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Hi!
Great job on the exit line connection on the FCs! Lovely! And her turns were fantastic 🙂
Walking the BCs looked good – the exit line connection was great! She needed more regular connection on the landing from to commit her to 2. On the rep at :38, you looked forward when she landed from 1 (you can see her ears come up). That started the BC before she was committed to jump 2, so she didn’t take the jump. Excellent adjustment on the next reps: You had more connection on the 2nd rep (:46) so she got it – you can turn sooner like you did at :52 – that was your best timing on the blind! The connection at
:59 on the other side was also really strong. You can try leading out more, as that will give you more time to get the blind started – she is fast!The connection on the spins looked great! Remember to keep moving after you finish the spin so you are not caught standing still as she comes driving around the wing 🙂 And the wrap blind at the very end looked great too!
Nice work here! To answer your question: Yes, you totally have it!!! Yay!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I’ve never had a dog be SO vocal for training. >>
She’s a talker! She has been chatty since she was very young 🙂 She has a lot of opinions 🙂
>>Paris will bark at me on the start line for an Important run at a Major event or on the table because “Tables are Stupid”>>
Paris is correct: big runs are exciting and tables are STOOOPID lol!!!
>>But other than that none of my dogs have barked at me SO much for agility.>>This is correct, she is barking for it. Almost like she is shouting: “LET’S DO IT! THIS IS FUN! RUN RUN RUN!”
>>Also. Can you tell me again your opinion of making a dog wait until they ‘Look’ at an obstacle before you release them? It seems popular here for some people to make an exercise of it. >>
It is a very popular exercise indeed! It is worthwhile as long as you break it down and train it, and if the dog has a great stay. And if you have a high level of success. I start it with a toy on the ground (think back to toy races, but with a sit instead of a collar hold).
>Have the dog sit in front of a tunnel, wait for them to look at it, then say tunnel and let them take it. Then have them sit in front of same tunnel, when they look at it Don’t say tunnel, and reward in place for Not taking the tunnel. Rinse and Repeat. Stimulus control and Focus Fwd to be more obstacle focused? >>
I think it is fine if the dog likes it. I think some dogs/breeds that like to stare at things really like it (cough cough *border collies* cough cough). Other breeds are decidedly “meh” about it for a variety of reasons. My whippet flicks an eyeball the obstacle but doesn’t stare at it… probably because he thinks it is dumb to stare at something that is not going to move, and he knows it is there. LOL!
>>This exercise seems to just Frustrate Mochi which leads to more barking.>>
Starting it on a jump or tunnel might be ‘lumping’ so it frustrates her. Try it from a stay with an empty bowl on the ground and see if you can release her to the bowl when she flicks and eyeball to it, then put a cookie in it. And if the game still frustrates her, you can put it away for another time. She is an adolescent and they are particularly susceptible to frustration and big emotions, so no need to add to it 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
Regular connection is hard! And since he is just a year old, he is really inexperienced so needs to learn more about finding the line. I think you were trying to manage the turn & line (especially when he was on your right side, turning to his left in the 2nd video). That meant you couldn’t really focus on connection, which definitely made thing harder!Basically, when you go fast, he goes fast! But doesn’t really know how to find the line. When he got on the line, he was great! It was getting on the line that was hard if you were moving. And we need you to move, not stop 🙂 No worries, we can help him (see below).
>>I struggle with not paying him for attempting something even if it is not exactly right because I want to keep value for the game.>>
You can give reset cookies to line him up between each rep if there is nothing to reward on the actual rep.
>>I am not sure if I need to go back and revisit the find my face game but it doesn’t seem like Zyp is looking to make a connection.>>
No need to do that – we don’t want him look at your face, we want him looking at the jump.
So to help him find the lines: basically, if he was on the line after the wing wrap, you could run. But if you ran *before* he was on the line, he would run around the jumps. So what was happening was that you were tending to stay near the wing to manage the turn a bit until he got on the line to the first jump. We can teach him to let you move the whole time!
To do that, you can work through this game being in motion the whole time…. But *walking* for the first session. The big acceleration is cuing big acceleration… but he is inexperienced so he doesn’t always include the jumps LOL! Don’t stop moving but also don’t go fast. Just walk up the line.
Along with that, let’s change the reward placement to get him thinking about the jumps, that first jump in particular: – do one session with you walking, with thrown cookie rewards for finding the line to jump 1 (like GIANT pieces of string cheese). You will be connected so you will be able to see himlook at the line to the jump after the wing wrap (mark and throw the cheese to the landing of 1) or looking past it to go around it (sadness, no cheese LOL!) – If that goes well, do a session with a thrown toy to land between 1 and 2, with you walking. – If that goes well, place the toy on the landing side of 1, halfway between 1 and 2
Because each session can be just 3 reps, you can do each step, take a break, then come back and do the next step. If he struggles, you can do it more slowly in terms of spreading it out over several days.If he can find jump 1 easily with your in motion (walking) the whole time to the exciting place toy, then you start moving the toy back – move it to the takeoff spot of jump 2 (you can take the bar out of jump 2 when you do that so he doesn’t splat himself) then to the landing side of 2.
If that goes well? Repeat the process with you jogging the whole time (started with the food rewards tossed to the landing of 1). Then it gets repeated with you running

It might seem like a lot of steps, but it will actually happen really quickly!Then you will be able to really focus on your connection and he will have a great understanding of finding lines 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Hi!
You did add decel on these and it helped! On the first FC rep, you had too much motion and started when she took off at :11 so the turn was a little wide. On the second rep, you had a definite decel and she turned a lot better!
For the ELC, think of showing her the toy in your hand more while you look at her more directly – you had it a bit across your body but I don’t think she could see it because your other shoulder (right shoulder) was closed forward because you were looking forward (to throw it). This is a good camera angle to see it at :40.
>>Not sure what I was doing wrong here but I did it 2x in a row
On Rep 3 at :58 a she landed from 1, you were looking at little forward so it pulled her off the line. More connection directly down to her (will feel like you are looking at her butt LOL!) will help support the line to 2.
>>and then the third time I actually sent her to the left over the second jump.
It is possible you were over-compensating to get her to take jump 2 and pushed in to the center of the bar, so she read it as a rear cross.
On the right – definitely better connection on the 1-2 line, especially when you were in position 3! You can add in the decel here and more direct eye contact on the exit line connection to make it really smooth and tight.
The spins were not clumsy at all! The first rep and 3rd rep were both really strong: a bit of decel set up the rotation for 2 and you did it earlier so she collected nicely! Then you went smoothly into the blind, and made more direct connection on the ELC – look at :06 and you will see how clear it was. SUPER!!
>>I do not have video, but in position 3 I could not get do the blind on time. I was too far behind.>>
It is possible you were too far behind – she is fast!!! And also make sure you had the clear ELC you did at :06 with the spins.
Nice work here!!
TracyHi!
On the video:
Good job sorting out the mechanics of the arms – you were connected the whole time but getting the exit line mechanics very clear definitely helped! Really lovely connection on the FCs! And also a good ‘sweet spot’! And also, getting the arm across the body for mechanics is good even if the toy is not in it 🙂
The spins looked great too – she had no questions (she would be yelling them if she did LOL!) and was fast with lovely turns 🙂
For the blinds: You were working on getting them sooner – well done seeing that. They were a little late. The last one was the one of the best ones! At 2:46, you started the blind when she landed (front feet down) from jump 1, so you were basically finished and showing exit line connection before she took off. That created a lovely line (and a soft landing from her because she didn’t have to change directions when she landed). The rep at 2:25 was also well-timed to be able to show the exit line connection – such a nice turn there!! The exact timing will depend on distance between the jumps – this was more of an AKC distance. You can start a stride later if you are on the bigger UKI distances.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>We were at a trial this past weekend, and she knocked a bar on her premier JWW run on a wrap. It was actually a really nice run other than that. After rewatching the video, I can see that I did not have enough connection (Exit line connection!!). On her novice JWW run, she knocked 4 or 5 bars. I don’t think I had enough connection there either.>>
Do you have videos? We can analyze in terms of where the connection was strong and where it can be stronger! Post them if you have them!
>> She still really struggles with jumping, especially in an arroused state, and I’d love to figure out if my level of connection (too much or not enough) is impacting that or if it’s mostly something caused by her emotional state. >>
All of the above! For whatever reason, she has to process EXTRA HARD to pull off jumping skills. Add in arousal – DOUBLE EXTRA HARD processing. So your connection is not causing it but it can make things easier if we can find the sweet spot (and harder if you disconnect and takeoff on a line, but you knew that and you tend to not even disconnect and take off).
>>I’ve experimented with both levels of connection, but maybe I’m missing the sweet spot in the middle.>>
Might be in the middle for certain lines. And more for other, and even less for others. The sweet spot shifts around depending on the line you need to create.
Tracy
Hi! Sorry for the delay – the huge storm yesterday took out a lot of the internet infrastructure here (including my Starlink, sigh) so things are just getting reliably back online.
>>I’ll still trying to figure out her commitment as it seems to vary a tiny bit. We will practice more soon. Should I move onto the combo exercises?>>
Check out today’s games with the shifting connection – the will help her commitment too! And yes, you can do the combo exercises because the shifting connection concept will help those too 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
>>I don’t know if you have it as a policy to only do one video at a time but sometimes my access to the training building is not always that easy (right now there is 8 inches of snow and the building is on the ridge in the La Crosse WI area. If you would rather I submit one video and wait for your response –no problem.>>
You can submit them as you train them! No need to only do one at a time if you have a couple ready to go 🙂
This also looked great! Excellent exit line connection mechanics!!!
>>I have to say I was freaked at how tight her turn was on the front.>>
Freaked in the best way, right? She looked great! You will definitely want to add a bar to this so you can work the timing of the turn cues: as she exits the wing wrap, she should see you moving forward and decelerating. Then as she passes you and is collecting to take off, you can do the FC (before takeoff) and then she can see your exit line connection before she even lands.
Great job here! You can add the spins and the combos too!
Tracy
Hi!
Sorry for the delay, I am still in catch up mode from all the tech going down (thanks, Mother Nature! NOT!)
>>his past Sunday at TCOTC (you were correct) I executed the Exit Line Connection with a blind around one of those poles and she read it beautifully.
This is awesome!! Yay!!!
The regular connection here with the arm-pumping looked GREAT! You seemed to have a completely clear view of her the whole time (which is useful for timing!) and she never had to look up at you. She drove straight with excellent form – power jumping!!!
You will find this to be very useful at the end of courses and on big lines! You can spread out the distances and start closer to the wrap wing, so that you can practice this when she is ahead of you too.
Great job!
TracyHi!
Sorry for the delay, I am still in catch up mode from all the tech going down (thanks, Mother Nature! NOT!)
>>but in motion- what’s the difference? Is it where we’re going next? both switch hands/sides?>>
Both the FC and the Spin and be used to indicate a different line (wide turns, tight turns, everything in between :))
The FC ends up with the dog on the other side than the one she started on. The spin ends up with the dog on the same side she started on…. But with the FC rotation followed by a blind to get her there.So the next question is probably WHY? LOL! For a spin versus a post turn: the spin rotation can create a tighter turn than a post turn, if it turns the handler’s feet to the next line sooner than the post turn (or if the dog needs stronger turn cues).
On the video: these were actually front crosses, because you started her on one side and finished on the other side. Your connection wa great though and she knew exactly where to be! And you had to do it fast because there garage space is small 🙂 For the spins, you would want to start the FC then do the blind right after it. For example, if she starts on your right, do a FC as if going to your left but before she catches up to you: look at her over your right shoulder again (with exit line connection 🙂
>>I did notice once that I turned too soon which caused her to come in>
Good catch, and good reward! Connected for another heartbeat or two until she looks at the jump ahead will get her committed, and then you can start the spin.
Nice work!
TracyHi!
>>Clarification question when you said volume dial and patterns are mentally expensive. It’s not the game itself that is expensive, but doing it for arousal management in a challenging environment right?>>
Since the games operate on arousal management, they are expensive in each new environment and not as expensive when neural pathways have been well-formed. So the games were probably pretty expensive even at home in the early learning stages (which is why we start them with young dogs and in very easy environments). Then the neural pathways are formed so it is not nearly as expensive. Then in new environment, the game is expensive again because of the processing challenges and arousal regulation challenges. Then at some point, those neural pathways get formed so the game becomes less expensive there too 🙂
>>I did a super bowls and a power bowls this morning to help neutralize them after the trial for both dogs and it seemed really easy. >>
It probably was! And the neutralizing concept is more about classical conditioning/associative learning: if we only do the games right before something arousing appears, or in highly charged environments… then the games becoming arousing and highly charged (like a doorbell does LOL!)
>>Lift even did some retrieves wtih a toy and this was before breakfast. Then she slept all day and still said no thanks to the toys when I was warming her up before her live session turns tonight. When she works for toys, I feel like it gets her more aroused and she likes it, but only if she doesn’t tip over into the leaping lemur or decide to wander off to find cheese debris.>>
That might have been leftover brain-tiredz from the weekend, or maybe it is a hard time of day for her for training (hard for me too LOL!) If she had a challenging weekend, even in a good way, it can take 72 hours to return to baseline (or longer, for teenagers). It is a definite balancing act that will get much, much easier as she continues to mature.
Tracy
Good morning!
You had a BUSY week, but I hear the trial went really well!!! And having him play his pattern games at the trial is absolutely priceless training 🙂 It sounds like a fabulous weekend!The backside slicing is going really well! Every time I was going to suggest adding something, you added it 🙂 such as getting further across the bar, or adding toy play. He was very successful with all of it!
So now we can move forward and add more of the next steps:
As you add more distance away from the barrel, maintain connection to his eyes as you are moving up the line, especially on the left turns. This includes having your dog-side arm back a little and shoulder open. You were lookinf forward a bit and also had your shoulders “closed” which points your shoulders to the front side of the bar. You can see his question at 2:13 and 2:19. You were holding your hands in the center of your body so he was looking at you fo rmore info. Yes, he was looking at your hands (and face and shoulders) there because he was seeking more info – so having your arms down and a little backto him will help.You can also add more motion – walking faster and more cnoenction while you do that – that will help propel him up the line. At the end you were walking very slowly so he was asking if he was supposed to drive past the decel or not 🙂 These are valid, legit questions!
You can also add your backside slice verbal, starting from position 1. The verbal will help you connect because you will be saying it directly to his cute face and not to the barrel 🙂
>>Looking forward to the live class tonight!>>
The weather was instance but we actually made it work – I was not so sure for the first 30 minutes, then it all settled down LOL!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>but I feel like our results were kind of disastrous again.
Definitely not disastrous! Most of it was really strong – your exit line connection was perfect on each rep! And the ‘regular’ connection was really strong too – she has a couple of questions on the reps where your arm came forward a bit (like at :39 on. The first video and :14 on the second video) but she was really strong with her commitments!
>> After just a couple reps, I couldn’t get Kashia engaged, motivated, excited, nothing. She was just lolly-gagging along with the motions. It was extremely frustrating, if I’m being honest.>>
In those moments, channel your frustration into being a sleuth: hmmm, what are the clues that might be creating this? It is entirely possible she was tired – she has done this setup a lot recently, so her brain and body might be deleted from the mental work part of it. Or, maybe the reinforcement value had dropped off and she needed a better (or even just different) high value reward.
Also, there were some weird echos in the background that I had not heard in your other videos. It is possible that there were weird noises in the environment that night and she was having trouble with that.>>Anyway, now Kashia is at that point and I’m feeling these feelings all over again. Is it me? Am I doing something wrong to shut her down? Is it just my dogs’ personalities?>>
I think the main thing to look at first is the reinforcement: what type of treats were you using, and how often does she get them? I bet if we tweak the reinforcement then she will be ready to rock’n’roll!
>> My problem is motivating them.
That is why I want to look at her rewards. Reinforcement is the root of motivation, so if we can unlock the highest value reinforcement then you will see a big change in her motivation.
Does she like tennis balls? What type of treats do you use with her?
>>Is Kashia just bored of the games? We only practiced for about 6-7 minutes at the very most. I felt like her first couple of reps were good and then she just shut down. Boredom? Uninterested? Not happy? Confused? >>
I wouldn’t say confused, but if she has a question and gets it wrong – you can reset her with a cookie as you figure out why it went wrong. Then on the next rep, set her up for success. When she was not going around the start wing, stronger connection helped for sure and as you figured that out, she can get reset cookies to line up for each new rep. And, fewer reps are always a good idea – if she gets it right twice? No need to do it again, you can do something else. Variety is good!
But again – the value of the motivator will be key, so give me the details on what she likes to eat and what rewards you use 🙂
>> Meanwhile, training days like this can be discouraging.>>
Totally relatable! But dogs tend to do better with more days off from training in between lessons, then they come back really strong. So she might just be tired out. And if something goes wrong, be a sleuth to find the clues 🙂
>>Also, why in the heck would she not go around the crates (wing)? What was I doing to miscommunicate with her? She did it a zillion times in a row. >>
Having done it a zillion times in a row might be why she stopped doing it 🙂 The dogs get tired (physically and mentally) especially if there are a lot of reps, so you can give her a break from it and come back with a stronger motivator.
>>I know we all have our good days and bad days. I know this was probably just a bad day for Kashia compared to the other days where she seemed happy to be working. I almost didn’t share this so I could try again tomorrow on maybe a better mood day. >>
I am glad you shared it! It was largely a successful session. The one thing I would NOT do is try again tomorrow… give her a day off and let her brain re-charge 🙂 She is a teenager and teenage brains need rest 🙂
>> Nothing excited her today. I even changed treats to see if she needed a different reward. It didn’t seem to help.>>
Let’s brainstorm motivators: what treats did you start with? Which ones did you change to that were still “meh” to her?
>> I know Kashia has great talent and capabilities! It just sucks going through this cheerlead phase again with a different dog!>>
I agree – she has a ton of talent! So we will unlock the motivators then it will be much easier 🙂
Looking forward to hearing about her favorite foods 🙂
TracyHi!
>>So I am embarrassed to post this, but I know I should show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. She was the good, I was a bit bad, and even a hint ugly.>>Nothing to be embarrassed about! There is always good stuff to look at on any video 🙂
That first rep looked SUPER good!!
He was barking at your side from :38 to :51. In that moment you can ask her for a sit then get on with it, rather than waiting. I *think* you were waiting for her to be quiet but I am not sure (and neither was she) so you will want to cue something to help her out then get right into the game. Otherwise, you wait for something and she guesses (and barks) and you both get agitated but it. She is your teammate, so fill her in on the plan and ask for a sit 🙂
The release there didn’t have enough connection as you moved to the wing so she was confused, then more confused when you walked away, then more confused when you told her to stop. But when you got into the work and gave cues? Lovely! Connected and smooth!
The next rep was nicely connected too – I think bringing her to the start spot, asking for a sit, then getting right into it (with connection of course :)) will make a big difference in the barking.
The last 2 reps had little bits of disconnection that caused questions. The one at 2:12 was obvious (she didn’t take the jump) because you looked forward at the jump and slammed on the brakes 🙂 On the last rep, you looked forward (so she looked at you) but you kept moving so she got it. So remember to look at her over jump 1 – one way to remember to do it is to remind yourself to say the verbal cues directly to her cute face, and not to the jump.
>>The good news is my oldest girl, and superstar, Paris, earned her way into the GP and STPL Semifinals of next fall’s Cynosports. >>
Yay Paris!! Congrats! Cyno is in Tucson next fall, right?

>>Have you done USDAA lately? They are Really stretching out their courses, UKI influence?>>It has been several years – USDAA is pretty dead around here. But I am glad to hear about the course deign changes and yes, I would be it is a UKI influence 🙂 They might be trying to grab their audience back from UKI 🙂
Great job here!!!
TracyBrrr that is COLD for your neck of the woods!! EEK!!
Super nice reps on all of these! Good send to the start wing, and good connection through the line to commit her to the jumps: that allowed you to turn earlier which helped make the exit line connection easier. It was all SUPER clear!
>>Like I said previously, her barking really got to me today. >>
Yes – but from the other perspective, sometimes the barking is fine and you ignore it, and sometimes you get mad at her and yell or shush her. So…… I am pretty sure she doesn’t know why you are suddenly mad. Rather than have both of you get stressed about it, I highly recommend either wearing ear buds, or cranking music in the background like you did indoors! That will give your brain something happy to focus on rather than the barking 🙂
Nice job here!!
Tracy
