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Hi!
>The fact that he can’t see the jump on the line until he makes the turn around the end of the weaves is really hard. I’m thinking there’s a skill here of “trust the line even if you don’t see a thing to do?” We’ve really worked on the concept of look “far” to find the next thing….but here there is no next thing?>
Yes – the current course trend involves a combination of “stay on your line until further notice, do not come in towards me unless I cue it” and “trust there will be an obstacle on that line eventually” and also understanding that there will be jumps on the other side of dog walks, tunnels, and weaves.
Mostly it is a matter of exposure to these challenges and a little bit of practice, then it locks in 🙂
>These are our best 2 runs from Sequence 2 from Package 1’s Jumpers PopOut.>
Fun! There are a couple of good options here to choose from!
Great job tackling both of the layering options: flipping away to the jumps after the poles, and on the 2nd run layering the poles and getting the threadle. Yay! He was fast on both of those! Yay!
At 2 on the first run, you did a FC and that worked well – you can probably send him to it without passing the weaves, so you don’t have to run back at all.
At 2 on the 2nd run, the post turn creates a bit of a wide turn. When I timed that section in isolation, that is where the time difference came from. You can do a spin there to tighten it right up so that option is as fast as the previous option!
On both of those, you can also lead out dog on right and practice your threadle wraps 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! The sequences went well!
On sequence 2:
A small detail is to use a serp arm (dog side arm pulled back and extended) at 3, which will get the turn to4 before takeoff not on landingNice blind 4-5! You can start it sooner, when he is locked onto it after 3 and before takeoff.
One thing I notice here and in the 3rd sequence is if you decelerate a lot, he decelerates too and often ends up in a trot. He reads the decel a little too well! So to keep him running, you can run in closer to the tunnel #6 so you don’t end up too far ahead and having to decelerate 7-8.
Sequence 3:
He was sending to 3 well here in terms of commitment, but because you had a lot of decel, he added a lot of decel. More than he needed to add! So you can connect more 2-3 and drive to 3 – send less, decel later as he is getting closer to 3). When you did that line during the double whammy, you had very little decel to 3 and he was faster and still had a great turn!The rest was looking strong! To keep him driving and not decelerating as much, you can run in closer to the 4 tunnel you don’t have to decelerate as much to get the #5 threadle wrap. One other small detail: You can do the blind cross sooner on 7 (1:31, 2:00, 2:23), starting it as he locks on to it after exiting the 6 jump.
>The last part of the video showed our trouble spots…jump 8 (sequence 2) as well as jump 9 (sequence 3). >
At 2:39 and 2:46, when he came in the gap – this was a connection blooper. As you moved to the backside jump, your arm came up and forward, you looked forward, and pulled away from the jump, which also engaged your opposite shoulder. From behind you this looked like a blind cross he came in the gap, then when back out when you connected again (so it looked like a threadle to him).
Compare to :22, for example where you were more connected and closer to the line so he got it easily.
>We also had issues at jump 3 (sequence 3) where he wanted to take the backside, even though I felt my toes were facing the right way.>
In that spot, you pulled a bit far away from 2 (2:52) and as you pushed back towards it, you set the line to the backside by pushing to it for a few steps. So even though you corrected your line at 2:53, it was too late: he was already on the line to the backside. He did look at you at 2:57 but the cue looked similar to the previous cue, so he took the backside again.
Compare to 1:22 & 1:45 – as you pushed back towards jump 2, you turned your feet to the 3 jump before he took off for 2, so he found the line and didn’t consider the backside.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
Looking at the sequences first:
The opening was really nice with Lift! I was thinking a serp arm at 3 might turn her sooner to 4 – she would be turning on takeoff rather than after landing (she had little glances at you there).
The BC 4-5 was gorgeous!
She read the post turn on 5 pretty correctly, good girl! Off course first time through because there was motion and a wide-ish turn even with big decel the 2nd and last times through. She might be little, but she is learning big commitment! I don’t use or recommend spins very often but this spot might be a candidate for a spin: it gets the turn perfectly and also turns your feet in the new direction, without you needing to decel as much or be stationary at all.
And she said yes, a definite serp arm is needed on 8 🙂 Things looked really good when you added it in!
>Realized as I was walking out to the start line that I had forgotten to reset jumps, but decided it was too much effort to move them. >
This is relatable, he doesn’t need to jump these at full height – jumping low just keeps you on your toes more haha
>(This was before breakfast or caffeine!).>
I often train before breakfast but never ever before caffeine hahaha But caffeine is usually on board before the sun comes up 🙂
Kaladin’s double whammy looked great! I think handling 1-2 from further away and using a serp ar on 3 can get him to drive in tighter on that line without losing speed.
>I think I like running into the BC better for him.>
Yes, and it was really tight there with Lift. I thought he was wider there than she was and much tighter when you sent and ran to the German, so I timed it…. Sending and handling from the landing of 5 was faster! You can send to 4 more and get even further across 5, to use countermotion which will get it even faster 🙂
Yay for all the good runs and low measurement last weekend!!! And dogs do drop a little lower in measurements if they are measured at 15 or 18 months versus closer to 3.
Ouch about the big spill, poor Lift! It might have been a bit if tired from the noise stress of the weekend – was the big spill last time also at Fusion? I *think* it was but I can’t remember or find the video… It might be that the footing there is just not workable for big extension lines for her for now, and we don’t want her breaking herself trying! And if the previous one was at OTR, then it isn’t footing but it might just be too much distance for now, so you can plan to stick closer to the jumps on those big lines.
I am glad she is feeling ok, though, that is a relief! And she looked great in the video of the sequence 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
The course went well with Lennan!
>I thought layering the first part of the course seemed like a good idea but he seemed very unsure of where he was going with a hesitation at the start and a very wide turn at 3.>
I see what you mean – he was unsure at 1 and 1-2 possibly because you were facing away and released and ran up the line immediately, so he was not sure if you wanted 1-2 or not.
But once he was on the line 2-3, plenty of speed! He saw a lot of forward motion towards 3, so you might need to turn shoulders more (turning towards the dog walk in this case) as you call him between 2 and 3 to get a tighter line.
Running it without the layering had more speed and no questions 1-2-3 but also you were in motion more so while the 4-10 section looked really good both times, the whole thing was faster without the layering. Nice DW both times!
Nice turn on 11!
Coming in with all the speed off the running a-frame, I bet a rear cross/flip away on 15 to set up the layering would be tight and fast! You did the blind and then the send had a lot of extension on it. If you do the blind there, you can decelerate into a spin to tighten up the turn and get you up the next line sooner (because the spin turns your feet to it sooner than the send does).The timing of the blind on 17 at 1:10 was good! Small detail: It was a little wide though – it is a little hard to see but it looks like you got past the line, which is what produced the wider turn. You can head very directly to 18 as you blind which will set up a tighter line there.
The blind 21-22 set up a wide turn – it is a better visual of what I mean by going past the line. At 1:21 you were passing 21 heading towards the tunnel so that is the line he thought you wanted. The blind would be heading more up the line to 22, running precisely on the tightest possible line a dog could take. That will show him the line you wanted and he will set up a nice tight line. Also, I bet you can stick a little closer to the weaves to do just the FC on the exit then finish the line with him on your right.
Looking at Aelfraed’s pop outs: overall, these went really well! Your connection looked really clear, and he is committing beautifully on BIG distances 🙂
>The first one was tricky, especially the backside. I think I might not have reconnected soon enough? He is also really not familiar with a backside blind though so (in a different session) we worked on it separately.>
It wasn’t so much of a handling thing as much that I think it was something he was not familiar with in that context. Yes, you can reconnect sooner but also, I don’t think he has experience finding the backside bar with that much speed and motion. No worries at all.
So rather than stop and reward (which might reward passing the jump), it is better to go to the next obstacle and reward that one 🙂 then isolate the hard part like you did.
Ideally, to build value for finding that bar while you are in motion – rather than reward from your hand, you can drop it on the landing side as you run through. That will encourage him to look for the bar and not for your motion 🙂 That way he won’t rely as much on your position or connection – instead, when he gets to the backside, he will look for the bar.
So when you isolated it, you can cue the backside then drop the reward in back to him as you move away and do the blind.
The rest looked super! You added a little bit of decel at 1:34 really helped cue a nice tight turn!
I only have one suggestion:
At 1:00 and 1:25, do a spin (rap FC to BC) not a post turn. That will get your feet turned to the next line sooner and cue a tighter turn. The post turn sent him wide and you can see him trying to figure out wha the next line is 🙂10 tunnel game: he as so funny as you started the multiple tunnels: “It could NOT POSSIBLY be this one again” hahahaha I think the tunnels definitely served the purpose of getting him stimulated! Using the sequence of tunnel to the next tunnel was a good start here! And be sure to play it with only one tunnel because that can add even more of an edge to the arousal because it is kinda weird 🙂
>or more because I lost count, lol)>
I always lose count – maybe it is an arousal focus game for me too 😂
>The sit might have been a poor choice on my part as it is still not necessarily his favourite,.>
He was able to move into the sit but stood up as you walked away (more arousal might mean he is more sensitive to being touched, even the tiniest bit of touch) so the between-the-feet lineup is harder!
>I also could try the game with a “wait” instead. This means to him to hold his spot but he can choose his body position.>
I am a big fan of this – let the dog choose. That little bit of agency in the stay (or ‘staygency’ as I have been calling it LOL) actually goes a long way towards arousal regulation! So you can try the ‘wait’ and see what he does.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! Nice work here!
>it since Katniss forgot how to do a threadle.>
Wellllll………. The physical cues of shoulder position and line of motion were overriding the verbal cue so I think she had to choose body or voice (body won, which is pretty normal).
What was happening was the right shoulder was closed a bit forward so the physical cue all said to stay out on the 180 line on the first couple of reps. You started to pull your threadle arm back more at :22 but it can be even more obvious 🙂 The arm cues at
:34 & :53 & 1:16 were clearer but can be even bigger – think of swinging it back like you are opening a door behind you, so there is a big arm movement back and more rotation at the waist.You can also start it sooner, so the cues are in place before she takes off for 2 (verbal and arm). You were earlier with it at 1:35. And if it is a particularly hard threadle line, you can set up a turn cue on jump 2 to get her already turned and not shooting out towards the backside of 3.
The order of festivities would be something like this:
When she is landing from 1, she is hearing a turn verbal and seeing you handle the line to 2 with both arms/hands (brake arms). Then as she approaches 2, you switch to a big dog-side arm threadle cue and verbal. Those will work together to get a nice line there!
She had a bar down at :55, maybe it was hearing the tunnel verbal over the bar? But she was great there on all the other runs even with the verbal over the bar, so we will just chalk it up to a bit of a slip. No worries.
Excellent job on getting the turn on the exit of 5 and the threadle on 6 brilliantly each time!
Turning left on 7 at 1;25 definitely got the better line to the tunnel – gets you to 9 sooner too! Turn your feet to the bar until she is past you to get it – at 1:44 you were rushing a bit (the pressure of the double whammy 👿!) so you pushed her to the backside by turning your feet to it before she was past you.
About the last backside (yes, it is slightly evil haha):
You didn’t need as much call out of the 8 tunnel at 1:03 and after that, one call was getting her looking towards you when she exited. You were also running a good line to where the backside wing was visible for most of the reps… so why did she keep taking the front at 1:04 and 1:28? It was the pointing 🙂 As she was deciding which line to be on, you pointed forward which turned your shoulders directly to the front side of the bar. It feels weird and it is counterintuitive but keeping your arm back, not pointing, and looking at her the whole time will get her to the backside there.
She did turn on the tunnel exit at the end of the full double whammy run at 1:48. I think you were trying to fix the previous backside question so when she exited the tunnel there, she looked at you but saw you moving on a parallel line (converging) so she took it as a cue to stay on her line to the off course. Good girl!
Overall, it went really well and gave us things to add to the cues to help smooth things out! She is running great!
Tracy
Hi!
Lots of great work here! The bloopers were small details and I think you figured most of them out. If there is a blooper, no worries – but keep going 🙂 Try to think on your feet and pick up the next line. That is great practice for staying super connected and thinking on your feet! That is more important than being clean for now, which also leads to more clean runs 🙂The opening line looked great on these! Yes, there was a little disconnection at the start of the first double whammy but you felt it in the moment.
One way to stay better connected is to keep your arm back and look for his eyes more (rather than try to point to the obstacles or line). Dogs read the connection really well because it lines up our shoulders to the line. Pointing tends to turn shoulders away from the line, causing questions (more on that below).
>First round I definitely see that I was too far in front of jump 6. We got it the second round, but I might’ve been too wide on jump 6?>
You were in a good spot near the jump! But you turned a little too early, which sent him back to the other side of the 6 jump. You can be in that spot and hold position on 6 until he is almost at the entry wing.
The ideal position would be about an arm’s length from the jump, facing him, with your left arm extended out – it is a stationary threadle position. The hard part about that is standing still in that position (standing still is SO HARD! LOL 😂) while he moves towards the jump, not moving until he is just about coming around the wing.
At :24 you were moving backwards then converged back towards 6 – he did not have a wide line at all, but the movement back towards 6 could potentially push him back to the other side of the jump.
You were facing him more and not moving back at 1:04 and that worked really well! He was not as fast when you did that at 1:27, but he might have been being careful – he had plenty of speed once that run got past 7!
>going to the backside of jump 7. My feet were not pointed in the right direction as I watch it back in slow motion!>
Yes, your analysis is spot on! You had a really nice turn away on jump 7 the first time through!
At 1:04, he was not yet past you on the turn away on 7 when you turned your feet to the backside line… so that is where he went. Super good boy! The difference between that at the run at :27 (and also at 1:30 and 1:55 on the last run) where he took the front side was that you kept your feet facing the bar until he was past you, before doing the rear cross.
>Not going to the tunnel, >
It looks like there were 2 things in play there:
The first questions he had were connection questions. It looks like he did not take the tunnel at 1:00 – at :59 as you were giving the verbal cue, you were also turning your shoulders towards the jump. So he caught sight of your motion and turned with you.
He questioned it at 1:23 but you held position rather than moving away, so he did take the tunnel.
Compare that to the very first rep at :08 where you had your shoulders facing the line to the tunnel for longer.
Also, being fresh at the beginning of the session (and beginning of the 2nd session) makes a difference: it was easier for him to commit to the tunnel at :08 and :21 when he was not tired, even if the connection was not as strong.
So definitely add more connection to him as he lands from 4 – arm back, looking at his eyes, and telling him about the tunnel. That will commit him sooner (and more reliably) than pointing to the tunnel will.
>as I began the second round, I lost connection and you can hear me saying that lol.>
That was at :43 – the disconnection and high arm pulled him through the gap.
Having your arm lower and looking at him more will commit him to the lines even sooner. I like to have my arm pointing back to the dog’s nose 🙂 so the arm stays low and the dog can see my eyes. I call it ‘magnet fingers’ 🙂 and here is more of an explanation:Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
I am glad you like the setup! It definitely can be challenging especially when it is way too hot to go anywhere outside LOL!Most of the runs here were smooth and fast! The hard part was sending into the layering at 3 and at the end.
For the send to the 3 backside before the layering, you figured out the key really quickly: big connection and urgency in handling, in t he form of acceleration and big early verbals. Yay! That looked great and made the next line really easy!
The 7-8-9 line was definitely harder! To get him to pass the weaves, sticking a little closer to the 7 jump then accelerating as he landed helped a lot (like at 1:36).
What will also help is BIG connection to him, so your shoulders face the line you and not the weaves. That happens as he lands from the jump before the layering: big connection, acceleration, and the Go verbal can be starting too!
You were looking forward and you were quiet, which drew his eyes to you. And when you were looking forward or pointing forward, it actually turned your shoulders to the weaves.
I grabbed a couple of screenshots of what I mean:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lFbfiYzyEFfWEJ4KKeYRCSF1DbAtdVOGqg3SgohOfkw/edit?usp=sharingSo I think really cranking up the connection and acceleration and GO verbals when he is at the previous jump will set the line better – plus you can add in the outside arm too! Pointing the outside arm ahead of him (while still connecting) can really exaggerate the shoulders showing the line into the layering (and past the weaves) because yes – it is really hard to see that darned jump!
> I was pleasantly surprised how easy the backside was at 3 (if I cued early and watched my dog, a good verbal was really important here),>
Looking at that backside, in terms of how you were setting the line past the weaves: even though we can’t see your eyes, we can see that your shoulders were facing the line really well as you accelerated so he had no questions after :38.
Great job here! Let me know what you think 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
Lily’s runs were mostly brilliant!! The opening lines went really well on both videos and the closing lines looked great. And the double whammy element went really well too!
>The most problematic part of this course was the transition from 6 to 7. After the blind cross I couldn’t get out of her way.>
Yes – it all hinged on getting her to go the #5 tunnel without you, because then you can set up 6 differently.
Can you stay closer to 4 and send her to the tunnel? If you don’t have to go to the tunnel as much, you have more freedom to handle jump 6 – you can even be on the other side of it (takeoff side) as she exits the tunnel.
You can break it down as a training skill: take a tunnel and start 10 feet away – send her to it and throw a reward to the exit with you just slowly walking forward (not running with her). When she leaves you in the dust from 10 feet away to run to the tunnel… start 15 feet away. Then 20 feet away. 25 feet away! Getting her to leave you to go to the tunnel will make a lot of handling a lot easier 🙂
> After the blind cross I couldn’t get out of her way. I didn’t trust her to take the backside so was late on the blind.>
Yes, she definitely thought you were in her way 🙂 You can trust her more and also support the line with handling:
To be on the landing side (between the jump and the tunnel) – you can send her to the backside with your line of motion heading towards the center of the bar, letting her see the cone. And, big connection from your eyes to her eyes (and not really using your dog-side arm) will help commit to the backside with you a little further away. If you are just a step or two further away, you will be able to get the blind cross pretty easily.
At :34- :38 and 1:10 – 1:14, for example, you went all the way to the tunnel and all the way to the outside of the backside line which made it hard to get to the next line. But if you can get her going to the tunnel more independently, that will let you get to the backside line more easily or even be on the takeoff side of it when she exits the tunnel.
>Not sure why she wrapped jump 10 the long way around, I did not intend for this.>
She was committing really well to the 10 jump, and the wrap cue was late which is why she stayed on the slice line. At :25 & 1:28 – you ran towards the slice line dog-on-left as she was landing and heading to the 10 jump, so she committed to the slice – you tried to change the line but she was already gearing up for takeoff. You can do a blind after 9 so she is on your right which should set up the left turn better.
Great job continuing, though, and not stopping or getting distracted by the unexpected turn. It was not a fault! So it was good to keep going 🙂
Looking at Rosie’s videos:
Because Rosie is not as fast as Lily, I bet you can do a FC or BC on the takeoff side of 6! You can also work on getting her to drive away to the tunnel to handle the backside from a bit further away, but running with her to the tunnel then getting ahead to do a front cross to the takeoff side of 6 might work really well! And since you mentioned she is deaf, it is more likely she will need to see you so the FC on the takeoff side will be highly visible 🙂
You did get the blind cross after 6 really well on the 2nd video, and she sped up because she could see the next line easily.
Rosie let you get ahead to turn her to the left on 10, but the blind on the land side of 9 will be smoother for her there too
>Lost her on the last jump. She is deaf, so calling her didn’t help.>
I think what happened there was when she exited the tunnel, you were blocking the line so she could not see the next jump. That caused her to push away to the only jump she saw, good girl! But overall she ran really well. How old is she now?
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi! This went really well!
She is driving much better to the tunnels here in run 1 and 2, definitely getting better at passing the off course jump on the way to the tunnel! I think you were waiting for her to lock onto the tunnel but she was committing sooner for sure – you could have gotten to the takeoff side of the jump after it and then left sooner to get the last jump. Super nice connection for the whole run!
You got the blind on the 6 jump after the tunnel on run 2, wrapped her towards you on 7 and she still committed brilliantly to the tunnel.
On those first couple of runs, her commitment was really strong so you can leave sooner for the next line.
Then she was not committed as well – partially because the tunnel cues were late at 1:28 (she was passing the tree looking at you because you hadn’t really cued it yet). But also, I think she got tired – she had a lot of strides and distance to cover!
You were definitely more timely at 1:50 and 1:58 with the go-tunnel cues but she was definitely more ‘sticky’ sending to the tunnel here and not as committed as she was at the beginning. Note how her strides were more ‘hoppy’ up and down and not as extended and powerful as they were earlier in the sesession. So you might need to give her longer breaks between runs, or try to go for the double whammy on the first sequence and see how she does.
>We found the second threadle on jump 15 difficult… I took it out of the sequence, practised it a few times but results were hit and miss.>
That is definitely hard!! It was a timing challenge: the cues needed to start before she took off for 12. If the cues happened after she landed from 12, she took the front side of 13 (like at 2:49) If you showed the cues as she was at 12 (like at 2:41) she was able to get it.
Great job here!!!
TracyHi! Lots of beautiful work here!
The smooth, fast parts included the 4-5-6 line (nice turn to the a-frame!!)
A strong weave entry, and a lovely blind cross 10-11 with the push to 11! That set up a lot of speed and a nice line to 12 – great turn on 12 set up a perfect line to dog walk.Nice turn on 14 (jump after the DW) and he easily went to the tunnel after it – he is great with his layering! Strategically, I bet you can hang out closer to 14 to be able to send to 15 and the tunnel under the dog walk from further away. That will get you to 16 sooner, making it easier to get that turn.
He showed off his layering skills brilliantly at the end! Super!
There were really only 2 spots that were challenging, so we can look at why they were hard:
The 2-3-4 line was a timing puzzle to get the blind.
On rep 1, you got too close to jump 2, which made the blind 3-4 late (he was hustling!) More lateral distance will get you to a better position for that blind.On rep 2: you had much better use of lateral distance and you were further ahead, just about in perfect position! He didn’t take 3… that was because the blind cross started too early (I know, we are almost never early in agility LOL!)
Because it started too early (before he took 2), it was finished and you were reconnected as he landed from 2 at :27 so he correctly changed lines and did not take 3. Good boy!!! He was paying attention!The BC was late at :43 – you stuck closer to started it as he was approaching 3 – but he had slowed down, maybe because he had been stopped there a couple of times or maybe because he was hot (or both :))
So your inclination to use more lateral distance to get further ahead on that second rep was spot on! The timing of the blind can start later: as you are running up the line cueing the jumps, you can see him taking off for 2 – then tell him to jump 3 and start the blind. That way, when he lands from 2 he is still getting the cue for 3. And you will be finished with the blind before he takes off for 3, which is ideal.
The only other question was the wrap on jump 7 after the a-frame. That was a footwork question. Your feet turning towards the jump cued him to jump it as a slice at :53, good boy!
He got it at 1:04 when you did the post turn sooner but ideally, your feet never turn to the jump. Your feet will be pointing ‘downstream’ towards the weave and 8 jump while the upper body flips him away to 7. That way he will know the whole time that it is a wrap – it might feel weird at first but he will be happy to turn away on the arm cues and it will set up a lovely wrap.Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
I loved his Chin Spin Happy Dance when he saw you getting ready to train!!
This session went great. You had already carefully built him up for success with the stay games before this session, so it is not surprising that he did so well with the stay AND with the release to the barrel. YAY!!!
And mixing in a ton of catch cookies for the stays helped maintain the stay while you added the releases. All in all, a fabulous session!!! You can try it on the other side so he also sees the skill dog-on-left. And then you can swap out the barrel for a jump wing 🙂
He also did really well with the countermotion game. He knew it was correct to go over the bar towards the barrel, but he was not quite as sure about finishing the wrap until you dropped the reward there. You added some delay before dropping the toy which made steam come out of his ears but he was defintely figuring out to finish the wrap by the end. SUPER!!! You can also put an empty bowl as a visual aid at the exit of the wrap to help him zip around, the drop the reward onto it as he is wrapping. That will be easy to fade out.
>One side was easy and the other side was really hard for him>
I think the 2nd side was harder because you were also delaying the reward on that side. The reward came earlier on the first side, which helped him finish the wrap sooner.
> I think I may not completely undertand the final moves. I’m trying to wrap my head around them.>
Here are some videos of handler and dog being on the takeoff side at the same time. You might need to watch in slow motion, the dog was moving fast LOL! These are on backsides, but that is not always the case
(at jump 2 at :02)
You will see it at 2:47 and 3:04 for example> I can’t believe little Lew has completed his first MaxPup
class! ❤️ He really, really impressed me here. I wasn’t sure what to expect but he surprised me at every turn. We’ve really bonded and he is thirsty to play these games.>He was AMAZING!!! I am so glad you ‘stole’ him from your husband to do agility. Great job!
Tracy
Hi! This went well – great job back chaining his stay, he looked great!
> I think i made the distances too big.
Initially it was 6 of my feet which was about 1.5m/5′>I think the distances were good!
>Should i be aiming for him landing in the middle?>
Nope! We are looking for balanced jumping and striding. He was generally landing in the middle of jumps 1 and 2, then sorting out his striding for the next part. I think he did really well!
>I then put the jump out 1.2m (the length of a pole). And he double strided, so i bumped it back a bit to get the single stride, then back to original position.>
The double stride was pretty balanced, so no need to worry about the single stride/bounce. And as jump 3 gets further away, you will see the double stride (one stride) then 2 strides – and as long as he is balanced, we are happy 🙂 When he went back to the single stride at :22, he was actuall a little off balance: note how his butt ends up higher than his shoulders 🙂
> I was nearly throwing the toy on the ground (offscreen).>
Were you stationary? If so, you can add your motion and the moving target (dragging rewward) – start with slow movement and see how he does. It he is still balanced, you can go to a fast walk and then a job, with the dragging reward to give him a focal point.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! This is going really well! Both sides are getting pretty balanced as you mentioned – the left turn is looking good!
You can totally repeat the verbals for each jump: swing swing swing or over over over. That can help attach the verbal even more because it names each jump and it gets him used to hearing verbals over the bar (and not being distractedby that)
>But I’m struggling with getting him to take the grid while in middle.>
The hardest part for him was moving into from his middle position. Two ideas to help:
You can reward a swing from the middle position even if it is only one jump with a reward between 1 and 2 rather than waiting for all 3 jumps
You can hold his collar and sayt he verbal a few times, the let go of the collar – that will help him process the verbal befroe he moves, and taking your hand off the collar is the cue to start moving (which seemed to be part of his question: when to start moving out of the middle position.Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
>Yes his flip away is something new for us. I could have used that skill at a recent trial so now I’ve added it to our list of skills to work on!>
It is turning into a very useful skill for a lot of course challenges lately! He read it really well!
>I absolutely should have turned him to the right on the beginning of the second and fourth pop out. Navigating the best line is relatively new to me and I am starting to put more thought into the process.>
When you are deciding the handling, if you have a wrap in particular: you can stand at the exit of the wrap at each wing and look down the line to see what he sees. The line with the fewest turns is generally the fastest. I think of it as trying to find a racetrack for the dog to run with as little handling as possible, rather than a bunch of zig zags 🙂
> Pop out 1 went well.>
I agree! Lovely! My only suggestion is to turn your head to look at him more, so he sees the connection more. He is finding his lines but he is also glancing at you a lot and not driving ahead as fast as he can. More connection will get him looking forward more and going even faster 🙂 You can see this in the other pop outs too, when he was on a 2straight line but you were looking forward and not at him: he would slow down and head check (like at 1:14 and 1:53) rather than look forward and drive past you.
Pop out 2 was definitely tricky with the bypasses! You were having him exit 5 turning to his left, to find the easiest possible line to 6. That worked really well when you were connected and got the layering! Having him come in to the threadle wrap to his right on 4 (like at :32) set up a lot of collection, so you can let him slice that jump to his right, then go to the other side of 5 and wrap that – I think that will be faster than wrapping 4 then bringing him around to the other side of 5. Sending him to the far side of like at :46 was more yardage but less collection, and set up a nice line over 5! So which is faster? I timed it! The wrap option (:32) is faster, for 2 reasons: shorter yardage on 4-5, and you layered 5-6 which created less yardage for him too. This is good to know what yardage is a big factor for him!
>That brings me to the question about the lead leg. I believe in that last scenario he would be on the same lead whereas the first one he would have to change twice, correct?>
Yes – but that doesn’t mean it will be faster or the better line. I don’t worry too much about lead legs, instead I look for shorter distance and better line – the dogs are really quick with lead changes if they are needed, so shorter distances might be more important when choosing handling than lead changes.
Pop out 3 also looked really good! You can be more connected on the 5-6-7 line so he looks forward more at 1:14 and less at you. And if you wanted to work more of the flip aways and layering, you can play with keeping him on your right for #2 and flipping him away at the exit to get 3 and 4 🙂
>Pop out 3 went well and again I did alternative handling from 8 to 9
The FC that you did firt 8-9 had shorter yardage but more turns. The RC on 8 had longer yardage but fewer turns. I didn’t time it because the answer would have been deceptive: he had a lot of speed coming into it on the FC rep but started the other rep right there so there was less speed to compare to the other rep. If you have it still set up, you can start them both from a couple of jumps before it and we can compare the timing!
Pop out 4 also went well! The handling choices were all really good! The only small detail here is to connect more on the 3-4-5 line so he can drive forward and not check in with you 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>Went on 2 sniffari walks this weekend with Sunnie. Just me & her, off the property.>
That sounds fantastic!!
> I did however bring cookies on the sniffari walk (lecture said not to) because I needed ammunition if I had to deter wildlife or reward for calm behavior for people going by on bikes or walking.>
Having cookies is perfectly fine because it is possible you would run into harder challenges than in an easier location: wildlife, bikes, other dogs/people…. bring on the cookies! And it is great to switch gears from a sniffari to rewards/help for ignoring then back to sniffari 🙂
>> but when I needed to move her to another area, she could care less about the snacks. Kibble was ok for later in the walk, but not when we first got there. I did have a few pieces of chicken hearts, she complied but it wasn’t like give me that snack!>
SMART to have brought the chicken hearts! The world is very exciting and stimulating, which overrides her food drive in those early moments. If she has a favorite toy (like a tennis ball or frisbee?) you can bring that to and give it to her – maybe she will like that more than food in the hard moments? I also use lots of fur toys with my murderers, oops I mean whippets hahaha because a regular toy or treats might be nice but a fur toy like a raccoon on a bungee or a squirrel pelt if the BEST THING EVER. She might like fur toys, and she might like feather toys too!
> So odd having a lab that food isn’t the end all in certain situations!>
I KNOW, RIGHT?!! It is certainly different LOL!!! That is why I suggest giving her a cool toy to carry – maybe that is more reinforcing because it taps into the instinct more than eating does?
> Next time I go I will not go on the path, but walk in the fields near the playgrounds and ball fields, then it’s not like we have to go in a straight line then – on the path, I can let her choose which direction to go!>
That sounds perfect.
>We will continue working on the birds. Even tho’ I missed the mark when she was younger on some life skills (oops!) we did get some fun “agility’ & then some games over the past 6 months. Saved us in the winter when it was SO cold and SO much snow!>
I don’t think you missed the mark! Don’t give yourself any guilt! I think she entered adolescence AND spring rolled around… and the bird stuff blossomed into a big challenge. It was not anything you skipped or did wrong, it is simply part of the adventures of owning a high drive adolescent pup 🙂 I know Sunnie will get past this and you will survive canine adolescence 🤣😂
>We will see you in Max Pup 2 and if we have to adjust for space or whatever I know you’ll be there to guide us! Which is reaassuring 🙂>
Yay! It will be fun and I am looking forward to it!!
Tracy
