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Hi!
>I had used what I thought was a more amazing treat but I guess I was wrong 🤣. >
Ha! He is at the age where the great treats of yesterday might be the boring treats of today LOL! And also, you can sometimes try starting with toy play! He loves to tug, and tugging can shift his arousal state in a good way where he can focus more. Feel free to experiment to see what works best.
I had done mini sessions of the pattern game in other locations and he did well. this seemed the hardest so far. I wonder if the noises from the other room and not seeing things that made the noise was harder than the huge room with tons of people like our test location. >
That is an excellent point, about not seeing the sources of the noise. And also, does The Farm still have sheep? He might have had to process sheep smells wafting in from outside. And the turf pellets might have lovely smells too.
>Overall it was hard since I didn’t have a crate I could put him in for break when setting up next exercise. I will move him to the van for breaks next time.>
Excellent point too! Letting him chill in the car will provide a nice brain break for him.
> We start in person class at this location Thursday night so I will try the pattern outside the ring again and get video.>
Try to video everything in the class. Bring a tripod 🙂 Having video will help you know what is happening while he is working (it is nearly impossible to handle a puppy in a class AND be aware of everything else) plus having video of him at this super cute early stage will be a lifetime of smiles 🙂
>I was totally thrilled with his toy play here. I wonder about practicing my recalls with a toy more too in these settings since he has shown such high value. Overall his recalls seem to be getting harder as he gets older and more distracted.>
Yes – definitely use more toys 🙂 My youngsters have ‘home toys’ which are fine and all… but special “new place” toys which are amazing and wonderful and very enticing. Those toys live in the car so I never forget them 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi!
Nice job on the lap turns! She has a bit of a discrimination challenge because you also had cookies in the other hand and she is clearly *starving* hahaha.
She did great! The only question she had when coming to your left side was when you moved your hand a little too fast to cue the turn, but then you were perfect on all the other reps. She was perfect coming to your right side.
The tandem turns also looked really good! She seemed to have no questions at all and was great in both directions. I think by the end you both needed more excitement, so you can take this game outside and add the prop: that way after the turn away, she can drive to the prop and you are both moving. I will be more exciting that way 🙂
Remind me: do you use the outside arm for Scotch’s threadle wraps/tandems, or the inside arm (or both?) We can match what you do with him to what you do with her, because it is much easier to do it the same way with both dogs 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
Tracy
Hi! The lap turns are going well! She is following the hand cues beautifully. Remember to use your foot to step back as you turn her away, then let her find the prop before you throw the treat. You can add in having the prop even further away, so she has to move away to find it – distance training!
Great job here! Have fun at puppy class tonight and I am looking forward to the tandem turn video!
Tracy
Hi!
>Thinking of verbal cues… I want to teach her a cue for left and right wraps, can I say Check for left & Dig for right? >
Absolutely! Those are excellent choices because you can repeat them rapidly and quietly: checkcheckcheck and digdigdig for example. That helps to match the deceleration into a tight collection.
> Anyway, can these be my L & R wrap cues which is a 180 turn and then use ??? for a soft turn – anything that is not a 180? Switch I’ll use for turn away from me, but I don’t know what to say for those soft turns! >
I use left and right for those soft turns 🙂 Not very creative 😂 but it works for me. We have a game coming soon that specifically introduces them in a very very easy way to train them (because with all these words, we totally want easy ways to train them!)
Great job adding in your verbals to the wraps! She did a great job ignoring the bowl until after she finished the wrap, in both directions. Only one blooper of going to the bowl instead of the barrel 🙂 You handled that really well and the rest was perfect 🙂
Two mechanics suggestions to add for the next session:
– rather than hold her collar after you put treats in the bowl, you can reward her with treats for moving with you back to the barrel (you can also put a toy on the ground intake of the bowl)
– when you get to the barrel, hold her collar longer: let her hear you say the verbal 3 or 4 times before you let her go. That will really solidify the verbal. You were saying it and sending her at the same time, so the motion takes priority in her brain. If you say it a few times then let her move, the verbal will link to the movement even better.
And of course you can add in a front cross at the barrel because that gives you a little extra handling challenges and teaches her t watch for handling cues too!
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
>I had planned to do barrel wraps today but became obsessed with the rear cross. >
I can totally relate to getting obsessed with things LOL!
>I made the mistake of using the clicker board instead of the blue mat so now Tribute is consistently doing a rear cross to the left and consistently spinning when going to the right (spins are a favorite trick). I stopped when I realized that I might be clicking for the spin.>
I don’t think it was the clicker mat causing it – it was the timing. On the left turn reps, you were getting the info a little sooner so he was picking up the left turn. The info he was seeing was pressure on the line to the left turn, and the reward throw.
On the right turn sides, you were still fully on the left turn side when he was arriving at the mat, so he turned left 🙂 Good boy!
One thing that might help is starting with a wing wrap that is 15 feet away from the mat – start right next to him at the wing so you both move forward at the same time. Then as he is passing you, you can get behind him to be fully on the new side. That should get him turning in the correct direction, both ways.
I grabbed some visuals because that might make more sense 🙂
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YRgSU3Z2rBa0cm1CZHHwTCaPX8qVuTA7HHDfLpflhFE/edit?usp=sharing
For the teeter: he can definitely climb around on it, he seemed very confident 🙂 Yay! For now, take out most of the movement of the board That is partially because he is still learning to balance on it and was not quite fully stable yet 🙂 Plus, he is very young and we want to avoid the impact on his joints. So you can do the mountain climbing but the board would be touching the ground and the top part (resting on the chair should only tip a half inch).
For the bang game, you can teach him the end position but the board should move less than half an inch for now. The sports vet people tell me that the teeter has pretty massive orthopedic impact, so they want us to wait until after a year or more of age to introduce a lot of movement of the board.
>I had a few minutes left on the rental so I finished with a straight tunnel. I think next time I will use a toy to get more running from him.>
Yes! I think he really had fun 🙂 That looked great! And yes, you can definitely add in the toy, that will make it even more fun.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
He was so funny at the beginning, telling you which side to start on (“I will be on your left side, hoooman”)He did a great job here!! I like you how got him started with a couple of good reps then added the challenge of the toy on the ground. That was a great way to break it down and get success.
He only had one question – when you did it on your right side he looked longingly back at the toy 🙂 but you still had your hand on his collar and so he ended up very successful there.
Ignoring the neighbor dog was hard but you can try using more tugging to get him stimulated enough to totally ignore the neighbor dog. Darned neighbor dogs who always seem to know when the camera is on LOL!
And he was great about bringing the toy back for the ‘do you want a cookie’ trade. It was a fun way to let him have his toy party AND get it back quickly. Love it!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
The starfish went great!!
She really liked the tandem turns in this context: run run run is her favorite thing 🙂
>In the beginning she wanted to just wrap the jump. However, I think it’s because I was running too fast.>
It is possible that with a lot of motion, you were facing the wrap line and not the threadle line. Your line on all the successful reps here looked really good!
>We had one disconnect on the left turn to the tunnel because I didn’t get there fast enough.>
That little question at :51 was not a moment of not getting there fast enough, your position was good! It was because you were looking ahead of her on the line. That turned your shoulders away from the line you wanted so she almost passed the wing. Compare to 1:19 where you were basically in the same spot but very connected and she had no questions. Super!
She only had one other question, at 1:04 – nice timing of your verbal! You were moving forward when she entered the tunnel rather than turning to the right, so she probably just anticipated going to the far wing because she had just done that a few times. So you can let her see you turning too – she was perfect on the next rep so it might have just been a small anticipation moment on her part.
>Should I start using a treadle cue now?>
Yes! And also, spread it out so you both run more. That is Kyla’s homework too with Aelfraed so you can really open it up to be 6 or 7 meters between obstacles 🙂
The backside sessions went well too.
She was more than happy to get the backside here, no both sides. The second side seemed a little harder? It was harder for Aelfraed too so I wonder if there is a visual thing in the environment that was pressuring their line inward? She didn’t take the front on the 2nd side (dog on left) but she was not as fluid getting to the backside.You did a great job of dropping the reward in earlier and earlier so she was looking for the jump more (rather than running parallel to your line). That early reward drop is going to help her look for the bar as you add more motion.
>She was great until I moved past the middle of the bar and then she was unsure of where she was supposed to go.>
Part of that is her just needing more experience, and part of that is about your line:
I cracked up when Kyla said “Where was your arm” LOL! It was in European position above your head! 😂 But a high arm is fine as long as your connection and line are still good. Sol’s question at 1:04 was more about your feet there -you were turning your feet to the tunnel before she got commitment to the backside. So definitely keep your feet facing the line parallel to her line til she is just about at the entry wing.
For the countermotion, release after you pass the exit wing now, and look back behind you to help support the commitment. If that goes well, you can start delaying the reward throw until you see her heading to the jump.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
The starfish game is looking great!!! He was really responding to every cue and he even got the tunnel threadle at the end! Yay! Well done with your connection and timing (and all the verbals :))
Only one suggestion: add decel into the threadles that wrap him back to the tunnel. Note the difference the decel brought to theturn aways there: the 1st and 3rd reps had no decel so he was wide. 2nd rep had nice decel so he was super tight.
The same held true on the other side even though it was harder to see your motion with the tunnel in the way LOL!!The acceleration through there when it was more of a tandem turn served you well at :54 and 1:10 and 1:27 and 1:43 where he needed to accelerate to the next wing, but it widens the turn when you want him to come back to the tunnel.
For the next starfish: spread it out so you really have to run run run 🙂 Maybe 6 meters between obstacles? I bet he will LOVE that 🙂
Backsides: Yes, the first side went really well – that seems to be a very comfortable side and lead for him. You had a really clear nice parallel path and connection. You can move a little faster so he can accelerate more too, and you can probably start to fade out the opposite arm (unless you want it to be part of the cue) but using it less and keeping and intense connection.
I see what you mean on the other side:
He was not comfy with the leads, wanting to turn left instead of shifting away to the left to stay on the backside line.You can move faster here too so he can’t slip in front of you to the front of the jump 🙂 and you can also you can intensify connection even more, very directly to his eyes, which points your shoulders to the line more clearly.
But the thing that can help the most is angling the jump a bit, pulling the outer wing towards the start wrap wing, so it is easier to find the backside line and harder to get to the front side. Your line is identical but angling it can help him sort out his footwork more easily.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
The turn aways are going well!
>I knew the tunnel would be distracting but thought we worked through it well. At least she could self reward>
Ha! Yes, having the tunnel there was a bit too hard as she told you 😂
Try to send her to the start wing from further away so you don’t have to back up a much on the lap turns. And you can slow down the motion of your hand movement, on both the lap turn and tandem turn – when your hands were moving slowly, she could read the cues really well but if you are moving your hands too fast she sometimes turned towards you and not away from you.
Mission transition is going really well and she is responding beautifully to the decel!!!
For the FC at the beginning where she ended up in the tunnel – don’t use your toy hand to reward like that 🙂 Have the toy in the other hand so you can reach across your body to how it to her. That will open up the connection to show her the new side. When she took the tunnel, what she could see from behind you didn’t show the connection clearly enough for her to come in tight.
Great job here!!!
TracyGood morning!
I don’t want to jinx it. Bt maybe bring is coming finally??
>I definitely think we might revisit some of the foundation with just the tunnel. I’m wondering if this might have gone better with a little more space between wings and tunnel.>
Overall he did well with the tunnel threadles! He was basically perfect with turning towards you (and not staying on the line) in the threadle cue moments. He still sorting out the turn away element of it and I think you did a fabulous job breaking it down at the beginning then halfway through again.
You also clarified your line by moving more directly to the tunnel entry you wanted. The delays you are seeing are him just processing the cues, I believe: for example at 1:55 I thought your line and your cues were really good! He had to sort them out, ignore his family who were cheering him on 😂 and turn away. So he looked at you (processing), barking (processing) then did it correctly. YAY!!!
My guess is he will sleep on it and it will be even easier next time. So when you take the game outside and add more distance: yes to your plan of breaking it down a bit at first, then you can do what you did here and see what he says.
Nice work!
Tracy
Good morning!
Blowing leaves are annoying but definitely better than snow!! He will get over it when he works outside more.
The front view looked good – I mainly wanted to see his sit and I think it is fine! He is not moving at all, not leaning or slouching, feet in a good position, jumping form very strong! Keep an eye on it but don’t obsess 🙂 (I know, I obsess on a LOT of things so I have to consciously remind myself not to obsess over:) ) He has long front legs and just needs too for them – this is similar to my sighthounds at that age, all front leg and no place to put them LOL so I just let them sort it out. The speed, power, and jumping form is there!
The accordion went GREAT! I am so proud of him! He was so good about reading the distances. I am guessing as he gains more power and as we raise the bars, he is going to bounce the distance on reps 2 and 4 as well. He was lovely with his flexible one-stride! You can revisit this maybe once a week or so, changing the distance on that 3rd jump by even more each time. Definitely video so we can the striding.
>I did try the focus forward idea on the lateral lead out but as soon as the toy was not out there, he just stared at me. >
You can start with the toy and then fade it to a target on the ground (a plastic lid or something like that) and then throw the reward to it. Be sure you are far enough away that he has to take his eyes off of you 🙂 and also you can release/reward if he even flicks an eyeball towards it 🙂
>I never trained Benni to focus forward. He does fine. I take the step to push out toward the first jump and he takes it.>>
Benni might need to learn this game too 🙂 AKC agility is evolving to include this forward focus lateral start a LOT now and the handler position is evolving to need to be behind the dog or way lateral. So having this skill is a huge advantage for what is coming next 🙂 It is not a super high priority but both Poodle boys are brilliant and I know they will learn it 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>Interestingly enough both dogs read my front wrap as a rear cross. I believe I opened my chest to the opposite wing instead of turning my shoulders more towards the wrap wing before presenting my arm across my body. Did anyone else have this issue? I could take a peek at their video.
Yes, that is actually a common blooper! It happens when we run had then rotate for the front cross… so we accidentally step right toward the RC line. If you decelerate facing forward to cue collection then rotate, the accidental RCs go away 🙂
I think so far *everyone* has seen this happen 🙂 Check out Julie with Lift & Kaladin if you want to see video, she worked through it real well!
Tracy
Hi!
>The get-out went well, I thought. Once he got the idea, he stayed in or got out and stayed out. At least as far as the barn would let him.>
Super interesting session! He was magnetically drawn to the out jump even on the first rep. Running past it was HARD – I am glad we are working on it because running past jumps in boxes is a core skill in AKC.
It went better when you added the wrap wing before it because he could see the line better and he was definitely getting the idea! Try not to run towards the get out jump at all, to get even more distance on the skill. And I agree – working the sequences all help solidify his understanding.
Soft brakes:
>My setup for the soft turns was not very nice, as the tunnel was straight ahead. So I used it as part of the triple: tunnel, wrap, soft turn. I am very happy with his wraps but the so-called soft turns, no bueno. >
The wraps looked GREAT!! And the tunnel sends were strong too of course 🙂
But actually… the soft turns were not that bad! The cues were late so what you were seeing was late info.
The soft brake has the opposite arm that accompanies the shoulder turning away to the new line – you were trying to get the opposite arm in his face but then to finish the turn, you had to open back up. That caused the wider turns because when you opened up you ended up facing straight so you either got the tunnel (1:12) or a wide turn (1:43, 1:47, 2:09, 2:12).
>The last 3 reps (X,Y,Z) were an attempt to give him the information very, very early.>
Your arm rotated to him was early! But that made the shoulder turn really late for this type of line.
Your best timing was on th rep that started at 1:18 – you had your arm present but also turned your shoulders to the new line, so he was able to get the nicest turn there! The earlier you turn your shoulders to the new line, the better he will read it.
>Also, his starting wrap around a wingless standard (for the get-out) looked pretty nice but the wraps with the soft turn were around a wing and they were pretty awful.>
You were not connected on those (exit line arm needed) so he drifted wide trying to figure out which side you wanted. Note how he instantly drove to the line when he saw your connection.
So for the soft brake sequences – yes have your opposite arm present but it doesn’t have to be as much in his face. It is more important to turn your shoulders towards the next line, really drawing the line for him so he can adjust before takeoff.
Nice work here! Let me know how the sequences go!
Tracy
Hi! She did really well here! Sounds like it was a fun day!
She did well with the lateral sends too! Good for her for ignoring other dogs working, that is impressive!
>I did notice that instead of walking in a straight line (over then straight up) I walked out on a diagonal. Didn’t seem to confuse her for these but I could see how that would come into play more when I move the wing out further.>
Yes, it is good to show the parallel line but also, try to look at her more and at the jump less- the disconnect of looking at the jump on the first rep was why she didn’t take it (you can totally use a reset cookie if that happens!
>When I took her in for the xray I did ask the vet about doing a pain trial. Her assessment, based on the physical exam and x-ray results, was that it wasn’t necessary. I’ve followed up with our chiro vet as I feel like she has a better understanding of the pain points and hope to hear back from her in the next couple of days.>
The recurring pain in the right hip area and the on-and-off interest in working/running is what definitely warrants further investigation. The x-rays happily ruled out stuff, but the Chiro keeps finding stuff and we are seeing some behavior that could be pain-based in training. Soft tissue stuff won’t be diagnosed with X-rays, and regular vets are great but they are not good with soft tissue diagnostics.
For example, I love my vet and she does agility! But she gave my 5 year old dog a clean bill of health based on X-rays and said the issues were behavioral… but the soft tissue people found an injury in her elbow and soft tissue injury along with it that required surgery. She never limped – she just shut off of doing sports.
And endorphins/adrenaline will mask pain, so you might not see a reaction at the vet office 🙂
>We will see her again when we are in Chicago as she will be there as well.>
Are you going to the invitational? This is the one year I decided not to go and I will be sad to miss you!
>For this weeks games, Given that I am only doing one rep with her, I’m postponing the Accordion game as it seems like those should be done in one session and will set up the starfish next.
You can do one-reps on the accordion! She does one rep – Jack does a rep. She does the 2nd rep – Jack does a rep. And so on 🙂
>I plan on entering MaxPup 3 and was hoping to take it as a “Live” student, but if we are only doing one rep it seems like this might not be the best session to plan on being live. What do you think? >
I think we can creatively pull it off, but going back to you between every dog or something 🙂 She can watch her classmates on TV 🙂
Have fun!
Tracy
