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Hi!
>>. I had given it a shot at Debbie’s but either because the set up looked odd to her or some other unfathomable factor she just couldn’t figure out what we were doing.>>
My guess is it was too tight there for this particular game and she malkes her decisions pretty early, so it was hard to get her the info. No worries!
>>Today we had more room and success.
Yes! This was a really strong session! And look at how well she is finding her jumps and NOT running around them!!!! YAY!
>> I wish I had remembered to put a line on the ground so I wouldn’t cross it for the get outs.>>
You can draw a line in the dirt! And yes, a line will prevent you from gteting too much into the get out jump (she really likes the get outs :))
Having the sequence set up next to the dog walk definitely made it harder at the beginning, because you had to be relatively close to both jumps – so at :08, your line showed the get out jump by accident (you are converging towards it by accident). The rest looked really strong on that side: you gave her a better line to the jump at :15 and :23, and the turn away at :30 looked great! The full sequences were also lovely!
>> She did really well one direction and then the other direction wanted to just do the get out jump regardless.>>
Yes, once she got a taste of the get out jump, that was where she was headed – it might have been a bit of lateness at 1:00 with you still facing the get out jump as she exited the wing? It was definitely later than at :49 where you got the straight line. On thing you can do to help her out is send to the start wing from further away, so you have more time to get fully turned and show her the line. And, moving the get out jump further away can also help! But I am not worried at all, because she is responding beautifully and joyfully finding her jumps 🙂 Super!!!
>>fighter jets overhead and their noise had us end early.
Ugh! What a bummer!!! But it was a really good session 🙂
>>I did want to mention I have been working with Bobbie and she has been started on meds and I think we are seeing some positive changes. Fingers crossed.>>
Awesome!!!! I am glad you are already seeing positive changes!!!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>He did not used to have perference when it was on the flat but am seeing on the jumps.>>
I agree – we could never really figure out his side preference and didn’t really see it til now on jumps.
>> I ran two days in trials last weekend- with a rest day in between. Was great on the first day, second day had really bad puppy brain.>>
The bad puppy brain seems unusual for him! Do you have video? It could be anything: something is sore, he is having an adolescent brain burst :), there was a bitch in season somewhere at the site (I know they aren’t supposed to be there, but……) etc.
>> Unfortunity he is entered this weekend as well so planning on Feo the first the runs and maybe cutting it short the others depending.>>
Good idea – definitely do FEO and see how it goes! If he is not himself, don’t run him. And getting him checked out by a chiro and more importantly a soft tissue person is definitely useful. Keep me posted!
Tracy
Hi!
>>. Be kind – I know how bad it is. 😬
Of course!!! But the title is actually pretty hilarious LOL!!! It is far braver to post the poopy stuff, but we all can relate – sometimes things don’t go according to plan.
2 things after watching it:
>>still didn’t have a high enough level perspective to see exactly what I needed to see in the moment.>>
– you can always invoke your Phone A Friend if something is going on at a trial or seminar! Grab a video clip and send it by email or messenger to someone who knows you and Rip pretty well. The outside eye can probably give you quick helpful input. I volunteer to be on the phone a friend list!
– this was definitely not a full on shit show! I am sure it felt a lot worse than it appears here on the video – I know exactly how that frustration feels. But there were a TON of good spots and you were definitely trying to help him out instead of getting mad at him.
Looking at the threadle wraps – yes, the cause was conflicting indicators like at :20. The verbal cue might have said threadle wrap but the physical cues looked like a turn away.
While I am fully caffeinated and thinking of it: I have a general mental list of ‘things that go wrong and likely causes’ so if something is going wrong, I can make quick adjustments. This is pretty universal stuff, regardless of dog/handler/handling method.
For example: if the dog does a rear cross when I want a FC wrap or spin, it is 99% of the time because I am pressuring into the takeoff spot without decel (rather than the proper decel facing forward then rotate). And with threadle wraps, if I get the front of the jump: it is because I have not turned my shoulders to get the line off the front of the jump and gotten the dog onto my hands. It would be super fun to put this list into writing: that way we don’t need to analyze what is happening, we can just assume what happened and make the quick fix!
He had a bit of a conflicting indicator (my new favorite phrase LOL!) at :55 when you wanted the backside. The cue needed more extreme connection (maybe even an outside arm) – the dog side arm there blocked connection and shoulders turned to front of jump. That is another thing that can go on our list: if you get a front side instead of a backside, handler arm was pointing forward/blocking connection and the handler was looking at the jump and not at the dog. we all make these mistakes 🙂
On those moments, though, you help him out and set up re-starts that were effective.
The caption about Bob Daigle was so funny!! He is a VERY nice guy and I am sure the words “shit show” never entered his mind.
>>I’m fine, nothing broken (you’ll understand a couple of minutes in 🤣).>>
OMG!! That startled me! I am glad you are OK!!!! A concussion? EEK!!!
After the concussion moment… it all looked great!
>> still “negativity bias” is a real thing and I was very frustrated with myself.>>
Our brains are wired to focus on the negative. Damn brains! But it is definitely worth reminding yourself that this was hard for everyone!
>> this course from the event was shrunken down to a smaller field and so the challenges became even more difficult – especially with a big jump arc, big strided dog like Rip>>
That is super challenging – the course was not designed for that space, so it requires the dog to run in moderate collection. Poo! Makes it 10x harder than it already was.
So overall… thank you for posting it! And I can post up an inspirational meme of how struggles create great outcomes (with or without f-bombs, your choice LOL!). Or I can tell you how relatable this all is!!! And now we can let it go and move forward (as long as you are healed from the concussion!)
I think we need to make the list (or spreadsheet, I love spreadsheets!) of errors, what caused them, how to fix so we can get quick fixes in the moment! Fun!!!
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>> SO we are struggling a bit with the backside of the jump? Suggestions on how to start it ? He’s really focused on the front of the jump…..>>
3 ideas for you to help:
– make sure you have SUPER crazy clear connection and you are not pointing ahead (that turns our shoulders to the front of the bar) and also, it helped when our line of motion is ahead of the dogs.
– angle the jump towards him so the backside line is easier to see, and the front side is harder to see. I do this in the puppy track with the wings – the wing closer to him gets moved towards him, so it is easier to see the backside line
– if angling the jump doesn’t help, take off the exit wing so he only has the entry wing and the bar. That will look less like a ‘real’ jump and can help him find the backside.
Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
>>. The other thing- my ”get out” arm – looks too high- as if I’m trying to flag down an airplane flying overhead. It should be lower…correct?
It can be a little lower but it doesn’t have to be too low – for get out, that might be the only time when my arm is at or above my shoulder level (because it is the opposite arm and doesn’t block connection :))
T
Hi!
>>what are your suggestions as to how to resolve the too many thoughts and being overwhelmed? Is not part of this delemma getting exposure to distractions?>>
I think that increasing the value motivators you use in training while decreasing challenge can help – such as using ginormous pieces of chicken while going over a low jump, with super short sequences or games. What types of food motivators have you been using at home, and in class?
Also, since this is happening at home too – simple exercises & games with SUPER high rates of success will help.
But also, I am not sure this answers the questions that I have for her – if you talk to the communicator again, have her ask Changste what hurts and where. Because she went from working passionately at home to not working even in the presence of great motivators like the ball, I recommend we keep looking for the cause (it is not solely training related, unless there are punishers happening during training but I don’t think that is happening).
Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
>> She also did tug as hard because I hit her in the eye with the end of the tug 😕
Oops! That explains why she was a little more careful LOL!
>>As for her rest period, on lead period, at least a couple more months ☹️ Until the growth plates close. I will then get more X-rays, then start some rehab. This training has been really good for her, and I think is going a long way in making us a working team. I am still working my way through the entire class. Having the barn to work in helps a bit.
Ok then, a few more months of brain training 🙂 The motion will be easy to add back in!
>>Some flooring going down today, which I just realized is black! Doh! Videos will be tough.>>
No problem! It is exciting that you are putting together a training space!!
T
Hi!
>> Volume dial works better when your jump wing isn’t in play!
Ha! Yes, she offered the jump beautifully a few times 🙂
The threadle slice games were hard for her! I think the PT makes it harder, because she was not always sure where to look, and the value of the PT would draw her focus when you were stationary. So she did have some good reps on both videos, but also some questions. I bet that some of that will get cleared up with latent learning 🙂 but also you can try two things:
– use a less valuable reward target and give the PT a day or two off LOL! An empty bowl might be fine for this, or even a flat plastic target or something – you can toss the treat to it rather than click the PT. That might help her to better understand that looking at you is the gateway to the reinforcement.
– you can be slowly moving the whole time, through the release. I think your motion might help her know where to look – as you leave her to move to position, you can have your threadle arm up and so when you are just about arriving at the entry wing, release her (using the threadle word) and keep moving. That will add motion 🙂 but also help draw her to the line you want and take her eyes off the reward target. Very sloowwwwww movement should do the trick at first because we don’t want her to break her stay, and we don’t want you to end up looking like you are cuing a serp : )
I just had a caffeine-induced thought about the perch! I think it is generally going well – she is offering more and more pivoting back to center and your reward placement with the very slight head turn is definitely helping! So here is my thought… what if her perch bucket is a little too high, and there is a little too much weight shift into her rear? To move very freely, we need a lot of her weight to be in her front for this – and if it is too high, the weight shift will be a little bit more into her rear, making it harder to pivot. So maybe try a lower perch bucket? This one looks to be a little closer to her elbow height – do you have anything that is wrist height for her? (If it is a bad idea, I will totally blame the caffeine hahahaha)
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyThat is great news about the tunnel games!!! How much longer until she gets to run run run for real?
T
Good morning!
>>She took to this pretty well.
I agree – you both did great!!!
>> I know I was walking less parallel than is ideal.
No worries! You were not blocking the line. I think there was not a lot of room there to get a lot of moving on the parallel line in. Takng it outside when she is allowed to run and when the weather is decent will make it a lot easier to move on the parallel line.
On the first 2 videos were on your right: looking really good! She definitely understoo dto go around the barrel and that made showing her the backside line and adding the verbal sooooo much easier! Yay!
She didn’t really want to tug on the first video at the end, but maybe there was no ta lot of room and the toy wasn’t moving much.On the 2nd video – she had a little question on the first rep where she was not quite sure if she should go around the barrel or not. It was a connection question: on thatrep, you were looking forward/pointing forward ahead of her, so she didn’t see the connection. When you say the cue to her, look at her more and dno’t point forward as much, so she sees the connection. the connection turns your shoulders to the line which is what is an important part of the cue.
The 2nd rep was definitely more connected and the 3rd rep was SUPER connected and clear!The 3rd and 4th videos were on your left side and looked terrific! She was even faster 🙂 and she was happy to work for the tug or the treats.
You can add in now being a little further away from the barrel (more towards the center of the bump) so you are adding a little more distance & independence. That might be easier when you are outdoors so there is more room to show the parallel line motion.
Great job here!!! You two are becoming a great agility duo!
TracyHi!
Serps are looking good! I think the sends were a little harder than the serps: you might have your dog side arm too far back on the sends, which creates too much upper body rotation and pulls her in. You can use you dog-side arm a little more, nice and low, moving it with the big step to the wing and big connection. It will feel a little like bowling 🙂Serp cue at :19 was really clear!! She came right in and had a great line. The timing of the serp cue at 1:01 was a little late, so she was a little wider. And that made the exit line connection a little later too, so the line on the landing spot was not as tight as the first rep. Ideally, the serp timing would start when she exits the wing, so sending from further away can make it easier to get to the jump to start the serp.
Great job here!
TracyThe crazy outerwear looked nice and warm 🙂
This went really well!!!! There was a tiny blooper at :06 (there was not enough decel into the first wrap there so it looked like a RC cue). The rest was really strong! The only challenge was speed: she was able to move a LOT faster so your connections had to be faster. And they were, because she nailed the rest of it. Super!!! Keep adding distance and speed, to simulate what it will feel like to do this on bigger courses 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi!
You can see the connection shift here on the circle wraps at :23 and :42 – super clear and strong commitment from her!At :27 and :47 you didn’t really shift connection as clearly – you were moving a bit side to side and looking more at her, so she didn’t commit. Compare it to the connection shift at :58 which was VERY clear!
I think the shifting connection on the wraps on the jumps will be easier when you are outside and the footing is not slippery in the next videos 🙂 On these indoor reps, you were facing forward a bit more to support her and the shifting connection on the circle wraps was very easy to see 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi! This looked great! You were definitely working your connections and you can see it really well :15-:18 on the circle wrap heading back to the camera. In that moment, you shifted connection as part of the cue for her to pass you and wrap while you moved forward. Super!!
Did you look at the video right after you ran this? It sounds like you said “let’s see if I had connection”. If you looked at the video, I am sending you a big high five! It is always good to look at the video 🙂 and I think it is very helpful to do it between reps!
Nice work!
Tracy
