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Hi!
This course went really well!!!My only question about it was on jump 3 (Muso shared the question LOL):
Did you want the wrap to the inside, or the slice?
Running backwards at 3 on rep 1 created some questions – it looked like you were setting up a lap turn to wrap? O n the 2nd run, she jumped 3 on the slice at 1:04 like a throwback but I am not sure that is what you intended?If you wanted the threadle wrap to the inside, I don’t think you needed to face her at all – you can turn parallel to her line and do the TW cues from your right without running backwards at all. For the slice, you can keep her on your right and do a FC to the tunnel.
Super nice 4-5-6-7 line and turn on the tunnel exit t get 8 both times! Nice timing on the tunnel exit cues!!!
On the first run, you can converge to 10 more on the threadle line at :24 – it was more of an ‘out’ than a ‘go’ for the jump after the threadle. You got it really well at 1:14 by moving more towards it – fast and smooth!
The Weaves to the tunnel layer looked great – really nice job measuring your speed to be able to send without getting too far ahead.
She committed nicely to the backside wraps here – you were able to keep moving through because you were not that far ahead (or ahead at all LOL) so you didn’t need to wait for her to pass you. For a better turn on the backside 14 at :24 and 1:24 , and on 16 at :40 and 1:31, you can look at her and lower your hands – point them to her not to the jump. You had both hands up which is great – but by pointing them to the jump they served as a bit more of an extension cue. Pointing them to her nose will get the collection on the commitment too.
The ending line was looking great til she ran past 21 both times – be aggressively turning your shoulder and calling there. You gave a quiet call on the 2nd run, but as she is lifting off for 20 let her see you turn your shoulders and call her and tell her to jump. That 19-20-21 line shouldn’t require anything like a threadle – just a “you need to take this jump!” cue should be great 🙂
Nice work!
Tracy
Hi!
I don’t think you need to go all the way back to the beginning on the threadles but we can clarify the cues which will really help.
It looks like you were trying to create the threadle line by pulling away (you ended up near the tunnel!) then pushing back to the jump, which is why he went to the backside of 3 at the beginning and 1:05. So the threadle lines of motion (threadle wrap and threadle slice) should both be parallel to his intended running line, without extra pulling away. And then the big differences are what you do with your arms and verbals.
For the threadle wrap on 3 (I don’t think you wanted the slice there?) – this move has deceleration and a low hand (or both hands) to draw him in and cue him to flip away to the wrap. The arm back is for the threadle slice, which is what you were doing at 1:39 – you can do that sooner, starting to get his focus on you when he is taking off for the previous jump so he is seeing and hearing the threadle cues no later than landing from the previous jump. In that spot, you started the threadle cues when he was about halfway to the jump, so he was already locked onto his line, good boy! You can stay closer to the line on the threadle slices too, so it is easier for him to see the arm swinging back.
On the discrimination video:
>He seems to really want the jump more than the tunnel, even goin so far as doing a backside push instead.>
It could never that the jump has more value, or that you were stopping your motion closer to the jump and trying to send him past it. Or, it could be that the tunnel was miles away 🙂 and it was easier to get the closer obstacle.
My guess is that it was not so much about not liking the tunnel as much, and it was more about running past another obstacle to get the one you were cueing. It would be interesting to switch things and have the tunnel closer and see if he grabs it or if he drives past it to the jump!
So you can approach it as training to find the further obstacle – and add a little more motion to it for now. You can stay in motion the whole time to help support him running past whichever obstacle is the furthest one 🙂 And the furthest obstacle is the one that gets the better rewards, so bring a couple of different types of treats with you 🙂 When he has the lightbulb moment of “I am allowed to go find the further obstacle” then it will be easier to fade out the motion and emphasize the verbals more.
Great job!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>Hope the weather isnt too bad where you are.>
The weather has been gross here, regularly 37C with high humidity, like a rain forest LOL! So I take the dogs out as soon as the sun comes up – it is still too hot in the evenings to run them. But at least we don’t have any of the catastrophic flooding that is happening nearby.
>But what most impressed me with both my dogs is that inspite of strange place with lots of horse poo plus horses very close behind a single wire they both focused. >
That is great! Good dogs!!!!
>did manage to pursuade In synch to go over a strange dog walk and a frame. She had to think about it a little .>
Perfect – she is at the point in her training where she needs experience on different contacts.
>She tried hard- very obvious she didnt understand backsides or different side of jumps. same in popouts so need to go back and teach on its own.>
She always tries 1000% hard!
For the backsides, one thing I notice in the video below is that you sometimes run sideways to them (which cues the front) or your point forward (which also cues the front because it turns your shoulders to the front). So as you work the backsides, run forward and make a big connection (don’t point ahead) and that will help her find the backside more easily. You can see that at 3:13 – 3:18 where you were already rotated when cueing the backside and she had big questions until you got really close to it.
>we struggled she was not finding the linbes>
I was watching for what helped her find the lines versus what pulled her off lines:
When you had clear connection and some motion on the parallel line? She stayed on the line, no problem. You can see that at :10 and also at :27 where you were layering, as well as at 1:03.
Staying in motion even if it is not a lot of motion was also very effective – like at 2:30 – 2:38.
And using your opposite arm can work on the send and keeping her on the line (even if it is high like at like 2:04 – 2:07) but your motion and line have to support it – at 2:11 your opposite arm pointed at the tunnel but the rest of the physical cues were moving forward away the tunnel. She needed you to turn towards the tunnel there more like what you did at 3:25 – that worked really well!
Compare all that to when you were not moving enough or you were stationary at :46 and :54 and 1:06 for example, and she was not sure of what you wanted in those spots. So definitely keep moving to support the verbals1
One other thing to consider: When you were going from the tunnel exit to a backside push, make a bigger connection to her eyes so she know which side of you to be on – I think you wanted her on your left side but there was no enough connection so she ended up on your right side.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think !
Tracy
Hi! Hope you are not experiencing any of that flooding!!!!
I think overall you and Synnie are looking FABULOUS on course. It is fun to sort out the bloopers so you can get even smoother runs, but I am really impressed with the runs!
In the FAST run – I think when she sees RC info, she reads it as a RC (keep that in mind or the 2nd JWW video :))
On the jump in the send, I think you were trying to wrap left but didn’t decel and face the wrap wing – what happened what you ran fast then rotated, which reads like a RC cue because it puts pressure on the line the same way a RC cue does. So to get the turn to the left, add decel and be facing the left turn wing – then rotate after you decel and see her collecting to the left.
Turning right actually worked brilliantly there!
When she turned left to the dog walk at :20, it looks like you did rear cross the jump before she had a chance to land and commit to the tunnel.
So even though your verbals might have been correct, the physical cues said something different so she went with the strong physical cues.
JWW – I think she pulled out because you were hanging back (which is not normally an issue) and the pressure of the judge moving into position then standing there staring at her caused her to lose her footwork. You can watch his path across the ring and she lost her footwork right when he stopped moving and looked directly at her. So you can support her more by driving ahead (if you see the judge will be close and staring) and in training you can also enlist friends and family to put pressure on the weaves like a judge coming in close to watch.
The rest looked AWESOME.I grabbed a screenshot of the moment she lost her footwork and you can see the pressure of the judge’s position. It is here, along with 3 screenshots to the RC-that-wasn’t on the next run:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cHWYB9zllaoyJO8CZ3PQiY5biuNQLUlc1o7phA7RVtc/edit?usp=sharing
On the 2nd JWW run – the first part looks awesome! That ending line was awkward in terms of where to put a RC. No good spot for it! And a BC would be hard to get to (it would be late) with a fast dog like Syn.
I think 2 things happened to cause the off course:
– yes, the timing was late 🙂 Screenshot 1: As she was landing from the jump before the RC jump, you were still running straight. There was no RC info until she took off for the RC jump at :39 (screenshot 2) – you started pressing in on the RC line and you said switch but she was in the air already and looking straight. She didn’t see the full RC physical cue until she was halfway to the off course jump (screenshot 3).So ideally the timing would be earlier and she would see you already on the RC diagonal line and turning her when she is landing from the jump before the RC jump. When you get behind, you can think of grabbing her attention almost like a tandem turn, perhaps, to avoid the straight line
– I bet if this was the middle of the course, she might have saved you and turned. But there was an off course jump straight ahead and more importantly… all the context cues said “this is the end, go straight!” What I mean by that is she saw the timing lights, the exit gate, she’d already run a long course, and you were accelerating up the line. The ‘switch’ verbal was really loud so easy to mistake for a ‘Go’ verbal based on intensity.
In other words… she thought it was the ending line based on the info and context. So you can TOTALLY set that up in training – make it look like the end, have your leash visible, maybe some treats… and give her HUGE rewards for turning when cued (and of course sometimes go straight too :))But overall… WOW! You two are running brilliantly!!!
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
> I’ve always wondered why I was given permission to point on these forward sends, considering my entire agility life has been about avoiding pointing! >
Good point! Pun intended LOL!! The arm raise aka pointing is the cue to acknowledge the jump, by looking at it (glancing at it). The release and body facing the jump are the actual cues to take the jump (not the pointing). Eventually it will be MUCH easier but young dogs help us make sure everything is super clear 🙂
> Even though I got frustrated, I spent 3x as much time rewarding her. I just edited out the throws since I figured even you might get bored with that. >
I never get bored with reinforcement! And even one moment of “argh!” can be hard on an adolescent – their brains are wired to be super sensitive to that.
>So I have a pointing reminder to help me. If I point for either dog it needs to be at their little *ssholes and nothing else. >
Ha! Yes! We call it the 3rd Eye. LOL!! Or, if you are behind the dog, just run, no pointing needed.
> Think rectal exam Danika.
HA!!!!!! That will make the dogs run faster to get away from us LOL
>I used to have a prof in vet school who said the rectal exam is the most underdone and important exam you can perform. You can’t know unless you stick your finger in there.>
I guess this it true – it provides very clear info! My veterinary learning this week is that microchips can now also tell us the dog’s temperature. Cool!!!!!
>Today is a scorcher so we may not be training today.>
I can relate – I had to get out there as soon as the sun was up, but everything is soaking wet because it has been so humid.
Stay cool!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Taq forgets so many things. I swear if I did not know better I would think she was dropped on her head as a puppy!
Such a struggle. She could not do the forward focus.>Part of forgetting things at this stage is just normal adolescent brain development where they know something one day, don’t know it the next day, then they know it again the following day. Usually when that happens, it is best to just help the dog or do something else.
But sometimes they are actually responding correctly and we are accidentally giving incorrect info. In this case… I think she was responding to the cues correctly! The video is very helpful because we can freeze it where you are turning to when you release her.
She was starting to look at jump 1, but also bear in mind that when you release it is the not the arm point the dogs are cueing off of, it is the direction of your feet and shoulders.
So when she was taking jump 1 – your shoulders/feet were facing 1. When she was going to 2 like a backside – your shoulders/feet were strongly turned to the backside line at jump 2:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cWi7pwabyT4-m6GXUK2W6ks2RmbSHXxt5e4-W9HgQnw/edit?usp=sharing
You got frustrated with her at 1:35 and she was like “I am doing what your body is saying!” – so when she insists that the answer is something different that you expect, stop and look at the video to be sure that you were giving correct cues. Turns out she was right 🤣😂
She got it more at the end even with your shoulders turning more to 2 because you moved up on the line to be slightly ahead of her and she could see where your feet were pointing, and you held position more.But ideally, even before the release – you can be more rotated to face the takeoff spot so your feet/hips/shoulders are showing 1 very clearly. And you don’t need quite as much arm point, because she is cueing off of feet/hips/shoulders.
The rest went really well! Super nice threadle wrap on 3! You can try exiting as a blind cross there – as soon as she is definitely turning to the wrap side of the bar, turn your back on her and take off to the tunnel, picking her up on your left side.
The right verbal could be a little earlier at the 4 tunnel at :13, it was right before she went in so her exit was a little wide. The timing was perfect at :49 – she was so tight on the tunnel exit she was hard to see!You mentioned her being sticky the other day – was it like what happened at :52 when she ran past 6? In that moment, you were running forward but without direct connection back to her to get her to shift to her left to get the jump, so she stayed on the line to her right. That 5-6-7 line can be handled with 5 as a serpentine with your arm back and eyes on her at landing of 5, which cues the turn to 6.
A similar thing happened at 2:35 on the way to 7 – you were pointing ahead of her so she was not entirely sure bout where to be, so it is a good place to keep your arm out of the way and ramp up the connection 🙂
A small blooper on 5 at 2:08 when you turned away before she was committed to the backside, but the other times you ran that section you had really clear cues so she picked up the backside line really well : )
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Looking at pop out 1:
You had her jumping towards 2 on this sequence, which worked well. It is numbered with 1 on the other side if you want a little different challenge 🙂She jumped long over 2 at :05, :23, and :33 You can use a bigger brake arm to get a better turn on 2 – show the brake arms directly to her to ask for collection, not to the jump 🙂
For the line to the 4 backside:
Yes, as you mentioned, at :08 you had not turned to the backside, so she was correct to stay on the line to the tunnel.
She read your line really well at :24 and :36!> I thought she was committed but my motion caused her to grab the tunnel again… I am not sure what else to do,,, maybe step back instead of sideways/rotating??? Indy clearly did not like what I did.>
I don’t think she disliked it, she seemed happy to go to the tunnel 🙂
At :36 you pushed backwards into her line trying to do the post turn, which pushed her off the line and to the tunnel. She was on her way to being committed but not actually committed – at this age, commitment is just before she arrives at the wing for the backside so you were a little early. At :37 you waited longer to push in to do the post turn and she went to the backside.
Another option there is to support the line like you did at :24, when you did a FC on the landing side. But to get the 5-6 line, do a FC to a BC (a spin) and get her on your left side for 5 so you can get ahead do a threadle at 6 then send to 7.
Pop out 2:
The serp to blind on 3 looked good (technically is it not a threadle because you were handling from the landing side). You can move through it sooner: keep moving past the jump but shift your connection to look at (and point to) the landing spot as you pass the wing, That will help keep her committed. You were definitely moving sooner at 1:00 and it made for a better line for her!
I don’t think she needs a brake arm or tighter turn at 1:02 on the jump before the tunnel – she had a great line and a ton of speed at :47 without any extra help.If you want to add more challenge, check out where 6 is on the map (same jump as 3 but the other side of it) so you can practice getting a tight turn out of the tunnel here too.
> In the moment I think “I am running SO fast” and then I look at the video and I am hardly moving, geeezzz.😏. I need to process faster… as soon as I see she has the jump, I need to leave.>
You are running plenty fast! Agility has a lot of decel in it too, so don’t worry about your footspeed. And processing her commitment will get easier as you two get more experienced running together. Running a fast young dog is similar to trying to run in high heels… takes some practice LOL!!
> She is so quick, I don’t have a half a second to “think” “does she have the jump”…..LOL>
This is true! But you are doing great and the more you get out there and practice, the more automatic it will be for you both.
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
Looking at Kaladin’s video:
I think he is getting the idea of these threadle wraps! He is finding the correct side and turning himself away to the jump really well. It is a very popular skill lately so I am glad he is feeling comfy with it!
> I think I started my “in in in” verbal and other cues a bit late as he was landing from the previous jump, but he got it – maybe because I used his name too. >
You started the verbals as he was over the previous jump and you were already in position there, so I think you were on time 🙂
The front side of 3 then the backside slice looked great, he is finding the backside push very independently!! He had no trouble reading the different cues on that same jump. Yay!
>. Am I getting too far ahead of him on these? Hard to tell with the angle but I think I am past the jump as he is committing to the wrap on some of them.>
I think you might be a little ahead on some? You can add decel in a bit more, or you can run in closer to the tunnel before the blind. But on big courses, I don’t think this will be a problem, it is hard to get too far ahead on those lines 🙂
> The one where he threadle slices I think I was moving too soon and coming in on his line a bit so he flipped the other way.>
Yes – you ran without decel there at 1:35 and ended up pushing across the takeoff side of the bar, so it did read like a slice cue to him. Adding decel there like you did on the last rep worls really well, or running in closer to the tunnel so you don’t have to decel as much will work too 🙂
On Lift’s video:
These are definitely harder for the younger dogs! Most of their value is on the front of the jump so a good exercise from the stay is to show her the difference between when you point at the jump to cue forward focus on the front, versus when you put your hands down to cue the TW. The hands have to be in position for at least several seconds before the release, because if you release at the same time as you put your hands in she is likely to just go to the front of the jump.
> I’m also wondering if it’s better for me to show more motion along her path to threadle wrap vs being closer to the jump and more stationary>
I think in the early stages, being stationary and showing her the different hands/verbals/feet will help! Then you can add in walking up the line, but motion might muddy the water if she is learning to look at your hands and process the verbal.
Looking at her question about the backside push: at 1:07 and 2:00 had good support on the line as you moved to the center of the bar with big connection. At 1:24, you were on the exit wing and not as connected, so it looked too similar to the cue to take the front. Rather than try to fix it on the one jump (which assumes it was a canine error :)) start from the previous obstacle to clarify the line so she gets it in flow.
>Question on your earlier comment about cycling training skills for young dogs. Did you mean differnent skills on successive training days like day 1 weaves, day 2 rest day 3 RDW, day 4 rest day 5 handling
or did you mean a few training sessions of 1 thing and then the next few something different?>I meant it more switching up skills so you are not doing the same thing every day. You probably don’t need a rest day ever other day, but you can do a skill or two on day 1, then on day 2 run sequences, then day 3 can be a nice hike and rest, then day 4 back to skills etc. You just don’t want to do something like weaves or RDW every.single.day because it doesn’t leave the body any time to recover or cement the learning. So 2 days in a row, probably fine. But 4 or 5 (or 7!) in a row – not so good. I know people who do it but I just don’t think it is good for the pup!
>This might be it for us for Camp stuff until after our CT road trip at laest for Lift. >
Sounds like a fun seminar and fun road trip! We have several extra weeks built in for CAMP so you can catch up after the trip, no problem.
>they had a bit of an oops moment with the online entries (or didnt’ understand that UKI counts entries and not runs so that Pentathlon is counted as 1 entry instead of 5 runs over multiple days). >
I saw some weird snarky bizarro post from the owners of the Fieldhouse, basically slamming UKI. Huh? I was like… I am pretty sure it was not UKI’s fault in whatever happened with the numbers because multi-run events are not counted with each run as an individual entry. It is lame they cancelled speedstakes, sorry Lift!!!! How many runs did they end up getting?
Nice work here 🙂
TracyHi!
Looking at the 2 discrimination videos:
They both started off challenging with lots of extra tunnels, but then she sorted it out.Since the tunnel is such a huge draw for her, one approach to this type of discirmination work is to think of it as teaching her that the jump is the highly likely option! That means that for the whole session, you cue the jump and exactly zero tunnels 🙂 You can start close to the jump and then gradually move yourself further and further away. All jumps, all the time 🙂 to pump up value of looking for it. That way you can get success pretty quickly and I think it will be really easy to add the tunnel back in. And when you are handling for real and not on a neutral line (which was really good here :)) I think the whole thing becomes super easy! Let me know if that makes sense.
Looking at the threadle wraps versus push wraps:
On the first video:
Threadle wraps – overall they are going well! Remember to keep your feet going straight and parallel to her line as she is turning towards the jump. When you did that? They were lovely! If you turn to the jump as she is turning to it, it looks like a slice cue so that is what she did at :15 and almost at :41 too. You can stay on your line and decel til she acknowledges the turn, then move forward again without stepping in towards the jump at all.
For the Push wraps at :50 and :57 – you were moving forward before she passed you which pushed her off the jump. And with the 2 wings out there, I can see why she would go to them instead of the backside. At 1:07 and 1:15 you didn’t move forward til she was past you and that worked beautifully! If you are ahead of her, you can move up right behind her tail, but you can’t move up before she passes you.
2nd video:
The brake arm to get the right turn at the beginning was GREAT! You were moving forward a bit too soon on the push wrap at :09 she almost didn’t take it there – if you want to keep moving, you can run closer to the tunnel so she passes you before you arrive at the wing.
2nd run – the release worked well when you were connected pretty directly – connection was a little too soft when she missed the jump on the first release.
She gave some really interesting feedback on the tunnel exits here!!! Very useful info:
When you gave quieter verbals and turned your physical cue to face the front of the jump all before she went in, she exited looking at the front. You can see this on the first rep, at :55, and 1:23.
When you gave really loud repeated verbals and you were accelerating towards the jump, creating a line parallel to the tunnel – it sent her wider and she exited looking at the backside line (:48 and 1:14 for example). And that was a legit response, because it did look like you were showing a parallel line to the line she ran when she exited the tunnel.
So when sorting out tunnel cues, be sure the verbal and physical cue turn her to face the line you want. You did a rotation at 1:59 but I don’t think she would need that on the full sequence: she just needs a quieter tunnel verbal, name call, and seeing you face the line to the front of the jump after the tunnel.
Looking at the threadle wraps: you can switch to the TW verbal sooner. When you have done the blind and called her before the tunne,l switch to your TW verbal – you said her name a lot at 1:01 and 2:05 when she was approaching the jump.
A small blooper at 1:27 because you were running backwards into position so you ended up showing the front of the jump.
But then the TW at 2:05 was lovely!!!! The physical cues there were spot on and she executed the TW beautifully.Great job!
TracyHi!
>I was so happy with these runs that I just had to share them! It’s possible she memorized the course by this point, but I’m taking the win, lol. >
Heck yeah!! These runs looked great!!!! You two are really clicking as a team and it is super fun to see 🙂 I don’t think she had it memorized, I think you were cueing the lines really well!
Super nice connection throughout!!! You had clear connection and just the right amount of motion to support the lines.
Her forward focus is looking great – both when you showed it to her before the lead out and also when you went miles away for the lead out. IMPRESSIVE! It was a great way to communicate with each other on the 2nd run, where she was asking if jump 2 was the first one so you made sure she looked at jump 1 before the release. Very helpful for her!
She did a great job with the layering 2-3-4, both in terms of finding the line AND thinking about her jumping. Sorting out jumping with you far away is hard and she did great. You can probably get even further away so she doesn’t catch up to you on the exit of 5 LOL She did send to the 6 backside very nicely – great connection there!
7-8-9-10-weaves-11-12 looked great both times through that section!
On jump 13 – the FC on the landing side of the backside is too in her way so she dropped the bar and didn’t get the tunnel. Good job staying in motion to reset her!
The BC on the landing side there at 1:50 was so much quicker to show her the line – the bar stayed up and she found the tunnel easily. (13 is where a german can get you up the line sooner).>. I got stuck after the tunnel again before 15 on the first run. Watching the video, I’m pretty sure I could have made it up there for the blind. On the 2nd run, I tried wrapping her the other direction to see how it worked, and she executed it pretty well.>
She thinks the rear cross slice on 15 is stooooopid so it is a good thing to train separately, maybe as a one jump game to start. She was happy to wrap left there but I agree, it sets a weird line to 16. She is experienced enough to still get it done, but I can see why Katniss would think the whole thing was weird and not flowing LOL!
The rest looked fabulous, including convincing her to go to the last jump! She had a bar down on 18 on the 2nd run – maybe just a hint of fatigue, because there is so much yardage? But overall her jumping looked strong.
Great job here!!!! It must have felt great to run that course so beautifully TWICE!!
Tracy
Hi!
Your connection was great on t he first video! The tunnel entry on the right side of the screen is offset from the line, and it was your connection that got her to it each time. She found the line perfectly and you delivered all the verbals directly to her cute face 🙂 and I love how you connected before you released her from the stay. Super!!!!
My only suggestion is to add some praise and sometimes throw a reward back to her (or go back to reward her) after you connect to her when releasing from the start. If you connect then release without mixing in praise or rewards, she is going to think the connection *is* the release… and start releasing herself. By separating the connection moment from the release, we can help avoid that by making the release very separate from the connection.
The wrap session went really well too! Your connection was super strong throughout this session too and that really helps her!
She was sorting out her jumping mechanics on the pinwheel jump (jump 4) at the beginning and also when it was jump 6 after the wrap. It is a hard angle so she was taking a few extra steps and hit the bar at :33. But no worries – she had it all sorted out by rep 3 and the last 2 runs looked great! She wrapped really well and looks ready for more challenge with that:
You can spread out the jumps as much as possible, so you can accelerate more around the sequence and then as she is taking 4, decelerate into jump 5 (the wrap jump). That might mean that you are not next to the wrap jump, but that is fine – she will be able to respond to the cues from anywhere 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning! I hope you had a great camping trip!!
>I found as long as I kept my chest/gaze directed at least towards the take off spot for each jump that was enough connection for her. Any less and she bypassed the jump.>
That is really good for a young dog! She will keep developing her commitment and as an adult will likely find lines even when connection is very soft.
On the video – she di best when your hands were lower and not pointing ahead or blocking her view of your connection. You were really good about keeping connection, but sometimes your arm got high and blocked her view of it.
I think the only time you pointed ahead was at :16 – too much pointing at the obstacle blocked her view of your connection and caused you to turn too soon, so the bar came down. She was able to read cues more clearly when you were keeping the dog side arm lower so your arm follows her nose rather than indicates what is out ahead, plus keeps your connection visible.
You were great with the connection and arm at :27 & :44 (also at :54, but I think your arm is higher in general on your right so connection is not as clear for her) and she is already working with impressive distance! I love how she drives around the line… that is going to be SO USEFUL for current course design trends!
>Only real errors were when I released her when she was looking at me>
She is an honest creature! I find that sighthounds and sighthound mixes continue to read cues and don’t just go on autopilot or pattern things in handling – that is good! Keeps us humans from practicing unwanted stuff.
At 1:21, your arm was really high on the release (higher than normal) and blocking connection – she seemed to be looking at that and processing what it meant when you released her. It won’t be an issue when she is more experienced, but a lower arm so she sees connection will help.At 1:32, she was reading you perfectly! You were still on the takeoff side of 1 and your second footstep turned you to jump 3, so all physical cues said ‘don’t take that middle jump’. And hup is an obstacle name so she was correct to take 3 as a reward.
Now… what to reward in these situations? At this stage, I would probably reset her into the sit with a cookie at 1:21 when she didn’t take jump 1 and not give her the toy (you didn’t give her to the toy there and I am on board with that). Sure, the handling was not perfect but all the other context cues were saying to take the jump. But when she skipped jump 2 at 1:32, I would have rewarded with the toy when she exited the tunnel because off courses like that are 99% of the time handler error – and therefore rewardable.
>also one where I turned my chest laser away from the tunnel opening too soon/broke connection.>
Yes – and soon enough she will save your bacon there and take the tunnel as she recognizes context and the verbals override early turns or softer connection.
>but not sure if I’m being “lazy” enough here to really test it, I like running with my dogs! >
You can try doing this game at a walk, holding a cold drink! I bet she still drives around the sequence 🙂
>The times she left the camera to the right she was heading for the pool as it’s still hot and steamy here even at 9:30 in the morning.>
I don’t blame her – it has been a steamy summer so far!!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I think my set up is a bit more spread out than the diagram, but I felt like it’s about as small as I’d want to go with him.>
You can spread it out even more! That will allow him more room to run and also let you set up more transitions into the turns (see below).
Your connection was great throughout this session!
>The sprinkler is for the soft turn -pinwheel type turns. He doesn’t really know it, but I’m using it (I’m pretty sure that’s how Dellin learned it – on the job).>
Learning on the job is a great way to learn it! It is associative learning and it works like a charm.
Question: on this pinwheel, would you use the sprinkler on all of the jumps including the one before the tunnel? You were using it on all the jumps for most of the reps (except the wrap jumps) so I was not sure if that is what you intended or not. There was a whole lot of sprinkling going on LOL!
The jump before and the jump after the tunnel are pretty much extension jumps, so I don’t think you need the sprinkler cue there at all. It seems to fit the middle pinwheel jump the best, which means you would begin it when Judge is at the jump before it, the stop sprinklering when he gathers for takeoff of the middle jump.
On the wrap sequences:
Let’s look at the last rep first because it was the best rep 🙂 At 1:06 when he landed from the middle jump, you began the check check for the wrap cues, then decelerated shortly after that. He was able to collect before takeoff and had the best turn of the session there!
On the other reps, you were a few strides late so there were some dropped bars and wider turns.
At :28, the sprinkler verbal over the middle bar is actually when the wrap verbal should start. That made the collection verbal late, causing the dig dig happened at takeoff to the wrap (so he turned when he landed). The same thing happened with the check check at :47 (bar came down and he turned on landing) and also at :57.
So in terms of timing the verbals, you can begin the sprinkler verbal as he is over the jump after the tunnel, then switch to the wrap verbal as he is at the middle jump.
You can also match the handling to it by accelerating more through the opening obstacles (jump-tunnel-jump-middle jump) then as you begin the wrap verbals when he is at the pinwheel jump, you can also start decelerating so he sees it in progress when he lands from the jump. You might not be near the wing of the wrap jump, but that is perfectly fine 🙂 He can read wrap cues from wherever you are.
If the spacing is tight, it might feel weird to create a transition, so you can run in close to the tunnel to really be able to accelerate. Or, spread the whole thing out so you can run run run the decel.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>I feel I am not lateral enough from the jump before the tunnel but also feel that at this stage if I am too lateral I will pull him off. It’s a fine line.>
Totally agree! I tihnk your timing was good (like at :38, that was great!) but motion and position were showing him the off course line.
You will want to be more lateral, heading away to the correct end of the tunnel and showing him that as he exits the middle pinwheel jump. On the reps where he ended up in the tunnel, you ran the same line as if you wanted that end of the tunnel (looking at it from the motion perspective :)) He did not see the connection change on the off course rep partially because of the motion, and partially because your arms were a little too far out and blocking connection.
When you increased the connection, he read the line even when you were showing motion towards the off course tunnel. So you can try 2 things:
– be more lateral in your position, heading to the center of the curve of the tunnel rather than towards the jump before the tunnel– as you start the blind, bring your arms in tight to your ribs (and bent at the elbows so you can run) so he can see the connection on the new side quickly and clearly.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
> maybe wanting to get through them too fast and not enough muscle memory.>
Is this happening in sequences, or all the time? You can open up the weaves (like if you used channels or 2x2s, making them a little easier) in a sequence, so she can stay in them better.
>We may only have a speed stakes career! We have a trial weekend after next. Taq is entered in 1 speed stakes each day plus we have a practice ring. I will be sending video!>
Speedstakes is the most fun! I am looking forward to the videos!
Tracy
