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Hi!
>Still struggling on straight weaves, he tends to skip one in the middle and will pop out on #5. >
If you are using t2x2s or channels, you can open up the middle ones a tiny bit so it is easier for him to stay in them for now. Then gradually straighten them back out.
>Here is a run from practice today. As you can see he chose tunnels over contacts (the first run we made a couple of attempts at the DW at first he took a couple steps up and turned around and came back down, second and third attempts he bailed off and then discovered the exit end of the tunnel so we improvised!)>
The run was really good! He was committing really well to his lines!
About the contacts: if the tunnels were not under them or next to them, would he get on the contacts? He might need you to make the tunnel less obvious so he can practice getting onto the contact with just a little bit of tunnel visible. Then gradually extend the tunnel more and more.
On the 2nd run – he was committed well here too!
>Again you can see his collection issues (or maybe it’s a handler issue?) doing a 360 around the barrel and coming out of the 2nd tunnel and running wide of the the next 2 hoops.>
Handler issue 🙂
On the barrel at :17, you were running fast and ran past it, so he didn’t know you wanted a tight turn. To get that tighter, decelerate into it and don’t go past it and I bet he collects really well 🙂After the tunnel at :21 – the hoops are on a slight left turn. You were telling him to “go” which is a straight line cue, so he went straight (good boy!) Using a name call jump before he goes into the tunnel then call again or use a ‘take the hoop’ cue if you have one should get him turned and looking at the line of hoops.
>I have him entered in some Regular courses, which I know will have contacts, so I plan on using these as training runs and starting past the contact obstacles.>
Perfect! Keep the connection you had here and the low arms, it really supports his line! And keep me posted, I love hearing how he is doing!
Tracy
Hi!
>I think our last two replies showed up out of order in the thread for some reason,>
That is weird!
Some thoughts on the run:
Run 1. Very fast! Nice teeter and weaves! Yes, more connection needed after the blind but great job continuing. He found the lines well – and he was into the toy! He is almost ready to run standard for real! Fabulous run!
>What do you think caused him to skip the jump after the A-frame? Going into the crowd? Did I not seem clear? But from there I thought we ended strong.>
You were little unclear – pointing to the jump ahed with a soft connection, then turned your shoulders away so he came with you. I think that the jump might have required a lead change to get to it, so a bugger connection was needed there.
Run 2 – You can try for more engagement as you take the less off and maybe cue a sit and line up (more on that below).
The run looked great and he only had a hard time running towards the crowd.>Thoughts about what caused the pause and sniff after the purple jump before the tunnel? Looking for a reward? Too much like the end? Turning into the crowd? Got too far ahead off his line?>
Yes to all of the above – that is a high pressure spot on course! More experience will help him and rewarding on the line right after it helps too. You can be louder them calling obstacle names more to help add verbal support to the line too.
Nice weaves! Nice ending!Run 3 (day 2) – he had trouble with the previous dog (very exciting!) but he was able to line up and tarted really well! Super fast! And he had no trouble going towards the crowd here until the tunnel – but still nice job rewarding there.
>so I can see why he missed that jump but no worries, just kept going. I’m just thrilled he was fast enough that I was late!>
Yes! He was FLYING on this run!
Run 4 (day 2):
>I have started a few runs like this and regret it every time. I wished I’d set him up with a start line stay on this one or if I was going to do a running start I should’ve started out farther back. But we got on track and I thought it was pretty strong. I had NO TOY on this one!!>Yes, it was a bit of a zig zag start so you can be on more of an angle or ask for a lineup for a lead out. But the run was GREAT!!! Fast, focused, lovely! Was it a ‘real’ run – no toy, using the actual course from the judge? I think it went great.
Run 5 (day 2) – also really good. Yes, he might have been a little tired but he did great! You can give him a nice long cool down and maybe light massage after each run so he doesn’t get stiff – it looks like his brain was fully engaged but his body was a little tired maybe sore? He did a ton of extension running!! But even with being a little tired, he ran beautifully 🙂
>Of course I wish he was more excited about agility without the treats and toys, >
I think he ran the empty hands/no toy runs REALLY well!
>The main thing is that it was a positive experience and he showed some nice skills. We’re getting there – let me know what you think and any improvements to try!>
Absolutely! Only 2 things come to mind to try:
When he sees an interesting dog outside the ring (an old puppy friend, or a dog that barks at him) – go right into a pattern game so he can learn to process it. That will help the transition into the start line because he won’t be thinking about the other dog at all.
And I think that the runs went great when your transition into the run had the lineup and a short lead out after the leash came off. He was very engaged & fast, and also knew the line you wanted. So as he is moving to the line you can stay engaged and then take the extra moment to line him up before you take off to run. That will smooth out the starts and also give you the chance to add longer and longer lead outs.
You can definitely do more of the empty hands runs and runs with no toys at all, building into the real runs.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>struggled with where to actually set her. She seems to do better when she can load in. She isn’t new to set point just been awhile.>
Actually, she is better when she is closer in terms of the form we want 🙂 When she was way back on the first rep, she was pulling into it from her front end and not pushing from the rear as much – so there was less core involved and her butt was actually higher than her shoulders.
On the reps where she was closer, she was using her rear more and had better core stabilization as well. She might have been a tight bit too far away still, because she is doing a double lift of her front feet when you release her – she lifts them up then lifts them higher before going over the first bar. So move her an inch or two closer so she is using her hind even more. Also, don’t add your motion yet – that is a factor that distracts from the form. We want to find the sweet spot and then we will add motion (that motion will be with a moving target though, not with the stationary target).
Wind In Your Hair is going well!
>If I throw the toy there’s still some kamakazie ball diving. >
Throw it lower and longer so it is rolling by the time she reaches it. The holee roller is a good choice and you can use an even bigger one! You can do that as soon as she looks at the jump after exiting the wing, rather than when she is at the jump . That can help her decel to scoop it up and run with it. Turf is unforgiving in terms of sliding or directions changes, so wrapping her feet can help her a lot when using toys.
>If I place it we still have too many errors of her going behind me to get it.>
You can place it sometimes but you don’t want to rely on placing it (because then the toy becomes a context cue). And when placing it, remember to use MASSIVE connection at the wing (and you can sometimes reward the FC with a 2nd toy from your hand) and a marker which gives permission for the toy on the ground. This is a good thing to work through because she will encounter the concept on course, such as when doing a FC on a jump with a tunnel nearby and we don’t want the tunnel 🙂
She is ready for you to add more distance here between the jump and the wing, and also for you to start running. Have fun!
Nice work here!!
Tracy
Hi! This went really well!!
His commitment is looking really good and he is responding beautifully to the cues here. It sounds like you used your wrap verbals for the FCs and the around verbal for the race track, which all works out nicely.
A small detail that I think will make a difference in his turns on the wrap FCs:
In this session, you were getting your opposite arm just at or past the plane of the wing, which sends him a little wide around it. You can actually see him kicking up some dirt on the ‘landing’ side of the wing nearer to the exit, where ideally we would see that before he arrives at the wing as he decels.
So you can get that by decelerating sooner and on the approach side of the wing, then rotating and be heading back to the tunnel just before he gets to the wing. I think that will challenge him commitment a little more, but also he will be able to do it 🙂
>The first time I tried to keep him on the outside of the wing he cut in. >
That was a handler blooper, he was actually correct if you watch it in slow motion 🙂 It looked like a blind cross cue. In that racetrack moment at :21, you pointed forward and looked forward when he was behind you… and that totally looked like a blind cross because it is the beginning of the shoulder turn of a blind. So he executed a lovely blind to your other side. You can totally reward him in those moments – young dogs are very honest about what they see so if he switches sides you can assume handler error of disconnection/looking forward creating an accidental blind cross cue.
Keeping your arm pointed back to his nose and eyes on his eyes so he has side information will cue that line pretty easily.
Your connection was stronger at :32 and :45 and you also put yourself further out on the line – I think the connection is all you will need there (rather than the added pressure on the line) so he knows which side to be on.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
>It turned out to be really hard to get Ellie to take the tunnel. The tunnel has lots of value and she definitely knows the verbal. I think it was just really hard to move away from the toy when she could simply wrap back to it.>
That is the challenge for sure – moving away from the toy AND the wing, with the verbal as the primary cue and a little motion. Hard!!
But the reps in this video looked great, so you definitely worked through it in the session that isn’t on video. Super!!! Nice job with your mechanics and she ‘read’ the cues really well.
>My tunnel was too short for her to send back into it after the wrap. The entry was too hard for her and she kept running around the back side of the tunnel, so I just skipped that one.>
This setup should work, the tunnel length was good! She might need more tunnel bags to feel really secure with it when she is moving really fast. Also, running around the backside of the tunnel is usually an ‘organization’ question from a young dog: they are going really fast and don’t quite organize the collection to get into the tunnel. So definitely revisit it and see if you walking through it helps her organize.
>so you can help with my session mechanics, from leash off to leash on. I really want to clean this up since it is the source of a lot of Mason’s frustration. Ellie’s leash off/on went better than usual with the addition of the cookie toss. I didn’t get jumped on or bit. Yay!>
I think it went really well! The only thing I suggest adding is that when the leash comes off, you can engage immediately. We want the leash off to basically cue that engagement starts, so playing tug before it comes off then playing more tug after it comes off (or tricks for treats) will build that up. Treats being tossed are fine but we really also want to add the excitement of play as that will get great engagement. When you took the leash off at the beginning, you both went your separate directions for a moment and we want to shift that into being the two of you more engaged.
And the lineups looked great!
And you can also play when the leash goes back on, then if it is the end of the session you can wind things down with a pattern game. She loves to play, so we can definitely incorporate that.
>Also, she wasn’t running around taking tunnels or wraps on her own, which is nice.>
She was engaged when you were engaged, which is super nice! One suggestion: When you are moving things around (like changing the placement of the wing), you can cue her to hop up onto a station if you have a cot or something, or you can let her run around with the toy for a moment if she is good about bringing it back when called. I cue that with a ‘here ya go, go for a run’ cue 🙂
> When she’s excited she tends to race around wildly — like taking 3 laps around the kitchen table and running back and forth between me and the door 5 times as we try to go outside to train. >
I think this is a normal expression of excitement as long as she is not slamming herself into anything or anyone (on purpose or by accident).
>I’m ok with her wandering around a bit in the training area while I’m getting organized at the beginning of a session or when I’m changing the setup. I just want to keep her from mindlessly grabbing obstacles or being out of control and jumping on people.>
I think wandering around is a thing of the future… I let my adult dogs scamper around but I don’t let my young dogs do that, because they tend to run around to grab obstacles or tire themselves out or develop habits I don’t love. So the youngsters wait in the house (or in a crate if they see my setting up and get excited) and then after everything is set, I bring them out, warm them up, and train. I find that I have better engagement and fewer bad habits by doing that 🙂
Great job here!
TracyWow, look at him doing this course! He was such a good boy, following the handling and listening to the cues. Well done to you both! Super!!! As with the previous video – having your hand back and down towards his nose will help him see the line sooner. He was waiting a bit here, looking at you a little bit to double check the motion. So to get him flying around the sequence even more, you can use a lower arm pointing to him so he sees the sequence even sooner.
Great job!
TracyHi!
>Smiley face part one I kept saying left and right incorrectly, >.
This is relatable 🙂 In these early stages, I always gave myself a walk through without the pup, to get the connection and verbals right. It might seem weird on such a simple sequence but it really helped me learn the verbals 🙂
He read the lines really well and his commitment looks great! One subtle adjustment for the handling which will be useful as the distances get bigger: keep your hand pointing down to his nose as you connect to his eyes, rather than pointing it forward to the next obstacle. Pointing forward can block connection or show a different line with your shoulders, so pointing to his nose will keep the connection and line very clear.
You can add distance between the tunnel and wings here – build up to 20 feet apart 🙂 And then you can add in running more… and also running less where you stay in the middle and send him. We want both of those skills!
Great job 🙂
TracyThis also looked great! He is happy to drive ahead and find the jump. This is a game we will build on soon too – but 2 variations to add are the extremes:
– stay very close to the wing (close enough to touch it) until he exits the wrap… then drive forward to the jump so he gets even further ahead of you.
– you can also do the opposite which is send to the wing from as far away as possible and get miles ahead, to challenge him to find the jump from way behind you 🙂And you can keep adding distance between the wing and jump, build that up as much as possible.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
This looked really good! His form is good, his stay is looking great even with the toy being placed on the ground, and he is happy to do them 🙂 It was hard to see if the toy was moving at the end (moving target :)) – I think it was. If not, you can add that in – more on that coming tomorrow! How far apart were the jumps? We can play with adding 3 or 4 inches between the 2 jumps, but overall this is looking really strong so you can re-visit this once or twice more if you want, and then we build on it soon 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi!
Wooohoo! Congrats!!! Baby dog heading to Open!!! QQQs are hard to come by at any level!
And it looks like a new location too? The weird visuals played a role in some of his questions – He had a hard time ignoring the front of the ring in FAST and a tiny question about it in Standard in 2 spots. And then the weave entry in standard was hard because it was in a visually hard place. Doing the harder obstacles (a-frame, tire, etc) was harder with the new visuals he was processing. Great job staying connected and helping him out!
But he worked through it and JWW was GREAT. Your blinds were fabulous! I loved the big cheer from the crowd and his time was awesome!
I think all of the hiccups were mainly from the visuals of the environment – ring gates, all the people all around the ring, etc. The more he gets the opportunity to run in different places, the less you will see him having these hiccups. Everything else looks great!! YAY!!
Great job 🙂
TracyHi!
The set point also looked great – a big click/treat to YOU for really excellent training mechanics and also making it fun for her. She has really good form already for an 8 month old pup!!>The jumps were set 5 feet apart. I think I maybe could’ve placed them further apart.>
I think the distance is good for now, but you will get more power if you move the reward target further away. I think moving the MM to about 15 feet away will be ideal for now, so she can land from jump 3 in extension and take one more full stride. You can also use a toy – the toy you used in the moving target game is perfect! The toy should also be about 15 feet away from jump 2, and it can help her coordinate herself even when she is excited 🙂
Great job on these!!
TracyThe wrap verbal pre-game went well too – nice job with your mechanics here!
>In theory she should be able to turn the correct direction even if I’m not on the inside of the turn (ex. if I was rear crossing and wanted a tight turn on the jump). I think that she still perceives them as positional cues. I have tried to be on the non-obvious side and she just ends up getting frustrated.>
Totally agree that in theory she should be able to do that – and also totally agree that for now, it is likely positional cue that assists with the behavior. No worries, we will add in turning away as well as turning towards you with the verbals – stay tuned!
Since she did so well here, you can definitely try the wing wrap proofing game with the tunnel added. Have fun!!
Tracy
Good morning!
The first pre-game video where you introduced the moving target went really well – she was SUPER CUTE with how joyously she played after being so great with holding the stay til released.
She seemed to be looking at the toy as it was moving and that is great! Ideally, she looks at it rather than up at you so try to release before she looks back at you.Adding the jump went really well – her stays look SUPER and she was looking at the toy and driving to it perfectly. Well done!!!
Tracy
Hi!
The set point is going really well –
Her stay is looking great as long as you don’t make her wait for too long after the toy is on the ground 🙂 And her head position is good which really helps with jumping form!
I liked the tiny noodle as the start here – Was the distance from the noodle to the jump shorter than the previous session’s distance? It looked like she needed more room here, but the height of the bar might have caused her to have to compress more. So with this setup, maybe add a tiny bit more distance between the bump and jump? Maybe 3 fingers worth of distance?Wind In Your Hair –
Looking strong too! She seems to really like driving the jump 🙂 You can definitely add more of your running now, she had no trouble with finding the jump. And you can add more distance between the wing and the jump so she gets to drive further and further ahead of you 🙂>not sure why I thought a pre-placed reward was a good idea…>
Ha! Yes, the thrown toy was better here – and you and throw it as soon as you see her exit the wing wrap and look at the jump. That can get her driving ahead of you even more!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
Great job with the barrel wraps! She is definitely doing well with wrapping and responding to the verbals. Remember to hold her collar to start this – so she hears the verbal a few times and also so the release of the collar helps her start moving. She only had oe question here, on the first rep where I think you wanted her to turn away from you. All of the other reps had her turning towards you which is great!The set point is off to a great start! She is doing well with her stays – great job rewarding them.
As you put both jumps together, you will want the reward target (manners minder here) to be further away. When it is really close, the pups tend. To move more slowly through the set point and we want to build up more power 🙂 That is why she was trotting on the 2nd jump in some reps. Moving the MM so I is 12 feet or more away fro jump 2 will help!
And when adding the toy target, you can take the MM out of the picture entirely – so she knows where to look.
>About midway through the exercise I moved the jumps closer together so she had to land and take off again.>
I think the original distance was good! When the reward target is further away, she will be able to bounce through it more easily 🙂
Nice work here!!
Tracy
