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Hi!
>In Synch was going great we just had a few off courses because I either didnt see something when I walked it or I couldnt get the commands out early enougn to prevent. The courses were all at the hard end for the level.Will post videos when get round to editing them. Nice that I knew each time what went wrong although after a mistake is made it is hard to get a smooth run back.>
It sounds like things went really well! Off courses are normal at this stage, she is very fast š
>Waits need a lot of work ā she has totally worked out the game so lots of work happening here.>
I think it is time to make waits the top priority. The more she runs at trials without a wait, the harder it is to get a wait at trials. What is allowed for training runs – a mat? If she breaks the wait, can you bring her back and reset, then reward her? We definitely want to focus on waits a lot now.
>Interesting getting alot more drive over the last jump but no longer wanting a pick up she is growling with excitment as she goes around. Was very pleased so much value for the bag as when she didnt want to be picked up we just headed to the bag and moved away. Got the treats out and she was putting her head in lead for treat. This was our original plan before she started coming to me to be caught. So no panics no pressure just a practised finish.>
This is great – you had already put value on the bag, so when her arousal got really high (BCs and BC mixes often don’t want to be touched when they are in super high arousal) you still had a behavior to do for the end of the run. PERFECT!
>Interesting she was highly focused on food especially at the end of a run this is new usually toys are all she is interested in.>
This is also pretty normal – perhaps it is her nervous system trying to calm/regulate arousal? My high arousal dogs are like this too – food after the run at trials.
>Weaves I opened up and got more range in terms of direction. When closed again didnt see any change in that still going fast and from different angles. so the opening was a good move. Have added a jump before the weaves and she loves that.>
Great! When she has seen them in a sequence and has a history of success, you can bring them into training runs at a trial.
>Contacts have been using a target at the end of the dog walk ā she is much more confident on my dog walk and getting a run down to the target.>
Also good! Are you allowed to put a target on the ground in a training run at a trial?
>Overall pleased with progress ā just need to work hard on generating value for the waits.>
Yes – sounds like everything is going really well! We definitely want to ask for waits and maintain criteria at trials.
Nice work!
Tracy
Good morning!
She did a great job with her moving target (and stay) here! Super!! And I like how it is helping her power through the jumping. By the end of the session, she was stepping in PERFECTLY over jump 1! Excellent hind end push off. She has a little extra height over bar 2, but that will go away with more experience (and as we raise the bar).
I am tempted to see how she feels about a 7.5ā distance, and a 10ā bar on jump 2! Everything with jump training is so individualized for the size and structure of the dogs. Try that and letās see what she does – no need to do it more than once a week or so, though, so no rush.
Smiley face game went well! Her commitment looks really strong! She did best when you kept moving: -she stopped on the first rep at the wing because you were standing still looking at her LOL!!
You have more motion on the other reps and she did great!
One thing about her is that you will have more time while she is in the tunnel than you do with Sly: she has to crunch down to get through it (she might even need heavier tunnel bags!), and he can stay in full extension. So you probably donāt need to start your wrap cues as early, you can begin them just as she is exiting. And we might consider giving her extension cues more on the tunnel exit, so she powers out the collection needed to get through the tunnel.>worked on my verbals hereā¦.. And boy do they need work!>
Ha! I think she caught you by surprise with her speed and commitment, so you can plan the verbals before you run her. Give yourself a walk through š
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
The set point skill looked good, both with the moving target toy and the slightly higher bar on jump 2. Yay!
>We ended up working just on the set point today because I had some trouble getting the toy back from him so I spent some more time on that instead of trying another game! I was having to ask for it 4-5 times before heād drop it. He did quickly trade for a treat at one point though!>
He was still super engaged and didnāt seem overarousedā¦ just not giving the toy back as quickly. I think part of it was that on the other sessions, you had used food a part of the flow of getting the toy back. Even though food is not his #1 reinforcement, it still worked well!
So it is possible that the info he gave us here is that food is part of the cue to get the toy back š And that is fine! We can make a tweak to how/when the food comes out, so the cue definitely is the verbal cue and change in how you use your hands with the toy, not the appearance of the cookie:
Play with the toy, then relax your handsā¦ then give your out cue. Then a second or two or three after that: pull out a cookie. Then reward when he releases the toy. That can help the out cue be separate from the visibility of the cookie š And also we can fade the cookie out eventually too (but I would keep in play for now, for a few more sessions or anything that is super stimulating :))
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
She was thinking hard on these! Really nice session here!!!!She did really well keeping her head low and bending her body. I think she might have been having a hard time balancing on the mats, so she was adding strides? You can try angling the wings and bars/bumps so they are a little closer together, so she can bounce the distance more easily
I loved the rep at 1:39 where you asked her to turn away to her right – she solved the puzzle! YAY!!!! There was not a lot of room there to find the jump and she squeezed herself in perfectly.
She also worked out the puzzle on the left turns – I think she is a righty so turning away to the left was hard! She initially turned right then caught herself and turned left. Then she was perfect on the next left-turn-away rep (last rep on the video).Great job here! You can revisit this here and there to keep the left/right verbals sharp as we build up the other skills too.
Tracy
Good morning!
Zig zags are going really well, she seemed to have no questions. Yay! Since these wings had a decent distance between them, you can add challenge 2 different ways:
– Using the 3 wings, you can shorten the distances. That will challenge you to cue sooner and it will challenge her to make the lead changes faster š Try having the wings 6 feet apart and see how it goes. If she says it is easy peasyā¦ move them to 5 feet apart : )
– Keeping the spacing here in the video, you can add a 4th wing and a 5th wing. That will challenge her to hold a really long stay and also to do more lead changes on the way to you.
If both of these go well? Try 4 or 5 wings at the 6 foot spacing and see how it goes š
Great job! Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
He was great about finding the jump here (and also turning when cued). Love it! And he was super fast š
There was only one blooper, and it was a connection blooper. When he exited the tunnel at :35, you were looking at the jump and far ahead – that means he could not see the connection on where to be so he came into you. When you were close to the line and running and saying go, the connection was not as important and he did great! When you were further away, the connection is more important – so remember to make a big connection and point your arm back to him as you add distance, so he can see the line you want š
>On a separate note, Max hates the car. He hides when he sees me gathering things to go, even when we are out and it is time to get back in the car, he tries to pull away. I feel bad about this. We do spend a lot of time in the car, it is 2 hours to Levelup. Any suggestions? Thanks>
Poor little guy! He might get a little motion sick. A couple of ideas:
On days when you are NOT planning to go anywhere, scoop him up and put him in the car for a few minutes along with something he loves: a bully stick, a stuffed Kong, a Toppl with cream cheese in it, etc. You can even feed his meals in the car crate! That can help make the car crate a good place š
Also on days when you are not planning to take him anywhere: gather your stuff up as if you were going to class or something, pick up your keysā¦ then put it all down and go watch some TV or something. That can help un-couple the cues that he knows mean you are leaving (which cause him to worry).
And as he feels more relaxed, you can add in turning on the car while he is chewing his bone or eating his treats. Then build up to short rides.
You can also ask your vet about adding a motion sickness med for trips – I know there are some good ones out there that do NOT make the dogs sleepy.
Great job here! Keep me posted about how he does with the car!
Tracy
Good morning!
>She turned 8 months on the 9th.
Still a baby dog! We have plenty of time. Fun times ahead!!
>Shes pretty awesome.>
Totally agree!!!
> Different than what Iām used to.>
The sighthound brain brings differences to training for sure!! But I really enjoy it (as evidenced by me now having 3 whippet mixes and 2 full whippets LOL!!!)
> Training for agility and flyball of course takes time plus taking care of an injured dog.>
Poor Snap! How is she doing?
> Iāve learned that she does need one session to understand expectations then Bam! Sheās got it! Love her!>
That is the sighthound… they think their way through the first session. Then they sleep on it, and come back knowing what we want and also knowing the next steps LOL!! So fun!!
Great job with her š
Tracy
Good morning!
>if you read this on Tuesday, Iāll be joining the Zoom call late ā probably 7:15-7:30.>
I saw you pop in! Thanks for coming!!!
>Ellie did well with these, which surprised me because at class she almost always runs past the jump after a tunnel on the first rep. >
This session went GREAT, she was pretty locked onto the line which is awesome!
For running past it in classā¦ could be the environment is harder, or you were moving faster? Or could be that your trainer (and her BFF :)) was too much in the pictureā¦ so of course you can test the theory and move the trainer away and see is Ellie finds the jump.
>āll probably need to wait until May to start working on varying the trainer position.>
May seemed so far away until I realized that today is April 16th LOL!!! It gives yo ua couple of weeks to keep building up the skill.
> I edited out the first two reps, which had big swerves toward me. The reps on the video have some hints of swervy-ness, but by then she was probably expecting the reward to be straight ahead.>
The big swerves and little swerves might have been because you were walking and quiet, but she was pretty perfect when you were moving faster and she seemed to REALLY like the big loud GO verbals š
My only suggestion is that you can throw the toy sooner. The throws were coming as she was arriving at the jump or just before it – you can move them up earlier, to when she looks at/locks onto the line to the jump. That will keep her looking forward even more.
Since this went so well, two things to add for the next session:
You can run all the way to the tunnel, touch it, wait for a heartbeatā¦ then start running forward. That can get her really driving ahead! You can throw early on those and if it is hard to get a good throw in when you are behind, you can place the toy instead.
As a balance, you can add in sometimes showing her a turn cue (like a FC and verbal) before she enters the tunnel (at least 6 feet before entering) so she turns on the exit and doesnāt take the jump. She looks like she is ready to add the balance in.
Great job!
TracyGood morning! These sessions went well!
You can give your verbals before the tunnel sooner, when she is still 5 or 6 feet away from entering. They were happening as she was entering, but I think part of that was because the spacing was a little tight. Spreading out the wings will give you more room and therefore more time š
For the wing after the tunnel on the relatively straight line, you can give a GO for the tunnel exit before entering – she curled into you on those exits, a go can help that
You gave a dig at 1:20 jut as she was entering, which can possibly indicate a turn on the exit. So the Go can indicate exiting the tunnel straight, then as she is exiting you can switch to the dig dig for the wing collection (I know, soooo many words LOL!)One important thing to note: Excellent connection here! You were super strong with that. Only one blooper was at :47 so she ended up on the wrong side of you. More connection was needed there which you added brilliantly at :55. Yay!
Good job with the verbals in the minny pinny! She did well with figuring out the turning away from you too! One blooper, but that is useful for her: knowing what is correct versus incorrect (in terms of how to get reward) really helps learning as long as there are no too many bloopers (which would increase frustration and not be helpful :))
The SOTC probably has a bit more wear to it so it feels different? But what she was doing there was restricting her natural movement and not moving her front or rear with extension or shifting into collection. If you want her legs, she keeps them tight under her with very little āreachā from the front, or āpushā from the rear. Her legs remained basically under her torso, probably so she could stay balanced – it created a bit of a ārocking horseā/up and down movement.
In the minny pinny, the skill doesnāt ask for any extension but note how she chooses to carry her rear rather than push from it – that is probably also so she can stay balanced and not slip.
They are good decisions from her! But they are both unnatural movement – I bet if you took these out on grass you would see her move very differently. And repetitive unnatural movement can be problematic, so I will continue to be a pain in your butt to convince you to wrap her feet so she can feel stable and move naturally on turf š
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
> I guess I just canāt help but feel behind on everything, havenāt even made it through most of the week 3 stuff. >
This is totally relatable and also unfortunately normal with young dogs… that feeling of always being a bit behind. You are perfectly on the right track! You are working the week 3 stuff which means you are in the correct week, and doing well with the training! Add in the up-and-down of adolescent dogs where they know something then they don’t know it then they know it again… it is hard on our human brains! (Side note, ask me what week of this class my 13 month old puppy is on… haven’t even started the pre-games LOL!!!)
>Trials and new places may be the majority of the chances we have to do training for the next few months.>
This is good, and it will make for a lot of great opportunities. Structuring the sessions will help you get a ton in while also making it easy to be in new environments.
>In all honesty, I was tempted to end the session after working the first direction, which would have been right at the 2 minute mark >
You can take a break, let her walk around or chill, then come back later or during the next walk through, etc. So it can be multiple 2 minutes sessions spread out during the day.
>but quitting after two failures would have meant quitting after the first two reps, which would have made this feel like a pretty meaningless session.>
The 2 failure rule is not about stopping after 2 failures, it is about adjusting to be able to keep the rate of success closer to 90%. So after failure 2, you can adjust the session like changing her position so the answer is extremely obvious. Or, if you don’t know why it was going wrong, stopping for a moment to watch the video in slow motion – I admit that watching the video in the moment is a BIG pain in the butt and goes against my inherent laziness š but it has always been worthwhile because I can see what is happening and change it.
Sometimes we don’t know why it is going wrong… so we can stop asking for the skill and do something else that is very successful for the rest of the session. For example, if she simply cannot hold a stay during your next training session, and there is no discernible reason why – chalk it up to adolescence and do some wing wraps or something else. That way she still gets super valuable learning about how to do stuff in a hard environment.
> I DID make my handling very easy and obvious at that point, knowing she now also had a person hovering behind her). >
She did well with the hovering person! That was a lot of pressure but also useful pressure: it was like having a leash runner in the ring!
>I knew I would not have another opportunity to work the second direction for probably a long time, and since by then she seemed to have figured out the game we were playing, I expected the second direction would be super quick (it wasnāt).>
That is where the 2 failure rule can help – if you get an ‘oh crud this is not going as expected’ moment, you can give her a simpler starting point for example: facing the bar more or a cookie toss start instead of a stay.
The environment increases the challenge significantly enough that you can take out one of the challenges like the toy on the ground, or the stay, etc. And the cool thing you will experience is that she might not need to work the skill on both sides – she is likely to be able to lock the skill in even if she only gets a session on one side. That is one of the joys of BW brain – generalizing skills even if you haven’t worked both sides.
Let me know what you think! And again – you are not behind, you are doing GREAT, she looks fantastic. You are getting so much incredible stuff happening with her, all while balancing your career work with other dogs & their people, AND judging AND training/trialing your other dogs. WOW! That is really impressive and I am super excited for what is ahead for you and Beat šš¤©
Tracy
Good morning!
This is looking super strong, Laura Rose! Yay! It was an efficient, happy session: the play and the transitions back to the ‘work’ looked very smooth and happy. He was happy to tug, eat a treat, get the toy back when offered or line up for the jump (he was almost putting himself into the line up). And when you let him have the toy to himself for a moment while you moved back to the start spot, he took it on a quick party trip then brought it back to you for more play.
This stuff makes my heart smile, because the play and transitions make the skill work very easy: his stays look great (nice reward at the end!) and the jumping looks really good too! YAY!
For the next session, you can raise the bar of jump 2 by 2 inches (I am sure he will do great) and if that goes well, another 2 inches š You might have to angle the set point to give him more room to land on grass the the bar gets higher.
Since this is going so well, have you tried any of the other games that will have higher arousal built in, such as the smiley face games or any game with a tunnel š I think he is ready and you can use your lovely play and transitions in those too!
Great job š
Tracy
Good morning! Thanks for the comparison videos, they are very useful!
In the videos, he is doing well in the class environment. But the big thing. See is that the class setting is a lot more sterile than the trial setting, which is why the trial was such a big challenge for him. The ring at class is enclosed on a couple sides with solid walls, there was no one else in the ring (one bar setter came in during the first video, another one came in in the 2nd video) and the rubber footing makes is very different touch and smell for him. Plus he has reinforcement history in this environment but doesnāt have any reinforcement history yet in the dirt rings.
And it was hard for him to ignore the people near the start area, you can see he had trouble sticking with the stay in the beginning of the 2nd video – food was available but it sounds like there were other people & dogs nearby, so he was leaving to investigate. This struggle is also an insight into why he would struggle at the trial – many more dogs and people outside the ring, and more people inside the ringā¦ and no food available in the ring/no reward history.
>Most of his reward was back at his crate in the adjoining room after each run.>
This might be a little far away for developing a reward system that you can use at trials. It is working for the most part in this specific location, but since trials are wildly different, it is not clear to him where the reward is and how/when to earn it.
So one thing to add to class/home/lessons is a reward station that you can bring with you everywhere. I use a small soft folding stool š And while most runs in training still have rewards in the ring (to keep building the obstacle and handling skills, and keep being in the ring super fun), I do throw in runs where the reward is outside the ring and I use the remote reinforcement marker. Knowing where the reward is can be extremely clarifying for him, especially in new places where things are so unpredictable.
Also, in class, convince your classmates and instructor to get into the ring like ring crew and a judge. When you begin this, you will want to have rewards with you to pay him for ignoring him (ring crew being added plus no rewards is too hard as a starting point). And you should ask folks to have their other dogs outside the ring – being visible, warming up, etc. Add as much as possible so he learns to deal with what he will see at the trial. Pattern games will be extremely helpful for him assessing the environment as the challenges increase.
And for rewards – I definitely think we need to build a ābridgeā so you can do FEO/NFC runs in the trial environment. Since he is a foodie, using a food pouch or lotus ball on a toy is a good starting point: the food is in the pouch in training at first, and he can have the food from the pouch. The food toy will take on lots of value pretty quickly!
Then we incorporate the food toy as the bridge toy and not as food holder all the time. The food stays on the reward station outside the ring but you run with the empty food toy – and when you want to reward (after every few obstacles at first) you present the empty food toy with your remote reinforcement marker – then run to the reward station to get food. He doesnāt need to interact with the empty food toy in terms of tugging, it is mainly a visual aid to help him out as you fade the food rewards in different/harder environments.
Having that bridge will allow you to work through the FEO/NFC steps of ājust like homeā and āempty handsā, and having a clear reward station will allow you to work through all 4 FEO/NFC steps! And the reward station is also good for if you can find a UKI trial that has a food reward box. These FEO/NFC steps & reward station are what will help him acclimate to the challenging trial environment more quickly. Trying without that will be a lot harder.
>Venture wears a belly band in the building and I remove it when we enter the ring to run and put it back on after each turn. Then we go outside, band off and decompress. Iām tempted to try this at the next trial even though itās a dirt arena, just to reinforce the potty in the grass only rule.>
You can try it for sure! I am not sure it is an answer because the marking is a stress behavior, so we will want to eliminate the stress (which will eliminate the peeing :)) Also, at a trial, we want to be sure that there are no accidental context cues – and taking the belly band off can become a context cue for going into the ring.
In class, there has been a history of food rewards so that context cue has been helpful: belly band off = good times coming! Yay! He is pretty relaxed and happy, and no urge to mark in these videos.
But in a trial, there are no food rewards in the ring (in fact, entering the ring signals the end of the food rewards) so taking the belly band off can become a context cue for entering the trial ring, which at this point might increase stress.
So I think the more important focal points are to develop ways to work FEO skills and the reward station, so he learns to run without food in a challenging environment.
>Next trial opportunity is a local ASCA trial on dirt, under cover. I originally planned to enter all the runs but Iām now leaning towards only 2 jumpers and 1 gamble Saturday and 2 or 3 runs on Sunday. >
ASCA has a lot of FEO opportunities! And there are also trial distractions and pressure. I agree that only a couple of runs each day, maximum, is what you want to do – you might even do just 1 or two because trial runs are mentally expensive for young dogs. But more importantlyā¦ letās have FEO plans in place so you can work the FEO steps for these runs, to build up the understanding of being in the trial ring and reduce the stress.
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>Havenāt done really any agility this week since Iāve been busy with business-building stuff>
Your future clients, myself included, are grateful for this!
> but Iām really glad you mentioned what you did in regards to Reacher missing the weaves last week because it addressed my gut feeling that I felt was right but was doubting myself.>
I feel like your gut feeling has a long history of being correct!
> So after the the second miss I didnāt do any more weaves afterwards.>
Very SMART! My philosophy is that it is better to stop than it is to create a problem where no problem exists š
> Then, after my post to you I felt like he had more heat in that area when he was stretching up on my like he usually does, but usually there is no heat flooding into his back area. The weather has indeed been up and down and I did do the skin rolling and some massage and while he was not crazy tight I do think that was it.>
I am glad you found spots to help him out! I think the cold then warm then cold (plus icy) weather does a number on the dog’s muscles.
>On another topic, since you are teaching these topics in June and if I should be so fortunate to snag a working spot, which would you recommend for Reacher considering where we are and what we need to focus on?
-Turning Tails: Mastering the Handling of a Great Turn
-Discriminations
-Introduction to International Skills
-Beyond Novice
-ISC/UKI Coursework>Definitely Beyond Novice, that is going to be geared specifically for the Reacher And Friends Crew š
My 2nd choice for him would be the Turning Tails – he turns really well, so our focus would be figuring out just how tight his turns need to be, and how to balance a ton of speed in and out of them.The discriminations and Intro to international skills will be fun too, but it depends on how much you want to focus on that style of handling.
>I have some ideas on what I think would be best but curious what you think!>
Let me know what you think! I am looking forward to it!
Tracy
Hi!
Great session here, and it looks like he was having fun!! He seemed to have no questions about finding the jump. Super!It was hard to see the tunnel entry – you can be saying the exit cue (GO!) before he enters (and again as he exits :)) to help him drive out straight. And since he was so happy driving ahead, you can play with adding a turn on the tunnel exit: when he is going towards the tunnel but still about 2 meters from arriving at it, cue a turn and then do a FC and run the other way. That can challenge him to NOT go find the jump, unless you cue it š
>The last repetition here I did put the toy on the ground for him to make up for 2 sessions of my crappy throws.>
Placing the toy on the line is great especially for when you are behind him. If it is easy to throw, cool, we throw. But sometimes we are just too far or too behind to throw well LOL!! And you can use 2 toys for when you are throwing in some balance reps: one toy stays on the line past the jump on every rep, and he gets it when you mark him correctly going to the straight line. And the other toy can be in your hand as the reward for when you cue a turn on the tunnel exit. A fun mental challenge for him!
Nice work here š
Tracy
Hi! What a fun session! And yay for working outdoors several sessions in a row!
>Sorry about the camera work ā needed a bit more zoom on some of those reps.>
No apologies needed, it all looked really good!
The goal of this game is that the dogs go find the jump with line focus and speed, regardless of where the handler supports the line from. Mission accomplished here, he was spot on in terms of finding the jump each and every time, no changes in arousal, no questions, nice striding. Super! His only question was on the tunnel cue at :29 – you said it and disconnected/moved away pretty quickly so he looked at you, and then continued to the tunnel. I think moving away that early is fine but you can stay connected to him with your eyes for longer to help support the line.
My only other suggestion is to use your toy marker verbal š But he had no questions there either.
For the next session, we can work on him driving ahead to the jump. That means you should run to the tunnel, touch it (to prevent you from leaving position too early :)) and wait for him to be just about exiting… then run forward so he can power past you.
Great job!!!
Tracy
