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Wow, it sounds like Lift did GREAT!!! YAY! Sounds like her behaviors from home appeared in the new locations (indoors and outdoors) and also that you got really good ideas for more training fun. Super!!!!
>>She nailed it so I do think her stickiness at the seminar was partly the new space.>>
Yes, it could be the new space. And also, latent learning so she totally had it at home after sleeping on it.
>>I also got a shingles vaccine this morning and so far feel OK but we might not be doing much tomorrow either if it hits me later.
Hope you are feeling fine! I didn’t have a reaction from the shingles vaccine so I hope you don’t have one either š It is still better than getting shingles!!
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Hi!
>>IF it ever cools down here, do you think we should try what āwe think we know alreadyā with bars up? He is going to be jumping 20, Preferred ā not 24.>>
What is the highest bar he has jumped so far? You can use the sequences he has already done and raise the bars a little. Or, you can use the new sequences and raise a bar on the easy parts š
>>I was going to draw that line on screenshot but I donāt see how I can attach a screenshot here? Just to make sure I understand it right >>
Most attachments are too big to attach in the forum, so feel free to email it to me at agilitydals@yahoo.com
Super nice job with the countermotion – he is really excellent when his commitment! Well done tweaking the game to use 3 wings, and also well done sending to the wing behind you with arm, leg & looking behind you, then moving forward before he got to the wing. Perfect! As he exits that first wing, you can connect back to him more (dog-side arm pointing back to him, and look for his eyes) so he has a clear view of where to be. That will also let you send him past you to the next wing even more.
I think he is ready for you to do 3 wings in a row, plus the race tracks around the outside of the wings š
The Golden thought the game looked fun and wanted to join! But it was better to put her inside LOL!!!
Great job here!!!!āØ
TracyHi!
The warm up with the end of the sequence went well in both directions There was a little blooper at :28 where you did not make not enough connection, so it looked like a blind to him and he changed sides. Remember to reward after handler errors! The next reps had more connection and he had no questions.
BC reps:
Nice connection out of the blinds here! You can start them sooner – as he is exiting the tunnel, you can handle that next line with more lateral distance. That way you can start the blind sooner (when he lands from the previous jump). You were starting it as he was over the blind cross jump, so starting it sooner will make for better turns especially as the bar gets higher.Remember that connection and low arm will send to the tunnel and jumps. Your arm was getting higher (like at 2:17 and 3:19) and that was causing him to not be sure if he should go to the tunnel or which side to be on. Be sure to reward if there is a blooper so he doesnāt slow down or get confused.
I think when you went to the FC version he was a little done because he was frustrated – not enough reward for trying to figure out handler bloopers š At :28 you released him and stayed by the jump, then pointed forward and looked ahead to the tunnelā¦ but that blocks connection and turns your shoulders away from the tunnel entry. So that was unclear and there was not any motion, so he started sniffing.
You got your connection and motion much clearer and he did the jump line really well! Yay!!!! The FC timing can come sooner (same as the BC timing) but the most important thing was the strong connection and motion.
I am not sure why he was avoiding the tunnel at the end – it is possible the tunnel was really hot inside and he did not want to go in it again.
So really emphasize the connection! And you can use a toy that can scrunch up more in your hand, so he doesnāt have it moving as much right in front of him š
Side note: his stays looked great!!!
Nice job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! I think this went really well overall. There are a couple of spots to consider handling things a little differently, but most of it was well done.
Looking at the different sections:
The lead out push 2-3 had too much forward motion at :12 and 2:01 so he was really wide on 3-4. He got tighter on the next rep when you didnāt accelerate as much – decel worked great there! Then, because 7 is a tricky spot, you can send to 4, cue 5 with verbals, and leave a for 7 a lot sooner. Ideally, you start moving down the line when he lands from 4 and looks at 5. You took off down the line when he took off for 5 at :16 and 2:04, which put you behind for the threadle wrap on 7.
I think the biggest piece of the puzzle here is clarifying exactly what you threadle cues are. You were using ācomeā before both the threadle slice and threadle wrap cuesā¦ which made the important info (slice or wrap) late so there were errors and widenesses on those.
For example, at 7, he was finding the correct side of the jump/general area with the ācomeā verbal, but had to wait to here the flip verbal (I think that is what you were saying for the wrap).
>>Enzoās problem in the first run was he wanted to go directly from 8 to 10.>>
That was not an Enzo problem š You had a lot of come verbal going and a lot of forward motionā¦ but no threadle verbal or handling at :23, so by the time you did get the threadle verbal going, he was well past 9 and locked onto the tunnel.
Resist the temptation to tell him ānoā because he was reading the info as well as possible and I can see his argument that the line was to the tunnel.
Ideally, you would not use a come verbal (too general) and just do your threadle cue, which gives the info a lot sooner. If you need a turn cue on the previous obstacle, definitely use it, but use it before he commits to the previous obstacle. So that way when he lands from the obstacle before the threadle, you are already into the threadle verbals.
Blind to the RC slice worked well there!
And the
Threadle slice worked well at 1:19 and after, when you were further up the line and not as accelerated.On the threadle slice at 2:10, he got the correct side of the jump but because you pulled away and pushed back in, it ended up looking like a rear cross on the flat so he landed looking at the weave at 2:11. Keep moving forward and it should be a more direct line to the tunnel.
Smaller detail:
Call him when he is still about 6 feet before entering the tunnel #10 at :40 and 1:21 to get a better turn on the exit. He was a bit wide because you were quiet.>>one big problem was I couldnāt keep 15 in my head. I really wanted to go directly from 14 to 16.>>
I was wondering! LOL!!! But it was a good opportunity to work on the threadle wrap there. The line from 10 tunnel to the 11 threadle, weaves, and 13-14 looked great each time!
He was pretty convinced it was a slice on 15. You can eliminate the come here too and just use the flip but I think the main thing to adjust is your foot position/direction you are facing as you flip him away:
Try rotating your feet to 16 as you cue the threadle wrap – foot position makes a big difference on these. Your feet were facing the tunnel here, which could be why he thought it was a slice and the tunnel was next. Your foot position on the threadle wraps here was the same as on the threadle slice for jump 9, at 2:09 for example, so he could be reading the direction you are facing as part of the slice cue. Changing that direction (to the wrap line) can eliminate his question there.
The ending line looked good too! Lots of independent distance allowed you to easily get to the turn jump and up the last line. This is another spot the come verbal didnāt help him: I donāt think you need a come cue before the threadle slices cues on 18. It was too much turn cue the first time through there (almost pulling him to the tunnel) and it caused him to drop the bar on the 2nd time through there. Your lateral position is super strong so I bet just your in in cue will get the line!
Nicely done to be able to handle it from both sides!Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I have only taken about 100 courses on-line and surely some of them would (youād think) address core strengthening. And Iām sure they do but they didnāt pop out at me.>>
In my experience, the core strengthening stuff is embedded in just about every exercise.
>āØ>ā¢ Sit to Kick Back Stand
Yes and also stand to tuck sit, and stand to rollback sit.
āØ>>ā¢ Stand to Down
Yes, then down to stand, etc. An exercise given to me a while back for the dogs is that when they are good with down to standā¦ have them do it while you gently hold one front paw up. It is like a one-arm push up. And alternate which front paw you hold up.
āØ>>ā¢ Bow>>
Yes but also good for shoulder stretches!
āØ>>I also think about sit/sit-pretty/up and then back down. But he isnāt ready for that yet.>>The consensus from the rehab vets and sports vets is to NOT do the sit pretty. Any core benefit is negated by the possibility of unwanted spinal compression.
On the videos – His forward focus is MUCH improved! And he was soooo good with the ball š Yay!!
He is not quite ready for you to run yet, that is when he goes bum-over shoulders like on the last rep š I want to continue with a cone as the destination (or a wing) with the toy behind it, so he keeps his head down and better form (rather than lifting it to track the toy throw. So you can do two jumps to a cone/wing 20 feet away (toy behind it) first walking, then jogging, then running ver the course of multiple sessions. Stay at the walking level until he is very balanced and driving ahead. To get him driving ahead, donāt start from a sit – start from a wing wrap about 18 feet before jump 1, then move forward into the 2 jumps. You can send him to that first wing wrap so you are not too far behind, especially during the walking phase.
When he is balanced, we can go to jogging – probably progressing week by week.
Keep me posted! Nice work here!
TracyHi!
>>So, Iām thinking of playing around with her entrance. I watched Dudley and Jammy and she takes the leash off early. Jammy moves with her and dances around a bit. I thought I might try that.>>
I think Sprite would like that! I take Voodoo’s leash off as soon as we enter the ring. He jumps around and barks. Then moves nicely into the sit š
>> However, this leash is an issue. It shouldnāt be hard to take off, but itās getting twisted. Where did you get your quick release leash? I had one before from clean run that was great, but they donāt make that one anymore.>>
I got it from Robin Brown of Dog Dynasty. I will dig up her website. The one she made for me is pretty and soft and easy to also use as a tug toy. I will grab a photo of where the clip is and PM it to you.
>> But, itās interesting about movement and self regulation. I feel like we are starting to build conflict so I need to change something.>>
Right! You don’t want to add pressure that will create more movement.
>>However, many commented that these courses had tight spacing for UKI. Iāve no reference so Iām not sure.>>
Most of what I saw on your videos were very typical legal UKI distances. One or two spots were a little shorter than expected. I think people are used to judges using illegal distances of 35 or 40 feet, and UKI is cracking down on that.
>>I need help picking running lines. Lots of people got in a blind cross and I choose the rear cross as I donāt trust myself and I really do NOT want to get taken out.>>
The rear is not the wrong choice! Neither is the blind. Since it is 10,000 degrees out this week, maybe print off one of the sequences or courses and draw your handler path, then send to me and we can discuss running lines!
>> Would she check her speed and avoid me? Iām not so sure. My knee is finally feeling better with a torn meniscus and Iām trying to avoid surgery.>>
She would as long as she had time to do it. We don’t want to surprised her and get a collision.
>> Unfortunately, I donāt know how to pick my best running line. There seems to be a pattern of running curves.
Draw a handler path on a class course, or a course from the Internet and we can discuss how to strategically plan your lines. We can do a lot while staying in the a/c!!
Tracy
Good morning! He did really well even though it was so hot!
>>overall, wow I think I can be pretty much be āstanding in the same spotā and heāll do āall the runningā>>
Yes, his commitment was great here!! Which brings to mind something to consider with verbals:
When you are supporting more from a distance, the verbals become more important so you can repeat them and also change the pitch/rhythm/volume of each one to help him differentiate.I suggest repeating them (like go go go!) so that he doesnāt miss anything while he is processing all the info. If you say it once, he might not catch it with everything else going on. But if you say it 3 or 4 times, he will definitely catch the verbal.
And if you make the verbals sounds different from each other, he doesnāt have to rely on the specific word as much. He can also process it from the rhythm, pitch, and volume. That makes it soooo much easier.
For example, when I use āGO, it is very loud and long: GOOOO GOOOOO GOOOOO which emphasizes acceleration. And saying it like that adds energy to my motion that also emphasizes acceleration.
But the opposite is useful for wrap verbals. When I use a wrap verbal, like check, it is very quiet, almost like I am telling him a secret š like checkcheckcheckcheck. That draws the energy in smaller and tighterā¦ which is exactly what we want him to do with his stride to make a tight turn.
Your release sounds very different from the other verbals (higher in pitch, different rhythm) and it is very easy to differentiate. I like it!!!!
On the handling – all of this is going well!!
The wrap FCs looked really good – very nice collection!!! The timing of the rep at :22 was great for this setup (no or low bars) with good decel and lovely connection. The timing of the rep at :31 was a tiny bit too soon for low or no bars (he looked at you to see if he should commit or if he should not take the jump) but will be great timing when he has a taller bar. The taller bar will of course have him landing closer to the next jump so the earlier timing will deliver the info really nicely.
>>On the last FC rep, I āscrewed upā with cue, I told him āGoā first ā Oops. Just mentioning that I know that>>
No worries! It shows that he is listening to the verbals. At :39 you said āover goā for the middle jump and he almost continued straight t the tunnel under the DW there. Good boy!!!
You had tremendous distance at :50 which made the BC too early like you mentioned. He is really paying attention! Love it!
On the last blind, I think you can give him even ore independence: Draw a line in the dirt for yourself to *not* go past. Have it going from the middle pinwheel jump to the center of the curve of the tunnel. See if he can commit to the blind cross jump without you going anywhere near it. That can really help you send him out to a line while you cross and stay ahead for the next position.
Also, I think your connection was strong on all of these reps: when he was close or working at a distance, he could still clearly see your upper body and eyes, so he had no questions. Click/treat for you!
Great job here!! Let me know what you think.
Tracy
Hi!
>>No she will not trade a toy for a cookie ā she will release a toy when less aroused but not yet in agility context. I thik this will start to happen once she realises that sooner she releases sooner she gets to do agility again.>>
This is a great game to start working on away from agility, in gradually increasing levels of arousal: tugging on a medium-value toy and trading for a high value food item then back to tugging on the toy. Then do it near a jump wing. Or a cone. Then do it near a jump, etc etc. It is an extremely valuable skill to have and we donāt want to skip that step as she is learning about agility.
She was great on the seesaw. Good job NOT pushing! If you have access to a lower teeter, or you can lower this one, you can play this game on a really low teeter too which can help build up her confidence.
On the handling video:
The FC wrap is looking great – she turns really well!
I think the RC is possible in this smaller space! On some reps you were trying to do it as a flip away with your hands (like on the first rep and at 1:16) so it was not that clear for her.You can use your motion to move up the RC diagonal to the center of the bar on the RC jump instead which should be able to cue the RC.
You were closer to that at :27 – you can send to the tunnel from further away so you can get on the RC line sooner, and I bet you can get it šBackside push was lovely at :33! Great connection and line of motion!!!
Go lines were looking good too! She didnāt really perceive the target as a target, so you might need to use more valuable food in it. Also, be sure that your verbal cue and your physical cues match. When you were saying go and running? Perfect! When you were saying go but walking and decelerating? She had a big question and turned to you there.
Having the other dog out there towards the end was making it too hard for her to process the cues (he was drawing a lot of processing bandwidth away because she had to devote significant attention to NOT running into him – he was placing himself in her way or chasing her line). So if a visitor joins the training session, you can have him return to his kennel before continuing š
Great job here!!
āØTracyGood morning!
>Iāve been struggling trying to figure out why he goes around obstacles. I knew it was me, but this really helped.>>
Yay! All of it gets much smoother with experience and as his brain grows up. He is doing great!!!
This was an excellent first session on the teeter! At the beginning, you were feeding him too far forward so balance was hard (weight was shifted forward). Remember to help him off the teeter by helping him turn around. Nice bounce back after he almost fell off!
Since he as pretty darned confident to go up it, we move to the next step (which involves some duct tape and arts & crafts š)
We need to create a target at the top of the board so he can go up to his reward without looking at you or getting the reward from you hand. You can use duct tape to tape a soup spoon to the underside of the board, so it is just past the edge of the board. And angle it up so he has to lower his head to get it and weight shifts back a littleā¦ but keep it high enough and close enough to the end that he doesnāt have to lean forward to get it (which shifts weight forward, and we donāt want that).
Then you can smear some cream cheese on it and send him up the board to it (cream cheese wonāt bounce out if the board bounces). And when he understands to NOT watch you and run up the board to his target? You can add in moving past the board, moving laterally (at a walk to begin with), wing wrap before the board, rear cross the board entry, etc. We can start getting fancy!!
He was offering slamming nicely but I agree, he had some concerns. So for the next session, reduce the tip and add some towels under the teeter where it is resting on the jump wing, and under it on the ground to reduce the noise. When he I no longer concerned, we can fade that out and add more tip too.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Then the cats came over to see what they could scavenge. >>
Ha! Cats are helpful like that LOL!!!
Having her work this skill with Nox on a board right there takes up a lot of bandwidth for you both – the brain can only manage to do one thing at a time LOL!! So for her, as an adolescent dog, I do not recommend having another dog nearby watching – that adds too much pressure and takes up too my valuable brain bandwidth (adolescent dogs do NOT have a lot of that on any given day). That way she can devote all of her mental energy to the task you are training and not expend any on trying to tune out the other dog watching or moving. As an adult or late adolescent, it will be easy enough to add the other dog back in š āØāØI know there is a big trend in agility to have other dogs āstationedā and nearby or even running around while a puppy/adolescent is trainingā¦ that simply does not take into consideration what we know about their brains at this stage and makes it harder for the young dog.
The teeter outside went well – I like that you were rewarding a whole lot of effort of moving towards the board even if it was not super precise hind end backing up.
One of the things you can add now to get the hind end isolated it so start her on a the board in a 2o2o position (luring her into position is fine :)) Then lure her forward so one or both of her back feet come off the board – then let her step a foot or two back on, and reward.
On the handling video:
>>I think Iām just going to make sure I never ever have to do one in a course. Iām just going to get ridiculous distance and layering skills on my dogs and not do any rear crosses. Thatās a legit strategy, right??>>
HA!! I am sure you will be in good company because so many people donāt like rear crosses LOL!!!!
Go lines: looking really strong! As you add them into the bigger sequence, watch her more (so she will watch you less) and throw the toy as soon as she looks ahead to the last jump so it is landing before she arrives at it.
On both the wrap FC and the RC, you can think of them both differently. Think of it as a 3 step process in the cue:
Fast forward, slow forward, side change. The difference between the two is that on the FC, you are running to the FC wing. On the RC, you are running to the center of the bar (and not all rear crosses need the āslow forwardā decel).
The 3 step process will make them both easier, and will make them look distinctly different so you donāt have any confusion.
On the FC wraps, as she is landing from the previous jump, you start decelerating while moving to the outer edge of the wrap wing (slow forward). Then as she approaches the wrap wing and crunches into collection, yo do the FC. That is basically what you were doing, but the decel can come sooner (no need to try to get the FC part of it done as quickly as you were doing it. The decel at 1:23 and the timing of the cross there was spot on and doubly cool because she drove ahead of you into the wrap. YAY! Be sure to connect to her eyes on the exit of the tunnel to get her to the the last jump on the sequence (1:29)
When you added it to the big sequence, you cued the tunnel with a verbal but not physical support to get commitment at 1:08 (turning her to her right there requires you to step back to the tunnel to set the line) so she was correct to not take it. That is rewardable (handler error). Stopping and turning away from her punishes her following of your lineā¦ so reward reward reward immediately or keep going. Donāt stop and go back without a reinforcement.
You adjusted the handling on the next rep (1:22) and she got it. That also supports the theory that it was handler error on the previous rep š¤£šbecause changing the handling got the behavior š
For the RCs, same concept BUT different line:
The fast forward and slow forward happen on a line to the center of the bar of the RC jump (not on the line to the wrap FC wing).
Then as she approaches take off for the RC jump, you finish the side change.She did turn to her left away from you at :30, but that was more of a tandem turn cue where you pulled her then turned her away while you stayed near the FC wrap side of the jump. That pul & flick might conflict with a FC wrap, so I think you will find the rear cross diagonal line pressure easier for clarity.
So to get that cue visible – using the full sequence as the example:
As soon as she is committed to the tunnel, take off and start running to the RC diagonal line. You never actually have to face forward as you pass the jump after the tunnel, you can already be heading to the center of the bar on the RC jump. By facing forward at :38, you delay the RC info so she locks onto the FC side of the bar.The other thing that locks her onto the FC side of the bar was your dog-side arm turning to indicate the jump – that turns your shoulders to the left turn/FC wrap side of the jump. So as she was approaching the jump, all info said left turn. Reward her! Again, there is a 99.99% chance she is reading you correctly so even if the moment did not go according to your planā¦ donāt frustrate her by indicating she was wrong (resetting and withholding reinforcement is the indication that she was āwrongā). Plus, resetting on one jump doesnāt give you handling feedback based on what went wrong previously.
At 1;53, you are moving up the outside line and using your hands to indicate the jump ahead of you (she is looking to her left over the jump after the tunnel). That doesnāt really give her turn info, so she went straight (then tried to catch a bug, which might be bug-related or frustration-related or both. Reward that! Remember that stopping and walking away is a punisher, which the adolescent brain is doubly sensitive too and frustration can build quickly.
So to get the RC here, donāt use your arms to send her ahead to the jump. Keep your dogs side arm pointing to her nose, eyes on her eyes, and move forward to the center of the bar on the RC jump. She will pass you and turn to the RC line š
Good job working out the backside cues on 2 jumps!
At :36 and :44 – you let go of the cue before she was committed (but looking forward and moving your arm forward). so she curled into the front side
That turns your shoulders to the front side of the jump which is why she curls in to it.Compare to :53 which was great!! Low arm, connection maintained til she just about reached the outer edge of the backside entry wing, lovely!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I am not sure about doing a backside to threadle wrap when she is halfway thru a course ā just not sure she would respond at speed>>
We will build up to it so you have the skill in your toolbox! The course design around the world is beginning to require this skill, which is why I am throwing it in everywhere this summer š
The big lines looked really good! You can use more verbals and even less motion to help her be even more independent.
Threadle wraps – good job working out the mechanics of the cue!! And moving into it from a blind looked really good at :57 and after that
On the other side – when she sliced, what was different was you feet. Your feet were facing the slice line (center of the jump bar here at 1:35 and 1:44). You were facing her on the release after the blind, which is why your feet ended up facing the slice line.
Compare to the other side, where you feet were facing forward (towards the tunnel) after the blind – which is what is a big piece of cuing the wrap. So reminding your feet to face forward past the wing (and not at the bar) will show the wrap instead of the slice.
>>What often confuses me about these me is: which side of you the dog takes off from and which side of you they take up when they land.>>
The which side for take off is easy: they are on the side of you that is next to the jump. For the threadle wraps, they have to slide in between you and the jump. So if the jump is on my right side, they take off from my right side.
For the exit – that will change entirely based on whatever is next – you can keep them on the same side if that is what is needed for the next line, or change sides with a blind, or turn and face a new direction. So that will depend on where the next line is after the threadle wrap.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am so impressed with how you both did on these giant UKI courses. They are really different than AKC where she has most (all?) of her experience so far, in terms of sheer size and speed and striding.>>I apparently have a RC problem. >>
I think it might be that you are running curves with her which makes it hard to set up the RCs. She can run the curves of the courseā¦ but you can strategically run sharp lines directly to where you need to be, putting you closer to the motion & positional cue info when she needs to see it.
Standard:
She left the start line on the re-connection. If I didnāt know it was not the release because you mentioned it was notā¦ I would have thought it was the release š So did she.Resetting her was fine but you need to be 10000% sure you do not use that re-connection paired with a release consisntely, because then the reconnection and rhythm of your release will become the release (not the verbal)
She also left the dog walk at the same rhythm as yesterday so be careful there too!
Mix up the release timing – sometimes it is pretty quick, sometimes it is a long stop & praise, etc.
Great job in gamblers – she seemed to not be concerned about some weed guy yelling things or loud horns. Super plan and super gamble! Congrats on the win!!!!
>>Going in the ring is still a problem. Sheās not focusing on me and dancing around back and forth. Itās hard to get her leash off either the movement back and forth.>>
Looking at the start line in jumpers: I donāt see it as a problem because she does sit and hold the stay. I think that you donāt love it because youād prefer a different picture of engagement at the line š But, her picture of engagement is just fine and it only took a few seconds to get the sit.
Then she held the stay perfectly and absolutely nailed the opening line. WOW!
We just did a brain camp in Chicago this weekend and during the lecture on Dopamine from Dr. Murphy, she reminded us that dopamine was a neuromodulator that has a big role in motivation (yep, knew that) but was also closely linked to movement. Waitā¦. What? Well that makes sense: if the brain is motivated to do something, the brain is gonna tell the body to move to do it.
So what you might be seeing here when she paces around a little is that she is actually self-regulating her arousal and dopamine through, yes, movement of a few steps. You can see from her facial expression she is not really focusing on any particular thing, she is just moving a bit and processing the internal & external environment and your cue to sit.
But the reason that it is not a problem is that she is doing it!! She is self-regulating!!!!! Most dogs cannot do that. How do I know she is self-regulating? Check out her performance on that stay and opening line. Check out the weave entry!!!!!
So let her tell us what the picture of engagement is on the start line, and give her the āspaceā to self-regulate. And yes, it is a pain to get the leash off over her head so you can change the tool in that moment. My whippet also needs that self-regulation movement so I got him a leash that is a French martingale but has a quick release clip on the next loop. So as he is moving a little, I just touch the clip to open it and voila – leash is off.
Now can we tell for sure that she is regulating her arousal state and bringing her HPA axis int a better state and dealing with dopamine spikes really well? Not without electrodes or brain slices under a microscope š But we can infer it based on the studies on humans/rats/primates as well as the behavioral outcome in the ring š
One side note about the start of the jumpers course here: you released simultaneously with the reconnection. Take the sound out and the release here and the non-release in standard look pretty identical. Be careful that the release doesnāt get paired with the same physical motion each time.
What a gorgeous run the jumping run was. She had a spectacular jumping effort in this round too, because she was striding the big distances well and then when the distances got shorter (before the accidental backside wrap) she adjusted without bleeding off speed or struggling.
So back to rear crosses: at 2:12 you send her to a tunnel. Note how then your handler line is a gentle curve, following the curve of the course. So then at 2:16, she has passed you on the jump before the RC jump and you are facing forward and you said āgo!ā.
That also happened to be one of the shorter distances where she had t odd a one-stride so the RC info started after she took off for the RC jump. So, a little late.
How to be early? Take out the curving line after the tunnel send at 2:12. Send to the tunnel and then take a sharp direct line to the RC line, so you are on that RC pressure line when she is taking off for the jump before the RC jump. As long as you are somewhat connected, she will get the line after the tunnel.
At the very end you said go on at 2:22 but were decelerating and looking forward – that cued a turn so she looking at you over the bar. You never said tunnel, so she assumed a turn cue and did not take the tunnel. Good girlie š
Speedstakes also looked great!
>>I was trying to get out to cross in speedstakes and sent her impressively across the field to another tunnel.>
Yes, she just needed some good yelling (I mean turn cues LOL!) there at 2:40 as she was approaching the jump after the tunnel. You were quiet and running parallel, so she stayed on her line. Good girl! If there is a blooper, you can send her back to the previous line (like back into the tunnel) to adjust the handling and also to gt the flow going. UKI lets you do that once per course.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! Nice sessions with both dogs here!!
Maple video 1:
>>Also, Tina mentioned she often drops bars when there arenāt wings and she did do this here. Dont know if it the heat, my handling or other?>>
Mostly handling š Heat might exacerbate it but she jumped everything else really well.
She needs a lot of impulsion to get over a 24 inch jump in a small space so to add impulsion, go closer to the tunnel and accelerate up the line.
And stay connected. If you freeze the video at :05 as she is taking off for the wingless jump, you were decelerated and disconnected (looking forward) – bar down.
Compare to the next rep at 1:14 where you went closer to the tunnel so you were accelerating more (cues extension) and more connection – bar up! Yay!
As you move through the landing side slice of the backside jump and she is passing the entry wing, shift your connection to the landing spot by looking back to it behind you (and pointing at it). Keep moving like you did but donāt look at her
At :13 you were looking at her as you moved past the bar, which kept her out on the line.
At 1:22 you were looking at her but moved your arm back to indicate the landing spot and she took the jump. So why did the bar come down? As she was taking off, you were in her landing spot so she either had to shorten up to avoiding hitting you (and ended up hitting the bar instead) or she would risk smashing into you Good decision Maple, thanks girlie for NOT hitting the moment! You can see her head come up in a āoh crapā moment there as she was avoiding hitting you.
At :12 you sent to the backside from further away, so you were not in her way at all. That is a better positional cue, and she had no trouble finding the backside, she just needed you to shift connection to the landing spot.
At 1:22 you send to the backside from such closer to her line which is what put you in her way.
2nd video – take off side slice:
She dropped the wingless before the tunnel for 2 reasons – one was that she thought maybe she was going straight after the jump before it (she was looking at the weaves) and then you disconnected – watch your pony tail swing back and forth as you look back and forth.That draws a lot of bandwidth away from trying to jump 24ā (which is the HARDEST height to jump) because part of her brain is seeing the connection changing and trying to figure out if she needs to respond to a blind cross cue or not, and part of her brain is trying to organize the jumping without being fully sure if there is a turn or not. Add in the less prominent visual of a wingless jump and yes, you might get more bars down on wingless. So plan to stay connected everywhere but ULTRA connected on wingless jumps.
>>For Mae, I was very late on my FC but got it done. What can I do to get some more time to be earlier?>>
I didnāt think you were very late and neither did she š She had enough time to make the turn and jump the bar cleanly. Yay! Your timing here was more of a forced front cross, meaning you were doing it when you arrived at the backside and when she was approaching the backside.
While it was technically not late, it might have felt late to you for 2 reasons:
The timing of a cross on the takeoff side is a little later than if it was a regular cross. And, a FC takes longer to do than a BC.So 3 ideas to make it look and feel earlier:
– do a blind instead of a front because you can finish it faster š
– Send her away to the line before it using more distance, so you are further ahead
– You can start the cross before she takes off for the previous jump and then do a threadle slice cue to help her be sure to come to the correct side.
That cross-to-threadle is the more updated version which will feel a lot earlier and smoother!Look at Huck doing grown up stuff! He looked great! And so fast!!
On the first video, he also told you that he needed more connection on the wingless jump! If you watch that section from :07 – :10 in slow motion, you can see that you disconnect at the last moment and he actually jumps *next to the jump* and does not jump the bar. LOL!!! Then he lands looking at you because there was not enough connection.
So a good training game for both dogs is if you run without arms pointing and without verbals – just use connection and motion and work on committing them to the lines with connection.
He was 100% correct to go to the tunnel at :15. Your motion totally supported it You ran in close to the line with him, so as he was on the jump before the backside jump, you were right next to him running forward. Totally cued the tunnel! It was great that you had a chuckle and rewarded him š
To get that takeoff side slice with him, you will need to cue him to do the 3 jumps before it at more distance so you can get to the backside sooner and start turning not later than when he is jumping the previous jump. He is smaller than Maple and has less hang time, so you will actually have to get there sooner with him š
On the second video at :09, you were more connected and indicated the wingless jump more clearly, so he jumped the bar and not next to the bar š
Nice job getting him to the backside and not the tunnel here! You over-helped him come to the backside, which means that you were in his way as he was jumping. You can be sending him to the jump before it from further away, and cuing the backside by moving more to where the wing and bar meet (not going outside the wing closer to this). Then as he gets more experienced, you will be moving to the center of the bar. The more lateral you are away as you cue the backside slice, the more you will be past his landing spot when he needs to land which sets up a nicer exit line too!
>>Is this a training issue where he needs a little more independence on his obstacles?>>
Yes – it will all be easier if you send them away to the line before the backside. Now, I bet Maple has the skills you just need to cue them. And Huck might have those skills too, so try sending him from more of a distance (and throw lots of rewards!) and see how he does!
I love your enthusiasm and joy in rewarding him (and Mae too!) That is why they love playing this game with you ā¤ļø
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>>I hope you are having a blast in Chicago at the Brain camp this weekend.>
Thanks! It was fun! Jayne from Skidmarkz was here and she says hello to you and Levy š She said you are one of her favorite people to work it š
>>My first question is the big Lines with Levy. I was able to get him out to the second jump with me starting 1/2 down the tunnel. >>
Nice!!!
>>Then for kicks I tried reversing and having him start at the end and take the two jumps 1st and go out to the jump from the other direction. He was not able to go out to that jump even though the distance was about the same as the other direction??? I was a bit further behind but not by much.>>
It might not have been the distance. The three factors I can think of (ok, 4 factors š ) beside distance that might cause his question are:
– side preference – maybe the line was harder because it was to his harder turn direction? Which way was he turning when he was missing the jump? For example, when the distance lines are to the right, Ramen gets it every time. But if the line requires Ramen to push away even a little to his left? MUCH harder and he needs me closer to help him out.
– More speed coming from more jumps might have meant he could not quite organize in time to take the jump, so he went past it.
– You being a little further behind (whippety dogs are very visual and it might make a bigger difference to them than it would to Watson)
– Connection might not have been as visible.You can try moving the jump in closer to the line so it is more obvious and lower the bar a whole lot, so it is much easier to organize. And you can also place a toy on the ground as a focal point to help direct his gaze. Try that and report back!
āØ>>We have also been reviewing the threadle wrap this week and itās not going all that well. I have been using the outside arm to cue this turn, but I noticed Teri and Moon. She is using the same side arm, and her cue is very clear. Perhaps I need to make my motion cue more distinct?Yes, Teriās threaded wraps with Moon looked freakinā awesome!!!!!! Also yes – you want it to be SUPER clear. It is possible that using both arms is turning your shoulders *towards* the jump bar, which indicates taking the side he is facing and not the threadle side. So with either the dog side hand or both hands, turn slightly away so the line up shoulder supports the change of line for him.
Also, add in a decel. If you are moving forward too fast, he might not see the upper body at all because motion is overriding it.
The other thing that can help jumpstart the behavior is if you take the bar out and do it on a wing at first. Sometimes the value of going over the bar is sooooo high that the dogs cannot ignore it to go to the other side. They might not even realize that is an option! So doing it on just a wing can get the lightbulb moment, and then you are able to set things up to add the bar back in.
Let me know if that makes sense, and how it goes!
Tracy
Good morning!
Great job on the course here! Most of it went super well. There were a couple of spots where she needed to see something in a specific context, and you needed to change a cue delivery, but overall I think it went really well.
The opening here looked lovely! The serp-to-threadle on 3 and 4 worked really well.
>Thatās a really big step for me just so you know, lol!!)>
Yes! No need to re-do it when it is 100 degrees out š Click/teat for you!!!
And also yes – the ribs being out might have been a big piece of why she didnāt hit the weaves the first time. Your timing of leaving for the next line was better on the 2nd send to the weaves, where you held your position until she got into the weaves then moved away.
Finding the tunnel under the DW after the weaves might be more of a dog skill she needed to see – it is possible she has mostly only seen tunnel-to-weaves under the dog walk and not weave-to -tunnel. You helped her see it and that delayed getting the backside a 7, but that backside will be easy when she recognizes the context.
But you did a great job of continuing and getting the run back on track!
She recognized the weaves-to-tunnel on the 2nd run and that put you in range to get the backside! At 1:32 you had the verbal going but your arm was high which blocked connection and turned your shoulder away, so she took the front. At that distance, it sounds so counterinuitive but keeping your dog side arm back so she can see your connection and shoulders will help a lot (I also use my opposite arm there too, because it is similar to a get out in the moment).
>>We got the threadle wrap the first time,
That might have been a product of being behind and decelerated, with your shoulders turn a bit forward (as if facing the a-frame). So the cue was correct in that you had turned to face parallel to the bar, which is the part of the cue that pulls the dog to the threadle side of the bar (and off the backside). And the slight decel in threadle wraps is a big help too. The turn and decel help her lock onto the hand cues.
>>I also couldnāt get her to look at me for anything, lol. She was like āI got this! Go fast!ā>>
She was correct š The cues indicated the side of the jump she drove to.
On the other reps there, you didnāt have the turn and decel so motion towards the front of the jump overrode the hands and verbals:
At 1:41 you had a lot of forward motion and your feet/shoulders were facing the front of the jump.
At 2:07 you added decel (yay!) so she looked at youā¦ then you moved forward to the jump so she said ok, I will take the jump š
At 2:14 you turned your upper body more but you were still moving towards the jump rather than turning to move to the parallel line
The reason the touch cued worked at 2:23 was not because of the touch cueā¦ it was because when you said ātouchā you also turned your feet/shoulders to the line for the threadle wrap and decelerated. That was the physical cue of motion and line that indicated threadle to her, so she got it š Yay!
>>I can take full advantage of her stopped contacts to get forward focus on the next obstacle just like a start line. >>
Yes, that can totally work and she will start to anticipate it! For the line after the dog walk here, it was harder to get the turn away on 14 when she was focusing forward (she was thinking it was a right turn at 1:12 and 2:38, which if why you got the spins there). You can cue the forward focus then handle it like a rear on the flat so she turn away to the jump.
After the tunnel, 16 is a threadle wrap for sure, so adding a little more decel will help you be able to turn her away. She is still needing the hand cues to turn her away after she goes to the threadle side, so decel will help her to collect to prepare for it
The ending line looked lovely! She was tired by then so her commitment was not as fluid, but she still did it and it looked great!
Great job here! I hope you are going on a vacation!!! Enjoy!
Tracy
