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Hi!
Lift’s video:
Overall, this went really well for a young dog with a super hard skill!!The beginning was hard for her but then moving the jump out of the picture and showing her the weaves from the easier angle jump started it and then things went pretty well. It is definitely hard! Dog on right seemed a little harder for her, maybe it was the angle of entry, so you can soften that angle too. But even after you did a couple of tunnel balance rep, she was able to get into the weaves. Good girlie!!!
>Definitely should have started with the weaves further from the tunnel. >
Yes, distance can help. You can also have the tunnel very close there but with both ends turned down, so it is an exciting visual but no entry is available LOL!
Kaladin’s video:
>Surprisingly had trouble getting the tunnel…maybe because he had less momentum going into it? When these things come up on course he loves sailing out to the tunnel>
Could be that there was not a lot of momentum into it! And also I think the tunnel is so hidden on the side with the weaves that he didn’t register it (like he did on the other side on the first part of the session). I thought he had a lightbulb moment at :40 when he was like “who put the tunnel there?” 😂🤣 but it was still hard. A little extra motion helped him sort it out later in the session too.
Finding the poles went great – he was not accelerating as much because there was not a lot of momentum and you were sending him past you without moving – great skills for him to practice!
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
>She does like running after a frizzer but doesn’t have great skills to bring it back so if I use that at Animal Inn I will probably spend my whole time trying to get it back after the first throw. >
When I use a ball with Hot Sauce who is great about bringing it back, but does not let go of it 😂🤣 I always have a 2nd ball to show/bribe her with to make fast transitions. Perfectly fine in UKI and USDAA. And you can ask someone to go get the other frizz if she drops it on the way back to you.
>Does the Master Class just run for a year after you sign up?>
Access to it is lifetime. The working spots go for a year after the first post, so people can start whenever they like. And of course I am flexible because sometimes life gets in the way: dog injury, human injury, winter, etc. So we ‘pause’ the year and pick it up when the person is ready.
Onwards to videos!
T
Hi!
>What spacing did you use.>
I used 24 foot distances, approximately.
> I have tried it from about 14’ – 18’. >
Might be too small for her big stride – is it on grass? Also, what height is she running at? If the bars are 16” or taller, the smaller distances will be harder.
>I’m getting a pretty wide turn off of 2-3 and wonder if I should space it more. >
That can totally help, by giving you more time to show the handling and giving her more time to adjust the striding.
>She seems to really have to crank to get to the turn to 4. She has no trouble with the layering, so I’m wondering if I should focus more on her turning tighter around the pin wheel.>
You can look at the video and see if you are cueing early enough in terms of turning your shoulders. Also, you can use a ‘brake’ arm (opposite arm joining the dog side arm) as part of the cue to get her to add a collection stride.
Let me know how she does with the bigger distances and if you try the brake arm!
Tracy
Hi!
I think you will find getting the BC to be a lot easier if you start on the jump before the tunnel, send her through the tunnel, then send into the pinwheel. She is SO FAST that starting on the jump before the pinwheel jump just put you in a hard position to get far enough ahead to get the BC started early enough.At :26 and :37, the BCs were starting when she was already over the BC jump. You had SUPER connection as you finished the blind, so she found the line. YAY!! Note how you looked back at her as you finished the blind, moving the right arm back a bit to show more connection. That worked really well!
>left side was a struggle. >
Yes, that was harder for her – you fixed it by using bigger connection and a step to the jump. But that made it a little harder to the BCs, so they were a little late starting too.
The exit of these blinds did not have the same connection as the blinds at :26 and :37 – your dog side arm was at your side and so she didn’t see connection directed back to her.
I really liked your timing of starting it at 1:15!!!! Super! Adding more connection back to her with exit line connection: dog-side arm points back to her and your opposite arm (right arm here) can be across your body to really open up connection.
Using the toy helped especially on the last 2 reps but connection will get it done even better 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Here it is! You are the first to see it!
[AU-081] MaxPup 4 Transition To Trials: To The Line – And Beyond!
Hi!
>I think I inadvertently taught him to touch it with his front foot instead of his nose. >
That paw smack was actually very cute 🙂 No worries about it – the paw smack will go away as you get reward in fast, and as he realizes he doesn’t need to do it 🙂
The bowl is good to use as a target for now – put it a little closer to the end of the board so he doesn’t have to reach for it. Less than 6 inches is probably a good distance so he can basically step his front feet off the board with his weight shifted into his rear. If he has to move forward a lot to target the bowl, he will shift his weight forward and come off the plank.
>Should I teach a nose target/chin rest on an object first and then add it to the teeter or is just having the bowl okay?>
I think going to the bowl closer to the board will work great! You will that he naturally give you a head-bob towards the bowl. A nose target is not needed, as long as he is looking down at the bowl as he is doing the teeter and not up at you – and we don’t want a chin ret because that can get his head too long and also possibly change his breathing (a lot of dogs either hold their breath or breathe really fast through their nostrils in a chin hold, neither of why we want).
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>I just honestly don’t think I will ever be able to do them. >
I think you will totally be able to do them! Part of it is getting comfortable with doing them and really trusting her commitment to lines (very hard to trust a baby dog LOL!). And also as she gets more experienced, she will read them very easily so timing gets less important. Young dogs need to see the whole picture, including the re-connection after the blind. More experienced dogs (2 years old or so) will read that you are doing a blind cross as soon as you begin it, so you won’t have to be as perfect.
On the video, you can this all of this already happening:
You were much earlier on the blinds and your connection was great, so she read it well!My only suggestion is to be closer to 3 at :11 when you are moving up the line, so she sees it sooner (that will help keep the bar up).
Looking at the next sequence:
>I was really impressed with her on this set up. >
Totally agree! You two looked fabulous!!!!
>Of course we are at the stage where one day she is brilliant and the next day she is less than brilliant. LOL.>
Teenage dogs LOL! I can totally relate with my 18 month old dog 🙂
First run: Perfect! Great connection and excellent timing on the FC after the tunnel (2-3), the wrap FC, and the RC at the end. SUPER!!
2nd run – the RC worked really well 2-3! You almost had the BC there at 1:31, just needed to maintain the connection and not point forward.
But to get that BC easier, you will want to lead out less 🙂 You were a little too close to the tunnel so didn’t quite make it back in time. If you lead out to the wing of jump 1 and send her past you to the tunnel – then as soon as she is heading into the tunnel, you can do the BC and be in a great spot already on your left side when she exits.
>I thought she handled 5 well both with the front and with the rear.>
Absolutely! The wrap to the inside (to her right) set a pretty perfect line back to the tunnel. The RC to the left was good too, you can cue it even sooner by going to the center of the bar on 5, then giving her a BIG connection on 6 to get her back to the 7 tunnel (like you did on the 2nd RC rep there).
>And in on rep, I was going to try and get a blind in after 7 and failed miserably.>
No worries! The RCs worked great there. The BCs will be easier when you are more comfy using them in general, but your RCs look fabulous so you can totally use them there.
Great job!!
Tracy>I learned that Gallican jumps have a right way and a wrong way to set them up to prop up a teeter! >
Ah! Who knew?!?!! I haven’t used the Galician jumps for this but now I will be sure to use them the way you had them when they didn’t move. I am glad it didn’t bother her!
>“how on earth do you expect me to work under these conditions?”>
Ah yes, whippet judgement! Ha!
I didn’t see any fear or anxiety in those moments, or struggle to coordinate. It was almost like she was waiting for something? I agree that she was happy to go up the board when she perceived it was time to go up the board. And even after the wing moved early on and she kinda hopped off sideways later in the video, she was still super happy to run up the board. Yay!
By the middle of the session, she was happy to run up the board without stopping at the cavalettis.
And you were able to be moving as she was getting on it.
So maybe something about them was eliciting a “stay” response or she was waiting to be asked to do something else? Or the visual was just different enough that she needed a moment? Hard to know, but what ever the question was, she answered it herself. She didn’t necessarily ue them to straighten herself up LOL!! But you can try harder angles next time and help her go around them – or use something bigger that is harder to trot over.
And you can be relatively stationary for the first rep or two, and if that goes well you can add slowly moving the whole time.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
>The seminars were so much fun! >
I am so glad you came! Both dogs looked wonderful, and Lift worked brilliantly in a new place. Yay!
>Jump grids – I agree about dropping the adjustable grids for Lift. I can do some other grids that aren’t straight since I she doesn’t do the weird right-drift if she’s turning and sprinkle in the jumping toolbox stuff for the slice jumping. >
Sounds good, and if they start to produce any weird behavior – abandon them LOL!!! I don’t think the toolbox stuff will produce weird behavior because the plank position prevents that, but ya never know!
>I’m not in any rush to get her comfortable jumping 12in. She’s running perf 8in for now when we do USDAA and I might just leave her there for it. Eventually I’d like to do AKC ISC with her so she’ll be a 12in dog there, but I’m in no rush. >
You’ve got time on your side, I think she will do well at 12”. It is still below her shoulder height, so I think she will find it easy when she is more experienced.
>There’s a day of ISC locally at OTR in mid-October that I will enter Kaladin in, but probably won’t enter Lift.>
Can you do Level 1 as FEO, making up your own course without weaves?
>She’s doing great with the “going down” teeter games (it’s almost horizontal) so we’ll start the elevator game soon, but I havent’ started on fading the target on the plank yet so I’m not expecting that we’ll be doing elevator games in public for a while.>
I believe that in UKI you can place a target on the ground as long as it is not on the teeter (I have done it for the RDW stuff) and also you can touch the equipment to play teeter games – but double check it because it is a while since I have done that.
>She’s 5pts away from her Novice SS title so I think I am going to NFC SS even if it’s a perfect course for her since I don’t want her in Senior yet. >
I feel this pain 🙂 My little Elektra is still in Novice, needing 1 point that I refuse to get because I don’t want 4 dogs in Senior. I am way too lazy hahahaha! And Elektra doesn’t care at all 🙂
Also, Fusion’s footing is not as good as the turf stuff and the grass at home, so she might not have an easy of a time getting on lines and turning!
>For all of the classes, I’m waffling on whether I should try a short course with no toy and then run out for a party or if I should do a few short sequences and use the reward box (either with or without a toy as a marker).>
Maybe do the first class as short sequences with the food box to acclimate to environment and footing… then see how it goes and decide about the next run after that? She doesn’t need super short sequences so you can run longer NFCs or the whole course, depending on the designs.
> Both are outdoors in Animal Inn’s fenced ring and she’s entered in 2 classes on 1 day for each of them so she’ll stay home the other day to decompress. >
You might consider bringing her both days even if she doesn’t run, so she can be in the environment to being extending the duration of handling the environment. Even leash walks and pattern games can help with that – decompression can be on Monday LOL!
>The UKI one has the reward box so I’ll probably use that since outdoors is still harder for her. For USDAA I can run FEO but I’m not sure how much it benefits her for me to throw a toy which she will chase but probably not pick up and then run to her leash and out. I think if I throw a toy with no food in it more than once in public, she’s going to start to get really pissed. She’s in P1 Jprs & Snkr for USDAA so chances are it’s all jumps and tunnels.>
If the UKI trial is first, you will have good info about how much you will want to do at the USDAA trial. All of these decisions should be on your radar now, but no final decision needs to be made until you are actually in the moment.
>So the Fall is definitely going to be mainly about working on contacts & weaves with some jumping exercises mixed in. I saw that Shape Up has their RDW level 2 class starting up in mid-Sept and I am considering auditing it.>
That is a good time to start getting weaves and contacts ring-ready!
>What do you have planned for the Fall/Winter?>
I think most of the folks from CAMP will move over to MasterClass: Timing which starts with drills then moves up through course work then into full courses. You got a small taste of it in Iowa but it is actually a lot of material 🙂 that can be done at your own pace. I am trying to decide on a topic for winter camp but nothing is springing to mind that will fit in around the major agility events and before the snows come. I will keep you posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
This setup is great! She is doing brilliantly with waiting for the cue then driving fast into position. Notice how the target also gets the head bob naturally, and she is shifting her weight back to maintain position too. After a few sessions like this, we might elevate the non-target end of the board a little to simulate the angle she will see the behavior from (and we can start fading the target a bit too).
You did a great job of staying in motion until well after she stopped moving – we humans like to get into the rhythm of stopping with the dog, which makes them a bit dependent our motion as part of the cue. You can also add moving laterally away, not just forward on a straight line.
As you got faster in your motion towards the end of the video, she was not as precise with her end position. So you can add motion a little more subtly: wave your arms, do ‘fake’ speed with high knees, etc. Plus letting her sleep on it might surprise you as she wakes up the next day fully understanding how to let you run LOL!
>She seemed to do better if I used food to counteract the ball throw momentum. Advice on that?>
The ball is very exciting, so throwing food back to her in position is a great way to maintain position – the more you release her forward for the reward, the harder it gets to maintain the stop. But you can also throw the ball back to her (or behind her) to put a lot of value in stopping in position as you move past the end – mix it up so it is surprising and fun!
>It is over 100 so late night mosquito eating us video!>
Ewwwww I hate those skeeters!!!!
>Puppies name is Q>
Adorable!!!
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
I think the timing on the blinds were earlier here and that looked good! The FC timing was not as early (probably because of having to rotate) but the blind cross is the better option here anyway 🙂
The bloopers were connection bloopers, where you were looking ahead and not at her. When you were connected? She was perfect in finding her lines. When you were disconnected, she was looking at you for more info and didn’t find the lines. Because she is inexperienced, the connection is probably the most important piece of information for her at this point.
She was not easily taking the tunnel (the side that as further from the camera) – it was probably a little offset from the jump, so she committed to it easily when you were connected and ran towards it, but softer connection or turning earlier pulled her off of it.
Looking at the blinds:
You were definitely further from jump 3 (yay!) and earlier on the blinds at :28 and :45! At :29, you did not look back at her after the blind so she did not know where to be. Compare to the second run at :45 – you had an earlier blind AND clear connection after it. She found her lines and the sequence looked great!Moving in to the FCs – she keeps you honest with connection 🙂 At :56 she did not take jump 1 when released – you were not connected on the release so she came into you. That connection is a big key for her for sure!
The timing of the FCs at 1:07 and 1:24 can start sooner (she was over th bar of the FC jump when you started them) – but the BC is an easier option there anyway because there is less rotation. On the exit of the first FC rep, you lost connection 5-6 at 1:12 so she didn’t know where to be. Compare to the last rep where you emphasized connection there – and it went beautifully!
At this stage, it looks like connection is even more important for her than timing! So yes, keep playing with getting your timing earlier but really emphasize connection to show all the lines.
Nice work here!
TracyHi Leslie!
Yes, there is a new MaxPup 4 coming!! It should be posted in the next day or two, and will begin in October. The start date gives everyone time to finish up MaxPup 3, take a short break, and also works around the 4 major big events in dog sports here in October and November.
I’ll post the info as soon as it is on the site 🙂
Tracy
Hi! I hope your husband’s eye is ok! Those BMD paws are big!
Video 1:
Finding jump 1 with you behind the tunnel is hard for sure! You can throw the reward to the landing side to help him really lock onto it. He is doing really well finding these lateral forward focus lead outs!
The rest of the sequence looked really good – your connection and timing was spot on for most of it on run 1, and you smoothed out the only part that needed smoothing out! On the 2nd run, yes – you did clean up the 4 wrap with earlier decel and wrap cues, so he had a tighter turn there than he did on run 1. Yay!
I think the turn cue on 8 can still be earlier – he landed looking at the 3 jump and turned after you said tunnel on run 1. He was a little tighter on run 2, but you can start your decel and send when he is over jump 7 and I bet it makes it a perfect turn on 8!
2nd video –
On run 1, 1-2-3 looked good! But then it was not clear what to do next – connection and motion stopped, and verbal was really quiet, almost like you were thinking about what to do but didn’t tell him LOL! So he didn’t take anything at :11. You can reward him for his effort there – it looks like you reached into your pocket but didn’t deliver a paycheck. My mantra is: if there is any chance the video will show that the error was mine, then I will reward the dog in the moment. (Spoiler alert: there is always a chance that I screwed up LOL!)
You were clearer on 4 at :28 so he took it, of course 🙂
>He’s got a question between the blue and yellow jumps….at the last minute (after turning off the lights to leave) I decided to do one more rep really focusing on verbal timing to see if I could answer his question.>
Yes, that is where the info can come sooner: you can start it as he is taking off for the blue jump (8). On these runs, the info was starting when he landed so he was waiting for the info and was already looking at you by then.
To get the info to him sooner: for the physical cue, you can keep your arm back as a serp, which will tell him to turn away for the next line as he is taking off. And you can be starting the verbal backside cue at that same time as well (takeoff) so he is seeing the info before he lands and can drive directly to the next line.
One other thing to remember is to drive all the way through the last bar as if there is one more jump after it. You had a big “yes!” and decel over the last bar, so the bar came down. You can reward him there too – he didn’t get rewarded so he took off sniffing. He did get a reward 20 seconds later, but we want to get those cookie/toy rewards in as fast as possible.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi! Your new Farmie is ADORABLE! Did you decide on a call name yet?
Looking at Taq’s video: She did really well on the sequences with the poles!!
>She popped the last pole and I am
Choosing to reward rather than fix things. That was the e only one she missed so click treat me!>She popped the last pole at :20 when you reached for the toy in your pocket 🙂 At :30 and 1:05, you didn’t reach for a toy and she didn’t pop out 🙂 So for now, don’t move the toy so she can be successful! And if she does pop out, I am not sure we want to reward that… you can keep going and reward a jump or tunnel, but I think a direct reward right after popping out might cause confusion later.
She had the little missed entry moment at :37, but I think you were both off balance after you accidentally sent her to the wrong jump before it (nice job continuing/rewarding there and at :51 because your motion totally sent her there).
The anticipation on the contacts is going well! She did well moving into position and also did well ignoring the toy on the ground out ahead of her 🙂
Two suggestions:
– no need to click for this behavior, because it muddies the water about what the release is – she was moving on most of the clicks to come towards you or the toy on the ground. And yes, we can teach her to not move when you click… but also you can use verbal marker instead of a click to help her either hold position as you come back to deliver the reward (I use a quiet ‘yes’) or you can praise then release her forward to the toy.
– The board has kind of a big step down to the ground for a small dog, so when she is in position too much of her weight is forward on her shoulders. We want her weight to be more evenly distributed and ideally also see a weight shift into her hind end – angling this plank might create too steep of an angle, but maybe you have a sloped piece of wood or something you can attach to the end of it, so she has less step down into position? That will promote a better weight shift.
Since this is going really well, you can make the target smaller (half the size it is here) and you can add more of your motion – be slowly walking the whole time you are releasing her into position and keep slowly walking for a few more steps after she arrives in position. Very slow walking 🙂 If that is too fast, you can swing your arms or walk in place to help her be successful.
> I wanted to use this board to do that contact ex for this class. Not sure if you will think we will be ready for that in the next week. >
You can do it at a walk, rewarding the position more than worrying about what happens after it! But getting the board to have less of a step down will be really helpful.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
The backing up onto the board is a good warm up for the bang game here!And he seemed super confident to leap into the end position, so now yes – we can clarify what we want him to do more specifically.
To do that for a 2o2o, you can use a small target on the ground a few inches past the end of the board. I use a plastic lid 🙂 but I have also used a post-it note LOL Anything relatively small will work! The goal is for him to be able to step off the board with his front feet on either side of the target – and lower his head towards it. He doesn’t have to touch the target with his nose, but a head bob towards it will help with weight shift.
You can line him up at your side with the target on the ground, then let him move into the 2o2o position. To solidify it, the best reward in that moment is a treat… I am sure he will eat it but I am also sure he would like a toy better 🙂 so you can reward in position with a treat or two, then release to play with a toy. I think he will find that very motivating while also allowing you to get a lot of control and precision on the behavior.
Great job building his confidence! Let me know how he does with the target being added.
Tracy
