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Happy New Year!
I hope Max was at least a little tired last night? LOL!! Will I see you at Level Up on the weekend of the 12th-13th?
>What is your tunnel threadle cue? Is it different from your jump threadle cue?>
My tunnel threadle cue is “kiss kiss kiss” and I use an opposite arm for it. And yes, it is different from the jump threadle cues – it used to be the same, but then the judges got smart and began putting jumps right next to tunnels… so the dogs didn’t know if we wanted the tunnel or jump on the threadle cue, if we were not fast enough to be ahead. Hmmmm LOL!! So most of us added separate words and now the dogs can get better info.
T
Awesome! I like the visuals too – when we get deeper into backside slices versus backside wraps (and the threadle versions), I will add a video that explains the difference and where we need more verbals (and where we don’t LOL!)
T
Hi! Happy New Year!
Very cool to hear that Freedom can do it with the verbal and needs relatively little help with motion cues! Super!!
10 did really well here, it is hard for a baby dog! At :15 she read the go out with the opposite arm because you were moving to the jump (watch your feet and line of motion there). Eventually, she will be able to do the ‘get out’ with the same line of motion and foot position as you had at :08… she is only 7 months old, so we have more layers to build up before getting it into a bigger sequence š
Great job!
TracyHappy New Year!
The prop sends are definitely on the right track! She seemed to really get the idea that it is a foot target and not a toy to be picked up. YAY!! That allowed you to work the different sending really well and she was really good about moving to the prop. The first rep was a surprise to her and you were too far from the prop, but you adjusted and the others were closer and clearer. Her touches were not always perfect, but I think she was sorting out how to set up the collection to turn – and I am always happy when they are sorting out how to collect! š
Good job calling her to you to re-engage and line up before each rep on most of these. Sometimes you would get into a loop which we don’t want on this game – this is because we want to build in arousal and build in the transition from handler focus to obstacle focus. With that in mind – you can add a little bit of arousal in the form of a ready dance – adding arousal this early is important so she can learn to regulate that arousal. The ready dance will also give her a clear indication of when the cue was coming.
>Mostly she wants to just go and I want to set the scene so Iām using food as much as I can to bridge the gap. >
The ready dance also fades the food as the cue to stay with you š Lots of good things come from the ready dance š
>Adding in a lot more play breaks which I probably should be doing. >
Yes! Adding more frequent play breaks is great because otherwise I think she gets bored with cookie only games and needs an outlet for her energy – at about 1:00, she had had enough of the cookie reps (jumped up on you twice, started looking around…) She got a tug break at about 1:45, but you can build it in sooner, maybe after every 2 or 3 reps so it is more like :45 seconds between tugging. When the tug breaks became more frequent, she didn’t jump up on you or look around at all.
The serps went well, I think it was good to add the jump.
Good job rewarding the stays a lot on the serps, and making sure your hand was in position before and separately from the release. Yay! And I think she is definitely figuring out to do the thing before going directly to the toy here.
At :49 on rep 1, she was correct to come in and out with a sideswipe of the hand target – that is the in and out behavior we want. She hit the hand target more squarely on the next reps, but you can mark her arrival near your hand with the toy marker without moving at all, so she starts to anticipate that and turn herself to the toy. When we have that, it will be easy to add movement šGreat job!
Tracy
Hi!
She totally loves the tunnel š And she did a great job finding the entry – it is a hard turn and I love how she set up her body! Yay!
Since this went super well, you can replace your tunnel verbal here with your tunnel threadle verbal (I use ākisskisskissā for that).
She also did well finding the jump on the parallel path concept transfer!!
>She did better with just āget it.ā (Except when I got too far away.) It seemed like I was using āget itā instead of the āgoā command.>
Yes – I agree that the get it was more of a cue than a reward marker. So you can use your āgoā as you start moving towards the jump – then as she looks at the jump (but nice and early, before she gets to it) say the get it and throw the reward.
You can add more motion! You can job or even run a bit – but donāt add too much lateral distance when you add motion, because we donāt want to have too many variables challenging her.
The Folding It In Game went great too – she was offering forward focus immediately! That was easy to do when the bowl was on the easy line, but she looked at her line brilliantly even when the bowl got to a harder position and it would have been easier to cut in front of the cone.
By the end, the bowl was on a very hard line – she had to go past it – and she did! Yay! So using the food bowl, you can keep moving it harder and harder, moving it closer to you! Start it in easy positions as a mental warm up š then you can make it harder and harder so she has to go past it to get to the cone š And you can also try it with a toy instead of the bowl!
Rocking horses look awesome!!! Nice connection š She committed really well and also liked the turn and burn exits š Super!!! You can add your wrap verbals as you send her, so she gets used to hearing them. Since you also added distance between the barrels here, you can now move to the advanced level where you get to move more, and there is countermotion too!
Fantastic job here!! She looks great!
Happy New Year!
Tracy
Hi!
The blind cross looked great! To help remain more upright (and make sure he doesnāt actually get your finger when going to the toy) you can try a longer toy for the reward (or you can tie two of them together).
>For some of the reps, he skips eating the treat and bounces off for the next rep. I had him go back for the treat (~39 sec).>
I think chasing you for the toy is more fun than leaving you for the treat. So we can pump up the send to the treat! It is kind of a countermotion commitment exercise š
You can reward him for eating by running! So toss the treat and be upright and a little boring š until he has eaten itā¦ then you can take off and run. If you are even a little exciting (crouching, looking like you are going to run, or running before he eats it) then he might not eat it or he might cough it up. And you were pretty exciting here, so use more of a boring stance til he eats: then the party can begin!
The decel and pivot also went well! He was blasting up the line and going really fast! So you can do the blind sooner (as soon as he starts moving to you) and then immediately decel so he has time to collect for the turn. Now, all this is easier if you are further ahead, so you can toss the treat to the towel and slowly/boringly walk away to get ahead. Then when he has eaten the treat: Run! Game on š
>we tried running contacts foundation ā a hula hoop was our box today. >
Oh! That is clever!!!! I have never thought of using a hula hoop for this! Smart!!!!! And it will probably be easier to transition on to the a-frame, and also easy to fade.
He totally figured out that going to the hoop was the road to reward. Clever!! Funny how he would also bring the toy back to the middle of the hoop too LOL!
Since introducing it went really well, you can move to the next step which is figuring out what he needs so he can go through the hoop and look straight rather than up at you. You can put a towel about 8 or 10 feet past the hoop on each side (so it is a mini sequence of towel-hoop-towel). Then when he goes through the hoop, you toss the reward to the towel. That will provide a focal point so he can look forward and not at you (and not track the toy or treat, because the towel will help him predict where it will arrive).
Great job here!! Happy New Year!
Tracy
Hi!
Backing up is off to a good start! Yay! The next step is to remain bent over with several treats in your hands, to speed the delivery of the reward and get even more backing up. You were doing more of that towards the end of the video and getting more steps. When you stand up after dropping the first treat, she is following that movement and stepping back to look up at you – but not really backing up. That was also happening towards the end, because you were not standing fully upright but still standing enough that she is looking at you.
Now since she is big, we can get creative to find a way to have you be able to remain bending over comfortably and give her enough room to back up easily: do you have 2 Cato planks or something similar? You can put each foot on a cato plank and that will raise you up by about 2 inches (maybe 3ā?) which might be just the right height for you to be able to keep your elbows on your knees without standing up, but give her room to easily back up from under you.
She did great on your strike a pose game! I think she really likes it!!! You can move to the next steps: Since she was already ignoring the treat hand, you can use a toy as the reward to see if she can still find the target hand. And separately from that, you can try the concept transfer of this game: adding the jump in between you and her!
Great job here! Happy New Year!!
Tracy
Hi!
Threadle wrap foundation games are looking very good! Stay tuned for the next steps coming soon – if you want to play with this again, you can start showing him the opposite arm as you turn him away (but you can also wait til we add the next steps :))
Looking at the rocking horses: he is doing great with hi commitment!!
>he has one rep where he rips the toy out of my hand on the send. So then I folded it to make it a bit easier, then let it out again.>
I think part of the impulse control on the toy is that it is indicated by how you hold it/move it, and how you connect on the send cue – and in this case as you sent him forward, it looked similar to the hand motion of throwing it. When you were connected? No problem, th connection cue overrode the toy moving. At 1:06, you were not connected so there was not a strong cue to the barrelā¦ making the toy movement more salient (and that is when he grabbed it). He had a question or two after that, but I think it was more about processing getting the toy (or not :)) After that, his commitment went back to being great even with the toy really visibleā¦ your connection was great on those too! Yay!
So definitely show BIG connection all the way through the cross and the send. And for the safety of your fingers š you can have the toy scrunched or more centered in your hand (rather than dangled) so that if you break connection, he doesnāt come in to the toy hand.
You can move to the advanced level here, which has more motion (fun!) and earlier rotation/countermotion.
Great job here!!! Happy New Year!
Tracy
Let me know how it goes! I have found that when we are further from the dogs, the opposite arm makes the cue a lot more visible while I can run forward more. Let me know what Freedom thinks of it!
Hi!
>I struggle with the definitionsā¦. threadle wrap, threadle slice.>
There are a couple of different ways to think about it! I can make a video if you want more visuals š
On the āsending the dog to the other side of the jumpā of backside pushes and threadles, here are some ways to think about it:
Both the threadle wrap and threadle slice are when the dog is coming to the takeoff side of the backside and so are you! Think of it like a tuna sandwich: you and the jump are the bread on the outside, and the dog is the tuna on the inside š
On a threadle slice, the dog enters on the wing closer to you, and exits on the wing further from you. So both wings get used.
On a threadle wrap, the dog enters on the wing closer to you and exits on the wing closer to you – only one wing gets used.
>If Iām running past a jump and I need the dog to come past it, to the other side and āsliceā it like it was a Serp, that would be a threadle slice in my brain and I would use dog side arm, shoulder back and a āhere, hereā.>
Yes.
>If Iām running past a jump and I need the dog to come past with me, or pass me staying on the same side and wrapping the wing closest to us, from technically the back side. In my mind, Iām pulling her to me and then around to the opposite side of the jump. I would call that either a āme meā, >
>if dog is passing me and jump is in front of us and I use an offside hand, elbow bent. If Iām parallel with the dog and want the dog to take the backside (wing closest to us) and wrap it and stay with me Iāve been known to call that an āin inā, again offside arm bent.>
I am not sure if these are the same as the threadle slice and threadle wrap, if you and the dog are both on the takeoff side? We might need to make videos LOL!
>But, maybe those are just backsides. If the course allows from me to push the dog to the backside, wrap is āpushā, slice is āget back, get backā.>
Yes – this is when the jump is the tuna in the sandwich (in the middle) and you and the dog are the bread š Push is when she enters and exits on the same wing, and get back has her entering on one wing and exiting towards the other wing.
>Iām not sure that is correct, but looking at videos of me and Freedom, that is what she seems to understand.
Now, if the line goes from a serpentine to a come through the gap into a threadle, that is usually just a āhere, hereā. I donāt think I would or have ever asked for a āwrapā.>It depends on which wing she would exit on – the one closer to you, or further from you.
>That said, Iāve added left and right wraps while training 10. Iāve never had a left or right with my dogs, so now Iām teaching those to Freedom as well.>
Perfect! And very soon we will be adding verbals for soft turns too – super helpful!!
>Iām very visual, so I usually need to see a scenario on a map and then I understand it.>
If you want, I can make a video when it stops raining (currently a big thunderstorm happening – so strange for December 31st to have a big thunderstorm here!)
>I realized during Terry OāNeils lesson, I do not have a rear cross on the flat wrap (a switch) and I really needed one. So, Iām trying to get that foundation training organized in my brain as well. >
Easy to add! You can take the tandem turns on the turn aways, and add the switch verbal to them! Youāve already got the foundation training for that underway.
>Either courses are really getting more technical, or Iām finally starting to understand other options.>
They are definitely getting more technical, so you are likely seeing all the options for sure!
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
It was so great meeting you today! Max is amazing and you are doing a fabulous job with him!!!
The tunnel game went great!! He definitely likes the manners minder LOL! And it looks like you were getting him to look forward before releasing him, which worked really well.
He also did super well with the tunnel threadle side – he had no trouble turning away into the tunnel. So now you can add your tunnel threadle word: starting closer to the entry with him on the threadle side, you can start saying it and then release him into the tunnel (then to the manners minder :))
>Max did well, when we switched from him offering the tunnel to me holding his harness, he ran off and zoomed around. >
It was good to meet him before reading this – he doesnāt really love his harness being held yet, but he was happy to let us do it when we were gentle and slick LOL!! What worked really well today was when I lined him up with a cookie lure, let him eat the cookie while I slowly and gently slid my hand onto his collar. He let me do that over and over, good boy! So that will help at home – getting him lined up first then gently taking his harness (then feeding him another treat :)) And the same goes for being picked up – slowly, gently, almost so carefully that he doesnāt realize it is happeningā¦. And a zillion treats š
āØGreat job here!!Tracy
Hi! Thanks for the videos!!
After watching the videos, I think a couple of things were in play here. Definitely not horrific! Definitely not a meltdown!!
Here is what I see:
On the first video (posted last) – yes he got his weaves and was running , but you can still see the environment had some distraction. But a good run, yay! It was definitely a hard environment.
On the 2nd (posted first here), Empty Hands JWW – I think in this environment, empty hands was too hard – and you can see stress in the beginning of the run. You can bring the toy out a lot soon in any empty hands run when changing environments. He finished well but watch his ears and striding on the last part of the course – his head is high, ears are back – definitely processing the stress!
Those were both day one.
On the day 2 runs: day 1 was a big, hard day (travel, hard new environment, possibly a hotel, being lunged at by a dog, etc) so it is possible he didnāt have the brain energy to be focused in that challenging environment 2 days in a row. So some of this might come from being deleted (glucose and oxygen need to fuel the brain, and he might not have had time to recover the glucose and oxygen levels). Plus doing it without the support of the visible toy was hard (and it was still hard on the last run with the visible toy, which leads to thinking about outside factors).
2 outside factors that were possibly in play:
>We started with a pee āaccidentā in the warmup area. Yes, I had walked him and he had gone but apparently not enough. It wasnāt markingā¦.he squatted like a girl gave me sad eyes and I scooped him up and brought him outside. He didnāt want to go back in the ring but I told him he was a good boy and brought him in. Lots of pogo-ing and distractionā¦. Then when we got outside the poor kid couldnāt make it to grass fast enough to š© (which he had also already done just an hour ago).>
This tells me that he probably had an upset GI system, which can contribute to lack of engagement and stress in the ring. I have learned that if the dog says āI donāt want to go into the ringā then I donāt bring them in the ring.
Also, I donāt think he was moving like he normally does. He was not jumping with the same power as usual, and watch :32 – :36 in the Dec 30 JWW video: his gait is off, he pacing not trotting or walking, and it looks like his right hind is short but it might not be that? I have him seen him move enough that his movement did look different in all of these videos. Yes, dogs often move differently when they are stressed or distracted, but it is entirely possible he is either sore/ouchy somewhere, or maybe he was holding himself tight because his GI was upset? Definitely see if you can get him into a massage person to see if he is ouchy somewhere.
>a lot of jumping on the mama>
That was mostly lack of connection š He jumps at your hands when you are not showing enough connection or you are pointing too much š
So the next step would be to clear him of anything being painful and make sure his GI is feeling good too š Then you can plan to approach out of town trials differently – ease him into the environment by doing the first run as a toy-in-hand run, and do that as much as needed til he is not looking around or pinning his ears. Then you can fade the toy out and move closer to real runs. It wonāt take long to do that and you will find it gets easier for him to generalize running courses in new environments!
I will keep you posted on what is coming next, I havenāt quite figured it out all the details š Happy New Year!!!!!! Give your dogs extra treats from me!!āØ
Tracy
Hi!
>In this short video Iām just showing the progression of moving the jump up to 10ā³, then back down to 8ā³ when it didnāt work out, then after a break, back up to 10ā³, then 12ā³ then finally back down to 8ā³ one last time. Heās really confident and looks good at 12ā³ just doing the set point, so weāll need to work up to higher heights with a run into it as this proves that needs practice.>
He did have more trouble from the stay – if this was the first time seeing this, it might not have anything to do with the height at all. He looked a little āshortā to me in his jumping style (he was carrying his back legs more than pushing off) – even running into the jump. My guess is that he was either fatigued (if he had been doing grids before this) or sore maybe from playing in the snow or something š Or both! So before we make any changes, you can give him a massage (our dogs are so pampered LOL!) and a bit of rest, then try it again as the first thing in the session and see how he does.
>OMG ā I HAVE to stop leaning over him so much! Itās too much pressure but Iām having a hard time stopping myself! >
It is definitely easy to lean over the small dogs! You can take a hands-free approach to most of it, which will prevent the leaning over. You can do the ābite my armā game when you want to ramp him up and for jut a couple of seconds, then you can lean back and clap? That might help you stay more upright. And elan less.
>Iām glad Julie will certainly tell me when Iām doing it which is super helpful I love that!>
Yay! That is what training partners are for!
>
Iām kind of sad itās last day of class ā this has probably been my favorite class of all! SO HELPFUL! Thank you so much for everything and keep us posted on a support group.>I am so glad you enjoyed it!! IT has been so fun to watch you and Reacher train, and see his debut! I will keep you posted on the support group – so far no good ideas have percolated through my brain to make it work for everyone LOL!! I will try to get it done by tomorrow so we can start the new year on the right paw š
Tracy
Hi!
The sequences are looking good!On video 1, run 1: Nice connection!!!
The opening went smoothly – you can trust his commitment more and deliver your cues sooner. You were tending to deliver them at takeoff, when ideally you would be cuing at the exit of the previous jump. And at :43, he came off the jump – you just needed more connection and shoulder open to him to get it (rather than turning parallel to the line there).
Run 2:
Getting the out to the jump at 1:17 was better!! You can be less pointy towards it because it turns your shoulders parallel to the line past it. Connecting back to him (like a serp on the flat) will get it smoothly. It was nice at 2:06!He found the line to the backside nicely at 1:23!
He missed the backside at 2:09 becaue you were pointing forward so yes to more connection š you said something line āI am not looking at youā and then you adjusted really well on the last rep!!>I was really struggling with the backside at 12 (I think it was 12?). So we spent some time trying to fix that, but I think I just need more work on backside serps in general ā I see myself stepping in and then back, which I know is not right.
As you slide through the backside parallel to the bar, you can drop your arm back and look at the landing spot (and drop the toy on the landing spot) You donāt need to wait for him to take the jump, you can make looking for the bar as you move more automatic by dropping the toy down on the landing side as you move through, as he arrives at the entry wing.
You were using motion away from the bar to get him to come which did help! But shifting connection to the landing spot as you did the serp
2nd video:
Doing the threadle t 1;24 just needed you to be further ahead and not moving as fast – he was better at 2:06 when yo were ahead but stay closer to the jump to support commitment.Looking at the backside at the end:
Push at 1:32 and 2:12 got the front side- getting further ahead by leaving sooner on the tunnel send at 2:11 helped a lot along with the bigger connection – just maintain that til he arrives at the wing (donāt let off the gas pedal to early, which is what happened at 2:12 š You maintained the cue for longer and he got it really well at the end!On the ring entry video:
>I felt like the entry was fine, he watched Lift but refocused on me,>
He did well! As he enters the gate, you can engage him with the leash or a trick rather than wait for him to look back at you. That way entering the ring can be immediately associated with playing with you (and not thinking about the other dog). It was hard to tell if you cued him to not, the whole clip was in fast forward ššš. He did well staying engaged and lining up as you got rid of the leash. As you build the lead out, I think delivering the treats by throwing them back will be helpful – rewarding from your hand is getting a lot value on your hand, so he is moving forward a bit. He is also moving when you reach in to give him t he treat, so throwing it back can really help him stay without moving.
The last video was also in fast forward for most of it, and I couldnāt really see you, but based n the cheers and his speed into the tunnel, he did really well LOL! Turns out that playing a fast forward video in slow-motion doesnāt help LOL! The teeter looked good and he did well with the distraction of the people in the ring š
>Exiting, on the other hand, is a bit of a challenge. He doesnāt wanna be done, so heās wandering to go visit. He loves to tug on his leash, so I will just need to build a stronger end of run routine that involves that, I think? In this video I re-released him to go take the tunnel and then we ended again, just to change it up. More work needed here, for sure.>
That is a behavior I have certainly seen (and my dog Contraband also didnāt want to leave the ring). So yes – use the leash as a toy but also make sure the leash being picked up or put on does not mean the end. You can go to the leash, pick it up, tug on it, then go right back to āworkā. And you can sometimes put it on, tug, take it off, go right back to work. Mix it up! And you can do the UKI toy+leash thing that is legal even on the real runs: have a toy placed with his leash or tied to it, so he gets the real reward (toy toy!) at the end.
>We have his first FEO runs the weekend of Jan 10/11, so this will be a good test! And weāll work on our exits in the meantime.>
Super!! Keep me posted!!!
Great job here! Happy New Year!!
Tracy
I like the plan to let her work in the ring with Casey, then let her trial in the ring with Casey! The seminar is in the same place, yes?
>And yes ā no food in the cue hand for the behind the back starts. Iāll mix these into some drop in classes so she does them somewhere other than home.>
Perfect! I think she will really enjoy it. I also use those for quick fixes on course when I mess up LOL by sending the dog behind me to get moving again (without any angry talkback from the dog :))
T
