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Hi!
>. I’m struggling to figure out what Katniss finds decompressing. She is a really chill dog for the most part, so I don’t notice a difference in her behavior when I try to give her decompression activities. >
You might not notice a difference in behavior, because it works “under the hood” in terms of physiology. But you will probably notice a difference in behavior if you don’t do it, especially as she start trialing
>What should I be looking for to know if I’m meeting her needs? >
You might not see anything til things go sideways, which we don’t want of course. So just keep adding in long sniffy walks, hikes, snuffle mats, cardboard destruction, etc so that she is getting the decompressions scattered throughout her week.
>Would you consider scentwork practice to be decompressing? It uses olfaction, of course, but I would imagine it could have the potential to build up frustration or a need for decompression on its own since it’s a game of puzzles.>
I think most dogs consider it training or work – so while they might enjoy it a lot, it is probably not decompression. For me, decompression does not have any cues that can result in rewards or wrong answers, or any expectations (like of finding the scent, etc).
>In the moment, what order the volume dial game and the pattern games were supposed to be in. I ended up with some sporadic version of both, lol. Part of this reason was also that I started playing the games too early.
>For most dogs, the volume dial is right before they go in the ring, and possibly on the way to the line. Some dogs need a decompression in that moment, but I like to try volume dial first and see what the dogs tell us.
On the video – yes, novice classes move slowly which is probably why you were out there for so long. He was able to do a bit of chill which is good – if you see you still have a long wait, you can move away from the ring, take her out for a pee, etc. I think you did that at one point (just before the 3 minute mark). She did well with the pattern games but was starting to get a bit bored 🙂
When you came back, you had the volume dial tricks going but still a long way to go before entering the ring. It was not the best possible thing, but it was a good experience for her to have to wait wait wait LOL!! You can do a lot more chill without food because she is going to be pretty full after 8 minutes of treats LOL!The toy came out at 8:00, into the ring about a minute later. That is good timing to bring the arousal up – but she was already a little tired due to the long wait.
>Once I got her in the ring, she did find it difficult to sit on the start line.>
I thought she did well there – not as quick as normal but the environment is different and she still did it really well.
Interestingly, you did hand play where you were touching her a lot and that is not really something you do at home when doing tricks. So try the hands-off tricks instead of touching her and see if that helps her line up quicker (but she really did do well there).
The run went well! Good job fixing the connection blooper after the first tunnel. She was a little surprised to be lining up again at 1:40ish mid-course, but that set up a great ending line!
Looking at the 2nd video!
Nice work on the GO line – she is figuring out how to drive ahead really well and also striding the line really nicely too!She did leave the stay a bit early at :30 and almost left when you were adding the tunnel, so be sure you are not getting into a rhythm of connect/arm/release because she will start to release on the arm cue 🙂 Add in a little praise
Adding the tunnel also added a lot motion, which was distracting on the first rep but then she got it on the 2nd rep. Super!
The backside needed more parallel path support – you curled away (turning your shoulders to the front of the jump) at 3:07 – great job staying in motion and showing a better line and connection at 3:14! The ending line looked strong there too.
You did the last minute curl-away at 3:52 – watch how when you point forward ahead of her with your arm, it turns your shoulders to the front of the jump and she comes right in to the front. When she got it at 4:08 and 4:25, your dog side arm did not point forward and she saw the line a lot better At 4:45 and 5:27, note how your arm did not point forward til after she passed you and was committing to the backside – nice!
>>. She picked up on the GO! pretty quickly, but even after she was driving well to the MM, she would still check in before the last jump, even if it was just a sideways glance with her eyes. >
She was just checking to be sure it was correct 🙂 If you are using the MM out there, you can click it (or throw the toy if you are not using the MM) when she looks ahead to the last jump and before she glances back – and before she gets to the last jump. When she is landing from the 2nd to last jump, you can mark the moment she looks forward and reward that, which should really help solidify looking forward.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi! The ring practice went well here – I think thoughtful is fine and also you don’t need to do too much of this – to much becomes a lot of pressure and not as much fun. Think of it as a skill she is learning and she will get faster and faster as she learns it.
>>I was thinking maybe I should go back to the other yard but do more obstacles? Or just relax?😂>>
Definitely just relax LOL!!! I think the sequencing looks good, especially the rear cross sequence: very nice!!
When you are tugging, try to keep the toy lower so she can shift her weight into her rear and pull in to. I think the toy was a little high here so she didn’t get as much grip as normal.
When you finish a sequence, you can praise and celebrate… but she suggests you do that on the way back to the leash and cookies LOL! She doesn’t leave you, but she doesn’t engage while you celebrate – she is basically waiting for you to run to the rewards. That is good to know! So you can praise as you run to get the leash on then get to the food quickly. She might not want to tug in that moment, and that is fine.
Bringing the toy on course at the end was great because we don’t want to make it all about the remote reinforcement. She loved it!!
About the engaged chill:
>>I sat down on the table in the video. She is on leash and I did not ask her for anything. She offered to put her front feet on my legs so I scratched the back of her neck and there you have it!>>
That was so cool to see! Both of you had a moment to chill and relax, then you both ran beautifully after that. Super!!
Great job here!
TracyPS – I will ask my AKC peeps if that bungee leash thing can be converted to something AKC legal! I have certainly seen variations on that!
Hi! So much good stuff here!
>>I’m thinking I don’t need to do any arousal once the leash is off!!>>
Actually, you might want to experiment and see what happens if you cue tricks either right before the leash comes off (and then move directly into the line up) or right after the leash comes off, before the line up. He was giving some subtle signs of maybe seeding more.
Leash off – engagement on looked great! I don’t think he liked the hand play after that – it looks like you were engaging him with tapping him, and he moved away then left to have a quick runabout. A similar thing happened at 3:42 when he moved away. I think trick cues will be perfect there!
And when he had trouble ignoring distractions when jump 1 was facing the crowd, you can use tricks to get him really aroused – the more aroused he is (and in that optimal state), the less he will see distractions 🙂
The sequencing went really well, so many good challenges! That is a hard weave entry after a cross, so you can reward when he does get it.
>I was giving him food while my instructor & I talked about the things we broke down to work on. When it got to be a bit long, I put his leash back on & he stayed nicely with me by my side.>
Yes, you were great about keeping him engaged! And that is also where you can use engaged chill so he doesn’t eat as many treats 🙂 Putting the leash back on was great too – that allowed you to discuss with the instructor while he could chill for a moment.
>At the end of the first run there was a line to drive ahead rear crossing a tunnel.>
Yes, driving ahead to a rear cross on the tunnel was hard, a really good skill to work on! You can accelerate more to it – he was thinking about it then you decelerated and that is what ultimately pulled him off on that first rep. He drove it to really well when you also drove to it. Plus he will get better at the skill with more practice, so breaking it down like you did was great
Before the dog walk, he had trouble with the first jump sending him away from the course. He explored the distractions on the first rep, then he got it the 2nd and 3rd reps – he was being careful and thinking hard 🙂 I don’t think the challenge itself was that hard for him, I think it was the environment. And so you can use more arousal here – he might have had too quick of a transition from coming in on leash, and going into a challenging sequence. This is where the volume dial game can be useful – either before the leash comes off, or after it. Experiment with both and we will see what his feedback it.
And also you can change to higher value treats later in the class, to help motivate him even as challenges are harder and he gets tired.
>I will mail an entry tomorrow for our local trial here in Tulsa in December. We will only run FEO.>
Fun!! You can try an FEO-style run in class, leaving food outside the ring to run and fun simple line, bringing only a toy if he will like that.
Great job here!!!!
Tracy
Hi!
I think the first run here was very helpful to see!
Coming into the ring you can he was not really ready, based on his body language and looking around. This is where you will want to start the volume dial game, especially if this is a new location or there is new pressure in a familiar location. Seminars add a lot of pressure!
After you put the cooler down, you asked for a side and he started to get engaged but I think he needed more tricks and engagement and reinforcement. Then if you see him looking around at the start line, you can release and reward and add more volume dial so he is really engaged.
That, paired with the handling blooper right at the beginning is what caused him to run off (stress response).
The cue at 1:02 totally looked like you wanted the tunnel you were running towards (I thought it was the tunnel and so did he). You tried to push him off it but it was too late. Then you indicated that there was an error, he got stressed, and ran off. At this stage, assume all errors like off courses are handler errors and keep going as if you meant for that to happen 🙂 Then you can fix it in on the next run 🙂
And if he does get stressed, try not to use verbal corrections like ‘no’ or yelling, as it adds stress to an already stressful event. Just run the other way, call him, reward him for coming back, and reset the game to add more engagement and clarity.
Note the difference on day 2: much more play (more tricks needed on the way to the line) and a higher value reward for sure!) Then you got some tricks going and he was ready to roll – he did great and got rewarded on the course multiple times. That was great!
>I have to figure out how to make the first run of a weekend just like the rest.>
I believe the main thing is going to be getting that engagement on the way to the start line, so he is locked in and ready to roll. Part of that for trials does include remote reinforcement, but you don’t need to use that yet in harder locations – you can stick to practicing success as we practice fading the reward from the ring separately.
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning! This is pretty much what engaged chill should be – you are both waiting, he looks around, you look around, but you don’t need to be trying to keep his attention on you all the time. He will probably always be a in state of readiness right near the ring, so you won’t see anything super calm but I think he did really well here!
>>What you see here is a huge improvement from where we were at in the past – he’s not losing his mind anymore at the barking, but he’s also not yet oblivious to it, not sure what a reasonable expectation is here?>>
I think this was great, especially if he used to bark at the action. Thre was a LOT happening nearby and he was able to stay engaged without a lot of effort from either of you. Doing LAT is fine 🙂 because sounded like there were certainly some things to look at 🙂
>>I do like the middle position chin scratch for chill potential – going to work on building value for this>>
It is a definite possibility – at first I think he was not liking it, then he tolerated it… but by the end he actually seemed to be enjoying it! So keep trying it and see how it develops.
Then it looks like when the video cuts off it was your turn in the ring perhaps. That is when you can move into the pattern game then volume dial to get ready for the run.
Great job!
TracyOh no! Sorry to hear about the fall from the horse!!! But I am glad you are not more injured and also glad no coyote got to the dog!!
I love your leash/bungee/fuzzy combo thing!! Send me a picture and I can find out if it is legal 🙂 Definitely UKI legal! Ad we can create an AKC legal leash that is fun 🙂
The ring set up is great! And she did seem very happy with the clip collar.
She was CRAZY fast on the wing-jump sequence here! Definitely pumped up! And great about ignoring the leash behind her and the other rewards off to the side.
You were placing the leash on the chair then walking with her to the jump. She was great, of course! At a trial, you might be taking her to the line on leash then getting rid of the leash (or carrying her to the line) so rehearse that with her too – leash off at the jump and tossing it away or placing it behind you but nearby.
2nd video: the sky looks like Taylor Swift Lover album art!
On this one, you did put the leash down behind her right where she would line up to start: perfect! That is something she needed to see and she seemed to have no questions. If you can recruit other people, you can have someone nearby as a leash runner (homeschooled dogs are often surprised by this!)
Overall, this is looking great! She seems to find the agility stuff just as much fun without the toy/food with you as it is when you are carrying the toy and food 🙂
>>if she is I will take her and do this same thing at the practice jump. It will in a nearby arena where we set our crates. Also this venue has stands around the rings so we can do some stuff in those. I entered her feo same place in 2 weekends.>
Fingers crossed she can go! And then you can do this with people around and other dogs too 🙂 Keep me posted!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! He did well here!
I see what you mean about the harness:
He is GREAT about letting you take it off and staying engaged (it made me laugh at how fast he took his head out of it on the first rep LOL!)His engagement when you take the leash off was fabulous throughout the video. Super!!
And also he did avoid getting it back on at first – and the loop for the leash later on was much better, especially when you made it bigger for his head t get through easily (like at 1:56).
So keep making it as big as possible for his head to get through – for trials, you might even want to go to a really big slip leash for the end of the run, so you can make a giant loop for him to get his head into. That can become a 2 part leash: his regular collar for entering the ring… and on the other end of the leash, a big slip loop for the exit so he slides right into it the runs out to his reward.
I think the next place to take this is to the agility ring, when things dry out, mainly to work on getting the leash back on when he is really excited about the agility. So you can do a tunnel or two, reward (or lure 😁) getting his head through the loop…. Then take if off and go back to agility.
In the meantime, you can get him excited with treats and toys and tricks and work this skill with him as wild as possible – that can simulate the arousal he will be in when he is finishing the agility course. And that will be great for teaching him that getting the leash back on means great things are coming.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
The RR at the beginning went well – that rushed feeling is probably how you will feel at a trial so it is a good rehearsal 🙂 Doing it in that context might have been different for her, she might have been expecting to go to the jump which might be why she had a little question at the start. Yo can also try bringing her into the ring, tugging on her leash, and see how she does with that!!
I think the 12” jumps might have changed her focus a bit so good job getting her back with the toy.
Great job getting people to be in the ring with you, that is valuable! She did great on that 2nd run! I love your videographer, so supportive 🙂
On the last run, I think you stared with her so ended up behind and she didn’t quite see the line – you can give yourself a little lead out to show her the line 🙂
Overall, though, it was a super experience and she is doing great!!!!
Tracy
Add the hand cue to it, and try without the verbals! And replace the tug with a food bowl and see how it goes.
T
Hi1!
The 2 bowl warm up looked great and he played really well after all the food there too!
The way you started the 2nd wrap session was perfect – you sent him to get a cookie then put the bowls down, so when he returned, he could get right into the game. Yay!
Adding the upright was a definite change! To help him out, you can go to putting the cookies on the bowls rather than waiting for him to offer. AS soon as you did that, he got back into the game. It also sounds like one of the machines was running next to you… and that can actually be part of what made it hard for him: machine noises that his brain needed to process AND the upright! Puppy brains have trouble processing a lot of things at once 🙂 It sounds like it might have been running in the bowl only video, but he has already done that game so his brain didn’t need to work as hard 🙂For the sending – what he was seeing was on the ready game, you were moving your hand and leaning towards the prop in a way that did look similar to the send… so he sent. Good boy! For the ready game, you can bend your knees and have an excited posture, but don’t bop back and forth as much so he doesn’t think it is a send 🙂
It was hard to see where you were looking so try to look more at him and less at the prop if you were looking at the prop. Sometimes more connection can help!
You can also reward successive approximations: if he is close enough or touches it incidentally? Reward! No need to wait for a perfect touch.
>>this video includes the end of the toy play from the prop video, but then the big heavy ball on the tug smacked into the dryer and he had a big sad. >
Poor little guy!! What to do in that moment depends on the dog. They generally need comfort and need a moment to process the Big Scary and to bounce back. For my dogs, I literally hug them quietly for a few seconds or so (until their muscles relax) then I gently to one long stroke from the base of their hips to their neck, deliberately running their hair the wrong way – ni the hopes of getting them to do a full body shake 🙂 Then I scatter some treats for them to eat and sniff. Then we go on our way. It is a resilience reset: comfort, shake it off, olfaction from the treat scatter. Usually the big scary is forgotten pretty quickly. It seems like he recovered really well, and you were provided comfort for sure! He might like the pressure of a long hug (even though he doesn’t like the smack da baby game :))
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
OMG! This is so great! Even after being a little tired, she could still play! You were also SUPER fun sounding… my dogs were all asleep until they heard you and then hopped up and ran over to the computer to hear you play LOL!!
Keep building it up by making it super fun like you did here and I bet she will love toys too!
Great job and thank you for the video evidence of her playing!
Tracy
Hi!
Watching her drive forward to her toy is the cutest thing that I have ever seen!! She was perfect! So you can add more of your motion and try to really get running – she was really moving fast and that is great!
Great job with the blinds: you were late on the first one (she was so fast there!) but your timing on the other reps was much earlier 🙂
Your best connection was at :59 – 1:01 where you dipped your shoulders downwards and back to her so she could see the connection really easily.If your shoulders were too far forward or your dog-side hand was at your side (and not back to her nose) like at 1:05, she didn’t see the blind cross cue. Because she is to tiny, you will want to really exaggerate the connections by dipping your shoulders downwards with your arm pointing all the way back to her, so she can see the front of your chest more.
She is reading the deceleration really well! You can see that she figured out that it meant to collect – especially on that last rep, she really shifted her weight back to get in tight to you for the pivot. SUPER!!!
Everything is looking awesome here, so you can get started on the week 2 games! How are the prop sends going?
Great job!
TracyHi!
Super nice session here!
He did great going to the foot target on the first 2 reps (:2 and :09). Nice! He didn’t go and barked at you (big mad!) on rep 3 at :12. Then he was great on the next couple of reps, but had a big mad at :33 on the send. Then he ended on a couple of good reps (and you ended the session which was smart!)So why were some of the reps so gorgeous and he had a big mad on 2 of them? The difference was connection. On all of the strong reps, you looked directly at him before the send and looked at him during the send. On the 2 reps where he got mad 🙂 you looked forward and ahead of him. That is incredibly subtle but it turned your shoulders away from the line to the prop just enough that the info was not as clear.
Both of those moments were on left turns – it might be a coincidence, or it might mean left turns are harder. It is something to note.
So yes, give him bigger connection on each rep. As he learns the games more you won’t need as much connection.
But more importantly – this gives us a chance to teach him some arousal regulation when he is frustrated! Yay! He was able to go find the prop after he got frustrated, which is great! He did try to bite it or pick it up on the 2nd rep of that LOL!! But you can help him: if he turns and barks, you can reset the rep by calling him back, luring him to your set and turning him to fast the prop (let him eat the cookie lure) then send again (with more connection, or getting closer to the prop). The reset will not reinforce the bark – it will help him balance arousal by bringing him back to a place where he can regulate then try again.
Great job here!
Tracy
