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Hi!
The forward focus game here will be great for more than just the start line – I bet it gets more value on lines in general which will transfer into the trial ring too!
On the first video, he did not look at the jump much (he did look at 1:54!) but he took it every single time! SUPER! If you want him to look at it more, you can isolate it as a one jump exercise and put a target plate out past the jump – that can help him look at it and then you can throw a reward to it.
He read the 1-2-3 line really well! Nice job figuring out what he needed to see on the jump versus tunnel!! At :56 – there needed to be more info to tell him it was not the tunnel. At 1:07, you had too much help š so he took the wrong side.
You did a nice job cuing 4 on the very lat rep, which set up a lovely RC on 5 to the tunnel! Yay! And great job keeping him moving after a blooper so he never realized there had been an error. Yay!The timing of the blind was good at 1:58 but you were too close to 3, so it was hard to make connection and you were running forward, so it looked like a tunnel cue to him. You can use more lateral distance by sending to 2 and 3, so you are right at 4 for the blind. That should help you get the turn and take the tunnel out of the picture.
I think on the 1B reps (video 2) he was hot and tired so he was not as accurate on jump 1 as he was on the first video. He still had a lot of success!! And I bet he will sleep on it and will be even better the next time you revisit it. If he doesnāt look at it, you donāt need to keep waiting for him – that is a lot of pressure and he was breaking the stay. He was happy when you ran the full sequence here and looked great!
>>Itās really hot here so Iām trying to make these very short sessions. Baxter does not like the heat.>>
For real! It is o hot already!!!!! Hopefully this is NOT how the summer will go or we will all be outside at 5am LOL!
Sequence 2 and 3A video:
Yep, he definitely knows where jump 1 is and he might be one of those dogs that does not look at it or only barely glances at itā¦ but gets it right every time. So if a couple of seconds go by and he doesnāt look at the jump, you can release him and I bet he takes it. This is what you did at 1:38 and it worked really well!The sequences looked good here, no problem at all! You had 3 on the inside of the jump on sequence 2, it should be on the outside if you want to play with it again.
Seq 3B video – I am not sure he was looking at the jump when you released him but he was looking in that general direction so it worked LOL! After you cue 3, you can send to 4 and move away sooner – that way you can get the FC (or a blind) between 5 and 6 while being up closer to 6, so you donāt have to manage his turn as much to be sure he gets to the correct side of 6.
Sequence 4: Great! This is the one where he had to send forward while you are ādownstreamā more towards 2, and he had no trouble. You can try being closer and closer to 2 and see if he will still take 1!
Nice work here! Stay cool!!!!
Tracy
Hi! Hopefully the heat clears out soon because it is SO HOT NOW!!!
>>As you will clearly see, my handling is getting less motion based and more verbal.>>
I think in many ways that this will benefit you! Course design now works best when we have strong verbals and parallel path motion plus good distance skills – but not necessarily go-faster-than-the-dog or get-way-ahead handling styles š Strategy and skills seem to be more useful nowadays!
With that in mind – you can still be earlier on the cues by planning to start to deliver them as he exits the previous obstacle: exiting a wrap, is in the air over the previous jump, on the way to the backside, etc. So for example:
The FC 3-4 at :11 and 1:10 can start as he looks at the backside as he lands from 2. That will both get a better turn (more collection) and get you facing the new line sooner. I liked your timing at 2:19 the best!
And the FC 4-5-6 can start as soon as he turns his head out of the tunnel.
>>Enzo read the line 5-6-7 as 5-6-23; I did a little zoom there and my motion clearly sent him to 23>
Yes, he was sent there, and it makes sense as a line š When we look at the zoomed in moment – at :59 you were facing the off course and you said go when he was over the bar of 6ā¦. So he went š It also shows us how powerful the info is when you give it to him over the bar.
Compare to 2:26, where you were turned much earlier so he never looked at the off course line.
You can also handle the 5-6 line as a threadle then do a RC on the flat to 7ā¦ that will have you layering the tunnel AND the jump (maybe BOTH tunnels?) so you can be miles ahead for 10-11 š
>>ā I had trouble with the turn from 10 to 11; I didnāt want to run and decel, so I was stuck with an (often late) verbal.>>
This turn comes after big extension layering, and it is hard to not face the 1/21 jump as you get around the tunnel. And it was moving and facing that way which was getting the wider turns. You can tighten that turn by, as he is over 9, you can begin to call him and also use a brake arm (2nd hand, so two hands will be up) to get collection and the turn to 11. The brake arm will override facing forward. It is a soft use of the 2nd arm, not a big chop, because we donāt want to pull him to the wrong end of 11. You can hang back behind the tunnel to do that – you will have plenty of time to move forward when he sees the line to 11.
And, be sure to use the tunnel verbal: when you were saying ācomeā at 1:25, he totally read it as a threadle, good boy!
You did have a decel at 2:32 – it can come sooner and it did produce the best turnā¦ but I think moving forward with the brake arm is going to be magic and work really well!
Nice flip to the weaves!! Jut be careful with the word āgoā because it totally sends him straight forward, like at 2:38 where you used go rather than left like you did at 2:48.
The layering line 14-17 was easy for him š
He did well with the turn to 17, and that is another spot you can start the cues as he is over the previous jump: left verbal and possibly the brake arm too.
>>For #18, I knew I could do it as a push from the landing side but I wondered about doing it as a call and send. Eventually, I managed to make that work.>>
Yes! It is kind of a cousin to the threadle wrap that way, mostly a lap turn. When you did it at 1:42, I think he just didnāt see your position past the wing. He got it nicely on the last rep! To make it clearer on the first rep, you can take yourself more visible on the outer edge of the entry wing.
The rest looked really good! Only one suggestion: You can handle 21 as more of a serp with shoulders facing the jump more to get a better line there. He was a little zig zaggy because you did a post turn then sent him back to 21.
Great job here!!!
TracyHi!
>>Nox is very good at looking at the first jump. I do not really know how I taught it, which is unfortunate because Iām trying to teach it to the puppy, lol! >>
Ha!! Just have Nox teach it to the puppy š Or have the puppy look past the jump to a toy. We have it in MaxPup when we start teaching toy races, and I will be adding more in MaxPup 3 about it since it is a hot topic LOL
>>She does not always continue to stare at the jump, but she always acknowledges it if I ask her to.>>
Perfect!
She did really well with the forward focus on 1 on the sequence work!
>>The challenge we had was on the first 2 sequences, she kept taking the backside of #3>>
You are not the only one who had that crop up! That is because the line from 2 to 3 is a backside line š That is also a course trend āhot topicā lately – the natural line goes to the backside when we want the front side. Definitely something to look for when you walk a course!
So you can cue a turn on 2 and use your threadle verbal/arm (I say āclose closeā in the demo, which is my threadle verbal, with a small arm cue)Moving the jump helped for sure, she saw the line as a front side.
Your blind at :38 was great! You were in the sweet spot: not too far ahead and super connected. NICE!
On sequence 2:
To set up the layering, you can stay closer to 2 and send away to the tunnel. Then as she is entering the tunnel, she sees you accelerating on a parallel line to 4 and hearing a āgoā verbal. What happened at :52 was that you decelerated on the tunnel send and got quiet, which cued the big turn back to you on the exit (and past the jump).You were more strategic on the 2nd rep, moved through it better so she had a better tunnel exit AND you were in a great position to cue the jump at 1:08.
Sequence 3A looked great on both runs! I bet you can get her to go to the tunnel so you can layer the jump but sticking close to 4 as she is taking it, then accelerating so she drives ahead of you to the tunnel and you are on the other side of the jump next to it.
Sequence 3B also looked great! Her understanding of the serp opening on both of these looks really strong.
You will get a tighter turn on the exit of the blind if you put the dog-side arm in your back pocket and use your eyes more to connect back to her. At 1:57 and 2:13, the camera position gives us a view of what she is seeing. That is mostly your back, so she drifts a little wide to wait for more info. If you exit the blind with your left arm behind you more and your eyes looking back for her eyes, I bet she will have a very tight turn!Great job here! You are off to a great start!!
Tracy
Absolutely! You can substitute a different dog, or you can do a rep with each: one dog doing the forward focus lead out, and Chata being sent to 1 as if you saw it on a course at a trial this weekend š
Tracy
Hi! Welcome!!!
>>We are currently working on her foot target for a RDW and RA-Frame, so we will be doing modified Standard courses or small sequences that also use a teeter, if possible.>>
You can totally modify as needed or replace contacts with a straight tunnel for extra zing LOL!
>>She is capable of turning tighly, but prefers to turn wide and flank out because GOING FAST IS LIFE.>
Is she going past the jumps after going wide?
>>I am also having to wait for her so I can adjust her line out of a turn, when I really want to be moving my butt up the line!>>
AGREE!!! She is way too fast for you to wait and adjust. One thing we can do is always have you keep moving and rewarding the next line if she gets it. So big value for driving to the next line (and not going wide) and a response cost for not finding the next line.
Forward focus is looking good on these! It sounds like you have a verbal āmarkā cue to go with the hand cue for it – you can mix in praise when she looks at the jump, so the rhythm is not always hand/mark, look, release (she will anticipate the release like she did at :27). You had a bit of a step to the jump with the release too – I donāt think she needs it! One less step for you to take means you can be one more step further ahead of her š
The jump versus tunnel discrimination is definitely hard and challenges us humans to show *all*the cues!
When you were handling it dog-on-left on the first rep, the decel at :13 then acceleration bought you the tunnel instead of the jump. So you can be moving while giving the turn cues (verbal and brake arm) and a verbal jump cue will help too.
Being more lateral and doing a FC at :30 worked GREAT, she never looked at the off course tunnel! Then you have to giddy up out of the FC to show the line to 5 – you waited a bit and she didnāt know where to go next. You moved through it a lot better at :47 (great connection!) and she got it nicely :). She did not get 5 at 1:15 and I think it was because as you exited the FC, you pointed forward which turned your shoulders to the tunnel as you decelerated, so she pulled off the jump.
Compare to your arm position at 1:30 (and :45) – on those super successful reps, you had your arm back for longer (she was well past you before you moved your arm forward). That really allowed you to emphasize connection, which turned your shoulders to the line to 5 and she nailed it š
I did a blind in the demo of that, mainly to keep moving so I wouldnāt get stuck behind 4. Is the blind riskier than the FC, because we have to take our eyes off of the dog in front of an off course tunnel? Yes! But it allows us to move through it more quickly and set the line to 5 sooner.
Great job here!!! I am excited to see the next sequences!
Tracy
Hi!
I am a little delayed in responding, sorry! Part of my RV cabinets above the driver/passenger seats decided to basically fall off while driving on the interstate in Indiana so I had to spend some quality time working my magic MacGvyver skills to ratchet/bungee/zip tie it up enough to drive another 9 hours. Life is never boringā¦ LOL!!
>>Iām still trying to figure out Sprites working space from me. Itās changing a bit. >>
I like for the humans to pick the distances, not the dogs š That way we can cue the behavior without worrying if we are encroaching on a certain space. Now, if she is working further away than in the past, that is good news (more commitment! Hooray!) but might also make timing transitions to turns and tight handler focus harder (more commitment! Eek!). We will look at that closely the summer!
>>Where to lead out is a mystery as Iāve not had a lead out for a decade! >>
Oh that is right! A few thought on lead out position: mainly, you want to lead out as close to your next critical handling spot as possible while still making the opening line clear AND not risking a broken stay. And if it is a big extension line? You can stay in motion and release while moving (that is fine as long as you donāt stop then move & release simultaneously). For collection lines, we try t get the handler as close to the collection spot as possible so we donāt accidentally show extension cues.
>>Plus, I donāt always run the most efficient lines. I see your point (now, of course) that I gave her too much space from jump 6 in sequence 3. I started correctly, and then swerved a bit.>>
Think of your running line as being on her tightest, most perfect path. That is ideally where we would handle: on that perfectly tight line then keep moving so we are off of it when she arrives on it š
>>Also, Iām not used to having an arm up to indicate the first jump since weāve been told to keep our arms back! Is the plan dog side foot and arm forward when we are lateral or behind? >
This is one of the few places where pointing is good š The foot & arm will be handlerās choice. I like dog-side arm and foot, some people only use the arm, some people use two armsā¦. So it will be whatever feels best for you and Sprite.
>>This was a perfect exercise for her as forward focus on the jump is on the training list. It took her awhile, but she did really well.>>
Agree! She was great!
>>I was wondering about the set up to jump one in sequence one. I totally understand your slice comment for the later sequences. But, given that I need a turn on 2 to show the front of 3 would it be better to set her up more perpendicular to 1 rather than a slice for sequence 1 and 2? >>
Your position and motion should indicate the turn at 2, so moving away to 3 when she is landed from 1/looking at 2 should get the turn. Now, that is a challenging jumping effort for sure! But you are working on that so I know the two things will come together nicely.
>>My lead out closer to 4 was better for her. Too close to three seemed to be in her bubble to push her to the back side. >>
I donāt think of that as bubble, as much as I think of it as her reading the line you set correctly š Being further over to 4 set a better line and made the threadle easier for sure.
>>But, other than a verbal ārightā cue between 1 and 2 what would help her square up to jump 2 and not slice it?>>
Experience and jumping education. She is getting both! She will learn to recognize this type of opening, and that will combine nicely with her jump education.
>>Your dogs seemed to square up in the videos.>>
Experience and education š They are a little older so they have since this more often. Plus, they are less likely to stay on a line to the backside – if I wanted the backside on 3, I would have to really work it! So Spriteās understanding of staying on the line to the backside is actually very useful š
Tracy
Hi! You are off to an excellent start – he is SUPER fun!
Very nice job starting with the placed toy to help āwarm upā the forward focus on the jump – the cue was clear and he did great! As you work more and more laterally, be sure to connect and indicate that jump 1 before you release to help support the jumping. At :52 you were more lateral (yay!) but not as connected when you released. That caused him to have to try to multi-task and ended up dropping the bar at 1 (multitasking never goes well LOL!)
When you added the rest of the sequence:
He was able to jump the line 1-2-3 better when you added more lateral distance, which helped him turn more automatically over 2. He ticked or dropped the bar at :22 (hard to see if it fell) because you were close to the line and didnāt quite show the turn in time. You were further away on the other reps, which showed the positional cue to help him set up the turn.He had some trouble ignoring the tunnel š He will sort out the jump-tunnel discriminations this summer because we are going to see them a LOT lol!! They are very popular š
He went long over 3 at :23 – you were decelerated but you can also use more verbals to help him, like his name to a right very before he takes off for 3 so he knows he is turning (and not looking at the delicious tunnel :))
You said his name as he was over the bar of 3 at :44 but that was a little too late (for a youngster). At 1:19 you used your outside arm and that really helped!! It allowed you to show the line from the landing side of 4 and get the end of the sequence really nicely.
To be able to handle on the landing side of 4, I think two things will smooth it out: Calling him sooner (no later than halfway between 2 and 3) and raising that outside arm before he takes off for 3.
>>I tried to put in a blind without walking it that way. Fail of course. I watched the demo video again when I got back in the house and saw that was your suggestion. Oh well. It would have been better if I had walked it that way.>>
I did a BC there because I had to run more, my dogs are not as self-propelled as Bacon is! You were a little more stationary (which is fine!) and ended up doing a FC.
Getting the FC 3-4-5 at :55 was a good plan! You were very close to getting it!! You got him to the correct side with no bonus tunnel til after the FC (but that was where your shoulders pointed so he was correct).
Two things will make that perfect:
– you can be more laterally away from 2 and 3, so you are passing the wing of 4 as you start the front cross.
– As you finish the FC, make a BIG connection to his eyeballs š so that he sees your shoulders turn to the 4 jump and that will help him commit to the 4 jump.One other thought: You can use directionals more, rather than just his name, because that will give him more info about exactly what you want him to do. What directionals have you been working on? Stuff like wrap, collection cues, GO, etc. Let me know and we can definitely incorporate them.
Great job here! I am excited to see more!!!
Tracy
Hi! These went REALLY WELL! YAY!
Sequence 1 – Super nice! Lovely connection! She found that opening line with lovely independence, no questions. Great timing starting the blind – try to finish it as soon as you can so she can see the new connection as quickly as possible . I keep my arms in tight to me so I can make the eye contact really quickly – because she is still young, she is really relying on the eye contact to cue the turn to 4 and not look t the tunnel š As she gets more experienced with tunnel-jump discriminations, she will start turning as soon as you shoulders start to turn š
She had a good turn on 5 on both reps here – I think your decel was earlier on the first rep, which set up the better turn.
Sequence 2: On the first rep, she doesnāt seem to turn her head to look at the jump when you indicate it on the lead outā¦ but she takes it š So we are happy, she doesnāt need to stare at it LOL! She did look at it on the 2nd rep, so it will be interesting to see if she decides to look at the bar or not (or if she was lokign at something else past the bar there).
The runs went well! The only suggestion is to keep running with connection and acceleration til after she lands from the last jump. At the end of first rep – you were stopping and pulling out the toy, so the bar went down. On the 2nd rep you were a little later doing reaching for the toy but it was still a bit too soon, so she ticked the bar. āØ
Sequence 3:
You can set her up on a little more of a slice (thank back to the zig zags from MaxPup where she was sitting next to the wing). That way she will land on a better line to 2, so you can cue it and leave for 3 sooner. Sticking near 2 for a little too long delayed the turn info for 3 at :17, so the bar came down. On the second rep at 1:22, you started to move to 3 a stride or two sooner, so she was able to set up a better turn.The rest looked great – your connection is looking super smooth and comfortable!!!
Sequence 4: this is the only opening she had a question about – facing 1 with you behind her. Great job adjusting your position on the 2nd rep (you can see her look at the jump as soon as you adjusted your position) and then she got it nicely.
She had the same question at 1:40 the you set up for the next rep – you might have gone back one step too far for her current understanding. You did step forward to help her commit which was smart! She pulled the rail on 1 because she was sorting out the change in lead out (moving forward from a stay with you behind her is new and weird LOL!) It looked like you split the difference in your position on the last rep – one step further back from the 2nd rep but not as far back as the 3rd rep. And she nailed it. YAY!!!
Having to adjust your position to help her at 1 made the FC 3-4 late at :52. But being one step further away on the last rep made the FC at 2:20 earlier and her line was much better! Yay!
So this is a definite lead out to revisit, because it was the only one she had to really think about. The rest looked fantastic! Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi! Welcome back! It feels like forever since I have āseenā you and Sly š I am looking forward to this summer- I canāt believe he is over 4 now!
>>I havenāt really been doing any skill training that improves our ācourse runningā.>>
This is good, then, because we can add some skill to the course running that I know you will be seeing on course!
>>Just watched video for the first skill, weāve played with this skill a bit already so it will be good to ātestā where we are with it in these sequences.>>
Perfect, keep me posted!
>>Question for youā¦ā¦.. I think you know Rebeccah Aube from Flyball. >>
Yes! Her name is familiar but I canāt remember if I met her in person or not.
>>Would it be OK with you if I shared a couple of the course maps with Rebeccah and let her set them up at Happy Tails? >>
Totally yes! If she is happy to do it, then heck yeah, it makes everyoneās life easier. Share whatever you like!
>>walk in, look at a map, develop a plan, walk a course and then run it so Iām renting a 1/2 hour at Rebeccahās a couple of times a month. Working on the run it clean first time thing! And with only a 1/2 hour thereās not much time to do more than thatā¦..>>
This is a brilliant plan! It sets up trial-like conditions and that will transfer nicely to actual trials š
Have fun!
TracyHi!
>>We had a hellacious thunderstorm last night and weāre all a tad short on sleep.>>
Eek! I think those were the ones I experienced on Saturday night in Minnesota – picture waterfalls *inside* the RV. UGH! Hopefully Mother Nature is more cooperative from now on!
Looking at the jumpers course:
The opening looked good! He has a lot of propulsion and understanding of layering, so I think you donāt even need to go halfway down the tunnel when you did the 3-4-5 sending. You can hang out at 3 and send him, so he can do that line independently and you can go get set up for 7.>>ā I didnāt appreciate that #7 would require an IN>>
This āhidden threadleā is a super common course trend nowadays, so when you set and walk the courses, check your lines for potential backsides that should *not* be backsides (like at 7). The judges are tossing these in a lot now!
You got the threadle nicely on the 2nd rep but then the front of 8, so he probably needed a backside cue for 8 there (:56) – you gave the push cue at 1:11 and 2:03 and it worked like a charm!
This hidden threadle to a backside is something to definitely keep watch for – it looks like a simple line but the dogs read it differently.
>>ā For some reason, my body wanted to insert a FC between 8 and 9; this is NOT a good plan but it took 3 tries to get rid of itāØ>>
Yes – dog on right then rear cross 10 is the easiest plan, but your legs had another plan in mind š
He did read the RC on the tunnel after the FC though – that was pretty impressive!The independent weaves (he is SO GOOD with these!) made your handling very simple for the 11-12-13-14 line! Super! You really trusted his threadle at 13 at 2:13 and left for 14-15 as soon as he looked at the bar – perfect!
>>ā I thought the BC between 14 and 15 would be hard but it wasnāt (how nice).>
You had plenty of time! And at 1:36 and the last rep you gave the collection cue for 15 which worked really well and set you up nicely for the BC 17-18 as well.
>>We are TRYING to adopt the less is more philosophy, so we only ran it 3 times. Not coincidentally, it took 3 tries to have a clean run.
>> All he needed was 3 times here! You nailed most of it on the first run – the only 2 hard parts were seeing the threadle at 7, and convincing yourself to not do a FC 8-9. Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
>>In my defense, I was focusing on the object of the lesson.
>> I personally think the object/goals are more important than course setting LOL! Maybe because I detest course building LOL!
You course building looked good for the goals!
Sequence 1: 2-3 is a threadle so n the 2nd rep, you got 3 nicely! The trick is to be able to keep moving through it, so that he doesnāt smoke you to 4 with that delicious tunnel out there. Question: Do you need to rotate your feet to get him to threadle? It would be easier for you if he would come in on a turn verbal for 2 (given between 1 and 2) then the threadle cue where you rotate your upper body and not your feet.
If he does need the rotation, you can exit 3 on a throw back to a blind (basically a spin) to get the collection for the turn to 4 (without showing any line to any bonus tunnels). You can also add leading out as close to 4 as possible, so you are navigating 1-2-3 from a distance then you are right there at 4 to show the backside.
Sequence 3 (which is 2nd on this video): He found the slice 1-2 really easily! Yay! You might have given too much collection on the exit of 2, then not enough forward step to the 3 so he came in and took the threadle side.
O the 2nd rep a 1:36, you didnāt ask for a collection on the exit of 2 and that set a nice line to 3! And a nice turn!
But he did drop the bar there – playing it in slow motion, I think you can leave for 3 too steps sooner: when he lands from 1, cue 2 then when he looked at 2: leave for 3. So you will be leaving for 3 when he is about halfway between 1 and 2, which gives him plenty of time to set up the jumping. At 1:36 he was lifting off and you were still at 2, which caused him to jump pretty straight and without enough turn. Compare to 1:57 – you turned and left for 3 one step sooner: nice jumping effort!
A similar thing happened at 1:41 – bar down on the way to the tunnel because ou were not turned to the next line til he ws in the air (you can see you are facing the camera here when he is gathering for takeoff, and should be facing the tunnel). You were a step earlier at 2:02 but he still took the bar, so keep working to be earlier to turn to the tunnel and also – do you remember the zig zag grid you worked on with Enzo for slice jumping? I bet it is Casperās turn to learn that grid this summer! Or, revisit it if he has already seen it. There is a lot of slice jumping on these sequences so some more slice jumping education might be good to put on tap for the summer.
>>When I led out too close to #3, he looked over the wrong shoulder (so I couldnāt direct him properly to the jump). I fixed that by moving him to a shallower>>
Yes, I think that was a good fix – it might be possible he was perceiving your position as a rear cross. He definitely had a question on the first release there – took the jump but dropped the bar – but then he sorted it out and kept the bar up on the next sequence. Super! And he got the FC to the jump with no off course tunnel. That is HUGE!!! YAY!!!
Great job here! I am not worried about the slightly wide turns or the off course tunnels, that will be smoothed out with more experience and sorting out his timing. He is still pretty inexperienced so he has some processing delays: He goes really fast and sometimes he moves to a jump or line before his brain has processed the info about HOW to take the jump or line. But again, that will smooth out with experience and also we will be able to work jump skills too!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I couldnāt figure out how to get jump 3 in sequence one. Sprite sliced 2 and was on the backside of 3 naturally. Where should I be in lead out and how do I help her with this line?>>
Yes, that is a tricky section and there are different options depending on how exactly it is set up. But yes – the exit of 2 can indeed show the line to the backside of 3! You did a great job sorting it out for her!
I liked that you led out to 3 just about all the way at :10, :28, :54, 1:12. At 1:38 and on the last rep you were at 4 and that was even more effective – she had a little more trouble looking at 1 when you were out there so you can throw rewards to landing side of 1 (or have it placed out there) to keep solidifying the forward focus with you basically behind her.
And her focus on the line 1-2 was awesome!
It took a couple of reps to sort out the threadle handling 2-3. When walking the sequences, you can stand at the exit or landing of each jump and see if she has a choice (front or back of jump) on the next jump. Then you can decide if you need a threadle or not.
The first rep did look like a post turn to the backside cue. The 2nd rep (:34) had the threadle verbal but not threadle handling, so you still got a backside.
You added the threadle hand too at :45 and :59, and it totally helped. Rotating towards her too much made you late for the blind on 4, but doing the threadle without the rotation like at 1:20 got you to a great spot and lovely timing for the blind. You just needed more connection at 1:23 to help her drive forward to 5 more smoothly. You got it at 1:58 nicely and added more decel at the very end to get an ever tighter turn. Well done!!
>>Iām pretty sure I didnāt build it wrong, but it is possible that I did.
You built it right š Doing the moving threadle and the super quick blind is the way to go on that sequence.
Sequence 2: super easy! You handled the threadle smoothly and she had no questions (and getting the tunnel as 4 is much easier to handle than the blind to the jump at 4 in sequence 1).
Sequence 3: You can have her more on a slice at 1, so she lands facing 2 more (think of the zig zig grid in the jumping class, this is an application of that skill.
Seq 3a š You ran the line to the 5 without the 4 on the 1st rep, but I liked your independent cues on 2 and 3 more on this rep than the previous rep, You didnāt over-help as much at 2 nd 3, and she showed really lovely line execution and understanding! And that got the blind easily. To tighten the turn to the blind at 5-6, you can stay closer to the 6 jump and donāt move towards the tunnel. Being an armās length away from the 6 jump will set the line, and staying in motion will prevent her from picking up the backside there (or doing a blind to a threadle which is a common challenge lately)
Seq 4 also looked really good! You are pretty far behind her (correctly) for the forward focus to 1 and it took her a moment on the first rep in particular at 1:45 to look forward to the jump. But she did and then had no commitment questions. And the 2nd rep was even quicker to acknowledge that first jump (and her lines on both looked lovely!!)
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I havent for a while as it wasnt working at that point. Have been focused on brain camp stuff so probably time to revisit. If there is something hard (for her) at the start can lose her.>>
She might be ready for you to visit it again! You can start it at home, no agility, just building the love for the game with the pattern game. Then you can do it with one jump ,etc, to help her understand that it is a good thing!
>>She got the serp but turned wide onto tunnel and got the wrong end I tried to just collect her as she came out and carry on as if that was correct but she was gone. >>
I am glad she got the hard part!! An idea: if she realizes that something has gone wrong (sometimes we hesitate the tiniest bit, or we say something) then you donāt even need to keep going in class. You can just reward immediately š
Have fun! Keep me posted on how she does!
Tracy
Hi!
Thank you for the first update!!>>Buddy who I just include to keep him in shape (He choose Nose work to be his main sport) needed me to be closer but got the job done as he is way slower then my other 2 boys.>>
Perfect – it is a good balance for him!
āØ>>Seq. 1 Mookie needed a front jump verbal cue between 4 and 5 or he would do 5 as a backside. I needed to keep my arms low 2nd run as I am sure my arms floating up caused him to think I was giving him a backside cue >>Yes – that for sure can be tricky with long striding, fast dogs! So when you walk the sequences, be sure to look for where he might be landing and where he might need to know if it is a front or back, so he can nail it š
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>>Alonso needed a verbal āin, in āto get the front side of 3. He releases from the start line like a bullet and my saying in in got my body in the right position for him. Both 2nd runs went well.>>Perfect! That is indeed a common course trend now for bigger dogs: they see a line to the backside so we have to make extra sure to show them the front side
āØ>>Seq.2 All 3 dogs nailed this on their first runs.>>
WOOHOO!! High five to you!
āØ>>Seq.3 A Buddy was fine. For Mookie and Alonso, I needed āclose close arms and vcā for my body to be in position & indicate to go to jump 2 otherwise they missed it entirely. 2nd runs for both Mookie & Alonso were fine.>>
Good job working through that – since they both had questions, it goes on the list to revisit in the same or slightly different context, to help sure they really understand it.
āØ>>Seq.3 B All 3 dogs were fine first run as I had gotten my stuff together
Yay! And my dogs agree with your dogs that it all goes better when the humans have their stuff together LOL!
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āØ>>Seq. 4 A & B Mookie and Alonso were okay on their first runs.>>Super!
>> Buddy decided he was done for the day with agility even though we rested a lot in between
He also gets distracted in my backyard.>The sequences have a lot of mental challenge, so he was probably mentally done with it š
āØ>>Seq. 5 I needed left and right verbals for the bars to stay up for Mookie and for Alonso to read my blind cross between 2 & 3.>.Yes! Definitely add in all your verbals to help support the position.
āØ>>Seq. 6 This was easy for me and both Alonso and Mookie >>Super!!!
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āØ>> am finding that I need to use verbal cues not only for the dogs but to help my body get into the right position where it needs to be >>That is super useful to know so be sure to walk the sequences while practicing the body cues AND the verbals. And do this at trials too! I personally find that my verbals support the body cues like you are saying, so I like to practice them a lot.
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āØ>>I also know I still need to work on keeping my arms low. This will be a forever goal >>Same here! Keep reminding yourself to point to the dogās nose (which is low!) and look at their eyes.
āØ>>Next week we will work on the jumpers course in pieces and the pop outs.>>Great – those build off of these sequences. Keep me posted! Have fun!
Tracy
