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Hi!
>>the screenshots have taken it to a whole new level!>>
I am glad you liked the screenshots!! They really capture the moment of what the dog sees, even if we humans don’t always realize what they are seeing in the moment.
The motion override (sits in motion) is indeed a really hard game! On the first rep, you could see her processing, processing…… she got better and better as you went along but it was still hard. To make it easier, just start by slowly shuffling your feet along, not remotely a real walk – and then see how she does.
Try not to use an arm cue at all, just the slowest possible movement (can even be like marching in place!) and see if she can get it on her first cue there.
The bang game/teeter end behavior is looking good! Try to line her up at your side facing the end of the board (you can hold her collar) and then give the cue to jump into position. The rep most similar to that was at 1:24 and she drove directly into her target position. Yay! You can also add staying in motion on this game – slowly walking forward as she is moving into position, and keep walking for another 2 or 3 steps after she is definitely stopping in position (then reward 😁)
Sends to tunnel – nice connection!!! No screen shots needed, you looked great. She is finding the line really well. She is exiting the tunnel pretty straight, really blasting out of it – this is a good thing! And that is why she missed the jump on the first rep: she didn’t know there was a turn 🙂
So to get her to exit looking for the next jump (s you don’t have to help as much) you can give her a mild turn cue before she enters the tunnel. A ‘left’ verbal or just her name would work, delivered while she is still about 4 or 5 feet from the tunnel entry so she definitely hears it before she enters.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>Thank you for mentioning it. I thought we should work on it ‘in-order’ so haven’t even looked at other games before you mentioned it!>>
Working them mostly in order is good 🙂 We don’t want to do too many things on one setup, because we don’t want the dogs to get bored. So the crosses, for example, can be worked in the next game too!
>>Any chances that ‘weave’ class will run sometimes soon as ‘working’? >>
Probably not – the rest of 2024 is packed pretty solidly.
>>And do you know if this class will available to get later – or if we want it, we need to buy it now?>>
It will be available for a long time – until I run it as a working class again, which probably won’t happen until 2026 LOL!
>>I need to buy a set of weaves so we can’t train it now anyway >>
>>is there a way to figure out which one Fly would prefer before buying weaves?>>Can you borrow a set? Weaves are expensive! Many folks have borrowed a set or two to do the beginning stages of the class, then either bought a set based on the dog’s preference, or finished the training on the borrowed set.
>>And we got ‘backside’ class! Something to train on backyard when the weather is too hot to go anywhere.>>
Fun! Let me know if you need any ideas on how to tweak it for a tiny dog like Fly when you do it with him – he is able to do most or even all of the games 😁. I think it is all large dog-friendly but I might have missed something.
>>It was BEAUTIFUL, 70 degrees and breeze!>>
70 degrees! I am jealous!!!!!
>>You can see ‘my problem’ with that setup>>
Ah yes, the a-frame certainly does make it a different training session LOL!!! I agree, it was still a worthwhile session – we see tunnels under the DW and a-frame all the time, so you got some good practice getting him to find the tunnel rather than the more obvious a-frame. And the a-frame is probably easier for him AND you’ve rewarded it more, so it was great to get the tunnel here! Once her relied the he had to really lower his head, he got the tunnel really well.
On the blind crosses – you were helping him more than he needed on the 3rd jump 🙂 You can easily send him away to jump 1 and 2 (he was great about committing) then stay parallel to jump 2 – don’t go to far over to jump 3. As you are coming down the line to the blind, stay parallel to him and no need to go to the landing spot of the 3rd jump – let him find it (he will :)) That gives him better turn info
For example, your position on the exit of the blind at :48 was closer to where you wee going next, so you got a good turn there. At :13, you went across the bar on the landing side of the blind cross jump – so he jumped straight rather than turned, then changed his line after landing. Thinking ahead to when he is jumping full height, the bar might not stay up if you go all the way across the line there. So keep trusting him and stay laterally away from the jump, to set up the great turn.
>>Also on video Fly’s favorite ‘reward’>>
OMG that is so funny! He is very polite about it, even though his head is the same height as your height when he plays like that LOL!! Good boy!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Great to see you here and doubly great that Obi has been cleared by the sports vet!!!! We are all trying to stay cool in this heat, which means lots of sunrise training sessions LOL!!
Looking at the videos:
He was very keen to play the lazy game!
He was finding his jumps really well. I think he was working out how to look at you AND take the jumps, so you can change the timing of the marker and reward throw: rather than mark & throw when he gets to the jump, change to mark and throw the instant he looks at the jump. That way the reward is flying and landing as he is approaching the jump (so he is highly unlikely to look back at you).You can increase the distances between the jumps to do this – if they are close, he will be able to take the jump while watching you 🙂 But if you spread them out to 18 or 20 feet apart, you will be able to mark the moment he looks at the jump and not at you.
I love how easily he went from food to toy to food here! Perfect!
On the 2nd video:
The one step sends looked great when you showed a lot of connection like at :17 and :28 and after that – lovely! He had a slightly harder time on your left side in that session, but in the 2nd session he did not have a hard time on your left. It almost looked like there was something out there he was looking at?
The toy was visible (and exciting!) in the second session – it was great to see him drive past it to the wing, and then he had a LOT of speed. But he controlled the speed and still got a nice tight turn into the tunnel and around the wings. SUPER!!!So you can add on the middle wings here (doing the middle wing then the FC back to the tunnel). He looks ready!
Great job!!
TracyHi!
Yes, the countermotion is a bit of an awkward game because of all of the rotation and sending behind you.
Shifting your connection on the countermotion really helps! Connect to her as she is getting to you, then as you cue her to go past you, let her see your eyes follow your hand as it points to the wing behind you. For example, at :25 and :29, you did just that and she got it! Yay! Compare to :05, where you were sending by looking down at her, so she went to the other wing (you were also blocking her line there a little).>>So many misses. I finally got the idea of having her super close.>>
Welcome to the joys of RDW training with an adolescent dog (although I am sure you have experienced that before LOL!!!)
Even when she did hit the mat, she would still leap up for the MM. So, take the MM out of the picture and use an empty food bowl – you can then mark and toss a treat to the bowl. That should be less stimulating.
The other thing to do is elevate the mat, so she has to step up onto it. Try it attached to something that is 2 or 3 inches off the ground (something stable) so she has to step up onto it – that can get her thinking about her feet.
I also like to do mat stuff like a flyball box turn: send her to the mat, looking for that 1-2-3-4 footfall pattern, then reward her back at me (toy or cookie from my hand). Practice it in both directions, and also I think the elevated mat would be useful for that one too!
>>ast but not least we are going to a trial with a practice ring. You pay for a weekend of 2 mins max as often as there are no lines.I was thinking about going in and taking her leash off and playing. Then maybe next session sit stays with toy reward and next session maybe a jump tunnel?>>
Very fun!!! Is it UKI? It is a great opportunity for sure. For the first time in, leave the leash on, play… and when she is happily engaged, you can take the leash off. No need to take it off before she is engaged! And then yes, you can build it up to tunnels, wing wraps to tunnels (take the bar off the jump because you are probably not allowed to move any obstacles). Sounds like fun!!!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
He is doing better with the motion override game! One suggestion is to
throw the reward back (‘catch’ marker) or release forward while you are still moving (rather than turn to face him). This will simulate handling on course, where you will keep moving forward.Be sure to keep a slooowwwww pace for a few more sessions – you started to speed up a little and he had a little trouble with that at 1:06 and 1:32. He got back on track when you were moving a bit slower.
Teeter: He did really well with the bang game! Yay! You can start him right at the very end of the board – I like to gently hold the dog’s collar or harness so I can line them up right at the end, get them jazzed up, then give the cue and let go so they can jump on it.
Backing up is also going really well! I this session, he immediately locked into stepping back up onto the board. See if he will do it without you moving your hand at all – I think on some of the reps he was trying to follow the cookies and if your hand was not perfectly straight while you moved it, he moved to the side. So you can keep your hand stationary and let him do the stepping backwards away from it 🙂
>>On the teeter I think he’s defaulting to the behavior for the dogwalk which is 2o2o.>>
I agree, he was probably trying to figure out the end position based on what he is training in other contexts. So you can add a target to the end of the teeter board – for the littles, I put a strip of duct tape at the top of the board, so they can put their front feet on it (and that is where I give them the cookie :)) That can help differentiate the teeter 4-on versus the dog walk 2on-2off.
>>On the driving ahead he did a couple of real nice ones at the farthest distance & then started coming in instead of going over. I’m not sure what happened there.>>
On the reps that were successful, 2 things were happening: you were closer so motion supported it, and you were throwing the reward sooner. When he was just past the tunnel exit, you were throwing the reward, so he then found the line based on the throw.
As you got further away, motion didn’t support the line as much and you were throwing later (he was already past the halfway point and on his way to you) so he missed the jump.
Let’s flip the script! You can take out the wing, I think it was getting in your way 🙂 And as he exits the tunnel, make BIG connection to his eyes and move forward while you are saying the go verbals. As soon as he looks at the jump – then you throw the toy. So it will be after he looks at it, which will help pump up commitment. Start this pretty close for now, maybe 6 feet away, and see how he does and how well you can see his face! Seeing where a small dog is looking is MUCH harder than seeing where a big dog is looking, so it might take a couple of reps to dial in the connection so you can see where his head is turned to.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
She looked super happy to go up the tall teeter! The “Lift Guard” cracked me up!!! She was happy to drive to the end with or without you 🙂 and you stopped short a bit (on purpose, yes?) so she could go to the end without you. You moving past her or going to the other side? No problem! All good!
Before adding more height, I think it would be better to add speed by doing a wing wrap before it (although if she hates the wing wrap start, you can do a jump or a short tunnel). And if she is still happy with more speed? Then yes, raise the teeter to full height 🙂 And then yes, add in the Galican teeter so she gets experienced on a different feeling under her feet.
The Blind to the tunnel looked great! You can keep your wing (arms) in tighter to your ribs, so you can go even faster down the line and show the new connection more quickly Without having to pull your arms in, all you will need to do is turn your head and the connection will be very visible.
The FCs at :54 and 1:34 went well – and you maintained connection so she got the wrap after it too. Easy peasy! I think it is good to show the dogs the FC here, but I think ultimately the BC there will be a much easier and faster move for you both 🙂
>>I did get Robin to put another clasp on the front of her harness so it doesn’t have to come off over her head but she still gets into over aroused moods (usually before going for a walk) where she says she just can’t push her head through the loop (and doesn’t want it undone then either). >>
The pointy dogs here wear French martingales (whippety dogs are *special needs* when it comes to collars haha) and Robin made one for Ramen that also has a clip on the next: so I can have him stick his noodle nose through the loop, or I can clip it/unclip it. It takes away any issues with stuff going over his head, getting caught on his skin (WHIPPET DRAMA) and he can’t back out of it. It might be something to consider with Lift!
>>Now I think I”m going back to the nice lady at Rush to Tug to get a slip lead collar made so that I also have the option to hook her leash to that. >>
Yes – that might be the French martingale style! I have leashes and separate collars of them. The one that also has the clip on the side is the absolute best one.
>>In some cases she’s showing signs of coming out of adolescence but in others (like being able to walk around with me in a new environment wwith giving me attention here and there) I feel like we’ve regressed. >>
All completely normal. At one year old… she is fully in the throes of adolescence and all of the daily brain changes and hormone changes that come with it. Sending my support LOL!!! Hopefully, because she is small and female, she will be done with it mostly by 18 months old? Or 2? Many dogs it takes til they are past 2 years old and closer to 3.
>>She’s got her first seminar on Friday afternoon with Rachel Pearson. It’s indoors and a small group and like a 1/4 day session so hopefully it will go well.>>
I am confident it will go GREAT 🙂 You are also terrific about doing what your dogs need, and I have heard good things about Rachel’s seminars 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi! These are looking good! The better reps where when you started your decel as he was over the previous jump, same time as when the verbal starts.
Then you started getting too early LOL As he was exiting the first jump, your hands were going up and the verbal was starting before he really had commitment to the 2nd one, which could dilute the threadle on that jump.
The way to avoid being early (and to keep getting honest feedback from the dog) is to mix in a ton of balance reps: straight lines, rear crosses, wraps, pushes to the opposite backside, etc etc. That will keep him telling you if the cues are clear, and will keep you from starting too soon.
>>One of the things I realized from video was that frequently I didn’t get my arm across my body enough for Sly to see so I tried thinking bring my right arm across until my right connects to my left which really helped me get better about getting it across far enough for Sly to see>>
Yes – there is an upper body rotation back to him so he can see the hands. I like the concept of getting your right hand to meet your left hand (as long as your left hand stays back and doesn’t come forward to help out your right hand LOL!)
>> I’m feeling like we’re headed in the right direction>>
You are totally are! I think adding in balance reps is the next step, because then you can assess the clarity of your cues when he is not necessarily expecting them.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Looking at the wobble board video:
I think using the food here was really beneficial! It helped her release the toy, and it helped her get on the wobble board. Even with very little movement, she was a bit unsure of the wobble board, so stay at this level for a while: using the food ad a bit of a lure with tugging mixed in. When she starts leaping on it by herself, you can fade the lure and also add a tiny bit more movement of the board.The countermotion game went really well!! She committed really well – the only times she had a question was when your arms got too high and too ahead, which broke connection and turned your shoulders away. That only happened twice, though. On the rest of the reps, you had low arms and great connection!!!
She did REALLY well working for the toy in your hand. Super!!! You had your markers going too, which helps! The only struggle seemed to be getting her to drop the toy. Will she trade for a cookie? That way you can trade, toss the cookie away for her to find, and that gives you a moment to reset for the next rep.About the measuring:
Yes, practice the chin hold and having someone step in to measure. For my 2 small dogs, I did not use a chin hold 🙂 instead, I let them stick their heads in a tub of peanut butter or cream cheese and lick the whole time. That also allowed me to move their position as they were being measured, to get the best measure.
The other thing to do is get a wicket or measuring device and lock it into place – then teach her to walk under it and into position. Start with a tall one then eventually get it lower and lower until it rests on her shoulders.
Measuring is such a pain! I also shaved the shoulders of my smaller girls because they are right at the cutoff.
Nice work here!!!
TracyHi!
Yikes, I am sorry it ended up being bronchitis but I am very glad you are feeling better!!
And I agree – Spot was terrific! Yay! Does it seem like he is expressing his opinions on course more than ever? I don’t remember him being this talkative LOL!
Jumping course:
He was so funny at the beginning: totally did NOT look at 1, but totally took it when you released. Good boy!
On the FC 2-3, try not to run past his line at all, that almost put you running into the tunnel 🙂 at :18
He did well with the layering! He had a BIG MAD (barking and generally trash talking) on the 6-7 line at :25 – maybe because during the layering you were stationary for a few strides, so he was preparing to turn on 6 into the tunnel? You can keep moving through the layer and get ahead of the tunnel exit there, and I bet he doesn’t have a BIG MAD about it LOL
Turn cue on 8 at :27 can be sooner (before takeoff) – he had an opinion there too 🙂 The turn cue can be a verbal left cue or a brake arm, or both, to get that one stride of collection before takeoff. You can start it when he has landed from 7 and is looking at 8.
Nice turn on the tunnel exit and RC on 10, and handling past the a-frame LOL!!! He was *this close* to getting the weaves – got the entry and probably second guessed himself with the jump there and you layering. He might need a placed reward as a focal point out at the end of the poles so you can get the layering – it is a useful skill.
Going in so there was no layering helped support the poles and you got the threadle on 13 beautifully.
There was a little bobble heading to 15 at 1:21 but it looked like maybe you were trying to figure out which jump was 15 🙂 Really nice job saving it and setting up a really strong ending! His send to the last tunnel allowed you to get a really nice tight turn with the dog walk right there.
Overall your connection and timing is looking lovely and he is getting really independent and responsive on the big lines and hard skills!!!
Standard course 2:
You probably don’t need a ‘here’ for 3
He got the push on 6 really well – keep moving to show the exit to 7 (you stopped so he had no info and barked at you )7-8-9-10 looked good! I think you called the seesaw a tunnel, I can totally relate LOL!
He is showing really strong distance and sending skills. I bet you can send him from 7 to the teeter and tunnel and stay super lateral, so the BC between 10 and 11 is easier to get to and you can start it sooner. I feel like you were significantly hustling to get there but you were still a little late on the BC (:19) with the connection to change lines coming as he was over the bar (he had an opinion there too LOL I feel like he is expressing his opinions more 🤣)
You pulled away from the 12 backside one step too soon at :23. I also thought he had it!! He might have come off the line because it was a wingless jump, which is not normally a backside.
When he does get it, you can use your walk it and tunnel verbals while you basically disconnect to run to the next important connection spot, which is the tunnel exit.
>>Seems like ‘GO’ works better than ‘Go On’ from the straight tunnel to the jump, or maybe I just started saying ‘over’ sooner.>>
I don’t think it was the verbals – your verbals were loud and urgent, which generally means “KEEP GOING!!!”
You got there positionally at :40, but you pointed forward ahead of him, which broke connection and turned your shoulders away from the line so he did not take the jump. Amped up connection and maybe even an opposite arm can help get that jump – as I was typing that, you did the amped up connection and outside arm and it was lovely! Then the ending looked really strong too 🙂
>>I thought it was funny that a bird landed and watched us>>
That was funny! Then the bird had a small heart attack when Spot was headed to that jump LOL!!
Great job!!
TracyHi!
>>We really struggled with the left turn after the first tunnel, and I had to stay so close to it that I wasn’t happy with my handling on the jump after the turn; we never really sorted it out.>>
On the first video, the way it was set was that she is turning to her left out of the tunnel and needed a slight lead change away to her right to pick up the line to the #5 jump. This is a perfect spot to trust that the dog is giving info on the line and handling, and if it goes wrong twice: stop and watch the video and re-walk the line. She was actually correct on all of the reps 🙂 That is why it is so important to either keep going and fix later, or stop and look at the video after 2 reps – feeling it in the moment is not as effective as looking at it on video.
So with that in mind, here are some pictures for ya! The times where she got it, you had nice connection and you got close enough to the line to support it. The times where she didn’t get it, either the cues looked like a threadle wrap or you were stepping backwards (which also looks like a threadle wrap). Good girl!! But not getting rewarded for it is going to confuse/frustrate her and dilute the threadle wrap.
It is possible that you were intending the outside arm as a ‘get out’ cue like at :31 – for the get out, the opposite arm should be pointing to the wing of the jump you want her to take, and it is only the opposite arm (that is one of the ways we differentiate it from the threadle wrap).
One other thing – the verbals and handling should all start before she goes in the tunnel, so she doesn’t come out looking at you for info – that will help too!
Here are the screenshots:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WDcPHZ8HIYku0lH69YK0xYwzWpwWbEvNgu5ZHS_ScS8/edit?usp=sharing2nd and 3rd video:
Nice opening! And you supported the 5 jump nicely!On both runs, you did the FC but then started the brake arms/rotation for 6 really early so ended up running backwards at :12 on the first video and on the second video, got the backside of 6 at :11.
You can do the FC there and step forward out of it, with an immediate decel and spin rotation to get the collection (and matching verbals, of course :))
The other option there is to keep her on your right and have her turn to her left (with a decel and spin) on 6 – that sets up a really nice line 5-6-7.
Great weave entry!!! Nice line to the backside after the weaves! On the 2nd run where you didn’t reward, you had great connection to create a really right exit line there. NICE!
Threadle wrap at :42 (2nd video) and :23 (3rd video) on 13 looked good!
On the 2nd video: The push wrap on 14 can have more rotation before she passes you to get more collection – ideally, your feet would be rotated forward to the tunnel there. Having your feet facing the bar could also indicate a slice so she didn’t make a decision on which direction to turn until she saw your next line of motion.
On the 3rd video, you did a blind to a threadle wrap and it was soooo much clearer (and tighter!) for her. NICE decel and connection to set it up!! Look at how your feet are pointing pretty much at the tunnel. Nice turn!
The other option there is a threadle slice, because it is a very fast line over 14 and a straight line to the 15 tunnel!
She is really getting those long distance backsides! Wow! At 16 on both runs, you had the opposite arm supporting the backside line: note how the opposite arm is pointing to the entry wing and she did not have any questions about it if was a threadle wrap or not.
The FC 16-17 worked well because you were already rotated from the opposite arm for 16, and easily out of her way 🙂 . If you don’t need an opposite arm, you can hop in for a blind 16-17.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This was a super interesting video – I feel like it isolated what is causing the jumping questions on the long line! Even with the up-close cone wrapping, his head is up and he is trying to watch you. This is especially true on the multi-wraps, so don’t ask for them here as it is rehearsal of what we don’t want 😀I think getting his head down will help line everything else up – spine, core, hind end, etc. When his head is up, he is inverting his spine and pulling from his front rather than powering from his rear.
In the video, he did get better but I think we can isolate things and get the form more quickly:
Using a cone or wing, have the toy placed behind it for now, so he goes over a low jump to the cone, to the toy on the other side. This should Jumpstart the behavior by giving him a visual focal point.
Take it out of context of the grid, for 2 reasons:
– we are placing the toy, so there is no opportunity for feedback on jumping
– we don’t want to approach the grid til we can get his head position down on the lines.So, one jump on a 12 inch bar with the cone 10 feet away will help get the form – when we see him driving to it, then the cone can move further away and then the bar can start to go up.
This won’t happen in the same session 🙂 and will take multiple sessions that are spread out – that gives him time to get the mechanics really embedded 🙂 then it becomes a long term fix!Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>The termite might try to eat it! >>
She might feel it is weird at first so you would want to try it at home then go do some agility. But I never leave it on the dog unsupervised – it goes on before a run then come off right after it. And I use medical bandage cutters (I am sure that is not what they are called but I am also sure you know what those flat scissory thing are) to cut them off.
>>Is there video on how to wrap pads? I’m sure I can google it.
there is always a video! I made this for an agility person who was having trouble with ripped pads. For Sprite, you would want to wrap to include the bottom of the foot so it goes over the pad. For flyball, I was wrapping 4 times around but for agility you probably only need twice around to fully protect the foot.
Hi! Sounds like you had a great weekend!
>>1. Pinwheel – what verbal should I be using? I used right/left. With past dogs I had a turning cue (sprinkler sound). Do we have something like that with MaxPup or is it not needed and we use something else?>>
It depends on how tight the turn is. If it is a very gradual turn, then you can just say “jump”. If it is a relatively collected left/right (but not a wrap), then yes, you can use the left/right verbals. The sprinkler is a bit of a general ‘turn towards me’ cue but it is not as specific as left/right. You can check out the Minny Pinny games to do the left/right – for a dog his size, on the wide open pinwheels you don’t need a left/right but for tighter turns you can totally use it.
>>2. Rear crosses – discovered Venture responds to the “wrong” arm for rear cross. No clue how I taught that but will be working to use the correct arm closest to the dog. >>It might not be the arm, it might be that using that opposite arm opens up more connection? And he definitely likes big connection. As you use more dog-side arm for the rear cross, keep it low and to his nose so he still sees the connection. Pointing forward ahead of him might break the connection and cause him to ask questions.
>>3. 3 jump serpentine – I used my 180 around command going in. When I fell behind he turned to me and missed 3rd jump. We experimented with using the around command repeated as he takes the second jump because at that point, it’s a 180 and just happens to come towards me. He read that perfectly.>>
Great! And also – connection 🙂 Keeping the big connection helps with serps (if we look forward and point forward, dogs go right past jump 3) and if you do get behind, you can totally use an outside arm here to keep him out on the line.
>>4. Social boy – a row of people at one end of the room was a huge challenge for him the first day but we worked through it and by day 3 he ignored the people and played with me all 3 turns.>>
Awesome! Social is good! Do you remember the pattern game from MaxPup 1? That is perfect for teaching social dogs to ignore people and other dogs.
>>5. Over tired = naughty adolescent. We have work to do for him to learn to chill between turns. He only protested being in the crate a couple times but he didn’t lay down and rest either. Covering him didn’t help.>>He just needs more experienced, probably. Yes, when the brain gets tired, the behavior definitely changes! Do you have a kong or toppl you can stuff and let him work on between turns? Or a snuffle mat? All of that or a bully stick can help him learn to chill out 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi! I am really glad she is doing well out in public!!! Yay!
First video: nice run here!! It was actually a front cross where she turned towards you as you changed sides. It was very smooth and connected 🙂
Second video: also really nice! Yes, the angle of the jump made it more of a backside but it was still a good front cross. She had a question before that – when you looked ahead and changed the toy to the other hand, she thought you wanted her to come in to your hands. That is why she almost came in to the other side of the jump.
To get these to be rear crosses, you can stay a little closer to the tunnel then as she exits, you start moving forward to the middle of the bar on the rear cross jump. That should let her get ahead of you and also give the rear cross pressure to turn her away.
But either way, your connection was really good and she was very happy to commit to the jumps!
Hopefully the weather cools down a bit so you can do more outside! Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>. I am not sure what I am doing that causes him to flank out so wide sometimes.>>
You are correct when you feel like there were connection questions. It is young dog stuff that will get smoothed out. Here are some ideas to be more connected and support commitment.
>> . Sometimes I feel like he is looking at the toy and not seeing the jump. >>
The toy does add excitement and indicate reinforcement out on the line, which is great for revealing connection questions. So keep using the toy 🙂
I made pictures LOL!!! Here are the screenshots illustrating what was happening, descriptions below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yu-vbcz6Wr1anN1ZQmpXDpE6xmlnePw3AslLw0Rloy4/edit?usp=sharing
A recurring theme was when you wee connected, he got the jump each time. When you were not connected, he went around it.
But to clarify, we need to define what the connection cue is because I am pretty sure you could see him on all of these moments 🙂 Remember that seeing him and being connected are not necessarily the same.
Connection is having your dog-side arm pointing back to his nose, wherever it is, and looking at his eyes, so he can see the front of chest and your eyes. Think of it as pointing your hand back to where he is in that moment and looking at him.
Disconnection is when you point to where you want him to be (especially with your hand high, like at shoulder level), even if you are looking at him and can see him. Pointing forward blocks his view of your upper body.
So when you are moving, he goes wide to get a better look at the info – this is VERY common in young Border Collies 🙂 Other breeds just come at the handler to bite them LOL and BCs tend to go out wide to get more info.
If you are not connected but you stop moving, he will come get the jump… but that is not always helpful because we need you to be able to run.
So the key is to keep your hand low and pointing back to him at all times, so he can see the connection. It will get easier as he gets more experienced. For now, keep moving, but connection is #1 priority of how fast you go. So you don’t need to run super fast as you prioritize being SUPER connected.
And if he goes around a jump? That is feedback to you that you are blocking your connection.
Exceptions to this type of connection involve countermotion, but there is no countermotion on this setup 🙂
The rep at :14 is an example – he was looking for more connection info, then you said tunnel, so off he went to the tunnel. Very literal young herding dog LOL!! He will eventually understand to take the whole like when you say tunnel but for now cue the jump with connection and verbal. You did that better in terms of verbals on the 2nd pass through there, but you stopped moving rather than connected more. We can flip that – keep moving and connect more to get the line.
When you added the wraps, at :51 and 1:02 you are really accelerating up to the middle jump which adds extension cues especially to the left – I think you can send to the jump and then go to the wrap jump, no need to go up to the pinwheel jump then set the wrap line. That can really emphasize connection.
You had a great adjustment in connection at 1:17 – 1:23!!! At 1:17 you were not connected and really accelerating, so he went past the jump. Note the difference at 1:23 – great connection, kept moving, and he got it brilliantly without you needing to sprint 🙂 Look at the screenshot to see how your were looking at him and pointing at him as opposed to the previous rep where you were looking and pointing ahead.
The other thing that was happening was he is turning better to his right than to his left. So on the turns over the pinwheel jump, you can add a bit more of a collection cue on your lefts and rights. That is a combination of a bit of decel, less motion & verbal ‘energy’ (be quieter, turn sooner) and maybe even a brake arm (using both hands to cue the commitment).
A bit more collection cue on the left turns plus really cranking up the connection will smooth it all out!
Great job here – let me know what you think!
Tracy
