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Hi! Welcome back! It is to see you and meet the 2 new campers, Sahweet and Puddin’ 🙂 So fun!!
>>Sahweet is a power house and way faster than any dog I’ve ever run. She’s AMAZING and tries so dang hard. We are working on putting it all together but tend to have just one thing right now. She’s learning to handle me running all out without her head exploding. She’s really pushy but I adore every hair on her.>>
Yes! She is VERY fun and powerful – and she is doing great with you running because the sequence that you ran the most on was also the sequence that you absolutely nailed. So we will keep working on the whole running thing! It was fun watching her to try to figure out what she needs (or doesn’t need :))
>>Puddin is still just a baby. We are really green. She’s got really good understanding of the skills she does know but I’ve taken things slow. She had little self preservation for some things but can also be on the softer side if she thinks she’s wrong.>>
I think the “just keep going after an error” will really help her – you can freestyle a fast and fun line and reward her line you just won.it.all!
Looking at Miss Sahweet:
Seq 1:
She is doing great with her forward focus on jump 1! You were way up by 3! She does better with her jumping when she looks at the jump a little more rather than the half-an-eyelash 🙂 At :32 it as a half-an-eyelash moment and she pulled the bar. So if she doesn’t give you a pretty decent look, ask her again for it before you release her (she might be annoyed but it is better for the jumping LOL!) You can also start her a stride further back so she has more room to set up the sliceAnd about that threadle line 2-3: yup, it I is definitely one of those semi-hidden threadles we are seeing nowadays! You were a little late cuing it on the first couple of reps but you were really in locking in the timing at 1:05: you had the turn cue for 2 (which is very helpful to set her up for the threadle!) starting when she landed from 1 then the threadle before she took off for 2. Now keep that timing and add your motion. She seems like the type that would quite enjoy intense cues, so feel free to be big and loud in your verbals and arms cues so she reads the threadle line as you run.
Sequence 2:
She had trouble with the first bar at 1:12 – because you were stationary then starting moving as she was lifting off? Because it was a pretty severe slice? Both? She did not have trouble after that, so it might be a combination of more experience needed and her line up position was a little better on the other reps (you were moving on the other reps as well, so if the movement was the issue then she worked it out nicely!)
Question about your verbals with her:
She can turn a lot tghter on the exit of 2 which will make 3 easier too. You were saying dig there and a few other places, so what specifically should it mean? Wrap or general collection?I think you can add a brake arm (outside arm joining dog side arm and decel as you say the verbal) on the send to 2 as she lands from 2, to get more collection – let me know how she does with that!
She cracked me up at 1:27 when she moved in the stay, caught herself, put herself BACK in the stay and looked around like “what? I was here the whole time?” Hahahahahaha
On the FC at 3: She is jumping out to your position on 3 and pulled the bar there because she didn’t know the line was heading back to 4 on the first rep.
She did not read the send to 4 at 1:51, a little disconnected as you tried to move away to the next section. But them you made a great adjustment:
You got the BEST turn on 3 out of all the reps when you *ran* into it at 2:01 – she read the line better, you showed decel and a much better line. And the send to 4 was MUCH more connected. Then you *nailed* the blind on the jump at 2:06 – YES! Great job driving into that, your motion helped a LOT and the sequence looked great.
So definitely keep moving! That will help us sort out her timing needs and how powerful you can make the cues.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! These went really well, lots of good reps here!
>>Big thing I noticed was when I ovr thought or focused on something I felt was hard Iforgot to keep going…>>
Yes, you will have to actively tell yourself in the moment to either keep going or praise & reward. If you stop or get quiet… she seems to get stressed. So the reward must always come before the reset or the re-start, whether it comes from stopping and rewarding or continuing and rewarding.
On the videos:
Video 1, Seq 1: nice work! Great connection! And really nice adjustment to use the threadle on jump 2-3, that worked really well.
For the start – she found the first jump but it will be useful if we can get you into a more lateral lead out spot. What is her stay status? We can figure out how to maximize the forward focus and lead out without adding stress.Video 2:
She turned to the right on jump 1 because you were on the line to the center of the bar (which indicates rear cross) as she was making a takeoff decision. No worries. Rather than have her freeze out by the jump, you can just say your “yay good girl” like you used on the previous video and reward, so you can reset and start again from a better spot while also giving her practice in coming back happily after something has gone wrong.The rest of this sequence went well!
Video 3:
This one also had really strong connection!
Layering right at the beginning was a good way to use lateral distance without a lead out.
The 3 jump should be the backside though – you had her turn right on the front side, which set up a harder line to 4
The FC at :10 and the BC at :39 were effective in terms of getting her turned – it is hard to tell from the camera angle, but it looks like you were moving too much towards the tunnel while you did the cross so she went wide based on your position. That then caused you to push her back to 6 which set the line to the off course jump.Hard to see what happened next- after the first off course, it looked like you praised her and she came right back for a treat. Yay! After the second off course, you didn’t praise or anything so she was more tentative about coming back… remember to always praise and reward the off course if you don’t keep going, otherwise she gets concerned. Then take a moment to look at the video and you will see the handling that caused the off course 🙂
It looks like you took a moment to show her the line to the tunnel, but you don’t need to do that 🙂 The off course was entirely cued by handling, so it is better to *not* show her the sequence so that she can continue to give you feedback about the handling.
You got it with more decel and verbal at :53 and on the last rep but be sure to also reward the off courses so that she doesn’t get stressed if you stop.
Video 4:
This is the same opening but with the easier ending to the tunnel – very nice! Great connection and verbals!Video 5 – she turned to her right on jump one for. The same reason as video 2 (you were on the line to the center of the bar which looks like a RC line). Line her up on a slice facing jump 2 so she knows which way to go when she starts moving. This time you brought her back and reset. Just be sure to praise and call her while you do it – she froze a bit then jumped up at you. So, you can totally praise then line her up again with the treat.
The rest of the sequence looked good!Video 6:
You layered the opening here too which can be effective but in this case, you were pulling towards the tunnel too much so she looked towards you to see the line and knocked the bar.Then when you did the FC to the jump, you were very close to the tunnel, moving forward, and at :06, your dog-side arm was forward – that blocked connection and she didn’t see the side change, so she took the tunnel. As you exit the cross, be sure to have your dog side arm pointing back to her and look at her eyes, so she sees the side change. Think of it as looking at where she is (behind you) and not where you want her to be (next to you).
Call and praise immediately – it looked like she took off or kept going, so we don’t want to telegraph that anything was wrong on her part, so either keep running or praise/reward.
She got it on the next 2 reps – you added more verbal and that helped! It looks like the way the sequence was set that the line does indeed take her to the backside of the 5 jump, so you would need a threadle there like you added at :38. . Be sure to keep going or reward that off course, she was being a good girl!
Great job!!
TracyHi!
Seq 1:
The threadle cue worked great! The sequence went well overall!The bar on 2 is hard. Staying closer to it and connected really helps her – she touched the wing on the first rep (bar stayed up) and the bar came down on the 2nd rep (:18) when at :17 you turned your head forward (looking ahead, which drew her focus off the jumping and to you) and were pretty far ahead of her too.
After the blind at 4 to get 5: she barked at you at :08 when you pointed ahead (blocks connection and changes the line of your shoulder). At
:20, you didn’t point ahead and instead kept your arm back til she passed you: this showed more connection and line support, and she was great! No trash talking from her LOL!On sequence 2:
Be sure to support the lines for laying on a parallel path as well as the verbal.
Rep 1 had a conflicting indicator: the verbal said go tunnel but physical cues said to turn, so she went with the physical cues. On the second rep at :43 and 3rd rep at :54 you stayed closer and help the parallel line until she was looking at and moving to the tunnel. Super!!!Speaking of tunnels:
>>However, we struggled with forward focus out of the tunnel (0:56). This is a common problem for us. I can get the forward focus on the first obstacle consistently, but I often can’t get her back off of handler focus during the run, and she just stares at me and barks while curling in. >>
Forward focus on the line is all about placement of reinforcement and handling cues 🙂 For her, throw all of the reward miles and miles away from you on the lines, especially on the tunnel exits – and for now, never feed from your hand on course even if it is just a reward after a mess up 🙂
You tend to drop the reward relatively close to the tunnel exit, so she curls toward you (like at :13 and :26, and also at the end of 3B like 2:30). Dropping the reward close to you promotes the habit of curling towards you and we can shift that by having you accelerate and throw the reward as far as possible.
>>I know I can throw or place a reward out there, but that doesn’t help me during a bigger sequence, >>
Consistency of throwing it (not placing it in advance) will develop the habit of driving forward.
Plus, consistency of cues before it will help a lot too!
At :45 and 1:14 barked after tunnel – you were quiet as she entered and decelerated so she turned on the exit. To get a straight exit, you need to say GO GO GO and accelerate before she enters. If you might end up too far ahead, you can run in closer to the tunnel so you can show the acceleration,
At :56 you said right before she entered (which cues a turn on the tunnel exit) so she turned to her right on the exit, she was 100% correct. You rewarded which is good but reward by throwing the toy miles and miles away 🙂
So I think the combo of long long reward throws for all tunnel exits (and jump lines!) plus more clarity of handling before it will help solve the tunnel question!
3A – nice layering to the tunnel on the first rep and at 2:02! Both of those had a parallel line of motion from you until you saw her look at the tunnel, then you peeled away.
There was a conflicting indicator at 1:37 second rep: mouth said tunnel and body said turn turn turn.
Same thing happened at 1:49 – you said jump but were peeling away, so she came into the gap to the jump you were facing. Good girl! In those moments, you can reward by letting her take whatever line she is heading toward then throw a reward 3 miles down the street 🙂3B went well too – she never looked at the off course tunnel! To tight then line after the blind, you can add more connection as you exit the blind. Keep your arm back to her nose so she can see the eye contact – think of it as looking/pointing back to where she is, not where you want her to be. You had your arm down at your side and look down at your side, so she was a bit wider there while sorting out the info. I use the exit line connection skill of my opposite arm across my belly, to really help get my dog-side arm back and out of the way.
Second video: She found jump 1 perfectly! Yay!
She definitely had a question on jump 3! I wonder if a brake arm would help her? That is a soft opposite arm joining your dog-side arm as you turn from 2-3. It helps cue the collection better for most dogs and she might find it helpful!Sequence 4b, blind cross 3-4:
I think the timing was pretty strong in starting it but you can be more connected back to her like I mentioned above.>>I’m worried that she’ll knock a bar if I blind and leave it “unsupported,”>>
You can support it with connection!
Since we are obsessing on reward placement on lines after the tunnel:
At :34 you tossed the reward to her as she was looking at you. Replace that with throwing it like an Olympic javelin thrower (super far!), before she looks at you . We can change the habit of looking at you on lines.Sequence 5
She read the 1-2 line really well! As you indicate 2, you can decel sooner so you don’t end up going past the wing. That will get a really tight turn there.At :44 and :59 you gave your threadle cue but also closed your shoulder forward – it is a good camera angle! She can’t really see the exact side to be on until you get closer to the jump. The arm and eyes back to her nose will help get a more immediate drive on the line.
At :48 you gave the back cue (a forward cue) before she went into the tunnel, so she exited pretty straight! Yay! After the backside, you can reward with the toy on landing, but keep moving through so that the toy is nowhere near you 🙂
The back cue was a little later at 1:02 so her line was not as straight plus she had just been rewarded near you, so was gravitating towards you (because food is LIFE! I can relate, I must be a Sheltie LOL!)Sequence 6:
She read the opening well here too! I bet you can leave jump 2 sooner (you were still between the uprights at 1:09) so she went a little wide then had to wait for info about 3 = but then she sent to 3 beautifully! You left a little sooner on the last rep and she had a better line there.
Nice job with the backside and the tunnel sending! This is a tunnel exit where you can throw the reward super far and long too – both reps had the reward curling her back in towards you.>>I plan to move on to the jumpers course next rather than do another round with sequences 4-6, especially since the main point was the forward focus, and I think we have that down, at least for the first jump, haha!>>
Yes, she did great with her forward focus on jump 1. You can move to the jumping courses! And apply the “all rewards thrown 75 miles away especially on tunnel exits” concept to those 🙂
Great job on these!
TracyHi!
Thanks for posting, I love to look at the in-between moments!The sequences went well overall. I think the main thing is to work on getting him to look at the first jump or acknowledge (even if he doesn’t stare at it) before the release. He was taking it one most reps but there was a zig zag before it (you had to handle to it) or he had a miss or two. So starting closer and adding in a low hand cue to look at it will help smooth out the line and guarantee he takes it, which will give you even more independence on some of these opening lines.
You can also put him on more of a slice line so he is jumping pretty directly towards 2, rather than straight over 1 then turning after landing.
For the sits:
>>I’ve always used a sit cue as something of an impulse control tool, mostly when I wasn’t paying enough attention to use a pattern game or something more proactive.>>
Do you mean you would use a sit cue to interrupt a behavior, or redirect his focus?
>> Since the addition of Millie (husband’s almost 4 month old Berner puppy) and managing Sly, Millie and Mags (12 and blind) I’ve been yelling “sit the f___ down” to Sly
a lot it seems. >>When is this happening – when you are interrupting behavior or putting a stop to behavior?
It is entirely possible that the sit has been paired with punishment or stress if that is how it has been used a lot lately. Plus, a new puppy coming into the house is always hard!
>>At a trial he’s still fine but starting to see this stressy stuff in training, and realized while watching this that he gets more concerned with each sit. >>
Yes, he did check out a couple of times and didn’t always bring his toy back relatively quickly (although that might be normal :))
>>Need to fix me and how I’m relying on his sit to get me out of a potential issue with the 3 of them at home>>
Yes! That is the big first step – the sit cannot be the “YOU ARE IN TROUBLE” word or it will definitely cause some stress. So it might mean managing the household differently do that they have a little less interaction for a little while and more control so they can be getting rewards and not getting in trouble 🙂
>>want to “rebuild” his love of his sit cue. Am I making sense? Thoughts, ideas? Back to hugely high rate of reinforcement? Only ask for one sit/stay in a training session? .>>
At home, reward lots of sits and don’t use it as an interrupter or punisher or anything that could be paired with something uncomfortable. For agility, let’s take it out of the start line for a while! Try playing with a stand stay or a down stay and see how it goes (lots of rewards because it is different).
Also, does he do any mat work? That is a really fun way to get stay behavior – you can do sits on the mat in front of a jump. And he can do mat work at home (so can the puppy!) as part of the management stuff 🙂
And, keep your sessions shorter with fewer stays: if he gets a sequence right the first time? Move on to the next one. Then give him a break, and do something else. If you want to repeat the sequences, do it after a break – leave him wanting more more more 🙂
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>This is what happens when you don’t give me hints for the pop outs! lol.>>
The pop outs are mainly to see where we can improve our choices (everything else has hints or demos LOL!)
>>So, I’m concerned about a brake arm for a 180. I do tend to use them to help her wrap. So, how would she know the difference if I use it for a 180 to stay on the line, but I also use it to get her to come through the gap and wrap?>>
The brake arm would be accompanied by the amount of decel, verbal, and line of motion to help her differentiate. Thinking of the line of motion and amount of decel – they are pretty different for wraps versus 180s. And the brake arm is a bit different too: it is more exaggerated for the wraps and a little softer for the 180s. The dogs are great about telling the difference!
>>however, I was surprised when I did try early and she came through the gap of the 180 rather than take the jump in sequence 2. I had to run further than I expected to get her to take jump 5.>>
That happened when you had too much decel and pull away, so it did look like a wrap.
>>She does tend to brush the wing on back side slices in general. If you watch in slo mo she hit the wing several times in the sequences, but the bar didn’t fall. I’m not sure they were all back side slices though. We are working on the jumping homework.>>
That is a trend we are seeing in a LOT of the dog in class! The special guest star instructor has been enlisted to help us out with some easy things to do at home, and I have more stuff coming for it later in the summer too! It is a universally big issue in agility.
>>It would be ever so helpful to have grid coordinates for the pop outs if possible. I tried to extrapolate them from the big sequence. >>
I can totally add them for the next pop outs, no problem! They are intended to be extrapolated from the bigger course like you did – they are literally copied from that and maybe angles adjusted a tiny bit.
>>I’m considering UKI with Sprite, but it is mostly AKC around here. The lines are definitely much tighter.>>
Yup, AKC is the most popular and the shorter distances make a big difference in timing and striding, so we can shorten things up so you are even more prepared for trials.
>>I’ll see if I can get to the park this weekend for the next set of pop outs. But, it’s supposed to be hot.>>
Yes, the weather is sooo hot here too! I think we will all be out training at sunrise this summer!
T
Hi!
The 2nd threadle wrap went well (you were a little early on the first one). I timed the blind to threadle wrap here versus the circle wraps on the previous video… the BC to threadle wrap is faster by about 3/10ths (starting from landing of the first layered jump). I think the drive to get the blind is partially where he gets faster on the line! We will keep comparing and tracking!!!!!Tracy
Good morning!
>>I entered the Canadian Open and their Speedstakes is times plus faults so we’re going to have to really hustle to come out ahead of some blazing fast dog that drops a bar.>>
Hmmm, that is weird that they got a rule change for scoring it for UKI? I am confused LOL Not sad necessarily for a couple of my dogs, but it is strange to me that they would change the scoring rules for the big event.
On the first video: nice run here!!! A couple of strategy ideas for you:
Yes, more of a slice at 1 can help! I think he will have no problem with that.
The line for the blind 2-3 was almost to the tunnel (you can see as he lands at :14 your blind is finished but you are running towards the tunnel and he is running straight at it, then adjusts after landing). So we can totally pick up a faster time there: to get it, walk the tightest, most perfect line you want him to run… then you run exactly on that line for the blind (and keep moving so you are not in his way).
It looks like the line would start as you are passing the first wing of 2 and not further towards the 2nd wing.Layering looked great! Yay!
He turned correctly on the exit of the 9 tunnel – if possible, turn him on the slice to his right at 10 (not sure if there was room there to do that there, there is some foliage LOL)
If you have room for 12 poles there, you can layer the tree LOL! Great practice for all the crazy layering 🙂
The BC line at the end (15-16 at :52) can also be tighter in the same theme as the 2-3 line – at :51, you are running directly to the tunnel so he is heading that way too. The connection on the new side does get the turn but we can take out the extra strides:
Your line should not go past the wing where the cups and bar meet – a decel will help keep your there and that might also mean the FC is the better option than the blind (which tends to have more acceleration and a wider line presented by the direction of our feet).
That can also set up a send to 16 and 17, making for an easy peasy BC after 17 and a right turn on 18 for the shortest/straightest line to 19-20. Turning left on 18 works but I think it is more yardage and also not as easy for a line (more turns for him). He layered to 19-20 really well!!!!
2nd course:
The opening went nicely, no problem at all, those skills are totally in his wheelhouse. I was super happy with how well he got onto the layered line because coming out of the 5-6 turns, there is not a lot of momentum and it is hard to get past the purple tunnel in the smaller space…. And he took off like a rocket! Yay!He needed a stronger turn cue for the turn from the 10 jump to the 11 tunnel – the weaves were straight ahead and the off course jump was right there too, so decel and facing forward indicated the weaves first (he looked at them) then he ended up on the off course jump at :21. You decelerated more at 1:02 but he still looked forward and thought about the off course jump.
This seems like a perfect spot to add a handling cue that is getting more and more useful – the brake arm! That is the opposite arm joining the dog-side arm to cue the turn, and it is becoming incredibly successful to get the turns when we need collection cues to override a bit of forward motion (as is the case in this sequence).
He did really well layering the 14-15-16-17 line, going right past the tunnel entry to the 16 jump! YAY!!!
>>I felt like I was standing still and waiting too long for the circle backside at 18 but wasn’t sure if running into a BC and doing a threadle wrap there would have still gotten me the jump or the off course tunnel.>>
I agree – he was decelerated more than we need him to be because you were there so early. So you can meet him sooner after the layering line to move into it more (he was not looking at the off course tunnel at all).
For the BC to a threadle wrap – the only way to know is to try it :)It is a great skill to play with, especially with the off course tunnel right there. I used to say that the off course would never be that close… but it looks like it would totally be that close nowadays LOL!!
It would be more of a tandem turn than a threadle wrap, but definitely try it and we can see which is faster. And if you can’t try it on this set up, no worries – that is one of the hot topics for the next training package: BC to threadle wrap versus push to circle.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Nice job sending away to 8 from more a distance here: not only did you get the correct turn on the tunnel exit to 10, but you also got the blind at :44 and 1:40! Yay!You don’t need to go meet her at the tunnel exit, you can hang out nearer to 10 – that way you are already decelerated for the turn cue on 10 and you don’t need to send her to it then decelerate again. Meeting her at the exit then accelerating caused the turn cues to be late and the bar came down both times.
After the weaves, you did a circle wrap on 13 but I think your original plan of threadle slice from the other videos was better – better/faster line for her, better position for you 🙂 You got the BC after the 14 tunnel but only barely (she had to wait for you to pass, especially at 1:58) but it will be even easier and sooner on the threadle slice. That way you can get the wrap on 15 and turn to 16 even sooner too!
One small detail for the ending: you can give the turn cues for 16 (jump before the tunnel) starting no later than when she is exiting the wrap at 15. That will tighten the line to the tunnel and make getting that blind cross 17-18 even easier for you.
Great job here!!!! Have fun trialing this weekend!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I thought that we actually had some agility skills…and then we attempted the first jumpers course! >>
You have a ton of great skills! This jut happens to be a particularly wicked training course 🙂
‘First video:Jump 1 – good position on the lead out on the first rep! This is where we really need her to look at 1 and take it independently. Showing it to her as you walked away on the 2nd rep helped! When you started again at 1:54, you stayed a little closer… that got her t take the jump but being further away will help the next line a lot.
Also, when you get into position, you can use an arm point to indicate she should focus on it before you release her – you can keep working that skill on two jump setups like this til she reliably looks at the jump on cue.
Excellent BC 2-3!!
On the 2nd full run there, you lost connection by turning very forward at 4 as you turned to run the line, so it did indeed look like a blind cross to her (2:00) and she read it correctly. As you were reading her, you said something like “I don’t think I said that” LOL but your physical cues actually did say tunnel 🙂
You had a disconnect at 2:17 as well – not as much of a disconnection but enough that she had a question and dropped the bar there.
You can work on layering that straight tunnel so that you are way ahead at 7-8 to deal with that line and the 8-9-10 line, and it will help maintain the connection so she will stay on her line as well. Running the line with her behind the tunnel was a lot of hustle and it made getting 8 harder as well.
The 8-9-10 line requires either bigger independence on the end to 8 or a cross on the landing side of 8 then a turn away to get 10 after she exits the tunnel.
The independence is probably easier, running more of a parallel line 6-7-8 and not getting as close to the jumps there. That way you can be passing the entry of 9 before she gets to it which will get the turn the correct direction. If she is on your right and gets into the tunnel before you pass the entry, she is highly likely to turn to her right. But if you are passing the entry, ideally 3 feet or so past it, she is highly likely to turn to her left on the exit to see 10.
And then you can set her up to turn to her right (slice line) on 10, which sets an easy line 11-12.
She found the weave entry nicely each time! She lost a little confidence on the first rep and came out early because she needs a bit more experience with the layering, but she got it really nicely on the re-send as well as on the next full run, then you were able to get to position on the backside of the 13 jump really well! On the first run there, you were patient and let her read the cue to come to the backside. At 2:43, you started moving backwards too soon so she read it as a cue to the front side.
Things came to a halt after 14 at 1:25ish (I think you forgot where to go do a heartbeat) so you can reward her when that happens, then reset for the next line.
2nd video:
The toy is out past jump 1 (yay!) but I think she needs a clear “look forward now” cue. Just looking at her was not clear enough (I think you said a verbal too). So try slowly moving your arm into position to point at the jump, then release her when she looks at it. Start a little closer to establish the cues then you can move further and further away.
I suggest putting your arm in slowly because a fast-moving hand is paired with your release verbal, and she might think it is a release cue.
Getting her to look forward will really allow you to move further away – on the 2nd rep here, you were further but she was not looking forward so had a little refusal when you released her. It might take a couple of sessions with you closer to establish the hand cue but it is totally worth it 🙂
You can also isolate the layering on the 4-5-6-7-8 line too, it will make your line much easier and also get the correct turn on the tunnel exit to 10.
She turned right over 10 – nice!!! The a-frame there s indeed on her line, so you might have to block it off to get the correct line and no bonus a-frames LOL! If you look at her line and your parallel path on the video, you will see she was totally correct there. I think the verbal on 10 was “switch” but not a wrap, and so she was a good girl to stay on her line 🙂 My guess is that she came off the contact at the bottom because you were surprised so she was not sure what to do 🙂
Nice work here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
That is strange about whatever she stepped on! Hopefully she is still feeling fine today. The heat is definitely making it harder!
This session went really well – lots of good work and also a couple of themes emerged to consider in the handling:
Seq 1: Strategically, this opening is pretty simple so you don’t need to be as far away on the lead out – being too far and pulling away too soon contributed to the bar 2 coming down at :02 – hard to keep connection in that situation.
Being closer at :20 helped her set up the turn and that helped the bar because she was able to set the turn up really well.Staying closer to 1-2 here will also let you move along the line 3-4 more too – you ended up ahead with no place to go (she saw decel then acceleration as she was approaching takeoff), so she brushed the wing on the 4 backside
So on some of the openings, you will not need to be laterally away from her line – it will depend on the context: is it a simple line that you can move along, no advantage to being far away? Stay close. If there is an advantage to being lateral, in that it keeps you ahead to get to a crazy spot you need to handle? Then definitely be lateral and use the position to your advantage to get where you need to be.
Seq 2: She is finding jump 1 as a slice really well! She can be on the same line you had her here and about 8 to 10 feet back on the same line from where she was here, so she can take a nice big stride before takeoff. This is one where strategically it makes sense to be closer to 3 so you can work that turn.
That can get a better turn at 2 (:30)
So you can also be earlier to leave 3.
You were closer to 3 at :43 (as compared to rep 1 at :27) and the turn at 3 was easier and better.Looking at this turn and others like it on these sequences: if you start your decel/arm cue/rotation starting before she has passed you, she is consistently setting up gorgeous turns. YAY!!!! If you wait til she is past you to begin, she is jumping wider. So always plan to start your decel into the turn cues before she is past you, even if you are not in perfect position. That is one of the themes I see here.
The other theme is getting a tight turn on the 180 lines:
One suggestion here is to use a bit of a brake arm at 4 as you along the line 3-4-5. Your handler path can be the same as it was here, but add the brake arm/opposite arm to it so she adds a collection stride. Running forward out of the turn at 3 caused her to go too long over 3 and made 4-5 harder (and early on the first couple of reps :))
The rep at 1:02 was the other side of things – too late, the BC started as she took off for 5 so she didn’t read the side change. But, sometimes we are late on blinds so ramping up the connection there will be a big help to get her to the correct side. The main part of that is getting your dog-side arm back behind you (think of putting it in your back pocket 🙂 or pointing it all the way back to where her nose is, not where you want it to be) a you make eye contact – that way she can really see the connection. You were trying for connection here but your left arm was at your side, so it blocks the view of your eyes & shoulders so she didn’t change sides.
Skipping ahead – you did the blind at 1:29 and you were earlier AND note the BIG connection – your left arm was further back and your eyes were very clear, and she nailed it. Yay! Connection on blinds is more important than timing 🙂 so always work that big eyes, arm back connection.
The FC at 1:10 worked really well – good timing and she read the rotation perfectly! You had great timing of starting it before she passed you on the big parallel line.
Speaking of FCs… the FC at 1:41 on Seq 3 looked great too! You are getting really good with the timing and rotation, and she is reading them really well! She brushed the wing at 2 but that might have been because she was hot. I don’t think she brushed a wing on any other FC here.
You can call her before the tunnel so she exits turned and looking to the front of the jump at 1:43 rather than considering the backside line and then adjusting when she exited.
The BC to 6 was almost perfect at 1:48! You were a tiny bit off the line, just one step, so when you started to indicate the turn, she went to the tunnel.
You were on the exact correct lime at 2:00 and nailed it!!! When you trust the line more, you will be able to start the physical collection cues sooner – those started when she was already past you and gathering for takeoff.
Threadle wrap/tandem turn was GREAT – that skill is getting stronger and stronger!
It looked beautiful when you put it all together – and she is getting good at looking at jump 1 too! The tandem turn looked terrific but also at 3:06 you got on the perfect line again AND started the turn cues on time: she was not yet past you and your were already decelerating and beginning the cues. Her left turn was SUPER there!!! It is really great to have both tools in your toolbox – and she did not look at the tunnel 🙂 Excellent work from you both!
Seq 4:
She was great finding jump 1 from miles away! As she got more tired, she was not as quick to release to it but she still found it. All I could see was her head sticking up behind the tunnel LOL!Looking at the cues at 2 to get the tight turn through the gap: the timing at 3:18 can be sooner (she was past you) 3:45 was better but you can probably be one step sooner (she was already past you there too).
Your timing at 4:24 was the best timing – you broke connection a tiny bit before that so she had a question, but the cues were timely and she turned really well! And, in keeping with the feedback she is giving us, you did the cues before she got past you and that really helped!
I think the brake arm will help on left at 3:25 – she collected but not quite enough or early enough on the decel and verbal alone (landed wide and ticked the bar) and you can also use at 4:31. So you can play with this in your yard at home – maybe a tunnel and 2 jumps on a 180 turn like here, and move forward using the brake arm to see how she reads it.
The brake arm is designed to assist collection when motion alone can’t provide all the info.
One smaller detail: Even on simpler lines, don’t be too quiet on the tunnels – if you are silent and decelerating, she asks questions about what to do next (3:50). So you can tell her to go or jump and that will keep her looking at the line.
At the end, the wrap turn on 6 can be in the “before she passes you” zone too:
The wrap cues at 3:56 for example happened as she was in the air, so she stayed on the line to the 1 jump.Isolating it at 4:07 gave her the info before she past you and she turned really well! You were able to get that timing in flow at the very end too, and she had a lovely turn! NICE!!!
One other thought – because you do plenty of AKC, you can set these sequences closer in terms of distance: go for 18 feet maximum between obstacles. That will mean 2 or maybe 1 stride for her… which will get you in the flow of timing for those tighter AKC courses 🙂 These distances are closer to UKI style distances which tend to be 24 feet or bigger – timing in the shorter AKC distances will require things to happen faster, so you can play with shorter distances for trial prep!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! I am glad to see her back in action!!!! You did not look rusty at all on this clip!
The lead out went well, it seemed like she had no question on the opening line. Nice timing of the blind at :24!!! She was taking off and the blind was already in progress as you moved to the backside at 4. She never looked at the tunnel.
As she took 4, you looked forward to 5 and pointed – that broke connection and turned your shoulders so she came off the line a bit. To help support the commitment, you can make the big connection as you finish the blind, then keep the connection (keeping the dog-side arm back) to help drive her to the 5 jump.
Great job here!
Tracy>>Yep I could tell I was late with my cross. I will work on it ☺️. Looking forward to your feedback.>>
You can play with trying to get the crosse started when she is halfway between the previous jump, then we can toggle it earlier or later depending on how she responds 🙂
Tracy
Welcome back! A snake bite??? EEEK!!!! Sounds like things are getting back to normal, thankfully!!!!!
And yes, you can totally upgrade if you want.
Have fun!!!
TracyGood morning!
Sounds like the Cup was a blast – the courses looked really good!>>Double clean in SS and really tight lines, but those courses weren’t quite technical enough for us to podium.>>
I think we can make this type of thing into one of our CAMP obsessions this summer: how to podium on *all* types of courses, even the flat out speed line courses where he is probably running against BCs and Whippet crosses. He has all the skills and speed to do it, so now it is about strategy and finding the sweet spots 🙂 More below!
>>it’s a trip to Scotland for 10 days for our 25th anniversary.>>
Happy anniversary! That is so wonderful and sounds like a FABULOUS trip!!!!
The hot topics looked really good! When you get back from Scotland we can try things a few different ways on any of the sequences and time them, to get a catalogue of what is the fastest option 🙂 He is at that level now, which is VERY exciting 🙂
Video 1 –
He did well with the slow lift of the arm to cue the forward focus on the 2nd rep and the reps after it – slowly raising the arm right after you had stopped in your position was more effective than just looking at him, and he did look forward. As you add more and more lateral positions, be sure to take a step forward when you release to support 1 so he has no questions. With more practice, you won’t need that step 🙂 and he will just blast to the jump and line when you release.He had a little question on jump 2 at :22 – you turned forward before he committed to the slice line so he came into the gap and threadled (perhaps looking like a BC at first because he could see your back as he landed from 1 then went to the threadle when you stopped moving)
You got closer on the 2nd rep and that totally helped him get 2. I think you can keep yourself lateral and use connection/verbal (more eyes and a lower arm, plus a jump cue) while you move on a parallel line towards 2 before turning to 3 to get the commitment at 2 without giving up position to get commitment.
He was great about finding 4 and not looking at the off course tunnel. The Serp on 4 then RC to 5 worked well, and so did the FC on landing side worked. I don’t think these were your fastest options because you were decelerated on both… you can try a serp-to-blind on the landing side, or running like mad to get a FC or BC on the takeoff side between the jump and tunnel. He always loves the running like mad LOL!
Seq 2 was super easy for him – yay!!!
Seq 3: On this sequence, we can totally obsess on what is the absolute fastest ways to do this type of sequence 🙂
You can try setting him up on even more of a slice for 1 (kind of like the zig zags we do in MaxPup where he is parallel to the bar) He is pretty darned athletic and agile and I bet he can read it almost as a straight line. That can take out turning strides 1-2 which might be faster! And you can run into a serp rather than timing a BC, and see if that is faster.
Running into the BC 1-2 was a little late at :10 and :37 so he didn’t really see the line to 2 til he landed – so he was a little wider and not powering up the line as well as he might when he is on a slice. We can set this up again and time it both ways, or use the jumping course today to do these openings 2 ways and time them.
You can send to 4 so you get a better turn and more chase to 5 (:15). You sent sooner at :43 because you had the BC 5-6 on your mind, and he was tighter AND accelerated more 🙂
His turns on the exits of 2 and 6 looked great!!
Seq 4 was pretty straightforward for him in both variations (he likes the BC on the jump before the tunnel! )
The forward focus on jump 1 was weird on that angle, he says – not quite as fast to look at it even though I am pretty sure he understood it was the first jump. A lower hand (pointing downwards) might help? And definitely ore rewards for 1 as you move further and further away – you don’t need a lot more distance on this particular sequence, but it will serve you well on a bigger line on a crazier course 🙂
Seq 5: this is definitely a line we can isolate and time a few different ways – having him a little straighter adds a stride on landing of 1 with you lateral (1:08)
Nice BC 2-3! That created really nice lines! He has really good independent tunnel commitment so you can probably leave the tunnel send sooner (1:12) to accelerate up the line to the 5 backside to take out the one stride towards you at 1:15.
Seq 6:
On the lateral lead out here, raise your hand sooner as the cue, but then wait longer for him to focus forward (then add lots of reward for 1) – he looked at you and almost self-released and was not quite as straight to 1. Getting to position and putting the arm cue in as soon as you get there can cue the forward focus sooner and make it part of the routine so he doesn’t ask if it is the release.First rep you pushed to the backside of 3 and that was correct based on the cues/plan. Good boy!
On the 2nd rep, there were a couple of places we can play with working the turns less and seeing how he does with you miles ahead (which might mean not needing to layer, but that is fine if it is faster :))
For example, you were got close to 2 to set the turn then to get to 3 you had to move back a little, which added a bit of wideness to his line (but not as much speed while he was waiting for info). So you can be closer to 1, send a little more to 2 (I think maybe halfway between the 2 jumps might be the sweet spot?). He has a pretty independent backside, so you can send to 4 and accelerate up the line 5 to get the backside at 6. The decel on the tunnel send to layer got a turn on the exit of the tunnel – driving through there in acceleration can get full on extension the whole time to the backside.
The other option is to move more directly to to the entry wing of 4 (backside) so that you are accelerating all the way to the tunnel send then accelerating on a parallel path to the backside at the end – that can incorporate the layer but strategize it to get as much acceleration as possible.
Great job here! Let me know what you think about the plan to find the absolute fastest lines and options!
Tracy
