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Hi!
The backyard sequences are going well!! You are connecting really well so he is finding his lines really well! The only place to add a little more connection is on the exit of the FC on jump 3, like at :15. You can finish the FC and look directly back at him, which will tighten up the line. You had more connection on the next reps and it was already tighter.He is sending beautifully to jump 5! You can turn your shoulders sooner so he sets up a turn stride. You were facing forward and saying go, so he went straight and turned after landing.
Nice job with the line back to the tunnel! You can accelerate even more so he can add more speed there too.
At the end, it looks like you were throwing a ball. Does he love balls? If so, you can definitely incorporate them into your sequences at the other locations!
Great job here!
TracyHi! Great to see you here!
>>Sieger had been doing really well and then about 2 months ago, he started to get really ‘sniffy’.>>
If it is a bit of a sudden onset, the first thing to do is medically clear everything. What I mean by that is to get some bloodwork done, looking for tick disease or low thyroid or anything else going on. Yes, we can see the earliest stages of all of that manifest with sniffing or slowing down in dog sports. One of my dogs slowed down and was a little weird in June, so the bloodwork revealed low B12 and folate! She is now totally back to normal thanks to supplements.
And separately from bloodwork, get his joints and soft tissues totally checked out and cleared so we know that it is not a pain issue.
From the training perspective, assuming that it is *not* a pain or illness issue, then I believe we need to sort out motivators. On the videos, he was a lot more motivated when there was movement: you moving, him moving, and the toy moving 🙂
Question: what type of food were you using? It is possible that the food was not high enough in value and you will want to go higher value. We can go up in value and also mix things up more, so the rewards are more surprising (in terms of being different a lot).
Also, tossing it on the ground can actually be dis-engaging and stops the movement (which is why he did better when you tossed a treat then called him back to you for another – that is more engaging and has movement). But in general, I would replace tossing treats on the ground during sequencing and use a lotus ball or treat hugger that you can drag for him to chase for super high value food.
He has a lot of good pattern games in his toolbox! But bear in mind that they are not very stimulating 🙂 so after about 25-30 of a pattern game, he checks out. So if the game goes well and he is engaged after 10 or 15 or 20 seconds? Move on to the volume dial game or so something fast and fun and crazy 🙂
>> I really want to focus on teaching Sieger more action tricks so that is going to be my focus for the next few weeks.>>
Yay! The volume dial games will help optimize his arousal state in a way that the pattern games do not. The other thing to consider is to get the sessions to be more fast and fun 🙂 and less controlled. For example, you don’t need to do the 1-2-3 game coming in and out of the ring at GetRevd. You can come in playing and doing tricks, or letting him looking around. I think all of the pattern games and the 1-2-3 game actually increased pressure there and also eliminated free movement – and that movement is really important for arousal regulation. Let him be a bit wild 🙂
He does like the toy as a motivator sometimes, so you can attach it to a long line and drag it for him to chase as a reward. And crazy high value food rewards can make a massive difference too 🙂
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
It sounds like a great day at the seminar!>>I chose to work out of the car with him which is something I should probably do a whole lot more of – he was much m>>
I definitely encourage folks to work out f the car is possible (or have a quiet spot and a crate cover if it is not possible). The dogs get a chance to rest and rest in between turns in the car, making the class or seminar or trial go a lot better.
The video is listed as private, so YouTube won’t let me see it. Can you change to unlisted?
Thanks!
TracyHi!
>>
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It’s about 2 hours and 40 minutes from me. It’s definitely doable.>>Perfect! Let me know when you might go and we can do baby dog NFC together!!!
>>I actually discovered it while on vacation at Lake Anna (because who doesn’t look for nearby agility opportunity when you’re on vacation with your husband and non-dog sport friends? >>
Well yes – isn’t that what vacation is for? LOL!!
>>I remember seeing some USDAA events there, but I think Katniss is too young to play in that venue yet. She just turned 15 months a couple days ago.>>
I *think* you can do FEO in USDAA at 15 months but let me check. I know you can do Speedstakes in UKI at 15 months.
>>We played the Pattern Game Foundations exercises. Although I’ve played most of the pattern games with Nox, I haven’t done too much with them with Katniss yet. She’s always happy to eat cookies, though, lol, so she thought they were pretty fun!>>
She totally rocked both pattern games! Easiest games ever, according to Katniss. You can take it on the road now! Any location is great: your yard, on walks, different rooms in the house, different destinations, etc If you have Nox entered in a trial, then Katniss can do this outside the ring. If the trial environment is very stimulating, you can be a little further from the ring and also use super high value treats.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
She is definitely getting the barking on cue as her new favorite trick LOL!! Going from the pattern games to the tricks went well here, she stayed engaged even when you had to go get her toy Yay! The FC on 3 went well – try to use a thrown reward so there is less stopping on course and more go go going 🙂 She drove the lines 4-5-6-7-8 really well: terrific forward focus and speed!
The 2nd run went really well too – I think you can use more of a send on jump 1 and jump 5, so she can drive away and then chase you up the next line.
O the 3rd run, you were not quite as connected or near the line to 3, so she never got a strong commitment cue for 3. Great job continuing!!!! You were much more connected on the 4th rep there. At that point, she had run is really well 3 times (and tolerated a handler blooper LOL) so there is no need to do it again – when you started her from the tunnel, the cue to 3 was not as clear and she came off the line. You were great to keep going, but ideally you end that session on the good note of the previous success. The layering can be added another time so you don’t end up drilling the same sequence by repeating it too many times.
>>I tried moving the lotus bungee toy around more and she doesn’t seem to get the treat out any faster, but she does stay engaged and pounces on it.>>
The dragging lotus is more about the chase and pounce (like a tug toy) and not about the speed of treat removal 🙂 So you can get her to chase and pounce on it, then let her get the treat out, and it will accomplish the goal of getting toy-like play with the food toys.
>>I’m not sure which marker cue I should use since I have been distinguishing between thrown food & toy for her.>>
Since the food marker likely indicates a treat on the ground, this would be more of a toy marker because the lotus ball is being used more like a tug toy.>>And does the value of chasing the furry thing eventually override needing to get a treat out of it?And does the value of chasing the furry thing eventually override needing to get a treat out of it?>>
Maybe? But it doesn’t have too – it can have a treat in it. The main goal is that she interacts with it more like a toy, so she can have more moving rewards in sequencing and not as many stopped rewards for tossed treats. If she likes it without food in it, then you can use it for NFC runs, If not, other toys can go in for those runs.
She did well in the video with the longer lotus! At the end of a sequence, you can take off and drag it like a toy, until she catches up and then you can squiggle it around til she get a bit pouncy – then she can have it 🙂 She will get better and better at grabbing it as she sorts out how it is being used – this was a really strong session and you will see her getting even more driven for it.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>You might have been joking but I’m not kidding that probably about the exact time you were typing that the BELOW happened.>>
Oh dear!! Did you save part of it to put in a toy? I won’t tell the whippets that he found a bunny LOL!!
>>Good Lord those rabbit fur ones are expensive!!>>
He was trying to save you some money by grabbing a free-range, local rabbit. Good boy! 🤣😂
On the sequence video:
I think he does like the longer toy! It takes some of the pressure off because he can move more. You can also stand up more (easier for your back, and less pressure on him from leaning over). When you were more upright, you were able to move the toy even more and he liked that!When you are planning to sequence, you can keep the tricks and tugging moments shorter, maybe 20 seconds – it is tiring for the dogs to tug a lot so we don’t want to tire him out before the sequence 🙂
Sequence 1 went great! The decel into the FC looked lovely! And he was flying 🙂
Moving right into sequence 2 kept his energy high – he blasted off the start line as if the video was playing fast forward! Love it!! Yes, that made you late for 3 but you rewarded and he was happy. The key there will be connection: when he is landing from 2, you will need to be looking directly at him as you move to 3. You were looking a little ahead on the first and 3rd runs, so he did not get a clear commitment cue (he correctly followed the line of your shoulders).
You can also freestyle and keep going (even if you have to make up a sequence LOL!) if he misses a jump – he will like that too and it will keep you both moving. For now, the goal is more about high energy ad speed, and definitely not about finesse 🙂
>>My handling wasn’t great, but also I truly think having the toy in the left was pretty distracting and contributed to missing jump #3>>
I don’t think the toy was distracting to him 🙂 I think it was connection breaks and he was trying to follow the line. So you can add bigger connection back to him and I am confident the toy can be in your hand with no problem.>>I’ll for sure put any toys on a longer rope in class on Monday as well. He seems to like it! Let me know what you think.>>
Perfect! You can put the lotus ball on a long line to drag around too – that is probably his favorite motivator at class right now, so using it like a long toy can be super fun.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
The sequencing is going well! He is showing really strong commitment here and is all really fast! Yay!Run 1 – if something goes wrong (or you think it did LOL), you can keep going and fix it on the next run. Errors are often handling errors so stopping him can be confusing.
2nd run – nice connection 1-2-3! As you finish the FC at :48, you can make a bigger connection back to him. You were looking forward and pointing forward, so he was not sure where to be and ended up dropping the bar on 4. Making connection back to him on the exit of the FC instead of pointing ahead will give him very specific info about where to be, so he can set up his jumping more easily.
You can add a bit more connection on the ending line too – at :54 he almost didn’t take 7 when you looked ahead and your arm was up. Because he is small, keep your arm as low as possible (hand pointing to his nose :)) so he can see your eyes as you run.
He really liked you playing with him before the last run – that got him all pumped up!
This run had clearer connection especially at 1:59 plus you moved a little closer to the lines, and it all looked lovely! Super!The pattern game is looking really good too! You can add in walking back and forth (I am sure he will find that really easy too). And you can take it on the road, to different places, to introduce the concept in a variety of environments.
>>I guess we don’t know very many tricks. We need to work on some.>>
You can add some spins by having him follow a cookie in your hand. Plus high fives are easy to teach – I put a cookie in a closed fist, and when the dog smacks I fist with a paw, I open it. Easy peasy LOL!!
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
Video 1 – nice pattern game here! I loved your energy and connection! It was a pretty noisy environment but he was pumped up and focused. Well done to you for continuing the pattern game as you went to the start line. For the pattern game – you can dial back your praise when he is eating, so he is not needing praise to engage. That way you can be quiet or use verbals in agility and not have to have a flow of praise as much 🙂
Doing the trick in front of the jump (when you asked for the spin) might have been a bit confusing for him – he seemed like he was saying “let’s do the jumps and tunnels!” And that is great 🙂 We can add the tricks in separately so he knows to expect them.Video 2 – it looks like the excitement of the first run carried over nicely to this run and he went in really pumped up too! Super! He was fast and focused on the sequence 🙂 When he had a refusal (spin/bark rather than take the obstacle) it was because you were pointing ahead which caused a disconnection. So try to keep your arms out of the way and not pointing – replace the pointing with more looking at him to show him the line (and running too of course haha!!) It seems counterintuitive but looking at him more will actually get better commitment.
.>I guess my question is how do I get him to be this high when we got into the ring without food. Maybe I am jumping ahead >>
We have a plan and a progression we will teach him! For now, keep doing the pattern games and also get him pumped up about his tricks. We will be teaching him to enter the ring and run without needing food, but we are going to solidify the early steps first 🙂
He was very keen to work in the seminar too! He worked the whole time with great focus here! Rewarding lots for commitment was a great idea – be sure to keep lines simple and fast and fun for now… no need for a lot of fancy stuff yet like the layering because we don’t want to tell him he is wrong if the skill is really hard 🙂
And we will definitely work on more connection (you looking at him). When you connect? He is amazing! When you disconnect or point forward? He doesn’t really know what you want and things go wrong. You can see it on the tunnel sends in this video: when your arm was really low and you were looking at him? He went smoothly to the tunnel, no questions. At the very end, when he should have been tired – you kwpt your arms low and made great connection and he was lovely finding the line!
When your arm was high and pointing ahead? He could not see the connection and had questions. So definitely keep your arms low and look at his eyes as you run the lines.The low arms and big connection helped in the 2nd video too! It was harder to see the details because the video is sideways but we can definitely prioritize making big connection and not using your arms much – that is when he does best! And he was very happy to work – SO FUN TO SEE THIS!!!! YAY!!!
>>Again I will be running him Tuesday in a class at the building where he shutdown also this coming Saturday he can run FEO in speedstakes>>
For the FEO Speedstakes run, what does he like as a reward that is not food? Since you can’t bring food into the ring, we will want to plan out a reward strategy so he continues this streak of feeling really good in the ring 🙂 Definitely do pattern games and tricks outside the ring with food and we will plan out how to reward in the ring too.
Great job here!!
TracyHi! These went really well!!!!
Sequence 1: Her commitment is looking really good, and your connection is looking really good too! One handling suggestion here for the opening will make to make the rest of it easier: staying on the takeoff side of jump 1 and sending her to it will help you stay ahead of her for 3-4. That will smooth out those lines. You went past jump 1 to the landing side, so she got ahead of you at the end of the tunnel and had some questions. The ending line looks great!!! Very strong tunnel send!!!
Sequence 2: her stay is looking really good! So that means you can lead out even further, which will make showing her jump 3 even easier. On this run, you showed the other wide of 3 which is fine 🙂 Try to lead out to 2 (or past 2) and see if she can hold her stay and commit to jumps 1 and 2 as you move forward. Also, you can set her back a little further from jump 1 in her stay. She was very close to it, so she had to take off from the sit. Ideally, she has room for one full stride before takeoff to get balanced and power into the sequence, so try setting her at least 10 feet back from jump 1 and see how she does 🙂
Once you got her committed to 3, the 3-4-5 line looked great!!!Seq 3: Her stay looked great here too, so you can lead out even further on this one too. For the side of 3 you cued in this run, you can lead out past 2 with her on your right, and do a blind to 3. Or, you can lead out past 2 with her on your left and do a push to 3… either one should work nicely with her! The push is probably easier to handle and that will be a great challenge for the stay too. The ending line looked great here too!
Sequence 3 – the opening went well here! You can have her sitting further from the jump on this one too so she can get a full stride before takeoff. And because her stay and commitment look strong, you can try to lead out more laterally and that can put you in an even better position for 2 and 3.
To set up the 4-5 line, you can try sending her to 3 from further away – try it without going more than one step past 2! That will allow you to be past 4 before she takes off for 4, so you can show 5 more easily. The ending line looked great here too! You are using your tunnel sends really well and she is finding her lines beautifully!
>>She is still pretty wild when I first take her out, but she does settle. She is, after all, a 14 month old dog who wants to run!>>
Yes, a 14 month old dog wants to run run run run LOL!! You can try starting with pattern games so she can move a bit but also come into focus before starting the sequences. But overall, these are looking really good!
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
Great job in class with connection and supporting her with your handling even if something goes wrong! She is doing great!
>>This time she ran 5th out of 6 dogs so we got to practice coming into the building while another dog was in the ring and settling on her cot to wait for a short time.>>
Excellent!!!! And adding a little tug was great too!
>>Had her in a great arousal state as we stepped into the ring (while others were bar setting), but she got a bit jumpy because I was carrying my tripod across the ring and that is clearly a sign that fun things are about to happen.>>
Yes, she was probably in a higher arousal (in a good way) and the tripod confused the moment. So having that all set up like you did in the next turn before she comes in so you don’t have to worry about it will smooth tat out.
>>I’m not sure if it will stay as a bark or change into a bark & jump but when I do the creature hands at her, she barks – that didnt’ take long. LOL!>>
She was like “you want bark? I GOT BARK!” LOL!!! Love it!
>>>The next class was coming in during this turn and someone had 2 tiny screaming things (Russian Toys?)>>
She was awesome!! And there was an a-frame height change slamming noise at one point too and she was fine.
>>She got her snuffle mat after each session and then we headed back outside to sniff around.>>.
Yay! She looked really great.
One thing to do since you are using food is to make a bigger transition from the pattern games into the volume dial by feeding from your hand for the volume dial and having her chase your hand from the treat rather than get the treat off the floor. That will get the arousal even more up and will help her know that you are getting closer to the sequence starting.
>>Should I keep dropping into classes like this and build up to longer sequences vs several very short ones?>>
She is running the more complicated short sequences well, so I think the next step is to do very very simple short sequences and get a dragging lotus ball (or some type of treat holder toy-like thing) involved. Dropping the treat on the ground adds a lot of stopping to the sequences, so we can get more go go go by using a moving toy-like thing 🙂 That way she can chase you for it, or chase the instructor when she drags it, or you can throw it for more driving ahead, etc.
And since we are changing the reinforcement strategy, we will make the sequences really easy at first til the reinforcement is all sorted out.>>She can get food out without help even if it is partially closed, but she’s pretty slow & deliberate about it so it won’t be a quick reward for us yet.>>
It might take a bit of experimented to see which toy works best: lotus? Treat hugger? On of the other food dispensing toys? I have found that dragging it away a little gets the dogs more invested in getting the treat out FAST because the toy is moving away 🙂
>>It’s only a single bark so not quite the same thing, but she was able to bark and then tug.>>
That’s awesome!!! Apologies in advance for the extra noise you will get in the house (sorry Dean!) but I am excited to have another tool in her toolbox!!!!
Great job here 🙂
TracyHi!
>>I suppose I hadnt because it was supposed to be about calm and rhthym and toy adds a nte of chaos and get less thoughtful behaviour when a toy present.>>
It is not supposed to be about calm, it is about regulation 🙂 So looking at it from a different perspective might help us make it more valuable for her. One way to make the mechanics smoother is to be able to get better toy release. She doesn’t release it quickly and then tries to grab it again, which can be arousing and frustrating for her.
So, separately from sequences or training anything else, work on trading the toy for a treat then go back to the toy. That is its own little pattern: tug – trade – treat – tug – trade- treat – tug and so on. That will really help with regulation and then it will be much easier to use toys in pattern games and training. It will probably require really high value treats 🙂 and a lower value toy, possibly.
>>this pog sticking is typcal when every she is keen to do anything.
In the transitions into the sequence (and when you are going to the start after a reward), play with her on the way to the jump – it an be a back and forth pattern where she is moving side to side by not jumping up in front of you. Or, tug with her on the way to the jump. Another option is to have her wait on a platform until you are ready then call her to you at the first jump. I suggest working on all of these so the rehearsal of jumping in front of you is not happening and you can rehearse all sorts of desired behaviors.
>>Picking her up helps but looking for what to do.>>
Picking her up doesn’t teach her anything 🙂 so work her like she is as big as Veloz 🙂 Giving her a different ‘job’ in those moments (tricks or tugging or a platform) will make a big difference.
The stays will continue to improve with more clarity of release – right now she is releasing when you move (before a verbal) so let’s get it to where she is holding a sit, you say a release, she moves then you move. If motion is the release, it will be very hard to get a consistent stay so we will really focus on getting you to *not* move when you release her. You are using verbals, but they are happening after the movement so I am pretty sure she thinks the movement is the release.
>>t am starting to get a sit at the start but once she has sat she feels it is okay to start->>
This is more about how you release, and not her choosing to go 🙂 Your rhythm of the releases is to move as soon as you get the sit then release her, so she is pairing the sit with your movement… and releasing. So you will want to take it away from sequences so you can cue a sit, then be motionless, then praise, then release… and only after all that, you can move.
>>Need to channel this impatience to run and start not quite sure how to do this.>>
She does love to run! But her questions are not impatience, they are more about the clarity of the release. Making it clear will really help her.
She is doing well with the handling overall – the biggest successes are when you are moving with a LOT of connection (not fast, but super connected). When you are not connected, she is guessing about the line and that is fine 🙂 because we do want her seeking lines and not looking at you. So tackle each sequence with trying to keep your hands super low and pointing to her, not at the obstacles ahead of her (that breaks connection).
>>need to work out how to get her looking for jump rather than just running>>
Slow yourself down, don’t use verbals for now… and just look at her. No arms, no verbals, just connection. That will be a huge help for finding jumps.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
Looking at the stays here: you are moving before the release pretty consistently, so she is watching you intently for that movement… and moving when she thinks you have indicated with motion. So if we clear up that it is a verbal release with super clean mechanics, she will hold the stay a lot better!Lovely connection 1-2-3! On the exit of the FC: use your exit line connection, which is your dogisde arm (right arm here) waaaay back to her and a very direct eye contact so she can really see the connection and upper body. Then 4-5 if a shoulder turn alone is not strong enough, a brake arm will work. But I think the exit line connection will tighten the line 3-4 and not set up the off course line (that is what happened on run 1)
At :46 – you had more motion but not a clear exit line connection, so she got an off course after the FC on 3. As you experimented with what to do, the next FC was too early (she was not yet over 2) so she correctly changed lines for 3 and did the fancy backside 🙂
But then the reps at 1:37 and 2:49 had much clearer exit line connection and she had a lovely turn on 3 and found 4-5 perfectly! Super!!
>>>>Another item I’m struggling with is how much to run and how much I need to hold back a bit. I did try running more like I normally would in some of this session and I thought it turned out much better than trying to hold back. >>
It has to do with how well she can see the connection wen you go really fast, versus if a lot of motion muddies the information and causes disconnection. This was happening on the ending line. On the 1-2-3 opening, you were very connected so a lot of motion was fine.
On the ending after the tunnel, you had soooo much motion (and a high arm) that she could not see the line as well so she stayed parallel to your line and went past the last jump. When tat happens, you can do the next rep with much more connection and at a steady jog (rather than sprinting). If she can get it at a steady job with connection, you can add more and more motion.
Plus, some of it might and jumping organization question (like with the backside wrap video). When you are running fast, she might not be fully able to organize the jumping yet so she goes past the jumps. Since that is a processing thing, we can start with less speed and to get her jumping the full height bar. Then as you add more speed, go to a lower bar for a bit so she has an easier time processing the mechanics. Then you will be able to add speed and add jump height and still get the mechanics.
When you are doing jump grids (which I know are not her favorite thing currently) – are you adding motion to those? That is the best place to work out mechanics with handler motion.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
This one is a more complicated sequence! It was good to work on the options and see what she needed, even if it was not perfect yet.
And I can see the start lines 🙂
About the start lines:
When you are not connected on the lead out, she stands or moves forward basically 100% of the time. The disconnection also delays the info that she has moved, so by the time you see her position has changed and give her feedback about it, it is well after she has changed position. That might be why she continues to change position: because the feedback is not associated with the moment of position change.It is also possible that due to arousal, she doesn’t really know she has stood up. At 1:13 it looks like you stayed connected the whole time and she did not move until you stepped to the jump. 🙂
Also, the release and movement are happening at the same time so she might not be sure what the actual release is
She is likely anticipating that your deceleration into position after leading out will be followed by the reconnection and release.
So as you do lead outs: keep them short for now (to set up success) and stay connected the entire way. if she moves, you can instantly give feedback. If she holds still, you can throw a reward back. And if you are going to release her to run, you will want to stop in position, praise, raise your hand, maybe even count to 3 in your head… then release so that the release and motion are most definitely not linked at all.
Run 1 –
Doing the side change 3-4 caused you to have to push back to 5 which ended up using her to the backside at :19 Good job continuing!!
On the 2nd and 3rd run – cross was too early and she responded, what a good girl!!! The layering didn’t quite work (she is following your motion really well) And on the run where you did get closer to 3, there was a bit of a connection question to commit to it, and on the last run, after the cross (she did not see which side of you she should go to.
Yo can do a spin or brake arm on 3 and keep her on your left for 4-5, doing a rear cross on 5 into the tunnel. Getting to the other side of 3 is hard to do on time plus doesn’t set a great line, so this is a good rear cross opportunity 🙂
Nice work!!
TracyHi!
About the start lines: I agree that arousal state will change start line behavior. Yes, the games here will totally help, because we can sift her arousal state and get her to not feel the need to move.
When she is struggling, what is she doing? Moving forward, breaking the stay entirely, changing positions? Let me know and we will sort it out. I prefer to work stays in a really high arousal state but with a shorter lead out, so the success is there even when the dog’s eyes are spinning with excitement 🙂
On a sequence like this, it probably means you will start her in front of 2 to keep the stay shorter.
You did get plenty of good reward in by throwing it back to her, and that will be super helpful!!
Sequence 2:
Nice job here!On the first run, your lead out position for the push to 3 can be less on the far wing of 2 and more towards 3. Plus move sooner, so she turns before takeoff. The timing is a little tricky with youngsters, so you can try beginning to move after she has landed from 1 and is looking a 2. You moved to 3 when she took off for 2 at :33, but she was already committed to jumping straight at you (bar down).
I liked your position relative to 2 and 3 (further over towards 3) and timing of moving better at 1:42 but the upper body was closed forward so she never got a cue to take 2. Your shoulders can cue 2 as you move by staying ‘open’ like you are doing a serp 🙂
You can see at 2:09 how the position closer to 3 starts to create the turn to 3 (yay!) so she read that well! Add in more of an open Serp-style shoulder and moving a little sooner and it will be perfect!Tracy
Good morning!
>>So I went back and rewatched all the points and my question is, when will I have to NOT be perfect with my handling LOL. >>
That is the holy grail of questions with agility dogs! Usually when the dog has run for a bit in a level equivalent to AKC masters is when we can start to not worry as much about being perfect. Until then, we humans have to do the best we can to be as perfectly clear in handling as possible – allowing connection to be the #1 cue in most cases (NOT motion). If motion is the #1 cue, then many dogs don’t get the full picture and they go fast, but not in the correct direction. And sometimes when there is a lot of motion, they cannot organize the jumping so the striding goes wrong and then things go sideways.
And if something goes wrong? Keep going 🙂 Get it back on track and carry on – that is very helpful for the dogs because they don’t get frustrated or frantic, and they learn to keep finding lines even if there are bloopers.
>>She’s so difficult to handle because of this and her speed. >>
She is the type of dog that will be more challenging early in her career to bring the handling cues together… but will be well worth it when everything clicks because she will be utterly amazing. So I will keep reminding you of the amazing things ahead as we sort out how to smooth things out for now.
>>Plus there’s just a lot of situations I feel like she thinks outside of the box and I’m not quite sure what to do. I’ll post a video of a backside wrap issue I had to see what you think as an example.>>
I have 2 rules for myself when the dog is going SUPER FAST but can’t always pull off the skill (like what was happening here):
1. Slow down. Jog through a sequence. If I am going too fast, the motion is obscuring the other info and the dog is unable to process the mechanics needed to do the skill. That is what was happening here on the backside: you were exploding forward and she was unable to process the countermotion mechanics especially on a tall bar.
2. Connect more, very directly. I think you were connected here but looking at the landing spot as you move forward will help.There are other ways to help (lower bars, place rewards, etc) but those are my top 2 when working on things wit young super fast dogs. Then you will see things click into place, and we can add back handler speed. The 2 failure rule is what triggers me: if the dog fails twice, I slow myself down to clarify the info (and/or connect more). Processing is HARD for young dogs, and since I don’t want to slow them down, I will find other ways to help the processing (like slowing myself down :))
Onwards to sequences!
Tracy
