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Hi!
I agree – this has been a crazy summer, especially with all the weird weather!!>>(I don’t think Syn, in in in is going to work :)), and then using to cue the entire behavior instead of just the coming in part.>>
Excellent point! What about ‘close close’ or something? Do you use ‘dig dig dig’ for anything?
>>We actually had this distance challenge in 2 of our AKC Open Jumpers runs this weekend and I was thrilled with her committmen>>
Yay! Happy dance!!!
On the video: she is driving ahead really well!!
I think you need to cue forward focus on the jump with an arm point – at the beginning as you moved backwards, it looked like she was holding the stay beautifully but not sure when you want her to look at jump 1. So indicating it by slowly pointing your hand to it can help!
On the straight lines:
As soon as you see her feet up for jump 1… get moving 🙂 You stood still at :16 and :50 as she was approaching 2. She found the line but you want to be as far ahead as possible 🙂
>>The push wrap actually worked better for us because she understood the skill better, although I still need to move away quicker. I’m such a control freak!!>>
Ha! You crack me up! Yes, trust her, don’t be a control freak LOL! And also yes, it is the stronger skill for now.
Push wrap at 1:08 worked well , nice acceleration from you and she drove ahead well!
At 1:32, you didn’t step out as well from the wrap (you stepped kind of to the side) then you decelerated a bit at 1:36 so she looked at you when she exited the tunnel and didn’t take the last jump. One of the things that made the decel more obvious there was that you reached for the toy and kept your arms at your side. On the other reps, your arms were pumping and that gives a lot of support to the forward motion – so keep pumping your arms on the big lines, even if your legs are not sprinting.
>The threadle wrap did not work as well because Syn really didn’t understand the skill. >
Yes, the threadle wraps are a work-in-progress (they are a newer skill) but I think you will find them very effective! One thing that will help is if you keep your feet straight facing the tunnel rather than rotate and face her. The feet face forward and the upper body does all the threadle work (arms/hands/connection/shoulders). As her understanding grows for flipping away independently, you will find yourself MILES ahead of her – that is a huge advantage! So for now, it is perfectly fine to just walk through the threadle wraps as you build the skill, and we will gradually add more and more speed.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
These went well – he gave you a really honest reading of what he was seeing in the handling.On the first video – he was definitely reading the cues correctly, even if they were not what you planned 😁
On the first run: at :10 you were facing him on the jump before the backside, then turned forward so he took the tunnel. Plus, you were blocking the wing a little, which opens up the tunnel more. The verbal didn’t start til he was about in the tunnel so he didn’t hear it in time to make a line adjustment.
It is rewardable! So, even if you are *convinced* he was wrong… reward anyway then watch the video 🙂 so the video will show you why he ended up where he did.
You can see when you did not reward and just stopped moving that he got a little stressed, running in a wide circle.You had a MUCH bigger cue at :26 so he did turn! Yay! Then you turned back towards the tunnel and he took the threadle side of it (also rewardable – he was responding to exactly what he saw).
At :44, he came to the backside really well (note your position pretty far across the bar – nice!!). As he started coming towards the bar, you accelerated forward and looked forward, which pushed him past the bar. Also rewardable 🙂
At :52 you held position at the backside jump longer so he did come in. Yay! You can keep moving like you wanted to on the previous rep (which will help keep the bar up):
For the backside, as you move forward, you can shift your connection and look at the landing side of the jump, and also point to the landing side of it. That will help him get committed.
2nd video – good job getting the FC at the backside! The FC rotation makes it harder to get across the bar, so you ended up moving a bit too far past it and had trouble showing the line to it, so he didn’t take it). O the last run, you got the FC and moved forward to the jump so he got it. Super!
I think you will find it easier to do the blind! You are in great position and it will be far quicker to show the line if you don’t need to rotate your feet! It might feel riskier but if you start the blind before he takes off from the previous jump, you will have plenty of time to show the connection and threadle to the backside jump.
Just be sure that you are running forward the whole time on the 3-4-5 line. On a couple of the reps you were decelerating and facing him, then did a rotation on jump 4 (like on the 2nd run and also at 1:01) That made it harder for you both! On the last run, you ran forward beautifully and he got it really well 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I really struggle with verbals, which cue means what, using the right one at the right time, balance between being a blathering idiot and running completely silent and then concentrating so much on the verbals that I f-up the rest of the handlin>>
This is totally relatable LOL!!! Good news though – the next training package focuses on rehearsing all this specifically so everything goes much more smoothly in the run 🙂
Looking at the video:
The went really well! You were super connected and getting your verbals in!!! I only have subtle details for you to consider:1-2 looked good each time. From 2-3 (backside on 3) you can more immediately run to the backside – for a few steps at :07 and :31 it looked like you wanted the front side them you pushed in to the backside. I think your line at 1:01 was the best of the reps with the clearest line most directly to the backside.
Nice FC on the backside at 4 at :11 and :35 – great timing and connection so the turn was fantastic!
The flip went well!
The first run didn’t quite have enough connection to cue 7, but the next 2 runs were great! Nice BC 7-8 on the 2nd and 3rd run!!!>>would you suggest any different ones for this sequence
The other option on this one is to look for more slice opportunities on the 2/6 jump. For example, you can turn him to his left over 1, slice 2 (a serp) from the other direction so he lands facing 3.
And you can FC 4 like you did then slice 5 to his left (rather than flip to his right) so he is jumping 6 to his left on a slice to 7.
Great job here! Looking forward to seeing how the next one goes!
Tracy
Hi! He is doing great here!
The best reps were when you had a decel into it and less arm showing the circle – let him find the circle based on the decel and initial hand cue. That way he won’t rely on a cue to turn away and can respond to the verbal and initial cue. The decel is to help set up the wrap.
And as soon as he turns his head away and takes the first step to the bar, you can start moving forward – but throw the reward to the landing side to continue to solidify the commitment. He is looking really strong here!!
Great job!!
TracyHi!
>>We are a bit behind because dark early and weather has been horrible so think got too focused on trying to get things done rather that leaving it early enougn.>>No worries! You have challenging winter weather, and we have extremely challenging summer weather… so the class will be extended 🙂 That way we are not fighting the weather as much.
On the video:
>>the amount of movement relative to size is huge.>>
This is an excellent point! So true!!
She is already more confident getting on it! Some of her “shaking” when she is because she is really young and her core strength is still developing. When she is full adult and her core strength is fully developed, it will be much easier for her. Keep going with this very gradually progressing to having no pillows under it. She gets happier with it each time!
Great job :)
TracyHi!
>>Between the trial and 106 temps you will see videos from 5 am!!
Totally relatable… I am often out there at sunrise trying to some time to train the pups!
>>I won’t be trialing for awhile but can maybe go with Ginger to a training yard and work on the fun mommy play away from home.>>
I am sure Ginger would enjoy having a training partner! And also, do you remember the pattern game from Max Pup 1? It is fantastic for getting the pups to engage with us in new environments!
>>I have a question- since it is a 360 wrap I used by backside wrap cue for the first wing. Is that wrong? >>
It is correct! I would recommend using the backside wrap cue for sure.
On the video:
There is a decel element to the circle wraps – you get to the wing (begin sure she can see the wing), decel to let her get past you, then move forward again when she is past you and turning to the wing.
As you decel, you can lean forward a bit so your first step after she passes you is forward towards the wing, and not backward (which puts you a little behind her). That leaning forward to move forward immediately after she passes you will give you the feeling of countermotion in a bigger way.
For example, you over before she passes you at :03 and :18 which pushed her off the wings.
Your timing was much better at :14 and :24, for example.
The rep at :36 was GREAT with decel then moving directly forward, no backward steps at all. Yay! 1:02 really good too!
About stepping backwards – you don’t want any step backwards to delay your forward motion, or to accidentally change her line. At :40 you stepped backwards as she was passing you, so she pulled off the wing.
The threadles are going well! The first set were more like tandem turns where your feet turned with the her to the other side of the wing. The more slowly you moved your arms, the better she got the turn way.
On the other side, the first few reps had too much foot rotation before she got to the correct side, so she had questions. When you kept your feet straight, she got it really well!
The next step here is to cue the threadle wrap with your upper body and send her back to the wing… but keep your feet facing forward so you are not turning with her. That will eventually turn into the masters-level fancy threadle wraps!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Yes, totally normal for 14 month old pups to have changes in focus or arousal… adolescence is a challenging time!
To help him out, build in lots of breaks and decompression into everyday life… snuffle mats, long sniffy walks (where possible, I know it is hard at this time of year), chew bones… and tons of sleep! Adolescents need a ton of sleep.
Also, the neuroscience people tell us that adolescent dogs are *less* sensitive to reinforcement and *more* sensitive to punishment (even if is it withholding reinforcement). Plus, if they are stressed at all, it takes them twice as long as normal to bounce back to baseline. Being a teenager is hard!!
So you can help him out by providing lots of decompression, simplifying things, using crazy high value rewards, and keeping sessions really really short 🙂
And often with adolescent dogs, they might be perfect in training one day… and completely feral the next. No worries! Try to get videos of it and we can figure out how to help him out.
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Wow, it sounds like Lift did GREAT!!! YAY! Sounds like her behaviors from home appeared in the new locations (indoors and outdoors) and also that you got really good ideas for more training fun. Super!!!!
>>She nailed it so I do think her stickiness at the seminar was partly the new space.>>
Yes, it could be the new space. And also, latent learning so she totally had it at home after sleeping on it.
>>I also got a shingles vaccine this morning and so far feel OK but we might not be doing much tomorrow either if it hits me later.
Hope you are feeling fine! I didn’t have a reaction from the shingles vaccine so I hope you don’t have one either 🙂 It is still better than getting shingles!!
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Hi!
>>IF it ever cools down here, do you think we should try what ‘we think we know already’ with bars up? He is going to be jumping 20, Preferred – not 24.>>
What is the highest bar he has jumped so far? You can use the sequences he has already done and raise the bars a little. Or, you can use the new sequences and raise a bar on the easy parts 🙂
>>I was going to draw that line on screenshot but I don’t see how I can attach a screenshot here? Just to make sure I understand it right >>
Most attachments are too big to attach in the forum, so feel free to email it to me at agilitydals@yahoo.com
Super nice job with the countermotion – he is really excellent when his commitment! Well done tweaking the game to use 3 wings, and also well done sending to the wing behind you with arm, leg & looking behind you, then moving forward before he got to the wing. Perfect! As he exits that first wing, you can connect back to him more (dog-side arm pointing back to him, and look for his eyes) so he has a clear view of where to be. That will also let you send him past you to the next wing even more.
I think he is ready for you to do 3 wings in a row, plus the race tracks around the outside of the wings 🙂
The Golden thought the game looked fun and wanted to join! But it was better to put her inside LOL!!!
Great job here!!!!
TracyHi!
The warm up with the end of the sequence went well in both directions There was a little blooper at :28 where you did not make not enough connection, so it looked like a blind to him and he changed sides. Remember to reward after handler errors! The next reps had more connection and he had no questions.
BC reps:
Nice connection out of the blinds here! You can start them sooner – as he is exiting the tunnel, you can handle that next line with more lateral distance. That way you can start the blind sooner (when he lands from the previous jump). You were starting it as he was over the blind cross jump, so starting it sooner will make for better turns especially as the bar gets higher.Remember that connection and low arm will send to the tunnel and jumps. Your arm was getting higher (like at 2:17 and 3:19) and that was causing him to not be sure if he should go to the tunnel or which side to be on. Be sure to reward if there is a blooper so he doesn’t slow down or get confused.
I think when you went to the FC version he was a little done because he was frustrated – not enough reward for trying to figure out handler bloopers 😁 At :28 you released him and stayed by the jump, then pointed forward and looked ahead to the tunnel… but that blocks connection and turns your shoulders away from the tunnel entry. So that was unclear and there was not any motion, so he started sniffing.
You got your connection and motion much clearer and he did the jump line really well! Yay!!!! The FC timing can come sooner (same as the BC timing) but the most important thing was the strong connection and motion.
I am not sure why he was avoiding the tunnel at the end – it is possible the tunnel was really hot inside and he did not want to go in it again.
So really emphasize the connection! And you can use a toy that can scrunch up more in your hand, so he doesn’t have it moving as much right in front of him 😁
Side note: his stays looked great!!!
Nice job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! I think this went really well overall. There are a couple of spots to consider handling things a little differently, but most of it was well done.
Looking at the different sections:
The lead out push 2-3 had too much forward motion at :12 and 2:01 so he was really wide on 3-4. He got tighter on the next rep when you didn’t accelerate as much – decel worked great there! Then, because 7 is a tricky spot, you can send to 4, cue 5 with verbals, and leave a for 7 a lot sooner. Ideally, you start moving down the line when he lands from 4 and looks at 5. You took off down the line when he took off for 5 at :16 and 2:04, which put you behind for the threadle wrap on 7.
I think the biggest piece of the puzzle here is clarifying exactly what you threadle cues are. You were using “come” before both the threadle slice and threadle wrap cues… which made the important info (slice or wrap) late so there were errors and widenesses on those.
For example, at 7, he was finding the correct side of the jump/general area with the ‘come’ verbal, but had to wait to here the flip verbal (I think that is what you were saying for the wrap).
>>Enzo’s problem in the first run was he wanted to go directly from 8 to 10.>>
That was not an Enzo problem 😁 You had a lot of come verbal going and a lot of forward motion… but no threadle verbal or handling at :23, so by the time you did get the threadle verbal going, he was well past 9 and locked onto the tunnel.
Resist the temptation to tell him ‘no’ because he was reading the info as well as possible and I can see his argument that the line was to the tunnel.
Ideally, you would not use a come verbal (too general) and just do your threadle cue, which gives the info a lot sooner. If you need a turn cue on the previous obstacle, definitely use it, but use it before he commits to the previous obstacle. So that way when he lands from the obstacle before the threadle, you are already into the threadle verbals.
Blind to the RC slice worked well there!
And the
Threadle slice worked well at 1:19 and after, when you were further up the line and not as accelerated.On the threadle slice at 2:10, he got the correct side of the jump but because you pulled away and pushed back in, it ended up looking like a rear cross on the flat so he landed looking at the weave at 2:11. Keep moving forward and it should be a more direct line to the tunnel.
Smaller detail:
Call him when he is still about 6 feet before entering the tunnel #10 at :40 and 1:21 to get a better turn on the exit. He was a bit wide because you were quiet.>>one big problem was I couldn’t keep 15 in my head. I really wanted to go directly from 14 to 16.>>
I was wondering! LOL!!! But it was a good opportunity to work on the threadle wrap there. The line from 10 tunnel to the 11 threadle, weaves, and 13-14 looked great each time!
He was pretty convinced it was a slice on 15. You can eliminate the come here too and just use the flip but I think the main thing to adjust is your foot position/direction you are facing as you flip him away:
Try rotating your feet to 16 as you cue the threadle wrap – foot position makes a big difference on these. Your feet were facing the tunnel here, which could be why he thought it was a slice and the tunnel was next. Your foot position on the threadle wraps here was the same as on the threadle slice for jump 9, at 2:09 for example, so he could be reading the direction you are facing as part of the slice cue. Changing that direction (to the wrap line) can eliminate his question there.
The ending line looked good too! Lots of independent distance allowed you to easily get to the turn jump and up the last line. This is another spot the come verbal didn’t help him: I don’t think you need a come cue before the threadle slices cues on 18. It was too much turn cue the first time through there (almost pulling him to the tunnel) and it caused him to drop the bar on the 2nd time through there. Your lateral position is super strong so I bet just your in in cue will get the line!
Nicely done to be able to handle it from both sides!Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I have only taken about 100 courses on-line and surely some of them would (you’d think) address core strengthening. And I’m sure they do but they didn’t pop out at me.>>
In my experience, the core strengthening stuff is embedded in just about every exercise.
> >• Sit to Kick Back Stand
Yes and also stand to tuck sit, and stand to rollback sit.
>>• Stand to Down
Yes, then down to stand, etc. An exercise given to me a while back for the dogs is that when they are good with down to stand… have them do it while you gently hold one front paw up. It is like a one-arm push up. And alternate which front paw you hold up.
>>• Bow>>
Yes but also good for shoulder stretches!
>>I also think about sit/sit-pretty/up and then back down. But he isn’t ready for that yet.>>The consensus from the rehab vets and sports vets is to NOT do the sit pretty. Any core benefit is negated by the possibility of unwanted spinal compression.
On the videos – His forward focus is MUCH improved! And he was soooo good with the ball 🙂 Yay!!
He is not quite ready for you to run yet, that is when he goes bum-over shoulders like on the last rep 🙂 I want to continue with a cone as the destination (or a wing) with the toy behind it, so he keeps his head down and better form (rather than lifting it to track the toy throw. So you can do two jumps to a cone/wing 20 feet away (toy behind it) first walking, then jogging, then running ver the course of multiple sessions. Stay at the walking level until he is very balanced and driving ahead. To get him driving ahead, don’t start from a sit – start from a wing wrap about 18 feet before jump 1, then move forward into the 2 jumps. You can send him to that first wing wrap so you are not too far behind, especially during the walking phase.
When he is balanced, we can go to jogging – probably progressing week by week.
Keep me posted! Nice work here!
TracyHi!
>>So, I’m thinking of playing around with her entrance. I watched Dudley and Jammy and she takes the leash off early. Jammy moves with her and dances around a bit. I thought I might try that.>>
I think Sprite would like that! I take Voodoo’s leash off as soon as we enter the ring. He jumps around and barks. Then moves nicely into the sit 🙂
>> However, this leash is an issue. It shouldn’t be hard to take off, but it’s getting twisted. Where did you get your quick release leash? I had one before from clean run that was great, but they don’t make that one anymore.>>
I got it from Robin Brown of Dog Dynasty. I will dig up her website. The one she made for me is pretty and soft and easy to also use as a tug toy. I will grab a photo of where the clip is and PM it to you.
>> But, it’s interesting about movement and self regulation. I feel like we are starting to build conflict so I need to change something.>>
Right! You don’t want to add pressure that will create more movement.
>>However, many commented that these courses had tight spacing for UKI. I’ve no reference so I’m not sure.>>
Most of what I saw on your videos were very typical legal UKI distances. One or two spots were a little shorter than expected. I think people are used to judges using illegal distances of 35 or 40 feet, and UKI is cracking down on that.
>>I need help picking running lines. Lots of people got in a blind cross and I choose the rear cross as I don’t trust myself and I really do NOT want to get taken out.>>
The rear is not the wrong choice! Neither is the blind. Since it is 10,000 degrees out this week, maybe print off one of the sequences or courses and draw your handler path, then send to me and we can discuss running lines!
>> Would she check her speed and avoid me? I’m not so sure. My knee is finally feeling better with a torn meniscus and I’m trying to avoid surgery.>>
She would as long as she had time to do it. We don’t want to surprised her and get a collision.
>> Unfortunately, I don’t know how to pick my best running line. There seems to be a pattern of running curves.
Draw a handler path on a class course, or a course from the Internet and we can discuss how to strategically plan your lines. We can do a lot while staying in the a/c!!
Tracy
Good morning! He did really well even though it was so hot!
>>overall, wow I think I can be pretty much be ‘standing in the same spot’ and he’ll do ‘all the running’>>
Yes, his commitment was great here!! Which brings to mind something to consider with verbals:
When you are supporting more from a distance, the verbals become more important so you can repeat them and also change the pitch/rhythm/volume of each one to help him differentiate.I suggest repeating them (like go go go!) so that he doesn’t miss anything while he is processing all the info. If you say it once, he might not catch it with everything else going on. But if you say it 3 or 4 times, he will definitely catch the verbal.
And if you make the verbals sounds different from each other, he doesn’t have to rely on the specific word as much. He can also process it from the rhythm, pitch, and volume. That makes it soooo much easier.
For example, when I use “GO, it is very loud and long: GOOOO GOOOOO GOOOOO which emphasizes acceleration. And saying it like that adds energy to my motion that also emphasizes acceleration.
But the opposite is useful for wrap verbals. When I use a wrap verbal, like check, it is very quiet, almost like I am telling him a secret 🙂 like checkcheckcheckcheck. That draws the energy in smaller and tighter… which is exactly what we want him to do with his stride to make a tight turn.
Your release sounds very different from the other verbals (higher in pitch, different rhythm) and it is very easy to differentiate. I like it!!!!
On the handling – all of this is going well!!
The wrap FCs looked really good – very nice collection!!! The timing of the rep at :22 was great for this setup (no or low bars) with good decel and lovely connection. The timing of the rep at :31 was a tiny bit too soon for low or no bars (he looked at you to see if he should commit or if he should not take the jump) but will be great timing when he has a taller bar. The taller bar will of course have him landing closer to the next jump so the earlier timing will deliver the info really nicely.
>>On the last FC rep, I ‘screwed up’ with cue, I told him ‘Go’ first – Oops. Just mentioning that I know that>>
No worries! It shows that he is listening to the verbals. At :39 you said ‘over go’ for the middle jump and he almost continued straight t the tunnel under the DW there. Good boy!!!
You had tremendous distance at :50 which made the BC too early like you mentioned. He is really paying attention! Love it!
On the last blind, I think you can give him even ore independence: Draw a line in the dirt for yourself to *not* go past. Have it going from the middle pinwheel jump to the center of the curve of the tunnel. See if he can commit to the blind cross jump without you going anywhere near it. That can really help you send him out to a line while you cross and stay ahead for the next position.
Also, I think your connection was strong on all of these reps: when he was close or working at a distance, he could still clearly see your upper body and eyes, so he had no questions. Click/treat for you!
Great job here!! Let me know what you think.
Tracy
Hi!
>>No she will not trade a toy for a cookie – she will release a toy when less aroused but not yet in agility context. I thik this will start to happen once she realises that sooner she releases sooner she gets to do agility again.>>
This is a great game to start working on away from agility, in gradually increasing levels of arousal: tugging on a medium-value toy and trading for a high value food item then back to tugging on the toy. Then do it near a jump wing. Or a cone. Then do it near a jump, etc etc. It is an extremely valuable skill to have and we don’t want to skip that step as she is learning about agility.
She was great on the seesaw. Good job NOT pushing! If you have access to a lower teeter, or you can lower this one, you can play this game on a really low teeter too which can help build up her confidence.
On the handling video:
The FC wrap is looking great – she turns really well!
I think the RC is possible in this smaller space! On some reps you were trying to do it as a flip away with your hands (like on the first rep and at 1:16) so it was not that clear for her.You can use your motion to move up the RC diagonal to the center of the bar on the RC jump instead which should be able to cue the RC.
You were closer to that at :27 – you can send to the tunnel from further away so you can get on the RC line sooner, and I bet you can get it 🙂Backside push was lovely at :33! Great connection and line of motion!!!
Go lines were looking good too! She didn’t really perceive the target as a target, so you might need to use more valuable food in it. Also, be sure that your verbal cue and your physical cues match. When you were saying go and running? Perfect! When you were saying go but walking and decelerating? She had a big question and turned to you there.
Having the other dog out there towards the end was making it too hard for her to process the cues (he was drawing a lot of processing bandwidth away because she had to devote significant attention to NOT running into him – he was placing himself in her way or chasing her line). So if a visitor joins the training session, you can have him return to his kennel before continuing 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
