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Good morning!
This went great! I like the creative use of wings and stuff to set up the things to run around. You were showing great connection so she had really good info about where to go, and she was happy to do it. Fun!!!She was popping up a bit a she arrived at your side at the end of each rep – you can throw the cookie past you to keep her moving forward a bit without popping up. Or using a toy will give her something to grab a bit lower too. You can also decelerate sooner, to see if she can also decelerate sooner (which helps control the popping up).
One blind was a little late (at 1:09 where you did the blind to an inside turn and you apologized to her LOL) causing her to pop up a bit as she tried to hit the brakes but overall, I think it was a great session. If you have access to doing this outdoors, it would be fun to see her really open up and run run run!
Great job :)
TracyWelcome back!!! And more snow? NOOOOO!!!!!! I am ready for some warm weather!
Looking forward to seeing Millie in action – I can’t believe she is 14 months! How tall did she get?
Tracy
Hi!
>We redid the set point with a little more distance, hopefully this was better for him.>
Yes! It looks like he had more room to organize and he looked nicely balanced and powerful. It looks l;ike his only question was what to do with his front feet as he stepped into it – we want get more ‘lift’ by replacing the regulator with a low bar. That will engage the rear and core, and he will be pushing off rather than thinking as much about lifting his front feets 🙂
The tunnel turns went really well too, particularly if the concept is new to him!
The first rep whree he ran past the tunnel is pretty normal for young dogs going super fast 🙂 He didn’t do it again, so no worries 🙂The left turns were hard to see, but it did look like he was turning really well.
The right turn was easy to see (facing the camera): the verbal was well-timed! The motion accelerated straight forward which is probably why he exited pretty straight at :51. You were more decelerated and turned sooner on the next reps, so his turn was already better. Yay! Adding the physical cue of the shoulder turn being visible before he enters the tnunel will really help. along with the verbals. The sequence with the ‘race track’ at the end looked good! Yay! He seemed to have no question about he soft turns on the wing, and he accelerated forward on the tunnel exits as well.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning! Hooray for all the things aligning to allow for more training time!!
The set point is going well! Great job throwing treats back to help reward the stay, he did super well with that. I liked the line up spot you had him in at 1:52 and 2:12 – not too far, not too clsoe to jump 1, just right!
What is the distance between the 2 jumps? It might have been a little close for him to power through, so you can add another 6 inches and see how he does. You can also add the moving target (toy being slowly dragged or put the MM on wheels and drag it LOL) – that will help him keep his head down more and power through jump 2 more as well.
Tunnel exits: This is looking good too!
The wings might have been a little close to the tunnel, making it harder to give the turn info before entering n the first few reps but you did get the verbals and physical cues to him on time. He turned really well on the exits! Yay!More direct connection was the key element after exiting the straight tunnel with the go to the wing. When you looked forward on the first couple of reps, he pulled off the wing. Then with extra clear connection, you got it at 2:03 so he went to the wing. Super! But then disconnected to look forward after it at 2:05. He read the disconnect as a blind cross cue and changed to your right side (good boy!)Compare to the connection you used at 2:12 when he exited the wing, which worked great to show the line to the tunnel.
On that tunnel entry, the right cues were late at 2:13 and 2:53 so he was wide. The verbal was either when he was in the tunnel (2:13) or just before his nose went in (2:53) and on both of them, your motion supported the straight line exit. So as he exits the wing wrap before it, you can cue the tunnel and then let him see you start to turn to the right turn wing and cue the right verbal. That way he can see and hear it before he enters the tunnel, which should get a really nice turn on the exit.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
He was such a good boy here with his stay, the tugging, and giving the toy back! Was he also ignoring another dog/person at the beginning? I heard a dog vocalizing but I don’t think it was Zest.
The transition into getting the toy back at :58ish was great – you let him win it, he brought it back, you let the toy be ‘passive’ so he released it… and you rewarded him by giving it back. Love it! Also a super nice transition from 1:45ish to about 2:01. Many drivey/zesty 🙂 dogs need to have a moment to take the toy and shake it a bit before bringing it back, and I feel that allowing him to have a moment with it helps him regulate himself really well. He really only takes it a few feet away for about 10 seconds, during which time you move back to the start point. Then he brings it back and the two of you are working together nicely for the next rep. How are you feeling about his arousal and threshold and teamwork here in general?
The set point skill itself is going well. He is definitely pumped p, but holding the stay like a rockstar and moving really well through the set point. Because he is 3, we can add height on bar 2 a little more quickly. What distance are you using here between the 2 jumps? When you revisit this, you can raise the bar of jump 2 by at least 2 inches, or even 4 inches if you feel he will be fine with that.
The only suggestion for the next session is to face the way you would be going (towards the camera in this case) when you put the toy on the ground, rather than face him. 2 reasons for that: when you face him, you are cueing collection which we don’t need here. And when you face forward, you can start slowly dragging the toy (moving target reward :)) and I think he is ready for that!
Nice stay reward here at the end, throwing it back to him for being such a good boy with his stays. SUPER!!!
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
Smiley face is looking good! One small detail: remember to decelerate into the FC on the wings – you were tending to run fast then hit the brakes/rotate in one movement, so you can see he was a bit wide on some of the wraps. The ideal timing would be – after he exits the tunnel, you slow down but continue to face forward. Then as he passes you, you rotate through the FC and head back to the tunnel. That can help him really tighten up the wrap exits.You can move the wings a little closer together and add in the race tracks/soft turns here too!
The proofing game went great! He seems to be responding to the verbals really well – you did have some motion here, but it was fine because it was after he heard the verbal AND it also turned you to the tunnel, even when it was a wrap cue 🙂 But he got it right each time! Yay! You can definitely try the advanced versions where we string cues together for mini sequences 🙂 A gentle curve of the tunnel exit will make it easier for him too.
Great job!
TracyThat is a great update! I think your plan to start a conditioning program is perfect and the best first step. And anything that can make agility feel super fun without pain. That can be stuff like no bars and easy lines, with amazing rewards 🙂 We know he can do the technical stuff, so to help get back in the game you can keep it super simple and highly rewarding. Then adding back the harder stuff is easy 🙂
Obstacles that are hard on their bodies include the teeter, aframe, and weaves, so avoid those for a bit then gradually add them back over time. Keep me posted!Tracy
Hi!
Having the people exiting and ring crew getting into chairs as he entered was great! You didn’t have treats at the start line, yes? He did well!The instructor holding the reward was a good challenge and he did really well – my only suggestion is to throw it one obstacle later. Both throws were relatively near the ring crew and the instructor… and we don’t want to accidentally enhance his attention on them with a surprise lotus ball landing near them. So that would mean throwing after the weaves in this case, or after the tunnel when he ignore the ring crew person at the front of the ring.
If there is room behind the tunnel, try to convince someone to sit or stand behind it. That is a visual that often gets his attention at trials: the random half body sticking up from the other side of a tunnel 🙂
>he did well with this setup but then again its all familiar stuff to him.>
Yes it is ‘home base’ but still a bit challenging! Is there the potential to drop into other classes there, so the environment is familiar but the people/dogs are different? That might be a convenient way to switch things up.
Great job!
TracyHi! She did a lot of lovely work here – technical stuff went great but also she had a lot of high speed extension lines that looked great too!
>. I didn’t have a good plan for which hand to put the toy in and as I was thinking about it, she decided that was enough dilly dallying and broke her start.>
It did look a bit like she predicted the release was happening – you can add in a bit of unpredictability in those moments. Sometimes you stop, move the toy, say a few extra words, then throw a reward back or release. We humans are pretty unpredictable sometimes so training for it can add clarity on the stay behavior for her
>Hard to tell from the angle but she shot out of the straight tunnel and turned right (away from me) towards a jump pretty far away. 2nd try I said her name and she went straight to the backside wrap.>
Probably due to pressure on the line as you ran pat the jump to get neat the line and nothing else being nearby? A good guess on her part 🙂 The name call helped. Possibly a good layering situation followed by a German on the backside if the far end of the tunnel was next.
The opposite arm on the big long line at the end was great! She had to shift away slightly to get it even if you were ahead of her, and getting it with you behind her was great!
>Wanted to try layering but I don’t think I had enough of a run into it on the first attempt. >
Yes, the first rep with ‘go jump’ could have been read the way she did. The ‘out’ and line on the 2nd rep work really well! That is a hard layer!
>She cut in a bit after the curved tunnel to the long jump the first time so I tried to connect more out of the tunnel and give an earlier “go jump” but she ended up cutting behind me. Too much connection? >
It was a little hard to see because it was far from the camera, but it might have been a bit of disconnection (if you make connection and then look forward, she will read it as a blind). Also, it might have been lack of experience in running past jumps that are *right there* when the long jump was far away and not really a high value visual for her.
She cut behind you when you were heading to the tunnel under the frame, but that definitely looked like a blind cross – you finished the front cross before it, looked forward briefly then didn’t really re-establish the connection so she switched sides. Plus there was a bit of lateral motion as you tried to move around the a-frame which kept her on your right side. Compare to the next rep where you made a much clearer connection after the FC and she had no questions.
The bloopers might have been a bit of shaking off the rust of a few weeks off, plus some of the skills were quite advanced! I think things went really well, though 🙂
>I hope to get some running in the yard video later this week if the weather holds. And I need to see if I can find the video I did of her sprint drills inside at Fusion when she was about a month post-spay>
Fun!! It will be interesting to compare and see her striding!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
He was a really good boy in the trial video! The footing was definitely slippery for him: most of the lines were relatively straight but he had to add in lots of small strides to stay balanaced on the turns.> He got a bit jumpy when we had to stop and go to start the main gamble but settled to complete it.>
The 2 obstacles before it had him qustioning things, so the stopping to walk tipped him over into jumping up.
>I think I will need to give him something specific to do I when I have to stop him to walk to the gamble start. Perhaps a sit or spin then a “with me” as he really doesn’t like stopping if the run is not finished. lol>
He found it confusing to stop and walk – can you run to the gamble start, even if he picks up an extra obstacle or two? That will still be faster than having him stop or sit then walk over to it, plus it will be less frustrating.
>The second run was a Standard and he took an off course jump outside of a pinwheel and in the third run he also took an off course tunnel outside of a pinwheel. I really need to give him his cues earlier and add some directions as I did further on in the third jumpers run. Pinwheels are on my practice list once I can get back outside!!>
Yes – looking at the timing, he was correct on both of these lines. Resist temptation to mark him as wrong, or to stop and fix because we want him to confidently find those big lines.
On the standard run at 1:17, the turn was happening on the spread jump – the spread has a bigger landing point than a regular jump, so the timing of the turn cues would need to begin as he is over the previous jump (verbal and shoulder turn to show the line of motion.
Looking at the jumping run at 2:16 – the turn cues should be starting as he is over 2. When he was taking 2, the cues were all forward so he took 3 in extension, and then your line of motion supported the tunnel. Ideally, as he is taking 2, you are starting the cues for the left turn (verbal and motion cues).
I think a brake arm can be super useful in both of these situations too!
>After he came back in and did his weaves he took the wrong side of a jump that was really set in from the weave exit, I needed a stronger name call as he exited. I didn’t want to distract him while he was weaving as he is still getting his footwork figured out, but I was late. >
That was a hard line! A bit of rotation can pull him in too.
>His contacts were great all day! Very happy with them!>
Yes! Those looked great! Yay!
>I did 2 baseline running videos as you talked about in our zoom and I think he is running pretty fast in trials when I compare in our backyard to a dead toy on the ground and chasing me.>
I agree! It was really good to see! What footing is the trial on this weekend? The matting is hard to compare because he has to balance differently, but dirt or grass are often great for comparing.
Nice work here!
TracyHi! Really strong session here!! She was super fast 🙂 The turns are looking good, and she also did well with the ‘GO’ reps too! Throwing the reward early on the Go reps (when she was still in the tunnel) was great for getting her to really accelerate forward!
Adding the wrap after it was good too – she almost didn’t go to the wing at :49 (it was hard to tell if you were too early on the rotation, or if she was unsure because she needed more connection or expected a reward?) but then she committed perfectly on the next rep!
The soft left and right turns looked really strong too! The right turns looked consistently tight each time. On the left turns, I think she was not sure if she should go around the wing or the tree LOL!! But both are fine there 🙂
Her only question seemed to be on the race track around the wings to the right… she seemed a bit ‘sticky’ to you. She might just need more exposure to the race track concept. You looked connected and your line of motion was good, so you can try it again in a couple of days and see if she powers through it more.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
This was a really lovely session, he was a super good boy – ignoring kids playing behind him, holding his stay really well with the toy moving, releasing and driving to the moving target. Yay! He was intense in a perfect way 🙂 And at the beginning, I love how when you let the toy go his first response was to lift it back up to you to keep playing.You can work on the set point a bit now – this moving target game will get added to it. He was putting himself into a down here in front of hte jump – a sit will be more ideal for the set point, so you can add throwing the reward back to him to help keep him upright in the sit.
If he insists on being in a down, that is cool, we don’t want to fight with him about it because for many dogs, the down is their way of self-regulating. So you can move him a little further back from the jump so he has more room to get up from the down.
>I tried again today with rotisserie chicken! He still struggled a little with trading for that but he was more willing to drop it when I gave it back sometimes!>
I looks like he ate the chicken here, which is good. You can do tug-chicken-more tug because that will bump up the value of the chicken and make the toy release mroe fun too. I agree that he seemed to really like getting the toy back as a reward for releasing it – keeping things surprising like that will increase his motivation for letting go of the toy.
Great job here!
TracyHi! Good plans and good training here!!
As I was watching, I was going to suggest a ‘next step’ in the training, but then you did it so I don’t have to suggest it LOL!! Yay!For the straight (neece) exits, the physical cues and reward placement were really good and he did super well. Be sure to add the wing wrap before that one too (I don’t think you had the wing wrap before it?) so he gets used to driving straight even when you are not ahead of him.
>You will see when I say the word tunnel he has no idea what to do.>
Do you mean for the natural curve exits? I thought he was a good boy! He didn’t automatically assume it was a release at first, but then he figured it out and his exits were good.
Nice job here with using the reward as a bit of a lure at first (dragging it) then delaying it to fade the lure and reward the turn. I was going to suggest a ‘moving target’ style of reward but you are already doing it LOL!!
>Also for teaching tight turns out of the tunnel I’m going to teach a foot target to a prop. I want to make sure I get super tight turns with him. >
Targets are great for enhancing exactly where we want them to go. I think the foot target hits here were incidental: his head was way up looking up at you, and when you were not right next to him (like on the last one) he only kinda sorta hit it (left feet but not right feet). We don’t want you to have to be at the foot target with him, and we want his head down more – so changing the placement of the reward can really help jump start that.
Since he is looking up at you and tracking the cookie throws, you can shift the reward to have it directly on or just after the foot target. That way he turns super tight and doesn’t look up at your hands/face. It can be placed or tossed at first, or you can have a MM tucked in there too. And then you can go to the dragging reward – did I tell you about the squirrel carcass on a rope with a small crunchy bottle inside of it that I bought at 1TDC? Spotlight would love it, and I might gift it to him because I bought it for the whippets who both thought is was DULL. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM? LOL!! But I digress: we want to focus on his head staying lower and hitting the foot target without you having to be right there.
When you are feeling he has a pretty good grasp of the different cues (physical cues help too) – we will want to have more jumps out there and also the foot target, so you can do more variations in one session. That way he learns the cues are from you, not from the context. What I mean by that is: of there is only one jump and it is straight ahead… then he would always go straight. So you can have a jump straight, a jump on the gentle left or right exit, and the foot target all visible in the same session. And he discriminates where to go based on your cues. Let me know if that makes sense.
You can start this with only 2 options (and the incorrect option being further away) to set up success. But he is really smart so I bet you will be able to have a variety of options visible and he will do great!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>I think the other change I probably didn’t take into account is I added a bar behind whereas up to now I have just used 2 regulators>
Ah yes, that would make a difference! He was definitely thinking about form in a good way! I like that he was able to be fast and powerful while still thinking about his hind end.
Tracy
