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Good morning! Really good session here, and the neighbor dog is indeed a big distraction! He was great about ignoring it!
>> I am limiting sessions to 5 minutes because by then we’re both super hot and brain dead.>>
Perfect – 5 minutes in the zillion degree temperatures can be a LOT!!!
>>Yes he’s jumping up at me but not in frustration. >>
Yes, it totally looked like he was excited about the reward and not frustrated 🙂
Looking at the different handling cues:
He did well with the go lines, and these were the only spots you needed a bit more connection 🙂 So add more eye contact as you run forward – he had a question on the first one (a little curling in towards you) and the bar down at 4:06 on the first jump, mainly because he couldn’t quite see enough connection.
You can also mix in go lines more often, to kind of ‘cleanse the palate’ and keep him looking forward 🙂
The wraps looked really good here, and I think the wrap reps had the best connection and timing too! He is nice and tight on the turn. Yay!
The rear crosses are going well too. Be sure to complete the side change – at the very end (last rep) you stopped without finishing the cross, so he was not sure if he should complete the rear of if he should turn back to you in the original direction.
>> Am I correct to use the wrap verbal on the rear cross here? >>
Yes, in this context. Other rear crosses can have left/right turn verbals or even ‘jump’ verbals if there is a lot of extension on the exit.
>> I was shocked how fast he remembered the back command for the backside.>>
Yes! You were not quite that clear at 1:52 (not far enough ahead for a baby dog so he didn’t see the connection) but much better at 3:17!!! The more you can connect on backside cues and the less arm pointing forward you use, the better he will read the cues (I know, totally counterintuitive on sends, but works GREAT!)
>> So we didn’t do the last tunnel plus back side.>>
No worries, it was 80 million degrees out! You can start with tunnel next time. And when you switch sides, start with the tunnel too – that will geta lot of motion going, especially if dog-on-left is the harder side.
Great job!!
Tracy
Good morning! This went really well!
I agree that he had a bit of a side preference here:
All of the reps where he was on your right (turning to his left) looked great. Then at first he was not as sure when he was on your left (turning to his right), Pointing at the jumps is not helpful – the adjustment that helped him was when you strolled a little closer to the jump at :42 – :45. That got the big lightbulb moment for him!Then you were able to add more motion, verbals, etc. NICE!!!
He is ready for you to add the tunnel and more distance and more running! If the weather remains ridiculously hot, you don’t need to drag the tunnel out – you can replace it with a cone for him to go around. You can also add more distance between the jumps – try to get up to 18 feet between the center of each bar, he seems ready for that too!
Great job 🙂
TracyGood morning! Really good session here!!!
>>3. Using my marker for throwing the toy away from me. I missed it on the 1st & 2nd ones and then realized I did and was better after that. Though I still said ‘yay’ before chase it on one of them. Sigh. Hard habit to break!>>
I feel this pain!!! It is definitely a hard habit to break (what is that old song by Chicago?) But it is worth it when they are young.
The hardest part is to say the marker *then* move the reward. The dogs figure us out, thankfully, and he was definitely looking forward more here! YAY!!!
>> I probably need to throw the toy sooner.>>
You can mark sooner and have the toy in the air right after that, especially on the tunnel exits.
>>1. Not moving on my lead out. Not always perfect, but better (I think??)>>
Yes! Like at :33 and :51and 1:03, where you praised, released, he moved, then you moved. Click/treat for you both!
You can also do moving lead outs, where you are walking away and release while you are walking. The trick is that your motion and the release do not start simultaneously. Either you are in motion the whole time (like those running lead outs that are super useful) or you stop, release, then move.
If you stop then release and move simultaneously – that is when motion gets built into the reelase by accident.>>2. Keeping the toy in my hand. This led to a few amusing elevations by James that I think I edited out, but overall when he was running he was able to keep the springs in the box.>>
Yes, you took them out LOL!! You can use a toy that can scrunch into your hand better, this one was very visible so he might have come flying up to it when other cues were not as clear? On the reps here, you were pretty darned clear! Yay!
He is ready for you to move more – try this jogging and then build up to running! And add in the crosses. With the crosses, keep the big connection (and this is where a toy that can scrunch up into your hand will help a lot too).
Great job!!
TracyGood morning!
Yes, the heat has been awful!!! Hopefully it breaks soon.
She did well on the mountain climber game!!
And she was fine to jump off when she lost her balance after turning around – she can even have a cookie for bravery 🙂Since she was happy to run up the board, you can add in a target at the top by duct taping something to the top of the board or underside so it sticks up and out a bit. Yes, I carry duct tape and a target to different facilities LOL!!
That way you can place a reward on it before she gets on the board. Then she can run up the board looking straight ahead to the reward, and you can add some independent handling (like moving past the end of the board). A bit of cream cheese is perfect, because you can put a dab of it on the target and she can lick it while you are moving away from the board or doing a rear cross, etc.Looking at the wing-tunnel-wing game:
I grabbed some screenshots so you can have a visual of the moments I am pinpointing here 🙂 Here is the link to them:https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Rr771QKL3b0oZ1bxOYQqgTh74QRtfmquG3tYqoGNv4/edit?usp=sharing
I think we can get better commitment by getting clearer connection and taking your arm cues out of it 🙂 You were tending to point ahead of her at the obstacles, which blocks connection and turned your shoulders away from the line. If you tried to move away, you got a refusal. If you held still til she saw the line, she got it but then you needed serious hustle to get the next part, which caused questions there.
Ideally, your arm follows her nose the whole time. So if she is behind you, your arm is pointing to her. Yes, the arm can go forward but that is best for after she passes you 🙂 And always have your eyes on her eyes as you move – that turns the line of your shoulders to the line you want her to take, and makes it very visible for her.
Looking at various moments:
You had a refusal at 1:29 (same thing happened at 2:14) – by using the arm to point forward, the send was turned away and there was no verbal, plus lots of other obstacles around. You can reward her for effort. She did get it at 1:52 but you had to hold position.
Compare to 1:41 where you had better position, better connection, and said tunnel. You can connect even more, look even more directly at her and point forward less.
Same at 1:45, after the tunnel: You were looking ahead and pointing ahead so she had a question about the line.
She got it better at 1:55 but that was based on you getting closer to the jump.When you ran with connection and had minimal or no pointing? She nailed it 🙂 Check out 2:10! You will tighten that turn by adding decel as she exits the tunnel, but let’s celebrate the connection first! And you had more gorgeous connection (and no questions from Tarot) at 2:43 as she exited the tunnel. That rep also had some decel so you got the collection before take off on the wrap!!
At 2:49, you did a big send by pointing ahead of her and that changed the line of the cue: connection blocked and shoulders turned away from the jump, so she came to you.
So definitely work the sequences with your arm low and back to her nose, and making eye contact (as you keep moving) the #1 thing. If you make the clear connection, she will not look at you at all 🙂 If you break connection by looking ahead and pointing ahead, she will look at you to figure out what you want.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
You and Fusion were AMAZING in class!!! Well done!!!!!!!!!!And I am glad we got it done before the rains came.
>>One question meant to ask the brake arm is this only used for tirns or can it be used for general collection eg before the weaves>>
I suppose it can be used before the weaves to help the dog. Ideally, the weave entries would be so well-trained that we would not need to, but it would be interesting to experiment with brake arms to see if the dog is more successful that way! Try it and let me know!
Tracy
OMG! I am glad you are all safe! Sorry about your truck, what a pain!!!!!!!!!
Looking forward to the videos when you have a chance to get to the field!Tracy
Yes, that was my screw up, sorry!!!! Thankfully you got the correct link in time. Stay cool!!!!!
Tracy
Hi!
She is doing really well with the layered line and finding the tunnel! Super!
One thing to consider with the verbals – it sounds like you were using ‘push’ for 4 (which is a front side) and for 6 (which is a backside). I think a ‘jump’ verbal is better for 4, and then push can be for the true backside at 6.
>>We are having trouble with commitment if I am moving. I feel that I’m looking at the landing spot, but maybe I’m not doing it correctly.>>
There were a couple of things happening here:
Yes, on the true countermotion reps where your feet were moving forward to the next jump (at :43 and 1:15) – you were looking at her and not back to the landing. So as she is moving to the backside entry wing, you can shift your connection to look at the landing as you move past the jump, and your dog-sde arim can point to the landing spot.
You were starting to do that at 1:31 and she came in a lot better. Be sure not to rotate your feet though, because that will make it a lot harder to keep moving forward on those backsides to be ahead for the next line.
Also, the backside push verbal is a compound verbal that means ‘go to the other side AND jump the bar’. I think she has understanding of the first part (go to the backside) but not of the 2nd part (jump to bar) so you will want to train that. To train it, lower the bar, don’t move as fast, and cue the behavior, Keep walking through it it and as she is approaching the backside entry, shift your connection to the landing spot (eyes and arm). And, this is the important part: toss the reward to the landing spot as you keep moving past it. The placement of reward is super important here – dropping it independently of your position really helps solidify understanding to take the bar rather than relying on your physical cues to help her come in to take it.
When she can do it with you walking (and not rotating your feet), you can start to go faster: jogging then eventually running.
On the reps where she did come in (:56, 1:03, 1:24, 1:45, 2:02 you were helping without countermotion by staying on landing side and rotating your feet. That definitely got her to successfully come over the bar, but I think using the countermotion and dropping the toy on landing as you move past the jump will help get her to do it without needing any foot rotation.
During the training, remember not to get caught up in trying to execute the handling move 🙂 Look for the training opportunities and how to build the skills, as these are more important than the handling moves. When you were having trouble getting the blind cross exit on the backside, you started to get frustrated and stopped rewarding her so she slowed down a lot… then 1:51 – you sent to where she went on 4 and then told her she was wrong. She starting getting careful (trotting) so you will want to do 2 things to avoid her slowing down:
– keep rewarding and breaking the skills down is a handling move is going wrong, rather than withholding reward
– stop and watch the video and see why it is going wrong, as the video will givey you great info!>>Also, I know you have been busy, so it might not have been posted yet, but did I miss an email about the conditioning guest instructor camp webinar being posted?>>
The email is probably flying around in spam somewhere LOL!! The webinar is posted here:
Recording Of Special Guest Instructor Live Zoom with Stefanie Theis!
Great job!!
Tracy
Good morning! Nice work here!
Seq 1 – this opening is one where you will definitely want to get her looking forward on the brake arm release. She was looking at you on the first release and did not take the jump. You can use a bowl or toy on the other side of 1 to work the skill, then fade it (starting with you closer to the jump, then gradually moving further away). She got it on the 2nd rep at :29 when you stepped in more, but was still looking at you on the release.
Getting the turn on the tunnel exit:
The decel and brake arm were timely before she went into the tunnel at :35 – Nice!! You can add a directional such as ‘right’ or a tight turn tunnel exit cue at the same time as the physical cue, to help her differentiate between the turn and the straight line exits.
Your arm cues were even stronger at :57 and she had an even better turn. SUPER!!Layering worked well at :47 because you had a parallel path the whole time and were ahead when she exited the tunnel. That gives you a positional advantage to be able to use a brake arm in this context. On the 180 at :48 and 1:41, for example, that is a perfect spot for it – as she exits the tunnel, you can be showing the brake arm along with the dog side arm, and a little decel as you turn your shoulders. Without the brake arms there, she lands long then turns after landing. The brake arms should allow you to turn and go while also getting lovely turns before takeoff.
The brake arms for the wrap at 1:43 were GREAT – that was a nice turn!! The brake can probably come sooner, when she is about halfway between the 2 jumps. But it was really fun to see how well she responded!!
The last sequence had the backside wrap at 2. You had too much forward motion on the first few reps. For example at 1:56 – as she was landing from 1, you were moving forward and that set her on the line to 3. You had less moment forward at 2:19 and 2:32, but still had motion so she went to 3. She was pretty convinced! And when the dog is pretty convinced, we can assume there is *something* in our cue that is unclear about what we want. So rewarding her is fine and I highly recommend stopping to look at the video so you can see what the cause was.
Showing it to her from just jump 2 was fine, but the context is different and doesn’t change the response to the cue she was seeing 🙂
Be stationary and a little rotated (with your right hip near the bar) so she can see the wing. You were moving forward on the release on the last rep, but when she landed from 1 at 3:05, you stopped moving and you were rotated. You can see her head turn because motion no longer supported the off course, so she came to the backside at 2.
The rest of the sequence looked great!! Running the line with her was a perfect way to end – fast and fun!!Great job :) Tracy
Good morning!
The mat work started off a little hoppy, probably because of the different visual. Then it ended up being just fine! She had really nice hits on the last couple of reps. We actually want her to lope more than run at the moment so she can organize her mechanics and so you can see what she is doing. Give this game a day or two off between sessions so latent learning can work its magic 🙂 You will see faster progress that way, rather than trying it every day.
Hooray for the rear cross! She got them in both directions – nice cues!!!! Just be careful to NOT do a rear cross when you say go and throw the reward straight (:47) 😁. And keep mixing in lots of straight lines so she keeps that skill fresh.
Great job!!
TracyGood morning!
Amazing how 90 degrees is the cold day – eek!! Having the pool and the cool coat seemed to help him. It looked like he was engaged and happy to play! Super!!!
>>Not sure how productive it was because while he was ‘in the game’, I feel like I was doing it all wrong… My hand is too high, that I know but I’m sure that wasn’t the only ‘problem’ on my part>>
I think it was very productive 🙂 He got lots of reward for finding the lines! He did better when you were looking at him and moving forward on the line, rather than pointing at the jump – the connection is what turns your shoulders to the line, and that is what he reads as the commitment cue. He still committed with the arm send, but he looked at you a little more on those.
And the thrown rewards out on the line really help solidify the commitment. It sounds like you were using ‘yes’ as the marker – do you have a marker like ‘get it’ that indicates he was correct AND the reward is out ahead? The more he knows to keep looking ahead, the better he will commit to the lines.
And when you started him from the stay – he was really driving! Yay! That was impressive, especially considering the smaller space and the super hot temperatures!
>>Suggestions about setup? We can’t go to Agility field because of this weather, and on backyard, that’s ‘all’ space I have. I was using wing instead of tunnel but my tunnel is actually only 10-feet so maybe it’s better to put tunnel (on ‘far’ side of the yard)?>>
I think that the tunnel is not ideal in the heat – partially because it gets hot inside the tunnel, and partially because for him it is harder work to get through the tunnel which could make him hotter than just using jumps and wings.
He did need an extra step to find the side of the wing you wanted, so two setup ideas for you:
– you can rotate the tunnel-replacer-wing 90 degrees and see if that makes it easier for him to go around
– you can replace the wing with a big cone or barrel if you have one. The ones/barrels are more obvious to the dogs regarding which side to go around, so the commitment will be more like what a small dog would do on a tunnel: blast around it really fast. Let me know if that makes sense!Great job here!! Stay cool and hopefully you get to spend lots of time in the pool 🙂
Tracy
Welcome back! It looks like you had a great time!!!!
The plank work was a perfect way to get back into the swing of training. She didn’t know she was supposed to go past you, so you can keep moving and also have a visual target (like a bowl) at each end to trot to.
To get her turning around, you can use a hand cue for her to follow (you added one at the end) – I think that will help stabilize the right turns too
I think she is ready for you to elevate the plank – do you have blocks or something you can put under the ends and the middle? That way you can also add hopping off the middle!
On the sending video:
>>Discovered she finds it very hard to line up at the tunnel exit but was able to do it with a treat lure.>>
Yes, it is WEIRD lol!!!!! A cookie lure was perfect 🙂
The one step sends at the 6 foot distance was no problem in either direction. The miss on the left turn wrap (first rep that direction) was more of a neighbor dog distraction than anything else.
When adding the middle jump, you can move to the first wing more and do the send to the middle wing, which should feel smoother than sending to both.
She had a question on the wraps to her right at 2:25 and 2:40 and 3:03 – you sorted it out that it was more connection needed plus a later send. When she turned to her left, there was not very clear connection plus the send happened while she was still in the tunnel.
You had better step timing at 3:03 (later, so it was more visible to her) and then perfect connection AND timing of the send on the last rep 🙂 Lovely!Her left turns seem stronger (which seemed to be the case on the plank too) so the extra emphasis on the right turn lines really helped her sort out the mechanics.
Great job!! Let me know what you think.
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Venture has a trained back up to feet on raised object (like a 2o2o). Is it ok to ask him for that when we play the game?>>
Absolutely! If he is used to doing the onto things that don’t move, you can brace the wobble board (and eventually the teeter) so it doesn’t move at first then add movement back very gradually. We don’t want him to be surprised by movement.
>>Question about the motion game. I don’t have a wobble board but I do have a 3′ rubber board that tips. Ven isn’t really phased by motion so do you think it’s ok to just use that rather than a true multi direction wobble board?>>
Yes, it sounds like this will work well!
I think the video is going better!! he had a lot of success here. You are both better at this connection and commitment when he is on your right, When he is on your left (turning to his right), he is not as clear about the commitment and you tend to turn your arm high and forward more like t :50 and 1:07. That looks like the beginning of a blind, which is why he would end up behind you there. If that happens, and you lost track of him, just throw the lotus ball to keep him moving so he doesn’t freeze up thinking he was wrong.
>>I don’t think I’m getting the left arm back far enough but I’m not totally sure that’s why he kept missing the second jump coming out of the tunnel going clockwise. Am I diagnosing it correctly?>>
Yes – it is a good camera angle to see the left arm coming up high and forward, so from behind it looks like a side change starting.
>>Should I be rewarding more often, life maybe after 2 obstacles, before we lose the connection?>>
Yes, but also do fewer reps 🙂 If you get a good one, call it a day and do something else 🙂 Sometimes we are great on the first rep then things get shaky LOL!!!
>>For rewards, I’m throwing the lotus ball on the line which just isn’t very far away >>
I think it is fine for now, and will also work well in bigger spaces!
>> Is there a way I could mark and send him away to a manners minder to get his reward? I was hesitant to try that because I can’t really put it on course without it becoming a predictable source/place to get reward.>>
Probably not an effective way to have it off to the side and still reward commitment, so the lotus ball is going to be best for now. And it provides an opportunity to ignore your hands and look for jumps.
>>I’m thinking almost like the beginning of working in the ring and then going back to the setup to get the reward.>>
That is a great thing (remote reinforcement) but it doesn’t necessarily transfer to line finding. So you can keep going with the food rewards – lotus ball or giant pieces of visible food 🙂
You can totally move forward from this setup now – it doesn’t need to be perfect 🙂 The concepts will transfer to the next games and that way you and Ven don’t get bored with the same set up 🙂 Also, remember that latent learning is magic – give him a few days off from handling to let his brain cement the learning and I bet he comes back with no questions. It works the same for us humans 🙂
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Huge wins include
Yay for huge wins!
>> (1) less shoe biting attacks (though still happens);
When does he bite your shoes?
>>((6) really nice sofa cuddles (newest and bestest).
Ah yes, these are so nice 🙂
>>The not-so-good and most puzzling: JP has started chasing his tail WITH catch and hold to tear at it. I feel utterly helpless with this one. >>
Hmmmm, this could be a number of things but definitely worth getting checked out – check him out physically because it could be a pain issue causing it, and also it could be the tip of an OCD behavior so it might be worth checking in with a behavior specialist. BCs are known to have the potential for some OCD behaviors so we definitely want to take a look at it before it gets more frequent.
>> I am broken again, making extra duty difficult.>>
Oh no! Feel better!!!
>> I think this is attention-getting behavior, but I’m not really sure.
Possibly? But definitely something to look at from a behavior perspective, If he gets a lot of stimulation (exercise, attention, etc) and the behavior increases rather than decreases, that could be a sign that it is not attention seeking.
>>Balancing boredom against his need to relax and get puppy rest. Any suggestions or experience with this would be most welcome.>
Mental stimulation is always a good one – food games, chew bones, eating meals from food puzzles or kong or Toppls, and routines for physical exercise. I also have xpens or use leashes to keep the dogs with me when I am sitting down or at a table/desk for when I am in the house and the pup needs to relax without being in a crate. That helps with some of the at home behavior with active young dogs – I use food rewards to help them settle down and not need to be busy.
Looking at the videos:
The lazy game is going well! He totally got the idea. You can spread the jumps out a bit and also move on to the week 2 games which use a very similar setup. I think you were using a marker for the treats (it got clearer as the session went along), so be sure to say the marker before throwing it. When using a toy – throw the toy too 🙂 so he doesn’t start to look back at you on these lines.
The toy from your hand works well for the tight FC wraps because on those we do want him driving back to you.
When you are ahead of him on the sends (like at 1:03, 1:11 and 1:24, for example), be sure to connect back to him rather than point ahead. When you point ahead he was tending to go a little wide (looking for connection). He took the wing nicely because yo were next to it, but the connection will be really helpful when you are not as close to the wing.
Those were when he was on your right. When he was on your left, you look to be very connected when he exited the tunnel and his turns were tighter, because he knew where he was going sooner 🙂
You were pretty quiet here – so now add all the verbals 🙂 They include the wrap verbals, the tunnel verbals, and the left/right verbals for when he goes from the wing after the tunnel to the middle wing. That will help the verbals become second-nature for you!
The plank game looked really easy for him! Yay! Doing the elevated plank indoors was great because he is ready for it – we want to be able to elevate the long plank as well, so do you have blocks or something you can put under it when you are on the grass?
Using the bowls kept his head straight so you can keep using the bowls – and you can move them to slight angles (on an arc towards you) so that he can practice entering the plank on a slight angle.Elevating the plank is the next step (6 inches or so is great) – and then when it is elevated, you can add on turning around in the middle as well as hopping off from the middle, so he learns how to get off if he loses his balance (rather than falling off).
He did well with the mountain climber game too! After the first introductory reps, he was more than happy to run up to the target YAY!! (Thank you to the helper who are loading the target in advance! When you are working on your own, continue to load the target in advance so he does not watch your hands for the food (he was beginning to do that). And with the food loaded on the target, you can then add some of the small handling moves like you driving ahead, or a rep cross.
Great job here!!
Tracy
