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Good morning!
>I got myself turned around a few times on which way to wrap and realized I was cuing the equivlent of a backside >
No worries, this game can be played wrapping either way on the start wing 🙂
>And my other verbals were a hot mess… I need some mechanics planning before I do these games.>
I totally relate to this! When I started adding all of these verbals, I had to give myself a mini walk through for the verbals before I added the pup 🙂
Looking at the video:
She was lovely here!
On the 2nd rep, I think a fly or something landed on her flank and that distracted her, but the rest of the reps were good!>1) I feel like she’s still just barely committing to the jump and really cuing that off my movement to it, do I stay at this baby stage until she’s more clearly making the decision to take jump?>
I think she is moving forward to the jump AND tracking the toy throw, as hounds are able to do LOL! You had some really good reps of throwing after she looked forward at the jump and that is key. For example, at 1:24 you nailed the timing of the toy throw: you threw it when she looked forward and not at you. So definitely be connected and watching her like you were there, and throw when you see her look at the jump and not at you (no need to wait for her to get to the jump, you can throw as soon as she looks at it). And using a ‘get it’ marker will also let her drive ahead to the reward.
Because she is large and fast, you can also give her more room between the start wing and the jump – which will also give you more time to see her look forward at the jump to throw the reward.
It looks like she was going back and forth between cookies and the toy really well here, so a way to get her to look at the jump more and not at you or the toy is to use food rewards: using a ginormous light-color treat, you can throw it like you would throw the toy. It is harder to track the treats so she will end up looking forward at the jump more and not at you as much. Then you can tug between reps to keep her spicy 🙂
One more idea: you can use wings on the jump if you have more wings, to give her a bigger visual. A cone can the be the start wing if you only have one set of wings.
> I use “go” as a jump cue. I’m guessing your go go go is more of a go fast and long in whatever direction >
Yes, my GO verbal means big extension on a line and take the obstacles on the line. My ‘jump’ verbal is actually a bit of mild collection compared to the Go verbal.
>(I maybe use “go on” for this though haven’t introduced her to that yet).>
You can use GO ON with a different volume and energy to mean big extension to the jump. Or a different word: some folks use “RUN” but I am afraid the R would sound like the beginning of her name and it would sound too much alike.
And this is a good game to introduce the go on verbal! Give her another session or two of the baby level and when she is consistently driving to the jump, you can just add it into the handling to ‘name’ the behavior.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Thank you for the update! I was thinking of you this weekend and I am glad it was a blast 🙂 Vibe did a lot of Big Boy Stuff here, both in terms of the agility skills and the environment! Wow! And I am glad you outlined your needs & interests to Taner so that he could help create an optimal experience 🙂 That is soooo helpful.>I started to see that Vibe’s tendency might be to flank jumps once he started to get some speed towards them so we worked on some specific drills with him on Saturday to help him rethink that approach.>
Do you have any video of this? The most common reason for flanking in BCs, Koolies, & Shelties is connection questions: they connection is unclear so they widen their line in order to expand their peripheral vision & see the bigger picture to find the correct line. And that can result in passing by jumps.
So let me know it you have any video and we can sort it out. He is not going to be a flanker, no worries, we are just going to find his questions and answer them in these early stages of training 🙂
>Sunday, which was day two, after some apparently amazing latent learning, Vibe was really good.>
It was probably more than latent learning – it was probably all the good vibes and endorphins that you created, bubbling over from a great, empowering day on Saturday 🙂 Yay!
>Vibe was really good. He was fast, confident, loved playing with his toys.>
Yes! He looked lovely! My only suggestion is that on the big lines where he is going fast fast fast: instead of a thrown or placed dead reward, it will be better to enlist someone to be at the end with a toy on the ground (on a line, like the moving target). Then when you cue that ending line (like with Go cues and handler acceleration) – the person watches for him to look at the line, then she takes off running and dragging the toy for him to drive to then he can grab it when he gets to it and run through it (the other person lets go and he can decelerate on his own with the toy in his mouth). Hopefully there is enough coffee in my for this to make sense 🙂
I suggest this for 2 reasons:
– it gets MORE power and acceleration on those big lines
– It prevents the sudden stops from high speed which slam his shoulders (yes, I am obsessed with shoulders LOL)Enjoy your high from. The weekend and the relaxation days, and then we will get back into the training 🙂
Tracy
Sorry it took me so long to find the link! This is what I wear to stick my hand in Ramen’s mouth and tug on a ball LOL and also protects my hand from the tug toys and leashes etc.
And cute colors too, that is important 🙂
Le me know if the link comes through.Tracy
Hi!
>I think my baby tunnel is too small to work the left and right exits. >
You can totally use the baby tunnel! The timing of the turn cues remains the same (before he gets into the tunnel) so tunnel length doesn’t matter.
Or, use 2 wings, one to replace each end of the tunnel. You can then play with ing exits: if you want him to do both wings in a row like a race track, use your left/right verbals. Or you can cue one wing only with a wrap cue! Let me know if that makes sense or if I need more coffee to explain it 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
The heat wave sounds gross! It has been a HOT summer and my fingers are crossed for decent weather ahead!
Looking at the videos: these went well – they are really hard games!
>I’m still relying far too much on movement to pull her in for the wraps – is it ok to continue that a bit longer to keep her success rate higher? Or should I be fading that out faster?>
It will depend entirely on her success rate. For example, on the first video, she needed a few reps and some motion support to figure out the tunnel and then needed to remember the wrap after a couple good tunnel reps 🙂 And on the 2nd video – she was all about the tunnels and needed help with the wraps. Then value switched back to the wrap so she needed a step to the tunnel.
So as she is learning this, you can support a bit with handling, that is perfectly fine! Then you can start to fade out the handling cues.
One suggestion is to start closer to the wing/tunnel setup (within an arm’s length) as that will help you fade your motion out because she won’t need any help going to the obstacles.
And letting her sleep on it will help – their brains often lock in the learning during sleep 🙂
>Macklynn is going through her first heat cycle, and I don’t think she will be done by Wednesday night. That means we will lose out on her time in the arena/on the equipment this week. >
That’s a bummer about losing arena time! They won’t allow her, even in panties?
>Is it possible for us to post videos of the larger space games for feedback the following week? Or will she be too far behind? I can try to modify for my little yard and minimal equipment.>
You can totally post videos when you have a chance to do them, that will work well and you will not be too far behind 🙂 We have catch up time built in for instances like this 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Sounds like you had a great time with the seminar! Yay!
She did really well with find my face in the new, busy location!!! She never considered leaving you to visit with the people and dogs.
Only one suggestion: remember to start with a few reps of the normal pattern game where you are walking back and forth but remaining engaged while she returns her engagement to you. Then you can add the disconnection to the game. That adds it as more of a game, and she won’t get worried especially on those first few rep where you are walking away from her.
>I incorporated it before we stepped into the ring to work with Chris Tucci at yesterday’s workshop.>
Fantastic!!! You can also use regular pattern games before entering the ring, and the volume dial game.
>Usually, she visits the instructor and anyone else within reach and wastes minutes! Yesterday, out of our 15 minutes of total working time, she only visited for 14 seconds!>
This is freaking awesome! YAY!!! I am doing a happy dance 🙂
When she did visit for 14 seconds… do you remember what happened right before she visited? Or do you have video? We can figure out what happened and work on getting that 14 seconds down to zero seconds 🙂Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Patterns aren’t working with toys. He only wants the toy in my right hand even if they are the same. >
You can totally make up a pattern that uses one toy in your right hand: we go with what he likes 🙂 So it can be something like toss a big treat, he eats it, re-engages… toy toy! It does not have to be 2 hands if that is hard for him.
>I don’t think I understood this game as always needing the short easy first. >
Working it on the flat should start with a pattern because that indicates that he is working and not just hanging out 🙂
>And I do use the toy for this one since he can tug with my right hand or my left. >
Perfect!
>It’s got to be one or the other for him and most preferred is in front of me. He doesn’t like “side” tugs which I know is odd since it’s more pressure in front. >
That is perfectly fine – most dogs prefer tugging in front because it is more natural play and they get a good grip on it to pull back 🙂
>I’m also slightly confused on the patterns when the he’s distracted. Isn’t he going to be ?>
Nope! The goal is that the brain processes the environment very quickly and he does not appear distracted at all.
> Isn’t that sort of what this helps with ?>
Yes – but it has to be motivating enough that his brain quickly processes distractions and ‘discards’ interest in the environment. The speed (latency) of his re-engagement is what tells us if there is a struggle or not.
>but I can’t imagine he’s ever going to go anywhere and just be like boom yeah ! Patterns! >
That is 100% our goal for dog sports. He can do it! Dog sports do not have the leeway for long acclimation periods, so we need a framework to get very fast, happy engagement in a passionate way.
It will look like this:
Dogs racing in the room we entered. Lots of barking and stimulation! This was built first with toys when he as younger (because he couldn’t eat when he was younger) and then food was easier to use.
Chase can totally do this but we must crack the code on what the motivator is.
>Or maybe just not now but I still need to get him out and do something to help with the new space. >
It is all about the motivator – we are just treading water with stationary bowls and food rewards. We all like fast progress 🙂 so we need to step up the motivator. I know a lot of behavior work is done with food-only but also… Border Collies tend to think food only and not moving is STOOOPID so we need to have a better motivator to make forward progress with quick engagement in any environment.
>Keeping him home is what got me in trouble already.>
This is not about keeping him home – this is about finding and using a better motivator. He has come a long way with eating food (yay!) but we either need to add a lot more motion to the food use, or add a toy. Or both! I vote for both.
Let me know if that makes sense.
Tracy
Good morning!
>He does know how to do that hand touch line up at the side but so far has never been able to follow through with it in the agility ring.>
You can also approach this from the angle of adding more arousal regulation before he runs agility: pattern games on the way to the line! That can help a lot – it might make it harder to get toy play because the patterns will involve food at first, but it will really help with the lineups and no more tooth hugs 🙂
> It is very hard to have him be as aroused as he is in the agility ring anywhere else. However, I realized his arousal level is close in the mornings when all the dogs go to the door to go outside, so the last 3 mornings I have been asking him for a couple of hand touches (and rewarding with a toy). I had to start with just a single hand touch, not the line up, and I knew he was aroused as I got the nip if I wasn’t fast enough with the toy. This morning he was able to do a full line up at my side and also did not nip me while doing it.>
Brilliant! Great job finding this super high arousal moment and adding the lineup stuff to it!!! Yay!
>Lining up between my feet he can now do. It took him a while to get comfortable with this position and another while to actually like it. >
Great! Keep rewarding it and you will find that it almost becomes an arousal regulation tool: when he feels the arousal bubbling over, he will ask to line up.
>Yesterday, I had him do it in the agility ring. I did have food reward for him during the period that I asked him to do it but he was able to do it happily without a lure and get his reward upon completion.>
Perfect!! The can be another useful tool.
Looking at the videos:
First video: run 1 went great, perfectly connection and the blind was lovely at the end. He gets a gold star for driving ahead of you to jump 4!
Looking at the blind on sequence 2: The questions on the first session were timing questions: a little too early, a little too late 🙂 But being ahead like that can work really well!
>I think the first session I was actually too far ahead of him. >
Your position was good but the blind was actually too early at :21 (first rep) and at :46 (3rd rep) – as he was jumping 3, you had already started the disconnect to begin the blind so he never got a commitment cue to 4 (and he correctly saw the side change and came to the new side).
On the 2nd rep and 4th rep, you were a little late at :34 & :54 (he was in the air over 4 and the blind was just starting). Great connection on the exit got it done, though! Yay!
Ideally, you would be ahead and when you see him land from 3 – cue 4 and then start the blind so he sees it a stride or two before takeoff. It will get even easier as he gets more experience.
On the 2nd session: The timing was better and better, but you were very close to jump 3 which made the motion harder to show the line after the blind: you had to move across the bar laterally and if the connection was not clear, he had questions about where to be.
At 1:06 & 1:19 – these were a little late but mainly the connection was not as good as the previous session (there was less exit line connection). There is a great camera angle at 1:20 where you can see your back and no connection, so he did not know where to be and went wide.
1:30 was earlier! And exit connection was better. So he had a better line there for sure.
The blind at 1:43 (last rep there) was the best timing so far – he was maybe one stride past landing of 3 when you started the BC. Yay!!! But you can see the connection was not as clear: you were trying to connect with the dog-side hand (left hand) and moving laterally to clear the bar – so he only saw your back and went laterally to match the line of motion
So we want the timing of 1:43 but the exit line connection of the first few reps and then it will be perfect 🙂
2nd video: The tunnel threadles are going well, he is very responsive to the cues! That is unusual with young dogs LOL! And when you asked him to go straight into the tunnel, he had no questions. SUPER!
And when you asked for the jumps and NO tunnel at 1:22 – no questions. And then he nailed the last run with the go straight, jump-jump, tunnel threadle all in a row. WOW! Again, that is very unusual for a young dog. Well done! He had a couple of questions on the first part of the line on that last run, maybe a little fatigue from the reps? But overall your connection and timing were great!Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Working the set point with emphasis on the stay was great! It helped him understand that the release is verbal only, and not your reconnection or the toy going to the ground. The tossed treats were very helpful!
And I loved that you worked up to you moving with the toy dragging before the release. That was hard! He is getting the idea for sure, so now the goal is to be super consistent with those releases (ask your instructor to help watch for that during your group classes :))
I think you did a great job with the smiley face in that big boot! Yes, he will move faster when you can more faster too but this session was terrific because he had to commit to the wings without needing you to run run run – and he did! Best boy! We want him to drive ahead of you and he did a super job here, even in the heat. You were nicely connected which really helped. So when you a run more, maintain that connection and you will see even more commitment.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hello!
>I need a turn away cue with her=- realised I dont have.>
Sequence 1:
Rather than face the 1 and send her to it as a backside, it might be faster to have both of you facing 1 and 2 and more lateral – so you can get to the exit of the #2 tunnel more easily. To get her to turn to 3, you will need to be one or two steps past the exit of the tunnel so being more lateral on the send to 1 (and facing the way you want to run) will help you get there.
You were more lateral on the 2nd run at :25 but facing way from where you wanted to run to, which delays getting to 3.
>I need a turn away cue with her=- realised I dont have.>
I think the outside arm and being a little further ahead will do the trick!
4-5-6-7 looked great! And yes, the FC on the landing side of the 7 backside did set up the off course she took on the first run. This might be where you meant the turn away cue – yes, turning away from the landing side of 7 will work well there, or continuing to move through and do a bind cross (German turn) will work well too.
You got it on the 2nd run but it puts you behind her exiting the tunnel. At this stage, you were not able to support the next jump and layer – lack of motion is what pulled her off the line. So keep moving without layering there to get her back on the line. You moved through better at 1:06 and she got it.
Good job on the last run to get the ending line: you stayed in motion and kept your arms low, so she got it really well. When you were walking and had your arm up high on the previous run it turned your shoulders to the tunnel so that is where she went.
On the 2nd sequence:
The 1-2-3 opening went well!
The FC on the landing of 4 (backside) is what set the line off course at :12 – a blind there will work well and give you enough time to get her to the line to the tunnel. You can also use 2 hands on the jump before the tunnel (brake arms) to get a little more connection).>I walked a couple of ways on a coiple of the backside and In Synch showed me (she bit) that I was so totally in her way >
2 thoughts on this:
Yes, the FC there put you in her way a little where the next line is unclear – you can start it earlier so you are finished and coming to the next line before she takes off.
But also… you were maybe only one step late and she nailed you. Ouch! Either the ‘good girl’ made her think you were delivering a reward, or she needs more work on arousal regulation!
If it was the ‘good girl’ that drew her in to bite you hard, then you will want to *not* use ‘good girl’ on course and be EXTRA clear with your reward markers. I am not sure if it was the ‘good girl’ because you were a little late on the FC at :39 and had a toy in your hand, said good girl and she did not bite you.
But there is an element of confusion about the toy in that same spot where she bit you – you were a little late getting through the FC and the toy was dangling so she went to grab it before you showed her the next line. So definitely take the toy out of the picture and clarify the markers.
If it is a common thing that she bites you on course, then more arousal regulation work needed. The game that will help in this specific context is the Find My Face game in the middle of the sequence: refresh it in the pattern game form then add it to sequences, rewarding her for NOT biting you. And if she bites you: game over. She can leave the course and you can run Fusion.
Getting through the backside sooner will also get her to the next line! The FC there will delay it, so keep moving through on the landing side and don’t add the rotation there.
You got it by doing a FC to the wrap on the other side of the backside, which worked well! But definitely keep moving through the slice backside because that is the fastest line for sure.
>So used to thinking about sending and staying out of the way with my dogs needed to make sure I do the distance collection handling when walking.>
The dogs are very different, so you will likely need 2 walk throughs to be sure you move more for In Synch and stay out of the way for Fusion.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I do not think Lennan has had this checked. He had bloodwork this spring but it was a basic wellness profile so I doubt it included thyroid.>
It might not have included any thyroid values, or maybe the T4 value, which is not necessarily indicative of anything – a complete panel tells the whole story. And also the T3 value on the panel can indicate something else going on besides hypothyroidism (such as when my dog Hot Sauce had a folate issue, and the T3 was low and told us to keep looking for the cause). Hypothyroidism is not that uncommon on Border Collies, so it might be worth a look at the panel.
This is interesting about the Lyme positive test:
>The recommended follow up tests showed that the Lyme was likely not active. >
He was never treated? The sports vets near me just treat at this point, because Lyme and other TBDs is so weird and treating even if we don’t think the dog is symptomatic has had the best outcomes.
>Each time he has had a lameness, it has been able to be identified as a specific issue and the lameness has been isolated to the area until resolved. >
This is actually symptomatic of TBD in our sports dogs – yes you can find the issue but also yes, it shifts to different locations and is not necessarily compensatory.
Also, response to treatment is used as a diagnostic tool for TBD. One of my dogs had some similar symptoms to Lennan and we couldn’t find anything except lower than normal values on a thyroid panel. So we treated him with course of doxy and there were no more issues, ever.
>I did ask the vet at one point if being exposed to Lyme made his body weaker and more prone to injury and her opinion was it would not make him weaker except if there was an active infection.>
I think there is a lot we don’t know about TBD and there might be another one happening, so it is worth another look. Lennan has had more than his fair share of things going on so maybe there is something underlying it all.
Fortunately both TBD and thyroid are relatively simple and straightforward to treat in dogs! So if it is something like this and then there are no more issues, that would be GREAT!!!
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did well with the meatballs – I am glad he can eat them anywhere 🙂 he was still distracted a bit in the environment. Did you ever try the pattern games with toys? I want to see if we can get super quick responses. Also, try to do patterns where you are both moving (back and forth) – I think these will be helpful in new environments, more so than being stationary. Less bowls, more moving 🙂Looking at the tricks: I think he is doing well with these. -keep going with them so they get faster and have even more value built into them. Spins and backing up look fun, and he well with the hand touch and high fives too. The down into the bang was something he didn’t seem to quite understand in this context, so maybe take that out of th game for now.
You can move into t he volume dial games to see which tricks are most helpful for getting his arousal state optimized 🙂
Find my face:
Remember to start this by getting him into the pattern game without disconnecting… then after 3 or 4 reps of super fast responses, you can disconnect. I think that will speed up his finding of your face: disconnecting immediately didn’t have him in the rhythm of the game, so he was not entirely sure of what to do.
And you can use a toy for the reward here too, I think he will like that 🙂
He did well will the pattern games at the pond too! I think you should be doing less with the bowls in general, and more with the back and forth in all of these locations. Movement will be fun for him and also it will be a more useful game when you go into trial environments.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
The pop outs are looking good!
Pop out 6: The blind 4-5 looked good and he definitely drove fast to it! Yay! The whole run was connected and you were really driving, so he was really driving too.Pop out 5: he really tells us his feelings about when he can’t see connection when he slows down 🙂 At :32, you sent him into the layering with your arm really high (above your head) and not looking at him, so he slowed down and was turning his head to you. Note the difference in speed on that line compared to the other lines and the previous run: arm down = speed for him! So even on layering and distance, keeping your arms down so he can see connection will make a big difference in his speed.
Nice work on the giant course! Looking at it in sections:
Opening:
On the first run, the RC on 5 was a little late at :17 (bar down). More on that below.
On the 2nd run, you were not quite far enough ahead on 3 then disconnected to 4 (:39)
Next rep had you further ahead and connected and it went really well! Super!
When you started round 2, you pushed into the backside line of 5 (RC too early there :)) Good job continuing!
>7-8 (tunnel) I did not push him out enough, and he went up the frame.>
You can connect more to him as he exits the poles rather than point forward. And you can hang back a little so to help set the line with motion rather than have to decel to get around the frame if you are too far ahead.
The run at :59 there looked good! And so did the other runs through that middle section. Yay!
>Note: I wanted to handle 15-16 with a threadle to his right and pick him up on my left, but he went left. Slow body language? I managed to successfully continue on.>
This was at 1:12, 1:44, 3:19.
What happened was that your feet and motion were still showing the slice line on 15 by facing the jump. You were on the push wrap side so ideally, as he is landing from 14 you would decelerate and start rotate your feet towards 16 to get the wrap, rather than face 15. Great job continuing there!>Attempt 3. Finally figured it out and got to 18 where he went to the weaves instead of the jump.>
It was hard to hear what you were saying or see it, but definitely a backside verbal helps and maybe a name call before it to unlock him from the line to the weaves? The physical cue and connection at 1:53 and 2:11 and 3:28 got it nicely!
Keeping him on your left for 21-22 worked really well to rear cross to the teeter. He dropped the bar on 22 at 3:39 for the same reason he dropped it at 5 on the RC at the beginning. You can be running to the center of the bar more to show him RC info, so he knows he is turning away from you. When you stick to the wrap-side wing, he prepares to take off jumping towards you then has to adjust as he lifts off, which often results in the bar down.
He might also have been a little fatigued by then (his stride was shorter by then) – it s a big course and he has been doing a lot of jumping lately 🙂 So you can give him a few jump-free rest days to let his body catch up a bit.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
On Kaladin’s session, I think part of what we are seeing is a preference for turning left – and not necessarily connection or arm use.
Reps 1 and 2 and 1:07 wrap to the left looked good!
Wrapping to the right: without decel and any slight pressure and he offered up a left turn.
Adding decel will help like it did at 52 and definitely like at 1:28 – just a little decel got the right turns there nicely.Looking at the backsides – the outside arm can be a little lower but mainly he needs really clear foot pressure to convince him to turn to his right:
The outside arm at :17 was fine but your feet were rotating to the fence (starting the FC before he was committed to the backside) so he turned left.
At 1:11 timing and use of the outside arm looked a little like a turn away… to the left 🙂
He slipped into the front of the jump and turned left on the backsides at :56 and 1:33 – push in harder to the line and do it til he is closer to the entry wing. That was a left turn too, but not as easy as the front side left turn. The rep 1:45 was really good – you made the line VERY clear and he nailed it.
>The last time I kept the opposite arm lower he got the backside slice (pink jump).>
You ran a MUCH pushier line to the backside wing and kept moving along it on that rep. On the others, you straightened up while he was still la few strides away from the entry wing so he took the front.
Letting him really see the pull into the threadle wraps worked really well at the end, especially the last one setting up the left turn.
>I realized I should have been telling him Go as he went to the tunnel (duh!). I think I was thinking that a wrap was coming up so Go wasn’t called for but he clearly wanted more direction on what to do out of the tunnel and needed a go since it was a send to a wrap.>
Yes – go is aid before the tunnel to get a straight exit, then switch to the wrap while he is in the tunnel (and keep repeating it :))
Adding the pressure slice of Dean and Lift (thanks Dean!!) certainly made things more exciting, long with bringing him in on leash. He definitely seemed to be wondering why they were there 😂 😆 and it was interesting to see him have trouble sitting – but I think it sharpened focus for you both! A little pressure can add a more optimized arousal state – since you are both experienced in pressure situations, you both were very focused and nailed the runs! Yay!
Lift:
Nice sends on run 1 and the last run!
> I’m guessing that caused the madz moment when the inside arm forward closed my shoulder to her. >
Yes, it looked like you were connected then as you sent, you disconnected by looking forward which turned your shoulders off the line.
>In that situation should I still reward her for the wrap (that had the kangaroo before it) >
Yes, in that case I would reward her because she de-kangarooed herself and went to the jump.
She answered her own question and regulated arousal without you needing to intervene, and she didn’t hold a grudge in an overaroused state. That was a great reward! If you had needed to intervene and help her out, it might be in the form of a reset cookie at your side (if she was unable to reset herself and needed you to do it) and send through the tunnel to try again. Or, if you re-sent to the jump you can go one more obstacle and reward. But I love that she de-kangarooed herself!!! I also love that my computer offers guidance on how to spell de-kangarooed 😂 😆
Looking at the slice video:
>Definitely got more arousal at the start lines which replicates her behavior at a trial or seminar better. >
Perfect! That is the goal of adding slices!!! A good slice for her will be Kaladin in the picture, and remote reinforcement in use 🙂
>But she stayed engaged and did sit without too much backtalk and also held her stays. Super impressed that she offered her head for the harness at the end >
Yes! This was all great! And she was even a bit faster than normal too, which is fun to see. And on the send run when you sent to the jump from behind 1:21 with your arm up (formerly a recipe for some kangaroo action), she looked at you a little then drove to the jump. That was GREAT! Nice reward there too!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
This went really well especially for the first try! Super!
He was following the physical can verbal cues really well, and you were also increasingly fading out the physical cues.The right turn side was harder than the left turn side – one blooper and one attempt at taking the tunnel not the wing. It is possible that turning right is his harder side. Or that by that time in the session (towards the end), his love for tunnels had increased a lot 😂
He had one clever blooper at 1:22 where you were cueing the wrap but he took the tunnel. On that rep, you were also backing up (rather than rotating or being still). Dogs read backing up the same way they read forward motion, so he definitely thought it was a physical cue for the tunnel 🙂 You rotated on the next rep and he got the wrap. The attempt at taking the tunnel at the end instead of the wing was possibly either tired dog brain or tunnel love, but he finished strong and overall the session went great.
For the next session, you can fade out the physical cues even more to make the verbals stronger: hold his collar, let him hear you say the verbals 3 or 4 times while you are holding him… then let him go. You don’t move at all until after he has made a decision 🙂
>As to my wrap verbals – east east east and west west west intentionally repeated and said more softly than my left and right.>
Got it! They were very easy to hear here – good verbals!! And saying them quietly will definitely help provide tight turns when you are both running fast on course.
>Will new material be released on Monday or are we on two week segments like last time? >
Yes, new stuff is coming on Monday but it is a concept transfer with the set point jump game, and 2 fun tunnel games. That will be easy to add in while still working on week 1 stuff. We have several easier weeks mixed in with all of the weeks that have a lot of content.
Great job here!
Tracy
