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Hi!
I am loving the transition of line up to collar grab at the start of the reps!
The rocking horses went best when you were closer to the barrel for the rotation – that was when she was able to commit (more forward motion helped commit her too!) The frisbee being fully visible (and sometimes witching from hand to hand, which draws her attention to your hands) made it harder so if there was a handling question, she went right to the friz 🙂 The two spots she had questions were at :12 and 1:27 – on both of those, you were further from the barrels – and without decel to support her moving forward, it was a bit of slamming on the brakes so she didn’t commit.Now, we totally want her to be able to commit from a little further away, so try adding 2 things:
decel before the rotation, and shifting connection from her eyes to the barrel as she passes you.Scrunching up the frisbee a little more and keeping it in the same hand can help too! You did a good job clarifying of the ‘bite’ marker, but she does get it sometimes on praise too, so making it a little less in front of her can help her ignore it for now.
The threadle slice game is going well too! She is coming in to the threadle slice really well! Stays are looking good too! Great job with all of the stay rewards – the hand moving into position can easily become the release, so definitely keep rewarding the stays.
Only one suggestion:
The reward target (or friz throws) for the threadle slices should be placed on the other side of the bump (same side she starts on), so after coming to the threadle hand, she goes over the bump to get her reward. That will help get the automatic in-then-out behavior for the threadles.>had x rays done because I’ve had some concerns about her rear end development. All good but she is still growing and will be for a while!>
I saw your FB post on it – I am glad she is all good! Yay! And I didn’t comment on the FB post because I started to type something snarky about how her growth plates were not closed and so many people out there were already running baby dogs on courses at this age…. but I stopped myself hahahahaha
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
>We had a fun weekend last weekend where we went on something like 3 off leash walks (which also includes 1-2 hours in the car round trip for each one), so Checkie was a little brain dead and we mostly took a little break for brain cells to recover>
That sounds like a lovely balance for regular life 🙂 Fun!!!!
>also more attempts at pivoting on the perch, we got a few times where he moved a rear foot but mostly he wants to sit even with me kneeling, so I will keep playing with that.>
If you are getting sitting, you can use the ‘pivot-back-to front’ approach by tossing a treat to the side and early rewards delivered for the first moment he comes backto the perch in front of you. Fast treats being tossed or delivered then tossed will help him not want to sit (and if he sits, toss a treat to the side) because there is a response cost that makes sitting ‘expensive’ when the cheap and easy route to the reward is standing and pivoting 🙂
Barrels – super nice, especially your connection at the exit of the FC to set up the next send. Lovely! You can add in wrap verbals if you were not already using them, he is ready for them!
Threadle wraps: I think the main thing to get the mechanics easier here would be to get his eyes off your hands – even with the tossed treat, he is still tracking it from your hands 🙂 Adding a visual target like a bowl on the other side of the barrel will help get his eyes off of your hands. The bowl can start just on the other side of the barrel so he does a 180 on the turn away, then you can work the bowl more and more around the barrel til he is doing the complete circle.
The mechanics were smoother on the 2nd video here for sure, nice jbo with the low and slow hands on both sides! He is waitinf for the hand cue to tell him to turn away, so you can get that more automatic turn away with the bowl as the visual target. It is pretty easy to fade as soon as he turns his own head away 🙂The head turns are looking really good!!! I think latent learning has kicked in here – he seemed to have no questions on the right turns (first side in the video) – your hand cues were nice and quick and he nailed it. He had one question when you switched to the left side, so you slowed the cue down for a moment… then he had it. Yay!!! So now you are ready to go to the advanced level here, which brings the barrel back in and turns this into the backside circle wraps.
Backside slices – This is going well too! The arm position on these is tricky – small dog connection is tricky! We want to be connected but if we are too connected, it looks like a threadle slice cue (where the shoulder comes all the way back and rotates our upper body towards the dog). For the backside slices, your arm can be pointing more to his nose along the line we want him to travel, and not as far back behind you – in the cases where he ended up on the front, it was a bit too far back and that opens your shoulder up like a threadle slice cue. One way that I think of that arm position is that a connection arm stays in line with my torso, and a threadle slice arm goes back to behind my bum 🙂
>And then we did the threadle slice vs serp where I VERY confidently said my threadle WRAP cue LOL LOL. I mean he did it anyway based on my body language, but, sigh. He is so good.>
They learn to save us LOL! And I do a lot of planning of my verbals before each rep (and even then, sometimes the wrong things come out LOL!)
On the video, he did well with the compare and contrast of the threadle versus serp! I think he was a bit surprised on the first threadle rep, possibly assuming it was automatically going to be the front side of the jump again, but then after that he was like “got it! I need to watch the cues!” and he was perfect 🙂 Do you have wings, or another barrel? You can add wings to the jump now, which adds a bit of complexity to the game.
>>Sometimes when it’s so clearly MY mechanics that are the problem (ok so like 99.9% of the time), I struggle to stop because I want to keep working on it, naughty brain. >
Will one of your other dogs step up to help out, so Checkie can get a break? My adult dogs are always happy to judge my mechanics and offer feedback 🙂 That way you can keep going and then come back later to add the pupster in 🙂
> (Also, to be completely honest, having the motivation to do ANY THING after you know what happened on Monday has been a little tough for me, so trying to focus on happy puppy and happy human with the training stuff)>
This is entirely relatable. It has been a brutal week and it is only Thursday morning. I have been watching every episode of ER in order this week instead of watching the news or anything. And cleaning the house! I love a clean house (but hate to clean hahahaha). My plan is to hit the lottery and buy an island somewhere and move all of us to it. That seems like the best option right now, hopefully you, your mom, and your crew are available to join us!
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
Good for you for seeing the shift in value and working on it here! It was hard for me to see when he was looking straight for the right turns at the beginning, but those seemed easy for him. It was much easier to see on the left turn side 🙂 and those seemed harder – he had to take a moment to process the cue before releasing.
Since we were talking about all the darned words to remember… You probably don’t need to say ‘dish’ here – I mean, you can, but the context cues him going to the dish and the marker is coming after he is heading to it anyway 🙂 About the context: I can’t think of a time where we would cue a behavior, and the correct response takes him directly to a place reward – and we would NOT want him to take the reward. That seems rude LOL! In this case, the correct response takes him to the bowl with the cookie in it, so I don’t think we would want him to stop or run over it, if you don’t say ‘dish’. That can cause some uncertainty. Let me know if that makes sense!
>I also did the barrels farther apart but screwed up my video on that. It went well. I was able to stay in the center, he had fun and I think I only gave the wrong directional once. I did keep my toy in my pocket and that was fine. Got the Tug cue out on time once. baby steps…>
The best sessions happen when we forget to turn on the camera hahaha I am glad it went well!! And you can use your time during tugging to plan the verbals for the next rep. I am glad the toy in the pocket was easy – the tug cue is probably an important one to add in, so he doesn’t grab it before you are ready (ouch!) and because the toy is not automatically on his line (no context cues to help us out).
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
Minny Pinny – this went well – it was easy for him! Great job with the reward placement!
Since he likes to circle, don’t make this into any kind of loop. Meaning, break off to play with a toy after each rep, then reset at your side so you can send him forward to the next rep. No need for him to turn away into the minny pinny here, it starts with him moving forward to it for now.For the next steps, add in the bumps for each wing and you can also add in your left or right verbals by holding his collar, saying the verbal 3 or 4 times, then letting him go (while you keep saying your verbal).
The stays are going well too! A few ideas on things to add:
More arousal! Toy play before! He is doing well, so you can prep him for doing stays when he is in a higher arousal state by playing tug! You can also play music to change the external environment a bit.He was great when the toy or prop was on the ground. You can release him when he is looking at the toy or the prop rather than at you, as this will bubble over nicely into forward focus on the first jump.
You can also mix in removing food from the line up moment: cue the line up with an empty hand and don’t always give an immediate treat, so he is just as happy to line up without it and he is with it 🙂
Great job!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Rep 1 – No treats in the lotus tug or my pockets for the first sequence. Some sass for the line-ups, but she was a pro at ignoring Beth as the pushy leash runner. You can’t see it but she was great about shoving her head through the leash loop at the end even though it was right where Beth was standing (I think she thought I was doing another rep and was surprised I cued the leash after 2 short sequences. LOL!)>
This went great! The leash running was Oscar-worthy, pretty exactly what she will see at a trial. It seems like she was kind of looking at her between jumps 1 and 2, but carried on and did really well on the sequence. The lotus-tug-to-food-box seemed to go really well! And the 8 inch jumping looked strong too.
2nd run – also went well, with plenty of environmental challenges. The sequences were simple, which is great to offset the other challenges she was seeing. She was definitely watching the ‘judge’ walk towards the front of the ring and couldn’t quite line up! And then before the 2nd run in this session, she was circling a bit and couldn’t quite line up… I have seen that a lot in herding breeds after the first rep and before the 2nd rep. It is like they are saying “I need a moment here!”. So, you can give her the moment – if food is available, a back and forth pattern game has been perfect for getting the pups ready to go again. If food is not available, getting her to bark can do the trick 🙂
One little blooper at 1:38 where she missed jump 1. I think that was a processing thing, typical inexperienced dog moment: she was still processing her arousal and the people in the ring, and there was not enough time after the reconnection before the release (less than a second from when you fully reconnected to when you said ‘jump’). She was watching you lead out and probably processing stuff, so you can reconnect, point to the jump and be connectd for a few more seconds so she can look at it before releasing.
It is SO QUIET in there during that second turn… can you ask people to as least talk amongst themselves? Another option is to bring the noise yourself – I bought an Echo Dot thinging, so I can play music or podcasts (through the phone to the Dot speaker) and add noise to the library-like environment LOL! It is often on sale for $25 but also, any portable bluetooth speaker can work!
One other thing I see here is it looks like she is pacing rather than trotting (you can see it 1:10-1:13). It is a little hard to see because she wears blacks socks LOL but I don’t recall her pacing – it is possible with the cold and snow and spay recovery, she is tight or out of whack (that is the medical term haha) so a chiro or massage visit might be good. My dogs just went to the chiro and massage people and they were all out of whack thanks to winter. Sigh.
>Not sure why I haven’t noticed this before, but Lift does need some time to settle down inside. Thanks to pattern games and asking for tricks she can walk down the aisle past other dogs & people, but she’s pretty amped up at first.>
This makes sense, in terms of what is happening with her physiology. Excitement, stress, being hungry 🙂 etc.
> She can handle going into the ring about 5min after coming inside if she has to, >
Great!!
>but she’s more relaxed after her first turn or if she has time to hang out in a crate for a bit. >
The first run probably gets some endorphins flowing and cookies in her belly. And hanging out in the crate lets her habituate to the environment, perhaps? You can try adding in a sniffle mat *before* the first run when she has to go into the ring pretty soon after coming inside.
>So I’m writing this here to help remind me that I should take her out for her potty break before I walk a course (especially if she is early in the class) so that she can have more time to acclimate to being inside the building.>
Perfect!!! Good self-reminder for time management!
>. The value building with tossing a treat went really well, but then I discovered a hole to address – she’s so into the Pet Tutor that she doesnt’ want to leave it (of course the stupid thing sometimes randomly spits out an extra treat after the fact – way to be variably reinforcing!).>>
Ha! Darned Pet Tutor! LOL! Yes, keep working on basically reducing the value of it 🙂 You can simultaneously keep working the 2x2s using an empty bowl to toss treats into, or really early cookie tosses.
>Yes – USDAA starters courses are often baby-dog friendly as long as you don’t have a huge-striding young dog! Jan Skurzynski is the judge in March and I’ve always liked her relaxing manner and her courses.>
I have heard really good things about her! And as the owner of a huge-striding young dog (Ramen :)) I have found that USDAA judges are very happy to receive input about how they set the course and make adjustments, so feel free to speak up! I have done 2 USDAA trials this year and politely spoke to the judges about several sections that were honestly gross for young dogs (I didn’t say it like that LOL!!) and they judges were happy to tweak it to make the sections really lovely. I am not sure UKI would be as good with that, but also their yardages are better in general.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>>I’ll try this sequence again. I was really impressed that she turned from 4 to take 5! Wahoo! I see what you mean about me looking ahead at 1:14. Thank you. So I should be showing Exit Line Connection at that position/time as soon as she is showing commitment to taking jump 5?
Two things on this one:
-from the handling perspective, you can be looking at the landing side of the jump as you move through the serp (to help commit her), then the exit line connection after the blind.-from the training perspective, you can work on NOT having to look at the landing side by throwing her reward to the landing side as you run through. That can build up even more independent commitment, so she will come take the jump without needing as much connection support.
>>Thank you! I’ll try this! And start randomly doing this and work on it. I’m working on taking off the leash being a cue to stop tugging. I am terrified that we are going to be at the line & she won’t let go of the leash! LOL>
Well, it might take her a few seconds – 5 seconds might feel like 3 hours to you, but it won’t be long at all. Plus it is great arousal regulation to have her let go of it. That will tell you how ready she is for her run.
>I currently carry Frankie’s leash (pocket) so we don’t have to worry about a leash runner distracting her. I have also been carrying it with Bazinga so I can be sure to catch her at the end! I can keep carrying it, if it is a motivator & getting to have a “toy” in the ring. I do think she’ll be fine with me throwing the leash too but I guess I can play around it with & go with what works best as we get going.>
>Well, it is totally legal in AKC to do that, so I have no problem with her seeing you stuff her leash into you pocket. And yes, she might think it is her toy and that is also perfectly fine 🙂
>We have a 2 day trial this weekend!
Keep me posted!!!
>Then our next event is your seminar!!!! I am so excited to meet you & for you to meet Bazinga!!!
I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!
>> We haven’t done a start line stay yet.
Maybe for this weekend, pick a run and ask for a stay. You can ask for it in the middle of the ring so it is further from distractions, if that might be a challenge.
>Do we keep working on more consecutive obstacles if there is a good line?
When we start doing In & Out will we want to do more than 1 run in a day? I feel like she may be disappointed if we leave after 1 jump.>Yes, and also yes 🙂 The in and out will be best in places where you can run over, get the reward, then go back in (UKI and USDAA). And after you get the reward, come back in with it. In UKI, have someone stand just inside the ring with the toy to give to you so you are not leaving the ring to get it (it is against the rules to leave the ring, but totally within the rules to have a helper give it to you in the ring :))
>We are not ready to add weaves at a trial. We are on 6 + 4 for weaves, but I am also working on fading out the MM with the weaves and that is making things harder. I may go back to just 4 poles and work on fading the MM and then work up to 6 poles again.>
Have you tried tucking the MM in behind a wing so she can kinda see it? Then we keep fading it by moving the wing further away, and then make it a jump with the MM behind a wing, then you mix in throwing a reward rather than using the MM.
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>>She will bark at the gate when she is really excited. How do I put it on cue and get her to do it without treats?
The first step is to get her to bark elsewhere in life, then give her what she is barking for. It can be getting her to bark for her treats or meals, or to go out the door, or if your doorbell rings. You can use ‘trigger’ phrases – examples would be something like “READY READY READY” or “are you hungry?” or “who’s there?” and then those become cues. At first, she can totally have treats for it 🙂 but then it is really easy to fade because barking can be somewhat self-reinforcing 🙂 Apologies in advance for any extra barking in regular life LOL!
>>You can mix in marking that moment where she comes through the gate by running back to rewards! Make it variable and random mixed in with marking various spots on course. She totally knows where the treats are! Her brain is probably split: thinking about the treats and thinking about the agility. You can do this variable schedule of running out for rewards at trials too: run out just for entering the ring! I recommend UKI or USDAA for that, much less expensive LOL!>
>When we do this at a trial, would I do that for 1 class & then stop? Or would I do this randomly for 1 class and then do FEO and even run for real in other classes of the day? >You can randomize it, mix it all up!
>>Are the dogs disappointed that they don’t get to run?>>
This is a GREAT question. I think Frankie probably wouldn’t be disappointed. Bazinga might think it is weird. But their drive for food is so high that I think they would both be happy to eat 🙂
>For the last 8 months or so, I have been doing 1 FEO run as the first class of the day (Time to Beat or FAST) and then run Jumpers & Standard & sometimes Premier for real. Sometimes if there is a games or premier class in the middle of the day, I’ll do FEO there too to keep her guessing. I find that the first “real” run after FEO is her best and she slows each consecutive run after. But it has really helped her engagement in the ring. Maybe this alone is not enough or the right way to help change her feelings.>
I think the slowers runs might be happening for several reasons:
The first FEO run is super fun and the bubbles over into the next run. And those runs are both likely at a higher energy time of day for her (I can TOTALLY relate to this!).Then later runs: she probably predicts there is no reinforcement in the ring, plus they might come at a more settled or even tired time of day.
So you can mix in more FEO runs throughout the day to surprise her. And, you can do things to keep her energy levels higher across the day. Usually finding a quiet place for her to sleep is very helpful. Making sure she is hydrated and also giving her blasts of protein too – all of those can help her out a lot (since we can’t give dogs caffeine hahaha)
>>Getting her to bark and spin and do that stuff as she moves into the ring without needing to see treats in your hands will also be very valuable. Treats can be the cues for those behaviors, so we want to be able to get the behaviors without treats in your hands or pockets.>
>Obvious question, how do I transition this? Go to no treats on me, but have them nearby & transition to further & further away from the treat location? We are kind of doing this with the remote reinforcement games where we put the treats down at a station & move away & get engagement/ask for a trick & say “let’s go!” and return for a treat. Just keep transitioning this & ask for the bark?>That is exactly right – with the remote reinforcement games. You can do this in different rooms in your house, not just in the agility context. My guess is that treats are part of the cue to do agility, which is part of why it is so hard to do it without food present in the ring.
>>Question:
Does she like being carried? Have you played with mixing in carrying her into the ring?>
>I used to always carry her in & she is ok with that, but then I felt like I needed to let her opt-in before we got into the ring. >Opt-ins are tricky, because arousal changes can change what they look like. When my Voodoo is MOST ready to run, for example, he doesn’t want to do tricks or look at me or get petted… he just wants to go in and setup. When Ramen is most ready, he trembles (Whippets are interesting LOL!) Will she jump into you arms as the opt-in? Or, another opt-in can be when you put her down and/or take the leash off… does she face you? She might like being carried in as social support.
And of course she can opt-out at any time by leaving when the leash comes off.
> Carrying her was better for positionng her where I wanted her on the line – hahah. With letting her walk in, I kind of know what to expect from her based on how readily she come with me into the ring. I’m not opposed to carrying her in again. would I put her down & ask for some volume dial inside the ring? Interested in your thoughts!>
You can try carrying her in and then seeing what she does when you put her down – does she automatically turn to you? Then you can see if she likes it when you say something like “ready ready” or ask for her favorite trick. It might take some experimenting because it really is a conversation. And if she turns to face you, she might NOT want to do any tricks (all business) and just want to line up and go.
>Should I keep everything FEO? Or switch it up & do some real runs? We have 4 trial days before Westminster, so I am thinking I want to do enough FEO to pump her up but maybe a little bit of real runs so I know where we are for when we get to NY. Is that greedy-human thinking?>
I think more FEO mixed in than you’ve been doing, and real runs (no fixing errors) on the courses that look flowing. No real runs on choppy courses 🙂 And if you can get people to come cheer a bit, or play music, to help get her ready for Westminster which is always noisy and crowded.
>After Westminster, should I do all FEO and In & Out runs with her for a while?>
Possibly! We can see how the upcoming trials and Westminster go, then make the next plans.
>Thank you for all these suggestions & insite! I have had her checked out. She does get things out of alignment and there is a spot on her back that knots up if it is out. When she is feeling ouchy, she will walk out of the weaves in the middle. So, for the last 5 months we have been getting a monthly chiro adjustment and we’ve been building up her butt & rear leg muscles a bit too. It has been keeping her feeling good. Much better than only getting her adjusted when she is showing signs of being out of alignment.>
Perfect! If you can get her some massage, that helps 🙂 And do you have a Back On Track coat? Those are AWESOME. I don’t know exactly how they work, but they are great (I use them on myself too :))
>I will ask about the B12 & folate level test! How did you figure that out for Hotsauce?>
I took her to the vet and asked for all sorts of tests to figure out what was wrong… the vet suggested a cobalamine panel, which is a simply blood test for B12 and folate levels. That is where they found it!
>I do give her a probiotic from Vetriscience that has the “bifidobacterium longus” that is in Calming Care. If DEFINATELY helped her! I started it when we got teeny Bazinga as a pupper! Ha!>
Very cool! I will have to check it out!
>Dang AKC & their dumb rules! That would have been so cool if you guys were there for Flyball!!! Dang!>
Yep, it is all annoying because I sounds like a lot of fun!
>We are flying in. We actually got to go to Westminster before (when it was at the mansion and the tennis center – that sounds braggy – lol – we got so lucky & got in) and she was pretty comfy there. Fingers crossed!!!>
Yay! And I am glad mother nature is providing some colder weather to Florida, so she is prepared for February temperatures in NYC 🙂
Keep me posted!
TracyGood morning!
>What’s the best way to do this? Some of my thoughts –
I think the useful scenarios will be to match what the leash runners might do – they are an unpredictable bunch LOL!!
>Bring him in, set up at the line and work his ready cue, have the leash runner approach to maybe 10 feet, if Coal maintains or returns attention to me, mark and toss the ball>
Yes! This is one option. And eventually the leash runner should approach enough that you can simply hand her your leash (I have had this happen over and over)
Other options to show him: the leash runner is already there in “close talker” position very close to the start line.
>Bring him to the line, set up, have the leash runner approach, short lead out and release to call to hand over 1 jump>
Yes, this too, with the leash runner approaching or already in the area near the start. Mix it up!
>Repeat while the runner stays in the ring, the idea being to make her part of the normal background>
Yes – we are basically training his brain to ignore the presence of the other person. Since it is a hard thing and maybe a little weird, you can ‘prepare’ his brain by placing something new and weird right behind you ‘start line’ at home. It can be any random new thing – the first thing that comes to mind is one of those roller suitcases LOL! New, weird, different, unexpected in that context. It is highly likely that the neural pathways are similar, so you can get lots of good training in on the leash runner without needing a leash runner 🙂
Let me know how it goes!
TracyGood morning!
> I actually am doing that for the first time.>
Perfect!
> It is hard for me as I have a brain problem with three associated problems – almost zero sense of direction, very little visual memory and mild face blindness.>
One thing I do is that I don’t think of the turn verbals as anything having to do with sense of direction (because I don’t have a good sense of direction either). I visualize the dog’s shoulder (left or right) and then choose the directional.
And of course, this is all planned in advance and rehearsed.
> Because of that, I can only use the directionals when I am clear on them and have preplanned.>
Same! Definitely pre-plan them. The more you plan then rehearse them, the more automatic it becomes in your brain. Trying to spit them out correctly without planning in advance and rehearsing is really hard! It was impossible for me when I started adding all these verbals – but things are much more automatic because of all the planning & practice.
> I find it very difficult to figure out his direction when it isn’t a full jump so I now have three >
This might be where visualizing which of his shoulders he is going to might help? That would mean that your brain likes visuals 🙂 If not, we can figure out what your brain likes and tailor the planning to that.
>– Dig and Check for directions on jumps and Wrap for go around a barrel or wing. This is a work in process on what actually comes out of my mouth but I really do want him to know which way on jumps.>
Ah! Got it! Because wrap is an extraneous verbal that will probably be dropped in the future (unless you run him in NADAC with barrels and hoops) – you can create the neural pathways in your brain for the jumps by using dig and check in the barrels too. Getting the rehearsals started now will make it much easier.
> That toy switching is a really bad habit. I’ve got to the point where I usually know that I did it and am hoping to extinguish it soon. I haven’t yet started a toy in hand cue but that is on my list to add.>
Yes, you can totally have a toy in hand cue. But also you can prevent the toy-switching habit by running with it in your pocket 🙂 The precision of the delivery is not all that important on these barrel games, so it is fine to have empty hands. And because agility is sooooo complex – not worrying about the toy in your hand or a toy marker in the moment is perfectly fine!! That can allow you to focus on your connection, timing, and wrap verbals. And in a way, it is GOOD to have empty hands to show him that agility can be played without a visible toy.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>- esp inside its a bit harder to throw her treats outside as they soft and sticky. >
My dogs like soft treats like cheese, so I freeze them before using them outside when it is hot out. That way they are cold and easy to throw, no sticking to fingers 🙂
>I like this to as it is so hard for both of us but it is what I have always been taught so like not having to do this. throwing and release is definitely easier on her. she has to work so hard to stay that huge reward when released.>
Right! Throwing back or releasing forward is clearer. There is lack of clarity when we are going back to them because they are moving, and the exact moment the behavior is finished is also unclear.
>I like that idea I have always had in drummed into me you should vary how you walk out – your comments make more sense. will do from now on>
Sorry for any confusion on that – to clarify, vary the length of the lead out and duration but the direction can be towards the obstacles instead of changing direction.
> But can be quite a distance to holding area so will have to work on adding her finding it at a greater distance and waiting at the bag until I get there.>
I think that will be easy to add by gradually moving it further and further back.
>we are at a seminar this weekend and then have several ribbon trials. Pity so close together but ribbon trials low key and also have baby classes.>
Have fun! Keep me posted!
Tracy
Hi!
Looking at both the indoor and outdoor stay sessions:
The mat really helps! Super! A couple of ideas to help build this even more:Releasing her forward to the toy or treat is a great reinforcement: she gets the toy or treat, and she gets to move (which is also reinforcement for her :))
You can add in throwing the toy or treat back to her (I use a ‘catch’ marker for this). Two reasons for this:
– it builds in value for you getting further and further away while she remains in her position
– it also allows her to move 🙂One thing you don’t want to do is go back and feed her by hand, for 2 reasons:
– it doesn’t let her move like the other options do
– she leaves the stay position as you go to deliver the food, which can be confusing to her as to whether she can move in the stay or not.So stick with releasing forward or throwing rewards back!
One other thing that will help transfer this to agility – walk in one direction to be more consistent and clear about what happens next. You were walking all sorts of different directions so she was not really sure where you were going – this can cause movement from the stay as well, because she is not sure of what is next. You can add variability by releasing or rewarding at different times and at different distances.
On the 3rd video, we can apply the same thoughts of rewarding by either releasing forward or throwing the reward back to her, at variable times.
I think you are asking for too much with the stay on the station and trying to go back to her, and getting failure –
You can see the movement when you go back to feed her at the beginning of the last video (:15) – and then there were a couple of reps where she stood up and some confusion about the reward when you went back to the mat.So definitely stay connected as you lead out – that will allow you to watch her to see what she is doing and also so the re-connection does not become the release.
That will also allow you to mix up when you reward by releasing or throwing the reward back – sometimes after a couple of steps, sometimes when you are past the jump, and any time in between 🙂
Trying to reward her in position on the mat got her jumping up on you and moving more, so you can skip that – we want the rewards to be about you moving away and nowhere near her 🙂 You can ask her to get on the mat and don’t give her a cookie just for getting on it… the cookies can come after you lead out 🙂
She is doing well with targeting the bag at the end! What are the rules about having it visible near the ring? Be sure you are running though, to support the drive ahead cue so the physical cue (decel) does not conflict with the ‘go’ cues.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>I’m actually moving her back to 8in in tomorrow’s class and I did some set point work with her at 8 and 10in yesterday. The intent is to be running more at 8in going forward so that the 4select at the trial is super easy.>
Perfect!
>She’s not the best at waiting for her turn at Fusion so I think I will have Dean bring her partway through the day on Saturday once I’ve gotten the trial going and can then focus on her more. It’s so convenient having Fusion be 8min from my house!>
This is good to know. And yay for Dean!!!
>I also just entered 2 runs sat & Sun for the late March OTR UKI. I’ve got plenty of time after Feb Fusion and even the early March USDAA to re-consider and adjust if necessary.>
Exactly – entering is fine, and adjusting or pulling out is also fine. Training in the winter is hard, so there is no rush.
>LOL – it is Lift. She could suddenly decide the food reward box is stupid! >
Yep, I feel like I am getting to know her HAHAHA!! It is possible that the food box interrupts her flow, and she is feeling good in the flow right now. But she likes food a LOT so definitely would start with the food box!
>The rabbit fur lotus is gaining a lot of value for her. She is doing better with me carrying it while running and she will sometimes tug with it in the ring too (before & after getting food out of it)>
It might be a good visual bridge from training into the trial environment – even if it is in your pocket, it is *there* so the leap from training to trialing is not as big. You might not even want to ask for her to tug with it at first? Or maybe she will like it? But definitely it can support the transition to trials as a bridge.
> I think I will experiment in class and see how she does for a short sequence with me carrying it and tugging her over to her remote reinforcement from a short distance (pseudo – NFC reward box) to get actual food.>
This is also a bridge, which is good! And if she doesn’t want to tug, it can be a marker bridge: when the toy appears, food is coming soooooo.
>Or were you thinking I should just carry it, do the mini sequence and then leash and out to reinforcement. (then I’ll be one of “those people” who carries the toy and doesn’t reward the dog with it!)>
Yes – but you would be doing it as a visual bridge that is pre-planned. Those people are juts either forgetting to reward a dog that likes to tug, or they are being stingy LOL!
>If the experiments go well, I might try an FEO or two at the early march USDAA trial. I’m already planning on entering Kaladin for that one.>
Great! I found that the USDAA trials I entered recently had courses that made more sense to the baby dogs (smaller yardage in a good way, clearer lines).
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
> In this building, with this course set up, I think the person who sets it up, that our club rents from, seems to just jam as much equipment in the room as she can, with little thought to setting good lines or flow.>
It is definitely a good mental challenge to find decent flow! Will they let you move a jump or two out of he way if you put it back in the same spot? I take photos to remember where everything goes 🙂
> Even when I’ve walked it before running Biscuit, I’m like, “WT ever loving F?” >>
Ha! Yes, that is probably not the best thing to be thinking before running the dogs LOL!
>He often has the same issues with no place to go, and has multiple off courses.>
Right! And because he is more experienced, he chooses off course lines (which is perfectly fine of course :)) But Kishka is a baby dog, so not knowing where to be or getting to run might spill over into frustration, which manifests as distractibility.
>Clearly I need to really just pick the absolute right lines.>
Or very short fast fun sequences! That can work really well too.
> Where I will be going back to the little, “obedience for the agility dog”, class (it’s really not what it sounds like, but it gets us working with dogs and people in adjoining rings), >
Perfect! That is a great opportunity!
>we also got a three month membership to the place, a different building than the video. We get one free rental a month. So hopefully we can get there soon and we will set up one of your courses from the last week of Max pup 4.>
Also great! Keep me posted!
Tracy
Hi!
>I actually had a holiday today and the high temp was -8, so had to keep everyone entertained inside. >Yay for a holiday but a -8 high? EEEEK!!! I will stop complaining about the highs in the 20s we are having this week LOL!!
>Shockingly, my almost 10 month old Mal was driving me up the wall…>
He probably doesn’t think that -8 is an unacceptable as you do 🙂
The click timing on the threadle slices was great and he was nailing it on the FIRST side – that is not how the threadle slice sessions have been going (first side has been historically harder for him) so this is GREAT!! And you nailed the timing of the 2nd side, which was great as usual.
So the next step is to move the MM a little further away each time you revisit it. But, life is not all about threadles, so no need to make this a daily thing 🙂 Every few days or once a week is all he needs for now.
Looking at the threadle wraps (pun intended haha) – the first side went great and the only error was at :56, when you switched to the new side (he turned to the original side).
What I think was happening was that you had done too many of the same things in a row even with adding more motion, and not enough balance across these sessions (not just this one). So in his smart mind, he was like “we are practicing our left turn aways!” which is why he did such a lovely left turn when you changed sides. We want him to be thinking that the session is about watching your cues, which means you have to give him different cues to watch for 🙂 In other words – balance a lot more frequently with sending to the other side of the barrel (normal sends :)) as well as changing sides more frequently. To really challenge him mentally, don’t do more than 2 of the same things in a row. Mix it up!
That includes when you add the second barrel. You can mix in regular rocking horses (FC wraps) with the threadle wraps and tonight we add the spins and racetracks. That will be good mental and physical stimulation while you wait for warmer weather.
You broke things down to let him know it was a right turn away but I think balancing the sessions with different cues will be very helpful for him. Sure, he might have a failure here and there but that is fine (and usually informative) – you can reset with a cookie toss when there is a failure, and save big exciting play for after correct responses. You can use a marker to toss the treat, but then you will want to praise and play tug. –
When he was on your right side, you were building in a hand flick to get him to turn away, so by the end of the video when you had 2 barrels, he was waiting for that (these Malis are SO SMART and learn very fast!) I don’t think he needs the hand flick on that side, so be careful not to add it in because he totally watches it 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
