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Hi!
I think going into these environments to figure out reward strategies and get her exposed to it is all really important. Don’t think of it as functional attention, think of it as finding out how she likes to play in this environment. The agility skills are really unimportant 🙂 This environment was harder for her but that is not necessarily a bad thing.On this video, I think there was a lot of pressure towards her as you were trying to engage: bending over, kneeling towards her. Try standing up and moving away and getting chasing going. Hand her to the instructor for a quick recall! Speeding up the pattern helped at the end – less pressure, more movement. Having the toy on a longer attachment will help too so you can swing it around like a flirt pole. You were tending to swirl it around near her, but throwing it or having you take off and run for a big recall, etc – that will all make it more stimulating.
>>Based on her behavior here, would you say we should keep coming to class or is it too hard for her?>>
I don’t know enough about the class environment to make a real judgement but I do think she should be starting to get into play situations with you in different environments. The agility training element will come later.
>>I see a couple of her littermates doing flyball recalls with other dogs and I’m like how?! >>
They probably started those recalls at 8 weeks old in that environment 🙂 and it is run run run running so it is so much fun for whippets! That is why I suggest recalls for her so she enters the ring and she is like “THIS IS THE MOST FUN PLACE, I GET TO RUN!”
Keep me posted!
TracyGood morning!
The parallel path game went really well! And I think he had fun – very bouncy and cute!!!!
For the next session, 2 ways to move forward:
– replace the clicker with a ‘get it’ marker: you would say ‘get it’ and throw the reward straight ahead
– change the timing of the get it marker: say it and throw the reward as he is approaching the jump (before he gets to it). That way the reward will be sailing out ahead of him as he goes over it, so he doesn’t look at you.Both of these suggestions are intended to get his eyes off of you and onto the work 🙂
He is doing well with his rotated sends! One suggestion: split the behavior more. Rather than wait for him to get all the way around , you can mark with a ‘gt it’ and throw the reward as soon as he starts to move towards the barrel. Throw it where the landing spot would be if there was a jump bar he was going over, and throw it as soon as he start to go over an invisible jump bar.
He had plenty of good movement towards the barrel that was rewardable but then he was not quite sure about completing the wrap – throwing the reward sooner will help him get more comfortable going around the whole thing.Nice job here! Hoping for better weather ahead so you can take this outside!
Tracy
Hi!
These sequences are hard indeed, even though there are only 2 jumps.
One thing that will make it much easier is to spread the jumps out more. They were a little too close here, so by the time you showed the cue (FC or spin or BC), she was already taking off for the 2nd jump. So sometimes she kept the bar up, sometimes she hit the bar trying to adjust (especially when you stopped to reward). So putting them at least 5 meters apart will give your more time to her land from 1 and start the decel then rotation for the FC or spin on 2.Or, for the blind, be connected when she lands from 1 and make sure she looks at 2… then tart the blind. I think what happened on the rep where she did not take the jump was that you disconnected to start the blind before she landed from 1, which basically tells her to *not* take 2 and to turn run away.
More distance between the jumps will help! And the other suggestion is to keep moving when you reward – if you do the handling then stop, she is more likely to hit the brakes hard and hit the bar. So do the turn and keep running until she catches up to you 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>I find that this doesn’t frustrate her and I know that our dogs only have so many reps in them.
Brilliant! I am sure that those rehearsals contributed to your success here. I walk this a LOT without the dogs, then I run it without them to see if I can do it fast enough (with the video on, so I can watch it rather than just feel it)
Your sessions went really well! Super connection on all of them! And I think she liked this food-carrying-toy 🙂
She is doing well with the wrap shifting connection – you can use your ‘new’ dog-side arm to point to the landing spot too, which enhances the connection. What I mean by that is as you do the FC from your right arm to your left arm, connect like you did and rotate and use your left arm (new dog side arm) to point to the landing spot as you rotate and start moving the other way.
>>I need to drop the toy sooner.>>
You can drop it sooner, and if you want even more commitment – throw it to the landing side so she gets it when she lands 🙂
On the 2nd video – You totally got the countermotion! You were rotating sooner and sooner, and shifting connection – and she seemed to have no questions. YAY! Like with the previous set of sequences, you can use the arm after the FC to point to the landing spot here too (your fingers are an extension of your eyeballs in this case)
On the 3rd video – great job shifting your connection on the 360 wrap! And your new arm (right arm at the beginning, then left arm in the 2nd half) was pointing back as your were looking back. That really opened up your connection and made the toy throw earlier 🙂 You can exaggerate it even more as it helps turn your shoulders to the landing spot while your feet continued forward. She had no questions.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Looking a the videos:
On 1275 (the first 2 videos are the same):
The commitment to jumping a jump in collection to wrap it is a hard skill for him! Part of it is getting the handling perfect for him, and part of it is getting the transitions more visible. Mainly, you can strengthen his commitment to a jump that is right in front of him by changing the placement of reinforcement: rather than reward him back on the takeoff side when he gets back towards you (which puts a lot of value on being near you), switch to tossing the reward to the landing side so he commits no matter what he sees in the handling.That way you can work the acceleration into the deceleration and rotate sooner – you were not really able to do that here because he would not take the jump. He would take it when you accelerated until he took off, then you would turn but that made the turns late and it was harder to work on the shifting connection. Changing where you throw the reward should make a big difference.
1277
His commitment to the circle wraps on the wing is looking good! Remember to shift your connection more so you can drive ahead of him even more.
On the sends here, you can place the reward on the landing side too – if you turned or decelerated before he took off, he would come off the jump. So you were waiting longer to rotate but that causes him to land hard – ideally he will commit with your early rotation, so you can be rotated before he take off. That will add more collection and a tighter turn plus it will get you further ahead.
1279
Reward can be on landing side of jumps here too 🙂 You are facing the jump and moving towards it until he takes off, but we can change that to help with the commitment but throwing the reward to the landing spot.With the circle wraps – shift the connection to the landing side of the circle wrap more so you don’t have to step sideways – as you started to go faster on these, you were leaning into the turn then stepping sideways to help him commit. If you can shift your connection to the landing spot, you will be able to keep running forward and not have to hang out and use motion to help him commit
1281
He was slowing down here – might be a bit too many reps of the same thing (lots of jump wrapping) even if they are spread out. It is a lot of turning so he was not driving the lines as well, which made the commitment even stickier. So, fewer reps of jump wrapping but all should have the reward on the landing side! That will help get him committing sooner.The line of motion at 1:08 was more like what I was describing above on the circle wraps, for you to keep moving forward. To create the connection shift so he commits better, switch hands: if he is on your right to send to the wing, you can shift to your left hand to point to the landing spot as you also shift your connection to the landing spot so you can move forward even more independently.
1283:
These were the Serps. He reads serpentines nicely!! Your connection shift can be sooner on the serps – you were doing it as he was taking off, but you can start it (arm back, arms on landing spot) as soon as he exits the wrap wing as long as you are past the entry wing of the serp. A long distance end to the tart wing should make that easy to get to serp position. And, for the start send, make sure he is lined up and you are connected before each sendNice work here! Stay warm!
TracyHello and welcome!
These all looked SUPER connected – he drove to the wing and drove the line over the jumps without looking back (at least until there were no more jumps). And it looks like there was a thrown toy not a placed toy, so he was looking forward because of connection. Super!!My only suggestion is that when you are way ahead, you can experiment with keeping the strong connection like you had here but pumping your arms to run (like you did when he was ahead on the last reps on each side). That way your dog-side shoulder won’t be as far back and you can move faster – so the plan would be to see if he can still see the connection with your shoulder dropped back to see him, but arms pumping to run instead of extending.
Great job here! Onwards to the exit line connection!
Tracy
I totally agree – there is too much stress at the start line if the handler and dog are arguing about a stay! I am glad you and Karma are working so well together 🙂
Tracy
Good morning! These are looking really great! Fingers crossed for good weather ahead!
On the sends at the beginning – you are making great connection but turning your lower body away on the send step. Do it as a step to the jump then turn away, so it is step-then-leave. Practicing those mechanics will help when you are sprinting into it on bigger courses.
You sent-then-turned at :45 and it was great! You can start the send by sticking closer to the jump like you did at 1:05, but then as she exits the wing at 1:06 you turned your back to early for the blind so she did not take the jump. But based on your adjustments, you knew that because the next reps had better timing and connection.
She did not go the wing at 1:22 – good position near the jump but as you sent, you did the send-and-turn with your arm pointing to the wing, so she read the change of motion and came towards you.
Nice adjustment on the next rep to get the send AND the cross at the end! 1:39 to 1:43 was perfection!
The reps on your left too a couple of tries to settle into a comfort zone – you were moving forward to the send wing a bit more than needed, but tit looks like you felt that and dialed it back.
The rep at 2:23 was good – take one less step to the send wing and it would be perfect . Decelerating near the jump before the wing then the big explosive step was working beautifully on your right so it just needs more practice time on your left.
Last rep was very strong!!! She was a little tired and your regular connection was a little ofter so you might see a little less speed and a little but of a zig zag but overall, it was really strong.Great job here!
TracyHi!
Yes, it is weird feeling and uncomfortable at first! But then the brain solidifies it and you won’t have to think about it 🙂>>Yes there was a tunnel and I had turned the opening slightly away.>>
I can see why the tunnel would be something they both considered – it is a much bigger visual than the wing there! A great puzzle to work through because jump versus tunnel discriminations are really popular right now 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHello and welcome! I hope your back is feeling better ASAP and no surgery is required (unless it will fix the issue and you can get back to running!!)
First video – I agree, I like the distance and commitment she had sending around the wing! When you had the big eye contact and low hand on the send cue, she was amazing (like at :24). When she was circling in front of you and taking the jump… it was when you were looking at the wing on the send instead of looking down to her. And it will definitely feel like you are looking downwards because you are tall and she is not LOL!!! So the lower you look and the lower you arm is and the more you see her cute face… the better her sending it 🙂
After the send, the connection to drive the straight line was lovely!!!!
2nd video – Yes, the ball was in the correct hand here but even when it wasn’t you still had the correct mechanics for the exit line connection. Super! And her turns were really good!!! The FCs and spins all looked good – when she is on your left for the spins, you can start sooner: the FC part of it can be just as she is arriving at the jump and before she takes off, so the blind is happening before she lands. That way she will see it before she comes around the wing. That is what you were doing when she was on your right side and the spins were smoother!
Video 3, sending: the sending is going really well!!! You are definitely more comfy sending from your left side, that had a ton of big distance success!!
Looking at the video:
2nd rep – and after that – such notice connection on your sends on the left side! The right side sending didn’t seem as comfy for you in the beginning, you took extra steps as opposed to the left side sends where you took one big connected step 🙂On the sequences with the circle and the big send – nice job sending to the wing with connection and one step like at 1:01 and 1:08 on your left!
On your right you were definitely focusing on NOT taking extra steps and she had great commitment too on that side.When you put it all together into the big sequence: Your send connection at 1:43 and 2:42 was was fantastic! She had no questions about committing o when you see her on the way to the wing, you can stay connected and start moving down the line past the next jump for the FC or BC – no need to help her find that jump, she will take it if you use some regular connection.
The end at 2:07 was on your right and was not quite as comfy – that was the first time that you pointed to the wing and didn’t look at her, so she had a question there. Since the right side work is a little harder, y toucan exaggerate the connection back to her and give one big step so it becomes as smooth and as easy as the left side sending.
Really nice job on the serps! On this video, we see the left side sending being easier too – all of the sends and serps and your left were lovely!
At :36 on your right, you really gave a big dramatic connection and step – and she sent to the wing brilliantly! You also had a great connection on the right at 1:18 and 1:30, so she sent past you even when you stopped your motion and ran to the serp. On the last rep, she went so well that you were able to get past the exit wing of the jump. That is SUPER!!!! So keep the big exaggerate connection on the right side sending (your arm was all the way back behind you) and rewarding her – she is doing amazingly well!!!!Great job here!
Tracy>>I went and tried it again the way you suggested and it was flawless. Thinking about it like a triangle helped, thank you! Would you recommend I keep working it or do we continue moving on and come back if needed?>>
Yay! That is great to hear! You can move on then come back to it if he has any other questions 🙂
Good start to the rear crosses! The parallel path warm up went really well – as you got into the rear crosses, you started further and further from the prop which was exactly right. The only thing to add is starting to cut behind him on the rear cross sooner, basically as soon as you can after he starts moving forward. You might be doing it within the first step (then keep moving forward after it). What was happening here was that he was getting close to the prop and making the decision how to hit it before he saw the rear cross info. On the last couple, he knew that there was something else going on (he was looking at you a bit) so I think it will be easy for him if you start it 3 or 4 steps sooner.
On the concept transfer video: he really liked this, and it was easy for him. His commitment is looking really strong! He was happy to wrap the cone no matter how you pointed to it with your left hand. The right hand cues (right turns) were harder for him – might have been the harder direction plus having to leave the toy. Good job working through it – if you held the cue until he was at the cone, he would get it every time. If you tried to drop the arm or move forward, he would come with the arm so for now, keep the arm cue up on the right turns. I figure he will be perfect with it by the next session. You can definitely start the rocking horses, where there is more motion to support the cue (and less sideways motion at the beginning of the game).
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>and understanding of fear!😂
I totally understand the terror LOL! I am afraid of my baby whippet coming at me and he only weighs 28 pounds LOL!
>>So I am not getting far enough ahead of her on the exit?
If you wanted the tight turn on the exit, wrapping around the exit of the jump, then yes – you can get further ahead and run right past the wing of the jump. For the others, when you didn’t want the tight turn exit, you were way ahead and just needed more exit line connection.
>>I also thought she might be anticipating the ball being thrown instead of dropped.
She was good! She was following your motion and not thinking about the ball.
Keep me posted!
(And no, our weather still stinks LOL!)T
Hi! Great session here!
Wing to jump sending looked great – she had excellent commitment and nice turns!!! Great job using big connection and just one step. Note how far ahead you were when you added the 2nd jump 🙂On the jump-jump-wing sequences:
On these, the send was less clear on the first couple because I think you were figuring out what to do (like at :48, when there was not enough connection so she didn’t go to the jump).
You nailed it at :58! Perfect! When you see her locking onto the jump there, you can step away sooner so you are way ahead on that one too.On the full sequence – really nice send at 1:11 and even better at 1:28 and 1:43 and the rest of the reps. Her commitment was great and your connection looked terrific.
The timing on the FC and BC is definitely hard here! Some were a tiny bit wide because you went too far straight past the first jump, so she was a little wides (like at 1:13) as she followed your line. When you stayed closer to the jumps and moved more towards the jump after the cross before starting it, the turns looked really good, like at 1:30 and 1:45 where you also started the FCs sooner.
The BCs looked good as well! You were a little late at 2:08 when you added an accidental spin on the wing send, but they were overall looking good. I agree, the last BC was my favorite too!
>>I tried to get the FC and BC’s earlier here, still feeling a bit clumsy.
You can trust her even more 🙂
Because she is so fast and has really strong commitment you can totally take off for your BC or FC before she even arrives at the wing. You were waiting til she was at the wing ad exiting it, but I bet you can move to your next position when she is just barely arriving at the wing. Maintain connection back to her and you will be able to get to the FC and BC even more easily.Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This is a great question! And my answer is… it depends LOL!!! Ideally the dog will stay whether you are connected or not on the lead out… but some dogs are not confident enough for the handler to disconnect, so being connected is really important. And some dogs are on edge and barely hanging on to the stay, so handler connection is too exciting and it is better if the handler does NOT connect 🙂 So it is a ‘learn your dog’ moment, no single answer for all dogs.But – it is important to not pair connection with the release, otherwise connection *becomes* the release. What I mean by that is when a handler leads out without connection, then re-connects, releases and runs at the same time? Yep, the dog will begin to release on the re-connection. And it he dog is not wrong there – the re-connection becomes the cue, as created by the handler. So when leading out without connection, be sure to reconnect, praise, wait a few heartbeats… then release 🙂
TracyHi!
>>I have really enjoyed working on these little sequences and it is nice they can be done in a small space.>>
I am glad to hear that! I was hoping the everyone could have a fun thing to do over the winter without needing a big space.
>>I am curious, if you were doing this exercise for a threadle instead of a serp would the only difference be the verbal and location that you indicate the jump? Would your shoulder be even more open as they approach the threadle jump?>>
Great question! Yes, the verbal would be different, the location would be different (relative to the jump) and I would open my shoulder a little more on the threadle. There is actually a threadle versus serp game coming in the 4th package of games 🙂
On the video:
She did really well, serps are hard! Yes, you needed more serp drama (arm back, connection shifting) on the first rep at :02 but then the rest were really strong! There was one blooper later on at :42 where you didn’t have a connection shift so she didn’t take the jump. She got it nicely on the next rep when the cue was clearer – you can exaggerate it more when you use countermotion2 smaller details: remember to use your send connection to send her o the wing before the serp jump – your arm was getting a little high there, so she was asking some questions.
Also, stay parallel to the bar on serps, don’t pull back – when you switched to the other side, you can see how you were moving away from the bar (towards the camera) on the first couple of reps. Compare that to :37 where you were great about staying parallel to the bar, shifting connection, and creating a tight exit line with some countermotion. YAY!
Great job here!! Stay warm!
Tracy
