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Good morning!
This went really well! I think she liked the extra distance (more room to run run run!) Great job with the timing of the verbals (and associated physical cues). The verbals all sounded pretty different too, not just different words, and that REALLY helps the dogs especially at this early stage.
>>This is a super exercise for ME to remember my dang verbals>>
Since you made the verbals sound really different, even if the left/right got crossed here and there, the rhythm and pitch still sounded like a soft turn cue so she was able to get it š
I think there was only one moment when the verbal was late and the physical cue said something else – that was at :57, when you were accelerating straight and the right verbal came after she was already in the tunnel, so she exited straight and caught the turn after she exited. On the other reps, she was able to exit turned or straight, depending on the cue, because the timing was all before she entered the tunnel. Yay!
One thing I notice is that she is pretty tall and has to duck to get into the tunnel and through itā¦ that gives you a little extra time, so you can go closer to the tunnel and then accelerate to the wing. That way you donāt end up too far ahead and waiting for her, which produces too much deceleration for you both.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning! Great job with all of these games!
He is doing well with the moving target game –
Is there a way to put a cookie on or in the target so he doesnāt look up at you (and looks at the target the whole time)? Indy looked at it more when it is moving, so can add in moving it very slowly before the release. As you add dragging it, you can be facing forward and use your dog-side arm to drag it, so it will look more like what he will see in the jumping games (see below).Wind in Your Hair game went well! He got the idea of finding the the jump in order to get to the MM pretty quickly then you were able to add more and more. Yay!
Nice job with your wrap verbals and adding distance – you added the Go verbal and more motion which is great!One thing you can add in is sending to the wing wrap from further away and take off up the line, so you are miles ahead of him – this challenges him to find the jumps from behind you (which is harder than it sounds, because sometimes the dogs just chase us š )
Set point is going well! The distance between bumps looked good. The start position when he is a few inches away from the first bump (like at 3:17) works best.
He had a little trouble with the stays, so adding in connection as you walk away will help support the stay, and throwing rewards back for the stay will help too. The MM was pretty far away by the end, but that made the stay harder.You can add the moving target to this game – starting a couple of feet past the 2nd bump, you can put the target down and start to move it, then release him. The further from jump 2 you can start the target the better, but it is a fine balance of adding the distance and moving target, with keeping the stay š So for now, you can star as close as needed to help him hold the stay š
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning! Both of these looked really strong, and it was especially cool to see her nail it in a class setting!
She did great with the send & serp! You can add more distance when you have ore room, but this went well. To keep building it up to serpentines including finding the next jump, one thing to add:
You can rotate at the waist more so as you are passing the serp jump, so your shoulders are parallel to the bar and not perpendicular to it (as they were here). The perpendicular shoulders cues more of a 180. The parallel shoulders will cue the serp which includes going out to the next jump.She was great about finding the jump!!! Super fast and with great focus on the line. You can throw even sooner so she powers past you š The first sided had a straight line exit – no problem at all. The 2nd side had a turn to find the jump, so you can add a turn cue before the tunnel. It is a subtle turn, so her name is probably all she needs there.
Great job š
TracyI must have been right at the end? I saw the connection drop then come back in. No worries, you two were great!
Good morning!
>>Bit of a windy day today, sorry for the sound>>
Totally relatable! February and March are so windy at my place that I often turn on the camera then turn around to see everything has blown over LOL!!
He is doing well with the moving target and set point! The stay is the hardest part at this stage and he is doing well with that (only one blooper). The best rep were when the lotus ball started a bit further from jump 2 (like at 1:32 and 2:01) because that gave him more room over jump 2. And I liked his distance from the first jump on that last rep too (it looked like about the length of a hand, tip of pinky to tip of thumb).
He is ready for more on this game: remind me how old he is? That helps direct the plan because we canāt do a ton with a large breed boy puppy til he is physically mature. I think we want to start showing either jump bumps (rather than bars on the ground) or low bars. We can start at 4ā to test out if we have the right distances, and then see how he does.
>>tās really fun to see the games pay off in class, we got better sends to tunnels and wraps with the verbals and I managed a blind cross (I dislike blind crosses).>>
WOW!!! He looks awesome, look at the commitment! Your connection looks great! And yes, you nailed the blind! He is fast so you will need blinds š I can understand why you would be concerned about turning your back on a dog with that much speed and power LOL!
>>In class he jumps with a bar during the āsequence runsā. Should I be dropping the bar completely or let him do it at this height?>>
It looks like an 8ā bar? That looks fine for him and he seemed to have no problem with it. For harder things (like slices or serps) you can ask for a 4 inch bar or no bar. I think either the bar in the cup or no bar are the best options on rubber matting, because if he rolls his foot on a bar then he could hurt his wrist.
>>The class already does A-frames but Obi has suicidal jumping tendencies so Iām skipping those until he gets his head on straight and we get our handling rhythm .>>
Yes, he is definitely too young to do a-frames! That is one of the last obstacles I recommend doing with him, because it is one of the most physically demanding and we need him to have a more mature body & brain before doing it (it might end up being more like 2 years old, which is about when my baby whippet will be doing it too – all to avoid them slamming themselves with crazy leaping tendencies LOL!!)
>>(p.s. love that class is on Wednesdays now so we can tune in, we were always out on Tuesday nights for MaxPup1)>>
Yay!!!! I am o glad you can watch!!!!
Great job here :)āØ
TracyGood morning!
This went really well, and I think he liked this crazy game LOL!! It is actually a really hard game for both humans and dogs, but you both did GREAT! He really liked the toy too – he was going really fast, which didnāt give you a lot of time to think about what your cues were but it looked like you figured out the moves and verbals before you ran him on each rep – perfect!
Video 1:
Excellent use of your arm, leg, and connection shift behind you to get the commitment behind you! And he really liked the āreadyā game before each rep šTurning to his left harder at first but then he got it – it might be the left turn side is a little harder, or he was looking at the toy more, or both. But there was only that one question then his left turns were strong on this video and the next one too. To help make sure he is not watching the toy, you can use a toy marker like ‘bite’ to indicate exactly when the toy is available so he has no questions about it.
He did well when you added the motion – you did a great job of moving then rotating then showing the clear cues. That was great because he was flying!
He was a good boy getting the next wing when you added motion, that is correct unless you tell him otherwise – the toy marker will help clarify when you want the wing versus when the toy is ready for chin to grab.
Video 2:
This was super too!
He had a couple of questions in the beginning, going to the a different wing when you were putting them together: Wing 1 and 2 were good then I it looks like you were blocking the wing you wanted when he went to the other wing instead of the one you wanted to indicate (or the tunnel). When he could see the wing clearly: he had no questions.He was also understanding the lines here really well and going to the next line with speed and forward focus – even when your brain was trying to remember the moves and the words LOL!
Getting all 4 wings is a big accomplishment!!! Happy dance!!!!!!
Well done here! He is ready for you to add the race tracks and the mini sequences.
Great job! Have a fun time at the conformation show – he is definitely the best Papillon ā¤ļø You can also practice some of the resilience games from MaxPup 1, like the pattern game!
Tracy
Yeah!!!!! The power of a meatball!!!!
One suggestion: keep going with this style of meatball-heavy training, but move your teeter to a slightly different place each time. Even if it is just a foot or two away, or a little rotated, that will present a slightly different picture for him to learn to do the teeter in different places. And then do one big meatball rep š He might not be as confident yet in each new place, but it is the next step in building the teeter love šTracy
YEAH! Meatball for the win!!!!! Good to know that he just prefers chunks of meat š¤£ š but I think it is great to use whatever he wants!
T
Good morning!
Nice work on these! The length of the video and the sessions is great!
For the moving target – he had a couple of early releases, and that is pretty normal š Be sure that you donāt pair the release word with any typeof motion (toy motion or your motion). I think on a couple of reps, you moved and said ok at about the same time, or you said ok and moved the toy at the same timeā¦ so he might be thinking the release is about the movement of the toy or you, more than the verbal. You had a bunch of really clean reps where you did not release and move at the same time, and those were lovely!
So as we add the lead outs and the moving target, be sure that either you and the toy are both totally stationary on the release until after he moves, or you can be moving (you and the toy) for a several steps and release while remaining in that same steady motion until after he moves (then you can run :))
Wrap verbals game: this is going well! We can solidify the verbals (and get ready for the wing-tunnel proofing game) by having him hear the verbals before he moves at all. To do this, you can
let him were a really light collar so you can use a cookie lure to line him up at your side – then gently take his collar (rather than physically move him into position or hold him from the waist). That way you can say the verbals a few times and have an easier time holding him so he hears the verbal before he moves. This really solidifies the verbals!On the video, you mentioned struggling to end on a good noteā¦ actually, you donāt need to end up a good note š There is no science to support that āending on a good noteā thing, so if something goes sideways, you can end the session and all will be fine. Sometimes the pups just get brain tired and trying to get one more good rep becomes impossible, so it is fine to end on a rep that is not good LOL! If we keep trying, we often get multiple failures which can lead to frustration.
The set point framework is going well! I am glad you worked on lead outing to the MM rather than using motion – that will really help as we build up the jumping skills! Being stationary will help him be able to process his mechanics better for now (we add motion soon š)
The MM is a good target for him! You can move it another 8 to 10 feet away – that way he can really jump the 2nd jump and stride to the MM. It was a little too close here so he was trotting over the jump more than jumping it. When he is happy to bounce with the MM further away, we can add the moving target game to this too (you can see it in week 2).What was the distance between the 2 jumps? It might be a tiny bit too wide for now, so you can shorten it by 6 inches and see how he does. How tall is he, approximately?
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
>>I guess Iāve been terrible at tunnel exit connection for a while! Ugh>>
We handlers are notoriously bad at looking at the dogs on the tunnel exitsā¦ which might be when the dogs need to see the connection the most because they are exiting without really knowing where we are! That is why we get it going pretty early on with the youngsters š
>>I have to put a lot of effort into looking right at the dog on the exit and maintaining it for the GO.
You did a great job with CM!! Think of it as saying GO to him, and not to the obstacle ahead. That is really effective for turning out shoulders to the line. Your timing was good too, because you were very connected and could see where he was. You donāt even need to use your arm to point on those go lines: just be connected and run run run, arms pumping like a sprinter like you did at :24.
At :28, you were decelerated and started your tick tick verbal right before he went into the tunnelā¦ in theory, he should turn tight on the tunnel exit when you do that – you can see he turned and looks at you at :29 when he exited the tunnel. In this context, you can use your GO right before he goes into the tunnel to get him to exit straight. Then when he is in the tunnel/exiting, you can switch to the wrap verbal for the next barrel. Let me know if that makes sense.
āØ>>Is it cheating to put the toy on the āgoā line?Not cheating at all! It worked really well. And it is much easier than throwing it as you are working on the connection and timing.
>>Prism really needed (for me to practice) this lesson. I hope itās OK to substitute him on the advanced component.>>
Yes, Prism can do the advanced levels. Your connection was strong!!!
Since he already knows a whole lot about agility, be sure that there are no other possibilities on the line he sees. For example at :39, you said ārightā for the barrel turn and did a post turnā¦ and that actually presented the tunnel – he was correct to go towards it. You called him back in and did a threadle wrap – not sure if that is what you intended, but if it was, a tighter turn cue on the pink barrel will really help (a break arm or even a spin to get him off the line to the other tunnel).
Also, in terms of training setups: if Prism is working, he can totally ignore CM barking. But CM barking I not a good thing for his puppy brain development, because it stressful and frustratingā¦ two things we do not want associated with being around other dogs running agility. So when it is Prismās turn to work, Crescent Moon can be relaxing with a bully stick or something, as far away as needed so he is not barking. That will help keep the arousal/frustration down when he is around other dogs running š
Nice work here!!
TracyGood morning! I admit that it is so funny and adorable when you drag her around by the toy LOL!!!!! I hope she never grows out of enjoying play that way!!!
>.At first I totally forgot I wasnāt supposed to use physical cues. >>
No worries! Doing this with motion is definitely one of the elements because motion is distracting, plus she needs to see the different physical cues. On the tunnel sends, when using motion, you can make the dog-side leg clearer by stepping to the tunnel more with it. For example at :20, you had a VERY clear step with your left leg and she had no questions. She did have questions on the other tunnel reps when the dog-side leg was not as involved, like at :40 where your left leg was hanging back.
The wraps looked good!!!
So now you can do the opposite and begin to take out the motion: line her up at your side so you can hold her collar, say the verbal 3 or 4 timesā¦ then let her go. At first, you might need to let her go and then move, but that is fine because the new cue (verbal) will begin to predict the old cue (motion) which solidifies the verbals. Then I bet you can fade out the motion entirely – whippets are amazingly verbal!! The trick is to not have the verbal and motion happening at the same time (or motion before the verbal) because that will take longer to get the verbals really solid).
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
Great job in class last night!! And yes – the collar holding was a HUGE success and in fact, she was fabulous with all of the games š
Tracy
Good morning!
Pre-game 1 went well! She is definitely happy to wrap! You can add a lineup at your side and a gentle collar hold, so you can start the verbal so she hers it a few timesā¦ then let go of the collar so she can move. That will help strengthen the verbal because it will be separate from any motion.
>>should treats come from my hand instead of the floor?>>
Rewards can come from your hand here, so she locks into handler focus and also so it is easy & efficient to line her up for the next rep.
On pre-game 2:
>>She likes down better than sit and everything is a work in progress because she is so young, >>
She wants to roll onto a hip in the down, which makes it harder to use as a stay position for sports – so you can work on getting her to not roll onto a hip. And, you can reward the sit a lot or give her something to sit on like a small platform. That can strengthen the sit too! I think having the other dog barking in the background might have made it harder for her to process the sit cue, so it might need to be started in a quieter environment.
She did well following the toy! You can start adding more and more toy motion very gradually, so she can eventually hold a stay while you drag the toy forward about 10 feet.
For the tunnel- wing proofing:
>>Last time we tried it I could not keep her out of the tunnel ā this time she didnāt want to go in>>
It might be that the wing wraps have come up in value, or that she needed you to turn to the tunnel more (or both š ) But also, the barking in the background adds an element of distraction that she might not be ready for, in terms of being able to process all the cues AND ignore the barking – note how she did really well when things got quiet. When I train my puppies, another dog can be in the room as long as they are not staring or barking because baby puppies really cannot process distractions like that yet (brains are not developed enough). So if the adult dog is barking or staring? They are voted off the island LOL and have to leave the room and go to a different area where we cannot hear them.
For this game, to solidify the verbals: line her up at your side with a cookie, gently take her collar, then stay the verbal 3 or 4 timesā¦. Then let go and start to move. That will get the verbals really solid because they will predict the motion. If the motion and verbal happen at the same time, she will be reading motion (which is fine) but not really processing the verbals.
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
>>Exceptā¦.. he finds running around dragging the big toy very very reinforcing so I am back to happily being pummeled if he comes back at all >>
For efficiency, you can hold onto one end of the big toy to be able to get him back for the next rep. But definitely keep working on the trading during play sessions so he can have free time with the toy (I use a āgo for a runā cue) as well as trading for something better š
Looking at the video:
>>When I did the session of moving toy/target alone without the wings he was not crouching like he does here so Iāll do another session without the jumps ā but I also let it go here to avoid frustration>>
You did the right thing to not worry about the crouching right now – I am pretty sure he didnāt know he was crouching š He was probably feeling a āHECK YEAH THIS IS FUNā feeling and the crouch just happened. He did leave the sit position and move into the stand on one rep, but was generally good on the others (a little front foot shift to be balanced).
But the #1 most important thing about start line stays is that we donāt fight with the dog about it š So many people harass dogs about their start position and it just adds stress to the situation. I personally let my dogs pick their position at the start: I just use my stay cue and let them settle into whatever feels good. Then when they are settled, that is the position I maintain as I lead out. There are some days where they are just too excited to sit, and letting them choose to stand has really helped with arousal regulation. Plus, thereās no arguing with me and the dog at the start line š
And many, many dogs do not find the sit to be a good position for a stay (because crouching and butt lifting happen and they might not even realize they are doing it). When he was standing, he was pretty balanced – so you can play with a stand stay! It will be easy enough to train: were you using a stay verbal? When he is standing, cue the stay and walk away a little, then release. Easy! LOL!
The stand is a great option because that leaning forward out of excitement will not be a problem and he will be very balanced!
Playing the video in slow motion – he is pretty organized on the set point! Yay! I think the footing might be a tiny by slippery as he leaves the stay, but otherwise he is doing really well! When you get outside on grass, you might find that the 4 foot distance is too short so you can move it up to 5 feet and see what he does.
>>I was trying for 6 inches from first bump but he finds getting repositioned at the set up very frustrating so I will work on that separatelyāØ(It is also coming up in our running contact homework)>>
You will see some line up games posted this week to help with the various line ups! And on the set point, to get the dog into the sweet spot, I often face the dog to get the sit (I am on landing side of the first jump) because yes, they do get frustrated when I try to get the exact spot. And as long as he is āclose enoughā – you can leave him where he is sitting so he doesnāt get frustrated. What is happening in the RDW homework? We can think of a different approach for that too š
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NAC SUCCESS!!! What a thrill to have such great runs with Frankie! Please post a photo of her with her ribbons (they gave our ribbons, right??)
>>Question on the Lazy Contacts game. For a 4 on dog, is it better to have them touch the target with their paws ā like a mat touch? >>
For a small Boston like Bazinga, you will probably only need the 4on behavior for the teeter, right? I am guessing it will be a running contact for the a-frame and dog walk. So for the 4on – a paw target is great! I like the smalls to have a little extra on their paw target on the end of the teeter, likes scratching at it, so that have something to do while the teeter takes its sweet time moving to the ground. It is like a slow elevator so the smaller dogs!
>>Or is it ok if they touch it with their nose? >>
I think it will be uncomfortable for her to touch it with her nose – she will have to slow way down and do weird things with her neck š Maybe a chin bob towards the target if you want? That can get the weight shift. But the paw hit and scratching at it easier and the dogs think it is fun too š
>>Iām not sure which target I should use.
Try a long strip of cardboard (8 inches long and maybe 3 inches wide) that can go on the end of the board and she can paw smack it š That way it can go right at the end of the board and also there are no previously trained behaviors that might be confusing.
>>I think I canāt use āback, backā as my verbal. I am so annoying!!>>
HA!!! I have often thought that I sound like an angry duck LOL!!!!! I grew up in NYC and I canāt get rid of the accent entirely so that Fran Drescher sound comes out LOL!!!! But it is fine as long as my dogs know what I want š
You sounded like a happy duck! I think you should keep the verbal, partially because it is working so well and partially because it will always make you laugh a little š
>>That was the make-it-or-break-it move in the challengers round on jump #16! It was death-defying to watch!>>
Yes! Was that after the dog walk? I remember seeing it somewhere but I didnāt get to watch much of it. I bet some of the handlers handled it as a threadle wrap, because that would be very effective there too!
This session went well – on the first couple of reps, she needed to see the connection and then the wrap on the 2nd wing, but then she was nailing it! Nice job to you with your connection so she knew which side to be on and which end of the tunnel to go to, and also good patience to let her get past you to the wing.
The only thing she had trouble with was when you were adding more countermotion on the circle wraps – you were correctly trying to keep moving forward right behind her while she had to finish the wrap, and she was like WHAT?!?!?! You started it a little at 1:09 and that was the right amount of countermotion pressure for now, and she got it.
The rep at 1:25 was also really good with the countermotion: you were moving forward but also really helped with connection to the ālandingā spot behind you.
You were moving faster at 1:38 and that was a little too much countermotion pressure for now so she pinged off the pressure. It is correct handling but it is really hard, so you can move right behind her like you did but without as much speed – and throw a reward behind you to the landing spot to help reward her for continuing the wrap even with you moving forward like that. She is pretty perfect with the rest of it so you can add this element.
Great job here!!
Tracy
