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Good morning!
Yikes! You have some crazy weather coming up!He did really well with the layering game here! I think the freeze dried chicken is a winner – have it in your hands already because when you drop your arm to reach for it, he totally sees that and looks up at you (and stops looking at the line).
Speaking of arms – you can keep your arm a little lower and more connection, even at the distance. For example, when your hand got really high (like above your head), it can turn your shoulders away from the line and cause him to look at you (like at 2:00). But when your arm/hand is lower, at your shoulder level or below it, he can see the cues really well (like at 3:40). Arm position will get less important as he gets more experienced with layering, but for now the shoulder-level or below hand position is very helpful for him.
For future sessions, you can start further away to get even more momentum to the start wing and also move the start wing to the other side of the tunnel (non-layering side) so he goes around the outside of it to get to the layering line. And as you do that, you can mix in rewards for staying on the line so that the layering line maintains the value (otherwise the tunnel and coming back to you will end up with the most value).
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did really well here – he was able to find the line to the jump even with the big tunnel there. Good job throwing the toy – that helped support the decisions he made because sometimes he did have a big of a question mark over his head. The earlier you tossed the toy, the better for him to support his good decisions.
Since the other side might be his harder side, you can throw the toy even sooner : as soon as he rounds the start wing and looks at the jump line. And he doesn’t have to go to the wing after the jump on either side, that wing is just a visual aid to help keep him looking forward.
>>Question, since he was sort of wrapping around the first stantion I was using my left wrap verbal (flip). Is this correct?>>
It was correct for this first level. As things expand and the wing moves over a little and the tunnel entries are visible, a wrap verbal might open up the line into the tunnel. So more of a “GO!” verbal will help for the layering, so he goes in extension to the jump on the other side of the tunnel.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
She did well on the zig zags! You can add foot movement to help her and also, lower hands – if you have your feet moving and your hands more at her eye level, she can probably see it better and process it sooner. But, no need to worry about it on 5 wings, you can do that on 3 or 4 wings.
>>I think weâll come back to it at some point because I can see some value in reading crosses from a distance,>>
This game actually builds to a jump grid for slice and backside jumping, and that will make it easier to get the 5 wing added in too đ
She did well with the serps! When you added the backside: the reps she had questions about were when you were sending to the wing but pulling away to the reward, rather than moving forward to support the backside line. When she was on your right, I think the line was easier for her so she found the backside. When she was on your left, the line was definitely harder and that is where forward motion on a parallel path to the backside will help. At 1:36, for example, you can see your feet and lower body pointing to the front side of the jump, along with your shoulders. You had more forward motion at 1:46 and after that, which totally helped her see the line there. Super!!
She did well with the ladder grid, even when she sat backwards LOL!!!!
I think the 4 foot distance is a tiny bit short for her now – try 4.5 feet and we will see how we like it! Also, you can move the reward further away so she can power out of the grid – a stationary reward can be 15 feet from the 3rd bump. Or, you can use a moving target!Great job on these!!
TracyHi!
>>Lift likes the frizzer mainly to steal it from Kaladin and then jump on his head and smack him with it.>>
Seems like a legit endeavor LOL!
The circle wraps are going well – nice job with your reward placement behind you and the connection shift to help commit her. The best reps where when she could see the barrel better (being sent ahead before you started to move, as opposed to :52 where you moved early and she had a little trouble with the pressure on her line).
And she was great about finishing the circle while you moved up the line behind her.
>>Do I need to be more to the opposite side of the barrel if it is standing in for the standard?>>
Do you mean letting her see the whole thing, like being where the wing would meet the bar? Yes, that worked really well. If you mean something else, let me know – I blame the eclipse for my lack of brain power at the moment hahaha
She did really well with the Minny Pinny too! Turning away to the right was easy. Turning away to the left was harder – she did turn her head away but couldnât quite process the turning the body to the left too. She was not frustrated at all – it is possible her brain was totally telling her she was nailing it. So what you can ad to the left is tossing a cookie to her left over the bumps as soon as she turns her head. That can affirm the head turn and help with the mechanics of turning the body too.
Great job here đ
Tracy
Hi!
Look back at this from MaxPup 1:
I particularly like the clicker stays, because it really isolates the release. Be VERY careful with your mechanics: don’t move your hands or cookies until after you click. Same with a release or throw back reward… say the word first then move your hands. Dogs are brilliant at seeing everything and it is possible she thinks that your movement is the release and not the word.
T
Hi!
>>I tried more actual serps in the backyard, and it was mostly a disaster. I had to turn the jump almost perpendicular to the wing to get him to see it>>
There was probably a lot to process there (the skill, motion, being outside, etc) so he couldnât find the jump. Driving in hard to the handler is not a natural Border Collie behavior!
Slowing down the motion like at :22 for a bunch of reps, and keeping the jump angled will really help solidify the skill. You were able to get him to take the jump but he had some failure right off the bat – you can start where you left the last session with the highly angled jump to see what he remembers đ And you donât need to get the jump flat in the session – getting him to do it with you moving is more important than getting the jump flat. He was having success with that here (yay!) so you can angle the jump again and add more motion next time indoors. And angle it a lot outdoors because there is probably so much more his brain has to process.
Since you have the FAS-assistance plan in place for the ladder grid, you can add the reward target on the ground. Having him jump with you holding it then throwing it is causing him to jump looking up at you and curving a little. So, have it down on the ground about 10 feet past the last jump. And if he does well with it stationary, you can try dragging it đ Thanks to FAS for holding!!!
Zig zags looked great too đ adding the wing went very smoothly on both directions, so next time you has FAS-availability you can add a 4th wing. Yay!
Great job on these!!
TracyHi!
The RCs are going well – when you get immediately on the RC line, she reads the super well like on the right turn RCs and the left turn at :40 and :49 (she had a question on that one because you were stopped and turned your shoulders to the right turn wing for a moment before getting on the RC line).
If you stop moving or move forward on the straight line, she doesnât see the info in time. That is what was happening on the left turn RCs. So you can go in even closer to the tunnel, run the line with it, so you donât have to stop (they can hear that we have stopped and come out looking at us, like at :21 and :27. You were stopped there and turned facing straight (and at :21 said go as you started to move), so she was taking off by the take you did the RC line. Remember to reward that anyway because there is a high likelihood of handler error on these (the right turns here indeed handler error :))
The layering looked great! She was happy to stay out on the jump line, no problem at all!
>>. I was not sure about my fronts x into the tunnel. Late???
Yes, late at 1:12 and 1:18 because you were hustling to get past the tunnel and making sure she was committed to the jump, so the FC was visible when she was also past the line to the tunnel. You can turn a little sooner, as soon as she lands from the jump – that should get a nice line for now! Turning much sooner than that could potentially pull her off the tunnel entirely so we want to keep her happy to stay in extension for the layering.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! He wasnât upset with you đ He was trying to solve the puzzle đ
>>The strategy there was to run along and stare in his eyeballs until he looked at the jump and then throw the toy.>>
Perfect! This worked well with the go lines.
For the RCs, what was happening was that you were a little late on the first several because you were running forward like a go line, then cutting in for the RC at the last moment (like at :18 – he is taking off and turning left and you were just starting the RC). On the reps where he did a spin in front of the jump, you were also cutting in a little last-minute but he had not taken off yet. Then he started watching the toy, so when it was behind you back he was not driving forward as much so even with earlier timing, the RCs didnât quite happen.
Two ideas for you to help out:
– stick closer to the wing wrap then get on the RC line to the center of the bar as soon as he exits the wing wrap. He wonât be past you yet, but he will pass you as you run forward to the center of the bar.
– use a cookie throw and even an empty food bowl as a visual add for him, turning the correct direction. That will get him looking forward more than a toy does for now, and then we can bring the toy back in later on.>>I went too long into scientist-debugging-mode)>>
Ha! Yes, with mammals (humans and dogs for example) we donât want to go past 2 failures total, because then we get frustration or unwanted behavior change (like being sticky). I have been doing some thing with AI recently and it has been fascinating how many time I can tell it that it is wrong and to try again, and it tries again with the same gusto LOL!!!! But with the dogs, adding something to help will keep the frustration away while building the behavior.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
The RCs are going well! Your info is clearer so he is able to process it and make the adjustment to turn away in both directions. Super!>>I think on at least some of these Mason is turning after he lands instead of before.>
Even though you might not see the collection before takeoff, his head is turned and he is prepping the turn before takeoff, so I call it a win! Yay!
Two small details as you get ready to move to the game using the tunnel:
As he exits the wrap wing (and the tunnel when it gets added), you will want to make a bigger connection as you move forward, because it will get him looking forward sooner. At :10, for example, you can see him looking up at you while you are looking ahead and it takes him a couple of strides to process the info. Compare to :33, for example, when you look at him more so he looks ahead sooner and that makes the RC even easier.
You can also be more direct to the center of the bar like you were at :16, try not to take any steps towards the backside line until after he has passed you. That is a subtle difference but will be very helpful when adding the backsides.
That is why he slipped into the front side on the first rep of the backside jump – it looked the same as some of the backside handling, with motion to the backside line than at the last minute you pointed forward and looked forward⊠which cued the front side and RC at :05. Remember to reward reward reward anything that could potentially be a handler error – and if you are not sure, reward then go watch the video đ
>>On the first side Iâm helping Mason with an arm behind the bar. I know our goal is to not have to do that. >>
On the first side you were helping more than on the 2nd side – you had the arm out on the right turns, but just used a connection shift on the left turns. I agree – the left turns were smoother! His commitment was good on all of those but the one suggestion is to throw the reward back to the landing side rather than dropping it near you. That will help with commitment as you add more speed and also help him not touch the bar, because he will be looking at the landing spot more and you can move faster through it.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Nice job building up the layering here!!
I think the hardest part for him was the send to the start wing. To get it more consistently, you can make a bigger connection to his eyes and give yourself one step of a lead out so you can set the line from in front of him. If you move at the same time he moves, it is harder to get the sending going to add distance (which is why you ended up running in past the tunnel more).
Once he was past the start wing, you were able to get a lot of reinforcement for the jump which is great! You can throw the reward as soon as he looks at the jump.>>I realized after we worked that I should have been shifting the first wing closer to the tunnel as I moved that direction.>>
Yes, you can move the start wing so the jump is the only thing layered but also you can throw the reward for sending to the wing on the other side of the tunnel.
>>Do you think this direction is ready to add the tunnel?>>
Yes! Do a little warm up reminder (especially if you move the start wing) and then open up the tunnel entries to see how he does đ
>>Itâs in the 80s again today and after we went this direction, Ven told me he was hot and I think thatâs why his enthusiasm for the toy waned. >>
He is right, 80 is hot! So you can wait til there is shade and try it – there is a lot more running for the pups than humans on this game LOL!!
Great job đ
Tracy
Hi! Thanks for poking me, I totally missed it! See response above. And it looks like a super fun day with Casey, he is doing really well!!!!!
T
Oops, sorry I missed this!! It went really well!
>>No idea why this one particular thing is so difficult for me. Always late!>>
You had a lot of good timing moments on the tight BCs, like at :33 – you committed him and then did the BC before he got to the wing so he had a really good turn! And that helped him have a good turn on t he next wing too (he was wide at :36 but I think you were blocking the wing on that rep).
On the reps where you were a little later or he didnât take the wing:
>>I noted myself looking forward again when Yuzu did not wrap the wing on the advanced exercise>>
Yes, no looking ahead đ because it looks like the beginning of a blind (:41 on the race track and 1:17 exiting the tunnel) and puts him into handler focus. One way to maintain connection is to point at his nose and deliver all verbals directly to his cute face (talk to the dog, not to the obstacle). That way he will see the commitment cues and your timing will be easier because you can see where he is at all times, and where he is looking.
>>And I am not sure why he decided to go SO far out on the race track. He may have been locked onto the tripod instead of the wing? But it was probably my handling, lol!>>
He was being a good boy! This was at 1:36 –
you ran straight and said go, so he went đ And if there was a tripod out there, I bet he thought it was something to wrap. Good boy! He turned as soon as you turned to the middle wing. So as he passes the first wing, you can turn sooner to let him see the 2nd wing.Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Where in Florida are you? We are in the Panhandle in Carrabelle (south of Tallahassee)>>
I am in Brooksville! I will have to see how far Carrabelle is in case I borrow a car and go doodling around! Right now I am in a big boat I mean RV that doesnât get around easily LOL!!!
>>I can not wait to hear his/her name!
I believe I am going with âPlot Twistâ as his name LOL!!! I havenât decided on a nickname yet: Twist? Twister? Plotty? And then of course there is a middle name to be decided. So many options. LOL!!
>>I think sheâs a little âchonkyâ lol. How much does Elektra weigh?>>
So if Bazinga ends up at 12.5 lbs, perhaps, as her competition weight, she will still need to drive the board down. At least as a Boston she has a lot of weight in her shoulders/neck/head, which actually helps get the board moving. Elektra is 13.5 lbs right now and she is built like a hummingbird (her nickname is Angry Hummingbird đ€Łđ) so the teeter takes a long time to tip for her.
She did really well with the mountain climber game, offering the the down at the top of the board! The next step is to add the tiniest tiniest most subtle bit of movement – like getting the teeter to move a centimeter. Then doing the mountain climber with massive high value reinforcement and a centimeter of movement đ It almost wonât be moving LOL!! But we want to maintain her confidence đ
And you can also look at the new bang game for her to hop on the side and into position.
Winginâ it: These are going well! The lap turns looked good, both in isolation and when you added the tunnel!The lap turns from the tunnel were easier than the tandems to get to the correct side because you were facing her and she came right to you. Super!
Great job gradually adding movement to the tandems – these are harder because the upper body has to override the lower body. It was easy when you were starting from the tunnel exit, but harder when adding the speed from the tunnel. When she is rocketing from the tunnel, ]you can reward her for coming to your hands as you move forward to help set up the tandems. It looks like when she was on your left, you were further away from the wing and that helped her too! So adding more lateral distance and rewards from your hands can help set them up. We can also call her before she gets into the tunnel, and add the threadle wrap verbal which will help discriminate! (Apologies for so many words LOL!!)
The serps are going well! When you were doing the line from the tunnel going towards the camera, she read it really well even as you made the angles harder!
She had one miss early in that part of the session and another at 1:12 when you flattened the jump next the ent, but it looks like you were too far ahead on those. At 1:13 you were closer to the last jump so she didnât really see the serp jump.To help her see the serp jump after the tunnel, you can be more visible between the uprights of the serp wing when she exits the tunnel and you are driving up the line. Adding more connection and shoulder drop totally helped too. You can see at 1:17 you were more visible and that totally helped her find the jump even when the angles were flatter.
When you were going down the line to the tunnel: she read the jumps really well and just needed the motion to the tunnel that youâve her at :52
O the winginâ it games:
>>I changed to the soft turns (left and right) we had trouble. She was coming to the inside of the wing. I was trying to stay connected but we struggled. >>
It looks like you were curling away fro the wing and breaking connection before she was committed. You can see on the reps at :32 and :50 and 1:24 for example, that you were moving up the line but looking forward, so when you turned away she curled in off the line. On the successful reps (like when you broke it down at the end) she was able to get it because you had more support on the line until she was committed. It is possible that the wings were set up a tiny bit further away so needed more support to get commitment.
Comparing that to the blind crosses on the next video – your connection ws great on those and also the blind cross line supports the wing, so she had great commitment throughout. That made. The blinds look lovely and also set up really great wraps on the middle wing!
So going back to the previous video – you can support the line on the soft turns like you are going to do figure 8 FCs or the blinds⊠but then keep her on your side for the post turn into the tunnel threadles đ
She totally had fun with the raised plank! LOL!! I think the MM was very exciting on each end so you got some leaping or coming off the side. No worries – we can use a target to help her NOT leap LOL! She is definitely confident.
Separately from the plank, you can use her running contact foundation mat and the MM to teach her not to leap. It is a little tricky because you are not going to click the MM for her touching the mat⊠you are going to click for her taking a stride after the mat and NOT leaping. She is going to have to think hard!
My Hot Sauce was also a giant leaper, so this is what that delayed click looks like:
I need to find a video of her leaps but it basically looked like a flying monkey going straight up in the air LOL!!!
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
The stays are looking great and big click/treat to you for making sure she is holding position before the release AND rewarding her so much. With a lot of movement into the lead outs, be sure that you add in time gaps between the arm movement and the verbal release. You were starting to do them pretty close together so the arm was starting to predict the release, and she was anticipating and moving a little too soon on a couple of reps.
She reads the lead out pushes really well – be sure you are stationary on the release for those, to get commitment to jump 2. If you move too soon, she (correctly) might not take jump 2 like at :38. Also, too much movement too soon puts you on too much of a straight line so you get too much extension over 2 and not enough turn to 3 (:57). Holding still on jump 2 for a heartbeat as she lands from 1 before moving to 3 will help you get a great turn over 2.
Great video angle on the next part of the video!!
Terrific timing of the FC at 1:15 and 1:53! Your position was too much between the uprights between 2 which cues a straight line, so she jumped straight at then you had to push her back to 3. That worked for the extension line at the end, but when you wanted the turn on 3 you ended up pushing back to 3 instead of decelerating so she jumped 3 in extension at 1:18. Ideally, the FC position would be closer to 3 so then you could immediately decelerate as he is approaching 2, so you can cue the throwback as soon as she is looking at 3. When you do the blind cross on the these openings, you can also do it running to 3 the whole time and not between the uprights of 2.
She was very clever at 1:43 – as soon as you lapel forward, she read it as a blind cross and went to the 3rd jump. Smart! You were looking to where you wanted to put the reward⊠but the shoulder movement and head turn totally looked like a blind. Good girl!!
Nice work on these!
Tracy
This went well – it is a really hard grid! The angle that you used for most of it was spot on: challenging for sure, but she sorted out the bounce. It looks like she was not totally comfy with it yet because while it was a bounce, she was at different heights over the bar and being thoughtful about it (thoughtful is good and a zillion times better than flinging herself!)
When you flattened it out a little more, she could do it when jumping in to her right but had mechanics questions going to her left. Good job opening it back up a bit when she had to jump in to her left – Iâm confident she will sort it out. To help her out, start with the easy angle and then flatten it a half inch at a time (over the course of multiple sessions). This grid is something I revisit a lot when they are adult, so we have plenty of time to get there đ
Great job!
Tracy
