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Hi! He did really well with the sequence in class, and he has come a long way with ignoring the other ring! Looks like there were people walking around back there and he ignored them.
>instructors hanging coat still got him. So the more different stuff I can expose him to the better ā yes?>
Yes – new weird thing. So also yes – keep exposing him to new weird things š One way you can do it is in regular life and pattern games (because we donāt always have access to the agility context). So even if it is putting something new & weird in a room then bringing him in while playing pattern games, or in your yard, etc – having him on leash and playing pattern games can help him learn to ignore new things in the environment. And being on leash prevents the opportunity to go to the new weird thing to check it out, because we would like that behavior to go away š
>Didnāt stop to fix any of my errors here and no hands in the collar.>
That was great!
>This bit was from yesterday ā did some pass the leash until we go to the leash.>
This went well too – the rep at the end seemed particularly hard after seeing you put the leash down and then having to move away from it after the tunnel. He slowed down a bit but got it right. Super!
>Attended a seminar in this space on Saturday ā he did well, but no real take aways from the teaching. Itās still fun to get out among different people and dogs.>
Even without big takeaways, it sounds like you still had good rehearsals and he was successful š
Great job!
TracyHello and welcome back! Happy birthday, Julee!!!!
She did great with the moving target game here! My only suggestion is to see if she can hold the sit long enough for you to be moving the toy for a few steps before you release her (I bet she can do it :)) The releases here was before the toy was really moving.
When that is all good, you can add it to the jump and then to the set point (after introducing the set point with a stationary reward).
Great job!
TracyHi!
>The full session is included in the video>
The full session was great! No more editing needed. It was fun to see her engagement and she did great!
>Iāve decided Iām probably going to use a down at the start line for Ellie. When I put her in a sit she almost always lies down as I lead out, so I decided to just go with the down since that seems to be her preference.>
I totally agree that we want a position that is natural and comfortable for her, and the down is great for that! The exact spacing before jump 1 in a down is a little trickier (she will need to be further from jump 1) so for grids, you can try a stand stay! She held her sit really well here but she was leaning forward, so if you use a sit you will want to move her back a few inches so her head is not over the bar š
Looking at the video:
A couple of setup ideas:
For now, have the first jump be a bump so there is no height challenge. And we may put jump 2 at 8ā for a bit to get more hind end action involved š
Having them spaced 5 feet apart is a little too close for 20ā, try 6 feet on the next session.What she was doing here was lifting from her front end to get over the jumps (and her hind end use was happening after that, when she landed). She was more pumped up with the toy, so it was a little more obvious. The bar ticking was because of the front end pull š
So before we add height (which will get more lifting from the front and less of the more desired pushing from the rear), we will get her pushing off from her rear. The moving target pre-game will help that a lot: you can work it first on the flat with the slow moving target then over one low jump. Then we add it to the set point and see how it changes her form. It should create more push from the rear because it is asking for more power and lowering her head position (and it is FUN :))
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Congrats on Ellie joining your crew! She is adorable and I am glad she and Mason are BFFs š
>Ellie is a toy fiend and is always looking to see if one might be thrown for her, but otherwise she doesnāt naturally connect that much with faces. When out in the yard playing, she still often doesnāt come to the correct side if Iām looking over my shoulder at her with my arm out.>
We will definitely look at how we can help her āreadā connection! We donāt want her to make direct eye contact with you, but we DO want her to process where your upper body is cueing lines.
>I want to be picky about good jumping technique given Ellieās rounded back. She is about 20ā³ tall, but sheās only 28 lbs and to me she looks like a dog that might end up being more comfortable jumping 16ā³ instead of 20ā³. In her lessons she is jumping 12ā³ and has become consistent at keeping the bars up. Iād like to get her up to at least 16ā³ as soon as you think she is ready so that she learns how to use her body at that jump height. Side note: the rehab vet confirms that her back is not causing her any pain.>
Click/treat to you for getting the rehab vet on board before doing jumping work! We will definitely look at her form – I see you have the set point posted, so we can get started!
Tracy
Good morning! Great to see you and Check back, I’m excited to see him!!!
>We absolutely do not have a reliable stay. Would you recommend skipping the games that need stays such as the set point, or changing the game to lead out as much as possible, or sending, orā¦?>
For the smiley face and wind in your hair games, no stay needed – woohoo! For the wrap versus tunnel game, no stay needed: start with gently holding his collar. For the set point, you can send him through it for now as long as
he doesn’t get too cranked up with excitement
LOL And we will continue building up the stay!Have fun š
TracyGood morning!
This went well – for this game, set up spot didn’t really matter, it was more about introducing the moving target concept. And you wont need as many reps when you do the set point, 5 total will be plenty.We did get good info about the toy position, though – when the toy was too close to the bump, he ticked the bump. So when we add this to the set point, you’ll want to start the toy at least 12 feet past the 2nd jump.
Nice work here! Onwards to showing him the set point!
TracyGood morning!
Sounds like the 2x2s are going well!
> Assuming we donāt get another set of snow on Sunday (right now they are in the ācould be 0-50ā³ and anywhere in MNā phase of forecasting)>
Yep, at last check, snow is predicted in Chicago and WI on Sunday night. Sheesh!!
>RCs ā I told myself to run in close to the tunnel and did try but I think I needed to go in closer so that she could easily drive ahead of me. But yay for her not turning off the jump, us getting tangled up in confusion in front of the jump, or her spinning the wrong way!>
Yes, and also with more experience, she will recognize the cues more quickly so it will be something she can accelerate through.
>Next SS opportunity is Fusion UKI May 3-4. Nov SS is end of the day on Sat and 2nd class on Sun. She is entered in both plus Jpg & Snkr on Sunday. She has Stefanieās seminar Fri AM so wanted her to only have 1 class the next day.>
That is plenty of time! You can consider a real run perhaps, but no need to decide now.
>But it all worked out and I remember thinking that it was great she didntā throw a tantrum when I was in her way on the backside slice and then whoops! Around the next jump she goes. LOL>
She was great there! And going around the next jump was more like staying on the line to the backside, a skill we will really like in the future š
>I am picking up a custom made Tugawaycuwin racoon head tug at the Invitational. >
Ah yes, I am also going to do some dead animal shopping LOL
>Looking back at all 4 runs it is interesting to see her behavior at the start. >
Yes – it is fun to track what is happening. It might simply be a shift into not needing to self-regulate, perhaps she is feeling really comfortable in that environment?
I really love the ease of use of the food box – mark, run in, feed treats, bark (make sure she has swallowed), out for more agility. And she had no questions about leaving the food box behind. It was smooth, fast, effective!
Safe travels!!! See you later!
TracyGood morning! Thanks for the update!
>He did see Harmony yesterday. She palpated him and found couple tender areas and massage them out. Harmony believes that these issues were residual from the chiro treatment. >
It is possible that they were residual, but it also might be part of the soreness he is working through. I am glad he is on the road to feeling better!
>To be on the safe side Knight will be seeing her again next Monday since he has a class tomorrow which he will just have fun. (Not going to work hard with him). Also setting up another chiro appt in 2 weeks to be on the safe side. >
Great! Following up is good to track how he is feeling. Since he was still showing some pain, I recommend skipping class this week – even trying to keep things easy might be too much (he might do something like put himself in the weaves LOL) and since he has been showing a pain response for a few sessions in a row, skipping class til there is no more soreness or tend spots will be the quickest route to feeling better.
>FYI I know he is feeling better because he is engaging with me at home more than he has since Montana passed away. Yes I am doing a happy dance!!! But being cautious!!!!!!!>
Yay! That is why skipping class til there is no more soreness might be the best route: he is feeling better and we don’t want any setbacks by doing too much too soon.
>Now keeping my fingers cross that someone does not attend one of your seminars (Nail it or Young Dogs) at Christine Fleischmann location in May so we can see you!!!!! and hoping to get in a Paws for Thought.>
Fingers crossed here too! That would be fun!!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did really well with the moving target game here!! His stays looked really good and he says he was not early on that one rep hahahaha
The length of the toy was perfect. He REALLY likes the toy itself, so his head was really low. That means we might consider a bigger toy (like a giant holee roller) that has a higher profile off the ground, to get his head a few inches higher. You might have a toy that is about 6ā or 8ā ātallā when it is on ground, and not as flat? We want him focused nice and low like he was here, but just a slightly higher head.
This game gets applied to the jump work, so after you introduce him to the set point (posted last night) you can add this as a moving target reward.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
He did really well with the moving target game!As we add more to this game, you will find it easier to have a longer āhandleā on the toy: you can get that by tying another toy to it. That way you donāt need to bend over as you move.
And you can also try having a bigger toy on the end of it – having something bigger to target to will get his head a little lower and it might be easier to scoop up as he runs through it.
Great job here!! When you have done the set point a few times, you can add this to the set point!
Tracy
Hi! He looks great!
For the wraps – he is wrapping really well! And we can use the pool noodle or a cone for any games where you might see only wings, or you can use a wing (no turning away coming up yet).
>OK Iām confessing, I teach all my directionals as turn towards and turn away. I totally understand the rationale for doing it as left and right for the dog and I did try to convert during Sonnetās foundation training. However for me it was a disaster. For some reason my brain just doesnāt work that way and yet turn towards and away comes naturally.>
Thanks for the confession š¤£šš For now, as you develop teamwork with him, you can use what is easiest for your brain – there are a LOT of other things we have to think about with baby dogs! And then when things are feeling automatic and easy, you can re-evaluate. It is VERY easy to add the new verbals if you want to.
āØ>I figure if I ever get a course where my dog canāt read my position then itās my bad and I am willing to suck it up.>
That was my philosophy originallyā¦ then I found course after course where I was not able to help with positional cues and I had to accelerate up a line (in hopes of catching up haha) so I added the new verbals. It has been a lifesaver! But that is how courses have evolved here. If you are not seeing that (our kennel club courses donāt require that), then there is no need for it at this stage.
āØThe moving target looked good too! His stays are awesome š You can use a bigger giant toy on the bottom of the leash as a bigger visual target (doesnāt have to be a ball, can be anything he will grab) – and he can grab it a little higher off the ground which is what he wanted to do here too. And with his speed, you can let him ārun through the toy: when he grabs it, you let go so he keeps moving forward (and then he brings it back to you). This saves both of you from being pulled hard when he gets to the toy, better for both of your bodies š
Great job here!
TracyGood morning! She is looking like a grown up bippet!
The verbals warm up looked great š She is ready for the game we add tonight. She is hilarious – in a few places, she looks the correct direction and if you havenāt released her, she looks at you with judgey whippet eye, then back at the barrel.
The ānormalā sends looked perfect. And the turning away was a fun challenge to add. The āskiā turn was great (lefty!) so maybe next time ask for the right turn first so she is not in lefty mode. And if she goes towards the correct side of the barrel even if it is is not perfect, you can reward that first effort. She did figure it out but yes, there is a bit of left-sideness happening. No worries, it all evens out.
>One sort of general question: you recommend using verbals for the dogās right and left for things that are front side of the jump (tight wraps and loose turns) but for backside cues (whether push to the backside or threadle) the cue is specific to slice vs wrap, regardless of which way the dog is turning. Why is this?>
Great question! Every few years, a trend from Europe shows up with adding extra verbals for left backside lice versus right backside slice etcā¦ then it disappears LOL!!
Why do we NOT need the extra verbals (at least not for now) – context cues! Specifically: the jump bar. Dogs are brilliant. If they have a general idea of pushing to the backside, for example, then there is only one possibility because the context of the jump bar cues the direction of the turn (and there is only one backside push possibility on the line – another possibility would be a threadle and not a push, if that makes sense (I can draw a picture).
So if I say āback back backā (backside slice cue) with some semblance of decent cue as to which direction the dog should be facingā¦ then the dog moves to the outside of the wing and follows the line of the bar (which they can always see). Same with threadles and same with wraps – context cues are magic š
>Iām toying with using ācompound wordsā for some cues rather than come up with new ones, but wanted to see the rationale for why the same cue for those backside cues regardless of side first.>
I used to use compound cues (about 8 years ago) and my dogs found them very frustrating – the 2nd cue is always late! So my fast dogs hit a lot of bars (like backside slice versus backside wrap) because the wrap versus slice was late. So I went to slice versus wrap cues, which are more timely. But I have never needed to differentiate if it was slice to the left versus slice to the right, because back versus threadle differentiate that (this includes running dogs in Europe not just here in the US :))
Moving target looks good too! She wants to bite a little higher which is actually correct for what we will be using this for. If you are in a shopping mood, you can buy a super large holee roller (biggest one you can find, I think I got mine from Petsmart) so she can scoop it up.
>I presume we want the whole ābiteableā part of the toy on the ground, fleece and all in this case?>
A longer handle will make your life easier, but she can bite it with her head 6 inches to a foot above the ground (she can decide what is comfortable). The bigger holee roller will be a bigger visual target, but she doesnāt need to get her head all the way to the ground.
Great job here! I am excite to see her play the games!
Tracy
