight before turning after landing.
Showing the info and moving towards 3 sooner will help her turn before takeoff to 2.Great job!!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did well with the teeter on its own – still figuring out the added tip and being outside, so keep the tip here until he is consistently blasting up the board. The sequence of the tunnel to the teeter was hard and took out some of his speed. Without you ahead to set the line, he had some questions about driving to it and up the plank. Part of it is the a-frame blocking his view of the line, so you can keep it simpler for now to maintain the speed up the board.
The wingin’ it game looked really strong! He had a lot of handle in the background – all of the usual outdoor challenges plus the new added challenge of someone weed-whacking along the fence LOL!! It was happening during the teeter session too. His brain did an excellent job tuning it out.
The “Go” exits of the tunnel looked super – it appears that he was looking straight on all of them and not back at you.
For the “go” exits, you can show more acceleration and also add a wing or jump after it, so he locks onto the next obstacle.The right turn RCs looked great and he had no trouble balancing back to the “go” line too. You can add a wing or jump after the right turn RCs to have him lock onto that too!
The left turns were harder, as expected – on the first one and at 1:37 (and later at 1:51), I think your pressure on the RC line was really good but he didn’t see you on the new side before entering the tunnel. So he is not (yet) reading the pressure into the left turns and needs to see you on the new side. But that proved tricky on the next rep at 1:30, where you were TOTALLY on the new side… but he didn’t take the tunnel.
But I think he is starting to read the pressure as part of the cue – at 2:01 the wing was on a slightly easier line, yes, but he read the RC pressure and got it correct. Yay! And on the last rep at 2:15 he was able to commit to the tunnel even when you crossed to the new side before he got in – super!
So there is definitely progress on the harder side! When you revisit it, you can start with the wing in the spot it was here, then inch it back out to a harder line. And you can totally place the reward at the tunnel exit, slightly visible in the new direction, to help him get it on the first couple of reps (then we fade it out pretty quickly).
Great job here!
Tracy
Easy answer: Yes! You’ll need another set of poles. There are a lot of ways to train 2x2s but you can add the new set slightly open either before the 4 he already knows, or after it. And until you get the new set, you can train a lot of independence on what you’ve already got: he does his 4 poles while you move away laterally, send from crazy angles, rear cross, etc.
Do you ever train with channels? I really like them to help build to 12 poles and train a ton of independence – without having to do a lot of actual weaving/bending which is hard on the body. I am guessing Jess trains with channels but I don’t know for sure. With my young dogs, I train both (channels and 2x2s) in these early stages – it helps create the understanding and independence, without needing wires or gates or anything. Then the dog usually indicates a preference for one type over the other, and I ‘finish’ the training with that type – 2 of my current dogs preferred the channels, and 2 preferred the 2x2s. It guess that is just what made sense to their brain and they all ended up with good weaves 🙂
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did a fabulous job driving up the board with the added tip! I didn’t really see a difference in his drive up the board here versus easier sessions. No angled approaches needed for a while after you add more tip (multiple sessions of the new tip) because our interest in getting a ton of speed up the board at first overrides the need for angles. So rather than angles, you can add cone or wing wraps before it. And then at some point after a few sessions, you can show him the angled approaches. So far there have been no questions from him and that is GREAT!!
Lead out video 1:
FCs –
Your position near 3 really helps him see the line and the turn on the FC. You can step directly back into the FC (dropping the dog-side shoulder back) rather than step forward then back . Your timing was good so stepping back into it will prevent any delays in him seeing the FC.On the lead out pushes: Super nice connection, super nice arm & foot position!
Small but important detail: Releasing later (when you are past the halfway point on the bar of 2, heading for 3) will give him earlier turn info and set up a better turn.
At 3:24 you released him just before you got to the halfway point so he thought you wanted him to go straight (and turned as he landed. Being further across the bar will get the turn before takeoff.
At 4:50 you released before you got to the halfway point then really accelerated – that closed your shoulder forward and pushed him off the jump. At 5:11, you released after the halfway point and dropped your arm back (like a serp, because this type of lead out is indeed very serpy :)) and he read it perfectly. The last rep was my favorite of the lead out pushes: you were past the halfway point AND really connected with your arm back – that produced a lot of speed and a great turn. Yay!
Leads out 2, other side: it is really fun to see that he is strong in both directions – no obvious turn side preference!
On the FC at 1:58 and 2:56, you can be even closer to 3 and definitely drop back into the FC rather than step forward . The step forward was more obvious than on the other side, and you can see how it pushes him onto a straight line over 2 rather than support the turn.
Lead put pushes: he is reading the handling really well on this side too! As with the first video, you can release him when you are at the halfway point across the bar of 2 or past the halfway point. You were releasing him on a straight line so he was jumping straight over 2 – being further over will cue the turn sooner.
> On the second video I did not maintain good connection and he broke his stay. Lesson learned. He really wanted to go on one of the reps but he stayed!>
That was at 1:10 on video 2 – yes, always be perfectly connected on the lead out 🙂 But also… don’t worry about being perfectly connected all the time because it is impossible to be connected all the time. Instead, make sure that he doesn’t think eye contact is the release. What I mean by that is as you lead out, look back at him and praise and wait for a heartbeat or two or 3…. then either release or throw the toy back (great job with all the stay rewards!) And sometimes look back, praise, keep moving, don’t release! Mix it up so the only thing that is the release is the actual word. That way he doesn’t predict your behavior as lead out, connect, release in a rhythm. That predictable rhythm is what causes the dogs to start to thing the connection (when you look back at them) is the release. Same goes with arm raising – separate it from the release, flap it around, etc, so he doesn’t think the arm is the release 🙂 His stays are strong and we are going to keep them strong as the sequencing gets more and more exciting 🙂
Great job on these!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Should I try the volume dial outside the ring before my turn at class?>
Yes, that is a good place for it along with as you enter the ring for your turn. Generally, the volume dial is a short blast warm up because it is a high energy game. Less than a minute is all you need, and usually 30 seconds is more than enough. So if you are waiting outside the ring for a couple of minutes, the pattern game is better to get engagement because it is calmer and won’t be exhausting if he does it for 2 minutes. Than as you enter the ring, you can ramp it up into volume dial so he is 100% ready for his turn.
>Also inside ring for break between reps?>
Yes, if he has been working his brain hard 🙂 and also if you took a minute to talk/plan with the instructor and need to get him ready again.
He was super happy to tug before his game outside!! He almost folded himself in half going for the first reward LOL!! Baby dog moment!
You can move your line over a bit, so the cone is more visible as he moves up the line – the first line to move to it where the bar and cone meet. And since he was doing really well, you can keep moving your line over: each rep can start a step further away from his line. You will still be moving along a line that is parallel to his, just further over to add more distance.
> The 1st side was easier for him but pretty sure I messed up the one rep.>
That rep was at 2:11 – the handling was not messed up, but I think he was chewing and looking around when you released him. He can’t quite multitask chewing AND backsides yet – I can relate, if I am chewing I cannot do anything else haha!
Then there was something distracting in the grass. That is a great place to add some volume dial game: when he is a little distracted or too ‘chill’, you can pump him up again with the volume dial game. You can also add the volume dial when you switch sides, to keep the arousal level optimal and engagement high.
After a bit of tugging at 3:34ish, you can see he was already far more engaged for the next reps. And he was able to tune out whatever smell caught his nose previously, and ignore the wind blowing stuff over! Good boy!
Excellent job here! He was faced with a lot of interesting things in the environment and was terrific!
Tracy
Good morning!
The serps were really strong here! When she started on your left to turn to her right, you were easily able to keep moving on most of them and she found the jump brilliantly. Since that is the easy side, you can now start to go faster: from a steady walk, try a steady slow jog and see if she can still be successful.
> I did notice this time that it is mostly when she is turning left and on my right. It’s her and my bad side.>
Totally see what you mean!! She was sending to the start wing nicely – smart training choice to move it in closer to the jump! She was not really turning to her left fluidly here (totally normal side preference in play) – so what you can do to be able to keep moving on the harder side is angle the serp jump a bit. Instead of the flat angle, you can take the wing that is closer to the MM and push it away from your line. That way the bar is more visible for her to lock onto. Everything else remains the same: the start wing, your line of motion, position of MM. Angle the jump enough so that she will take it without you having to stop moving – for some dogs, we angle it a full 90 degrees. And you’ll see her left turn coordination feeling smoother very soon so the jump can start to moe back to the original position and she will serp it like she does on the other side.
Looking at the minny pinny:
>In the minny pinney, you can see it a bit more. >
Totally! I thought overall the session was actually very clean and smooth with LOVELY bending. The exception was the one rep at :48 where she wanted to turn left AND go faster (because ball is life 🙂 ) and it didn’t work out for her. She slipped and fell – the higher center of gravity in breeds like Dobes (and Pointers too, among others) can make it harder for them to do these soft turns. But then on the last rep, you were very careful with your movement on that left turn and she was beautiful! All of the right turns looked strong.
> I don’t have the strength to hold her on my right side for this exercise so she was turning into me quite a bit.>
We don’t want her pulling into the collar on your right side in particular, so we can tweak it so you don’t need to hold her: ask her to sit at your side, take a breath so she settles into position, then use the verbal as the release word. That way we still get the nice settled approach but she won’t pull on your arm or back by accident.
You can also ask her to sit and gently place a hand on the back of her neck: not holding her, just having your hand gently there – then say the verbal a few times followed by lifting your hand off: than can be the same cue for her as holding the collar would be, but without needing you to hold the collar. She might think that is weird at first but lots of treats will help her love it 🙂
And having her sit at your side will also allow you to set her up in different positions to add more challenging angles of approach as well as getting her to turn away into the minny pinny.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>My girls had zero energy. I have no idea what was going on with them. Maybe the unexpectedly warm temps? Maybe half the afternoon with their grampie instead of their usual napping while I’m working? Who knows. They were soooooooooooo painfully slllooooooooooowwwwww.>
I see what you mean – both girls were not running their usual speed, especially Kastella. It looks like a bit of the heat and a bit of too much partying with Grampie 🙂 But there were still good things happening in the session!
Your timing was overall really good!!!! That really helped set up a lot of good blinds here. A small detail that will set better lines: you can run forward to the jump after the blind rather than parallel to it. What I mean by that is with Kastella at :06 & :16 and Kashia at :27 & :37 on the first sequence, your line was more of a line parallel to the jump bar – going to your left moving laterally rather than forward ot the jump after the blind. They were both a little wide plus exit line connection was not quite as clear (your right arm was sticking out rather than back behind you so she could see your eyes, so Kastella was landing centered behind you rather than on the line to the next jump.
To tighten that, you can be closer to the jump after the tunnel to start the blind, then move forward on the line you want them to run, to the next jump.
>I included Kashia’s “oopsie” rep. In slow mo, it looks like maybe my connection was a split second too late and that’s why she didn’t commit to the jump right out of the tunnel. Is that accurate?>
This was at :54 – you started the blind just as she exited the tunnel so it was finished too early 🙂 We are rarely early in agility! I think it was simply hard to predict when she would exit because she was definitely moving as if we were interrupting nap time 🙂 The reps at 1:08 and 1:28 had better timing because you let her exit and look at the jump, then did the blind. Those worked really well!
On the blind after the tunnel on the 2nd sequence:
> Either way, they both knew what I wanted when they exited the tunnel so I guess that was good?>
Yes – that was because you had GREAT connection at 1:20 and 1:41 and 2:00 and 2:17! Great connection helps make perfect timing less important. Both of the girls have really strong tunnel commitment, so I think it will be easy to start the blinds before they go into the tunnel.
One last suggestion: on the 2nd sequence, you can add a little decel into the blind with Kastella (at 1:50 & 2:10). You were moving at a steady pace so she didn’t know how tight to turn. A bit of decel as you are starting the blind will tighten the turn up a bit. Kashia might need it too but she was naturally tighter on the turns here.
Great job!!! Hopefully they got their naps 😂🤣and will be back to full speed next time 🙂
Tracy
