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Hi!
Yes, I’m happy to help!I think the first thing is to NOT worry about running clean or not. You’ll probably have more oopsies at the beginning but that is great – it is a sign that you’re going for it đ And if there is a blooper, just keep going and fix it in the next run.
Also, before running the course, read the hints in the other document – that will give you ideas for lines and crosses that will be more independent, so you can try those ideas out.
Video everything! Let me know how it goes!
TracyNice lateral distance on that first rep! He had great forward focus on the line and that allowed you to be up past 3 and rotating to 4 really early so he read those really well.
You can add a little decel and a brake arm on 5 at :08
2nd seq – this is where getting him to look ahead of you at the 1st jump will help – he was looking sideways to you and leaning at :11, so you had also step forward. A brake arm (like we did in the live class) at 2-3 will be helpful to tighten that line!
The lower bars are helping him sort form (like at :18) He is still working it out but definitely has better form on the lower bar.Seq 3: nice forward focus on 1!!
On the first rep at :27 you were indicating the takeoff spot ahead of him on the FC at 2 but I think that sends him long (looks too much like a slice cue) Rotate more and have your hands going towards him to help get more collection. You had more decel on the second rep at :39 so there was more collection and a better turn (yay!) so you can still add being earlier with the arms to him to indicate collection (start that halfway between the two jumps at the latest).
The lower bar on 3 on the 2nd rep helped! The full height bar at :29 on the first rep was a little too much for processing all the things that need to happen there.
He hit the wing at :31 on 4 – that was a handling blooper. You got him to the backside and closed your shoulder so he was turning right at takeoff, following the physical cues. Then you kept moving and said tunnel, so he tried to twist in the air to adjust and hit the wing. To get him to turn left better there, keep your shoulders open like it is a serp. On the 2nd rep, you lowered it and definitely opened up your shoulder more (yay!) but then keep that shoulder open as you add the tunnel verbal – the open shoulder of the serp is what cues the full line. If you close the shoulder forward too soon, he will watch you for more info.
Last sequence – he read the opening line really well! You can duel into the FC at :52 because the change of pace will cue the collection. You were steady in your pace then quick with the FC so he touched the wing there trying to adjust.
Add the brake arm from the live class to the turns like at jump 4, so he doesnât go as wide on the send and can set the turn before takeoff. The rest looked lovely!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
I love your notes for the session! Turns out you didnât need to watch the video – things went really well!
The opening line line looked really lovely, smooth and connected. You needed one more step to 4 (she knew that it wasnât quite right thus the barking, but good job free-styling back around so you would get back in gear, then get 4 and keep going.
One of the good parts of continuing rather than stopping was how quickly she was able to bounce back and how she didnât hold any frustration for later in the run.
The middle section also looked really good (4-10)!!! So nice!!! Yes, the RC had a question: you can stick a little closer to the tunnel exit til she just about exits, then move up the RC line o she can drive ahead. I think you got a little ahead and had a sudden decel which caused her to stop. And yes, turning her left then back to her right ws fine to keep going. Note how she got right back on her line and nailed the weaves! Super!
The ending line looked really good too. I think the threadle after the weaves went well – you can be a little closer to the jump but you were still close enough there to get her to the correct side and over the bar quickly.
>>I can see why the dog might perceive that as a punishment even though I have used it differently than a lot of people. Iâve never yelled âdownâ at her like some do, and I always verbally praise her and throw cookies at her when I reset the bar. I then will often do a cookie scatter when I release her on the way back to restart. I didnât put all of that in the video, but even with that, I suppose that it would still be negative to a dog who finds moving her body to be very rewarding.>>
I think of punishment as being on more of the biology side of things – the reward there is âless than expectedâ, meaning her neurons thought her behavior was going to garner either staying in motion (expected) or the more-than-expected cookie through. When less-than-expected happens, there is likely to be a dopamine drop out, meaning her dopamine level falls below baseline. And that also might be part of why she would run the fence and bark after a stop.
And that is where frustration (and other things like it) can come from. We havenât stuck electrodes into the brains of agility dogs đ But they have seen this in other mammals so I would say it is a good bet that dogs have the same thing happen too đ That is why we either keep going or reward in those moments.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
Thank you for all of your great questions last night in the live class!!!!
>>itâs supposed to be 103-108 so maybe not.>>
Ewwww I hope the forecast changes!!!
>>the middle jump that was so conveniently in the way. >>
Youâre welcome. LOL!!!!
To get her looking more at 1, you can have her feet pointing at it more. But she committed to it beautifully and never touched the bar!
>>Should have looked at the course maps. I made it much harder for my self starting on the wrong jump. Oopsie!>>
It gave you extra brake arm practice! Brake arm on 1 was good! She looked great 1-2. Interestingly, when you did not use the brake arm at 1:11 and 1:38, she landed longer and harder, so I think the brake arm is useful on those types of openings for her.
>>I set her on a slice which got the back side of 3 as I didnât control the turn from 2 to 3.>>
Yes, controlling the turn of 2 to make an easier threadle, it looked good on all the other passes through that line.
Back to the layering:
The trick to the layering is to get close to the 3 jump (3 as you had it here, 2 on the map) so you can propel her to the tunnel and run a parallel line to the jump after the tunnel. You were getting too far ahead and caught behind the wing of the layered jump. If you get ahead and she sees you turn because you get stuck behind the layered jump, you will get a turn on the exit like at :35 and 52
Sticking closer to the wing of the 3 cup sets up a better line to the jump after the tunnel. You did this on the âseq 1â rep at 2:52 and it worked really well!
But even with the miscommunication there after getting stuck behind the wing, you still got a great turn at :54!!!! The turn at 1:15 there was a little late in terms of starting the cues, and I also think that the break arms can be more directly to her and not towards the jump. That can get a tiny bit more collection and that is all she needs here.
Warm up 2: â¨You had great timing of starting the wrap cues and she had a good collection at 1:43! And it was even better at 2:02, she is totally sorting out the collection. Plus you easily got to the backside of 6 each time!
Wam up 3: SUPER nice tunnel turns!!!!! Especially after all of those straight line exits – lovely timing and cues, and her turns were spot on. YAY!!!!
Seq 1:
At 2:54, your brake arms had good timing but they were forward towards the jump. Try them pointing more to her, more like at 3:08 – that was a better collection because the brake arms were more emphatically towards her.Nice collection at 2:57 and 3:14 on the wrap!! She was REALLY working her booty to get the collection there and you did not have to work that hard to get it! She was not yet totally sure what to do on the next line, so yes: it is like a split step for you and you can also call her as you run up the next line. It is very cool to see her picking up the collection so well!
Seq 5: nice wrap on the backside, she was LOVELY on both reps! Also you had a really nice âgoâ on the tunnel exit there. Yay!
>>Iâm still not sure Iâm seeing the collection and leaving correctly. Itâll take some time to figure that out.
You are seeing it based on your good timing of leaving for the next line, so I think it will get easier as you get used to cuing it that way.
>> She was amazing!
AGREED!!! She basically nailed it, which means you nailed it too!
>I even did the post turn. I. Itâll be better to get up field if I figure it out. Is it sort of a split step?
Yes, the collection there looks really good – that brake arm really supports it so that even if your decel is not perfect, she still collects for the turn (no off course tunnel! Yay!!) So you can start to leave even sooner, as you get comfy using the brake arms. Your decel into it will make it feel easier to leave, you wonât have to scramble as much to get to where you want to go on the next line.
Great job!!
TracyHi!
Maine must have been SO NICE!!! And yes, it is hot and steamy down here LOL!! He did well in the heat here! You did a great job remembering the sequences!
>>I donât think Iâll ever be able to layer that middle jump.>>
You can do three things to help build up the layering:
– tighten up the spacing so the tunnel is not as far, and it is easier to pass the jump t get to it. Then do lots of tunnel sends đ
– take the bar out of the jump and run between the uprights as you are heading to the jump after the tunnel. That will allow you to kind of half-layer and introduce the concept đ
– You can put the whole jump kind of up next to the tunnel for him to pass, so is is very hard to get the jump and very easy to get the tunnel.>>Also probably too strong on the threadle 1-2 but weâve been working on it after last sessionâs pop up sequences and I noticed that was a hole in our training as he was often taking the wrong side of the jump.>>
Yes, at 1-2 he doesnât need too much of a threadle the way it is built, he can see a pretty straight line to 2 (or to 6 at the end). You can change the angle a bit so it is less of a straight line and he can work the threadle more.
First sequence with the straight line tunnel exit looked really good!
2nd run – SUPER nice whoa and arms while you moved forward, great timing and great commitment and turn!!!
>>Heâs also sticky on the release today. >>
Yes, I noticed that too. Try releasing while you are moving rather than standing still and see if that gets him off the line on the first release.
>>The first rep was fine and the second one I used the brake arm for the 180 4-5. 3rd and 5th attempt I pull him off the wing wrap.>>
I think the connection was the make-or-break here. Connected? He got the jump every time. Disconnected/looking forward? He would look up at you for more info and was far more likely to come off the jump.
On the wrap rep at 2:34 and 3:55 – not enough connection as you moved forward o he looked at you, then he started to go forward but you started moving backwards so he came off the jump
Keep moving forward as you decel and use the brake arms til you see his feet lift for the jump, to help support commitment. You had much better connection and commitment at 3:14! He still looked up at you on the tunnel exit, so be sure you are looking at him on the tunnel exit to support commitment to the line.
2nd video:
Nice commitment to the wrap on the opening, you got up to the backside on 6 really nicely too! He went past the bar on 6 the first time, so you can have the toy ready to throw to the landing spot t help him look at the bar
>>This is where I feel I donât have jump commitment. I could have sworn, especially on 5th attempt of first video, that he was moving forward and committed to the jump before I moved down towards 5,>>
This was at 1:29 – definitely not enough connection, he totally was looking at you and that caused the refusal after the tunnel
A little sticky on the last rep even with good connection, but he as probably hot at that point. He did commit, he just wasnât as fast. But overall he did really really well and the main thing is to add more connection as you drive up the decel lines with the brake arms, to support his commitment.
Great job! Stay cool!
Tracy
I am so glad to hear she is back to normal! Definitely post videos of the sequences she didn’t get to run – she was looking good before she got tired!!
T
Wow, you and she completely rocked this game! Yay!
>>We knew she was going to be fine with this right? >>
Yes, I knew she would nail it đ She loves her agility and youâve built great commitment!
She only had one question: More connection was needed on the send to the middle wing at :23, so she came off the line (that was the only spot you were looking ahead and not at her).
Nice exit connection – you did a great job of getting your dog-side arm pointing back to her cute little nose on the exit of all the crosses, so she saw the connection really clearly. The turns looked great!
>>She worked nicely for her toy- Taq says thanks mom for not trying to hide my food in the grass!>>
Ha! Yes! I promise we wonât be throwing naked cookies into the grass for too many games đ
Great job here! The next step is to add more distance. Move the wings so they are an additional 5 feet, then if that goes well, an additional 10 feet further from where they were now (they will be pretty far away!). And you are still going to send with just one big step đ
Tracy
Hi!
>> When there, what would be a good spacing between jumps on âlazy gameâ to start with, and to increase distance to if âall goes wellâ?
For him, start with 15 feet between the jumps with a really low bar and see how it goes. Hopefully that distance is easy, so then you can go to 18 feet then 20 feet (and so on :))
>> on our AG field, footing is sand with something đ So I canât throw treats â it gets covered with sand. I typically use âlotus ballâ there but with that, it âbreaks the flowâ â if I reward after 2nd jump then I need to get there, get the toy from him (maybe help to open it first LOL) etc. Suggestions how to do this game there?>>
Yes, a lotus ball might interrupt flow a little but it is better than eating sand! So you can reward with a lotus ball, reload it, start over on the other side, or start in the middle. Then once he gets past rewards for 1 jump, you can do a reward after 2 jumps, reload it, start over on the other side then build up to 3 jumps.
The other option is to use multiple lotus balls or treat huggers: throw a lotus ball for jump 1, and keep slowly moving. When he eats the treat inside it, he will then (hopefully!) leave the lotus ball there and move to the next jump and get the next lotus ball đ And the toys don’t need to be identical if you have different types of toys.
>> So put teeter on 2 tables and do the same as game describes?
Yes, and there are other variations of the game using the tables.
>> Or maybe Iâll video him doing teeter tomorrow so you can see if we need it?
Perfect! That will give us an idea of what he needs help with (or if he doesn’t need help at all!)
Thanks,
TracyHi!
>>Have wathed video am still not sure she will not dive straight off but will see>>
Make sure she knows there is a food reward up at the top by showing it to her before you let her go up the board. And use something sticky and delicious so she is really looking for it and so it doesnât fall off the board đ
Lazy game – this went pretty well! She was happy to look for the food and she was definitely looking for the jumps!
On the 1st video, you were strolling really well đ It did take her a little longer to find the treats on this video but she did find them, then she had to think hard about finding the jumps⌠and she did! Yay!
On the 2nd video, I think you were trying to go too fast at the beginning. Donât try to match her speed. You can stroll around and throw rewards, then after she does all 3 reps you can play tug with her from your hand. That will give you time to re-load the treats in your hand between each go-round. You did slow yourself down in the 2nd half of the video, but be sure you donât end up standing still đ Keep strolling, no stopping but also no running LOL!
I am not sure about the toy attached to something on the ground, I prefer she play with you with the toy in your hand, but it is definitely better than having her run around with the toy and not play with you at all! But also if the toy being visible is helping her stay focused and eat the treats, that is a good thing. She did not look too grabby here at all.
So the next step on this game is to spread the jumps out so there is more distance. You still stroll, but she will be working further and further away.
The plank video here is the same as the 2nd lay game video – can you re-post when you get a chance?
Great job here!! She is doing well!
Tracy
Hi!
The lazy game on wing at the beginning looks good! You can add bars to the jumps and work in more distance between the jumps, so she commits to the line more without you having to run in close to the jumps đ
One steps sends – she knows the wraps on the wings if you move a lot⌠so now we can add challenge and expand her commitment skills by taking out your motion and adding more distance too. For the purposes of this game, you can hang out at the tunnel exit, make connection, and send her to the wrap wing with one big step.
A good example of the one big step is at 1:15, that was a really strong one! On that rep, you were maybe halfway between the tunnel exit and the wing, so you can add in being at the tunnel exit to build more distance.
And remember to emphasize your exit line connection. When you finish the crosses, point your dog-side arm back to her to really open up the connection, rather than have your arm at your side. Without the big exit line connection, she might not know where to be: at 1:20, you disconnected and looked ahead of her to the tunnel so she only saw your back. It totally looked like a blind cross, so she changed sides (GOOD GIRL!) Definitely reward her in those moments because there is a 99.99% chance it is a handler error and not a dog error đ You mentioned in the video that you didnât connect⌠but you should still reward her because otherwise it is like telling her she is wrong for a behavior she was reading correctly.
You had much clearer connection at 1:37 and she easily knew where to be. Super!
>>I have trained the teeter but would love to increase her speed so any help with that is appreciated.
We can totally look at that! On the video, she is slowing down at the pivot and stopping a bit short on her end position. So rather than keep working the full teeter, you will get ore speed if you isolate the behaviors with the games. This weekâs mountain climber game will get her driving to the end of the board without stopping or slowing in the middle. And in upcoming weeks, we will be adding end position games so she goes directly into her position at the end of the board, no hesitating đ So rather that rehearsing the slower behavior, letâs break the different elements out, get them super solid, then put it all back together into a really fast teeter đ
She is doing well with the RDW mat work! The 2 thinks I suggest for that are:
– Give her a straighter angle of approach so she can get her striding bigger on the up ramp. This was very angled and she had to add more strides than we want at this stage.
– Have the reward reward so you can get it to her on the line before she looks you. Head position is important on the RDW and looking a you will change the striding.>>I will be away a few weeks in July but will catch up when I return, I hope this is ok.>>
No problem! You will have plenty of time to catch up.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>she has more space, equipment and yells at me when I take the easy way or dont reward enougnâŚ>>
Yes, I heard her yelling at you to reward đ and that is great!
It is a little hard to se in the shade so apologies if I miss details on the runs, but two main things:
She doesnât really understand the threadle cues if you are moving⌠and we do want you to be able to move. I think you were trying to stop her and reward her for coming into you for the threadle here, but there are 2 issues with that:
– She doesnât find stopping to be rewarding, even with the food– It is causing you to stop moving when you really need to keep moving (and we need her to read the cues when you keep moving)
When you tried to keep moving on the last run, she didnât get the threadle.
So, rather than stop and give her a cookie, try staying in motion and giving a BIG threadle cue: very obvious arm movement, connection, and verbals.
Start by walking on just one jump, then 2 jumps, then 3 jumps. Then go to jogging, then running – we definitely donât want you to have to stop moving to get the threadle, as that will get you way behind for the next part of the course.And yes, keep moving even if there is an error, finish the sequence, then reward (rather than stopping or starting over). On the 2nd video – she had zoomies over the obstacles when you didnât reward her. That is probably similar to what happens at trials, so we donât want either of you to get into the habit of stopping (or zooming :))
2nd rep was better on the 2nd video was definitely better – you were moving better and that always helps her! Nice!!!
On the 3rd video – she was able to get this without you moving too much, yay! The only error was when you tripped and almost fell (glad you didnât fall!)â¨
But I think we need to get the handling communication happening in the way you will need it on course at a trial where you are running (and not standing still nearly as much).
So with that in mind, take all of these sequences and spread them out as much as possible, so you need to run (and cannot get them without running :)). That will help us sort out what she knows when you are in motion, and what she needs to learn, and what your timing needs to be!So spread things out sooooo much that you cannot stand still at all (sorry!) and we can really practice for what she will need at a trial.
Nice work here!!
â¨TracyHi!
>>I am quite enjoying these although Maisy resents doing all those startlines.
Ha! Sorry Maisy (not sorry LOL!!!)
>>She has an uncanny ability to pull off things which makes it all a bit harder to get ahead and get the blind in. That pink jump before the tunnel is our nemesis.>>
There was one pull-off in the video, and it was because you were too early on the cue for the next line (see below). Feel free to put more bloopers into the video so we can see where she has questions!
>>Her eyes flicker back and forth between me and the jump. Often she does not move her head so I take what I can get.>>
That is fine! I will take that acknowledgment! She doesnât have to turn and stare at the jump.
But if she drops the bar on 1 (:04, :22), I would consider stopping and resetting there, so she considers organizing a bit better before takeoff. You can help her with the bar on 1 by setting her another meter or so further away so she has more room to organize, and setting up her stay with her feet facing the bar (not parallel to the bar) so she has a better approach.
Seq 4:
Keeping moving on the 2-3-4 line. When you did, she had lovely jumping! When you were a bit stop-and-go, she dropped the ba on 3 (:13)Good :24! Keep trusting the line 2-3 so you can start the cross even sooner, so she sees it before takeoff for 3
Seq 5:
She was correct to *not* take 2 at :47 – you were too early on the BC by turning your shoulders away from 2 as she landed then then starting the BC. You can maintain connection as you move forward til she looks at 2, then start the blind. The timing was much better at :52 and she committed really well and turned nicely too! Great job sending her to the 4 tunnel so you could easily get the backside after it!Seq 6: very nice opening on the first run! On the 2nd run, it looks like she didnât look at the first bar at all? She still found the line and jumped it really well!
Stay more connected at 1:10 and 1:40 (backside on 4) – she brushed the wing as you started to turn you head and shoulders to look forward.Her drive to the tunnel looked great, you will easily be able to layer that line!
Great job :)⨠Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>So when training the distance you said to reward far away, do you mean like throw her ball before the obstacle I am trying to get? >>
Yes, a ball or toy or lotus ball can all work: as soon as she looks at the line you want, throw the reward so it lands out past the jump. And keep throwing for different parts of the line so it really pumps up her commitment.
>>Is this also a commitment problem?
I am not sure I would call it a problem, but it is definitely a skill to expand on because it is becoming a really common course challenge! And it helps getting big lines on course even without layering.
Looking at the video⌠I thnk you were over-helping on the lines too much, running really close to each jump. That put her into collection which made it even harder to get the lines.
On the 1-2-3-4 line, see if you can send her to 1 and 2 so you can to a FC or BC 2-3, and run run run. She should be able to find those lines and if she canât, it is good to know so we can teach her to see them.
The 4-5-6-7 line is perfect to try layering! And it is a good place for lots of toy throws out on the line, to get her driving the line. That will make getting the 8-9-10 line easier too – I think the cross before the 9 tunnel made getting the 10 jump harder. If you keep her on your right for the 9 tunnel, then you can get 10 with a rear cross pretty easily.
So, try to drive her more! Donât worry about working each jump, think of it as setting lines and trusting her!
Also think about setting the fastest lines for her – so if you ever find yourself backing up, you are probably not setting the fastest line. For example, looking at the 13 jump after the weaves: you can let her exit the weaves in extension and go to the other side of the jump, then slice the jump to have a straight line on landing to the tunnel. You moved backwards to bring her into the harder side of 13 which made the exit to the tunnel extra hard too.
>>. I was super proud of her weavers tho!
Yes, she was great with her weaves! The pole required that they get set on a harder angle and she was great! Yay!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! Lots of really lovely work here!!
Wow, her focus on the toy looked great! You can apply that to a jump by putting the toy on the other side of it – it might help her like stay behavior better in the higher arousal situations!
The opening looked good and the start of the layering did too, both times through there!! You should totally layer that whole line from 4 through 8!
The handler restriction of the 3 jump caused a little too much decel at :51, and then pushed you to get the off course at 1:57 – so as you move there, you would need a tunnel threadle cue so it overrides the motion. Or, layer that 3 jump as you head for the 10 jump đ The tunnel threadle is what you used at 2:13, but you can do it sooner (starting at landing from 7) to help her organize sooner to keep the bar up
I think the RC on 10 is the best option on that line! Remember to keep your feet facing the center of the bar to set it: you had your feet facing the a-frame (backside line) too long at :55 so she had to cut in at the last minute and dropped the bar. She got it on the next run, but definitely keep working for feet to the center of the bar as we donât want to dilute the feet facing the backside line for when you need a backside.
Super excellent weave entry and exit, wow! She found the entry AND stayed in, weaving into the gate, while you layered to get the the threadle. Nice! She popped out on the 2nd run, maybe because people were moving?
The RC on 15 was nice at 1:07 but doesnât get you to be able to show 16 – standing still started to bring her in but then when you moved, you pushed her back to the off course tunnel.
Plenty of time to get the BC there ad you did on the last rep – nice! Then the FC works to show 16, but be sure to finish the FC rather than back up pulling her in before finishing it – that way you can get the correct side of 16 very easily.
Nice work here!! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
