Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
>>Well, I think I’m more surprised I haven’t done this before.
Ha! I do it all the time 🙂
This video was the correct one! Nice teeter! You can maybe add a tunnel before it if you are looking for ways to put it into sequence – that will keep. The excitement going as you continue to add drop bit-by-bit 🙂
The sending to the jump looks great – I am REALLY happy with how well he blasted past you to a tight turn, even when you were decelerated and sending before he got past you. This is SUCH a useful skill for the small dogs! You can keep expanding it by revisiting this setup and adding more and more distance so eventually he can send 30 feet away!
Going around the back of the tunnel is going well too – I don’t think you need to help him ignore the tunnel entry as much as you helped at :46, that got too much handler focus. You had a better line running past it at 1:12 using great connection without over-helping, but you need one or two more steps so he can see there is indeed a wing hidden back there 🙂 It was hard to see if he went around the wing on the other side at 1:40. And the backside tunnel entry is hard of a lot of dogs but it was not hard for him! Yay!! So all he needs is one or two more steps past the tunnel so he sees the wing on the other side of it.
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
>>We hadn’t done mountain climber in a while and apparently that was a bit much with the teeter switch and the angled entry.>>
Yes – but really only on your right side. Even with the boards removed for a bit, she was less sure about it all on your right side and drove up more on your left. Interesting! Maybe something with the lighting… sun into shadow on that side? Either way, no worries, she was figuring it out even with the different movement & sound of that board. Maybe next session start her on your left side so we can test the theory that she prefers it that way for the teeter?
And of course she preferred your right side on the tunnel threadles 🙂 And it has been a while for the tunnel threadles for sure! When doing it with just one tunnel, you can meet her more at the exit of the tunnel and be moving more towards the threadle entry. That can add more excitement for sure!
Adding the wing made her think hard for sure – she was generally getting the idea really well. The tunnel was a distraction for the wing wraps (she was correctly anticipating that the tunnel was next) so if your connection was not clear when cuing a wing wrap from a standstill (closed shoulder like at 1:51, 2:08, 2:14) you got some barking (same happened at 2:58, closed shoulder cue to the tunnel from a standstill). So in these harder challenges, getting her moving before the wrap by either starting further from it and running into it, or running into the tunnel before it, will totally help!
That will also allow you to cue the turn on the wing and tunnel threadle even sooner which will make that easier too.
She did well with the concept and even though it was a little rusty from lack of use 🙂 I know she will sleep on it and will not have to think about it as much in the next session.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
I think this is the same video from the previous session (9/8) not the new one 🙂 Let me know what you post the new one 🙂Tracy
Good morning!
>>You noted about Synnie’s weaves at the one run. She is going to the chiropractor today, but I was thinking she did it because I went farther ahead than normal. She has really good lateral weave distance, but we haven’t worked a lot of me going past her and ahead of her in the weaves.>>
Totally could be that she was surprised at your position and it was a bit of weaving to nothingness 🙂 She does have good lateral distance skills and the only errors I could recall had her popping out not freezing. But seeing the chiro is good too, as part of her competition routine 🙂
>>**but it was the longer harder way to get 9.**
I tried wrapping the close side of 9 but I just couldn’t get the blind in that way, and I didn’t want to rear cross to 10 because I felt like that told her to take the tunnel.>>TOTALLY agree that a RC on 10 would be a tunnel cue 🙂 Based on how you set the course, I was thinking a slice on 9 would be the best option – I drew it out here so you could see what I mean. Handling options would be a spin on 8 to a threadle slice on 9 then a FC, or FC 8 to RC/FC 9.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oCPa8Cs2SL7oKDVABD5Ogc7WJoW06UH5TLW75obS0yg/edit?usp=sharing
>>I did put 18 in the wrong spot…too much rushing, not enough paying attention to detail!! It was fun that way though, and I loved that she read the backside easily to that jump without taking the tunnel!!>>
No worries, you put it in the harder spot and she nailed it! Yay!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>. I decided to work in some small sequences before attempting the entire course…more reinforcement…and less chance of frustration… to get us back on course (no pun intended!!).>>
That was a great strategy! It is a challenging course. Plus, coming off a big event, taking a break from full courses for a while is great. Think of it as training in cycles. Right now you can cycle ‘down’ a bit to work on skills and then cycle back up to full courses as the next big even approaches.
The Opening looked good – great job bringing her through there without her questioning which line you wanted! You can send to 3 more so you don’t need to get as close to 4 and the tunnel 5, making it even easier to layer the 2/13 jump and the 16/10 jump so you can appear at the weave entry ahead of her and not near the 16/10 jump.
She found the line to the weaves well at :29! Her layering skills are getting really strong!!! You can give her the weave cue sooner instead of the out cue – you can be telling her to GO (or out) then the weave cue before she even enters the tunnel (and keep repeating it til she gets to the weaves).
It was unusual that she froze in the weaves at :42. Sometimes dogs do that when weaving away from the course. Sometimes they do that when they are sore mid-back. She had altered footwork on the other passes through the weaves, so it is possible she is sore. Lots of travel plus running on turf can do it… do you have a local massage person? If not, I know some great ones local to you 🙂
>>7-11 was especially tough for us >>
Yes, that was probably the hardest section for everyone! You didb’t get the off course 19 tunnel on any rep there, so that is a big win!
The 7 backside went well – doing it as a push gets you to better position for 8 and 9. To keep her front thinking you wanted the 3/9/17 jump after 7, you would need to push to 7 from further across it then only do the blind when you have passes the exit wing and are on the takeoff side. If you are not far enough across the bar or too early on the blind, she will totally think you want the 3/9/17 jump. Your best rep there was at 2:46, where you were furthest across the bar and more on the takeoff side of 7.
You and Synnie got the front cross to the threadle wrap really well on 9 but it was the longer harder way to get 9. Pushing to the slice coming in from the wing closer to 8 is easier/faster line and also gets you a little further ahead for 10-11. You can do a FC on 8 but head for the takeoff side of 9 (it would be a threadle slice there) then a FC on the exit of 9.
>> you say “go tunnel” it isn’t helping any! >>
Yes but that was entertaining and she was happy LOL! I thought the layering in that section went well on the first run! To get her to do it really reliably, you can send into it from further back.
At 2:56 you were late starting the cues plus you had a high arm which turned your shoulders to the tunnel. Compare to when she was successful (1:22 to 1:27) – you turned on the acceleration motion and BIG verbals sooner, right after exit of 9 and also sticking closer to 9 to start it so she really knew to accelerate away into the layering.
One detail for a faster line is to turn her to her right (outside) on 14 rather than wrap to the left (inside) for better/faster/easier line for boy both to set up 15-16 with you further ahead. That will allow you to set up the turn cue for 16 earlier (as she is landing from 15). Adding add decel when she lands from 15 and starting the verbals, then rotating away to 17 will prevent the off course. At 1:37 those cues started at takeoff for 16 and she was already committed to the line to the tunnel. The cues were earlier at 3:20, so she did not look at the tunnel. Super!!!!
I think you had the 8 jump as the 2nd to last jump instead of the 18 jump., but that is fine because it is harder (closer to the tunnel!) and she read the flip into the tunnel really well!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
I did a search for Enzo’s classes in the website’s back end…. you’ve been busy! Thank you for taking so many classes!!!! I found the zig zag stuff (2020) and I also found a discussion on getting better turning by teaching the dog to turn their heads into the turn (I teach that first to all of my dogs, very early in puppy training). That discussion is here:I couldn’t find the wrap stuff in the threads but I did find the videos:
For dogs that don’t naturally have a tight/organized sit, I use a cato plank:
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
She did well figuring out the general concept – stepping and supporting the line with more motion really helped. Plus your verbals sounded really different, that was great! And I was very excited to see her be able to do the left turn (not layering) and then layer after the tunnel – super! You can give her her ‘go jump’ cues before she goes into the tunnel, so she doesn’t even have to glance in your direction 🙂
>>She had a few things to say about starting in general, but didn’t get any pop rock moments when I asked her to wrap so maybe….fingers crossed.
Yes, she was a little frozen on the starts, which likely indicates that it was a bit too hard to get on the big line from a standstill. Adding more momentum from the wing wrap really helps too because she is already in extension when approaching the jumps rather than coming in from a standstill. She also looked at you to figure out why your arm was above your head on the layering to the tunnel LOL!!! SHe is not used to seeing that.
Because we are early in her layering training, you can also break it down by using a straight tunnel on the line facing the jump, so it is easier to see on the line. And you can also surprise her with the placement of reinforcement – if she is heading to the tunnel (layering towards the tunnel) you can throw earlier (somewhere on the line between the jump and tunnel), or when doing the reverse through between the tunnel exit and the jump, so that she never looks back at you. The early throws are also variable and can be anywhere along the line – that really keeps her looking forward because the reward can appear at any time! Using your ‘get it’ before the yay is also the most helpful – if you say ‘yay’ first, she looks at you 🙂
>>I was so pleased with her coming in over the jump when cued and didnt’ realize until I watched the video that I was using the wrong cue so she was probably coming in because Left sounded like Lift. Will have to try it the other direction and see how that goes.>>
She was indeed coming in really well – the physical cues and change in volume of the verbals helped a lot too. And yes, the possibility that it was her name was fine too – that turn might not be a full on ‘left’ turn for her because it is still somewhat extended for a dog her size. It might be a name call or a quiet ‘jump’ verbal (jump versus tunnel as a verbal discrimination is a good skill!)
>> Canadians do SS as time plus faults and a super fast BC dropped a bar but still won overall. >>
Interesting that they score it that way. I think they are the only ones in the world in UKI who do that? It definitely gives an advantage to the BCs in the 16″ class who are jumping down as opposed to the Shelties and terriers who are jumping up.
>. I had serious FOMO about scratching Jan’s Masters Agility course on Sunday but it was getting warm inside the barn and we were both tired so I pulled him from that and Gamblers to save our legs for National Finals.>>
Smart move – that Finals course had a LOT of yardage and no rest stops for the handler!
Nice work here!
TracyBEHOLD THE POWER OF A CHEESEBURGER!!!! Sounds like he had a life changing experience 🙂 I mean, I would also run up a teeter for a bite of a good burger, so I can totally relate.
Usually only bad things transfer value so quickly and it takes a lot longer for good things to happen, so it is awesome that something good had such a fast value transfer! Yay! And yes, it is a small pain in the b*tt because you will need to totally block off the teeter somehow, but it is still totally worthwhile. Now I want a burger LOL!!!! (Side note: my young whippet might debut this weekend so the high value food rewards have already been purchased because it will be at a small venue with 2 noisy rings: rotisserie chicken and meatballs! So, BIG VALUE FOOD for big value moments it 100000% worth it :))
>> The sound is at normal speed and the video runs at triple speed so nothing matches. I’ll just tell you he did a speed loop of 3 jumps, tiny tunnel and right up the teeter for cod treats tonight.>>
Bummer about the video but sounds like he had an absolutely grand time going fast, teetering, and eating delicious treats. He has had a yummy weekend!!!
Tracy
Hi! The working spots are mainly the same as they are here in MaxPup 3, with the videos posted in the Forum. The Monday night Zooms are primarily discussion, and we can also review video from trials, training, etc so there is no need for live participation. The videos you did with lights looked great in the forum! Let me know if that makes sense (or if I need more coffee to make sense LOL!)
Tracy
Good morning! Pug Nationals sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!!!
On the video:
His decel wrap collections looked fabulous in both directions here!
He had a refusal at :56 – watching it a few times, it was caused possibly because you were stepping backwards and away from the jump, instead of stepping to the new direction like at :41 and 1:16. If you watch your left leg at :55-:56, you will see what looked different and might have drawn his attention. Young dogs see EVERYTHING!!! It will get easier when he has more experience and you won’t have to worry about footwork.
Sending to the wrap was harder for him – the distance is big and also turning to his left is harder. It is hard to see from the camera angle but it is possible that you were stepping to the center of the bar a bit based on where you were standing, which could indicate a rear cross (especially if the right turns are easier for him). He got it nicely on the last rep – he was thinking hard to sort out the left turn and did it beautifully!
For the sends, you can start with a little less distance (bearing in mind that he has to take twice as many strides as a big dog 🙂 ) Then build it up.And for the decel wraps when you are ahead and also the sends, you can totally add in the tunnel not too!@
The mini sequence to the teeter looked great! He had a lot of speed coming off the a-frame and around the wing, and got a lot of great drive to the top of the board! Super!!! Keep adding tip in tiny tiny amounts, he is on the right track to a fantastic teeter!!
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
Looks like everyone had fun at the CO! Those courses looked large and relentless! And I am glad to hear Lift had fun too 🙂 I caught a couple of your runs on the stream – great job!!!!!
>>Dean thinks that Yes Tunnel – No Tunnel – Go Tunnel! would make a great children’s book title)>>
It was named with Dr. Seuss in mind LOL!!!! The original title was Yes Tunnel No Tunnel Go Go Go Tunnel which has a better flow to it LOL!!!
>>Also really proud of us for not having a single pop-rock moment with all this wing wrapping.>>
Dare I say she might actually be LIKING wing wraps? I don’t want to jinx it 🙂 But maybe wing wrap is predicting tunnel fun so she is putting up with them 🙂Nice exit line connection on the exit of the wraps too – it was SUPER clear where you wanted her to be, and I am sure that contributed to her happy wrapping.
To get past the tunnel, she kind of rolled her eyes when you walked the first time (“MOM I GOT THIS!”) and was much happier when you ran on the next reps. Too much decel going past the tunnel there and on the last rep can actually make the tunnel more obvious because you are slowing down near it.
Your connection was super clear there too, so she did not seem to be looking at the tunnel at all. That is especially great because the tunnel is valuable and she couldn’t really see the wing behind it. YAY!!!
>>Pretty sure this is the first time I asked Lift for a backside tunnel entry so pretty happy she got it on the 2nd try (and was very proud of herself running around it the first time). >>
The ‘nailed it!’ expression when they run around the tunnel like that makes me laugh every time 🤣😂
Yes, most of the pups here are running past it on the first rep. It requires collection into the tunnel that either they haven’t been asked to do, or we haven’t asked it in a long time. She sorted it out VERY quickly and was beautiful with the backside entries on the next reps.
Looking at the grid:
>>I like how she is adjusting her stride up and down, but she seems to be jumping with her head up more than I’d like – unless that is because she’s busy tracking the moving toppl?>>
On the reps where her head was up the most, the Topple was moving the last (until after she landed). So what was going on was that she was lifting her head to slow down to prepare to stop at the toppl. When the toppl was moving early, she had better head position over the last bar because she was not preparing to stop. Since she has such a strong stay, you can lead out another 5 feet or so past the last jump and be moving before the release. That way the toppl is moving the whole time and will be miles ahead for the last jump sp she does not consider stopping.
The happy side effect of that is she learns to organize her jumping with motion present as a mild distraction. Walking will be just enough challenge, but I bet you can work up to jogging then running soon enough!
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
The handling is looking really good! She had excellent commitment to all the jumps including the decelerations into the wraps – you were spot on with your decelerations being prominent, and then separating the FC itself so she committed really well. My favorite one was at 1:06 where you had fantastic timing of the decel so she drove past you but still committed in collection. They were all really strong!
She had questions about going to the tunnel at the beginning of the sequence (on your left) but not at the end of the sequence (on your right). I think you were VERY connected with her on your left, so your arm was way back – which is great for when she is behind you or next to you. When you were trying to get her ahead of you, what was happening was the shoulder staying open was pulling her to you, and pulling your motion away from the line as you tried to leave early to get to the FCs. To help get better commitment your shoulder and arm and relax and move forward with her when she passes you, which will support the line more. The rep at 1:02 had the best view of your shoulder moving with her as she drove ahead and had the best commitment to the tunnel on that side. That is exactly what you did on the other side where she seemed to have zero questions 🙂
I don’t want to jinx it, but I think she is beginning to really get the idea of the mat work! Good job catching that you were not using a marker – lack of marker gets her watching you and we do not want her watching you 🙂
Be 10000% sure you are marking back feet – on the last couple of reps where she got a reward, the marker came when the front feet hit the mat and before the back feet (I watch these in super slow motion to see what those back feet are doing). Her back feet were hitting it on those but at the very edge, so be sure you are staring at the mat and seeing the back feet. I stare directly at the mat and literally count to 4 in my head (one for each foot LOL!). The marker comes as foot 4 is hitting. If I never get to 4, then no reward. Her no reward moments are pretty obvious here (no feet at all on one, and no back on the last one which might be a product of front feet only being marked on the previous 2 reps). This is one of the skills where we do *not* watch the dog so staring at the mat as you move around should make it easier to see. And I think you can add more speed, especially when she is on your left, like a cone wrap before the mat (probably 12 feet away or so).
Great job!
TracyHi!
Thanks for your kind words about Crusher – we all miss her huge personality. And I am glad you are bouncing back from Covid – it really zaps our energy for weeks. Bleh!!Lap turns – You sorted out the timing on these really well – you were too early on rep 1, but then 2nd rep on the reps after that you had correct timing of letting him get about 2 inches from your hand, then move arm and leg back.
The tandem turn timing is similar – he has to get relatively close to your hands before you flip him away, like you did at :36 and :42 (:31 was too early). I don’t think bending is a problem, it was more about how early you moved. Later is better!
When you switched back to lap turns at :47 – you were too early on the first rep and pointed at the wing (so it looked like a throwback) then your right leg stayed back so that also indicated throwback. So keep everything stationary (arm extended, feet together, it is like a dance class hahaha) until he is about 2 inches from your hand, then arm and leg move back to draw him past the wing. It has to be even clearer on the left turns, which are harder.
You were too early on the very last rep so, since he had just been told that the throwback was incorrect, he hilariously offered the set up between your feet. CLEVER!!!!! HA! So yes, letting him get to your hand (2 inches or closer) should smooth that out.
For the serps: he was reading all of the cues really well, which is great! You can start closer to the jumps (about an arm’s length away) and maintain your line of motion & serp cues with the upper body til he looks at and goes to jump 2. Try not to close your shoulders forward or step to jump 2, that converge changes the serp line info and he was reading that (good boy!)
Angling the jumps helped you stay on the line and he found it really well! Keeping the serp shoulders open to him helps him turn to the next line and find the correct side of the jump. A great example is at :24 where your serp shoulders and connection and line were all great. Check out how he turns himself away to jump 2! Yay!
If you close your shoulder too early, it changes the info and that is when it might either push him to the backside if you step to the jump (1:06 for example)or cause him to consider running past it (:58 for example, where he found the jump at the very last minute 🙂 )
The tunnel exits were great!
Collecting to get into the tunnel was hard at first! I guess his main tunnel experience was mainly straight on, going fast :)Good job showing it to him – once he sorted out the turning, he was great!The timing of the left and right cues were spot on! Definitely before he entered and also a different tone – all very helpful for him and he had really nice turns! You can stay more connected when he exits (have your dog side arm pointing back to him and more eye contact, especially on the left turn exits) to help him continue to the wing.
The RUN exit cues were also good – I think they can come earlier in terms of the verbal cues (you were saying run jut before he entered which is a little late because he was probably n the tunnel before he heard anything) To convince him to keep running straight and not look back at you, you can throw the reward straight ahead before he exits.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
He did really well finding the board from all the angles here! Super!!!>>I realized the teeter was too wobbly on the grass.>>
Yes, he said it was too wobbly so even when he knew there were cookies up there, he was not that sure about the side-to-side movement of the board. The tunnel bags probably kept it super stable.
You can also build drive to the top of the board regardless of board movement by doing one-hit-wonder sessions: one rep for the most incredibly high value reward (high value plus big quantity) then the session is over 🙂 That way he is wild to do the teeter and won’t think about the movement as much – then won’t have time to start thinking about it because there will be no more reps (he started thinking about it here and was not as excited about doing it). A big dollop of cream cheese or something can do the trick (high value plus it won’t fall off :)) If you do it at mealtime, he can get a giant reward for running up the board then the rest of his meal next to the board. It will be like winning the lottery 🙂
Looks like you blocked it off at the end – perfect 🙂 That way he can’t go running up it without you LOL!
Nice work here!
Tracy
