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Hi!
>> SO we are struggling a bit with the backside of the jump? Suggestions on how to start it ? He’s really focused on the front of the jump…..>>
3 ideas for you to help:
– make sure you have SUPER crazy clear connection and you are not pointing ahead (that turns our shoulders to the front of the bar) and also, it helped when our line of motion is ahead of the dogs.
– angle the jump towards him so the backside line is easier to see, and the front side is harder to see. I do this in the puppy track with the wings – the wing closer to him gets moved towards him, so it is easier to see the backside line
– if angling the jump doesn’t help, take off the exit wing so he only has the entry wing and the bar. That will look less like a ‘real’ jump and can help him find the backside.
Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
>>. The other thing- my ”get out” arm – looks too high- as if I’m trying to flag down an airplane flying overhead. It should be lower…correct?
It can be a little lower but it doesn’t have to be too low – for get out, that might be the only time when my arm is at or above my shoulder level (because it is the opposite arm and doesn’t block connection :))
T
Hi!
>>what are your suggestions as to how to resolve the too many thoughts and being overwhelmed? Is not part of this delemma getting exposure to distractions?>>
I think that increasing the value motivators you use in training while decreasing challenge can help – such as using ginormous pieces of chicken while going over a low jump, with super short sequences or games. What types of food motivators have you been using at home, and in class?
Also, since this is happening at home too – simple exercises & games with SUPER high rates of success will help.
But also, I am not sure this answers the questions that I have for her – if you talk to the communicator again, have her ask Changste what hurts and where. Because she went from working passionately at home to not working even in the presence of great motivators like the ball, I recommend we keep looking for the cause (it is not solely training related, unless there are punishers happening during training but I don’t think that is happening).
Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
>> She also did tug as hard because I hit her in the eye with the end of the tug 😕
Oops! That explains why she was a little more careful LOL!
>>As for her rest period, on lead period, at least a couple more months ☹️ Until the growth plates close. I will then get more X-rays, then start some rehab. This training has been really good for her, and I think is going a long way in making us a working team. I am still working my way through the entire class. Having the barn to work in helps a bit.
Ok then, a few more months of brain training 🙂 The motion will be easy to add back in!
>>Some flooring going down today, which I just realized is black! Doh! Videos will be tough.>>
No problem! It is exciting that you are putting together a training space!!
T
Hi!
>> Volume dial works better when your jump wing isn’t in play!
Ha! Yes, she offered the jump beautifully a few times 🙂
The threadle slice games were hard for her! I think the PT makes it harder, because she was not always sure where to look, and the value of the PT would draw her focus when you were stationary. So she did have some good reps on both videos, but also some questions. I bet that some of that will get cleared up with latent learning 🙂 but also you can try two things:
– use a less valuable reward target and give the PT a day or two off LOL! An empty bowl might be fine for this, or even a flat plastic target or something – you can toss the treat to it rather than click the PT. That might help her to better understand that looking at you is the gateway to the reinforcement.
– you can be slowly moving the whole time, through the release. I think your motion might help her know where to look – as you leave her to move to position, you can have your threadle arm up and so when you are just about arriving at the entry wing, release her (using the threadle word) and keep moving. That will add motion 🙂 but also help draw her to the line you want and take her eyes off the reward target. Very sloowwwwww movement should do the trick at first because we don’t want her to break her stay, and we don’t want you to end up looking like you are cuing a serp : )
I just had a caffeine-induced thought about the perch! I think it is generally going well – she is offering more and more pivoting back to center and your reward placement with the very slight head turn is definitely helping! So here is my thought… what if her perch bucket is a little too high, and there is a little too much weight shift into her rear? To move very freely, we need a lot of her weight to be in her front for this – and if it is too high, the weight shift will be a little bit more into her rear, making it harder to pivot. So maybe try a lower perch bucket? This one looks to be a little closer to her elbow height – do you have anything that is wrist height for her? (If it is a bad idea, I will totally blame the caffeine hahahaha)
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyThat is great news about the tunnel games!!! How much longer until she gets to run run run for real?
T
Good morning!
>>She took to this pretty well.
I agree – you both did great!!!
>> I know I was walking less parallel than is ideal.
No worries! You were not blocking the line. I think there was not a lot of room there to get a lot of moving on the parallel line in. Takng it outside when she is allowed to run and when the weather is decent will make it a lot easier to move on the parallel line.
On the first 2 videos were on your right: looking really good! She definitely understoo dto go around the barrel and that made showing her the backside line and adding the verbal sooooo much easier! Yay!
She didn’t really want to tug on the first video at the end, but maybe there was no ta lot of room and the toy wasn’t moving much.On the 2nd video – she had a little question on the first rep where she was not quite sure if she should go around the barrel or not. It was a connection question: on thatrep, you were looking forward/pointing forward ahead of her, so she didn’t see the connection. When you say the cue to her, look at her more and dno’t point forward as much, so she sees the connection. the connection turns your shoulders to the line which is what is an important part of the cue.
The 2nd rep was definitely more connected and the 3rd rep was SUPER connected and clear!The 3rd and 4th videos were on your left side and looked terrific! She was even faster 🙂 and she was happy to work for the tug or the treats.
You can add in now being a little further away from the barrel (more towards the center of the bump) so you are adding a little more distance & independence. That might be easier when you are outdoors so there is more room to show the parallel line motion.
Great job here!!! You two are becoming a great agility duo!
TracyHi!
Serps are looking good! I think the sends were a little harder than the serps: you might have your dog side arm too far back on the sends, which creates too much upper body rotation and pulls her in. You can use you dog-side arm a little more, nice and low, moving it with the big step to the wing and big connection. It will feel a little like bowling 🙂Serp cue at :19 was really clear!! She came right in and had a great line. The timing of the serp cue at 1:01 was a little late, so she was a little wider. And that made the exit line connection a little later too, so the line on the landing spot was not as tight as the first rep. Ideally, the serp timing would start when she exits the wing, so sending from further away can make it easier to get to the jump to start the serp.
Great job here!
TracyThe crazy outerwear looked nice and warm 🙂
This went really well!!!! There was a tiny blooper at :06 (there was not enough decel into the first wrap there so it looked like a RC cue). The rest was really strong! The only challenge was speed: she was able to move a LOT faster so your connections had to be faster. And they were, because she nailed the rest of it. Super!!! Keep adding distance and speed, to simulate what it will feel like to do this on bigger courses 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi!
You can see the connection shift here on the circle wraps at :23 and :42 – super clear and strong commitment from her!At :27 and :47 you didn’t really shift connection as clearly – you were moving a bit side to side and looking more at her, so she didn’t commit. Compare it to the connection shift at :58 which was VERY clear!
I think the shifting connection on the wraps on the jumps will be easier when you are outside and the footing is not slippery in the next videos 🙂 On these indoor reps, you were facing forward a bit more to support her and the shifting connection on the circle wraps was very easy to see 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi! This looked great! You were definitely working your connections and you can see it really well :15-:18 on the circle wrap heading back to the camera. In that moment, you shifted connection as part of the cue for her to pass you and wrap while you moved forward. Super!!
Did you look at the video right after you ran this? It sounds like you said “let’s see if I had connection”. If you looked at the video, I am sending you a big high five! It is always good to look at the video 🙂 and I think it is very helpful to do it between reps!
Nice work!
TracyHi!
>>I definitely need to work on this more! I think I expect to get refusals on sends, so I babysit them too much rather than reinforcing it.
I think you will find that there is a sweet spot for her, where she can still easily process the send and jumping. It doesn’t have to be too close to the send jump, but it might not be miles away either. She will let us know, she is great about that 🙂
Looking at the video:
>>I think that focusing on the landing spot helped me not to leave before she gave me permission to go for the most part.>>
Yes! So many smoooooth reps and commitments!!
>>I was focused on looking at the landing spot on the wraps, and when I was able to do that correctly, she read it well.>>
You can now use it as a cue for her to go there, rather than following her there as she is passing you. It is almost like as you decel into the wrap and start to change arms for the FC (or spin), you can look at her eyes and then let her see you look back to (and point to) the landing spot. This is done as you rotate – it is kind of saying “you go there because I am turning and going the other way” 🙂
It is kind of like those backwards sends we work on with the pups!
One smaller detail to remember is your exit line connection from wing wrap in the center: there were a few spots (like at :46 or 3:34) where there was not enough exit line connection so she just followed you and was either wide or didn’t take the next jump.
The circle wraps are another place where you can use the connection shift to cue her to pass you and take the wing as you continue to move forward. You had some really good connection shifts (like at 1:23 and 2:05). I don’t think you need the arm across your body as part of the cue because it makes it harder to shift the connection to the landing while you move forward. This of it as passing her from hand-to-hand: she starts on your left which gives her a gentle send past you (but does not comes across your body) Then as she is passing you, you pass her to your right hand and then shift connection to the landing spot and point with your new hand.
That can make it sooooo much easier to keep running forward after the circle wraps! Plus, it won’t look like a rear cross slice cue when we add a jump back in.
There were a couple of spots on the circle wrap where you were running forward correctly (without waiting or any sideways movement) but you were looking at her cute face, so she didn’t commit: you can see it at 2:37, 2:51, and 3:10 for example. On the reps after it, like at 3:01 and 3:18, you used a little more arm and waiting longer – but I like your impulse to move forward right behind her so the connection shift will get her committing as you move forward nice and early 🙂
The big sequences at the end looked really good!! You can keep playing with these to see how much sooner you can shift your connection so you can be moving the new direction sooner too.
Great job!
TracyHi!
>>When you are doing the tandem turns are you supposed to be watching your hands until you see the head turn?
Yes, kind of following my hands around until I peripherally see the dog’s head turn.
>> I realized I was doing the hand movement, but shifting my gaze back up the line to the landing spot. I never saw a head turn so maybe that’s part of why I was getting right turns?>>
That could be it! Getting the head turn is the hardest part.
>> Well, that and she had kicked out to a string right lead.
Yes – but when you were SUPER obvious (basically using her middle name: SPRITE MARIE LOUISE YOU ARE TURNING LEFT) she read it really well 🙂
>> Connection is HARD. It seems like a simple concept, but it’s not easy for me to stay that consistent>>
Sooooooo true – it is really hard, especially all of these different connections on small sequences.Not simple at all! It is the #1 error on course in agility around the world! It becomes much easier on big courses for us.
T
Hi!
>>I start from a sit and try to send forward with an arm. I’ve been trying to use more eye connection and body motion rather than using my arm to indicate for him to go forward.>>
I think the line up before the sit makes a difference to him – so you can line up, lead out a step or two, connect, send. Keep it clean and smooooooth 🙂
>>Take the time and reset him.
Use a station in between reps while setting up and figuring out my moves.
Have patience with him and his teenage emotional state.>>Yes to all of this! And keep me posted 🙂
T
