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Welcome to you and Coal!!! I am glad to see you here. And I am happy to join you in Italy to discuss his training LOL!!! Where in Italy?
Enjoy!
TracyHi!
>>She actually did have decompression time after she played with the toy inside, but I hadn’t processed that bcause her waiting inside (instead of “helping me set the course”) amped her up, she was starting from a high level again. >>
It is possible that the decompression needs to be directed (snuffle mat, chewing a bully stick, lickimat, etc) and also just before training if the arousal has been increased (either with toy play, or by having to wait, etc). Teenagers don’t really decompress themselves LOL!!
>> I’m just laughing at the thought that she is “old enough” to enter UKI SS. I deliberately called out how ludicrous that is (for her) on my FB post in an effort to cut down on well meaning folks asking me when she’s going to start trialing. >>
I saw that post – it was great! Just because they are legal to compete does NOT mean it is a good idea. Some carefully set up NFC? Maybe. But competing? Nope! Brain and body are just not ready to handle it. I have chatted with plenty of big name handlers who have debuted their dogs at 15 months because the dog seemed ‘mature’ and they all regret it… the dog did well in their early careers but then burned out physically or mentally or both. Waiting is better!
>> a 12.75in measurement on her since she is hovering right around that 8in cutoff. At least I have several options to choose from at Fusion where she is quite comfortable. (and I hired all those judges)>>
Plus a 15 month old will tend to measure higher than a 2 year old. You can enter UKI NFC only and won’t need to measure 🙂
Have fun! Great job in class here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
These are all looking good!Looking at the tunnel entry/exit game:
I agree, the Go and left/right went really well! You had really good timing on the GO cues for the tunnel – add in throwing the toy while she is in the tunnel so it lands before she exits, so she doesn’t look back at you or curl in.The Left and right cues were well timed and sounded completely different, which was great!
For the rear crosses: the question was about conflicting indicators. The physical cue said to turn left, when the verbal cue said turn right (and vice versa on the other side). In a nutshell… the physical cue was late 🙂
On these (and the other RC reps) the physical cue was showing the opposite turn from the verbal cue so when she heard the verbal and peripherally saw you changing sides, she stopped what she was doing to look at you for more info.
Here are some screenshots so you can see the last thing she saw as commitment cues:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gWa80mcjiKNBFTyqNJn6uXLn6ua6xhX5qZ7ISJU0vgQ/edit?usp=sharingSo two ideas to help get the RCs going:
– shorten the tunnel up so it is easier for her to get through, maybe try to get it to be 10 feet long or less. That way she is less likely to turn around or not go through it.
– Get the RC timing earlier by starting right next to the wing with her, and not moving forward til she is exiting the wing. Then as she exits the wing, put pressure on her line immediately as you accelerate to the tunnel. Ideally, she will pass you to the tunnel and you can do the side change before she goes in
– Always reward on the next side whether she turns that direction immediately or not. That will help her understand that the RC pressure is both a commitment cue for the tunnel, and it indicates the turn away from the line she is on. You can get that toy out there really early or have it placed there in advance so it is there when she exits the tunnel.Lead out videos:
One thing I notice is that she seems to be bringing the toy back really well!! Super! And her commitment is looking really good too.The Lead out push went well and also the BC openings went well! On t he ending lines, I don’t think you need to say go jump – you can just name the line and say GO GO GO 🙂
The Throwback was also really good – you can be more stationary at the jump so the step back to it is very small and only the dog side leg – multiple steps back there sent her wide.
Nice timing of the blind on 3 at 1:09!
For the RCs at :50 and 1:10 – get in closer to jump4 and decel there, and set the RC line to the center of the RC bar. You can get right next to her as she drives past you on the RC lines. At :50 she is jumping to her right based on the physical commitment cues. She was able to turn in the air but the info can be sooner in terms of getting directly onto the RC diagonals.
You can give her a BIG connection and acceleration needed at :52 to get line to the tunnel (it is a slight lead change away and you were decelerating and turning to your left so she took the jump). You had a really good adjustment to get it at 1:14!
When doing the BC on the takeoff side of 3 at 1:26, don’t go past 1 as much so you can be quicker to get it done (before she exits the tunnel) – this rep was late as it was started as she was exiting, so doing more of a send to 2 will get it earlier.
She had a question at 1:29 – I think the transition into the decel was missing before you rotated your feet. Compare to 1:45 where you had a really clear transition and she got it beautifully!
The crosses on the landing side of the jump after the tunnel worked better for her as blinds. You did a FC at 1:38 which takes longer to finish, so you ended up being in the way and she dropped the next bar.
The wrap exits on jump 2 at the end went well (remember to line her up on a slice to face the line you want, rather than lining up straight to jump 1)
For the RC 5 at 2:16, remember to go close to 4 to set the RC and move to center of the bar on 5. You were closer to that at 2:32, but you can be even more on that line so he doesn’t see any pull to the other wing.
Looking at the forced front and forced threadle video:
>What’s the difference between a regular threadle and a forced threadle? Aren’t all threadles done with the handler on the takeoff side of a backside (at least on a jump)? >
Theoretically yes, the handler is bringing the dog in to the ‘other side’ of a jump which can be a backside from the dog’s perspective, but these are called forced threadles to keep them in the same lead out category as forced fronts. It is also perfectly fine to just call them threadles 🙂
The forced fronts looked really good! When adding the threadles, 2 suggestions:
– use the close verbal as the release, because ‘break’ implies the front side line
– look at you threadle hand as you release so that helps guide her to where you want to her to be (the front of the jump has a lot more value in this context for now)/At 1:22 you shifted your gaze a little more to your hand and that helped a lot!
The throwback FC at the very end looked great, especially the connection on the end of it to get to jump 3! Nice!
The layering game went really well – nice timing of the cues at the beginning!!!
The blind on the jump after the tunnel did start a little late at :29 so she changed her commitment at the lsat minute but the other reps through there looked good!
She came off the line at :42 and :57 – what happened there was you stepped in past the layering jump and then had to step to your left to not run into it – and as you did that, you disconnected at :42. Those 2 things caught her eye so she came in towards you
You were more connected at :58 so she did end up staying out, but setting the line with a parallel path and not going past the layering jump at all with make things smoother for sure.
A suggestion: you can name the line in this context rather than all the obstacles, using the destination obstacle and a directional. What I mean by that is rather than use “go jump” because there are a lot of jump options – cue the entire line with go tunnel the whole time so she goes straight and is looking for the tunnel.
She got it at 1:12 nicely but also she is now slowing down – tired! There were something like 12 reps her, ending up somewhere around 40 jumps approx. You can do far fewer reps of each sequence and let latent learning do the rest – no need to keep repeating a sequence on the same day til it is perfect for you both – do the sequence maybe once, then move to the next one. That way you are also sure she is reading the handling rather than learning the sequence.
>>I’m AMAZED at how many skills Katniss has learned in such a short time with these MaxPup classes. >>
She is looking great! Well done to YOU for working the small pieces of the foundation… things come together pretty quickly as the dogs get closer to trialing. Fun times ahead!!!!
Tracy
Hi!
Serps went really well!
The cot was useful, I think, she was really happy to release off it and your releases were very clear!Getting her to come in over the serp jump looked good in the different contexts: you can drop your serp arm back a little sooner (so she is seeing it as she is exiting the previous jump).
Then maintain the serp arm back and big eye contact as she is landing from the serp jump – that was one of the questions she had hereL
At :52: you had your shoulders closed forward and arm parallel to your side, which actually cues her to go right past the last jump. And in the type of course design that is popular now, we do need to her zip past off course jumps and not flick away to them 🙂 So you will want to have more arm back to her nose and eye contact as he lands from the previous jump, because that is what cues the turn away to the next jump. At 1:33 you were a little more connected like that (and also closer to the jump) so she got it really nicely! Increasing the connection and having your arm back more will allow you to be further ahead like you were at :52 and still get commitment.
Speaking of further ahead: at 1:05 you were a little too far past the serp jump so at 1:06, she was not sure if you were indicating the jump, the gap (you are more in threadle position there) or the next jump. She zig zagged a bit then abstained 🙂 Compare to your potion at 1:21 and 1;31 where you were clearly indicating the jump and she knew exactly where to be. Nice serp arm and connection there! For now, running in closer to the tunnel in this scenario will allow you to be in the serp position and remain in motion.
I was in a picture mood, so grabbed screenshots of those moments:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Oo9Z94RjcOU7VGpi_oYfYuaYpbj4A_kAwnA1pofgkJ0/edit?usp=sharingBang game: She was very keen to bang the teeter and play on it!
>Had big feelings about being lured into position on my left even though I wasn’t trying to touch her collar and just doing a little tap on her chest to get some excitement since restraint wasn’t going to work. >>
I don’t think it was the luring, that was all good on the first couple of reps, even when you gently took her collar on the first one. I think it was the pushing back on her chest – she is actively avoiding it. As soon as you started that on rep 2 and 3, she was stepping away from it (not sure if you were actually able o touch her there because she was moving away) then she started refusing to line up (possibly because it was being paired with the push back).
So a couple of ideas for teeter training:
– no need to the push back or pulling back on her collar, because she says it is not motivating or fun. You can take it out of the game entirely. We can accept that feedback from her LOL! She is quite driven for the game, so we don’t need to amp her up at all. She can self-amp LOL! And I bet you can give her a bit of verbal “ready ready” and that will be super fun.– do one rep, maybe 2 reps… Then go do something else like a short sequence, run around through a tunnel, etc. That way she is finished with her teeter moment before she starts to think too hard about it and every rep can have the high excitement like the first rep did here. You can always come back and do another rep or two later, but doing a bunch of reps in a row is going to get a lot more thinking than we want on the teeter.
– If the teeter session goes sideways and she says “no” and you are getting barking and backing away – leave the game and come back another time (later on that day, or next day). Otherwise, we risk building frustration and pressure into it and often in the moment can’t see what she is mad about. So, she can go do a short fun sequence, then you can watch the video and see if you can see what triggered the change in her interest in the game: too many reps? Too much being pushed back or collar pulled back? That seems to be the #1 thing she doesn’t like, so the video will let you know – the rep or two before she says “no” will be the insightful moments.
>>She seems happy with the small drop and the noise. Should I work up to the teeter being a bit further off the ground?>>
Yes – she seems happy with it so yes, add a little more tip! But definitely limit the session to 1 or 2 reps of vast quantities of high value rewards. We want her to dive in and not start to do high level calculus about it LOL
Lead outs: She looks so cute on her cot!!!!
>>I need to be better about schlepping it around and setting it up.>>
This is relatable! I have gone to just having a set of training aids (cot, tripod, etc) that just lives in my car so I never forget them. Yes, the car looks like a hoarders reality show but that is fine LOL
Hard to see if she got a cookie for the reset after the broken stay – I have no problem with delivering a cookie as I reset the sit, because stay questions are my fault LOL!! And throwing the cookie back after the praise really helped her too.
The blinds are looking good!
The timing at 1:37 was earlier than the previous rep and her commitment looked good and her turn was lovely! The timing of the left turn cue on the tunnel entry on that rep was good too – she was a little wide there because the physical cue supported the wider line, so a decel or spin when you are going the other direction can hep tighten up the tunnel exit too.FC on jump 2 looked really good and getting her back onto the leash at the end was great! She really wanted back on her cot, so it is was a mild distraction to ask her to come off the cot and get the leash on. That is a similar framework to what might happen when she is on course: leaving something high value to get the leash on. She did great!
>>) So apparently her brains were still in good shape and nicely settled after her training sessions.>>
Hooray for the toy party! And she did look really happy and engaged in the last sequencing – not physically or mentally tired at all from what I could see, and you did a great job of setting up the session so it was a little challenging but also fast & fun. Super!Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Good call out on rushing the release on the leadouts. (and I just cleaned that up with Kaladin too. You’d think I could remember!). I>>
Yeah, we humans all do it. I am constantly catching myself doing it to, so I am forcing myself to praise for a moment after my arm comes up. Working forward focus helps: arm up then I have to wait for the dog to look at the jump, so I can’t release as soon as I move my arm.
The other hardest thing is to to use praise mid-course before a reward… I found the out the hard way with some impressive athleticism from the young dogs pulling off jumps when I said “yay” or something. Oops!
The stationary decels here are looking really good! She was great about collecting and turning really well, without a whole lot of help from you.
For the sends, do them like you did at 1:30 with a whole lot to connection to her behind you and as she passes you, and the send arm moving ahead of her as she is relatively close to you (that maintains the connection). That was pretty perfect and she was great about passing you (and passing the cheese!!)
At 2:14 we have an even better view of a terrific send: BIG connection as she exited the tunnel then as she was getting closer to you, the big send (you were decelerated when connected and she was great about continuing forward).
Compare to 1:47 wen you were a whole lot earlier with the arm & leg pointing ahead. As you moved your arm/leg forward, you connection shifted forward as well, to a spot next to you (but not back to her). She had just exited the tunnel and the info was not clear there and did potentially read as a blind cross (which is what she did before jumping/barking)
In that moment, try to improvise a way to keep going with increased connection. Freestyle it as a blind LOL!!! Two reasons for that:
First, she is almost always going to be correct in reading the cue when that happens.
Second (and this might be more important) – running forward is an incompatible behavior with jumping up, so you will be working too eliminate the undesired behavior (regardless of cause) by staying in motion, even if you just run straight.
She did have a question on the go line at the very end: the verbal got her going straight out of the tunnel (yay!) but then you were decelerated, so she looked over at you to see what you wanted. Be sure the motion (more running 😁) and verbal match more so she doesn’t have questions
So for now, the sending has to be ultra precise with the connection first then the arm & leg going forward while maintaining the connection. It will get easier as she gets more experienced, and she showed zero frustration behavior when the cue was clear (even with massive decel). That was great!!
>>Right before this session she was totally in a play with toys mood inside so we did some tricks for a toy and it went well with her tugging like a fiend. Then I left all the dogs inside to set this up (mainly moving the tunnel) which she had big feelings about. So when I went back in to get her (and pop Kaladin in a crate with a bully stick), she was channeling her inner kangaroo. She was able to push her head through her leash loop without any issues but started jumping up at me as we were walking outside. >
It is possible you had the wrong order of festivities here for an adolescent brain: the arousal of the toy play then having to wait… her body didn’t know what to do with the arousal physiology so she tipped over into over-arousal, perhaps. We would need electrodes and blood tests to be sure LOL so I am conjecturing. After a wild toy session, she might need a decompression before having to wait or before working – that can help balance the arousal.
We have moved the decompression (snuffle mat, lick mat, etc) *before* work and after play for a lot of dogs and have had a lot of success. This includes plenty of Shelties 🙂 so that is something to try: wild play, decompression, then work (or wait her turn while you set up the course). And let me know how she does with that – the dogs are all so different that we just have to noodle around to find what works best for them.
>> It’s interesting how her “play with toys” optimal state is narrower than her “I can do agility with food” optimal state.>>
Yes, and also pretty normal based on what the science-people tell us. The toy play PLUS the adolescent state of her pre-frontal cortex probably makes it easier for her to tip over into over-arousal and makes it harder for her brain/body to self-regulate. Food is likely a lot less arousing (in terms of the physiology) so it is easier for her brain & body to maintain a consistent level of arousal.
The other thing the sciencey-types tell us is that the front of the brain (where executive function, good decisions, and arousal regulation happen) basically stops communicating with the brain of the brain (where the impulsive behaviors are directed from) during… you guessed it… adolescence. Sigh. These two parts of the brain communicate during puppyhood and adulthood, so we just have to survive adolescence and then the arousal regulation gets sooooo much easier LOL!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
The yes tunnel – no tunnel game looks really strong!
He seems to have zero questions about passing the tunnel when you wanted him to pass it. That is huge! Yay! He does have a question about finding the wing on the other side. I think the question is something like “WTF, why is there a wing back here?” It is a valid question LOL!!
So for now, until he understands that yes, there. Right be a wing or jump behind the tunnel, add in a more exaggerated connection with your arm back to him and your eyes on him. Your connected was a tiny bit too soft, meaning your arm was moving forward ahead of him and you started looking forward rather than directly at him. So when that happened (like at :21, :32, :46, 1:17), he looked up at you almost immediately. At 1:28 he had a BIG MAD when it happened and jump up at you. He did find the wing on some of those, but we can smooth out the looking at you (and get rid of the BIG MAD).
I think the best rep there was at 1:00 when you kept your arm back, so he was quite smooth going to the wing and didn’t appear to look at you. The rep at 1:43 was VERY nice!
I don’t think the softer connection was a bad thing, and it will be no problem when he is more experienced with a wing or jump behind the tunnel. But for now, really exaggerate the connection to help him out.
He had a couple of other small questions:
– remember to call him or use a directional before he goes into the tunnel when you want a turn on the exit. He was rocketing out and that is a good thing!– he had some commitment questions on the FC on the wing wraps. I think it had to do with the transferring of the toy from hand to hand. That pulls his attention up to your hands and pulls your connection forward, so he had a question at :57 and 1:39. I am not sure you realized you were doing that LOL so try to keep the toy in one hand or in a pocket so you don’t transfer it around (the reward doesn’t have to be super precise in this sequence).
The backside tunnel sends in the first video and also in the 2nd video looks great! He was finding it easily from he sequence in the first video. And in the 2nd one – turning right to get into the tunnel was easy. Turning left on the first rep was harder – NOT getting the reward was actually helpful for him there, and also you opened your shoulders up a little on the 2nd rep. That really helped him get into the tunnel. Yay!!
>>Lastly, not part of the current curriculum, but we worked on him doing a stay with the moving toy target and he was a very good animal.>>
He was a terrific animal here! His stay has come really far in a short amount of time!!! And he was correctly focusing forward on the toy, good boy – it produced a nice head position and form already. You will want to release when you are further past the jump, so he has more room to power over it and not tick the bar. He will sometimes ‘offer’ releasing when he focuses on the toy like he did on one rep here (thanks, Jimothy! 😂🤣) so be really watchful and you can sometimes throw a reward back to him rather than release forward. This looks ready to apply to the jumping grids, starting with the 2-jump set point like we did in MaxPup 2 (but with a bar on jump 2 – I think he did it with a bump originally).
Great job here!!! He is growing up beautifully!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I’d love to have access to the new version of Max Pup 1!>>
Message or email after it opens next week and we will get you set up!
Good job on the video!
The Double whammy game went really well! Just remember to call her before she enters the first tunnel so she turns on the exit to be ready for the threadle. That is a theme: prepping the dogs for the threadle by using turn cues on the previous obstacle. More on the below!When adding the tunnel threadle from the wing, your line of motion can go directly to the tunnel entry you want. That way you don’t need to pull her off the line then flip her back to the tunnel. That requires her to wait for the additional cue to flip back (which also requires you to have to give that cue LOL!!) Ideally, you get the turn on the wing before the tunnel then run right at the tunnel entry you want, and she puts herself in the threadle side of the tunnel without additional cues needed.
So to do that, when adding speed, add a turn verbal on the wing before the threadle so she is turning before you give the threadle cue. The threadle cue applies to the tunnel – so something else needs to apply to the wing before it (a wrap cue would work here)
So if the sequence is tunnel (1) – wing (2) – wing (3) – tunnel threadle (4) then the wing (3) needs verbal and physical wrap cues which begin at the exit of wing (2). And when she is approaching wing (3) in collection, you switch to the tunnel threadle verbal.
Without the wrap cues on the wing, you are having to over-pull away from the tunnel on the threadle cue and then flip her back (like at 2:42).
Sequences are going well! Small detail: for the soft turn on the wing, the decel worked best like on the left cue at 2;23 but also keep moving along the line (you pulled away too much so she took the other side of the wing at 2:24). 2:41 had a really nice line of motion there!
>>For the “tandem turn,” I used the threadle wrap verbal since I wasn’t really turning with her, so I’m hoping I did that correctly.>>
Yes, that worked well! Which verbal to use would depend on where the bar is. So if you were envisioning her coming to the backside of the jump here, then the threadle wrap was perfect! If it is a front side of the bar, you can use a front side verbal like left or right or wrap if it is a tight exit to the jump.
One thing that will make the threadle wraps even easier – Add some decel into it from the wing before it (similar concept to turning her on the wing before the tunnel threadle) Start to decel with a turn verbal like a wrap cue and turn your shoulders. As she is approaching that wing in collection, you can go to your threadle wrap cues for the actual threadle wrap wing.
The full sequence went well in both directions! Yay! The little tunnel blooper at the very end will go away when you are not flipping her into the tunnel 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi!
She is totally getting the idea with the tunnel threadles. Super!
You can run a more direct line to the tunnel entry you want, rather than turn all the way away then flip her back to it. You can get that happening by cuing the wrap and be turned facing the new direction all before she gets around the wing before the tunnel. Your rep at 2:27 was the most direct line to it and that went well with a lot of speed! If you didn’t cue the wrap and turn early enough, she either looked to the tunnel entry straight ahead (1:20) or you had to rotate a lot to get her to the new line. So blasting around the other lines, then showing the wrap decel and wrap verbal will really help her line up to the new tunnel entry.The Toppl is a really high value reward, which is great! But that also means it comes into play if you are not really connected, so she might be more likely to question which side to be on if the connection is soft and the toppl is visible (like at 2:53). So being super connected will really help smooth out her questions, and resist temptation to say “yay!” – that was causing her to look up at you and come off lines 🙂 The reward markers worked a lot better 🙂
>>. I was way ahead but looking at this video angle the BC was late. Was he maybe thinking I wanted so weird backside of that jump because I switched to my right arm late?
Watching it in slow motion, what seems to be happening was not that the blind cross was late, timing seemed fine… it as more of a position question: as you started the blind, you were in the spot just outside the wing of the jump where a threadle or forced front or forced blind would happen (:05). So when you started the blind there, he immediately changed his line to come to the backside. So the timing of the side change actually needed to be *later* so you could get into position. It sounds like you did say “go” before the tunnel then called his name when he exited? He probably needed more go or jump cue there to support the blind as you drove to position.
Nice work here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>Leaping Lizard is back in certain situations so I made a point of doing more with the cookie transport between reps in the 2nd session.>>
Yes, that totally helped! And you can bring out a Cato Board or something so she can run to it, let you move to position, then release to run to you to line up. That can also keep it really fun!
The lead outs are going well overall! Super!
Be sure take a moment of eye contact (and even some praise) after you have raised your arm and before you say the release. The arm/foot step and the release were coming pretty close together – sometimes without connection being established so she had questions. And we don’t want the arm being raised to accidentally become the release, so keep them separate by a few seconds 🙂
The rep at 5:46 is an example of needing to establish connection back to her before the release – arm back to her, eyes on her, wait a couple of seconds (you can add in quiet praise too), then release. You had a high arm and quick release (with the jump verbal) but no movement in that moment, so she had a hesitation. When you added a tiny bit of movement, she release (along with the break verbal). Compare to the mirror image at :41 and 1:28 where you started moving when you released her… so it is possible movement is built into the release and she was confused when you didn’t move
She is finding her lines really well! And the turns on the throwbacks look really good too (be sure not to take more than one step back on those, or you will end up on the wrong side of the jump LOL!)
On the lead outs that were starting on the blue jump closer to the camera (and same blue jump when you switched it to the other side for the next session) – she was facing straight to the jump so she had an additional turn. You can set her up on a slice so she sees a straight line 1-2 on those (I don’t think she will have any questions about that at all).
When doing the blind on the jump after the tunnel, you can be even sooner – if you are in position between the uprights, you can start it before she even exits the tunnel (1:33). And then definitely don’t say “yay” LOL!! It makes her BIG MAD because you tend to break connection when you do that. That is what happened at 1:35 when she had a BIG MAD moment – you said yay then disconnected and looked forward. She didn’t know where to be, and so you got a leaping/barking moment. Lift is definitely a “just the fact, ma’am” type of dog so the directionals or obstacle cues plus connection will help de-leap the situation 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>>We did try the yes tunnel no tunnel go tunnel and I’m pretty sure we did the yes/no part wrong.>>
True, it was not the same exact handling as the demo but it worked! The FC-RC into the tunnel worked really well and so did doing the spin to get him past the tunnel entry. Really nice connection at :17 and :46 and :59, so he knew exactly where to be. He needed a bit more connection to find the wing on the other side of the tunnel, which is what you added at 1:01 and it worked really well.
>>We also tried the send to the tunnel from the back and this was… not awesome. I>>
A lot of the youngsters had trouble with that tunnel entry! He knew it was the tunnel entry, but couldn’t quite make the entry. There is a LOT of collection needed to get into it and they are just not used to collecting that much for a tunnel entry. You broke it down really well by taking out your motion and starting closer – and I bet he sleeps on it and knows it better during the next session 🙂
One thing you can do is place the reward inside the tunnel entry, so it is there as soon as he turns to get into the tunnel. Then you can move the toy progressively further and further through the tunnel, until it is at the exit after he collects to get into it 🙂
>>I’m wondering what you use for jump training. >>
I use variations on Susan Salo’s stuff – same or similar grids, but I add arousal and handler motion a LOT earlier than she might suggest, plus I use the moving target we used in MaxPup 2 🙂
And I do jump organization work built off of some conditioning stuff – tight sits on a to plank or similar, then taking off plyometrically from there for wraps, slices, etc.
The main thing with any of it will be reward placement to get the head position (looking NOT at us LOL) and hind end use 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Yes! The dates are Jan 31, Feb 1 and Feb 2 (and probably more dates too in that time frame). You’ll get an email when we figure out specific days and times!
See ya soon!
TracyHi!
I agree – you two made a lot of progress!!! Looking good!>>And as a side effect over the summer the puppy, Firnen, learned to quit attacking every piece of equipment that I picked up to move.>>
Ha! That is a bonus LOL!!!!!
>>To work on building more confidence/drive/speed do you think I should go back and work on MaxPup3 or any of the other classes again? I know she’s never going to be Mazi but I think she’s got a lot more in her.>>
Has she ever done MaxPup 4? That brings in trial experiences, training in the ring, and more sequences – it might make the most sense to do that one. MaxPup 3 might be a little too simple at this point.
Nice work on the video! I agree – you got to a great spot here and I am sure you would have gotten the layering with her, but ti was better to keep the session shorter and not drill.
>>I could feel when I did things wrong and I felt like I knew how my handling contributed.>>
Yes! Things generally went well, and if there was a blooper you made terrific adjustments to clarify things. It was fun to watch!
Looking at the video:
The Left turns at the beginning are looking good!
The verbal timing was good on these – the
2nd rep at :18 had better shoulder turn timing because the shoulder turn was more visible to her before she entered the tunnel (so her turn was better).Timing of the go was very good too! You can keep saying it as she exits to really solidify the line – don’t get too quiet after she enters the tunnel. These tunnel exits are all talking, all the time, no time to breathe LOL!!
She had some questions about going straight when you wanted the turn to the backside. At :38 – you had one quiet verbal as she exited the wing wrap then no other verbals. Your physical cues went straight, so she carried on straight to the jump. The verbal cue was closer to the tunnel entry at :45, but the physical cue was still straight so she also went straight.
At :54, your shoulder turn was a lot earlier – she saw it before she went into the tunnel and got a really nice turn on the exit! Yay!
So you can give a more urgent verbal turn cue there (her name can help too) as well as a brake arm, because it is hard to get shoulders turned in time as you are running.
Adding the layering: The Go without the layering went great!
The first Go with the layering at 1:14 was harder- it is possible that she saw you pulling away to layer. She still stayed out on her line so it is rewardable in these early stages of layering training.The rep at 1:21 made me chuckle – why do they stop and sniff when we are sprinting across the ring? LOL!
The rep at 1:29 was really nice! Strong repeated GO verbals and the motion to match it, she stayed out on the line really well. Super!
Adding the collection and wrap exit to the next jump: the wrap cues started as she was gathering for takeoff at 1:36, so she turned on landing.
MUCH better timing at 1:49 – the decel and verbal were happening before she exited the tunnel
She couldn’t quite organize the collection (I think she was a bit surprised that we would cue a tight collection on a layering line) but with more experience, she will get that easily when you use that timing.
Super nice send to 6 and left turn out of the tunnel there!Adding the through the box section:
It is tricky to get the precise connection needed for this tight jump box! At 2:02, she is landing from the blue jump and your shoulders are closed forward. So even though you are looking at her, she doesn’t really have the side into to know where to be with both shoulders closed forward.Each rep through there got clearer and clearer! You had it really clear at 2:17 and even clearer at 2:29 and 2:42 after the FC on the backside.
Speaking of open shoulders and connection: compare how tight her line was going from the tunnel exit to the backside at 2:40 (your shoulder was more open, so more connection was visible) compared to the previous rep at 2:27 where your shoulders were closed forward more when she exited the tunnel. So definitely keep your shoulders open to her so she can see the connection clearly
Sending past the tunnel at 2:43 also requires a lot of connection – you decelerated right next to the tunnel to send her past it. Your arm going forward broke connection and turned your shoulder to the tunnel. So… into the tunnel she went 🙂
Excellent connection adjustment at 2:52 to get her to the jump! Looks like you might have pressured her line and stepped to the center of the bar a bit, so she did a rear cross there
Compare to 3:05 where you had the clear connection and didn’t pressure the line, so she got the correct turn. YAY!!Great job on these!!!!! And great job all summer!
Tracy
You did an awesome job with Bacon!!!!! It was so fun to watch! Your connection and teamwork is coming together really well, and it will get easier as he gets more experience – more experience means he won’t need you to be completely perfect LOL!!!
Great job with him! Keep me posted and hope to see you in Florida this winter!
Tracy
Good morning! Congrats on a very successful Festival, both as an organizer and competitor! I saw Kaladin on a lot of podium photos all over Facebook 🙂 Yay!! Did he win 16” overall?
Lift seems happy with the angles on the teeter entry – doing it on your right with the board there was harder as you mentioned (harder to hit the angle on a left lead, maybe?) The angles when starting on your left were much easier for her with and without the board – so you can work the harder angles on your left for now and stick to simpler ones on your right (then over time the right side approaches will get easier and easier for her). You can also slide the boards in closer to the teeter so less of the board is visible – just enough sticking out to be a visual guide to the board but not enough for her to hop over 🙂
Also, you can add more of your speed to encourage her to speed up the ramp too – that way she gets the feel of straightening herself up when running fast, which will be very useful on course.Layering is also going well, she is really getting the idea! Remember to tell her about the layering or turning if not layering before she enters the layering line. When layering after a tunnel you can tell her about it before she enters the tunnel. If you are quiet when she enters, she is going to have to either look at you for info or ignore your position (which could come back to haunt you in a different context LOL!)
And when layering from a line of jumps, you can tell her as she is getting on the line that it is a go line (or a turn and not a layer). I think the timing contributed to her question when she continued to the tunnel and you wanted the serp:
– at :45, you sent with decel into the line then accelerated, and there was no verbal cue til after she landed from the 2nd jump. She did get the tunnel nicely there! But then at 1:10, the physical cues all looked very similar to :45 and there were no turn verbals before takeoff, so she locked onto the line to the tunnel (and when you did start to show serp at 1:11, it was too late). She was a little frustrated after that when you tried to re-start her so remember you can just reward as if she was correct (because she was LOL!)You had a bit more decel and bigger serp cues so she got it at 1:32 but ideally all of that info starts when she is between the first 2 jumps, so she knows about the right turn to the jump (or the layering) before she is faced with a decision about the tunnel. So as she is landing from the first jump (after wing wrap) you can already be using the verbals and showing the turn or the parallel path for the layering. That way she can change her takeoff for the next jump, and land facing the correct direction. This ramps up the distance skills but she looks ready for it!
Great job here 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
You and Sly looked great this summer – you did a ton of super high level work! Yes, your threadle wraps are going well but also your connection and teamwork has really come together. You two are looking smooth and fast!!!!
The sequence on the video was fantastic!
Interesting how much he looked at you 1-2 at :03. Maybe he thinks serp starts are weird and just needs to see more of them LOL!!! He had no questions on the rest of it – and the acceleration after the threadle wrap is exactly why we would use that skill there!!! Not only did he have a fantastic turn, but he exploded with speed up the next line. Great timing on your cues and connection throughout!!! Yay!Remember to run just like that at trials 🙂
Great job this summer! I will keep you posted about what is coming up!!!!
Tracy
