Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hello and welcome back! It sounds like he is doing great!!! And fingers crossed that you have plenty of good weather to play outside 🙂
Have fun!
TracyGood morning and welcome!!! I am excited to see more of baby Jimothy 🙂 He is growing up fast but still absolutely adorable and charming 🙂
Tracy
Good morning! Welcome!!
Look at him bringing the toy back, even with the other dog there! Super!!! Cheese is very powerful (and trading is fine for now because it gets the behavior and eliminates all conflict about it :))
The moving target is looking strong on the video too – we will be using that for jumping stuff and also it will help with his stay!!
>>He tries hard to keep his head screwed on tight, but life is just really, really exciting sometimes.>>
Great job working on the pattern games, also known as Adolescence Survival Tools haha!!! You will start to see big changes ahead 🙂
Have fun!
TracyGood morning! Welcome back!!!
>>Nine month West is very distracted! And is off to check things out!>>
Ah, the joys of adolescence! We can work on that to help him handle the added distraction.
>>He is getting the idea to move next to me without tackling me and to work through a little excitement or frustration without jumping/humping – and I know him better 🙂>>
Yay! Super!!!!
>>Right as max pup 1 was ending he got so stuck – he could turn and push off the wall or grab the tennis ball but he could not figure out how to coordinate the two, but he has figured out that it’s possible>>
Nice!!!! For now, you can give the box turn a break because he is a little young to do more (ideally we finish it off when he is closer to 16 months or so, when his brain and body have caught up to each other LOL!). I can give you a ton of flyball games to play in the meantime, which will help with his focus 🙂
>>New challenge: our stay around distractions is oh so delicate and fragile and then poof, sometimes it just disappears>>
Adolescence! This class will definitely have an Adolescence Support Group element to it LOL!! We will work on this too 🙂
Have fun!
TracyGood morning and welcome!!! It sounds like he is doing GREAT in his multi-sport foundations 🙂
>> our main issues right now seem to be flanking and running behind me.>>
Pretty normal baby dog stuff and we will be able to sort that out in this class 🙂
>>I have been setting the bars at 12” for quite some time. He is currently 11 months old, so I wanted to ask you when I should begin raising the height.>>
You have literally months to very slowly raise the height – he is a big boy so you have a ton of time to let him physically and mentally mature 🙂 For now, leave the bars at 12″ as we sort out the flanking and going behind you. Then when he is over a year we can work up to elbow height for when he is 15-16 months old. Then 20″ around 18 months and so on.
Side note about bar height: get off of social media or hide people so you don’t have to see all of these people putting the bars up at full height for 14-15 month old BCs. LOL!!! That is 10000% against the advice of sports vets because of the lack of soft tissue development. Plus mentally, their brains are not mature enough to deal with the coordination.
Tracy
Good morning and welcome!! I am excited to see more of you and Taq!! Congrats on the points!!!! And we will keep working on the stay 🙂
Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
Yes, I have 2 different verbals. The difference is how much of a turn is involved.
If the dog is entering on one wing and exiting towards the other wing (generally without a ton of collection) then I use the back verbal.
If the dog is entering on one wing and exiting very close to that wing – that is my dig dig verbal which requires a lot of collection. The 360s are all dig dig verbals and sometimes a really tight 180 or really tight FC right on the entry wing.
On the Straight Lines video, I am using the back back back verbal because the turn is not that tight and based on the line the dog takes, he is a little further over near the center of the bar (which is close enough to the other wing that I count it as a back verbal and not dig dig)
Because there are sooooo many variations on the backside approaches and exits, there is definitely a bit of grey area (and I refuse to have more than 2 verbals on backside pushes LOL!!). So I save dig dig dig for the really really tight ones where the dog has to collect a lot and is very close to the entry wing when he exits. And the rest are back back verbals (some of very obviously towards the other wing, some of more center of the bar).
Let me know if that helps!
TracyHi Tracy,
I answered my question by looking back in Max Pup #2. In the videos you mentioned you have BACK-BACK for slice and DIG-DIG for wrap. Now going to Max Pup #3 week #3 Straight Lines video. You used BACK-BACK for your backside queue. I think my question is what is considered a Backside Wrap or the DIG-DIG queue? Is it when the dog has to do 360° around the wing instead of a 180°? IOW BACK-BACK queue the dog would be changing direction and coming back toward you and DIG-DIG queue would be the dog continuing on the same direction after the jump?
Ken
Good morning! Nice work here!!!! Sounds like a fun weekend at the trial!!
The first video with the crosses is looking good!
>>I do believe all my directionals were incorrect>>
Left and right were correct at the beginning but then you switched them around later in the video.
>>I practiced them ahead of each rep>>
Did you practice them walking… or at a run? Practice walking won’t really help (state dependent memory and all of that nerdy stuff LOL!)… practicing them at a run (and video it, so you can check to see if you were right) is what locks the verbals in! And it is part of what I call ‘agility CrossFit’ – hauling obstacles then sprinting around LOL!!
Overall – her commitment is looking great and your exit line connection is spot on!! That is setting up clear info and also allows you to get nice decel into the sends to the wrap jump after the cross.
My only suggestion is that she needs more connection on the first jump after the tunnel, but you are looking forward to get to the BC or FC. That is causing a little question from her here and there, and sometimes the timing is late because you are looking at the jump and starting the cross when you arrive at it, rather than when she is landing from the previous jump and needing the turn info. And the earlier you can do the cross, the earlier you can show the decel into the wrap to get collection before takeoff.
To get more connection, you can use more lateral distance as you move up the line from the tunnel exit into the crosses, so you can be connected and not have to hustle as much 🙂
She is showing really strong commitment so she is still taking the lines even if the connection is not super clear (like at :12 when she had a question then went back out and found the jump!) or at :26 (bar down when you were looking ahead). She is familiar with this setup, so adding more connection will help support her commitment on different setups too.
On the 2nd video with the BCs to the tunnel – great exit line connection at the beginning with the warm up reps!
Sending to the pinwheel looked great and so did moving up the line to the next jump. Nice!!!!Because the tunnel is so long, you can run closer to it so you don’t get as far ahead and have to decelerate a lot to let her pass you for the send.
Getting the BC looked great on both sides! The sending and commitment is looking so strong, that you had a great send and plenty of time to get to the blind and how her the exit line connection. SUPER!!!!
>>If I don’t have a wobble board, should I make one for the next teeter game?>>
You can make a home-version of it even if it is a plank with a yoga mat attached to the top and a towel rolled up under it, or maybe someone local can let you borrow one? Someone here suggested going to a thrift store, because there is often super inexpensive fitness equipment there! No need to spend a gazillion dollars on a wobble board 🙂
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
Great job with your continuous, smooth motion on these videos! She was great about hitting the position and holding position til released or rewarded, even with the motion.
Running was a little harder but I think that will get easier and easier with practice.>>The one time it was a bit funny she actually stopped to pee not sit. >>
That was hilarious LOL!!!!!
For the next sessions, 2 things to add:
– play this with her on your right side as well, so she is equally strong on both sides. These were all dog on left, so the next session can be dog on right. And if she is less experienced on that side, move very slowly so you can set up a lot of success.
– on both sides, try this without a hand cue. You were lifting your dog side hand and she might have been cuing off of that. Try it with just verbals 🙂 And without the hand cue, you might have to dial back your speed so she can process the verbal over the motion.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
It looks like my reply from yesterday morning got eaten in cyberspace somewhere. Sorry!! Here is it again 🙂
Video 1: strategically, you don’t need to be as close to the FC jump to get the FC going. You can be a little more laterally away from the jump after the tunnel, but you can start the FC cues as soon as she is approaching or jumping the jump after the tunnel. What happened here was that when she landed, you continued to drive to the FC jump (and past it) so the FC started when she was taking off for the FC jump.
That delayed the deceleration into the send to the wrap so she was wide at :06. The ending line was great!On the 2nd video:
Seeing the tree as obstacle will tell you if your cues are timely or not 🙂At :22, she was landed from the jump after the tunnel and you were on a good line and starting the FC – yay! That way it was finished before she took off so she found the line nicely. And because you were so timely on the FC, you were also able to show the decel on the send into the wrap on the next jump and she was lovely with her collection and turn!
On the 3rd video, your FC started when she was halfway between the 2 jumps – so it was not quite as strong as the previous video on that side but definitely earlier than the first video (on your other side) so she as still able to get the turn (and not the off course tree LOL)
And great job getting the decel into the wrap here too! YAY!!So looking back to the other video – if you can start the FC on that side no later than when she is always between the jumps, then I think you will get a good turn and have plenty of time to show her the decel for the wrap, to get a nice wrap too!
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
He is loving his teeter!!! Because he is driving up it as soon as you let go of him, you can add sending him to a wing wrap before it so that you can get ahead a little 🙂
The next thing to add is having the reward already placed at the end, and you slowly walk past the end while he eats it (then hurry back to help him off). That is the beginning of you being able to drive past the teeter as he is running up it (and he stays at the end).The handling games are going really well -his focus on the Iines is looking really good and it is fun to see him starting to open up and go FAST!!!!
Lazy 1 and 1a – it took him a couple of seconds at the beginning of the first video to lock into the game but then he totally remembered and drove his lines really well! He was especially strong on your right side on the first video and the 2nd video, with added speed. Super!!
Nice work with your markers to help him see the rewards on the line! He wants to watch the cookies in your hand (especially when he is on your left side) so you can hold the treats in the opposite hand for now, which should help him look forward more consistently when he is on your left and not at your hand.
Pinwheels: nice mechanics and connection!
He had small questions on the sends on our right on the first pinwheel video but interestingly, not on your left side!He was stronger on the 2nd video on your left and was still strong on your right – it took him a couple of reps to ‘see’ the FC because he was defaulting to staying on his line. But then he locked into the FC really well too! It will get easier to cue it earlier as he build up his commitment too – you can decelerate into the turn to cue the collection, but keep moving forward as you slow down to support his commitment.
Speed loop – he needed you a little closer to the line on the fist rep but then you made a nice adjustment to add that, so he got the loop with your added motion. The left side was stronger here too! Super nice!
On the tunnel send after the loop (like at the end at 1:01) – give him a really big conenction & eye contact, and try not to let your arm point ahead to the tunnel. When you look ahead & point ahead, it turns your shoulders towards the other end of the tunnel which is where he was heading. Keeping the big connection and the big eye contact will keep your shoulders pointing to the correct tunnel entry, which will support his line as he figures it out.
Great job here!! He is definitely ready to see the crosses on this setup (and the NextLevel Pup games if you want to show different challenges too!) Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
This session went well! Nice!!!
>>You can’t fake him out like the Border collies if you are not totally prepared.>>
Yes, being ready is definitely needed so that he doesn’t start to wonder what is happening. BCs will react differently by running around or barking or getting herdy, and he will probably either find something else to do or get concerned about the lack of clarity. You were ready for him here and he was very engaged!
Moving the wing in closer to get the behavior started at the beginning was definitely the right thing to do so you could build value for the sending and get the verbals attached. Over time, you can add distance but remember that as a very small dog, he is going to have to take a lot more strides to get to the wing… so adding distance will need to happen more incrementally over the course of multiple sessions.
Your connection was here, and the one-step send was clear too! Yay! Two ideas for you:
– Be sure that you plan your verbal before you send him so you don’t get them backwards 🙂
– Because he is so small, he is jumping over the leg of the wing as he wraps them. Turn the wings so they are on the angle they would be if a bar was there, so he doesn’t have to go over a the leg.
Throwing the toy at the end helped keep it interesting as a reinforcement and it was very fun to see him bringing it back!!! Super!!!
Nice work 🙂
Tracy
