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The next stuff is on a couple of Mondays in March:
https://levelupdogsports.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/events.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3YXV3EnY0YsD83pHD-orvkw86qu8DKeJA_Ax9L0oHAgJ3pEVhL6OGE_w0The main topics are crosses, but of course connection is key to good crosses 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
>>This is the #1 thing I need to learn & internalize so that I can DO IT. >>
Connection is really the hardest thing in agility – it takes practice to build the brain memory to be able to do it all the time… and we all still find ways to disconnect LOL!
The deliberate disconnection session looked great – you can already see how Bazinga is looking for the bar a LOT better and going to the toy (rather than following your motion :))
We will be using all of these skills in MaxPup 3 too (plus playing games to help the dogs save us when we aren’t perfect LOL!!!)
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
This went really well! I think keeping the cone in closer got the best starts – when you moved it further away, your send cue was not as clear because you were turning away before she moved towards the cone. So keep it a little closer – you were still able to get to great position for the backside!The best connection on this video was at :15 as she was over jump 1, you had very direct connection and you didn’t have to go anywhere near the entry wing. SUPER!!!!
Compare that to :35- :36 – the connection was too “regular” (you were looking a little ahead and not directly at her), so she is looking at you and went to the front side instead of the backside because your motion was not far enough ahead to set the line.
You had clearer motion at :43 and :55, but keeping adding more connection directly to her rather than looking ahead. For now, you will still want to be a few feet past jump 1 before she gets to it so you can show her the cues – as she gets more experienced, you can be parallel to her and even behind her!
>>Is this our last day with the winter Camp?
Yes, this is the last day. I am glad you enjoyed it!! Stay tuned for more fun stuff coming up 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi!
I think Facebook is probably the best source of info. I post everything on social media and. I just checked – we are friends on Facebook :). If there is anything good locally, I will tag you! Are you able to do anything on a weekday?Tracy
Hello and welcome!!!!!
>>If a pup seems worried or less physically able to turn, is it okay to lift them off from the beginning? Thanks.>>
Great question!!! I have a two-prong approach to this:
– we need to get the pup happy to turn around (for plank confidence and general safety), so if it is on the top of the teeter, great! But it doesn’t have to be on the top of the teeter, it can be on an elevated plank, or even on the bottom of the teeter. Or even on a lowered teeter.
– yes, totally fine to lift the pup off from the start (much easier to do with the smalls LOL!) as long as we also teach them to turn around on a plank somewhere else
Let me know how it goes!
TracyHi!
>> I must say I really lost my training motivation as my senior dog was failing and we ended up saying good-bye earlier this month. I just couldn’t seem to get my rhythm back and my Karma was (is still) out of sorts! I know, sounds like just an excuse but it’s the truth!>>
It is totally a valid reason, I can relate. The grief is real!!! Hopefully as the weather improves, it will be easier to get out there, for both you and Karma.
>>know I have access to this for ever (correct?).
Yes! Lifelong access 🙂
>>If you ever have seminars (on the east coast), I would be interested in knowing about them. Do you ever have folks come to YOU for lessons and/or workshops???? PA is not that far from VA!>>
I will definitely keep you posted! Some of the local stuff at indoor facilities is full. I haven’t scheduled any outdoor stuff yet because we are at the mercy of the weather – and Mother Nature likes to play games at this time of year! I will let you know what ends up getting scheduled when we can trust the weather more 🙂 Thank you for joining this class, it has been so fun to watch you!!
Tracy
Hi!
>> all I managed to get due to video operator error(argggg).>>
Oh, I totally relate! I am so neurotic about it now that I have to edit all the times I go check to see if the camera is recording LOL!!!
>> Overall it felt much better on the connection especially wing to wing. My back has been giving me trouble lately so my running is funkier than normal>>
Yes, it went great! Even though your back was not being cooperative, you did two signs that really helped her:
– super clear connection!
– position cues for the serp on the backside (you were visible between the uprights) versus the threadle (you were visible near the entry wing of the jump)Those two worked together so she had no questions, on the jump or on the wing to wing. When your back is feeling better, you can rotate your upper body more towards her on both cues (swinging the threadle arm back a little more on the threadle, and opening your shoulders towards the jump on the backside serp). But for now, there is no need to do that because it might aggravate your back. Connection and position got the info to Fritzi beautifully!!!!
Great job 🙂
TracyGood morning!
Doing the get out to her left was hard for her (I think it is her harder side in general). On the first couple of reps, you were a little far away and needed a bigger connection so she didn’t quite see it. At :29 and :34 you were closer and more connected (:34 you were moving too, which is perfect) so she was able to get it! I think working the get out with the wing or jump a little closer will help, so she organizes the mechanics of moving away to her left while you show her the massive connection.And she does not let you off the hook for any disconnection on the regular line 🙂 For most of this session, you nailed it! At the very end (:37) as she exited the 12 wing, you looked forward to the 3 o’clock wing. It looked like the beginning of a blind so that is what Bazinga did – a really nice blind. She keeps up honest LOL!!! So more connection will help! And when we have bars in there, the lazy game from MaxPup 3 helps to teach her to stay on a line even if we are not perfect. But we don’t want to lose that response to the beginning of a blind cross cue, so it is great to keep the more intense connection.
The disconnection game is hard for sure!!! She did really well! She had a few questions at the end, where the toy drop was later so she was following motion and not looking for the reward. So, to help her out (because your motion was great there!) you can drop the toy sooner and with a big obvious motion (like really slam it down) and use a get it marker. She just was not expecting the toy back there and was watching you 🙂 The more we can convince her to look for the toy, the easier it will be to convince her to look for the jump bar when we add it back in 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
Video 1361: These were good backsides but not quite as good as the previous videos like 1357 – I think mainly it was timing of the cue starting a little later (it was more when he was landing from 1 and less when he was taking off, so he was glancing at you more). So the connection and slight convergence was a little late, which caused you to then converge more into the jump (or end up on the front like at 1:37).
He is doing well on the turn aways too – nice adjustment at the end when he didn’t get quite enough info at 2:57, so you made a good adjustment on the last rep. You can add in making it a threadle wrap where you send him back to do a wrap on the backside of the jump while you keep moving forward. You had the tandem turn here, where you both turned the new direction so on the threadle wrap, you will keep moving forward and he will turn entirely away from you.
Video 1363 – this is the out cue – good job having a line on the ground! Remember to keep moving along the line, resist temptation to stop and send 🙂 He didn’t always find the jump when you were moving, so here are 2 ideas for you:
– If he doesn’t find the out jump with you moving, move the jump in a lot closer – you were stopping here so he was getting it (like a forward send). Moving it in closer will help him find it while you are moving.– And remember that you don’t have to wait until he takes the jump to reward: you can throw the reward towards the jump for any movement away from you as you keep moving. For example at 1:55 you were in motion (yay!) and he was so close to getting it… you can reward that piece of the behavior rather than reward back at the wing near you.
The next 3 are out videos: One thing on all of them to remember is to plan your verbals – the push and the out verbal were switched around a lot, so we don’t want to confuse him. Out is a front side verbal and push is the backside (I always have to take a moment to sort it out before I run the dog LOL!)
Video 1364:
Good Rear cross at the start here – you can use less motion to set it up, moving forward along the line same as a go or get out, and use the connection shift to your hands to turn him away (this will add more distance to the skill too!)
On the Out reps – good job staying in motion on that rep! The jump was closer and that really helped him. I think you said push here (which is a backside cue and this is a front side so should be an out cue) so remember to plan the verbals so they don’t get switched around.Video 1365
The first rep had the verbals a bit flipped and not quite enough connection for the backside go the 2nd jump so he got the front.
2nd rep was better with the out for jump 1 then more motion and connection for the backside so he got it nicely. Yay!1366
This one had much better moving along the line and that really helps him! And with the jump closer, he is finding it really well when you cue the out, which makes it a little easier to get the backside of jump 2.Nice work here! 
Tracy
Good morning!
The backsides look really good here: BIG connection and slightly converging pressure and he found the backsides really well on these! The timing was good- when he was lifting off for jump 1, you were already showing the push info and he got it without looking at you first. I am also really happy with his commitment to the bar on the backside – it seems like he is happily jumping the bar even as you move forward past the jump. Yay! Your placement of reinforcement is really helping with that 🙂Great job!
TracyHi!
For the contacts, we can look at things like making sure we have drive all the way to the end of the contact (especially the teeter), fading the props, etc. On this video, there was a lot of help in terms of people there and targets and a hoop on the a-frame. She was slowing down a bit more than we want at the end of the teeter… but that was almost 3 months ago 🙂 and so it might be very different now 🙂 So if you can catch a video of what she is doing now, like in a class, we can make a plan to build up the contacts even more!Let me know what you think!
TracyAwesome!!! Great to see you here!!!
The easiest way to do the videos is to set a timer for about 2 minutes, turn the camera on, do the training, turn the camera off, load to YouTube, then post. It is the editing that is a pain in the you-know-what for most of us LOL!
Looking forward to seeing Seren!
Tracy
Good morning!
This is a great lazy session! It took him a couple of reps to get the idea then by the end, he totally was getting it! Because this game is pretty low impact, you can make it a daily brain game for a couple of minutes: 2 or 3 minutes of wandering back and forth, tossing treats for finding jumps, will go a long way to building even more commitment. The NextLevel Pup game coming next week builds this even more, so feel free to do lots of Lazy Game this week 🙂Great job!
Tracy
