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Good morning!
Great job setting up the different positions here – even without a ton of room, she was able to find the jump from behind you when you got way ahead (especially on the first rep where she was surprised when you took off and ran). And she moved ahead of you too! You showed a lot of energy in the running so even though you didn’t have space to get miles ahead (or for her to get way ahead) – the high energy movement can be a huge distraction for many dogs (like sighthounds :)) so that was great to show her here! She nailed it! When you are outside, you will have more room to run and she will be ready for it 🙂Nice work!
TracySounds terrific!!! The one universal thing I have noticed is that puppies really don’t like being moved around by their collars (or by their bodies) so they might tolerate it but generally avoid it. On the other hand, the whole line up game of cookie lure to line up, gentle collar hold without moving, then do something fast and fun is something they love! And eventually they start offering their collar to our hands: “c’mon human, let’s do the thing!!” LOL!!!
Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
>>For week 2 my goal is to really focus on connection since it sounds like that will fix a lot of things.>>
Connection is a life goal in agility 🙂 We work on it from puppy training all the way through masters level – it is really hard for us humans to maintain connection while running.
>>For the week 1 set point game, the jumps were set at 6 ft apart and the MM was about 10 ft after the second jump. Mason is about 21.5″ tall. Should I use the same spacing for the week 2 set point game? I haven’t seen the game description yet. I’m just thinking ahead.>>
Yes – 6 feet should be good for the next step! Have fun!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am glad your vertigo is going away!! And I agree – hauling tunnel bags is the worst!
For the verbals – you can choose front side or backside verbals based on where you visualize the bar being. I used front side verbals (visualizing the dog going over a bar then wrapping a wing) but it is also fine to use backside verbals (visualizing the dog going to the other side of the wing then back to the bar).
On the first video:
He did really well here! Yes, it took him a moment to figure out the straight tunnel but he was great!
Your connection was very strong on both the tunnel exits and the exits of the FCs, so he had no questions there. Be careful not to do too many in a row – at 1:14 he was starting to lose focus a bit because there were a lot of obstacles in a row. Keeping it to 3 or 4 things between rewards (like tunnel-wrap-tunnel-wrap) will wok out better for keeping him really engaged (and not thinking about going to the bathroom 🙂 )He REALLY liked the toy in the 2nd video!! With the toy in your hand, it was harder for you to make connection (which is why he missed the tunnels on some reps or didn’t get to the wing). Even with the toy in your hand, make the big eye contact back to him rather than point forward ahead of him, to show him the line. You had the great connection at 1:11 and he very smoothly went into the tunnel. Whenever he had a question or ended up looking at the toy, it was because the connection had broken a bit with you looking forward. So when the toy is in the picture, you can really exaggerate the connection so it is crystal clear even with the excitement of the toy around.
With the sessions that involve running, keep them to 90 seconds or less. I think both of these went too long and he got tired and checked out. Since we don’t want him checking out, you can set a timer and end the session even if he looks like he wants to keep going.
Nice work here!!
TracyHi!
>>Well, I don’t know why I forgot about the left/right mini pinnie. I am chalking it up to a senior moment!
Ha! Could also be that there are soooo many things to train with a puppy LOL!!
This session went well! He was fast, turning well, and looking forward to the line. Super!!!
He had a couple of questions about committing to the wrap wing, most of which were on the right turn side (working on your left side). It might be the harder side for him, but also the info was not as clear. As you were decelerating, you were bringing both hands and the toy up into the picture (which blocked connection) and kind of leaning over, so he was not sure what to do. You can see that at :21, :42, 1:26. At 1:11, your shoulders and arm were forward and turned away, plus he couldn’t see connection.
To help him commit, make a big huge connection to him as he exits the tunnel, and point your arm back to his nose. Then as you decelerate, keep the connection and just the one arm 🙂 and that arm should support the line and not block connection by pointing ahead of him. That will help commitment! And decel facing forward as you connect, don’t move sideways or backwards.
>>He sometimes wants to flank out on me>>
Do you mean at 1:44 – you were rotated but backing up so he was following your line of motion 🙂 and you kept backing up to try to get him to come in, so he kept going. I think it was Linda Mecklenburg who said “backwards motion reads as forward motion” and that is what was happening here. So if you make the clear connection and turn and run to where you want to go (rather than try to catch him with your arm and manage the turn), he will come right in. That is what you did at :06 and :40, and he had no questions on those.
The sequence from :57 – 1:01 looked awesome!!!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>He thinks that the MM is a slow and boring tease, and the Ready Treat is more his speed, so we switched to that. I feel like it’s also a good way to eventually get him to understand “later” while I load it and have us walk away (so hard!).>>
I guess that the MM just takes too darned long to spit out the treats LOL!!! He was driving ahead nicely for the ReadyTreat! And you can definitely reward him with a cookie (or many cookies) from your hand for walking away from the beloved Ready Treat – it is a great way to help him understand how to work independently from the reward on the ground.
And the cheese balls are perfect – easy to see and very motivating!
Using whichever one you want to use, you can add even more distance between the cone and jump – and throw the cheese ball or click the Ready Treat the instant he looks ahead after exciting the wing wrap.
>>I’d love to be able to run with a toy too while he focuses ahead, so that will be the next thing we do. I’ll have the Ready Treat and his favorite lotus ball both loaded with cheese balls and alternate as you suggested.>>
Perfect! That will allow you to use both and also get him looking ahead even if there is a distraction in your hand.
>>Speaking of toys, he gets super duper excited when the toys do have some food in them. He retrieves, tugs and is happy to have me open them or trade them for a treat. I’m struggling at keeping *just toys* exciting for him (especially in a distracting environment) Any tips on how to work that transition?>>
Food-based toys can be just as exciting and useful as non-food toys! Since food is his favorite thing, you can keep regular toys separate: use them in situations where you don’t have food and you can use your highest value toys. What does he like: fur toys? Huge toys? Sheepskin? Tennis balls? Bottle crunchers? You can sort out his faves and use those. For distracting environments, his brain is probably too busy processing all the things in the environment so food toys would be the way to go for now! And as he gets comfortable in a wider variety of environments, you can start to bring in his favorite toys 🙂 I have always found that keeping toy play fun, silly, and separate keeps it low-pressure, allowing it to blossom as they grow up 🙂
Nice work here!!!
TracyShe really likes to run too, and doesn’t need your running as a way to motivate her… she is very motivated 🙂 So there will be times you will have to slow down to show her the concept. Then it will all build up into both of you being able to run 🙂
The good news is that she makes her decisions really early! The bad news is that she makes her decisions really early! So handling will be harder early on but then you will LOVE that when she starts to run the big courses 🙂
T
Hi!
I don’t think his speed changes here had to do with longer sequences. Yes, shorter sequences for more rewards are always good to mix in! But what was happening was he would slow down whenever something was not clear…. then speed up when it was clear.He was scratching at the leash/collar at the start, so maybe that was different/weird feeling? But then he did well getting started. As he exited the tunnel on the :37, you said whoops then kind of stopped, so he was not sure what you wanted (and wanted the food instead of the toy).
The other 2 spots he slowed down was when connection was unclear at :55 (from the yellow to orange jump) and also when connection was unclear 1:46 on the tunnel exit. He was trying to get more info, so slowed down. But then he came right back up to speed when you were connected on the sequence! Yay!
So make connection the most important thing for him, and I bet you will see him being very enthusiastic! The connection for a dog his size involves a lot of looking down and keeping arms out of the way, so he can see it.
Nice work here!!
TracyHi!
The teeter definitely adds a bigger challenge to the backing up (smaller target and it moves!) and she did really well! Yes, she offered going forward a few times but she also offered backing up. It was hard to see your position, but you can make it clearer for her by sitting on the ground or in a chair, so you are nice and close and her head is lower.
>>. The second attempt I changed it up and put her turf mat (which I originally used to introduce the game)>>
That was smart, and a really good way to transition from the mat to the teeter!
>> She just didn’t like the idea of backing up to put those back feet on it. I think she did an actual back up on only one rep and after immediately putting her foot on the board, she snatched it off like it was hot lava.>>
Yes, she was probably startled by the sensation of the back foot but that is good, we want her to think about those back feet 🙂
Tunnel to wing looked good on the first video! Nice connection out of the tunnel on all the reps, and also really clear exit line connection on the FCs and the spins. Kashia seemed to have no questions at all. Super!
On the countermotion video:
>> Again, she’s giving me grace.>>
Ha! Yes, they learn to save our butts when we are not perfect. That is part of the reason they get rewarded for their efforts, in the hopes that they save us when we are not great LOL!
Very nice job with your cues on this game – randomizing the pattern worked well! And you were showing her very clear transitions in to the collection and rotation so her commitment is really blossoming! It was maybe a month ago where she would have thought that these wing games were stooooopid but now she is flying AND committing independently. You had some significant distance happening when you were sending her behind you for the rotations, she doesn’t need you to be at the wing anymore. Happy dance!
>> I included a video just because I think she’s made improvements. I still have to say sit twice but it’s better than the first video.>>
Definitely big improvements!! She is still processing the cue so there are little delayed (which is why you were repeating the cues). So what you can do is move sooooo slowly… and say the sit cue only once. See if she can process that (it will take a couple of seconds, probably, so resist temptation to say it again :)) And I bet you will have this a a run by the end of class. Yay!!
Great job!!!
TracyHi!
Sounds like th moving target is going well – we add it tomorrow!
On the wrap proofing video, I think there was a lot of visual stuff in the environment that she was proccesing that made it hard to find the wing and play with the toy here – the cheese was defintely the motivator that helped break through the distractions in the environment! Super!
You should also use the cheese to line her up (she is avoiding being moved by the collar) for each rep. Go to where you want to start, line her up with cheese, then gently hold her. She wants to keep playing, but is staying away when being moved by the collar is looking possible.
The verbals had a really nice contrast here in how you delivered them! You can hold her longer while you say the verbals so she can hear them 3, 4, 5 times especially when you are doing something different from the previous rep 🙂 And then you can use motion if needed: like after a few reps of a wrap, a little motion to the tunnel will help. She needed a little help to the left on the FCs, so you can start the verbal then use a hand through the gap to help her see it in sequence but then was fine (she didn’t really see your foot rotation, the tunnel is a big visual 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>> I should post the blooper reel
Yes please!!! LOL!
Working on the stay separately is perfect, no need to put it in yet. At the beginning, with you rying a tiny lead out, it was hard for him: when you released him while being next to him and your hands in the international position of “I have a cookie”, the reward out ahead was not a strong focal point. Things worked MUCH better when FAS (Favorite Auntie Sarah) calmly held him. His striding is going well! I am sure this distance wll change but it is good for at least a few more days as he grows 🙂
For now, don’t add lateral distance away from the reward target – you can be next to it and even bending to point to it so he continues to develop his forward focus. How is his moving target pre-game going? That is what gets added next 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi! Great job on these!
On the go line – she did great with the verbals and the MM out ahead and with the thrown toy. You can definitely add your motion in, running as much as possible from aheadd, behind, parallel to her. Motion is a key part of the cue and we want her to understand it if the MM is not out there and also not be distracted by your motion of running (and also not lose the value of the decel for when you are not running and wanting a turn 🙂 So you can definitely crank up the motion for the next session 🙂
Discriminations are going well too! Be sure to maintain the super clean mechanics of saying the verbal a few times (and super loud for the tunnel cues LOL!) then letting her start moving. When you did that, she was basically perfect!! On a couple of reps you released her collar and either started the verbal simultaneously with the release or just after the release – that is where you got errors. So the clean mechanics of starting and definitely help her process the verbal so motion is not as important.
She looks ready for you to add the advanced level of this game, sequencing the tunnel-then-wrap or tunnel-tunnel-wrap.
The smiley face game looked really strong too! Very nice wrap exit connection!! And also super strong connection on the FC between wings and as well as when you supported her lines to the tunnel entries. Yay! You had some different handling mixed in too, and connection supported that – just be sure to plan it in advance and maybe walk it so that you can give really early info.
She is ready for you to spread out the distances here so you can show more motion between the tunnel and wings too!
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
Congrats on your amazing weekend!!! That is impressive!!Looking at the videos:
>>She was super wide coming around the wing.
She was able to successfully go to all the right places, but had wideness happening on the videos because of connection questions. What was happening was that you were running hard but not connected – so she was also running hard but waiting for information. Your motion told her to stay in motion, so she did, but she couldn’t see which line to be on until she saw the full picture, so she had to stay out wide to wait for the info.
You can see it on the first 2 videos:
At :02 and :25 and :46 of video 1 and :01, :23 of video, she exits the tunnel but can only see your back, so she looks at you then goes wide looking for more info.And without connecting to her on the tunnel exit, the timing of the decel and rotation into the FC or spin gets delayed so she goes wider based on that too.
>>. I noticed my connection was not good after the wing wrap>>
Yes, you took off looking forward, like at :04 and :27 and :48 on video 1, so she drifted wide waiting to see your line of motion to know where to go.
So then on video 3 and 4 on the harder side, because there was not a clear connection in and ou of the cross, she went pretty wide trying to sort out the info for the next line like at :30 and :52. She can’t commit to the side or line until she knows if it is a FC or spin and which side of the tunnel to head to, so that is the source of the wideness.
On the first rep of the last video, you had more connection to her when she exited the tunnel, and that helped you time the decel earlier, which cued her sooner to collect for the wing. Yay! The 2nd rep did not have the same connection or decel, so she was wider getting more info in and out of the spins.
So to tighten things up, remember tha she’s the sportscar and you are the GPS – you don’t need to go fast, you just need to tell her where the turns are in enough time for her to make the lane change and get it done. The key is connection of course: big connection to her as you move up the line out of the tunnel will help her look forward plus you can time the decel into the FC or spin to happen no later than halfway to the wing (depending on the distance) followed by the rotation. Then as you mentioned – connect on the exit of the FC or spin as the first order of business as you move to the next line, so she can immediately see where to be. And if she is really wide, chance are the connection is unclear.
And to do all this, you don’t actually have to run as fast as you were running 🙂 Let her do the fast running, so you can do all the connecting and rotating 🙂
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
The straight lines are going really well!
The GO line on 2 jumps and then later when you added tunnel looked terrific. Yay!The wraps at the beginning and at 1:10 also looked really good – you can add deceleration to help her get earlier collection info. When she has landed from the 1st jump, you can decelerate a little as you move forward, then do the FC when she is closer to the jump and locked onto it.
Very nice job with the RCs on 2 jumps at the beginning and then at 1:48!! What worked really well on those was that you were moving forward to the center of the bar until she committed to the jump (almost at takeoff) then cut in behind her.
When you added the tunnel, you ended up being too early at 1:16 and 130 and 138 (you turned your feet to cut behind her when she was just past the first jump). You were a little late showing the line to the RC at 1:23 but you kept moving forward, which helped her commit to the jump. So when the tunnel is added, you can move forward to the center of the bar, just like you did on the 2 jump reps, so she can commit and turn.
I agree with your assessment that you needed to be pretty far ahead to get the backside connection. When you broke connection and turned forward, she curled in. But at :52 and 1:56, you had a good line of motion to the backside stating before she landed from the first jump, and maintained connection all the way through. That really got her on the line nicely 🙂
So for both the RC and the backside, maintaining the respective line of motion for each will really help get commitment – commitment for the RC is probably her feet lifting off for the RC jump, and commitment for the backside is probably when her little nose arrives at the outer edge of the wing. That will get earlier as she gets more experienced.
Great job here!
Tracy
