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Good morning!
What a good boy with his stay here! He got the hang of the pivots really well – the last 4 reps were super perfect, especially with no food in the hand! Yay! The connection you gave him on the release at :46 and the 2 reps after it was lovely, so remember to look back at his cute face as you cue the decel 🙂
For the next steps, we can add more motion: you can show him shifting into deceleration before the pivot. That will require you to run 🙂 so a cookie toss start might be easier so you can be running as he lifts his head – that will cue him to run. And since he is so fast, you can show a big deceleration when he has taken just one stride to you – any later and he might rocket by you 🙂
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
>Yes, he’s my first Mal – I am really enjoying him – he’s super fun to train. >
I am surprised at how much I am enjoying training my Mal mix! So fun, such a cool dog! All in for pretty much anything and very level-headed. I am thinking Judge is the same way.
>And I haven’t had a boy in quite a while. >
Are you finding him different to train than the girls? I have found the boys to be different (especially the intact males) but in a really good way!
>So nice to have a dog that likes both food and toys, unlike Dellin who spit out every type of food as a puppy.>
I remember that! She was definitely not a foodie LOL!!
>I will be using the same verbals for him that I use with Dellin – since I can finally remember and get them out while running.>
Smart! It will be much easier to use the same verbals, so we can start adding them in as soon as we have the behavior.
The plank work is going well – he is doing really well turning in both directions! He still has baby body 🙂 so falls off the side sometimes. To help him out, deliver your food a little lower – aim for chin parallel to ground. When he lifted his chin to get the treats, he lost his balance every time after turning around. I think chin parallel to ground or slightly pointed downwards as you get the treats in will help him stay balanced.
Before adding backing up, be sure you are adding arousal to the proprioception (tugging after every couple of treats) so he is learning it in an arousal state closer to what h will be in when you need him to use those skills. That produces better long term success!
>He can back up onto it without an additional target, so maybe I could build off of that.>
You can use a target or you can use a wider plank to get it started, like an a-frame plank.
For the toy races:
The look on his face when you held him to push him back was hilarious. He was like “nice try, lady, I am still going to smoke you” hahahaSince he is not going to let you win, you can add countermotion. Start the game the same as you did here, and add his marker to get the toy off the ground as he drives ahead of you… and when he is ahead of you and heading to the toy, you decel to do a FC and run the other way. That way he is seeing the change in handling before he gets to the toy – and we want him to stay committed to the cue and grab the toy, then run back to you.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
He was a total goat here, perfect! He was happy to offer lots of behavior on the object and has great balance!
You can use a longer toy (tie several together :)) and be standing when you play, so you can move further from the objects to help him tug after getting the treats (and so he is not as tempted to offer behavior since the objects are right there).
For more goat fun, you can take a bunch of the objects, and line them up like a trail or make little piles so there are different elevations. Start with some tug, then move with him across the trail for treats or over the piles, then back to tug 🙂 That will get even more proprioception challenge in arousal. The objects can be anything – dog fitness stuff, couch cushions, anything at all 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>I probably could find something easier to use, but this was what I had close by… gotta conserve those steps!>
It was very clever and I can totally relate to conserving steps!
The blind cross session went great – I was especially excited to see how well she was bringing the toy back with some many other options available to her! SUPER!!!! OMG the rep with the golf cart going by right next to you as she was running to you – what a huge win. Wow!
Two suggestions: she makes the side change the fastest when you get the toy to your opposite hip the soonest (like on the last rep) because that males the connection very visible to her. When you were doing the side change but not being quite as quick to make the toy visible, the connection was not as clear so her side change was not as quick (like at :55 and 1:18). Think of the toy as an aid for us humans to open up the connection, not as a lure for the side change (she will come to the clear connection even if you don’t have the toy visible.
The other suggestion is to use a slightly longer toy, so she can keep her head lower as she is driving to you. You can tie 2 toys together. The lower head will produce really good form and line focus as we (eventually) add jumping 🙂
>Watching this back I needed to throw the cookie further or get further ahead since I didn’t give myself much room to get the blind done, but again, I was mostly working out how much I can trust her around these distractions as her tendency when out just leash walking is to want to greet everyone, but I guess once she’s working she’s pretty focused. >
I think you were smart to not give her too much space for now – the challenge in the environment is pretty big and she is young… so there is no way to know what she will do til she does it 🙂
>(For now, adolescence is coming of course!) >
I have found that by slicing things carefully, having lots of clarity in training and not a ton of pressure – adolescence is not a challenging time. You are definitely doing all these things so I am confident she will not have a struggle 🙂
>I can go out to a big field where I know I can trust her (and know I won’t suddenly find myself in the way of traffic or running directly into someone) tomorrow and see if I can do another exercise with some speed and distance. Maybe where the old grass rings were.>
That would be fun! How does she feel about other people? You can have her do this blind game as a restrained recall -it helps the pups learn when socializing is what is on tap, versus when ‘working’ is the goal 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi! Lots of great stuff in class!
Really fun ending line here! It was especially fun seeing him drive ahead, even after stopping for the weave reward. Great job getting the toy throw in nice and early!
The decompression looked good – he was happy to snuffle even with very exciting things happening in the ring. He is still around and on alert, but I think he was starting to relax by the end and so this is great to do in that environment.
The leash off engagement on video was funny – he was totally set to have a short tour of the place when you took the leash off… til you put your hand in your pocket then he came right back LOL! You noticed this as well 🙂 So you can jump start it by getting the cookie in faster at first, then flip the script and wait for him to engage before taking the cookie out, kind of like you did a the end (there is a garbage pail behind you that must have had interesting smells :))
He did seem happy to be standing up on your leg there to chill! It was hard to tell if he was chilling or looking at the cookie pocket or both, but that is all still good! It is a moment where he can just hang out without needing food or engagement cues. Definitely keep building this in new places and see how he does.
The remote reinforcement at the beginning looked great – he was well aware of the toy AND there were distractions (people talking) and he was perfect off the start line on all the runs here!
>>Reacher had never met Danielle before so I was a little surprised he chased after her for the lotus ball! >
That is a great thing to show him – it simulates the leash runner moving away with his “stuff” as well as adds distraction value to the person in the ring. But then he did great! So revisit that here and there, so even having a leash runner come in behind him, so he feels comfy with that.
>on the first rep on the video I do usually take the leash off first before lining up so it was messy because I forgot (that’s not my normal! I mean, messy is normal but not forgetting to take the leash off first >
I thought that was all good- we humans are sometimes different (and weird haha) so it is good to show the dogs that we might not always do the same thing. He seemed fine with it 🙂
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
I think skipping the 21 hour drive was smart! Plus it is cold here now which is not good for backs. Next year for sure, though!!
There is so much to be happy with here – she read all of the handling really well!
Holy wow, that first run gave us an idea of what your future holds. Wow!!
Her arousal was higher for the 2nd run – barking dog in the background, really exciting first run under her belt… so the start line was harder. You can switch to food in that moment, and do some pattern games to help her regulate her arousal.
3rd run – Nice start line reward! Then a good stay and a super nice sequence. Looks like there was some food rewards on the start line here – she was aroused but did well. Same with the 4th and 5th runs – she held her stay even though she was more aroused. Yay!!!
Most of your handling was super clear and connected to show her what you wanted, so she responded beautifully. SUPER! And in the moments that were not what you wanted, she was still reading your handling correctly. There were not that many blooper moments:
At 2:15 – the course was a 180, but your FC was too early and she saw you finishing the rotation as she landed from the first jump so she came through the gap and didn’t take the 2nd jump. Good girl (good reward)!
The same thing happened at 2:29 – The BC was too early so she came through gap. Remember to cue that 2nd jump as she lands, make sure she is looking at it, then rotate. That is what you did on the first rep through there. She dropped a bar on the first jump but the cue for the 2nd jump was very clear.On the next sequence at 2:41, she needs a turn cue before entering the tunnel and less pressure on the line (your motion looked like a backside cue so that was where she was headed).
You had a decel and a shoulder turn there before the tunnel entry at 3:03 and she was perfect. At 3:18 you added a jump cue, even better!
But then at 3:19 you accelerated forward and didn’t turn your shoulders so she kept going (good girl) and the shoulder turn to turn off the one happened after she was committed to it. A similar thing happened at 3:56 – where you ran really fast parallel line motion so she didn’t turn. Definitely use big loud verbals and even a brake arm, making the handling very obvious and moving away from the line to get the turn.But overall, so much super work! Wow!!
Great job!
TracyHi!
>>Yesterday was one of those days in training a teenage dog that one chooses to forget. It is a challenge training in the same yard as you exercise and play fetch in. I run into less issues in the pasture but there’s not enough level ground for this sort of course. So we we had many, “yeehaw”, blasting around moments. She’s a young dog, it’s top priority. Not all the pattern games in the world, or treats or tugs can override it.>
I can totally relate! And also, no worries 🙂 Sometimes they are just having a day where no real training seems to happen, but that is fine. Especially with whippets who are amazing latent learners… they figure it out even if the session was not great. And sometimes those “yeehaw” days are telling me that I have been doing too much “stuff” and not enough letting them zip around, perhaps.
>>Both of us running this sequence and talking through it was good.>
This is awesome! Teamwork!!!!
And it sounds like the class is focusing on things she needs to learn more about like ignoring people and dogs 🙂 Super!!
First video:
Your go verbals were good! And you can use a Go tunnel verbal on the line after the FC as well. On the line after the tunnel, I think she froze for a moment – you said Go Jump and she said “which jump?” She is inexperienced, so passing the jump on the outside of the line was hard! After the FC wrap, she drove. The line of jumps really well but then ended a tunnel verbal.2nd video – wow, the RC was GREAT! Wrapping her to the inside of that jump and then sending to the backside also worked well. You can do another rear cross on 5 to get an easier line to the backside.
Your go tunnel verbals were really good – I think she is inexperienced on finding the line to a tunnel that is a rear cross on the tunnel, so she had the small loop around before getting into the tunnel. That will also get easier with more experience.Your connection on both of these runs was great!! That is definitely helping support the lines!
>> She just got better, and more focused, as I find my dogs often do. If I feel they aren’t making progress, I quit for the day. If they want to continue to work, we do.>>
She seemed all in and ready to run here! I think you were giving her clear info and lots of reward, so she was happy to keep working and figure out the puzzle on this sequence 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi!
I see what you mean by the sends being hard!
Turning right on the first couple of reps seemed easier than turning to her left, but then it looks like the value in the game might have shifted to your hands – which means the target value can. Be higher and the target can be more obvious. You did a couple of clicks/treats for that, which was great! You can also use a bigger target that is easier to touch, like a big hat or something. This target might be too small when adding the sending and motion.One other thing to do is to mark when she looks at the target (before she even gets to it) and then toss the treat to the target – so that value shifts away from your hands and onto the target more. Let me know if that helps – it will probably be easier to not use a clicker for that, and use a marker like “get it” instead.
The 2 bowls game was harder to see but it looks like she was moving back and forth really well even when you added the upright. Yay! I think she needs another session or two of the upright being close with you putting the treats in the bowls to help her, then letting her offer. And while the upright is still close, you can change your position to sitting in a chair (we are going to work on getting you standing up pretty soon :))
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
The decel foundations looked great, even with a cat distraction out ahead!2 small suggestions:
– you can use a marker cue for the cookie toss – something like “get it” so she knows when you have tossed it and where it is… especially because she knows you are going the other direction 🙂– Keep the pivot nice and slow – too much acceleration through it will cause her to swing wide (and make you dizzy :))
Great job!! You can add more distance to this if you have a longer space, so she can see you run for a couple of steps, then give her a big decel when she is no more than halfway to you.
Tracy
Good morning!
Yes, yesterday was definitely summer-feeling but today is definitely Florida winter! Does she have a pointy dog coat? LOL!
She did GREAT here – SO MANY DISTRACTIONS in the environment! She really didn’t struggle and was able to tune out most of them (the dog walking really close by got her attention but then she returned to the game). You made an excellent choice to do a simpler game that already had played, so she has a frame of reference to fall back on even though the environment was very different and even the bowls were different. And it looks like you were using your water bottle as the object to go around? Brilliant!!! Ha! I remember seeing a giant traffic cone near one of the barns, maybe you can snag that for the next session?
I am sure you can also do the blind cross game – short cookie toss then you run away and do a blind to the toy.Great job!
TracyGood morning!
I am glad to hear that he was so confident on his walk!! Yay!
On the first video – what was on top of the machine that he really wanted? Food? The 2nd toy was definitely higher value so he did well playing, and you can also have the food a little further away to get the game start.
He did GREAT trading for the kibble then driving to the toy! Very nice! He had great forward focus on the toy here. And bonus: a retrieve!! Try not to grab so close to his face when he brings it – that was a little too much pressure so grab for the end of the toy. And nice scatter decompression after all of that high energy play!
You can add in changing your position next, working towards standing up – kneeling or sitting on something higher for a few reps, then standing. We are going to add more of your motion in soon!
Prop sends:
He had a little trouble looking away from your hand, especially when turning to his right at the beginning of the session and end of the session – perhaps it is a little hand target confusion (especially when your hand was open), perhaps it is difficulty moving away from the food, perhaps a side preference challenge, or all of the above. But he is able to hit the prop AND look at your hand, so a couple of ideas for you to get him looking at it and driving away more:
– live by the 2 failure rule. If you have 2 reps that do not get rewarded, then you need to make it easier (or end the session if you are not sure how to help him – no need to end on a ‘good note’ because that is not based in any science :)) Those 2 reps do not have to be in a row, it is 2 reps total. If you get more than 2 failures, you will feel/see the frustration and we want to avoid that. Plus, the 2 failure rule is will help prevent sessions that go on too long.
– when sending, use a closed hand, pointing a finger. That might look different enough from holding a cookie.
– Mark the moment he looks at the prop and not at you, even if it is before he gets to the prop. Then toss the treat towards the prop, so you are basically making it all about the prop (the foot target criteria is not as important as the looking forward and looking away from your hand).
– Start on the left turn side to get this going. Then do just a couple of reps on the right turn side, nice and close, then go back to the left turn side. The mechanics on the right turn side are HARD so sorting this out on the easier side for him will really help.
The hand targeting is looking good! My only suggestion is to let him see you shift your gaze from looking at him, to looking at the target. That will help him drive right into the target and not look up at you.
The decel and pivot looked great – he is following the empty hand really well! You can add more of your motion into it – let hi see you moving forward then show a big decel when he is halfway to you, then slow pivot when he gets to you.
>>would love links for buying some of the fun long whippety fur tugs!!!
The flyball people have the BEST tugs! Two of my current favorites are:
TugAwayCUWin:
http://www.tugawaycuwin.comWild At Heart
https://wildatheartpetcompany.comFabulous toys! They are both here at the US Open if you know anyone who can bring some back for you 🙂
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
The games are going really well!
On the decel and pivot game: he did really well! You had clear connection and a nice low cookie hand, so he had no trouble driving into position. You can add in more of your movement: as he is moving towards you, you can show him deceleration into the pivot, which will set the framework for handling games.
You can also start it from a cookie toss rather than a stay. That actually gives a little bit of countermotion commitment foundation, because you are sending him away to ‘do a thing’ 😁 even though you are clearly going to the other direction. It is super easy at this point but a useful foundation.The cookie toss also gives a bit of impulse control and marker foundation too by teaching the pup to get the ONE cookie and return to engagement, rather than look for the cookie cousins that might be out there.
>> left side, not sure why.>
Yes, add the right side 🙂
Really nice connection on the blind crosses!! You made it very clear so he was able to change sides with no questions. Super! You can let that toy dangle a bit more as you present it to him, so he doesn’t jump up to get it (he will be taller soon so it won’t be a question 🙂
>>It was originally hard to get the timing on this because the cookie throw ended up being him far more invested in the floor,>
This is a good game to work the cookie throw impulse control! Starting with him next to you, you can use a marker to toss it away (such as “get it”), then as he grabs it, you take off running and calling him: big party when he returns engagement to you! Then you will find it easier to get the blinds in. If he is having trouble finding the treat, you can toss it onto a mat so he can find it very easily, making engagement after getting it easier too.
He is hitting his hat prop really well! The left turn side does not seem quite as perfect as the right turn side, so he had a couple of close hits then a couple of questions. So on the right turn side, you can start at the same distance and also add the sideways sending. On the left turn sides, start closer and set up more success so he doesn’t have as many questions. If he fails twice in the session (meaning there are reps you don’t reward) then it is too hard and it is his cue to you to make it easier.
>>we also struggled with getting him excited, because excited at his age means biting, and that kind of takes away from the work there. Maybe I should just hold his collar loosely and verbally get him excited versus using physical play?>
We definitely want to work on the arousal regulation that the ready dance brings… but definitely don’t use physical play 🙂 Most puppies really don’t like physical play and I think he falls into that category for now – it can be overstimulating and/or frustrating.
Instead, the ready dance is more about you showing muscle tension, bent knees, eye contact, silly words 🙂 I don’t touch the dogs during the ready dance, so it is not really physical play in that way 🙂 And if he can reflect that back to you, you can either send him to the prop or reward him right there for being engaged without any tooth hugs. No need to hold his collar because we do want him to have some agency with the impulse control there and the collar hold might suppress that.
When he did grab your arm here, it looked like a frustration behavior linked to the session have a few too many reps on the hard side, and definitely too many failures. So at 1:15 when you weren’t quite as connected, he bubbled over into grabbing. If you are seeing that elsewhere in training, be sure to keep your sessions super short with a high rate of success – no more than 2 failures in the session.
He did great with the wing wrap foundations!!! You can move the bowls back with you as you add distance, having them just behind your knees – that will give him more room to turn around for the next wrap.
The next steps here are to:
– add different things for him to go around, such as a single upright, a big cone, a barrel (I use a laundry basket) or any big random object
– move yourself into a standing position. When you stand up, start close to the object again so we don’t have 2 challenges for him. And when he is happy with you standing, then you can add a little distance away from the object too.Great job on these!!!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>With this game how do I know when to continue to progress the bowl? I’m not sure at what point she goes into oh this is the game you go around the come to get the thing vs look at the line>>
Keep progressing the bowl, bearing in mind that the key to getting the bowl is looking away from it (and at the line around the cone). This is easy at first because the bowl is also on the line, but we very quickly progress to the bowl being visible opposite of where we want her to look. So don’t let go of her until you get at least an eye flick towards the correct side of the cone (and away from the bowl).
>( I may also be asking for a friend who is red and is struggling with FF and totally looks at the cookie bowl but will still go around the cone to get it vs be lining for the cookie itself>
This is a good game for the red friend 🙂 because the criteria is not about going around the cone, it is more about where she looks 🙂
T
Hi!
>Thanks for fitting these feedbacks in—you must be at UKI?>
No problem! Yes, I am at UKI. Note to self: do NOT say jump to a dog that has a nice grasp of verbals when what you mean is tunnel LOL!! OOPSIE 😂🤣
The blind crosses look great! Your connection was especially excellent 🙂 You can start the blinds sooner now: as soon as he is on the way to you, that very first step – do the blind 🙂 The will help prep your timing for when he is a full-speed adult on course.
The stealth self-control game looks good too! He checked out the object a bit, but that was mainly because there was a break in the action and so he just took a look. He was able to tune it out really well on all the other reps.
Great job on these! Onwards to week 2 games!
Tracy
