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Good morning! Nice work here!!!
She is reading the turn aways/tandem turns really well so now we can go to the next step: Try to keep moving the whole time and moving on a straight line forward. That way you can get the turn away from further away, which can set up really useful distance moments. You were tending to stop moving to get her to come into your hands then crossing her line to help set up the turn away. So you can replace that with moving on a parallel line to her and letting her see you shift from looking at her eyes (showing her your hands) then looking down to your hands as you drop them down to set up the turns.
Balance reps are all looking good, she had no questions about staying on her line versus turning away. Super!!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>Do you think wearing glasses vs not or a baseball cap or not affects the connection? >>
Wearing glasses affects my peripheral vision, but hats and glasses don’t seem to affect the dogs as long as we are connected. They don’t really look at our eyes – they look at our shoulders and motion o hats and glasses are generally fine. I practice in them all the time 🙂
>> I’ve taken a winter break from it to slow down and figure it out. I’ve just backed everything up and readdressing basic foundation and learning more.
That was smart to test the waters in the ring then take some time to train more of the skills you want!
I am so glad you are having fun with the class and I love your approach of figuring out how to be the best teammate to Clover 🙂
Have fun!
TracyWow, you two are looking awesome!!!! Super runs here!! You two are going to have a great career!
I think overall your connection to him is really strong on course, which relates to why so many sections of the courses looked awesome. Yay!! When you get onto the big lines with him (like the end of the Jumping run and the last half of speedstakes) you don’t even really need to use your arms out at the side or supporting the line – you can use your arms like a sprinter (pump and run) while you maintain your connection and deliver the verbals. That will keep him on the line and get you further up the line too 🙂
For example, compare :45 at the end of the jumping run to the end of the speedstakes run. At the end of the jumping run you got a little behind him on the last tunnel – when he exited, your arm was really high and pointing forward which blocked the connection and you were looking forward, so he curled off the line and in towards you. In that scenario you can keep your hands down as your run, and look at him even more, which will turn your shoulders to the line so he can carry forward to the jump.
On the end of speedstakes, your arm was not quite as high and your connection was much clearer, so he found that huge line really well!!! And with his speed, keeping your arm up slows you down a bit – trying to run the line with the same connection but pumping your arms instead of pointing can keep you way ahead 🙂Great job here!!!
TracyGood morning! The outs are looking great, this might be his favorite thing 🙂
Good job balancing the wraps because he was definitely thinking about the jump on video 1. Video 2 and video 3 were MUCH better, he was not drifting out to the jump as much 🙂
Video 4 he almost took the jump when you wanted the wing (he loves that jump!) You were calling him, so one thing you can do is play these games without verbals so he follows the body language and doesn’t look at the other obstacles until he sees the cue.
Video 5 & 6 & 7 looked great – he liked this one because he could get out both times to the jump 🙂 So you can balance this rep with reps where he doesn’t get cued to the jump at all, so he doesn’t anticipate it and start moving to it.
On the dang threadle thingy videos 😁 you can reward him for coming into your hands more, to make it more automatic that he comes in to your hands as soon as he sees the cue.
He came did the threadles much better on the next 3 clips – part of it was that you were more patient letting him come in, and also you are a little further from the wing letting him come in more. You can turn and face a parallel line as you bring him in and turn him – that way he doesn’t see any motion towards the wing which might conflict with the threadle cue.
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
>>I usually teach them as a specific behavior with a cue.>>
Same here! And in the teaching phase plus on course I support with connection, to help eliminate errors (from me and from the dog LOL!) especially as these turns get more complicated and with off course obstacles nearby.
On the video, there were a couple of things going on that caused him to not get the line, and then a couple of things that helped him get the line every time.
One thing to decide on is what you want the hand/arm cue to look like. There were reps were you had a dog side arm only, and some reps with both arms – it got a little inconsistent about what the cue looked like so he was not always sure what do it.
He seemed to have more success when you used both hands – but that might be more about how you used that hands instead of it being about using 2 hands:
When you lifted the hands a little as you were looking at him then dropping the hands as you looked at the hands – that was very successful! You can do that little lift up-connect then drop down-shift connection with the single dog-side arm too, which will make the dog-side arm more obvious to him.
The other thing happening here that made the difference between success on the turn away and error on the front side of the jump was your line of motion: on any rep where you pushed him off the jump (like at :20) or when he did not turn away or go to the threadle side (:52, 2:13, 2:25, 5;42, 6:37 for example) – you were either facing the jump the whole time, or turned back towards the jump as you were trying to turn him away.
Compare to reps like :57 and 1:08 and 1:38 where you turned and faced a line parallel to the line you wanted him to take (like the line to the back of the jump) – that really helped him set up the line you wanted! At 2:34 and 5:16 you over-pulled a bit, so that can get faded out so there is not as much of a zig zag line there.
One other thing that I have found helps the dog get the line consistently on these: rather than just shift connection to our hands, if we look up at the dog and show the hand(s) we are going to use and then shift connection – that can really get their attention for the turn away (especially threadle wraps). This is especially helpful with young dogs who have so much value on the front of the jump and turning towards us.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
The session went really well here! I just re-read your post – was this Nuptse?
On the tandem turns, you were getting him focused on your hands really well (you can exaggerate the connection shift to you hands a bit more). You were using RC motion to help turn her away (and it totally helped!) so the next step would be to fade some of the RC motion, so you can run straight more and turn him away at a distance!The threadle wraps are going well too. On the first one, you stayed pretty close to the jump and also kept moving forward, that worked really well! You don’t need to turn your shoulders away quite as much on the threadle wrap at the end, that created a little too much of a zig zag line for him.
>>Well, now Changtse is not even making a mistake.
Would she start then stop playing? Or just not start at all? What type of food rewards were you using? It is possible that she needs something more motivating. But even with the ball, which is plenty motivating, she still left the session. You can try switching motivators more frequently, and also using super high value food like cooked chicken. And definitely keep looking for an underlying medical issue like pain or thyroid or tick stuff…. Over the years, when the dogs want to play less and less even with relatively “light” work and great motivators, there is something else going on. Any good soft tissue canine PT people in your area that can give her a super thorough exam?
Nice work here! Keep me posted about Changtse!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Either I am not cuing the same or shifting out on a right lead is harder for Sprite.>>
It looks like you are cuing slightly differently, but there definitely could be more challenge for her to move away to her right .
The slight difference in the cues was making a difference for her. On the shifts to the right where she was having more trouble, you were keeping your feet moving forward on a straight line (or as straight as possible with the upper body rotation) while the upper body did the cue (arm and connection). On the first few reps on the left turn side, you were moving a little less and rotating your lower body to the jump more, so it was a little more of a send.
I think she was a little surprised about the first get out cue to the right then got progressively better and better without needing your to turn your feet to the jump – yay! We want the line you were running on the right turn side, so you can cue the behavior while you keep moving.
For example, you can see the difference at :52 (rotated) versus 1:02 (moving forward). The rotation helped her get the jump, but the moving forward kept you more ahead on the line – and she did get the jump. The delay is probably her jut processing the motion line versus the ‘get out’ cue. I think with seeing this game a few more times will help her be super smooth to the right while you keep moving – that would be the most ideal 🙂
Great job!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
The games are going well here!
On the first video:
>>I think I still need better regular connection on the sends.>>
Yes – you can exaggerate it more so she propels away from you. On the reps where she didn’t quite go to the wing, you would get a bit of connection when she exited the wing wrap but then switched to pointing/looking at the wing you were sending too. If you were close enough to it, she went to it. But if your were further away, she had questions.
Compare to :33 where you had much stronger connection and also at 1:05 where you were really clear so she had no questions 🙂 Yay!
On the serp video – On the first couple of reps she came in nicely! You were not fully in serp position (closer to the exit wing of the jump) so when you were in serp position (:28 and 1:18 for example), she just needed you to open up your shoulders towards her more (feet facing forward, shoulders facing the bar) as you shift connected so that she could come in.
The threadle reps at the end on the other side were clearer and she did well!! As you connect with her try not to move backwards or rotate your feet as that can make it harder to get the next jump.
On the turn away video – wow this was super nice! Both directions ! You can add decel to tighten up the turn by slowing down just before you start the cue. Otherwise it was perfect!
Great job 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
The tunnel rocking horses are going really well!
>>This one would be a lot easier if I could toss a toy>>
I agree! It would be easier to build value of the tunnel and for driving to the wing for sure! You can use a treat hugger so that it is easier to see than a treat being thrown? Does she like tennis balls? We can get a Lift-sized ball 🙂 That would help her find the line to the tunnel even with you running hard (that was challenging for her!) and it will help her drive ahead to the wing. You got it done with a lot of hustle here 🙂 but you can use a treat hugger or something similar to throw as the reward.
Adding more speed to the RDW work was fun! She was doing a good job hitting her mat – she had some questions when you were staying lateral or moving fast. The questions were mainly due to the angle of entry to the mat because the exit of the wing wrap had an offset entry to the mat. That caused you to have to shape her entry to the mat, so she slowed down a bit before hitting the mat. You can change the angle of entry to the mat from the wing exit, so it is a straight line and that way she can power through to the mat regardless where you were running to 🙂
The wing wraps went well, she was on fire! Fun! You can totally do these rocking-horse- style to add more and more distance and speed on the wrapping.
Great job here!
TracyHi! I am so glad you are enjoying the games – it has been so fun watching you!!
>>Given how much I love your materials which independent study courses would you recommend I follow MaxPup with? And do you have other online classes like this one that are continuations and I should keep an eye on?>>
The next class will be MaxPup 2 – I will be posting the dates for it this week! It will begin in March 🙂
The lateral send game looks great! His stay is terrific 🙂 I am glad you are having fun with the stays because we want them to be fun for you both! He seemed to have no questions about the stay or the send to the barrel – lovely work!
Because it went so well, you can add more distance and get even further away from him, and from the barrel.
His baby dog sequence looked AMAZING!!!!! You can totally lose your brain with excitement over that – it was GREAT!! He was fast, focused, and turned tight on the jump too. SO FUN!! The future is very exciting 🙂 And I am glad the resilience games are helping too!!
Great job here and thank you for the updates!
Tracy
Hi!
This went well!
For the front crosses on the jump, you can add a little more distance, That will allow you to decelerate/rotate sooner, so you can use more of the shifting connection to the landing spot as you move the opposite direction.Good job placing the reward for her to drive to! She will get more and more comfortable driving to the reward in new places with some more practice.
For the circle wrap – she had a few questions as you moved forward while she was going around the wing. You were tending to step to the side then ru forward looking at her so she didn’t finish the wrap. Instead, you will want to go around the same side of the wing she goes around, running right behind her tail (no need to step to the side, you can move directly forward behind her) – similar what you did at 1:22 and 1:31. And, to help her commit as you run forward, do the connection shift to the landing spot that you did at 1:47 – that worked really well!!
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
She cracks me up that she still loves to be dragged around while holding the toy LOL! “Around the bases” LOL!!!!
I also love that you spend more tugging and playing than you do working – that is great!This session went really well – She is finding the commitments much more easily, partially because your connection is clear and your motion is clear, partially because she is sorting out the game and finding the wings nicely 🙂 Her turns look great and you are high energy, which makes it so much fun for her!! You can keep adding distance between the barrels, and the spins and racetracks!
And I am glad to hear her class went well 🙂 I guess the one random person watching at a distance was a little hard but it sounds like the rest of the distractions were no problem for her. Yay!
Great job here!
TracyHi! Nice work on these!
Looking at the tandem turn/distance turn away:
She is reading these really well! You can get even more distance on these (and need to move on a RC line less) if you start the cues sooner. One some of the reps, you were starting the connection shift/hand cues a little late, when she was about 1 stride from takeoff (:09,:30, :57, 1:08 for example). So on those reps, she had to adjust a little bit last-minute and the turns happened more on landing.Compare to the reps at :37 and :43, where you started the cue as soon as she exited the wing wrap – yay! Those cues were a lot earlier and she had really strong turns there (needing less handler motion help to get them done).
So keep starting those cues nice and early as she exits the wing before the turn jump – and then you can add in less movement towards the jump to set up the RC (and run straight instead).
Threadle wraps are off to a good start!! At 1:14, you were clear in the handling and moving forward to cue the threadle wrap. You got it at 1:23 too, but you were facing her more there/backing up, so facing forward to cue the threadle wrap will help you stay further ahead of her on course.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
The tandem turns and threadle wraps went well!
On the tandems at the beginning: Just about all of the reps had a clear connection shifts & lots of hand use which helped him a lot (your motion pushed him off the line on one rep). You were using some RC motion (moving to the center of the bar on the jump) to help him turn away – since he did so well, you can fade that motion bit by bit emphasizing the connection shift and hands, by facing forward on the jump and not using the RC motion at all 🙂The threadle wraps are more challenging because we don’t want the front side of the jump, so he did best when you turned way fro the front of the jump and faced the line you wanted him to take (without rotating towards him). This was happening at 1:57 and 2:08 and it went really well!
On some of the other reps you turned towards him and it worked… but it puts you further behind and not moving as much. So facing the line instead of facing him will help you be able to keep moving forward.
When he took the jump and did not threadle (like on the fist rep, 2:21, 2:46), it was because you wee facing the jump and looking at him, which is the cue to take the front of the jump.
On the 2nd video – he sorted this “out” really well!! Yay! At the beginning, you can have the out jump closer or throw the reward sooner, to get the ball rolling. But after a few reps, he did really well finding the out jump – nice connection to help him out!!
>>For the wraps I can see it’s very hard for me to avoid bending over.>>
Yes, for the FC wraps, you can be a bit more upright as long as you maintain connection. Bending over on the tandem turns and threadle wraps is fine because we have to shift our connection to our hands, and we want that to be visible for the smaller dogs 🙂
>>Balancing out the sends seemed to be a struggle so this was great practice for what it’s revealing we need to work on.>>
I think you probably just need to balance out earlier in the session – after one ‘get out’, do a couple of ‘don’t get out’ reps 🙂 That should help him not get locked onto the get out jump too much. Also, when you are not planning on doing the get out on a balance rep, you can add in calling his name too. The wrap verbals are good to use but when he has to follow motion and not go to the jump, you can add a name call to help him see the balance line you are running on.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
