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Good morning!
Throwing the toy away from the wobble board was great it was a nice release from the challenge of the moving board. Plus, it gives us an idea of how he feels about it: if he really hated it, he would not bring that toy right back Ito the session!
>but not helping him learn how great underfoot movement of things is.>
I think he is learning how great it is – there was a definite increase in his interest in moving it, lots of good reps, and happy engagement.
He was moving the fit bone really well. And he had multiple great paw smacks on the board to make it move, so I call this session a big win! And most importantly, he kept coming back. You were great about letting him choose what to do so he is developing a happy feeling about it!
>I may try to create a less wobbly board, or I may move on and attach the teeter plank to the base and see if things go all right at 1/2 Inch off ground (strongly suspect that he’ll be just fine with it).>
You can create a less wobbly board by shoving towels and old shoes under it 🙂 it will still move a little but not a lot, and then you can fade them out gradually.
And yes, you can add in playing around on the teeter plank – that is a different picture and he might think it is fun!
I agree, he did great with the elevated plank! He seemed to have no questions or concerns and was adding lots of speed without being asked for more speed. Super! And he was able to turn around pretty quickly without losing any balance. So the challenge now is to keep raising it – what else do you have that can lift if another 6 inches or so?
Great job 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
>But we also spent last week shuttling around getting our first grown up clearances. Great thing is hips and elbows look wonderful! I love having prelims done at 12mo as it’s before you start doing anything serious for sports.>
Huge happy dance for this!!! Yay! I mean, we already knew she was perfect on the outside so it is nice to have images that show she is perfect on the inside too 😊 And click/treat to you for getting some clearances before starting the ‘heavy lifting’ of agility training – it is something we should all be doing!
>This has been in my repertoire, so we have done “part one” in the past and pretty much the exact way you do it.>
Great minds thinking alike 😂
She did great here, of course. So in the spirit of the lazy game where you are walking and not really handling at the beginning… you can soften up your connection a bit and not be as good of a handler LOL! You will still need half an eyeball on her, but you don’t need real connection – can she still find the jumps? That level of the lazy game is basically an anti-perfect game: we humans will sometimes not be perfect and we love it when the pups go and take the jumps anyway 🙂
The reps with more speed also looked lovely! You can add a bit of anti-perfect to this too: a little less connection on the send, maybe a little arm fling too… you know, all the things we humans should NOT do but sometimes do anyway. Then you can pay Bokeh for taking the jumps anyway 🙂 It is not proofing, we don’t want failure… we are just letting her know that it is worth her while to try to find the jumps even when the humans are not really clear in the handling.
And you can move on to the next steps, she did great here!!
Nice work!
Tracy
Hi!
This was a strong session – he is finding the jumps really well! Yay!!!
When he was on your right at the beginning – that 3rd jump is really little so it did take him a moment to ‘see’ it. Then he was locked in and did great! Then the rest of the reps went great.
He found the middle jump brilliantly in this session!
When he was on your left side, he had a little trouble finding the 3rd jump – be sure to look at him (connection) for that last send. When he missed and was looking at you, you were disconnected by looking forward to the jump (2:55 is a good example of that). When he got it like at 3:52, your connection was much more visible and he had no questions.
When he is more experienced, connection won’t need to be as strong but for baby dogs, it is super important.
As we add more (new games coming today!), I also want to add more arousal into his sequencing. So if you get a chance to do one more round of the lazy game bring in some toy play. Do a little bit of tugging right at the beginning then simply hold the toy… but still use food as the reward. You can click then throw like you did here, because I think that is helpful to get him tighter on the line.
This suggestion might require 3 or 4 hands 🙂 so you can also have the toy stuffed in a pocket and maybe slightly visible – he will know it is there and that should be just enough to increase arousal.
Good job adding in stay rewards – the sequencing is exciting and he is speedy so we definitely do not want to lose the stay 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
I think he did great here with the toy! Lots of very deliberate foot smacks to the board which you marked beautifully with your ‘take it’ and also some gentler touches which got cookies and kept him motivated to try it.
(OK, trying to lift it with his nose was ADORABLE)
2 ideas for you:
– you can stuff a yoga mat, towels, or even a tunnel bag or 2 under it to dampen some of the movement/noise, so he feels happier to put more than one foot on it as you build up to getting more and more feet on it.
– after the ‘take it’ marker, you can give him a cue to take the toy for a runabout 🙂 I say “go for a run” and the dogs take about 5 to 10 seconds of ‘woohoo’ with the toy. The exact amount of time depends on the moment: sometimes they only need a couple of seconds because the mental challenge is not that big. And in harder sessions, I count to 10 before calling them back because it helps them clear their heads.
A quick victory lap with the toy is a fun reward and a really good release from the challenge of the wobble board. It lets him blow off a bit of the steam from it and then he can come back to it in a great arousal state. It will reduce the number of reps you get because it takes up more time, but the reps will be even better so we don’t need more of them. And you can trade for another toy or a treat to help him come back after a cued victory lap 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>She was also a little unfocused. We had been at a trial earlier in the day so she had spent some time in the crate and then socializing at the trial so maybe that affected us. >
Was she unfocused at the start of the session? She was nicely focused in the video below and worked well! But yes, it is entirely possible that she was brain tired after a day at the trial even though she was mainly hanging out.
On the video here:
>see if you think it’s me not getting in the right position to connect etc.>
It is a challenging game because the pups have to send without a lot of motion from us! On the successful reps like at :22 and 1:17 – you made a very clear connection at the tunnel exit and maintained that connection through the send. What I mean by that is your gaze was following her eyes as she passed you and went to the wing, rather than you looking at the wing directly.
On the reps where she didn’t go to the wing (:48, :58, and 1:50), you had some connection when she exited the tunnel but the main difference was that you immediately looked at the wing as you sent her… and that is when she turned back to look at you. So it was a subtle disconnection that was causing the questions. I think using a lower arm and keeping your eyes on her eyes the whole time will really help, especially in these early stages – young dogs need intense connection for sure!
And if something goes wrong – rather than stop, you can pretend it was correct, do the FC and cue the tunnel, then reward. It definitely keeps the dogs in the game even when they know something was not quite right 🙂
The reason for that is if it is a handler blooper that caused the question (and very often it is us handlers blooping it up 😂) then stopping can be deflating/punishing – and that might be where some of the lack of focus came from. So, keep going, reward, then make an adjustment. My first adjustment with my young dogs is definitely to add bigger connection – disconnection is the most common error and the youngsters really need to see it.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
She was cracking me up at the beginning!! It was so fun watching her solve the puzzle of what makes the MM work. One foot? Pressing with one foot? Then she pressed with 2 feet, got a reward… and I swear after that she pressed with 2 feet, didn’t get a reward, and turned to look at the MM like “WTF?? Where is my cookie?” Ha!
Then she got all 4 feet on – and as you added a bit of delay on that she looked at you a few times like “Hey, I’m doing the thing, pay up!” Hilarious but also very smart!
She went from one tiny front foot touching it to all 4 feet on the board and moving it in under 2 minutes. Wow! She really does love these puzzles, it is the absolute best way to train her.
Since this went so well, you can gradually remove the towels to add more movement a little at a time.
>Had a MM malfunction halfway through at which point she stood in the center while I unjammed it.>
That was another important lesson she learned here: the MM will malfunction a lot and she will have to be patient to let you fix it 😂
>I am planning on a running DW and AF, 4 on for the teeter (quick release). >
Fun! She will catch on really quickly and love it. I figure you can easily train it the same way you trained Jack’s.
>hat is how I trained my standards (poodles not ethical). >
Once again, lack of caffeine made me read the as “Poodles are not ethical” and I pondered that for a few minutes. Then I realized what you actually typed LOL!!!
>Do you think it’s OK to do some of the jumping games with Jazz?>
Really good question! If she might have a ouchie poses/hip flexor, we want to be careful to not do side to side stuff, so no zig zags. For the jump grid stuff, I would be concerned that she would compensate and push off with the other side, creating an imbalance.
So what might be a better use of time until it is all sorted out is to do catalettis which can produce a lovely even trot and great balance which is totally useful for jumping. The next vet appt is 4/22, I believe, so that will give you a clear answer. Fortunately, she has never had a struggle with form or jumping stuff, so I don’t feel any concern about not doing it – she will catch up in a heart beat when you show it to her.
>I plan on taking Jazz with me if/when I have to go to San Diego. The other two (Duffy and Jack) will stay home with my partner. Hope to be able to continue training in some way there.>
I have agility contacts in SD, including MaxPup grads 🙂 so I can reach out and find training folks as well maybe some folks who can do any body work that the vets might recommend for her. I will ask again when you have more info next week. Happy to help in any way!
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
>Our goal is to have antics that get you to snort coffee! >
Mission accomplished 😂 😆
> He is really surprising me at how intense he likes the games. I swear that he likes treats more if he is doing tricks for them!>
He is a driven little dog! And I bet working for the treats triggers the 🚨!!nerd alert!! 🚨 neurotransmitters that make him both feel really good AND motivate him to do more. So it is a happy cycle where he gets more and more motivated.
Looking at the rear crosses:
>He did really well with left turns but we had a lot of spins with right turns.>
Yes! Left turns were really strong. And the first right turn and 2nd to last right turns were really good too. I don’t think ithe left turns when you wanted right turns were a right turn question as much as they were mechanics.
On all of the reps that were correct on both sides, you were visible on the new side (past the plane of his head) before he finished the cookie. When you got a spin the wrong direction on the right turn side, you were still visible on the left turn side.
So I think what was happening on that side was mainly that the layout of the room made it harder to get visible as early as you needed to (like being stuck behind the cabinet like you mentioned). So you can try a hallway which gives you more room? Or in this room, you can throw the cookie not as far so you can be past his head on the new side for his right turns.
>I have a question about what to use for a mat on the Running Contacts Foundation game. As you can see, I decorate with yoga mats
>Good question – we do want something that is easy for him to see and different from everyday visuals. You can still use a yoga mat, but attach it to something that lifts it off the ground a bit (like a piece of foam, or you can even create an extra thick yoga mat by taping or glueing 5 or 6 slices of a yoga mat on top of each other like a layer cake 🍰 LOL
Or, you can use a carpet stair tread which is a similar length and size to what we need. What did you use with Bazinga?
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Those are just cheap jump poles. If no worries about them rolling under him I can use them.>
I do want to prevent the rolling, so a bit of duct tape can fix that or painter’s blue tape can work on carpet without leaving any sticky residue.
The threadle wrap stuff is going really well – it will make even more sense to him when we add the barrel. Something that made this a little tricky as you mentioned on the video was that if he was not driving in very close to your hand, it made the turn away/hand cue a little awkward and high.
For example at 2:32 and the last rep, he drove right in to the hand and the turn away cues were easy and smooth! He seems to have no questions about the concept of turning away here.
But for a real threadle wrap, we don’t want him coming directly to your hand – we actually want him to leave your hand and head for the correct side of the barrel.
So with that in mind, for this flat work game you can reward him for coming to you hand if you like but also we put it on a barrel in week 9 and then he can learn how to work the barrel based on the hand cue. I think he will love that! And the turning away stuff with your hand can eventually become part of an active warm up.
>Also, for the reinforcement/LSM stuff do you want to hear our crazy list of LSMs again (they’ll be the same as Ripley’s) or just start thinking about that stuff.>
I would love to see your list again! That will help me know what you are saying to him and it is always fun to read that stuff.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
Backing up onto the teeter went well! He was working REALLY HARD to find the board with his back feet! And he got better and better with accurately placing his back feet here. Good boy! Really nice!!!You can revisit this and see if he is even more accurate after sleeping on it 🙂 But more teeter games coming soon too!
Great job 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
This is going really well – it is a good stretch of his commitment for him to keep moving around the wings/barrel whisk you are doing only one step! But he did GREAT! And you seemed to get happier doing only one step more and more as the session went on! Super!He was barking a decent amount here – I am not sure if he normally barks a lot, but I think the barking here was more of a “why aren’t you RUNNING, human?!?” Haha! But your cues were nice and clear so he continued to drive forward to the line without asking questions.
If you revisit this, you can add even more distance 🙂 New games coming tomorrow!
Great job :)
Tracy
Hi!
The first part of the threadle wrap (the circle around at your side) went great! Then you added the u-turns: also lovely! Just keep your hand rally close to you and don’t turn him away til he is about 2 inches from it.
When you did that, he had nice tight turns! When your hand got too far away and moved too early, it was a wider nd less comfy turn.
You can emphasize the hand by letting him see you punch it down next to your leg and even shake it a little.
He had no trouble when he was moving, so now you can add your movement – you can be moving forward and showing your hand. Then be sure to decelerate as he arrives at your hand to set up the turn away.
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
>In the past I have done this with treats in a container/cookie jar that I can use at trials. Is there a benefit in leaving the treats more open? I could see that as an additional challenge. >
It is a little harder in the early stages because the cookies are unprotected 🙂 but it is also quicker to deliver the reward. I can get the cookie to the pup quickly without having to open a container. Eventually, delayed reward can be even more delayed so containers are great!
>My marker is the word Cookies for this but I usually say it more like COOOOOKKKIEEEEEEEs. With a very excited tone. I noticed how calmly you say it. Do you see an issue with making it more excited?>
That is a fun marker! I was surprisingly calm here LOL but it is perfectly fine to be more excited as long as you say your Cookie marker first and foremost, rather than praise then the marker then more praise because we don’t want the marker to get lost in the sentence.
Have fun!
Tracy
Hi!
>He is talented or driven for sure LOL.>
Talented AND driven LOL! He was not going to sacrifice a cookie or miss the chance for another cookie 🙂
>I remember doing running contact work with Brighton and that mat that we started with a couple of cones next to the mat to keep him going onto it.>
Yes – you can use cones or little flags outside. And for now, since he is still growing, you can use a wider mat so it is easier to get all his feet on it.
>Dublin can do left and right turns next to me on both sides of me with hand signal and verbal. Should I still start with all of the same steps or do you want to see where he is at? I don’t think he will need to stay on the earlier steps too long.>
You can jump in and show where he is at, then we can move to the next steps really quickly! If he is happy to turn away, then you can warm up with that then immediately try the next level.
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Hi!
>When me & my adult dog were taught this it wasn’t broken down like this & maybe it’s different with an older dog?! Dunno. >
It was probably more that we just didn’t need the skill with your older dog, so when you learned it as the skill started appearing, you added it quickly with a lot of handler dependence? And now course design has added this skill everywhere and it needs to be independent… so we need to train it differently.
On the videos: she was happy to do 360s to the left!
On the right, when you got the middles…I bet the cue is very similar. When you cue a middle, do you use your right hand/right leg? I cue my middle with my left hand to my left leg – so any little flick of that hand means to get in the middle 🙂
So to help the dogs not confuse the cues: I use 2 hands with my threadle wraps. Now that Sunnie is able to turn away from you, you can use 2 hands on the cue: both hands are low and near her nose, and both turn her away together.
On the 2nd video: the left u-turns also looked good – lovely turns and no middles 🙂 And middles on the right turns – she does it when your hand flicks back behind you a bit, so I think it is the same as the cue for a middle. You can definitely add the 2nd hand, getting both hands low and locking her onto them before turning her away.
And when we add the verbal and put it into context, that will help her know if I not a middle cue 🙂
>Also, what should I do when she does go into Middle- reward or reset her some how without it becoming a reward? In my mind if I cued it – unintentionally- shouldn’t I reward her? >
I 10000% agree that if we unintentionally cue something and the pup is correct, we need to reward her. So figuring out what we did wrong then clarifying it will fix it 🙂 And if she gets an accidental middle, you can have a laugh then toss a cookie to reset, then make your turn away hands very obvious (you can even shake them a bit!) to come to your side on the next rep.
Great job here! Let me know how it goes!
Tracy
Hi!
He did really well with the layering! It was a hard layer because he could see both jumps pretty easily, but the ‘get out’ action really helped, along with your parallel line motion.
Something to consider in this day of jump versus jump discriminations: you can also use directionals for the tunnel exit (such as GO in this case), delivering it before he enters the tunnel so he exits straight. Or you can start the ‘out’ cue as long as he doesn’t think it is turning away on the tunnel exit 🙂
And definitely don’t call his name, as that can turn him to the wrong jump (I am not sure you realized you had called him :))The backside cues went well! Yes, there was a little bit of converging motion but he still had plenty of opportunity to take the front of the jump 🙂 You can keep moving yourself further and further over on the line, so you eventually can get the backside with you nearer to the exit wing. You were near the center of the bar on a lot of these which is a really good position! The outside arm seemed to really help emphasize the connection. You can start it even sooner: when he is in the air over the previous jump, you can start the verbal/connection/arm for his push on the next jump.
Great job!
Tracy
