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Hi!
>I’m going to ask my neighbor if I can do a few sessions in her yard too. She hasn’t been there yet so it will be a new location and I can walk the poles over.>
Great idea!!!
> I am trying to teach myself to find the sweet spot of where I need to lead out to so I can be ahead & show her the line. I think this is going to be Bazinga-cruicial!>
I think that it will also get easier as she gets more experienced – Frankie did not seem to have the same questions if you were not in the perfect spot 🙂
>I am super thankful that she is so great at holding her stay. I’m going to remember to keep reinforcing it & keeping it fun!>
Yay! Rewarding lots of stays will definitely help keep the joy in them.
>>Ok, so I need to turn this into a “tug-it” game & play for a bit and then ask her to sit or give me a paw or spin (if she can) and then the “tug-it” game starts again to help her transition between arousal levels? Is it ok to use treats in the beginning when I ask her for the calmer behaviors? She’s my first tug dog so I am a noob and did not train this in an orderly fashion!>
I htink you are training it in an orderly fashion! But every dog is different. One other thing you can try is getting her ramped up then right before going into the ring… a pattern game. That might be the sweet spot for getting her really engaged without any tooth hugs. Playing with it will help you develop the perfect ‘recipe’ but it will change in the next months/year as she gains more experience.
>Owensboro, Kentucky for the conformation & obedience and Evansville, Indiana for agility. I’ll post lots of pics & videos!
That sounds so fun – I can picture all of the adorable BT items to buy too – breed specialties are shopping bonanzas LOL!
Have fun!
TracyHi!
> ie early enough (I know, I had one job!). And do you use a left cue plus a wrap cue or just the wrap cue when you want them to come out of the tunnel and wrap the jump? or both? Ditto, the “go” cue if the jump is straight ahead but they then wrap it?>
There are a lot of words on this game LOL!!
For example, if you want her to turn right when she exits the tunnel then wrap the wing: the ‘right’ physical and verbal cues should happen before she enters the tunnel, probably when she is still a meter from the entry. Then the wrap cues start as she is exiting the tunnel (because they apply to the wing). SWo bothy cues happen, but at differnt points in time. Or for the race tracks: if you want her to turn left when she exits the tunnel, you would do the left verbal and physical cue (shoulder turn) when she is still a meter or so before entering the tunnel. Then when she exits, another left cue for the left turn on the wing. So many words LOL!!
Looking at the video:
Physical go cues were good! She read them really well and accelerated straight when she exited the tunnel. SUPER!! The Go verbals can come a lot sooner (you were saying go after she was in the tunnel). You can say go when she is still a meter or so away from going into the tunnel, so she hears it and sees the acceleration before she enters. At 1:02 you gave the ‘go’ verbal just as she was entering the tunnel, and the last rep was the best: you can the go verbal when she was a couple of meters before entering the tunnel. Yay!For the turn cues onthe tunnel (like the right cue at :43) – as she was entering the tunnel, you were running foward and didn’t say the turn cue, so at :44 she exited straight then turned after she exited, making for a slightly wide turn.
The ‘race track’ right turns on the wings looked and sounded good!
At :53, you gave the ‘left’ cues sooner (just as she was arriving at the tunnel) so it looks like she exited a lot tighter. Yay!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! This went really well!
Question: what was the distance between the regulator and the bump? We might want to expand it a little bit. He might need more room to fit his stride in as he gets organized with all his power.
On reps 1, 2, 3 – he can be a little bit further from the regulator (less than the width of a hand more), but his back feet ticked the bump on those. And he had trouble sorting his hind end over jump 2 – subtle shifts in which foot went where. His front end looked good, so I am thinking his hind end did not have quite enough room to sort and push off: so the bump ticks were him trying to shorten up. He sorted it out nicely on the last rep!
Since we want powerful hind end use here, let’s try giving him a bit more room and see what happens. We can experiment to find the sweet spot: maybe add 1/3rd of a meter?
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Hooray for great weather, finally!
> the first 2 reps he was grabbing for the toy>
I think there was a bit of confusion for sure – you were rotating too soon so he was driving into you. At :03 and :13 you started rotating and running a bit sideways, which also brought the toy hand across in front of you, so his focus was drawn to your hands.
Compare to :09, :18 and the reps after that – you faced forward as you decelerated and he was able to commit to the wing. Then you rotated and he had no questions (and didn’t look at the toy at all). Super!!!
> The Big Lug can wrap himself pretty tight around those wings>
Yes! He might be a big dude… but he has a lot of power and I know he will be able to set up great turns!
As you play these games, I think you can decelerate sooner as long as you keep facing forward and don’t rotate til you see him locked onto the wing. And definitely don’t rotate and run sideways towards the wing 🙂 Once you have rotated, you should run back to the tunnel.
One other thing to remember (so many things to remember with young dogs :)) is to plan and use your markers – I couldn’t really hear them here but also, the toy-from-hand marker becomes very important as we start running more with the toy in our hands. Clarity of markers will help him not look at the toy at all, even when your cues are not perfect (it is too hard to be perfect in agility!)
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
Stay looks great! And he is focusing directly on the toy and driving to it when released. SUPER!!! This gets applied to the set point, after he has seen the set point with a stationary reward a couple of times.
Because the transition from toy reward back to the game is important, we can sort out ways to smooth out that process:
>He was unwilling to trade for a cookie but I did use one to line him up!>
Yay for the line up cookie! For the trade cookie:
What type of cookie were you using? We definitely want to be able to get the toy back without the collar holding (because that can create over-arousal/frustration) and we also want to make releasing the toy very rewarding for him! So for getting the toy back, use a really high value (human-grade) treat. Many toy-driven dogs will trade anything for a piece of rotisserie chicken LOL!
Then, more importantly – give him the toy back. Don’t make getting the toy back all about the toy being removed in favor of doing the next thing. Gripping the toy rather than ‘outing’ it often gets built up because we take the toy back and there is no reward. Instead, we remove the toy (which is actually a negative punisher) – and even though we are going to do another rep, the stay is not intrinsically rewarding yet that it can be used as the next step after getting the toy back.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! Welcome!! She is so cute and fun! These games are going well.
She was very happy to do her wing wraps at the beginning of the first video. Super!! My only suggestion on these to help solidify the verbals is to line her up at your side then gently hold her collar… then let her hear you say the verbal 4 or 5 times before you let her go. I think she was relying on you stepping to the wing, which is why she was not as smooth on the last couple of when you didn’t step to the wing. Letting her hear the verbal then letting go of the collar should help her propel herself to the wing even more, while attaching the verbals nicely too.
I think the set point is also off to a great start. She has a lovely stay which really helps! We will want to add the moving target to this, so be sure to re-visit that pre-game too.
>Here is the set point – I used 4.5 feet but maybe I should have stuck with 4.>
How tall is she? I think the distance was good here – you can start her a couple of inches closer to the bar, so she powers in off her hind end more (and reaches forward with her front less – the further she is, the harder it is for her to really push from the rear). Try getting her front feet to be about 6 inches from the first bump and see how she does with that.
It was hard to see exactly where the reward was, but her head was lower on the 2nd and 3rd reps which made for better form than the 1st rep, where her head was high. So definitely keep it lower. And you can also move it further from the 2nd jump, so it is 12 feet away or so – that way she can stride out to it which will make it easier to raise the height of the bar.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! These are looking good!
The wrap versus tunnel went really well! One small suggestion to further solidify the verbals: face forward to the wing on both cues and try not to move at all 🙂 One the wraps, you were already pretty rotated and that physical cue might tip her off as to which it is, making the verbals less relevant. So try to be in the exact same position (belly button facing the wing) for both tunnel and wrap verbals – that can be a good challenger for her! And it looks like she is also ready for the advanced level, where you put things in flow, like tunnel-wrap and even tunnel-tunnel, wrap with you basically showing as few physical cues as possible.
Tunnel exits:
> I don’t feel she knows the turn well so I decided to not do the wrap and just reward where she should go. Is that ok?>
That is fine if you are working to make the turns more solid! The wrap will be the easy part 🙂
Small detail: Try not to lift her up when you are holding her collar (or let her lift herself up) – sometimes they fall on their heads when they start with their front feet in the air. Keep your hand low so her feet stay on the ground as she shifts her weight back to get ready to go.
Timing of the GO verbal heading to the wing was good but at :08 be sure to connect – if she dosn’t see connection, you will get zig zag lines/refusals because the connection supports the line you want.
Sending to the tunnel from further away so you are ahead more easily really helps – you were further ahead at :30 and that helped but definitely emphasize connection too like you did at :50, where you were ahead AND connected. That one looked great!
>Tunnel exits: since throwing now makes me anxious I did place the toy down for the go. >
That is a good toy for throwing, she is not splatting herself for it because it is big. Also, instead of dropping it, you can also drag it like a moving target which also allows you to control the decel a bit (this will work on the turns better than on the Go lines).
For the placed toy – she naturally curls to her right back towards you on this so having the placed toy closer will solidify the ‘go’ on the tunnel exit even more. It was a little far away so the visual did not override her interest in looking for you on the exit – it worked on the 2nd rep when she knew it was there, but having it closer on the first rep will be perfect!
Turns on the exit: almost all of your verbals were on time. Yay! I think the only one that can be earlier was the left verbal at 1:06 (her head was already in the tunnel).
With all of the verbals- match the physical cues to them, so she can hear and see the cues. You were tending to run forward while you were saying the verbals, so she was turning more after she exited. Saying the verbal then letting her see the physical cue too (shoulder turn is all she needs) before she enters should be perfect!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
Be sure to connect after the start wing (or the wing before going straight to the tunnel, it was not always the start wing :)) On some of the reps, he did not take the tunnel because when he exited the wing, you were facing forward and he didn’t know which side to be on.
So, if he goes around the wing and doesn’t take the tunnel, you can assume it was a connection error, send him around the next wing, and reward. Big eye contact as he exits the wing will show him the line to the tunnel.
For the right turns – the first rep or two had late verbals but then it was hard to hear if you were saying tunnel and right, or just right? Either way, letting him hear ‘right’ before he goes into the tunnel will help a lot. And, matching the physical cues to it will help too – he was seeing a lot of acceleration straight, so he ws going straight. If you can turn your shoulders when he is still about 5 feet away from entering the tunnel so he sees it, you will have great turns.
On the left turns, your physical cues showed the left turn earlier, so you got some really good turns when the verbals happened before he went into the tunnel too (like at 1:25).
You were much better connected on the last rep and it looked great! Yay! The connection is key for him and also showing/saying the turn cues before he enters the tunnel.
Great job!!
TracyHi!
He was so funny, almost looked surprised by the toy reward on the first rep! But that type of surprise is good! This went super! Did you feel like it was more fun for you both? The expression on his face at the very end certainly seemed happy 🙂
You can let him tug for longer, and you can let him win the tug (running around with it can be a bit of useful decompression for him). And to get the toy back, trade for a cookie then toss the cookie off to the side for him to chase. Pulling on his neck to get the toy back might tip him into overarousal, but cookie trades will be great 🙂
At :47, he went around the cone but didn’t get rewarded… all of the physical cues (like lining up then letting go) indicated he should go to the cone, so be careful not to send mixed signals 🙂
Since this went so well, you can take this process into the other games as well – I think the tugging will be a lovely way to help him balance arousal! And being careful to limit failures and reward resets will help a ton too. He looked great here!
Tracy
Hi!
This went great! The main thing here was to balance arousal, and it looks like he was very successful (he is naturally good at arousal regulation!).
For the tunnel cues, stepping to the tunnel definitely helped and it was more stimulating! The pattern games balanced things out and he was very successful.
He only had one take-the-tunnel blooper and that is fine: we need some errors here and there so he learns the difference. But overall, super successful!! It was hard for him, he was breathing hard at the end (steam coming out of his ears LOL!) but he did great. Yay!!
Onwards to taking this outside when the yard is dryer!
Great job :)
TracyHi! Sounds like you are having a fun and busy weekend!!
>We have really been working on the pre-run engagement and having success. He mostly ignores the other dogs and is really engaged with me.>
Super!! He looked happy, relaxed, and engaged here.
>After one of our zoom chats where the fur tugs from tugawaycuwin was mentioned I ordered a few more and found the “fur flinger” is perfect for Wayne (I can use it for pre and post run engagement and shove it in my pocket)>
Perfect! They have a lot of good fur toys, I just bought a few more LOL!
He was really good in these runs! The behind-the-back starts worked really well – I especially loved that when you took the leash off, he remained engaged and didn’t start without you. That really allowed you to set up a nice opening line!
About the contacts: he considered getting on the a-frame here but then he was not sure. Do you have access to contacts that can be lowered, so he can confidently get on them in flow from jumps or tunnels?
>the Standard Course time was around 24 seconds and Wayne did it sub 12 seconds!>
Holy wow!! He could have done it twice and still been under course time! So fun!
Great job here!!!
TracyHi!
>I noticed a lot of knots in her shoulder muscles, so I gave her some amateur massages after the trial.>
Amateur massages are great! Have you ever done skin-rolling? That is what the real massage people have me do with mine as part of their warm up and cool down.
>Here are Frankie’s latest TSA games. We ran past the gate and then back in these. She had some distractions that got her attention here & there but I just waited for her attention to shift back to me and we kept going.>
She did well here! I think she is understanding the whole ‘leave the treats outside the ring’ thing and is also pretty resilient to any handling bloopers. Her early videos of this were filled with her looking back at the treats outside the ring like WHAT THE HECK and now she is very fluid!
>You will hear the monster-noises that is Bazinga not wanting to wait her turn too!>
She sounds like a rage-filled cat-dinosaur cross LOL!
>I’m trying to get her to bark after she gets her last treat before we go inside the gate too. I forgot to try it at the start line. I will add that in next time. TSA 1>Yes! I love the cue for it 🙂 And whether or not she barks will give you good insight into how she is feeling inside.
>I’m trying to decide between doing FEO as our first run of the day or just doing the first run for real since she has been doing really well with the first 2 runs of the day. Maybe just surprising her with FEO when the FAST course is not one of our favorites.>
Go for it! She will give feedback about whether a real run first thing is the way to go. She has been successful with it. And you can always change your mind at the last minute, if the environment is hard for whatever reason.
>She has 2 more QQs for her MACH4 and then I can drop her to 8 inches. >
I think she will like 8 inches 🙂
>Our only other thing to work towards is her Agility Grand Championship (we need 26 FAST, 22 Premier STD, 22 Premier Jumpers and 9 T2B Qs) but I’m not sure I want to make that a “goal”. I want to keep things fun for her that is really my priority.>
I think if you keep things fun for her like you are doing, and keep her fit and sound – the AGCH will happen naturally without needing to even chase it.
> If I do work towards that, I think I would want to drop regular JWW and STD. I don’t like doing more than 3 runs with her in a day. She seems to have spoken about that.>
That is a great plan! If you don’t need the JWW and STD, you can save her for the other classes. Plus Bazinga will be running those classes pretty soon and that way you can focus all on her 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Hooray for the weaves!!! Are they easy to throw in the car and take different places?
>We did the TSA game today and I’d love some advice. She gets so amped up during this game that she’s started being bitey. She’s grabbing at my clothes and biting the leash so wildly that she’s a menace! Hahaha Is it too much for her? Maybe she doesn’t need it whereas Frankie does need the added excitement?>>
I think it is good to rehearse the ‘up and down’ of arousal regulation, and that is why the game is useful. Plus we get feedback from the dog – she really wants to do more tugging! She keeps reaching for the leash even in the in between moments. So you can ask her for calmer behaviors and then let her tug on a tug leash or a toy. She regulates really well when you do that, and it will help direct her teeth to the leash/toy and not your flesh 🙂
>Really the runs were a mess because we were both so discombobulated with all the wildness.>
The runs were not too bad at all! It was that 3rd jump – you needed to be further up the line (longer lead out) to be able to connect and push in to get it. Being a bit behind pulled her to her left, and she had to go slightly right to pick up the jump.
>tried running the course with her again later after she calmed down and she took all the obstacles like a pro. (We both did better).>
Did you lead out further? Canine arousal also shifts human arousal, so if you were more relaxed it is possible you led out an extra couple of steps.
>We have a 1 day trial next weekend (that I think I’ll be able to go to) and a 2 day trial the following weekend. Then the Boston Terrier Nationals!!! That will be fun! There is a tunnelers fun run that she’s going to love!>
OMG BT NATIONALS!!!!!! That sounds like so much fun. Where are they holding it?
>I have an FEO progression question with weaves. What should my criteria be for attempting the weaves in the novice ring with a toy? Once she is comfortable doing 6 weaves at the field where we take training classes? Should she be doing 6 weaves with an obstacle before and after at home and at the training field? >
I would say yes to both of these. You can add an obstacle before and after, even if the weaves are not closed up yet.
Not for AKC novice – you can get her in there with the 6 poles 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Welcome! Thank for the video, it was really fun to watch! These games will be GREAT for helping build up arousal regulation and finding that sweet spot that works for you both! The skill of going around the cone is easy peasy for him, so let’s look at setting him up for arousal regulation success! He is a very cool dog!!!
A couple of things to tweak in this setup:
– for now, don’t have the other dog in the room watching the training, make it about you and him only. Having the pressure of another dog watching intently draws bandwidth away from the part of his brain needed for arousal regulation. It splits his attentional state and I don’t think we need that yet (it might not outwardly seem like it divides his attentional state, but it is extra input the brain has to process and filter out, so let’s remove it).
– let’s have you standing up! Sitting low to the ground makes it harder to line him up, and that was a source of frustration.
– does he play with toys? If so… let’s get a toy involved. (if he doesn’t play with toys, let me know and we will do other fun things). Using just food is not doing the trick for arousal regulation – I think he needs an outlet to party with between reps. This might seem entirely counterintuitive – but lining him up for a cookie, doing the rep, rewarding with a hearty game of tug, letting him win the tug for a few seconds (and maybe run around or rip it up a little LOL)… then call him back to you using the food with the pattern game we did in MaxPup 1. Then line up next to you for food, repeat the process. The outlet for the arousal followed by the pattern game for arousal regulation can make a huge difference. Trying the training as a tight loop using food only is actually not useful for arousal regulation for many dogs, and I think he falls into that category. Toy play paired with pattern games is a great outlet and balancer.
– be extra super clear with the reinforcement and the line up. The session was all good til :50 when you didn’t give him any info about the line up, so his arousal tipped over into frustration and we got cone biting, hitting, etc. Standing up to play between reps, the pattern game, then a very clear line up can help the arousal remain optimized and eliminate that frustration!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think, especially about getting more toy play involved 🙂
Tracy
