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Hi!
>I unfortunately do not have a video- however I am definitely assuming it was me lol.>
See if you can re-create it and we can figure it out 🙂
> I fell off the train for a while with target training for the teeter. I am back training again, should I start correlating the 2 on 2 off behaviour with a cue now?>
Yes – if she remembers it and can hop right into it, then adding th cue will be perfect!
Keep me posted 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
>It was only a few seconds – I think it felt longer to me in the moment. He did not get high watching, he was just checking it out.>
Time slows down when the dog is looking at a distraction – 3 seconds feels like forever in that moment 🙂
>Turning her back on him would likely not help, but walking away might.>
Walking away is less weird than turning her back on him 🙂 She can throw treats on the ground then turn and walk away.
>This did happen in the second half of class, so fatigue, as you mentioned could have been a factor.>
There are studies that suggest fatigue plays a role in impulse control “errors” like this.
>I had to go to the office yesterday, but it did allow me to watch the class recording on the commute. I’d say that Judge is a sign tracker. Like most Mals, he wants to work, does not really care what the actual work is as long as he is doing something and I’m in the picture. I know that I do need to keep working on the remote reinforcement though.>
The other interesting thing about Mals is that because they might lean into being sign trackers – they also are happy to known the parameters of the work. So if he heads over to investigate the instructor, for example, he is likely to appreciate a ‘dude that is not the work, sir’ recall away from the distraction more than he is going to appreciate having to make his own decision. And then lots of reward for the work you want and he will have it all figured out very quickly 🙂
I need to listen to the sign tracker/goal tracker parts again – it’s not all super clear to me.
>I need to read the games as well – which will probably help me sort out what to do for him.>
I will have more about it in the next chat 🙂 We only skimmed it last Monday. It is fascinating stuff and really emphasizes classical conditioning.
>I thought the quiz about quantity vs quality was interesting too. It makes sense – I’d rather have a one nice thing (shoes, bag, phone) than 10 cheapos of the same thing. We have been brainwashed by the whole jackpot reward strategy.>
I think there are a lot of things that we tell ourselves are truth in dog training… but the scientific literature tells us that it is not true. Oops LOL!! I think a jackpot could have value in terms of ‘surprise’ element that can get a dopamine spike/reward prediction error for some dogs – but it is the jackpot that does it, or is it that the reward has a big value/quality to it as opposed to lower quality that the dog normally experiences? It is fun to think about!
T
Hi! I am so glad he did well with the surgery! And I love his fashion choices 🙂
>I love the idea of using the couch and also the MM! >
I wonder if you can use the MM and a low dog bed, so he is not jumping up on anything at this point?
Keep me posted
Tracy
Hi!
I agree that this session was really strong!!
>I worked on keeping things flowing and being there but not stopping so much.>
Yes – you stayed in motion and you stayed connected, and all the runs looked good!
The first run was really strong, with the connection and motion. Super nice!
On the 2nd run – you got a little in her way at :37 on the backside, but because she was not frustrated she was able to sort it out without frustration. That made you late for the FC to the tunnel – the video edited to if your rewarded or not, so be sure to reward that off course because she was trying to figure it out with the late info 🙂
3rd run – you moved through the spot where she had trouble on the previous run so that went well! The FC to the tunnel was still a little late (bar down) but she was able to pick up the correct line.
The last run went well too! Super nice!
So staying in motion, being connected, and not stopping to fix makes a big difference.
The other thing to consider here is the spacing between obstacles – this spacing was close enough that the lines were very visible. So you can take out a jump to be able to add more distance between the obstacles – that is likely to be where things get harder! But that is important to work on so do what you did here: stay in motion and stay connected.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
Sorry to hear about the sting, poor Kaladin! I am thankful he is feeling much better!
>Lift was pretty brilliant at Fusion with no one else there. Nailed 1 out of 1 sets of 12 weaves (with the bases that don’t have feet every other pole which is still a bit of a challenge for her). Brilliant teeters too.>
It is good to have sessions where there are no mental challenges or environmental challenges. Just you, the obstacles, the dog. FUN!!!!
>(kinda hot & muggy again here – ugh!)>
Yep, same here in Iowa. CORN SWEAT! Ewwwww. And I am on a limited hookup in terms of electric amps so I have to be careful about how much a/c I can blast on myself LOL definitely a hard challenge LOL
On the pop out – I think you were too close to her line on the release so she questioned it and thought it was a backside. When you started over, you stepped away more and that answered her questions: correct side of the jump and back to speed. Super!
Nice job cueing the backside at 3. You did a FC there which probably made more sense because of the decel on the send to the backside. It looked good! You can probably call her a little sooner on the tunnel exit for 4-5. You used a verbal while she was in the tunnel but you can move up the timing so she hears it before she goes into the tunnel.
You ight have over-helped the line at :46 by pulling to the front of the jump then pushing to the backside. She had a small mad there and barked and carried on (yay Lift!!)
You can blind cross the exit of the 2nd tunnel (:52) to get to the next backside sooner and I don’t think she needed a left verbal there. Letting her chase your line should be all she needs – youended up with another over-help moment where it looked like the front of the jump then you pushed to the backside. She had a small mad there but once again, she carried on which is HUGE! YAY! She didn’t let the questions rattle her at all.
You got a little too far ahead on the RC at 1:00 so she had a confusion there too with the last minute RC pressure. But she forgave you again and carried on…. That is simply unheard of in LiftLand! I mean, we all have small handler bloopers with our young dogs but I don’t recall Lift ever forgiving 3 in one run without having a BIG MAD about it. So big hooray for that! She was definitely aroused at the end (leapy) but I am proud of her for continuing the sequence even with questions.
For the RC, you would ideally decel at the previous jump to set the line and as she is catching up you can then drive to the center of the bar.
On the 2nd run – the opening looked great and you gave her a verbal before she went into the tunnel. Yay! You tried different options here but I think the first plan was the smoother faster plan. You brought her to the other side of the backside on 7 but the line didn’t make as much sense to her (1:43). At 1:50 on the next backside, I think you were showing a lot of front side here so being more where the wing and bar meet should help her get to the backside a little better there. Wrapping to the right on the 2nd to last jump just needed a little decel into it – I do think the RC line will be faster though!
>New Samsung Galaxy S26 acquired and both phone lines moved to a better and cheaper Verizon plan>
Yay! I like my Samsung Galaxy and the camera has been great – it has replaced my other cameras and I use my ear buds for recording verbals clearly and blocking out background noise (like my neighbor’s new motorcycle ugh). And I am sure that I don’t fully know how to se it LOL!!!
See you this weekend!
Tracy
Good morning!
The serp session turned out really well. Yes, the 2nd side made more sense to her when you had your arm back, plus she was getting the idea that ti was wing-then-jump. Having the clean starts on the send to the wing helped a lot: lining her up next to you then doing a clear send.
One of the main goals is that you stay in motion the whole time – even if that motion is very slow for now – so keep moving through the serp line. As you add more motion, you can angle the serp jump to face her more as she exits the wrap wing. That way the bar is more visible and she will have an easier time finding it as you move.
If possible, you can have your serp arm back more so both of your shoulders turn to face the jump. I am not sure how much your back will let you do this so it might look like having your serp arm extended 90 degrees away from your shoulder rather than adding any twist to your torso.
She was so great holding her stay with the zig zags! Yay!!! That made it very easy to show her the line you wanted and get the lead changes so the sessions went great. Only one unexpected thing happened (she went to the other side of the first wing a couple of times) but that was because of the big step towards the wing which looked like a backside push. Good girl!
This went really well so you can add the 3rd wing now 🙂 You can also use your feet to change the line (rotating like front crosses) as you add distance to make the cues more visible.
Great job here!
Tracy
HUGE congrats on the job! YAY!!!! I am excited for you!
I admit to laughing out loud when he went through the wing to get back to you. I mean, it is a left turn… Ha! Clever! And he is inexperienced enough to not understand to go around and not through 🙂
Using these wings, you can do two things to get him to go around and not through them:
You can have the end of the bar on the wing a little higher, so it is more obvious
And you can put a towel or something over the wing to make it less of an obvious gap.He did really well turning to you on all of the reps where he t urned towards you. The only thing to add there is to hold him longer so he hears the verbals 4 or 5 times before you let him go, just to make the verbals separate from movement.
He did well turning away to the right. The left was harder, so you can help him out by placing the toy or a bowl between the bars on the left turn side. The visual aid will help him sort out how to turn away to his left.
>Lost him and then tried to do more simple maybe I should have stopped.>
He has his own 2 failure rule 🙂 he failed twice, didn’t know how to do it, then when asked the 3rd time he checked out. So if you see the 2 failures, you can make it easier on the 3rd one You were trying to do it with handling/arm movement but I don’t think he really saw that. The toy or bowl on the line should help.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>On set point, we did also do lots of treats behind, break to toy with start lines but he is just too smart for me and he knows that “the game” is the agility equipment and the other stuff is just me trying to distract him from the real fun.>
You can try making the game more challenging with more steps – instead of the release being pretty predictable, add in forward forward to the toy on the ground and then praise before the release. That will be pretty easy when the toy is stationary (which is also a good starting point) but probably harder when the toy is moving!
>Again, he fascinates me, so a lot of what I do is trying to avoid annoying him and giving him the ick so that I don’t build in any conflict for the actual game or conflict with me in playing the game with me. Training him is much more intellectually challenging than most other dogs I’ve had but SUPER fun and I’m having the best time trying to figure out what’s going to help us reach our full potential as a team.>
He is really fun! I love seeing how different breeds and individuals bring their own twist to the games 🙂
T
Hi – because of the volume of videos I watched through to look for trends and general comments. Here are some thoughts:
>There’s things that I see. It’s me. It’s very much not clean. Mechanics >
Some of the not clean is fine – toy play should prioritize fun over clean. Being too clean can suck the life out of it. But you can be cleaner with the leashes, for example: he has a giant fat leash that he doesn’t tug on but it is really hard to hold. Go to a smaller leash that you can loop over your wrist (especially when working both dogs) and that will free up your hands more.
>and I need to end sessions differently. >
You can start working on end of sessions things but also mix it up – sometimes it looks like you’ve ended up then surprise, right back in for more play!
>I think a lot of it is brain fog. I hate to use it as an excuse but I never use to have this issue.>
It is brain fog time of life! Hormones, stress, etc.
Looking at the videos:
Video 1 instant focus. Good. Recognition of the object and good tugging!
You need to attach the ring to a longer thing to get more immediate tugging and maintain the tugging. Driving right into your hand is not something he does immediately. And then when it is waving in front of his face, he is not interested in tugging. Tying it to a one or two foot long toy can make a big difference because you can keep it moving away the whole time and also he can grab it and lean into the tugging without the pressure of you being right there.Video 2 IF on the barrel – Is this a scenario he would normally not be comfortable with, or take longer to get engagement? Good job going right into the game. On the 2nd send, the cue was not clear: get closer to the barrel and step directly to it.
How is his leash off engagement on game going, so you can take the leash off without holding his collar? There were a bunch of spots in these videos where you were holding his collar and the LOEO game will benefit you there tremendously.
Video 3: Chase on the table. This was fine in a short burst but it went on too long – he seemed unsure of what he was supposed to be doing then showed stress behavior (yawn, fawn, body shaking it off, etc).
Watching from outside the ring was ok too – would he normally struggle to just watch? Will he chew a bone or something in this situation, like a bully stick?Video 4 pattern games adding the toy was fun, he definitely prefers it this way. When doing these, loop the leash on your wrist (smaller leash!) because you won’t be able to drop it in busier situations and you don’t want to step on it because that creates a leash pop. The longer toy will help tremendously too.
Video 5 Pattern again – getting the toy moving away makes a big difference. We are starting to to see the low latency we are wanting!
Video 6 more patterns in the middle of obstacles. Don’t grab his collar when the leash comes off. Get that LOEO game going to where he snaps his engagement towards you when you reach for the leash.
There is lower latency/quicker responses here too and more interest in playing the pattern games even with food. There is a distinct happy excitement in his engagement and body language.Video 7 find my face:
He can’t respond to the spin cue when your hand is also reaching into your pocket(first rep), clean that up 🙂 You were better on the other reps 🙂
Yeah, he likes that toy but not when you are shoving it towards his LOL 🤣😂 so make it longer so you can swing it away from him. Also use different toys, novelty is good!Offering the lineup when you disconnected was clever! And overall good latency and excitement for playing even when there was not a lot of motion or running the obstacles.
He didn’t want to be finished so make being finished fun too – leash up then more play, or leash up then leash off and more play. Or leash up and outside to go pee on things.
Video 8 with Ella this is where clean mechanics are harder but smaller leashes looped on your wrist will help a lot. You can really see how he follows her lead here, even if it was just to sniff the pole.
Just focus on Ella mainly and she can go sniff if she wants to
If Ella likes food a lot, use food here too. If he wants to engage, you can engage for a moment or two but the main focus should be on Ella so don’t make it about him.Video 9 instant focus new place – he did it but the reward was not a good one – too small, too much near his face, probably a bit overused. Plus you moved him to a new environment so that plus the toy not being interesting anymore caused him to check out.
Video 10 – you used a longer toy (note the engagement when you let him chase the longer toy) and it was a different toy and more motion – got tugging! A tweak for this is to get the reward going
right near the barrel. You ran him to a new hard environment which made the rewarding harder. Then separately, do instant focus on the grass.So overall, a couple of tweaks to the toy and how it is presented will make things easier, along with easier ways to use the leash, add a lot more of the LOEO game, and keep on trucking with the pattern games being so much more fun!
T
Good morning!
>He is very good at offering a sit in the house without being asked every time we come in from pottying (leash off game). This did not happen outside today. >
The context is very different – the sit is not required for this game in an agility context. We just want him to automatically look at you. When coming in from pottying, it is a specific context which might have been paired with cues and reward for sitting especially if you dry his feet, for example. But for the agility context: no sit needed 🙂
On the video during the leash off engagement on game, he was offering engagement nicely! You can add in the excitement version of it: rewarding with a toy and running around like a crazy person 🙂 More excitement in the agility context of this game can add more excitement to his engagement with you because we don’t want him to be super chill at the start line.
And this is a game to add in every time that leash comes off – it is great for life and sport 🙂
The remote reinforcement is going well here – easy peasy. Since this went so well, take a look at the advanced remote reinforcement games and let’s add those, so we begin to teach him about running agility without rewards in the ring.
>And as for the chill game, I know that if we were at a show, he would be wanting to visit other dogs without some rewards but I do work on him sitting with me in the crating area where he will lie down for short periods.>
I think for the engaged chill game he falls into the ‘no natural chill’ category 🙂 He is in good company, my young dogs also have ZERO natural chill. So when you were standing outside, he was looking around a lot and yes, at a trial he would likely be looking at the other dogs.
So start this game to train the chill, using the up and down pattern that gradually slows down. Train it first at home, and then it can go to the class or trial environment. When you bring it to class or trials, start with the pattern game being fast and then slow it down. And position yourself far from the other people and dogs so it is easier to ignore them. He will learn this and will eventually be able to stand ringside and be chill without trying to visit everyone 🙂
>Unfortunately, he is having an eye procedure tomorrow for distichia and ectopic cilia so he will probably not be able to do much in the next few days. >
Omg! Keep me posted on how it goes, I will be thinking of him! I am sure he is in expert hands but I imagine it is pretty stressful for you to have the done.
>I will practice these low key games with him so he can have the cone off for a bit. >
The up and down game has a lot of head movement, so maybe skip it til the vet clears him.
>We missed our novice class today due to weather. I had planned on doing the remote reinforcement game there and getting some video but that didn’t happen.>
No worries – it is better to do it first at home using the pattern game version of it and other advanced levels. The barn where his class is held is incredibly distracting, so no need to take remote reinforcement there until he can do it at home.
>I’m reeling from my friend who just lost her 4 year old poodle to 2 pit bulls attacking it after busting out of their front door while she was walking in her neighborhood. They punctured his lung and he died. She just lost her other 8 year old poodle last year to cancer. I feel sick over this. She has no dogs now. So tragic and horrific.>
OMG the thought of that makes me feel sick. That is horrible!!!! I am so sorry for her. I personally never take my dogs on neighborhood walks or hikes at the park for exactly this reason. I’ve become so neurotic about dog attacks.
>Hopefully, Brioche will heal up quickly. Benni had to have the same procedure. Looks really awful in the beginning. I’m not looking forward to this.>
I am sure the first part of the healing will really suck. Thankfully it turned out really well for Benni and I know it will turn out great for Brioche too. Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Hah fooled ya. This is whats in the MM and he loves it! >
The Happy Howies is great! It is high value indeed – I think part of it has to do with the delivery method from the MM. I mean, you’ve had some really incredible restaurant-level human grad food rewards available and the MM with the Happy Howies is his favorite. I think that speaks to the value of the treat, yes, but also something amazing about the delivery mechanism. And we will definitely be using that to our advantage because it helps him a lot and everyone is happy about it!
>I use an onion chopper to get tiny cubes >
Ooooh, smart! I need to find my onion chopper!
>I used the toy with sueded leather because he finds putting things of that texture (also flannel pillowcase corners, ask me how I know) into his back molars and gnawing soothing. >
Does he consider it a toy at all, or just a decompression, or maybe both? Just plotting how to use it and maybe you can grab a flannel pillowcase to use too 🙂
>I’ve tried the bully stick didnt get the same result. >
Good to know!
>And I can take that toy into the ring!>
YESSSS planning ahead for NFC! And also in UKI, he can have it attached to his leash or left with his leash even on the real runs so the toy can be in there every time.
>I will mention that if the MM is out there he works much better, and actually goes to it first if given a chance before work starts.>
For him, the MM might be like the lever for sign trackers in the rat experiments (the rats are a little obsessed with the lever :)) or the goal for goal trackers – the MM can possibly serve both functions for the dog. He is a little obsessed with it but it not trying to open it to shove his face in it, he is waiting for the trigger of it. It is fun to sort out but either way: we can have the MM basically out there every.single.time (especially in class) because it is serving as some sort of anchor for him. It seems to be providing clarity and he is working great – so even if you are not training contacts, have it out there and use it as a reward station. This is what I did with my Papillon, Nacho, and it is what successfully transitioned him into trialing with focus and without stress. You will see some of it peppered into the other remote reinforcement videos but here is a MM-specific progression video:
I have used it during NFC runs too – holding the MM remote is a good bridge to use in the NFC runs. Just having it my hand helped him!
>In class we worked him in a fenced back ring this week and you are correct that the distractions were far away. He stayed with me during all working time. I will try to add in some work after putting leash on.>
Perfect! Success! And as his success continues, you can keep add getting closer to distractions very gradually. It can even be something like an empty crate to begin with, no other dogs yet.
>am trying hard not to have him come to me for any rewards to continue to get his focus off my hands.
Let’s try having the rewards all come from the MM during sequencing (like in the Nacho video). We will start off easy: take a jump then cue going to the MM. Then we gradually build it up to longer sequences (then full courses like you will see later in the video). I know that it changes the placement of reinforcement but perhaps this is what he has been telling us all along 🙂 It is worth a try for a bunch of sessions and see what he says!
Keep me posted 🙂
TracyGood morning!
>When we went back in the ring to do this, Chase was hanging out in the far corner on the table and she walked right by him to get in.>
Yay! Good job Bella!!
She was giving top notch feedback about the cues to take the first jump 🙂 I grabbed a bunch of screenshots to show you what she was seeing and saying. Basically, two things were happening:
* with you very close to her on. the release – you are standing on her line to the front side of the bar, which is why she kept pushing to the back of the bar (you were standing on her line especially when she was on a slice line to the front) even when she knew that it was not quite correct.
>Seemed she struggles more when I put her on a slice than straight on.>
Lining her up center to the bar instead of the slice moved you off of her line to the front, which is why she got it better at finding the front 🙂 When you are standing that close to her on the slice, you are inadvertently cueing the backside based on your position and pressure wen you stepped forward. With you very close to her on the straight line ups, at 3:30 and 4:45 for example, she still felt the pressure on the line and almost turned away to the backside on those.
* The other thing was that on a lot of the cues in the beginning, you were turning and stepping to the exit line/next line after the wrap. That turned you away from the jump so she either went to the backside based on your position or did a blind cross to your other side when you turned away a lot.
So to help make it clearer:
She can be in a stay and you step away so she has the line to the jump all to herself 🙂 You can be outside the wing so you are not crowding the front of the jump.When you release her and step to the jump, maintain a big connection and step/point to the takeoff spot on the front of the jump. You did some of that at the end and it made a big difference!
Here is the link to the series of annotated screenshots:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kVPbW8pEzL7AIss_XmXIxm8mxO1kt2ellgp2h5dRm3g/edit?usp=sharingGood job sorting out the Rear Crosses! You were too far ahead on the first one at 1:55, causing you to end up stopped on the left wrap wing so she couldn’t get past you.
Since the RCs are set from the obstacle before the RC jump, driving all the way down to the tunnel exit was more effective to set up the RC (you can even run the line of the tunnel as she is in it) then as she exits, she sees you driving up the line to the center of the bar to cue the RC. You did this at 2:16 so it went really well! You got a little too far ahead at 2:59 so she squeezed past you you but I think getting in closer to the tunnel will get the most speed and help you not end up as far behind her after th RC.
Great job here! Let me know what you think, especially about the jump 1 stuff.
Tracy
Good morning! She made the week 3 stuff look easy so far!
She totally does like the between-the-feet lineup! That can be a great, no-pressure way to get her into her stay at the star line.
>She does show one example of her go-to when she’s confused or frustrated; the dramatic ‘down’.>
Yes, the Border Collie default of “I will just plop into a down” haha but at least she is offering behavior and sticking with it even when it didn’t make total sense at first 🙂
She figured it out very quickly though: go around then send. Fun! As you mentioned, convincing her to go to her left was harder – only because it was newer, I think. She was getting it really well by the end. She likes to move and this behind the back trick predicts moving to the wing, so she will be very smooth and fast with these in both directions.
Looking at the zig zag video:
Great job using the between the feet lineup to get her into exactly the right spot here! I think that will ultimately be easier to get her lined up for this game than having her sit in front of you (she was like “why aren’t we wrapping the wing” haha)
>Admittedly, I didn’t expect this to go as well as it did. She continues to surprise me>
I totally agree – this game is actually a LOT harder than she made it look, with the long stay and the side to side lead changes. Macklynn absolutely nailed it! YAY! She was confident, fast, and accurate and the stay looked strong too.
Your handling for the in and out elements was also very clear which totally helped, and she seems like she is naturally very good at shifting her leads. That is unusual but in a very good way 🙂
Since this went brilliantly, you can revisit it 2 different ways:
– Add another wing to add even more challenge
– Using these wings, move them all a foot closer together, so everything has to happen faster for you and for her 🙂>Fingers-crossed that it cools off faster tomorrow night during our arena time so we can play a bit longer than we did tonight.>
This has been a HOT gross summer! We are all due for a break, hopefully good temperatures are ahead 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I thought of moving tunnel but didn’t think of just moving the wing. >
Oh yes, I am totally too lazy to move the tunnel so moving the wing and the jump are definitely easier 🙂
>The rep at 1:47 was an attempt to have him go ahead of me with me at the tunnel exit. Did I do that wrong? Or are you suggesting that I do it with the jump further out?>
That rep went great! He drove ahead well – you can even through the reward sooner. As soon as you see him locked on the line to he jump, throw it so he doesn’t lift his head to look back at you. You can add more driving ahead by getting even closer to the tunnel and even waiting there for a moment so you are more behind him, and by moving the jump further away (maybe 3 feet further each time you want to add challenge).
>On the serp exercise with the backside. That would be my backside slice verbal vs the wrap one right?>
Yes, that would be the backside slice verbal 🙂
Have fun!
Tracy
