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Good morning!
I think this session went pretty well – it is hard to do 2 in a row and putting the toy away really helped. When you had it in your hands and switched hands with it, it drew her attention a bit too much (:30). But having it tucked into the back of your pants worked a lot better. Going from handler focus on the front cross exit to the obstacle focus on the barrel is coming along nicely, and I think you will be able to get more tan 2 in a row pretty soon. But we really don’t need more than 2 in a row right now – maybe a 3rd is nice but I stand with Reese on this one: too many reps are not fun 🙂
>She lost interest and started off to eat hackberries or grab her ball under the tree. I gave her a break and tried again and got a similar result.>
She went to investigate something on the very last rep here – but came back almost immediately. You can totally reward that.
I do think the switching from handler focus to obstacle focus & ignoring the toy & ignoring berries/ball on the ground is mentally expensive for her right now. So you can structure the session to do a 2 or 3 reps then she gets a break. Then on the next session a few minutes later, add the novelty of a different toy for another few reps. Teenage dogs are really into novelty and that can help her continue to ignore stuff in the environment when the skill is no longer novel.
The other thing you can do is get a bunch of hackberries in a bowl, and bring them indoors to use as the ‘novel-exciting’ (and higher levels) for the stealth self-control games. They are a pretty big distraction in the outdoor environment so we might as well tackle them, starting in small steps indoors 🙂
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
The environment was crowded here with big dogs and he did great! I am super happy with how well he is working for food even though toys are still his main love 🙂And there were a LOT of challenging dogs around in both videos! You must have filmed during the 20” class because there were hyped up Border Collies everywhere LOL!
On the first video:
He did really well with the border collie behind him looking at him at the beginning here then tugging behind him later. Benny was aware of it but still ignore him. That same dog barking at his handler (1:12 ish) was a distraction – that deep woof might have felt like it was alarm barking or directed at Benny (from Benny’s perspective) but you got his engagement back with cookie tosses the tugging. Perfect!He gave a small woof at the dog that suddenly appeared behind him – I don’t blame him at all for his response! It was rally sudden to have the dog burst out and lie down right there. Benny barked a little and you made a great adjustment by getting the cookie tosses going, then playing, then moving him away. And he finished strong there.
He was also super good on the 2nd video – the spins and serpentine hand looked beautiful and he was completely focused, right near the ring. YAY!
Well done!!
Tracy
Hi!
Hope you are having a fun weekend!
>Sends to wraps and cones were fine >
I agree, he did really well 🙂 He had some questions after the jump, about where to go next. That was all about connection. He needs you to maintain more connection back to him at this stage so he can see your eyes and face more when he is behind you.
When you had your arm blocking your face or you were looking ahead, you got a zig zag in his line (like at :03 and :20) or accidental blinds where he did not see the side change (like at :28, :44, 1:08)
Your connection at 2:10 was fantastic and he had no questions – he could very clearly see your face and your arm was low.
I grabbed some screenshots so you can see what I mean about the connection and also about the rear crosses. They are here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1r81w5BSoHXApKuJZPETRjU0TnCf8drkQ3VDn-oAkVAU/edit?usp=sharing
About the rear crosses – there were 2 types you were cueing here on both videos: rear crosses with arm cues (like tandem turns) and forward moving rear crosses.
On the first video, I think at 2:20 you did a few reps of verbal-only on the RC and he was not quite ready for that. You added arm cues at 2:48, 2:51, 4:17 but they were a little late. He was already at the bar and turning to his right before you showed the RC cues. He makes his decision about 2 feet from the jump at the latest (you will see that on the screenshots).
Then you started holding him and showing the outside arm before you let him go… that was a HUGE help for him! Yay!
Then you had a forward moving rear cross at 3:52 (starting further back) – he saw forward motion to commit to the jump, and by the time he saw RC info of your motion heading to the center of the bar, it was too late and he was already getting ready to take off in the original direction.
This session shows us two things about his rear crosses:
When you are close to the jump, the pressure into the center of the bar and the arm cues really help.When you are further from the jump, though, the motion of the pressure into the center of the jump is more important than the arm cues.
Looking at the 2nd video: You changed your timing here and it went great! On the RCs that started close to the jump like at :02 & :18 & :35 & :51 (and later too) your cues were all before he got to the bar & made a takeoff decision – arm and leg working together which really helped.
Sometimes your leg helped too much and you stepped to the backside line before he passed you (like at :42) so that is where he went – there was too much pressure and it was too soon.
The reps at 1:18 & 1:32 were more of a forward moving RC and the timing was MUCH sooner on the motion to the center of the bar then to the other side of him – so he did great! YAY!!!!
You will see screenshots of those too, to compare to how early he needs the information.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>It seems like if he gets started having lots of focus on other dogs it’s hard to get him back.>
One thing you can do is add more play, like with a favorite toy or ball or his beloved flirt pole 🙂 These sessions were all with cookies which are a bit calming. And if he is too calm, other dogs might be more noticeable for him. If he is more pumped up and playing, he is likely to not even notice the other dogs. And you can also do tricks-for-treats and chasing you to get him more pumped up using food.
Strike a pose went really well – he did a great job staying engaged with the leash off and with all the activity around him. He really likes the praise! The game itself ws very easy for him and the mat to throw the treat onto was definitely helpful!
>I keep forgetting not to move through lol. So when he touched and gets the treat my body wants to move.>
You were fine in terms of movement here – on most of the reps, you were rewarding from the correct hand and kind of leaning that direction. But that is good! You were not closing your shoulders or walking or anything. There was a rep or two where you didn’t have the reward ready so there was a lot of movement but overall, the movement was fine here.
For the backing up – he is getting the idea! He does seem to be using the mat as a ‘destination’ which is great!
>I’m still figuring out how far away I should be from the rear foot target so he steps back. Hi I think he was reaching with his feet.>
I agree that he was reaching back for the target! 2 things will help you get more distance:
Having you standing up was inhibiting the backwards movement because he was lifting his head way up high. Ideally your hands stay low (chin level for him) so his head stays in neutral position and then he can back up more. The only way to do that without making your back really angry is to be sitting while you train backing up 🙂
The other thing is that he was going a little sideways because he was targeting off your right hand, which was the hand all the reward was coming from. So you can get him to go straight by having rewards in both hands, and alternating which hand throws the reward. You don’t need to use the clicker anymore, because that would require a 3rd hand haha!
OMG! He has made tremendous progress with his stays! Look at him! Very nice 🙂 He did a great job holding the stay with dogs and people walking by and a jump there (even though he doesn’t have a lot of value for the jump yet).
These games are going really well – you can definitely add more flirt pole and tugging to it to see how it all goes when he is more pumped up 🙂
Great job! Safe travels home!
Tracy
Good morning!
Lots of good work here – it looks like he is back to 100%. Yay!Front crosses and spins (front/blind) with the toy on the ground looks great.
He was great with the pivot too – next time you can try it without a toy in your hand – will he still choose to follow the handling? I think he will 🙂When you are home, you can replace the toy on the ground with a tunnel. I know he will follow a front cross then the cue for the tunnel, no problem. But will he follow the cues to pivot with you and NOT go to the tunnel that is right there, until you cue it? That will be a fun challenge and very useful for upcoming jump-tunnel discriminations.
Start the jump as far away from the tunnel as needed until he can do it – and then move it closer and closer if it is easy for him 🙂The stay training is going really well – you are making it really FUN for him and that is sooooo important 🙂
His stays in front of the jump were strongest when you stayed very connected as you walked away. When you disconnected on the first rep, he came to you. But on the next reps, you were very connected and he was successful. So in new environments or when he is really excited, be super connected on the stay to support him.You won’t always need to be super connected like that – as he got more comfortable with the stay, you were able to walk away with less connection needed to support him (like at 4:58 and after that, as you moved into the recall-to-hand position).
>He cannot hold start position with the toy on the ground yet, >
Yes, that was the hardest part. Throwing the toy was too hard for him but you can switch it up: place the toy on the ground on one side of the jump, then use another toy or food rewards to reward him as you both walk away from it. Then he can line up and sit facing the toy on the ground. That can gradually add the toy on the ground, and I am sure you will be able to build up to fading out the rewards for walking away and build up to throwing it.
I also love how you played again after getting the leash on: many dogs avoid the leash going back on because it signals the end of the session. I know a lot of Papillons who are hard to catch when the leash comes out! But getting the leash on AND playing more was great because it helps him be happy to get the leash on because the game continues 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
He was so cute, following you around as you figured out where to put the prop 🙂
On the rear crosses: his value for the prop is looks fabulous so we can actually simplify the cues for the rear cross! Less sending and more simple motion will make it even easier. You had a lot of good reps here but also had to really hustle to show the RC – we can make it easier.
On the reps where he had questions, you were starting with a stationary forward send, kind of waiting for him to go then trying to get behind him to the new side really fast (like at :53).
It will be easier if you move forward as the main part of the cue to start moving to the prop. Then you can be moving forward the whole time (he will move past you) and changes sides without having to sprint to it 🙂
Your dog-on-right reps were more like this and they were smoother than the dog-on-left reps but I really liked the dog-on-left rep at 1:21 too!
It also teaches him to have handler pressure on the line right next to him. Your rep at 1:43 was really great (my favorite!) in terms of moving forward rather than doing a send step. That added a lot more handler pressure and he noticed it for sure. But that is the ideal line and when that is more comfy, the RCs will be even smoother.
Looking at the backing up: He is offering some steps but with your standing and the treats up high, his head his high which inhibits the backing up a bit. So he seems to understand that it is “move backwards to the concrete” which is great! And we can get his head lower (into more of a neutral position) by getting your hands lower. Having your hands at chin-level for him will lower the head into a more neutral position so he will be able to back up more freely.
The trick is to get your hands lower without making you back angry fro having to lean over. I highly recommend something to sit on 🙂 A low chair or fitness ball or something that you can sit on and have your elbows on your knees, so your hands can dangle to his chin level. That can solidify the behavior – then you can add a verbal, then you will be able to stand up again when the verbal cue has more understanding.
Really interesting about the pet store trip!
>this time he really noticed the birds at eye level, and was nervous. >
Because birds are weird living dinosaurs LOL!
>He was nervous to inspect the cage on the floor and we were about to leave when the terrier switch flipped, he plopped down and his tail started wagging and he was absolutely fixated. >
That might have been the whippet in him too – they are murderers! 🤣😂
> He did not want to leave, but once they were out of sight, he responded to the pattern game again. It was a very interesting sequence of events.>
Not being able to do the pattern game was probably a sign of his central nervous system being kicked into the sympathetic mode: fight or flight! And dogs can’t really eat in that mode which is why he couldn’t eat or respond right there. When he was further away, his nervous system probably balanced back to parasympathetic (rest & digest) so the pattern game food became salient again. These are automatic responses that override choice at this stage, so having him a lot further from the critters at this stage will help a lot!
For example, I have a firm “No Murdering” rule for the hounds and terriers, so did a lot of work early on with patterns and rewards for ignoring critters, getting closer and closer very gradually. It does work and it is a lot better than the alternative of having to clean up their murder scenes LOL
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
>I’m still on the road and I’m pretty tired so not getting much in.>
I totally relate – even on super fun trips, it can be exhausting! You are getting in plenty of training and exposure for Fix. Note how engaged he is in the middle of dog show madness, especially in the stay video. As you were lining him up to start the stay game, a giant dog walked by and he never lost focus on you. That is incredibly valuable!
Using the wall in the warm up area for the rear crosses was very clever! And there were a TON of distractions (buzzer, people, etc) and he was great! I can totally understand letting him drag the leash though 🙂
You were able to get past his shoulder each time so he read the rear crosses. Super! Your line of motion on the 2nd side was ideal (when you were heading towards the camera) – you were getting more ahead of him and less lateral, making the rear crosses super easy. It will be fun to try this when you have more room and we can try it with the prop too.
Looking at the stay video: I am so proud of his focus! The stay looks really good. Note how many distractions there were – the normal dog show distractions, plus at the beginning check out how the pug behind him is watching and air sniffing his treats. Fix is aware of it and ignored it. And giant dogs walking by, people talking… and you got stays! YAY!!!!! Good for you, good for him. It might seem like a small stay session but it was actually a huge success!!!!
Great job here!!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
I agree, she rocked it! Lovely session! And a good example of how she lays on the speed as soon as she knows the game. I am also really excited about her lineup & stay behavior. And the bowl position was hard – very visible outside the wing and easy to get to without serving – yet she had zero questions. YAY! We revisit this game soon, so no need to repeat it for now. Hopefully the weather clears up for some of the games that can go outdoors 🙂>Sprite played afterwards with a toy in the ground and Reese watched from her crate quietly. Hmmmm.>
Nice! Something to add in is taking a game she nails like this one and adding a tiny by of arousal regulation to it. Reese takes a turn. Sprite takes a turn. Then Reese gets another turn after watching Sprite. That little change in internal state will be minor but a great prep for her future in agility: she will learn early on to watch other dogs, regulate, then go in and nail her turn. Let me know if that makes sense!
Gret job 🙂
Tracy
It probably wasn’t there – sometimes the server needs to update on your page. That whole Oct 13 class was glitchy in terms of tech (you’ll see LOL) and so I am not surprised it was glitchy in terms of updating on the page 🙂
T
Hi!
>Did I do the right thing by waiting her out when she was sniffing the treats and not immediately following me? >
100% yes! She was still actively engaged with the scenario… she just needed to sort it out. It was only a few seconds.
>If you add the leash to this game I’m assuming it stays on the entire time?>
Yes, at first – but then you can even add the leash coming off as a ‘trick’: leash off, she stays engaged? Jackpot time!
> Sprite does get turns. She just works herself up and sings protests or encouragement. Who knows?>
I am pretty sure those are songs of protest LOL
>This is just a basket with rags that lives in the laundry room. I wasn’t sure what other room to use as going out the front door requires a leash. This is on the way to the potty yard and backyard.>
This was great – something new and out-of-the norm in an environment that she is comfy with. She was definitely aware of it (checked it out twice) but no signs of fear or big stress. If we have electrodes or saliva tests, we would likely see a small pulse of activity in her HPA axis, and then check it again in an hour or so and she would probably be back to baseline. Perfect! It ‘teaches’ the body to regulate.
Fingers crossed for the rain to stop!
Tracy
Hi!
You might have needed to refresh the page? It should be here for you:Let me know if it is not there.
Tracy
Sounds like a fun trip! And yes, all the weird holiday stuff certainly makes for different visuals for the dogs 😂🤣😂 so I am very glad she did well! Super!!!
Tracy
Hi!
>t I’m finally starting to see her look ahead and focus forward in this exercise.>
Yes! She is starting to look forward for sure! Yay!
>This is another exercise where I have some trouble with reward timing.>
Clarifying the stay and release will help get more forward focus while maintaining the stay, making the reward timing easier. The releases here were ‘yes get it’ for the most part, and I don’t think we want ‘yes’ to be a release. ‘Get it’ is a useful release, or you can use your regular release or even a jump cue. For now, the timing is to say the release as soon as she looks forward. You can have a treat in the bowl already so she is more likely to look at it (and less likely to watch the treats in your hands :))
When she can do that consistently, you can get more duration on the forward focus by adding very quiet praise (something like ‘yesssssss’) then release her to it (or sometimes throw the reward back to her so she still gets lots of stay rewards).
Great job! Have fun at the seminar!
Tracy
Hi!
> closing my eyes and visualizes how it would look on a bar>
Turning her away on the flat here is easy peasy for her to her right, almost like a goofy trick 🙂 You can use that as a way to help her come in to line up as I mentionde in the post above.
Turning away to her left was much harder, so move your hand very slowly to draw her a little past you then soooo slowly soshe can follow your hand to turn away. You can even have her nibbling on the treats while you do that. When your hand was moving slowly like that (like at 2:05) she was able to turn away. But when your hand was moving fast, it was not really turning her as much as it was moving her away (like 2:08) so she didn’t get the turn. Slow and low is your mantra, like you did at 2:18 and 2:25 and a couple of times at the end, where you drew her a bit forward then slowly turned her away
But if she freezes and does NOT come into a hand cue (like at :40, 1:40) – don’t drop a treat on the ground to get her to come forward, because that inadvertently trains more of the freezing behavior by rewarding it. I don’t think she is freezing because she is stressed – I think she is standing still there because she legit thinks the cookie drop is the cue (and also a reward) which is why we are seeing more and more of the standing still rather than coming to your hand.
> closing my eyes and visualizes how it would look on a bar>
When this gets added to a barrel, you can totally put a leash or something on the ground so you have a visual of where the bar is!
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi –
She is getting the idea of the serp! Two next steps here:
– get the reward to the ground and not from your hand. What I mean by that is to have a bowl on the ground for her to go to after she comes over the bar, so she does the entire in-then-out movement before you move at all. Then you can drop a cookie in the bowl. Or you can have it placed in the bowl already but that is much harder 🙂 A toy or a treat hugger can be used for this as well!
– with an eye on adding movement in the future, separate the hand moving into serp position from the verbal release. Slowly put your hand into position (so she doesn’t think it is the release) and when your hand is in position, say the release (but don’t move).For now, resist the temptation to add handler motion to this game – she is not quite experienced enough with the cues for the serp behavior to override motion. And be careful of your start position – at :17 she was actually correct to not take the jump: you started in threadle position (your arm was visible outside the entry wing) and you were moving fast, so she threadled. Good girl! On the other reps where she had questions about the movement, it was just her needing to learn move about the serp before you added any movement.
She did really well finding the serp from the different positions! Yay! One suggestion is to lure her into a lineup next to you and reward from your hand. She is not coming in close to line up and I think it is because she is used to food getting dropped on the ground to get her where you want her… so she waits away from you until you drop a treat. We don’t want the treat drop to be the cue to come in close and line up, so using a cookie lure is perfectly fine for now and very easy to fade 🙂
Nice work!
Tracy
