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Hi!
Apologies for somehow missing this!!I think the session went well, overall.
>>Sprite is not a bendy dog.>>
This is not a concern for me đ She will sort out the fastest, most efficient way to do this when she understands it fully, and you will get really lovely fast turns. I am already seeing it in this video!!!! I have had plenty of non-bendy dogs (in terms of structure) such as all the terriers, papillons, and whippets are really not bending LOL but with understanding they set themselves up beautifully!
>She still tends to jump on a slice, but Iâm not entirely sure that she can round.>>
On the first few reps when she was turning to her right, I think she was slicing more on those because she was figuring it out and waiting for a little more info: slice or wrap, human? But your reward placement was spot on (click/treat for you!) so she VERY quickly sorted it out, so she could focus on her mechanics. The wrapping got rounder and rounder, it was great!
And she either turns better to her left or she had it all figured out by then, because the left wraps looked awesome in the 2nd half of the video. Yay!
So will she ever look like a tiny highly angulated sheltie on those wraps? Nope! Structure is structure! And just because a turn looks like a gorgeous magazine cover doesnât mean it is fast, necessarily. But can she still produce fantastic turns and powerful jumping, with highly competitive times? Heck yes! I am happy happy happy with what she did here!
A couple of things to consider: As you add movement, using 2 hands for the cue looked better than one hand. It was just more obvious and it allowed you to keep moving without bending over.
She had the bar down on the first jump once or twice, only because the BC was late so she was trying to adjust in the air. The joys of a small space in a heat wave!
>>Iâm not sure how far lateral and how far forward of the wing to be.>>
For how far lateral – I would say no closer than an armâs length, maybe a little further for now.
For how far forward: at these early stages, try to be relatively parallel to the wing. And you decel and hold the cue and position until she turns her head to the line AND takes the first step in the new direction. The head turn only will get you a slice, so the first step is the real key that she is wrapping.Eventually, you will be able to change your position to where she passes you to go to the wing, or you are miles ahead and she will still get it. The trick is the decel as you show the cues and waiting for the head turn/first step.
Great job! Stay cool!
TracyHi!
Hi!
>>There were a couple of spots where things didnât go as planned, and I tried to keep going although it was tricky in a couple of spots like near the weaves since there was really nothing else to send her on a line to.>>
Lots of really good things here! There were a couple of spots that I think she doesnât fully understand the skill (see below) so in those spots you donât have to keep going: when she gets the skill or even part of it, throw the reward to really build up the skill. That is more important than trying to run the complete sequence.
Looking at the sections of the course:
Good opening on each run! The earlier timing of the FC on 3 at 1:14 looked super good!>>She knocked the bar on jump #3 a few times. I felt like I started my front cross early enough to show her we were turning, but I guess she disagreed.>>
I think the timing of starting the FC on those was good – the bar down on 3 on runs 3 and 4 looked to be more about exit line connection being unclear so she was trying to figure out which side to be on. On the successful reps, you were finishing the FC and looking back at her (1:14 is a great example). On the bar down reps, like at 2:27, your shoulders are closed forward as you complete the turn so she was probably struggling to process which side of you to be on AND the jumping mechanics.
She is a dog that really relies on connection as part of the cue, so the more you can step connected, the better she can jump and read lines.
She read the 4-5-6 line really well! You can add a little decel into 5 to get an even tighter turn. It was weird that she came out of the 4 tunnel at 4 at 1:18ish, maybe she saw your change of motion? But it is not usual for her so we can ignore it đ
Looking at the layering sections:
I think she doesnât fully âownâ the skill of driving past a tunnel to find a jump. This was hard at 7 and also later in the course at 15-16-17. You can totally break this down and throw tons of rewards out onto the line!She got it at :21 and 1:48 when you ran in, but really had questions about finding the line independently.
Working the layering is great and exactly what she needs to learn to go past the tunnel⌠use placement of reinforcement to get the understanding. Rather than continue on the line which eventually curls back to you and then reward near you (like at 1:07), you can throw the reward long and far (landing side of the first layering jump) to help build value and understanding for getting out on that line.
She started to go at 1:28 but then came off the line when you turned your shoulders. Good job getting the reward out there at 1:34 even though she didnât take the jump.
She went to the other side of the tunnel at 2:14 and that is also rewardable out on the line, even though she did not make it all the way out to the jumps
She did go out and take the jumps at 3:01! Yay! That is also a spot to throw the reward⌠building the skill is more important than completing the sequence. And the more you build the skill with the reward placement, the better she will be able to nail it on the first run.
>>Would our âconversationâ at 2:35 be an acceptable TTFJ moment? >>
No đ For two reasons:
She had already had a lot of failure/questions in that spot, indicating she didnât understand the skill. She had been most successful getting that 7 jumping when you stepped in past the tunnel.
Also the cue was very closed forward with a high arm, and your position was not past the entry of the tunnel⌠so your shoulders were pointing at the tunnel more than anything else. Without knowing the course or hearing the verbals, it does look like a tunnel cue. You can see a screenshot here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e33cf3hgRgIqS5OzRa0Wu_mvra61IaR7kYpIerjFz1I/edit?usp=sharingSo she had to stop, fully look at you, and then was able to figure it out but that doesnât mean she was wrong in the first place đ
When she did go get it⌠reward that with a thrown reward rather than carry on. Remember to isolate the skills she might not fully understand so you can build them up.
She had a couple of other questions there and there, like finding the 11 tunnel when your connection was not clear (:30 and 1:58) but she was great when you maintain connection all the way through like t 2:48! Nice !
You got a little too far ahead in a couple of spots so got a bar down due to her taking off too early (like at :44 and 1:51) but you made really nice adjustments and stuck a little closer with more connection, so she recovered really well and overall jumped the lines well too!
I think the push to the backside then the blind on the jump before the weaves at 2:04 and 2:52 looked great! The blind to the threadle is an option, so definitely work on it in the hot topics so you can hash out the line to show her (I think you were on her line there so she never saw a threadle as an option).
Connection got a little soft at the end (3:06, you turned ahead too soon so it did indeed look like a blind) and right at the end at 3:18 after the last tunnel. That is probably handler fatigue (there is a LOT of running on these courses!) so keep working that big connection all the wya to the end. It is probably the most important element of handling to her, right up there with motion and sometimes more important than motion.
Nice work here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>With the timing one, no video, Paul was running errands, but we breezed through!
Super!!!!
>>She totally remembered yesterdayâs training, and adding more verbals, consistently, helped.>>
Yay! I have found whippets to be spectacular with retention from previous sessions AND latent learning to add next steps. They are truly amazing!
The wrap sessions looked great! So nice!!!! You had lovely connection and verbals throughout. She is finding her lines like a rockstar and getting even more independent so you have a little more distance here too, I love it! So fun!
I think your timing was strong here and I only have one suggestion:
When approaching the wrap jump, you donât need to say âgo jumpâ and then the wrap verbal. When you do that, she process the âgo jumpâ and jumps straight (correctly) and then doesnât start the turn til after landing. You can see the wraps, especially on the left turn wrap video where she was looking at the line to the tunnel based on the âgo jumpâ info. Good girl!
Since the wrap verbal is a turn cue and also it indicates commitment to the jump, you can use it instead of the go jump verbal. As she is landing from the previous jump, you can be decelerating into the turn and just saying the Choo Choo cue đ She should commit to the jump and also set up the tight turn before takeoff.
Fantastic job here! Hope you are having a fun 4th of July!
Tracy
Hi there!!
The one step sends are looking good! A c couple of ideas for you to expand her commitment even more:
You can add use your wrap verbal as part of the send, saying it directly to her as you send her (the connection helps support commitment too).
And since we are really wanting to emphasize commitment, you can add in throwing rewards to the wrap exit sometimes too, so she gets âpaidâ for committing independently on your position.
She only had on question on the sending, at :48 – you were a little disconnected by looking forward, so she curled into you. When you look at her more directly on the send like you did at 1:13, she easily finds the line. Yay! That was great connection đ
I think she is ready for more distance between the wings and tunnel!
The plank work looks good! She might have been offering the 2o2o because the dishes were close, so you can move them further away to have her moving more across the board.
She seems super confident here too, so 2 thing to add:
With the dishes straight off the end (but further away), you can elevate the board a bit but putting blocks or something under it so she has to get on a taller board. That challenges her balance and footwork a bit.
You can also change the position of the bowls by moving them towards you a little to add some more angles, so she is working on finding the entry from a curve. That will definitely b harder but also great for balance and footwork.
She had a little trouble turning around, so you can use a food lure and move your hand very slowly til she realizes what you are askingâŚ. Then it can all speed up a bit but speed is not the priority.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
She is doing really well with finding the lines here! The clearest cue for the send to the pinwheel jump is when you are sending to the takeoff spot, not to the jump. it is a subtle difference that relies on connection back to her as she is catching up and passing you.
When you send to the jump, you are turned forward more and connection is not as clear, so she has questions (like at :17)
When sending to the takeoff spot, she sees connection better and commits better, like at :23. You can see here (and the other successful reps like it) that your arm is back longer and there is more direct connection – which ends up pointing your shoulders to the takeoff spot and that is exactly where she goes đ Yay! So as she lands from the previous jump, remember to have the arm-back, big connection as you step and send to the take off spot.
I think she is ready for you to add the tunnel and start tackling the sequences! Great job!!
Tracy
Hi!
Bummer about the messed up video but this one looked good!
He is doing well with the push to the backside! It will be even easier if you donât go as close to the jump before the backside – you can be on basically the same running line as the layering, but the verbals are different đ
On rep 2 you had so much momentum to the jump before the backside at :29 that he almost went past the backside jump because of the acceleration and the line you were showing. What a good boy to find it!I would have rewarded it heavily because he kinda saved your bum. He was confused about why he didnât get rewarded (he did it right, so if you didnât see it reward anyway then go look at the video to see what he did) You were asking what he did and he was like âI did the backside, mom!â LOL!!!
The last rep looked better – at :53 you were further from the jump before the backside and closer to the entry wing, so he saw the turn cues sooner. You can work your running line to be no further across the backside jump than the center of the bar, and if he is happy with that then you can work it so you can be running down towards the exit wing of the backside jump.
>>really pleased that the âoff course tunnelâ wasnât ever an issue >>
Yes! He was super good about not looking at the tunnel! Yay!
Nice work here! I am looking forward to the threadle sequence!
Tracy
Hi!
>>What are the pros/cons of 2o2o vs 4o for the teeter?
2o2o is generally faster, easier to maintain in terms of clear criteria, and helps the dogs control the whip of the board under them because they can use their hind end more. All of this of course assumes good weight shift on the board – the criticisms of 2o2o are all from people who donât teach weight shift LOL!
>>Does the surface matter?
Nope – I use a target to get the head low and weight shifted back, but I donât ask the dog to nose touch the ground. So there will be no dirt up the nose đ
4on can sometimes be faster because you can release sooner⌠but also the criteria is less clear (4 on the board, where exactly?) so what happens is that the dog begins to stop in 4on position further up the board⌠which is slower because they are stopping closer to the pivot rather than driving to the end.
>>Iâm guilty of yes meaning cookie from hand. I know better. He doesnât seem to like digging in the grass to get his rewards so Iâve been handing it to him. >>
Same here, I use to say âyesâ way too often until my dogs starting coming off of lines. OOPS! So I am more careful now. You can use a lotus ball of he is not loving digging for treats, or a marker to get the cookie from your hand (which is not yes hahaha)
>except for a sprinkler head that wasnât really on his line, I didnât see anything. I did shift the tunnel for tonightâs work, stretched it out completely in case heâd bumped a rib with a toe or something.>>
Might have been a pool of scent from something, or a stubbed toe, so hard to tell!
>>I thought he might enjoy opening up with less thinking. He did. >>
I agree! It looked like he was having fun!! And his commitment is looking strong too.
Your connection and timing is looking good! It is harder on smaller distances, because you basically need to cue the next obstacle or turn while he is in the air over the previous one. And that is what you did here for most of the reps!
One thing to think about is using the Go verbal or not (I think that is what you were saying here). Go should generally mean straight line extension and these are all slight turns toward you and not really straight lines. But since they are also not really tight turns, you wonât want to use left/right or wrap verbals⌠I suggest a âjumpâ verbal which mean âtake the jump turning slightly towards meâ. That way Go can be used on the big straight lines where he can accelerate ahead of you (like go tunnel on this setup)
Looking at the wrap cue timing:
Check wrap cues at :35 and 2:25 can happen sooner: connect more as he is over the middle jump and as he is landing, you can start to decel into the wrap and start the verbals. Keep moving forward while decelerating until he collects and lifts his feet for the wrap jump.Really nice timing on loop loop wrap on the jump at 1:24 – your cues started when he was at the tunnel exit and he nailed it!
A little confusion at 2:36, good screw up cookies đ
>>I think we missed a jump going towards the tunnel because I dropped my arm so he then came towards me and lost the line to the jump. >>
Yes, just a tiny disconnection and maybe turning too much too soon. That right turn seems to be a little harder right now than the left turns? So a little extra connection will help him commit there.
>>He didnât want to stop when we finished the planned number of sequences plus one extra to fix my mistake.>>
Good boy! He is doing so well in the heat, I am impressed!!
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
This plank elevation got her really thinking! This is perfect – she had to slow down and think about where her feet work, rather than do things as fast as possible đI think it worked a lot better when you sat down, that was a really smart move! Bending over was a bit of pressure that was causing her to jump off the side.
Do you have a longer plank? That is the next step, at this same height. And you can also add standing up, but not bending over to get the the treats in fast. You can be very upright and then get the treats in slowly by placing them on the board – that will help her stay on, especially as you add more length to the board.
Great job!!
TracyHi! I am glad the contact training is going well! The sequences are also going really well and I agree, she is really beginning to figure out how to sequence! Super fun!
Looking at the videos:
Video 1:
She is finding the line nicely here! My only suggestion is to give her the verbal release off the start line here (so it is very clear to not move before the release), and to also use a âget itâ marker for the cookie toss so she keeps looking forward.Video 2 – This is also great! You added the tunnel easily! Love how she caught the cookie toss reward without breaking her stay LOL. Remember to use the verbal release from the stay here too.
Video 3 – This sequence ha the verbal release from the stay – perfect! And she is starting to get a really nice turn on the middle pinwheel jump, without needing any special help. Yay!
She had a question on the send to the tunnel because it was a little disconnected: at :12 you looked forward and pointed forward, which actually turns your shoulders away from the tunnel so an inexperienced dog will hesitate like she did especially as you move away from it before she is committed.
Compare to :13 on video 2 where you were looking at her when you said tunnel, so she saw the connection and line of shoulders very clearly and zipped right into the tunnel.
Ideally, on sending your eyes are on her eyes and your fingers travel with her nose. That means your arm starts behind you pointing to her if she is behind you, and you look at her while you say the cues. Your arm can travel with her as she passes you, but if you point forward ahead of her, that can change the physical cue and block connection, pulling the dogs off the line.
Video 4 – Very nice verbal release here too! And you added more speed (she was totally fine with that :)) At :12, note how you were looking ahead when you said tunnel so she looked up at you. Your line of motion was moving directly to the tunnel so she took it (yay!)
Nice connection on the tunnel exit to show the next jump! And she really liked the toy at the end!
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
This definitely looked more spread out than the live class setup – perfect! And yes, keep telling yourself to run run run.
I think the brake arms will be VERY helpful for keeping you in motion and still getting the turns you want.
>>Yes it was sharon yelling and cheering- I love training with her as she provides immediate feedback rather than having to stop and look at video.>>
Yay! That is great! Ask her to tell you to keep running even if there is a blooper: no stopping or fixing, even if you give Fusion a cookie. It frustrates Fusion to stop, and it doesnât help you keep moving or think on your feet. So when she went to the backside of 2 on the first run (she needed a threadle cue) – keep going! Donât mark with an oops which implies it was a dog error đ just keep going and fix it on the next run.
Doing the 1-2-3 line as a RC on 2 worked well – she read the RC well and she has a really good tunnel send.
But then be prepared from wherever your position is to get the brake arm visible for when she exits the tunnel. They were happening as he landed from 4 at :45 an 1:19 so she was wide there.
Looking at the threadle on the opening lines and also at 5-6 – what is our threadle cue (verbal and physical) – ideally we keep you moving so you donât end up stopped and rotated, which like you mentioned causes issues further up the line.
So you can add a turn verbal before 5 then a distinct threadle physical cue, like the dog-side arm swinging way back so she sees the front of you. It was much clearer at 2:17 – can you do the threadle without having to stop and rotate towards her though (bar down at 2:19).
You had les rotation there at 2:25 and it worked a lot better! I think using the dog side arm and pulling it back to turn towards her at the waist (but donât turn your feet) can be the most visible cue for her and also help keep you moving.
FC wrap sequence: Like with the soft turns, you can start the cues when she is exiting the tunnel. I lie to start the cues while the dog is in the tunnel and keep repeating them (that way I canât be late haha!) The wrap cues started at 1:50 when she was in the air. Ideally you would decelerate, start the verbal and show the brake arms so when she is exiting the tunnel, the cues are already in progress.
You did add some decel at 2:27 and 2:56 which helped but you can add bigger ore obvious brake arms there too.
Also, after the FC, use a big clear exit line connection: that is when your dog-side arm back to her nose and let her see your eyes.
Your dog side arm was closed forward there – I think she was staying out on the big line because the info on where to be was not that clear – could have been either side of you (she could only see your back) so she chose the jump at 2:59Adding the turn on the the tunnel – the turn info started right as she entered at 3:11 so she was able to turn after exiting. You can try adding it when she is still 2 or 3 meters before the entry to see how well she turns!
At 3:26 – you had too much rotation on the threadle so by the time you turned to send her back out, she had read it like a FC and correctly took the tunnel you had turned towards. This is why we donât want your feet to rotate on the threadles, just upper body.
I think at 3:50 and 4:07 you wanted her to NOT take the tunnel, but turning towards her while stationary and saying here does not tend to work as a turn cue for her.
Part of what was happening was that because you had a lot of rotation on the threadle, there was a big send back out which looked like an extension cue and set her line to the tunnel.
At 4:29 you used both hands as brake arms as you sent back out, which gave her a collection cue before takeoff and she was able to get the tight turn to the jump. Nice!!!! Super!!!
Now we need to add you turning to move up the next line rather than facing her on those – the more she sees the brake arms, the easier it will be for you to then move away up the line.
4:50 – I think you wanted the backside but the handing looked identical to the other reps where she took the threadle jump – plus your line was blocking the wing of the backside jump.
You definitely a better line of motion to the backside at 2 at 5:34 and on the last rep, and that set up the backside and a really great line on the rest of the sequence. Nice layering there too!
Great job here!! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Welcome back!!
>>Full disclosure, I have not been using a start line stay lately. I am having trouble getting her to start in competition>>
No problem! We can adjust the forward focus and have her do it with you sending from further and further away. You can adjust all of the starts to how you would do it at a trial (slingshots or behind the back or sending) which will be useful! And that way you donât have to work stays either đ
Seq 1 – I think she missed jump 1 on rep 1 because she isnât used to stays, no worries!
Rep 2: you can stay connected more on 1-2 but if she misses something: keep going đ That will get you into the habit of keeping things going like you would do at a trial.
When you reset that run, you over-helped a bit by getting closer to 2 which made you in the way on 3 (bar down) and late for the blind (off course tunnel).
Compare to :57 which has GREAT connection 1-2 so you didnât need to get too close⌠and the rest was all great!
The last rep had you going in closer to 2 than the previous rep but not quite as close as you did on the 2nd run, so she got it but the turns were a bit wider because your timing was not as clear. Run 3 at :57 was the best one for sure.
Seq 2: Great connection 1-2-3!! nice send to the tunnel!!!
>>1st run I did my own ending there, not sure why.>>
Your ending was good LOL! I liked it, and it was nicely executed (fancier than my ending haha!)
This went well and we can also add more distance to the tunnel sends:
Stick closer to 3 and send to the tunnel more so that you donât decel or pull away – that was causing her to curl into you on the exit and push back out. If she has trouble sending to the tunnel from that far away, move the tunnel in closer to get started then move it further and further away again. Giant sends to the tunnel will be very useful!
Sequence 3: This one is definitely one to work without the stay, like you would do at a trial. You could handle it like a send to the backside (you start with her on the landing side, then send her to the correct side of 1) or you can both start on takeoff side of 1 and FC or BC to 2. You did the BC here and it worked well!
Nice FC on 3 at :34 and 1:08 and 1:45! You went a little too deep past the landing spot at 1:25 so her turn was a little wider there. Compare to 2:05 and 2:28 where you decelerated and didnât go all the way to the wing: her turn was perfection on those reps!
This is a good sequence to work more tunnel send for layering here too. She had a nice out on the 2nd run at 1:10 (jumps 4 to 5) and sent past you to the tunnel. You can work on staying closer to 4-5 and sending her ahead to the tunnel more, so you can layer the jump.
At 1:30, your verbal said tunnel but the physical cues were the same as the previous rep so she read it as a send to the tunnel (you were blocking the jump a bit)
At 1:50 you used a âhereâ cue MUCH sooner and turned to the jump sooner so she got it đ Very nice!
>>The last sequence I though it was the other end of the tunnel, go figure.>>
You set up a good wrap on the first rep there to get the closer end of the tunnel. At 2:13 your right leg stepped backwards so she was confused – it looked like a RC cue but you were telling her to take the jump.
The RC at 2:36 worked really well to get the correct end of the tunnel! Super!! You can probably also get a BC before the jump (like you did in the first video).
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! Hope the West Coast gets through the heat wave quickly and easily!!!
Working threadles is a good thing at this point, we are seeing them more and more!!
The first reps are the most helpful ones, in terms of what she is understanding according to the info she is seeing.
For the threadle slices, you can give a bigger upper body cue and your lower body should be moving parallel to the bar more instead of directly forward. The moving directly forward (towards the camera, rather than across the bar) is why she had trouble on the first rep on your left side (and first rep with the blind) plus the first few reps on the right side.
She did figure it out so there were lots of reps in the middle that were good, so letâs focus on those first reps:
On the threadle slices, you can move more parallel to the bar partially because moving directly forward like that is the threadle wrap line and also because it will support the jumping effort better. The rep at 1:32 (last rep) had the best line of motion for threadle slices! I also liked your line of motion at :48 – you can see your upper body is nicely rotated and you are moving towards the bar for a step or two, starting on the entry wing. She read that really well!
You can see her ask about if it is a threadle wrap or slice on t he first few correct side of the jump reps (lots of little collection strides) and also at :24 after the BC.
You can also see her think that the line of motion is for a threadle wrap at 1:15 – you were moving forward pretty fast, so she can to the correct side of the jump but wrapped (which is correct per the line of motion)
Eventually the verbals will override the motion, but she probably doesnât have that quite yet so we can support her with motion too.
So to help her see it as a threadle as you are moving through it, you can add 2 things to the threadle slice cues:
– holding a positional cue on the entry wing until she changes line and is not looking at the front side. That might mean moving through it, or it might mean actually stopping there for a heartbeat.
– using a BIG exaggerated swing back of the threadle arm (almost to the point that the opposite arm come across your torso) so it is very different than normal connection. This is especially important after a BC: Normal arms down with connection for the blind, then do the big threadle arm wing back/rotation at the waist. And yes, donât rotate your feet LOL! Threadles are complex : )
If the upper body is not clear enough, she might end up on the front side which happened on the first rep here and also when you changed sides at :55.
>>Remind me where to look. Am I looking at her eyes or my hand?>>
For now, you can shift your connection to your hand as you swing it back to see if that helps clarify the cue.
And for the threadle wraps, the moving straight past the wing like you did here will help get the wrap. Shifting connection down to your hands for this will help too, and decelerating is a big key to threadle wraps: decel near to the entry wing so she knows that it is the wrap cue and then she will give you your cue to move forward with more speed again when she looks at the wrap AND takes the first step in the direction of the wrap.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Stay cool!Tracy
Good morning!
Yes, we had a brief burst of cool weather! And I have also been wrestling with sun glare in the morning like you mentioned on the video!
Looking at the opening: A few ideas for you!
On the forward focus: her stay looked great and she is finding the jump really well with you pretty far away. Super!
You can also add a hand cue to your focus forward. That way, she knows when it is time to look at the jump and also then you can release on a wrap verbal. That wrap verbal plus clear connection should get the front side of 2 and the tunnel entry at 3 (which I think was your initial plan). You had too much âhereâ and too much rotation towards her on the 2nd rep, so you had the other side of the tunnel.
Remember to keep going if there is an error rather than stop and re-start, because that will get you thinking on your feet which is great for trialing!
Handling with the FC to the other side of 1 and threadling to the tunnel worked for 1-2-3 but it but you behind for 4-5-6. I loved the BC 2-3 at 1:55! Definitely got you ahead! And it took out her question 5-6 (she looked at you there on the previous run).
The middle section looked good!
The line to the weaves might have felt hard because 9 should be a backside – that will set up an easy weave entry.Nice BC 11-12! A brake arm on 12 will really help get a nice turn, she swung wide there (we did a lot of the brake arm stuff in the live class games).
Great job getting the wrap on 14 to come through the inside to 15 – that set a much better line than a slice would there because the slice would have turned her to face the wrong end of the tunnel.
You also wrapped 17 – she turned really well, but you can also try to slice 17 and see if that set up a faster/easier line to 18 (which is possible here, because the slice exit of 17 sets up a nice line 18).
Great job here! Let me know what you think!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
Course 1 went really well!
A couple of small details can help you have to manage lines less, getting you to better positions for the harder parts:One spot you can cue sooner so you manage the next line less is on tunnels: tell him what you want on the exit before he enters.
On this course, you can tell him to go jump before he enters tunnel 3 so there is no step towards you (:08 and :50). If he steps towards you, you then have to take an extra step to support the line to the jump, which delays your next line.
Same at :13 for 6-7 – tell him about the next jump so you barely need to support it and can just go to the threadle at 9. At :54 you did tell him sooner and he really found that line independently!
Threadle slice to weaves looked good on the first run and GREAT on the 2nd run when you were able to be further ahead.
On the first run: You can add brake arms at 12 and quiet verbals so you donât have to manage that turn after landing (:23) – he went wide on 12 and then you pulled him back in then tried to get to position. That is what pulled the rail on 13. You did a spin there on the 2nd run at 1:05 but you donât need the spin. Instead, as he lands from 11 (jump after the weaves) you can do a brake arm as part of the commitment cue for 12, and slide away to the 13 jump.
>could get a blind between 13 and 14. >>
I think it is very doable if you donât have to manage the turn at 12 after you cue it – you can commit him to 12 with the brake arms then just move to the blind, all before he even takes off for 12.
Handling that line as a landing side threadle-wrap-ish move is also great! And that set up you easily getting in between 16-17 to get nice turns there for the ending line.
>>I wondered about slicing 14 but IRL, that seemed unlikely to be anything but a mess.>>
I agree with your choice to wrap 14, that set up a much prettier line!
Course 2:
>>I didnât spend a lot of time working on the dog path on paper for this run. As a result, the dog path is what looked best on the ground. >>
I personally think that is a better way to make decisions. Take a look at the paper, yes, but decide on path when the actual course is built.
1-2-3-4-5 looked great on both runs!
>>The choice at 6 might depend on exactly how it is built; in my yard, the left wrap seemed the only sensible choice.>>
That was my intention – I think turning to the left sets up a better line.
At :19 and 1:14, the nice timing of the brake arms and rotation got a great turn and fabulous line to the weaves. You then did a RC on 7 which is fine. You also had plenty of time to do a BC on the exit of 6 there (a spin instead of a FC) if you wanted. I donât think it matters in this particular context heading to the weaves, but it might make a difference if it was a line with a straight tunnel for example.
Sounds like you starting saying âaroundâ while he was still weaving at :25 and 1:21⌠click/treat for you! Great backside send and lovely connected countermotion exit to 10 at :26 and 1:22!!
>>Now the way to go around 13 and 14 could be debated but I feel pretty good about the way I went.>>
Yes – that is a spot to try it 2 ways and time it. Your choice of slice 13 (towards 10) then slice 14 (towards 17) is one option. It has 2 slices which is fast, but makes for a harder turn 14-15.
The other option there is to wrap 13 (blind tunnel exit of 12 to threadle wrap, ideally, and yes, you can totally get there but sending away to 10 and using parallel path support for 10 to 12 to get the blind). Or, you can do it as a takeoff side lap turn – at :32 you were in position for the threadle slice when he exited the 12 tunnel, so you will definitely be in position for whatever other handling options you want to play with
After the threadle wrap, threadle slice 14 towards the weaves which sets up an absolute speed line to 15 and 16. This is one of those hot topic places there the blind-to-threadle-wrap is proving to be VERY fast on course while getting us handler miles and miles ahead.
If you want to compare, video and time the difference from the exit of the weaves to the landing of 16 and see which is faster for Enzo.
Back to the video:
>>from there the choice on 14 seemed obvious. It turned out to be âun-obviousâ to Enzo, who struggled to find that one backside.>>
The angle of 14 makes the front side more obvious, so he needed more arm-back-big-connection on the cue. At :35 you were using the verbal but your arm/shoulder and feet all turned to the front side before he passed you, and that overrode the verbal.
He almost got it at :50 but that angled entry wing needed one more step of commitment (he took the front at the last heartbeat). We will definitely work on him finding the harder angles of entry, because of the angle was different I am sure it would have not been as hard. The 16 backside was a more civilized angle of entry and he had no trouble finding it.
You helped him at 1:31 which set up a RC on the tunnel, so more hustle was required to get 16 and you nailed it đ
>>On the second run, he dropped #11. I included a close up and still donât see what I might have done â he took off very early.>>
It was actually a pretty similar jumping effort to what he did on the first run – small stride into it then BIG jump a bit early. That is pretty unusual for him. He kept the bar up on run 1 but kind of fell on landing. My guess is he was having a little trouble with the distance there while also processing the forward cues (I think you said out on that second run, plus the tunnel verbal) while you were moving away laterally. If the course is still set up, try it again today and see what the jumping effort it – there might have been some latent learning happening in terms of the mechanics and the awkward distance. If you can measure the exact distance, let me know what it is and we can set up sequences where he can figure it out.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyPS:
>>(If you are driving through MI with time to spare, I am in Kalamazoo, just off I-94, the major east-west route. I have an air-conditioned pole barn if you want to pop in and train a bit. Also, I have a huge, fenced yard for other adventures, training or just playing.)>>Awesome! I need to sort out the travel from Wisconsin to somewhere in Ontario. Step 1 is to sort out WHERE in Ontario I need to be LOL!!
