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Good morning!
I am really loving her drive up the board on the mountain climber game! She was really beginning to drive to the end and not think about slowing down in the middle.
To help get even more drive to the end, you can have the reward already there, so she can focus on running to the end and not think about where you are. That way you can begin to run past, rear cross, etc…. And she will just go directly to the end 🙂
I used a spoon and duct tape to attach it to the board, so the reward and be past the end of the board (that is where her head is when she is in her down). And a little bit of cream cheese on the spoon. YUM!! She doesn’t have to do the down at the top of the board yet: she can run up, lick the cream cheese, then do the down and you come back and give another reward. She is gonna LOVE the teeter LOL!
She is hitting the board with a lot of power now and that is great! It is also moving the wing around under the board, which could cause the wing to fall and the teeter to full drop (that would possibly surprise her too much and make her hesitant which we don’t want of course). You can put tunnel bags on the feet of the jump and see if that holds it in a more stable way, so it doesn’t fall out from under her.
On the handling games:
She is showing really good commitment here!!>>I realized when watching the video I am late with my verbals a lot!!! >>
On the game with the jumps, I think your timing was good! My only suggestion with the jumps there is that you don’t need to use “go” at all (because she is turning the whole time, slightly). You can use ‘jump’ because that can indicate commitment with a mild collection and keep using the left/right for the middle jump like you did here.
One step sends to the wings:
Nice connection and sending here, she is doing well!The timing of the verbals was mostly good here, I think only the first rep ws a little late but the rest were starting on time. At 2:06 for example, you started the verbal along with the send as she exited the tunnel. And that is great timing!
One tweak:
Try not to say “go” before any of the other verbals like ‘go left’ at 2:10, or go before the wrap cues. The left/right and wraps cues are commitment cues, and we want to protect “go” as the big extension cue for her to accelerate on a big line. If she hears ‘go’ too often associated with turns, we might lose that big extension. So, as you walk these sequences, practice the verbals without the ‘go’ and all of the verbals will be even more solid.
Great job here! You can expand the distances between the obstacles on both games here, and we will be building on them on Tuesday 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
>>I have another, maybe odd, question. I have no verbal for the teeter.>>
Not odd at all! Do you mean, no cue for getting on the obstacle? Or no cue for stopping? Or both?
I think she will eventually need a different verbal for the teeter (as the obstacle name) so when you send her to it, she knows which obstacle you want and also that it is the teeter and not the dog walk (sometimes the angles make it harder for the dogs to see the difference at high speed).
Using ‘wait’ a your target cue at the end sounds like it is working very effectively, so keep doing it. As you add the teeter into sequences (like doing a wing wrap or tunnel before it) you can add a teeter verbal quietly as she is heading to it, to be able to name the obstacle.
I use the word “teeter” a the obstacle name (not very creative hahahahaha) so the dogs can drive to it pretty independently. You can add something like that quietly so it doesn’t turn into a disconnect, and your motion will help support her line to it.
Let me know if that makes sense, or if I need more coffee hahahaha!
Have fun!
TracyNow I say very little, until “wait” at the end. At this point, unless I lure her off with a treat, she just stays there, 2 on 2 off. Same with the AFrame, there I’m using “up”, like the others, and “wait”.
Good morning!
>>Yes, keeping my arm low is always a unconscious issue. I never know I’m doing it until I see videos. >>
I used to be a giant arm-flinger and I fixed it by running little sequences with a bottle of water in my hand. And it was open – so I felt the weight of it and knew where my arm was, and if I started getting my arm to high the water would spill and remind me to keep me arms down. It is a fun summer game! We have it coming later in this class.
>>She is target trained, both with a floor one (pot holder), and I have the MM.
Perfect! I like the pot holder better as a target because it is easier to fade out than the MM is.
>>On all contacts she is pretty solid until a release, sometimes even just staying until I throw a treat. I’m still open to any advice for letting her run ahead and wait. >>
Working on just the down ramp, you can have your target at the end of the board in a spot where she can do her 2 on 2 off easily. And send her to it, without you moving until after she gets to it. Then you can move in and give her a reward. Start with her very close to the end of the board, then you can back chain til she eventually can go all the way across the obstacle without you 🙂
>> she is progressing well and really running, hitting hard, and solid 2 on 2 off.>>
Awesome!!! Sounds like teeter training is going great!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Yes I noticed it and I was so happy with it! “Motivation” is something we’re ‘struggling with’, he is not a ‘Golden Retriever” who will ‘work anywhere and everywhere and for anything’ LOL>>
Yes! One of the way we build motivation is with a really high rate of reinforcement… but on a bit of a variable schedule so there is an element of ‘surprise’ (which can lead to a dopamine spike which is partially where motivation comes from :))
>>Is ‘motivation’ also covered in this class, or that’s something that ‘will just come’ – as I saw yesterday with him! >>
Yes and no LOL!! We cover it here by keeping an eye on success rates and using lots of play in ways that the dog enjoys. And session structure also plays into building motivation, so we can look at that for sure. The motivation gets built in as we get the games and sequences going.
When he is struggling with motivation, what is happening? What are you seeing in the session or as distractions? Let me have as much detail as you want to share and we can sort out how to help him 🙂
>>Teeter – you know I’m actually glad that this ‘teeter fall’ happened as I was video-ing it and you were able to see it! >>
Yes! It was a perfect video angle! And a lot of youngsters like to go fast on the teeter but keep their heads too high and don’t shift their weight. So it probably feels like the ground dropping away from underneath them as the teeter moves, which is where they lose their balance and fall. The good news is that while he didn’t freak out or anything, he also decided that he did not love how it felt and changed his behavior for the next rep.
>>I’ll use reward in-front of teeter instead of in my hand.>>
Perfect! That will help him look ahead which will also help with the weight shift.
This video: Wingin’ It. I’m using 2 wings instead of tunnel I don’t have more wings so using jumps without bars in-place of ‘wings’ in setup.
He definitely liked the sending and had great commitment! Yay! His turns are nice and tight. Do you have a wrap verbal? You can use that as you send.
He thought the 2 wings as the tunnel-replacer were a little weird LOL!! So you can get him hyped before sending him to them. He might like a little ‘ready ready’ with a bit of a little dance with him 🙂 before the send. For that little dance, I ask the dog is they are ready, bend my knees a little, get crouchy… then when the dog is like “heck yeah, I am ready!” I send to the wing. Then you can get more speed in the tunnel-replacer section and even more power into the sending.
And if that goes well you can add more distance on the send wings, to build up even more commitment and distance.
>>I’ll try with tunnel next (need to figure out how to stabilize it, I don’t have tunnels bags and since the tunnel is 26 inches, can’t find where to get those)>>No rush to add the tunnel til you can get tunnel bags sorted out – it is such a hard obstacle for the giant breeds tat we want to be sure it is completely safe s we don’t risk his joints. Tunnel bags are expensive and you are correct, hard to find for 26” tunnels. So you can try a ‘do it yourself’ method. Two ideas for you:
– bags of ‘play sand’ from Lowes or something, placed inside of sturdy black garbage bags (the sand can stay in the original bag). Then each garbage bag can be secured as tunnel bags by tying a knot in the bag and ten using a towel or strip of fabric to tie the bags together.– you can use jugs of water as the weight or bags of landscaping rocks. Both are heavy and can rest on the ground, holding the tunnel in position. I put them in garbage bags to cover them and make them easier to attach like tunnel bags with strips of fabric so they act like tunnel bags 🙂
I will ask some of my agility folks what they are doing for easy tunnel bags, and let you know if we come up with any other ideas 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! Great to see you here – Tarot is lovely!!!
Let me know what challenges you ran into and we can be sure to pinpoint them here to build more foundation.
On the lazy game – we can get more commitment here and less looking at you with a couple of little tweaks:
– because there is no real momentum in this game for jumping, lower the bars to 8 inches so it is easy peasy to get over the bars 🙂
– Tarot was looking at you a lot so we can use this game to get more forward focus on the line.
2 ways to do that: have the toy hidden (when it was in your hands/behind your back/under your arm, it was a little too distracting, we can work on that later when we have more forward focus).
And have treats ready in your hands to throw for each jump. On rubber mats, you can throw a piece of string cheese or something really visible (rather than a lotus ball) to quick rewards for each jump and then you can get a reward for the next jump and so on. I also throw treats on turf and grass, using the non-crumbly, visible treats so the pup scoops up the treats and then continues to the next jump.
The goal is that we build up to Tarot flying around the jumps without looking at you, and without you having to move fast 🙂 or having to be close to the jumps. That won’t take long, and then we can add more distance 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Baby Yuzu is growing up! I loved his seminar video from Casey’s session!
The lazy game is going really well – this game is a nice complement to running the bigger sequences because it teaches him to commit to a line even if you are not perfect in your connection or motion (because who is ever perfect? LOL!)
He was really good about finding the line to the middle jump – I think he had one miss (no reward) and then was 100% after that 🙂 That is the gaol: No jump = no reward, so take all your jumps, sir. Yay!
So two ways to advance this game:
Using food, spread out the distances more and more and more (we build on this coming up this week). How far away can he work, without you needing to sprint?Using a high value toy, use the small distance but keep the toy visible. Can he look for his line and NOT watch the toy? That teaches him to focus on the line even when he is really stimulated by motion – and you can throw the reward after every 2 or 3 jumps. Try to throw when he is looking ahead and not at you.
And if he is fine with you holding the toy… add the bigger distances to the game with the toy.
Great job here! Stay cool!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I have been involving food before and after. Iam pleased that she is finally starting to develop some food drive when things are fun over the last month.>>
That is great! It is so helpful to be able to use food in training. She did great with all the food sessions here!
>>I lifted the plank by about 4 iches tonight. It didnt make any difference (no video edited yet) do I need to lift it more or do I just need to slow her down and help her understand the value of staying on the plank>>
Maybe both – lift it a little more, make sure it isn’t slippery, and use really high value treats so she will be interested in staying close to them. Does she like licking treats out of a kong toy or something? You can try that so that she is moving more slowly between rewards.
On the teeter game: She is figuring out if she likes it or not LOL! A couple of ideas:
Instead of just luring to the top of the board then feeding the treat, you feed her the treats every step or so. And a big reward can be placed at the top of the board in advance (like a bit of cream cheese) so she has a focal point and then a big reward at the top.Also since she is not entirely comfortable yet, limit the length of the sessions to 1 or 2 reps – this had a lot of reps and she was getting progressively less interested in doing it. If the teeter is easily adjustable (or you have access to one that is adjustable) you can also play this game with the teeter maybe half the height, so it is not as up in the air for a small dog.
Wing sends:
She definitely thought this game was fun! And she looked great – so fast, and very focused!!!
Couple of ideas for you as you get more handling with her:
Try to send to the dog side arm, and add more connection to her eyes and not looking ahead. Think of it as having your hand low and to her nose, and your eyes looking for her, as you start the send.
You were tending to send with your right arm even if it was the outside arm, so remember to get your left arm involved too 🙂Try to get a little further ahead of the tunnel entry for now. That will probably mean sending to the start wing from further away – that way you can connect more as he exits, which shows the line better For example at 1:18 and 1:30, you were behind and looking ahead so she curled back to you
Compare to 1:56, where you were a little ahead and connected nicely, so she went directly to the wing with no questions
Being a little ahead is helpful too because she was able to read the motion and that helped even if connection was not perfect. But when you were a little behind and very connection (like at 2:40) she read the line really well! She seems a little stronger turning to her right than to her left, so definitely support the left turns with a lot of motion and connection to help her commit.
You can throw the rewards on this game – especially on the tunnel exit, throw the rewards long so she drives out really far. Because she is so small, we put extra commitment on the little dogs. Here in the USA, they run the same distances as the big dogs so they have to take a lot more strides between obstacles – I think this is the same in NZ where the jump heights are different but the distances are the same for all dogs.
Lazy game is going great! The start cookie can be thrown onto a towel or something o she sees it easily. The rest of the game went really well! He is finding her lines nicely and also finding the treats nicely LOL! Good girl! So keep gradually expanding the distances and re-visit this game a the distances get bigger and bigger.
Great job here!!!
TracyHi! Hope you are keeping cool!
Lazy game:
This is going well! He was learning to find the treats in the grass and also find the jumps, but was figuring it out nicely in both directions! You were perfectly lazy 🤣😂 and did a great job wandering past the jumps.You can keep moving and if he goes past a jump – no cookie, just keep moving. That will be a big lightbulb moment for him! Jump = cookie, no jump = no cookie 🙂
Adding a bit of distance is going well too – the middle jump was a little harder for him to find at first but then he found it pretty easily. Nice job with your cookie throws, they landed on the line to the next jump and that helped set him up for the next one.
Next steps for lazy game are to do multiple jumps in a row between rewards – mix it up for sometimes it is 1 jump, sometimes all 3, sometimes 2, etc.
Wingin’ it: he is doing well here too!!
You might have noticed he was a little ‘sticky’ on some of the sending after the tunnel. That was because you were actually a little early on the sends 🙂In those moments, your arm was a little too forward, which blocked connection and turned your shoulders a little away from the line, so he was checking to be sure he was correct.
To get more speed, you can add more connection to his eyes as he exits the tunnel and before you send forward to the wing. Your arm can be low and pointing to his nose as you connect – then when you see him, let him see you step to the wing and swoosh your arm forward to show the line. That will help him see the cue a lot more!
The video angle of when he was on your left shows that slightly early sending at 3:58,4:05, 4:51, 5:54 and 6:47 for example. As he exited the tunnel, you were sending/looking ahead and so he slowed down to look at you and read more info.
>>I wanted to see how he would respond with his tug toy. I asked him for one too many reps.>>
He actually did BRILLIANTLY in the heat! And he played tug really well (of course, don’t over-do it in the heat but he did really well).
His question at the end was not caused by being hot or tired. It was the same too-early send as the other side: at 7:24, when he exited the tunnel, you were already looking ahead/pointing ahead so he had to slow down to figure out where you wanted him to be (which side of you) and where you wanted him to go. The extra connection and low arm pointing to his nose will get him flying to the wing there.
2 other things in this game:
Your verbals really help him commit! Yay! And you had nice clear exit line connection after the FCs so he read those lines really well.Well done!!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I started to use a toy but was concerned the additional amp up from tugging would make Ven too hot.>>
I agree that the toy use make them hotter… I only train super super short sessions with the toy in the heat, and mostly I use cold treats and that seems to help.
>>No cool down in sight. Extended forecast is nothing but triple digits and humidity with no precip.>>
Ugh! This seems to be the new normal. I take the dogs out to train at sunrise and depending on humidity, I can get out at sunset too…. and I live in the mountains, where it is supposed to be cooler! Oh well, I guess I will sleep during the winter and get up early/stay up late in the summer LOL!
He seemed perfectly happy in the heat
On the video:
>>1. Are the wings too far away from the tunnel? (10-12′)>>
I think they were a good distance! His questions about the send did not seem to be distance-related, but rather connection related. Ideally, as he exits the tunnel, your dog-side arm will be low and pointing to his nose, with your eyes on his eyes. Then you can step your dog-side leg forward while looking at him and not ahead (that is the counterintuitive part!) while your low arm travels with his nose.
When you did that? He was great with going to the wing, like at 1:29.
When your arm got really high, though, it blocked your connection and turned your shoulders away from the line (plus you didn’t always use your dog-side leg with the high arm) so that is when he had questions – you can see it at :25 and 2:51 for example, and also at 3:05 when your feet were turned away from the line to the wing.
So definitely keep your eyes on his eyes and low arm, sending him with the leg step and low arm like you are gently bowling him to the jump 🙂
>>3. We weren’t able to go around the two wings with a front cross. Is it just me being late showing the FC or something else? Is there an exercise we need to go back to on this?>>
Two things were happening here. When he was not taking the middle jump, it was a connection/high arm question. For example, at :32 and 2:10 – your arm is high/blocking connection and pointing to the wing, which turns your shoulders past the middle wing and into the gap to the tunnel so that is where he went (good job rewarding there!!)
Definitely better at 1:09!!! So on that send to the middle wing, the low arm and big connection will turn your shoulders to the line you want and he will read it a lot better.The other thing happening was sometimes the lure of the tunnel was SO EXCITING that even when you got the FC, he didn’t read it. No worries, he was starting to figure it out at 2:18 so he saw the FC because you really exaggerated it – lightbulb moment for him! And he had a nice FC the other direction at the end!
So keep exaggerating the FC exits and you can also revisit the FC on a wing with the tunnel very close by from Maxpup 2 (but I bet he sleeps on it and will be perfect next time you try it :))
>>2. Should I have stopped at 2:30 ish rather than reverse the pattern?>>
He actually seemed fine to keep going for a bit! The errors/questions were more about the connection and not because he was tired or too hot. Good boy!!
Great job here!
TracyThis is going well!
Sending to obstacles is counterintuitive: we humans like to point with our hands, but the dogs read it better when we point at their nose and look at their eyes.And the exit line connection where we look back at the dog, using the opposite arm on our belly to keep the do-side arm back, is *weird* at first for us humans then gets easier with practice 🙂
Think of keeping your dog-side arm pointing low and to her nose (never high, never ahead of her) on these so she can also see the connection. Connection turns your shoulders to the line she needs to be on, which is what she is reading.
Video 1 – you used dog side arm and good connection so she got it!
Video 2 and 3- nice connection and step to the send! Your arm was up but it was not the main cue.
After the FC on the wing, try to switch arms and yes, your dog-side arm (left arm here) is the send arm, but the connection is the most important part.She got the tunnel really well because the connection was very clear. If you are rotated that much, getting the next line will be hard
Video 4 – At the beginning, you had a little too much pointing forward of her towards the wing at :08 and not enough connection so she looked at you on the send to the wing after the tunnel.
Compare to the same spot (:06) on video 5 where you had a lower arm and more eye contact, so she saw the connection and big step really well! Super!And nice connection on the FC to get her back to the tunnel!
Nice work here! Keep expanding the distance bit by bit and the sending will get easier and easier too 🙂
Tracy
The lazy game is looking great in both directions. Yes, se os a little better at it when she is on your left, but that will even out with practice.
So to keep progressing this:
When she is on your left, add more distance to the middle jump by moving it away a little more. Then when you do it in your right, go in closer to each jump and reward each jump. That way you can work on the needed skills on both sides without having to change the set up.This is where the lazy game builds to – lots of independence!
She is very happy to run across the plank! Yay! 2 things to add to this:
– have her hop off the middle, *carefully* so if she ever does her balance when going super fast across the dog walk, she will know how to dismount rather than fall off. It I a safety thing to teach her!
– because she is very fast and courses are requiring a lot of independence nowadays, you can use a target for her to go to for the 2on 2off, rather than needing you to be there to help her stop. Let me know if you have used a target before or not, and we can plan to help her be super independent!>>I know running contacts is all the rage, but I need more thinking time, so like 2 on 2 off! >>
Yes, running contacts are very popular right now but the time investment needed to do them successfully is HUGE plus a whippet will be able to get across the dog walk in maybe 1.3 seconds… eek! So the stopped contact is great for those of us who do NOT want to try to outrun a speeding whippet. The 2on 2off is perfect! Plenty fast and very reliable, and not too hard to train (as compared to the running contact).
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
She is doing well with the sending!
2 things to tweak and then you will see the distance really blossoming:– it seems counterintuitive, but connect more and use less arm on the sending. On the questions she had (:08, :27) you had a high arm pointing forward and blocking connection before she passed you, so she looked at you instead.
Compare to :06 and :32, for example, where your arm was pointing to her nose when you started the send, and you had connection. Then arm moved forward with her nose as you stepped into the send, so she got it easily 🙂
So set up the sends with more eye contact and a low arm pointing to and traveling with her nose, as you step to the send.
– to help build value for the distance, throw the reward to the other side of the send wing after she is heading to it. That will help her have a lot of value for working away from you rather than driving back to you.
Nice work on the mountain climbers! She is not totally comfy yet but getting happier and happier with each rep. You can use something soft and sticky as the reward at the top (like a dab of cream cheese) so she stays there longer and doesn’t jump off 🙂 That way you can move away a bit more rather than face her. Take your time building this up, so she can be crazy happy to drive to the end and hang out there, which is what she will need to do on a full teeter because she is light enough that it will tip kind of slowly 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Was that Sharon cheering for you and yelling on the video? I love it!!These were great – you kept moving and you were very connected. And Fusion was awesome!!! I only have small suggestions for you:
Video 1: you had to really run here and that was great! The opening looked good – do the BC 5-6 because you will be able to finish it sooner and get the 6 jump more easily. You were not able to get finished rotating on the first sequence, so she went past it. On the second sequence, you did finish the rotation and got 6 (yay!) but I bet the blind will be much easier there, in terms of getting the connection to her sooner so she can change her line.
Video 2:
The 3-4 line here (:22) is also a good place for a BC) – you did it at :38 and it was fantastic! You got the info to her in time AND you were further ahead!Video 3:
On the opening, you can lead out dog on right so you don’t have to FC, or if she won’t hold her stay for that – do a BC instead of a FC 🙂The BC 1-2 will get you to the turn on the exit of 2 sooner. And… that one might work better as a FC because you can decelerate into it sooner. Also, the BC does turn your motion towards the tunnel for a heartbeat, so that plus the timing (you started it as she was already jumping) caused her to look at the off course tunnel and end up on the backside of 3 on the first run, and drop the bar of 2 on the 2nd run. She got it nicely on the 2rd run!
Great job with your connection and line to get the backside after the tunnel! Super!!!
Video 4 – super nice!!!! You can add a little more deceleration into the FC at the beginning to see if she will turn tighter. But I am really loving how you are driving her and staying connected! So terrific!!!
>>lesson for me there… trust my dog use my verbals and run.>>
Yes! Connect, run, yell the verbals, trust her. It is looking super!
Great job here! Fingers crossed for good weather!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
The standard 2 course went really well!!!! Yay!
Wow, look at her focus on jump 1 at the beginning! Happy dance! Made things much easier!The 3-4 line worked fine as a German. You can also consider staying on the landing side and flipping her away to the tunnel, so you can get way up the line ahead of her.
Lovely connection on the 5-6-7 line and you got a nice turn on the exit at :16!!
Nice teeter reward too!You can set those layering lines for the giant sprint across the ring:
Send to the tunnel from the teeter exit, layering the 3 jump.
Then BC 10-11, send to 12 without going near it and layer the jump (staying parallel and ahead so you don’t get to close and have to move away from it). You can also do a RC on the line at 10-11 sending to 12 – the RCs are very effective to get us way up the lines there too!Your right verbal was a shade too early at :37 – it happened before she entered the tunnel which does indicate a right turn on the exit of the tunnel. Good girl!!!
You can use a GO before the 14 tunnel so she exits straight, and GO JUMP can help her stay in the line. You probably don’t even need a right on the 15 jump – just let her power up the line You are pretty lateral there, so she is naturally going to curl towards you.
Doing the slice on the 17 jump makes more sense than a wrap since you are coming from the tunnel (if it was the a-frame, it would be better as a wrap).
Nice job keeping her out on the line to the last jump! SUPER!!! You two are really locking into place as a team, it looks awesome!
>>The live class sequences. I thought you said we could submit them, but if not, no worries!>>
Yes! They are meant for all of the working spots to submit too 🙂 It is good to know what types of cues she needs and when she needs them.
Video 1:
At :03 you did a brake arm but she was already gathering for takeoff, about 6 feet from the jump, so she was not able to collect that much (not sure she needs it there, but you can do it sooner if she does need it).
She needs a soft brake arm from the tunnel exit to jump 4 for the 180 (wide there, so the brake arm will really help that).On the 2nd run, you did not use a brake arm on 2 and she was lovely!
You used a brake arm 3-4 for the wrap – you gave it bigger stronger more emphatically to her on the 2nd rep there starting as soon as her nose was out of the tunnel, so she collected more – NICE!! What is the wrap verbal: by or whoa? There were a couple of things happening there 🙂
So the emphatic brake hand is good for the wrap, and add the softer brake for the 180.
Video 2: Picking up where you left off with the emphatic brake for the wrap: really nice at :04 – BIG cue and you got a lovely collection before takeoff… and you did it laterally so you easily got her to the backside at 6.
For 6: she needs some more default-to-bar games, so she comes over the bar even if you don’t use your shoulders to bring her in. She came over the bar at :14 when you cued it but she should take it even if you don’t specifically cue it because the backside cue means: go to the back AND take the jump. She doesn’t fully understand it yet 🙂 We would never send to the backside and ask the dog to layer, so you can send to the backside and drop a reward on landing without any additional cues to get her to take the jump.
O the 2nd run, the 3-4 turn at :31 was wide even with decel, I think a soft brake arm will be perfect there on the 180 (starting when she exits the tunnel)
The brake cues for the wrap at :34 started a shade late for her – she was past the halfway point between the jumps so the turn was a little wide. Try starting the cues when she lands from the previous jump and see if that gets more collection.3rd video: I think you might have been blocking the wing on the first rep a little too much on the wrap at :03 (hard to. Tell from this angle, but she was driving it past it for a few strides then came back to it)
She drove directly to it on the 2nd rep at :17 – it looks like you were a little further over so she could fully see the wing, plus your brake arms were visible before she passed you. VERY nice turn there!
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
Passing along a compliment: the person who owns Quicksilver (Julie) told me that she was REALLY impressed with how good you and Synnie looked. Yay! And not much impresses Julie LOL! so for her to deliver that info is high praise to be proud of!
On the video: I think this went really well!!!
Nice serpy opening on all 3 runs! ! Nice BC 3-4 on all 3 runs!! A little decel into it will get even more collection before takeoff.
>>although it did take me 3 tries to actually PROVIDE a real cue on 5 to get to 6! >>
Yes, that is a tricky 5-6 line:
First rep needed more decel into FC on 5 and 6, but decel facing forward. She was wide on the first run because there was not enough decel. On the 2nd run at 1:54, you were decelerating but also running sideways so she came into you.
You nailed it at 3:00 – decel plus facing forward to commit her got a lovely turn!The 7-8-9 Iine looks good, you can play with layering it so you are up at 10 sooner!
Small detail for the 10-11 line: you can use your “check” verbal and shoulder turn for the 10 jump starting when she is landing from 9 so she turns before takeoff for 10.
Wow, backside at 12 then switch to the weaves was GREAT – nice connection and smooth patience to show her the line there! You can see if she will still get the weaves while you layer 12 🙂
For layering at :48 and 3:27- I like the get out verbal and your acceleration. When your dog-side arm came up high, it turned your shoulders off the line and she came off the line. Try an outside arm there, pointing to the first jump on the layer line, and see if that supports her. And if it goes awry, it is better to reward there than to swing her around to try it without momentum, that led to several more errors and she started slowing down.
On the 2nd run, you hung at the weaves a little more so there was more acceleration up the line, and less high arm – she did the layering really well!! Super!
And adding that bit of decel got a nice turn on 17 to 18, and set up a lovely ending line! Super nice!
Let’s talk about bars:
>>If possible, could you please provide guidance on the dropped bars? I know that they are usually my fault (talking over the bar, etc.), but I just don’t know how to fix the problem. >>
Jumping is the most complex part of agility indeed! And there is so much that goes into it particularly with young dogs. For clean jumping efforts, I see 3 things as being equally important:
– clear, timely cues and clear understanding of cues (jump education)
– ability to maintain form when cues are NOT clear or timely (jump education – proofing)
– conditioning, conditioning, conditioning.>>I walk a course and talk to myself about when I’m going to cue, but when we are actually running, my brain says “wait, we don’t really trust her, let’s give it another stride, second, etc.”…and then the bar goes down.>>
Part of that is the learning curve of experience, and staying in motion, and not being too concerned about the Q or going clean. Just focus on connection and giving info early.
Looking at the bars down on the video here: there was late info happening on the bars at 17 (1:04), and 21 (1:17).
The bar on 16 with the layering is more of an education issue (2:25) and I think the bar on 7 at 3:04 – was a bit of fatigue and she might also need a brake arm to set the turn better (check out the live class for that).So about jump education: doing grids with handler motion, and some proofing games will help a lot too! I will add some proofing games later this summer (after our special guest instructor next week!)
And for conditioning… every agility dog needs a conditioning program. What is she doing for conditioning? The special guest instructor will be able to provide useful info for that, but the more you can add conditioning, the less the bars will come down because she will have a strong core, powerful and coordinated hind end, and a lot of stamina!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
