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Hello and welcome back!!! It has been way too long – I miss the New England agility community!!! I’m excited to see your baby Cocker – sounds like her name is appropriate and she’s going to be FUN!
Tracy
Good morning!
> I thought he did such great stuff, I wanted you to see as much as possible.>
You can go over 5 minutes to get all the great stuff in 🙂 He looked fabulous!
>> After the video cuts off my teacher asked about a collection cue for the jump he kept taking.>>
Perfect!
>I have a collection cue, Choo choo choo! I forget all my new words since this is the first dog I’m actually using them with.>
He does know a lot of words! When you walk the courses, remind yourself to use them (and ask your instructor to remind you too LOL!)
>> He did much better when I actually communicated with him. What a novel idea!>>
Ha! It is weird when that happens LOL!!!
>I love that he’s not running around the entire arena once I take the leash off which is what he did when we first started going to class. We have a long way to go but we’ve come a long way already! It’s fun to see.>
I agree! It was so fun to watch him!
>We have another local trial this weekend so he will get some more pattern game work.>
Perfect! Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Too much emphasis on weaves??? Me??? NEVER!!! 🤣🤣🤣 Yes I am obsessed with them.>>
Do you know the movie Field Of Dreams with this famous quote: “If you build it, he will come”. ? I remember that when I am bringing young dogs into the trial ring: If I build it (the love for being in the ring, happy relaxed confidence in that environment), then everything else will come (hard behaviors like weaves :))
So don’t worry about the weaves: they will come! They are already there. It is the confidence in the trial ring, being completely comfy there, that we will build. When you build that, the weaves will come!
>Thanks for the referral to Pawsitive Steps. It’s still a long way but probably better than the drive to Annapolis.>
It is about 3 hour from me, but she is one of the best diagnosticians I have ever met. I also highly recommend Skylos but I don’t think they are any closer 🙂
>> On a better note glad to hear that the only thing tougher is the startline. At least that one is going well for now. I will try to pay more attention to his behavior there too though.>>
He is doing well there for sure! And we can look at it and see if there is anything else we can do to help him out even more.
The ring entry and start line in FAST looked great. He was focused, engaged, and explosive on the release.
>>there was a lot of bouncing but at least you can see our warmup. Not a ton of focus in the ring but it was our first run.>
Actually, he was incredibly focused 🙂 All of the jumping up or coming off lines were due to connection breaks 🙂 When you were connected with low arms and looking at him as you moved? Perfection! You can see that from jump 1 to the teeter. Lovely!
When he comes off lines or jumps up, that is because you were looking forward and pointing ahead with an arm, while the rest of your body turns away. So the info is no longer clear and he doesn’t know what to do. You can see it at :46 off the teeter, :51 on the send, :55, etc. Then he starts to get frustrated and he jumped up at you at 1:06, for example.
So if he comes off a line: keep going, don’t fix (the stopping reads as a punisher to him which increases frustration because he already didn’t quite know what to do). But – use that as a cue to you to connect more! Keep your hands low, make big eye contact to him especially on sends, and slow down the handling a little so you can prioritize connection. It sounds weird to say ‘slow down’ 🙂 but we all tend to be less connected when we are trying to go fast. You are already plenty fast, so making connection the number 1 thing will make the runs MUCH smoother.
On the 2nd run: I loved this!!
Nice job with the patterns he did really well outside the ring! Crowded trial!
At the entry gate: this is where the volume dial game would go. Tricks for toy or treats! And then again at the start line – it looked like he was leaping for the toy, which might be an attempt to decompress, so you can totally play with him there especially on an FEO run. And I am a big fan of tug leashes!The 1-2-3-4-5 line had a LOT of connection and he did great 🙂
It looks like he needed a turn cue before the first tunnel – he exited wide and couldn’t get back to the 6 jump on time (turf is not grippy enough to make adjustments on the flat in time).
Massive click/treat to you for continuing though, and making lovely connection – look at how well he got back on the line! And then your connection was gorgeous on the next line too! Excellent line of motion, low arms, clear connection. He was relaxed and not frustrated, so he did great in the weaves, got his reward.
Then I about died of happiness when you did that lovely reset to set up the ending line. GORGEOUS! The handling to the last jump was not totally clear to him (he was flying and you were a little behind) but because connection was clear, he continued to work the line and did not jump up at you.
A big HIGH FIVE for this entire run – you were building the field of dreams on this one!!! And he felt great after the run too, fully engaged and playing with you <3
Compare your handling on this run to your handling on the FAST run and I think you will see how the low arms, big connection, smooth motion works wonderfully for him 🙂
>>This week we’ve been catching up on Tricks and the Volume Dial.>
Perfect! You can also add in the Find My Face game (package 2) because it will help teach him what to do when you break connection. Yes, I will bug you to always be perfectly connected but we are human so sometimes we are not connected 🙂 The Find My Face game builds up to the dogs understanding to keep working the line and not jump up at us when we disconnect 🙂
>> I did some Volume Dial video. I do see varying degrees of excitement in the tricks we do. I did these with food. Toys will definitely turn the volume to up to 11. I know we’re going to want that but to get there I’ve got to figure out how to teach a toy release. >>
Yes, we want the volume to go to 11!! For now, trade the toy for a cookie. Tug tug tug, say your out cue, and then put a cookie on his nose. It is the easiest way to begin getting the toy release and there is no conflict. Then it is easy to fade the cookie lure and it becomes a powerful cue (sometimes I give the toy back after getting the release too) There are other ways to do it but the cookie trade is the fastest and also produces long-lasting results.
>We have some serious work on Remote Reinforcement ahead too. I’ll be watching that video tonight!>
Perfect! I think he will do great with that 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! All the West Coast folks were talking about the wind!
I think this session went super well – lots of success with the leash and remote reinforcement and the mini sequences. And I think it was great to use food too – it is high value for her and also, leash-then-food is exactly what she will see at the end of an agility run at a trial.
Yes, leashing and unleashing in high arousal is part of the puzzle for a lot of dogs. I am happy to find a competition leash that works for them in terms of their preferences for getting it on and off. I had one made for the whippet so it can unclip and fall away at the beginning, then at the end of the run he could slide his pointy head through. He now loves his leash, so there is an added toy in the ring.
She did well with the leash tugging! It opens up a whole new world of shopping!!! And she was fantastic about engaging when the leash comes off. I love how easily that is going to become a cue for her to look at you and be ready to work when that leash comes off.
It also opens up a whole new world of remote reinforcement – so continue to be sure that the leash is laying around a lot and you don’t always cue her to go to it, so she doesn’t anticipate going it 🙂 I thought you were really good about sometimes marking to go to the leash, sometimes praising and not sending her to it immediately, etc. That way it does not become a target, but it can remain a strong motivator.
She was highly successful and I do think it was providing a little challenge as a toy behind her, which is also great for her remote reinforcement understanding. At 2:44 you can see her take a moment to do the full body shake, which as you know if often a reset or small stress response. Nothing to worry about because she did great, but interesting to observe that it was a little hard!
While I am thinking of it – are there any classes or seminars you can take her too? The goal would be to create more positive experiences in different places. It is hard to find appropriate young dog seminars because so many of them are “triple spinning backside layer layer threadle threadle wrap wrap wrap” which really is NOT what I want the baby dogs to be doing. When I go to seminars, I put my youngsters in a level or two below what I think they can actually do, so they can enjoy fast & fun sequences while working through the challenges of being in a new environment.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
I hear the winds were BAD!!! I am glad he was unaffected by it!
He looked great in this little sequence, good boy!!!! Yes, there is more speed there but he was thinking A LOT – I prefer the thoughtful approach with these youngsters. As he get more experienced, his speed will really blossom.
Using the magic box 😁 in training is great! It adds a predictability to reinforcement that will help at trials. And to help build speed – you can say your marker to go back to the magic box at varying points in the run. A variable schedule is a powerful motivator and can maximize speed throughout the run! So you can do it after 2 obstacles, 10 obstacles, 3 obstacles, 12 obstacles, etc – at any point (especially over jumps because we humans don’t reward them enough), say the marker and run to the magic box 🙂
How did he do with the games before & after the sequences?
Great job here!
TracyWelcome!!!!!! Spotlight is a cool little dude 🙂 I know you’ve already been doing fun stuff with him, so we can add higher level crazy stuff to play with to!
Have fun!
TracyHello and welcome!!!
How has it been 4 years since Sly’s class, when he is still a puppy? LOL!!! Time moves too fast!!!
And I am excited to meet Millie 🙂 She sounds fun!!! We have had 3 or 4 Berners come through in the past 2 years and they’ve all be so fun!! Small and sporty and smart and FAST!!!!Tracy
That’s funny!!! I am glad you got less licking 🙂 The target will be faded fairly quickly, so I don’t think he will be into licking it. For the regular hand target, you can try holding it a little higher with your palm facing downwards, so he has to lift his chin a little to target (but don’t hold it so high that he has to lift his feet).
Keep me posted!
TracyHi! Thanks for the class video!
Agility in dirt is definitely more distracting! I was cool to see him get more engaged and focused as you started the patterns at the beginning!
He is faster here than at home – probably because he was more pumped up! He was also resilient to handler bloopers 🙂 like at 1:29 when he was not sure which end of the tunnel to go into so he found your face 😁 then went into the tunnel. No sniffing or concern, just continuing to work the course. Yay!
Pattern games in the bleachers looked strong! There were some good distractions in terms of smells, visuals, noises – he did great!
>>When we got to our 2nd run on the standard side, he was having himself a ball. >>
I love how he instructor was loving him up before his run on the standard side then he ignored her when it was time to get to work 🙂
Because he was zipping around offering obstacles on the way to the start, you can either keep him on leash til you get there, or have him do tricks as you move to the jump – we want him to be feeling really good but also don’t want the habit of taking obstacles when the leash comes off 🙂
I thought he was actually spot on in his focus and reading of the handling. It is harder to feel it in the moment and it is easy to see on video 🙂 so if he goes past something or off course, just go with it, reward, then reset somewhere earlier in the course so you can show him the handling with more clarity.
For example, at 3:25 he didn’t take the jump before the teeter. There was a big break in connection so he can of the line (might have looked like the beginning of a blind) so he came of the line to you. Plus, with the big visuals of the dog walk and tunnel behind you, it makes sense that he might have expected a blind to them when you turned forward. But then when you showed connection and cued the teeter, he got right on it. Good boy!
>>I probably should have handled the teeter differently, ie not run, >>
I thought it was the right thing to do and good job rewarding his passionate teeter performance, especially after fixing the line to it. It was not quite criteria but he was trying really hard to nail it and was not quite balanced enough, kind of landing himself in the dirt which probably didn’t feel great. But he drove up the board brilliantly! And didn’t do it again, so it was good to reward it as a “great try, dude” moment.
The end of the sequence here had some questions –
You had another disconnect at 4:18 which he read as a blind and sped over to the frame (which is also really high value, probably :))When you reset him at 4:26, the handling did show the line to the frame (he would need a collection cue to turn tight on the jump before it in order to not take the line to the frame) so he was correct there.
Bearing in mind how hard his brain was working to tune out the distractions and also read the handling cues, I think it is fine to assume an error on course is handling-based not pug-based LOL!! So you can reward the next obstacle, then reset the sequence by putting yourself ahead of him so he can see the clearer handling. At 4:35 you were a little behind and he was correct to read that as a line to the tunnel.
It is all hard to feel in the moment when running the young dogs but video tells us 🙂 so you can totally assume errors are yours and not his, and reward the line he ends up on before going back to reset it with clearer info. And if we look at the video and decide that nope, it was actually *his* error? Then one or two extra cookies are no big deal 🙂 and won’t build up any unwanted behavior. But stopping or withholding reward when it is our error can cause frustration, which might show up as slowing down, engaging with distractions etc – which we don’t want because he is doing awesome here!!!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
One more thought about the surprise factor (reward prediction errors) and learning – I can better explain by thoughts on how to approach training by saying that learning happens through the reward prediction errors and dopamine coding… and the rehearsal where there are no RPEs but there are good rehearsals and excellent motivators also produce learning, but in a different way: specifically in forming stronger neural pathways and networks, and classical conditioning. That is why rehearsals are so incredibly valuable, even if there are no reward prediction errors that produce dopamine spikes and coding.
Let me know if that makes sense 🙂
>>so was thinking train fusion second so put scent on after traned IN Synch or put in plastic sealed bag and pull out when train.
>Yes, that might be the best bet but also, the scent does not have to be on you – it can be placed near or in the training area in the beginning stages. Having it on you might muddy the water at first and you can make it more specific to certain memories if it is in the proximity and not on you. I am not sure that having it in a sealed plastic bag is enough to conceal the scent – you might need to ask folks who do scent work how they conceal the scent when not in use.
Also, having it *not* on you will be useful for In Synch, and if you ever do scent pairing with her you can use a different scent.
Another option is to only use a specific food reward when doing scent memory pairing – something with a distinct scent that only gets used in conjunction with that training. Smoked salmon is a good example. Will it work? I don’t know but it will be fun to play with!
On the first video:
The line up between your feet is going well in terms of getting into position. She did best with holding the stay when you stepped away slowly 🙂
The pattern games are going well. She did a great job with find your face – rather than start it from the stationary up and down game, start it from the back and forth game where you are both moving (it will be a game on course where you are both moving so you will want to start that from the beginning here). One other thing to remember that she does not have to come in front of you, so be sure to peripherally keep half an eyeball on her so you can see when she patiently looks at you even if she it as your side or behind you.
On the 2nd video:
>>The toy plus a jump was harder and took ages to get a toy release.>>
Yes, the jump was harder because the conditioned response there does not involve the line up between your feet yet. So you can do the line up with something less stimulating than a jump – maybe a wing, or maybe some object that is not even related to agility. When she can do that, you can add back a jump but be further from it so that it is easier.
When arousal is higher, remember to trade the toy for a treat immediately after saying the release cue. That will help make getting the toy back more automatic and faster, plus it helps with arousal regulation.
>But then had trouble settling her again – miscommunication as to whether she was to take the jump or not>
Yes, she was confused about what to do with the line up because it was new and very close to the jump, then when she offered the sit and was wrong, she got frustrated and was jumping up.
Using the food lure for the line up was useful! That should be the first priority in new situations.
Separately from a jump, you will also want to work on the food lure for the line up with the toy in your hand.
Then as you put it all together (line up, toy, jump) starting further from the jump will really help.
One more thought:
If she is leaping up to face-level during the pattern game, delay the next reward til she is fully on the ground and standing still for a few second. We don’t want her version of offering engagement in the pattern game to include leaping up to your face. Think of it as building in arousal regulation to the pattern game, not just orienting towards you.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! He is lovely!!! Nice job jumping in with the pre-games 🙂
He did great here with his foot target! Only one suggestion: Try to stand still the whole time – when you were moving, he was drawn to you so didn’t target as well as he did when you were stationary. To change positions, you can do it as he is getting a cookie (and pick up the prop to relocate it and yourself) so then while he is offering behavior, you are not moving.
Hand targeting is going well too! It was hard to see where you were looking, so you can look at the target if you were not already doing so 🙂
Great job here!!! Off to a great start!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! She is adorable and I love her name!!!!! Her hello at the end was so cute 🙂
She did great with both games here! She had good hits to the foot target and was able to nose touch the post it note 🙂 Easy peasy!
>> She was sure she was suppose to do something more than put her feet on the bag and she was pretty sure I wanted her to hold the post-it note in her mouth. Always my problem solver!>>
Yes! Sometimes when things are simple, the pups add some complexity LOL!!! So you can do a few reps of the really simply behavior, then change something so she doesn’t start to freestyle 🙂 In this case, you can change your position: for the foot target, you can move to being in a chair. And when that goes well, you can move to standing up. For the nose target, you can do the same (sitting in a chair then move to standing up) – and have the post it note in the palm of your hand and have it outstretched away from you (but low enough that she doesn’t have to jump up for it). That will get us closer to the actual use for in the class too 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>>Do some vol dial ringside during all the commotion on Friday. Enter JWW sat (evening and will be quieter). And then go back to day 1 stuff on day 3.>>
That sounds like a good plan!
>>I won’t be doing uki until Jan/feb.
That sounds good – you can enter more classes and have more options for how you approach each one, in terms of how you use the toy.
>Playing with her and a tug is hard. She wants to bite near my hands. I tried to show you a bit on the video. >
She grabs it more in the middle when the toy is swooshing along the ground – when it was a little higher and not moving as much, she definitely was up by your hand: maybe that is a way of making it move again 🙂
>The place she does not do that is a hollee roller but if I attach something to it she does.>
Have you ever seen the ginormous hollee rollers? She could probably fit inside of it 🤣 but it would be great for tugging! You can also stuff a fur toy or something inside of it for more tugging opens.
>You know she takes forever to chew her food etc etc.>
For real! You could give her an air cookie and she would still chew it 🙂
>So we did 3 things remote food first. She had exposure to this before so we started further along. I did decide my word was going to be reward.>
The RR with cookies on a chair went well, and so did the session with the toy! She had lovely responses to all the cues, and you were consistent with your reward marker.
Jumping on the chair was hilarious in the cookie session! Nothing else was happening in that moment, so……. LOL!
You can add in the leash for all of this to simulate what will happen at a trial:
Leash on to move away from the treats, leash off and getting tossed away before/during/after some tricks…. Then leash back on before you say the reward word (AKC rules and such :)) So if I have to get the leash back on, I finish the run, praise (which is NOT a cue to go get the treats), say something like “where is your leash?”, go get it, put it on, then the reward marker.You can see if she will tug on a leash, if you have a fun furry one! Leash tugging is widely accepted and it is basically a toy in the ring 🙂
Find My Face on a little sequence also went well:
>>I did a soft turn set up since I had AKC on the brain.>
If she is going to be in AKC, then this soft turn is exactly what she needs to see 🙂
I think she did a great job here! She continued on the line when you were disconnected and that is a fabulous bonus! You could see her thinking hard (“um, human, a little more info please??”) but that is fine because she then got the big rewards for staying in the game. So you can show her this sometimes in a bigger sequence – it is not something she needs to see a lot of, as long as it is always a great experience when it happens 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
