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Good morning!
I hope Benny makes a fast recovery from his surgery!
He did well with the handling session here!
>rear crosses (still some mistakes)>
The rear cross mistakes where cue timing moments. When you had earlier timing by moving up the line to show the RC before he had to make a takeoff decision, he got it right every time without the toy being placed out there.
At :36 & :44 for example, the rear cross had you moving up the line and he read it without needing the toy placed there.
At 1:03 and 1:50 for example, the RC cue was late – he was already turning to his right at the jump when you started the RC.
Note the difference at 2:16 – the RC info was much earlier so he got it. NICE! That is what he needs to see: your motion pushing to the center of the bar to cue the RC.
You don’t need to pull away then push back in for the RC. The pulling away is what makes you a little late.
For example, at 2:33 you are pulling away to the right turn wing then as he catches up, you are pushing into the RC line. He got it but you can see he had a little question.
At 3:04 you pulled away but that made you late for the RC at 3:05 so he turned the other way.
Compare to 3:30 where you really did not pull away at all, there was much earlier info so he got the RC at 3:32 and you were not as far behind. Yay! That one was my favorite rep of the rear crosses. Heading more directly to the center of the bar was great!
3:44 hd the pull away then you pushed in too early, which sent him to the backside.
>some tunnel/wrap differentiation that was harder for him:>
For the wing-tunnel discrimination: when he was going into the tunnel like at 4:41 4:58, your motion was all towards the tunnel so he really didn’t see the line to the wing. Setting him up at your side will help him see both obstacles and then he can respond to the different cues better. When he could see both, he was much more successful.
He is doing really well with the stay before the hand target! He still likes to talk 🙂 but that is fine, he was staying until you released him. The stay doesn’t look like crate rest, though 🙂 How much movement is he allowed to do?
The hand target looks strong then he was going to the toy nicely too. If you want a calmer variation, you can have him go to the hand target and then instead of a toy (if you don’t want him tugging during recovery) you can have him go to the small perch that he puts his front feet up on.
You can also work on duration tricks, like shaping him to rest his chin on your palm and hold it there, calmly eating cookies. That will be hard! And you can also teach him to put each foot into your hand and hold it there – also pretty hard 🙂 but he will not be moving much and it is a good challenge.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I had the same treats (roast beef) but a different tuge that I thought was about the same value as the original tug based on prior experience. Apparently she says that is not correct – LOL!>
Ha! They keep us on our toes! The other thing to consider is novelty: adolescent dogs are really attracted to novelty, so that might be what tipped the scales. Same food as last time, even though it is GREAT food paled in comparison to the novelty of the new tug (even through the new tug was not necessarily higher value tug). Being new can increase the value so you can rotate through different foods to keep them novel as well – and even ‘lower’ value foods might be higher value if she hasn’t seen them in a while.
>Next session I am going back to the original tug but thinking that if she still choses the run to the tug over the roast beef I would pull in a higher value tug to entice her into the turn for a couple of reps and then try the roast beef again.
Seem reasonable?>I think the original tug might not be that novel, so it is a good candidate for being used for self-control at this stage 🙂 And then yes – either a new tug (can be higher value or same value but novel) and novel food rewards can help her ignore the ‘old’ tug toy 🙂
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
>So it was amazing how much easier it was for me to figure out how to get her the reward when I changed the prop to a jump.>
The prop is an easier visual concept for her, the jump is an easier visual concept for you 🙂 All good! And the drafting ruler was an absolutely brilliantly idea! She found the line and transferred the concept very easily. The only thing to add here as you add more and more distance is to use a marker for the reward throw – a ‘get it’ or something will help keep her driving forward even more.
You can also use a toy with her for this game: throw a start cookie, get moving, she heads to the jump, mark with a get it, throw the toy, play play play 🙂 I think she will love that a LOT! Yes, there will be fewer reps because of all the play and it takes longer to get the toy back but the reps will have more speed (plus I really think she will love that a whole lot :))
The wrapping session had lots of good stuff too!
> she seems to consistently havw one time during the session that she doesn’t circle the upright.>
Yes, she a bit of a moment in the middle when she forgot the wrapping part – perhaps chewing distracted her? She was busy eating and forgot what she was doing. I mean, I can TOTALLY relate because I do this all this time hahaha. Do you have treats she can slurp down without chewing?
But also no worries – when you pulled the upright in closer, she got right back into the game. We will be moving away from using food in the wraps and start using toys soon. A bigger thing to wrap will be the next step – a barrel or large cone or something similar is ideal, because that will lead us into the faster moving games too.
You can also begin getting into a standing position – for the next session, d oa few reps when you sitting on something kinda low, or on a couch. Then when she is in the rhythm, move up to standing and see how it goes! That leads us into the turn and burn game which has a lot of action, and you’ll both like that one a lot too 🙂
Great job here! She is doing super!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
Let me know how she does with the ginger cookies! And I am curious to know if heat is indeed a factor in the back?I think this strike-a-pose-with toy went well on the first side in particular! She was more into the toy on the 2nd side in terms of wanting to shred it at first – but she worked through the puzzle really well and the last few reps were great! She is also doing really well with the marker word, heading to the toy without needing you to help with movement much at all! That is also really great.
For the next session, start with her targeting to your left (which was the second side here) and see if it is a side preference to go to your right, or it is just harder with the toy 🙂
But also – this game is ready for the concept transfer you saw last night! Maybe do one more session of parallel path with the jump-ish setup, then add it to the strike a pose concept transfer.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
Super nice sessions here!! Yay!The turn aways (lap turn) are looking good – you can start with a tossed cookie (onto a towel if she can’t find it in the grass) so you don’t have to run backwards 🙂
The tandems are also going well – theywill be easier if you decelerate and show both hands before starting the turn cue – using one hand and moving fast made it harder to be ready to turn.
Both of these turn aways are ready for the advanced level with the prop!
I love that she is offering the sit! Yay! Make the release more obvious: saying it louder (it was very quiet) and be completely stationary when you say it… then a second or two after you say it, throw the treat. It looked like the release was more on hand movement/treat throw here so we want to be sure she knows it is a verbal.
Strike a pose is going really well too! One small tweak it so to point your feet to the reward hand, not the target hand (this will make it easier to add motion soon). This game is also ready for the advanced version and the concept transfer we added last night.
Parallel path concept transfer – she had no trouble at all figuring this one out 🙂 The cue is motion, so keep moving 🙂 You were tempted to be a bit stationary near the jump. It went very smoothly when you were moving and using your get it marker before throwing.
You can add more movement and distance to this now – being a little further away, and also saying ‘get it’ sooner to mark her choice to move to the jump, rather than arriving at it. That gets even more forward focus.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning –
She did great in class last night!
The concept transfer went really well – she seemed to really love finding the jump! A couple of things to add:
You can look at her more directly to add more connection, like you would on course.Add in a her ‘get it’ marker for the cookie throw before she arrives at the jump and before she looks at you. That will keep her looking forward even more.
>Started off well and then she thought maybe she was supposed to foot target.>
I htink the timing of the ‘yes’ was right at the pool noodle, so she was targeting it more and more (smart girlie!) By timing the ‘get it’ to mark her decision to go to the jump and throwing sooner, she will keep moving and not try to target.
You don’t need to say yes – the get it marker is perfect and it will tell her where the food is. I think that will also help her know that not all arm movements (like pointing in the rocking horse game) mean you’ve thrown a cookie 🙂
>I removed the noodle and now have a naked bar. I know that isn’t what we really wanted but now she is trotting over it again instead of foot targeting. Should I attempt to put the noodle back? I can also use a small jump bump if that’s better.>
Any of these will work well! And you can add even more distance, taking the setup outdoors 🙂 You had more distance in the advanced session and she did well with that – it was harder so there were a couple of misses but she was about 90% correct and that is ideal.
You can also try this with a toy as the thrown reward. It will be fewer reps total due to all of the play, but that is fine because it will add more speed 🙂
On the backing up video:
I think she is starting to realize that you want her to put her back feet on the first mat, but it is a little tall – when she did lift a back foot, she really had to lift it! And that got her off balance and I am not sure she liked that. So a lower mat will be easier for her to step up onto. The second target was a little easier but I think it was still too tall. The 3rd target is more ideal in height but not enough width for her body – it is a challenge to find the ‘just right’ size thing!So maybe a folded up big towel will be perfect! Then you can start each session with her standing with all 4 feet on the destination target – and warm up the backing up with just luring her front feet off so she can step back on, then luring her back feet off so she can step back on. When she can do that – you can add more steps but spending more time at the feet off, feet on stage will clarify things and you won’t have to use your hands to push her back as much.
>Can I use my clearview panels to straighten her out?>
I don’t think you need to do this – as soon as she knows how to step back onto the destination, I think the rest will sort itself out 🙂
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning –
>Is that why you don’t have the feed bowl in the the third video? So it’s not acting as a lure once the jump bar is in place?>
Yes – get that lure outta there! I don’t want the bowl to become a context cue.
I think the session on this video was a good indicator of value levels! There was a big mismatch in value between the toy and reward. Was it the same toy & treats as the previous session, or had something changed in the value? You said something about the treats not having enough value, so perhaps you were trying lower value treats (and she said “nope” to that 🤣)
When you went to 2 toys, it was better in terms of matching value but the running to a toy is more rewarding than stopping to tug – good to know!
So basically what Kyrie said was that in order to convince her to ignore the toy and not run to it, the paycheck needs to be really worthwhile for her 🙂 And that is perfectly fine for now, because it is a great starting point. Then as she realizes that decel & pivot is what comes before getting to run run run to the toy, she will happily join in on that without needing a super high value motivator for that. She was getting it by the end!
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>It’ll be interesting as she’s occasionally drooling in the car crate. Literally her whole chest can be wet. I’m not sure if she’s stressed, hot or car sick.>
You should ask Danika about the magic of Trader Joe’s ginger cookies! I will see if I can find the exact brand. She has used them with car sickness successfully, and after learning about them from her I have passed the info on to a friend who also used it very successfully.
The strike a pose game went really well!
She figured it out after a couple of reps with the bowl on the ground, then had to re-figure it out on the other side (and she did 😁) It might be easier for her to come in on an angle directly to the hand (position 2, basically) rather than the slice line that makes the bowl more visible. This might help make it easier with the toy too.My only suggestion is to have the treats ready in the hand that is above the bowl, so the marker can be immediately followed by the drop of the treats into the bowl. You were marking with great timing, but there was a delay in getting the treats out of the pocket and into the bowl – so that produced more looking at you and not going directly to the bowl. That was especially true when you changed sides and the bowl was on your right side but the treats were still in your left pocket. So to help her go from the hand to the bowl directly, having the treats ready will make a big difference.
Great job here! I am looking forward to the toy video!
Tracy
Hi!
>Ok, but that sounds more like handler-based then direction/absolute-based since I assume your verbal varies based on which end of the tunnel would be on versus off the dogs line?>
Nope – the tunnel on the line is always tunnel.
>Eg/ say ‘tunnel’ for all right turns into it and me-me-me for all left turns.>
I mean, you can approach it like that, but don’t need to make it that complicated. It can be as simple as on the line or off the line.
>also comes a point when you need to be reinforcing father into the turn given this is a 360 wrap regardless of where we are.>
Yes, but that point is not the starting point 🙂 the videos were the starting point, pretend he is an inexperienced dog. And also, the dogs all have wrap foundations in other ways, so the understanding to finish the wrap is easy to put into place.
>For example, in the video where you added in the jump bar, at about 20sec the position where you are standing could look to the dog (especially thinking a retrain like Beka) like we might be doing a german or some other backside slice when we actually want them to continue the left turn around the upright. >
That’s the whole goal of that type of verbal: keep turning for the wrap and not think it is a German. The reward there was thrown for committing to the wing/bar and turning left (not slicing towards me) which is a nice split to begin overriding handler position.
>That is where I would think having the reinforcement delivered after the dog turns away from the handler would be helpful, correct?>
Waiting for that in the early stages is lumping, though, and the dogs will default to turning towards the handler. Think of verbal directionals as reward placement predictors (similar to markers). Go means the reward is placed straight ahead. The left turn backside circle wrap cue means the reward is placed on the continued left turn. So you start it on the continued left turn, and shape your way to getting the full left turn. You can of course use a lure to get it but I prefer to minimize lures because they are very hard to fade.
> I know doing similar positions with Beka (same-ish area as you are in that video but more on the landing side of the jump bar) she looked at me and I am sure she was wondering a bit if she should turn away,>
Lumping 🙂 Reward early and in the right spot consistently so she doesn’t question 🙂
> so I put the reward farther around to encourage completing the full 360. For where I was standing I could totally understand her thinking she was done given her training and that I was more in a spot I might be for a backside slice.>
Because that is her learning history. And to get a different behavior you either have to lure it or shape to it in successive approximations.
>For sure on that, I can’t think of a time when Beka has back jumped on course, but isn’t turn and burn is more a handler location-based exercise and they are always chasing to catch the handler? they aren’t really turning away from the handler (or did I miss an option)? >
You are combining concepts. T & B is not a verbal game at all or a turn away game (those come later) – it is a finish your job game (complete the wrap). Sure, you can add verbals but the goal of the game is that eventually the handler is moving away on a tight countermotion line before the dog arrives at the barrel: does the dog understand to complete the wrap? Or does the dog chase the handler? That is why I bug everyone to use the line on the ground, so people can progressively do the FC earlier and earlier. Without the line on the ground, people default the same rhythm each time and the dog’s understanding never gets expanded into fully finishing the wrap.
>Where with the backside wrap, depending on your location, they are turning away, and fairly late in the turn. they also aren’t always chasing the handler per se, they can be going away from us depending on where we are physically located.>
Yes, eventually the wraps are expanded to include turning away. But if there is a concept hole in turn and burn (finishing the job) then turning away goes very poorly. That is why we start with simply ‘finish the job’ before making it more complex. This is what Kyrie should be working on before complex verbals should be added.
Looking at the videos:
She did well with the warm up of wrapping the barrel and didn’t seem to mind the foot tapping 🙂 And she did well moving away from the toy with the food rewards. Yay!
As you send to the barrel be sure not to step backwards too early – that was causing the little bloopers when you pulled her off the barrel.
She also did well with the toy behind her on the left turns – now you can add front crosses at the barrel with the toy on the ground behind her, to get her following handling rather than driving to the toy immediately.
You added the FCs on the right turn side and she did well finding the new side then driving to the toy. Super! You can add in the decel and pivot (you can food reward that).
Plank games:
She did well turning around and changing positions on the little plank with the food lure. She had a little trouble tugging right next to the plank, but moving a few feet further away was much better 🙂Same with the start of the 2nd video – a little trouble tugging close to the planks (and at the end too). So you can start tugging further away to avoid any potential conflict with you want tug and she wanting to offer behavior.
Turning around on the taller plank was definitely hard here, so having her just hop on & walk across then hop off was perfect.She was definitely working to sort out how to turn on the plank in video 3 – not 100% getting it yet but you can see her working to sole the puzzle. Let her sleep on it and see how her brain locks it in 🙂 She might know it perfectly in 2 days just with latent learning 🙂
Lap turns:
Looking really good! She is turning away really well in both directions. One suggestion: have your hand already in position and fully extended towards her as she eats the start cookie so she can lock onto it immediately. That way when you add the prop (advanced level) she will have an easier time seeing the cue to come to you and not go to the prop.Tandems also went really well. You were a little quick at the beginning but then locked in the timing and it was much smoother. Yes, the right turn side looked a little harder for you both 🙂 But your hands were low and slow, so she was able to do it really well. Yay!
The tandems are also ready for you to add the prop for the advanced level.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Remember that there is a lot of terrier in there 🙂 so it doesn’t surprise me that Ted is independent and adventurous 🙂 You might want to get a very long, light line?But yes – start to add tug games. And see if he can eat a treat, then tug, then eat a treat. Then start doing some very simple shaping (Pre-Game 1). That will ease him into the games.
Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
>I used kibble and she was brilliant!!! I was super pleased with this session. >
Yes! This was great! The kibble was motivating but not mind-blowing in the same way the toy was.
Great job adding your verbals for each direction and being super connected! She was turning beautifully and super fast – so you will need to start to add more distance away from the barrels to give yourself more time to be able to get the crosses or decel/pivot in after it.
>I tried to preload the bowl once and that blew her mind so maybe that is for next time. Or we can try a slightly boring toy.>
Start the next session exactly as you ended here, to see what got locked in to her learning 🙂 Then you can decide what you want to add: preloading the bowl, or a boring toy, or more distance. Try to add only on variable so it isn’t too hard.
Side note, since you are a scientist and I spend way too much time on PubMed searches 🤣😂
a recent study presented evidence that baseline reinforcement arousal assessments are useful for deciding arousal state in training, to maximize learning and memory. Dogs that were high arousal for the toy needed to be in a slightly lower arousal state for the best learning and memory. It basically expands on the good ol’ Yerkes Dodson Law but introduces play instead of experimenting with shock/fear conditioning.So we can learn from that that for dog sports and specifically, Frankie – her baseline arousal for the toy was very high (yay! We like arousal for toys!) but it didn’t create the optimal arousal for learning a relatively complex task (wrapping AND self-control AND reading handler cues etc). The kibble/food bowl is very motivating but definitely more of an optimal arousal state. A true ‘sweet spot’ 🙂 Yerkes Dodson (and Hebb) tell us that higher arousal states are great for simpler tasks, so you can use the toy play for things that don’t require as much cognitive control for now (it will change as she matures)
This study also says the best memory consolidation happened when 15 minutes of play occurred AFTER the session. I am not sure that 15 minutes of toy play is an option (and I don’t think they tested shorter blasts of play) but definitely add lots of play after the session!
I think the study has some confounding factors and it is a great start to guide more research, but I am grateful to that researchers are looking at PLAY in terms of memory consolidation in dogs and not fear conditioning in mice or rats (or dogs).
> I got the prop out to work on the sit and she said I figured what you wanted a couple of days ago lady! >
She had a ton of great offers here! Good girl! Memory consolidation is amazing – 24 hours of her brain working on it… and there it is 🙂
>She apparently believes the only way to get into a sit is to leap 4 feet into the air. >
Perfectly fine with me LOL!! Adorable! And also flashy if you wanted to do a fancy finish for obedience 🙂
You can now add in the ‘catch’ rewards so you can start to move away and build duration. To build duration, move away rather than stand there and look at her. If you stand still and stare at her, she might think you want her to offer something 🙂
>but did some rewards in place because she was holding still. >
Be very careful with rewarding in place – there was a lot of movement, especially as your hand was moving away at first, When you rapid-fire rewarded towards the end, there was no movement and that is definitely more desirable.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Do you think so? I’ve never taught/used my tunnel threadle command (me me me) other then when the dog is between me and the tunnel entrance I want and it doesn’t matter if the dog is turning left or right into the tunnel – it’s the same command for either. >I think of it as a direction-based cue based on the visual for the dog: they can see the full tunnel (picture it as a curved tunnel). And one end of the tunnel is on their line. That is the ‘tunnel’. The other end of the tunnel is off their line – that is the ‘me me me’. It is never a different tunnel, it is always one end of the tunnel or the other.
>Are you differentiating the tunnel entrance these days based on the direction of the turn the dog makes into the tunnel rather then where you are relative to the dog and the tunnel??
I will absolutely help the dog get the turn on the line coming into the tunnel discrimination with directionals and handling. For example, if the dog needs to do a soft left turn on the jump before the tunnel to set up an easier time to the tunnel threadle? I will cue/handle the soft left then go to the tunnel threadle cue. Anything to help the dog out 🙂
About tunnel exits:
>But wondering if the words should be something different than for the jump versions to differentiate when a jump and tunnel are relatively close together on a course? ie/ not use left/right/dig/check with the tunnel since I use those for the jumps?>
It is handler choice! The tunnel-then-exit cues have worked brilliantly, with no confusion with jump discriminations, even on those slightly ridiculous UKI courses LOL! The reason is timing – the cue timing tells the dogs what we want.
But it is also perfectly great to use a 2nd set of verbals for the tunnel exits. In that case, since you are adding verbals you might as well just add separate verbals entirely for the tunnel & exit: tunnel means go straight after it, “through” means to turn soft left, “swing” means to turn soft right, etc (I am making those verbals up LOL but you get the idea :)) We have a bunch of MaxPup alums who are doing that very successfully.
>I’ve started adding the word tunnel and am getting barking happening which is not ideal. >
Barking is communication! Could be complete joy… could be frustration… could be overarousal… could be telling you that you are GREAT. Grab a video so I can see why she is barking.
>Thoughts on how should I deal with it?>
No thoughts yet until we know why she is doing it and what she is saying. Video will help! Could be nothing at all. Some dogs make a little noise during work and don’t even realize it, and that are at their best when they are singing. My dog Voodoo used to shriek in the weaves… but he had great weaves 🙂
>Can I ask a question about your step 3 video for the directionless backside?>
Absolutely! Questions are always welcome and I love obsessing on this LOL
>wouldn’t it be better to toss the reward more so it lands on the takeoff side of the jump so they continue the turn?>
I always start with a reinforcement for committing when turning away (thus the landing side reward). That splits the behavior really well, and waiting for them to commit AND then finish the turn is a bit too much lumping at this stage.
When or even if we change that will depend on the dog – if the dog is likely to back jump then yes, I will move quickly to rewarding for NOT back jumping but also – we trust the handler position & wrap foundation understanding to be strong enough that they will complete the turn. That is why Turn And Burn is such a crucial game: it teaches the ‘finish the job’ element that all of this hinges on. Even my small dogs don’t back jump because of the turn and burn understanding.
And the continued turn through the wrap (and not the slice) comes from the independence of the cue: no extra hand movement, no leaning across the bar or stepping in – all of those could cue a slice not a wrap. So diligent foundations on the understanding and how to cue it (for us humans) make it pretty easy to teach.
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did great with his backsides! Two things to build up on this important skill:>I used the toy behind me and tried to pass the wing when he turned away from me.>
Since this went really well and he was almost perfect, you can start to change your angle & position so you are sending from the landing side more (tucked into where the wing and jump bump meet) and you are getting right behind him. That way he is doing the wrap with more countermotion and not needing to see you on the landing side at all to help with commitment. You can still throw the toy back to him for committing. The goal is that you are passing the takeoff side as he is taking off (not when he lands).
The closest to the angle I am talking about is here, and you can also see that he is ready for you to be on the takeoff side more:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1l7aTAm18oMVtubZOPhfbfNZYivKUu5TLtcrWsSSpXdY/edit?usp=sharingThe other thing you can add is asking for him to wrap on the inside of you (threadle side) so he is between you and the wing. This sets up threadle wraps – you will probably have to slow down your motion at first but I think he can do it!
The go reps were a strong balance too 🙂 And super fun!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Okay, little man is really turning onto tugging! He is a great tugger inside, but I sit down for that. I guess he needed to get taller…. >
That makes sense in terms of mechanics! It is hard for smaller pups to get a good grip to tug when the toy is up high.
>Questions from last session – I was using cheese – i thought white and more odor would be helpful – it really wasn’t. The grass is really thin so everything falls through – Oklahoma soil…..and drought.>
It was a good thought!! The cheese might have just been a little too high in value for now. I love using cheese! I usually set aside sessions using the pattern game to just teach the pups how to find cheese in the grass and return their engagement to me immediately. And for some of the games where the start cookie is tossed to the same spot each time, a big towel on the ground as a landing pad for the treat work really well.
>Oh, and I have inadvertently taught eye contact is release. I will have to figure that out. As he is only 5 months old I think we have time, but I did the same thing to my last dog….>
I relate! I have certainly done that (more than once LOL) The stay game with the ‘catch’ marker fixes it y making things a little less predictable (in a good way). We move away from the pup in a stay, look at the pup, move an arm… then after that either say ‘catch’ and throw a reward back or use a release word to move forward.
Video 1:
The is doing well with the lap turns here! He will drive into them more directly if your hand is already visible and extended towards him as he lifts his head for the start cookie. This is a good game to use a towel to toss the start cookie onto as well – you don’t need to change your position relative to the prop so you can toss the start treat onto a towel and already be in position.He is doing really well with the parallel path too, so you can move to the next game with this skill: the concept transfer!
Video 2:
The barrel wrapping is going well too! Everything is starting to look really easy for him. He did a great job ignoring the toy on the ground when you added that. My only suggestion is to start closer to the barrel and use a big dog-side leg step on the left turns like you did at 1:20. You were a little too far at the beginning so he went to his stronger side (right turn).Since this went really well, you can re-visit turn and burn where you leave on the 90-degree angles earlier and earlier. We build on this game tomorrow!
3rd video: The first rep was a tandem turn but you were a little early – he did turn away to the prop, but it was him taking an educated guess (good boy!). So for the tandem turns, you can be moving along a line parallel to (but a few feet away from) the prop – let him get to within a few inches of your hands then turn him away. As he turns away, you turn too and then the prop will be right on his line 🙂
The rear crosses went well too! Start a little further away to be able to show the info even sooner but he read them really well in both directions.
Great job here! I look forward to building on these with the next set of games!
Tracy
Good morning! I am glad you got the training in because today’s weather is gross!
The giant barrel was indeed weird at first, but you did a lovely job of showing it to her to let her know that it was a barrel to wrap. Then she was all in for wrapping it! Yay!
The sends and FCs were really strong, and then you did spins as well on the other side. She really wants to turn to her right, so when she started ahead of you, and you were a little further away and not as connected (pointing to the barrel instead of looking at her) she would offer up a right turn instead of the intended left turn (2:06, for example). It was still good to reward that, because it was more of a handling mechanics question. When you were clearer on the sends – she got the left turns really well. You were able to get way ahead and do some nice flying blinds! Super!
>Thought of you as they were having a big whippet social at our training facility! So many whippets running, flying and catching discs! It made for a great training distraction.>
A whippet social! Hilarious! And a fantastic distraction for Rory! She did great!
As a breed, they often do integrate nicely with no issues around whippets they don’t know. Letting a bunch of them run together would scare the poop out of me because the collision risk is HIGH with a breed that is made out of twigs & paper, has zero self-preservation, and runs 35 mph hahaha
>She was still “offering” the barrel a bit so I tried to do some restrains to keep her on track with what I was asking for. In general she’s been weird about letting me restrain her so this in itself was actually great progress and she seemed to find the release pretty fun and drove out of it nicely. >
Many pups don’t like being restrained, so we work to build the love for it. If she wears a harness, you can add a light line that is maybe 12” long – and use that as a way to hold her without bending over too much or touching the harness or collar directly? And if it is super light, almost like a shoelace, she can play these games with it attached and won’t even notice it.
>Afterwards we did plenty of toy play and later did a second (unfilmed) session with a LONG tunnel. Verbal sends and tunnel threadle held up well and are a fun way to end our session.>
Fantastic! And yes, it is a great way to end the session. SUPER!!
Nice work here! Hope you aren’t getting too much icky rain!
Tracy
