[Tracy Sklenar]

Looking at the FEO runs, here are some ideas for you!!

>>Toy is highly visible in hand.

Yes, but he is really only getting it at the end and sporadically at the weaves. So it is not as much of a true FEO and that doesn’t really help us shift the balance of value into the full ring (it is mainly at the end now :))

>>I have trouble rewarding mid-course…. It seems once something interrupts our runs (reward or mistake) it’s hard to get back on track.>>

What was happening was that after the reward, you didn’t quite re-establish connection so he didn’t know what line you wanted. So plan your rewards on course to be more in the early part and middle part, then you can send him to a jump he just did, wrap him over it, and be ahead to have very clear connection on the next line. The connection is key to getting back on track after a reward.

>We got the weaves first try in JWW!!! After that there was a lot of handler focus again. >

Good rewarding! The handler focus came from lack of connection after that.

Speaking of connection:

>A good startline but some pogo-ing and bouncing off the mama.>

The jumping up and down at the start line was a bit of arousal/frustration because there was not a lot of interaction/connection. You can play with him, talk to him, do a trick or 2 or 3 😁, let him tug on the toy, then line him up.

And the bouncing off of you in the runs was when you were not connected. What I mean by that is your arm was forward and your were looking ahead of him, so he could not quite see the line you wanted. The jumping up is more likely to happen in the higher arousal of the trial setting – in the home training, he is not as aroused so he will not jump up as much when you aren’t connected (but he did early in the video posted above!)

>>He was super handler focused on the run (he tends to be like this anyway) and I think this was the cause of most of the “mistakes”.>>

If he jumps up at you, take it as a communication to give stronger connection (low arm, looking at him more). Jumping up or extra handler focus means he doesn’t know where to go next, so he is looking at you for more info. When you feel the extra handler focus, add more connection 🙂

>>Some pattern games (back and forth and up and down)>>

He did well with these! Yay! Rather than hang out on the podium to do them, take them to the floor and also ad the moving back and forth. That will help him acclimate to the busy area a lot better, plus we don’t want to have an association of the podium being the fun place to be 😁. We want him to think the whole place is a place to be relaxed and engaged.

You can also skip the practice jump 🙂 That can deplete him before a run, when we need to have him at full force. Replace the practice jump time with the volume dial game tricks. That will really help get him focused for his runs and will also help on the way to the start line.

How is he doing with his remote reinforcement game? That will be a critical element as we build up his trial skills.

>>I don’t know how to fill in the holes here…. I’ve done more foundation with Brodie than any other dog and he’s the one who’s struggled most with the trial environment.>>

The holes find us! The agility skills foundation and the trial environment skills foundation are different and as you mentioned, very dog-specific. You might have started trialing for real before he was ready (I am not sure how old he was when he started trialing, but many dogs struggle in the environment if they begin in early adolescence (15 months – 18months), especially if the don’t have a lot of NFC/FEO runs early on.

And it is possible that the rate of success in the weaves was affecting things too – he is at about 50% success here and that is too low in that environment. I prefer 90-95% success in the trial environment.

So what to do? Start over with the trial career 🙂
Take the weaves and contacts out for now, and just do super connected runs, playing at the start line, with jumps and tunnels and toy reinforcement during the run, in all the different parts of the ring (not just at the end). Establish that smooth connection so you are both super comfy with each other in the ring. Don’t ask for weaves (you will be tempted! Resist!!) for now because he might fail and we are then faced with a conundrum:
– Stop him to fix, which add more stress?
– Keep going and reward even though they aren’t ‘correct’? (I am personally fine with that but most people are unable to do that).

So rather than risk more failure, take them out for now.

When he can do Step 2 (empty hands) NFC runs successfully, and maybe some simple sets of 6 weaves with a toy in more distracting training classes (people around) and medically cleared, then you can go back to Step 1 just like home and ask for weaves. Then continuing to work through the NFC progression will help smooth everything out! This starts at home – so the first place he should see the “empty hands” (toy or treats in a pocket) is at home or class. Then as we add the other steps, he will see them in class or at home first too – and when he is successful with that, those steps can move into trials.

It doesn’t take that long, but it is very systematic because we want to set everyone up for success 🙂

Great job here! Let me know what you think!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hello and welcome! Great to see you here!!

>> quickly make it to excellent jumpers and open standard. Then the weave refusals started>>

Since it was a bit of a ‘sudden onset’ issue with an obstacle that requires so much of the dog’s body, be sure to clear all medical issues if you have not done so already. The earliest manifestation of injury or illness is often weave refusals only at trials (physiological processing is different at trials than when the dog is at home base). On my list of things to check are: all orthopedic joints including x-rays for hips/spine/shoulders/neck (much easier with small dogs LOL!), a patella exam *with the dog laying down on his side* because a standing exam often does not uncover a patella issue with muscular dogs, a full soft tissue exam to be sure there are no restrictions/trigger points/painful areas/injuries, and bloodwork to look for inflammation markers, thyroid levels, folate/B12, and tick illness. It might seem like a lot but it has been CRAZY how many dogs have an underlying pain or illness that manifests as not weaving, or visiting, or stress, and only at trials. Working at home or with a toy in NFC often ‘hides’ issues because the food or toy is so motivating that dogs will work through pain or illness.

>> Reading the “rules” again helped. Initially I thought I needed eye contact>>

Eye contact is a bonus but not required 🙂

Onwards to the videos!!

The sequences are looking good! He had some good feedback about connection and timing for us 🙂 Some ideas for you:

One thing overall –
He runs really well looking at his lines when you run with your arms lower and lots of connection visible, like at :10 – :14, :36- :38 and other places. If you are not looking back at him or your arms are high, he has to look up at you to get more info and that slows him down. So – keep your arms low and look at his eyes as you run 🙂

On the first sequence, to get the BC more easily from 4-5: You can send to 3 from further away and not run as close to 4 – just send to 3 and then run towards 5, beginning the blind as you go (when he lands from 3). Your motion should cue 4, and a jump verbal. You were trying to cue 4 so that made the blind late so he jumped up at your hand at :08 and :29 because he was not sure of connection and you were a bit in his way.

The turn at 5 worked best as a brake arm (2 hands) like at :32 – it can come sooner, as he lands from 4, but they will be easy when the blind is sooner too. You don’t need the spin there, which will also make it easier to accelerate up the next line.

Doing the BC between 3 and 4 also worked really well, just add in connecting sooner after the blind so the push to 5 (:51) is also sooner. That will get him turning to go to 5 before takeoff for 4.

Seq 5: You can get in closer to 2 so you can show acceleration to 3-4-5 and big loud GO TUNNEL verbals- you were decelerated and quiet so he stayed in collection on that line.

Adding acceleration might put you on the takeoff side of 6 but that is great because you can then decel and show the FC before the enters the tunnel. He saw you accelerating to get to the landing side of 6 before he went into the tunnel, which cued a wider turn on the exit there.

That can also keep you off his line on the landing of 6 – at 1:50 you were in the way as he takes off for 6 so he had to wait for you to clear the line, good boy not hitting the momma! Your position was definitely better at 2:21 where you were not on his line 🙂

Good job rewarding him when you did the extra blind LOL

A comparison to the lines where you were connected and he was looking forward at the line: You were looking ahead on the last line at 2:28 so he was looking at you and not driving the line as well.

Sequence 1 (last one on the video :))

You can set up the start so you are not as close to 1 and you need don’t run the curve of the tunnel with him. Doing that made the FC at 2:42 late – he was in the air over 3 as you started it so could not adjust til after he landed. Ideally, you are a couple of strides ahead as he exits the tunnel so you can decelerate and begin the FC no later than halfway between the tunnel exit and jump 3.

You were more accelerated on the last line to the tunnel and he was much faster there and committed sooner! Very nice!!!

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! She did well here!!! I really like all the distance work she is doing!!

The RC on jump 1 works but you had to take extra steps away from 3 and 4 to get it… I think sending her to it on your right side as a send can make the whole opening even easier 🙂

The very first send to 4 at :06 was a little disconnected where you were looking forward and pointing forward as she was taking 3, so she almost didn’t take 4. All of the other reps there had a lot more connection (arm back to her, eyes on her eyes) which supported the line a lot better.

Nice send to the tunnel to get the blind without having to hustle!!! That is hard at a walk – you don’t have to rotate your feet back to her to get the exit line connection after the blind, only your shoulders and eyes.

For the rear crosses:

I think you accidentally ended up too far up the line for the first RC (you were probably still in Blind Cross mode :)) But you still got it done! Yay! She got that RC at :51 based on your feet – you were on the left wrap wing til she was almost taking off (she is turning left at :51 before. Takeoff but you then stepped across the RC line so she made the right turn

The run at 1:15 was much better RC – you didn’t get as far ahead so you didn’t end up in wrap position and she read it as RC the whole time. Very nice!!

Handling from the landing side of 7 was harder without running to it!

Strategically, even when you are back to full blast running, you can set up the line differently so you can get further ahead sooner and not block her line. You can do this if you go closer to the 4 jump then hang out there so you can send ahead to 5 and the 6 tunnel (she has these skills!) and be miles ahead on the landing side of 7. Ideally you won’t go past the takeoff spot of the 5 jump so you can easily slide across the landing side of 7.

That way you can slide across the landing of 7 with your shoulders in her position (right arm back). By going a little too close to the 6 tunnel, you were ending up on the takeoff side of 7 which made you a little late getting through the serp line at 1:35 and disconnected a little to point forward. She made a good choice to NOT hit you and to go to your other side instead. When you were a bit further ahead, she was getting to the correct side but not seeing the turn to the last jump til after she landed from 7, so more open serp shoulders will help her turn before takeoff.

I give you a massive click/treat for watching the video!!!! Your lines at 2:52, 3:21 and the last rep were MUCH better, definitely further across 7!! And the line at 3:10 was almost as good but your shoulders are not serpy enough so she was jumping straight then dropped the bar trying to adjust. And not going past the 5 jump as you send to 6 will make all that even easier 🙂

Great job here!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! He is doing really well with both of these games!!!

>>This will be critical to us since food is him number one reward.>

Totally agree – this is a critical element for our foodie dogs 🙂 He definitely seemed to be able to move away from the magic cooler 🤣. It seemed like he was less sure about when to go back to it, so you can add a very clear marker for when he is done with the game and can head back to the cooler with you. I use “let’s go!”. You might have bee saying something? But I couldn’t really hear it and he was a little unsure, so make it loud and obvious 🙂 And you can add in not having a cookie in your hand or pocket as you move away from the cooler, to make it similar to going into the ring without cookies.

Find My Face went great too! You can start with the regular pattern without disconnection so he gets into the rhythm, then gradually add the disconnection – this will be really helpful at trials where the situation is more distracting.

>>I appears that he is looking at my hands which have the treats in them.>>

That is fine! He was also getting rewarded from your hands, so instead of that, you can toss the treat with your search marker as the reward – that way he can move away and start the next rep.

>>He will be at a trial with my other Toller Dazz this weekend and I will work on some of the games away from the ring.>>

Fantastic! The pattern games and the volume dial game are the top 2 to try in a trial environment. You can also try a bit of remote reinforcement with the cooler, on leash outside the ring and also at the practice jump 🙂

Great job here!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

Doing these in a new place is a great practice for trials! She ran great!!! He ran just like she does at home, which is really the Holy Grail of dog sports that we are all trying to find 🙂

And since she had some questions, I made pictures:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JEKf4Nbap2fKAWxBGJk13D__3HaASI1DOIIdS4gxwac/edit?usp=sharing

There was one common denominator in all the questions moments, especially when she came off lines: if you had your dog side arm high and parallel to your shoulder, as if showing the line (or I think of it as serving snacks at a cocktail party LOL!), you were also looking ahead. Those two things combined to block connection and change the line of your shoulders and feet… so she looked up at you then (correctly) changed her line every time.

Because she is so small, she is relying on connection to keep your feet and shoulders on the line – if that changes, she has to look at you for more info and that doesn’t aways work out. Here are specifics:

Sequence 1 – nice connection in the opening on both runs here! She had a bar down at :19 – the turn cue was a little late and she was going really fast so could not adjust in time. The 2nd run had earlier timing and better connection there, so I think the bar would have been no problem (it was still down from run 1)

Speaking of connection – it was connection that pulled her off the tunnel on the first run and it was connection that got her on the line to the tunnel on the 2nd run. And I got screenshots of it too 🙂

At :21, you accelerated and started looking forward, so she looked at you – the looking forward turns your shoulders away from the line so she had to look up for more info. Then you decelerated and turned away from the tunnel before she was committed.

Compare to 1:01 where you connected sooner and she never had to look at you. The screenshot there happens a little later only because it was easier to see her head looking forward (but she was looking forward over the jump too!)

That allowed you to decel and turn away when you knew she was committed. Super nice!

Bazinga looked surprised by the new drop-and-roll move at the end but she was happy toy get her toy as long as you were OK!!

Seq 2:

One thought – you don’t need to call her out of the tunnel on the straight line because you don’t need her to turn towards you or look at you. You can use a go or a jump verbal before she goes into the tunnel to help her propel forward to the next line.

You had the high arm at your shoulder and looking ahead at 4 at :12 good job continuing. Nailed it on the 2nd run! Much clearer connection and line! Screenshots of both of these are in your pictures 🙂

The exit of the blind after the tunnel was great! To get the last jump, be sure to keep your arm back and make a bit of eye contact like you did on the BC exit of the tunnel. When you had your arm up high and looking forward again, she looked at you for more info and did not take the last jump.

To get the RC at the end, run in closer to the tunnel so you don’t get caught too far up the line on the left turn wing (1:05) and don’t say GO because that will keep her on the left lead. Compare to when you started further back, just past the tunnel exit at 1:36 and 1:55 so you could move up the line to the center of the bar – got it! Then you had the high arm and looking forward so she did not take the last jump. The out jump made connection clearer so she did end up taking it but she had to check it out by looking at you first 😁

So the main goal is to convince your dog side arm to stay low and point to her nose, and to keep eye contact. No cocktail party high arms 🤣 because that turns your line and blocks connection. It gets easier as she gets more experienced, but for now she needs the big connection and low arms.

>>We are at a trial this weekend so we can work the pattern games.>>

Super! Keep me posted!! Great job here!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>When Venture won’t eat treats, it doesn’t seem to matter what I offer. Salmon chunks, chicken breast, cheese… he spits it all out. I worry about trying to use too high of a value of food treat and overwhelming an environment that he needs to process. I did learn that a firm slow stroking massage can help him come down just a bit to the point he can take a treat, look around, visibly relax a little.>>

Yes, it sounds like the environment was too overwhelming at first, so eating was out of the question in that moment. I am glad the massage and time to process the environment helped!!

Did you try using distance? Meaning, moving him further from the environment (other room, outside, etc) to see where he could accept food? That can give you a starting point for getting him acclimated and happy to be in the harder environments.

Another thing to try is a ‘happy place’ like a familiar mat or station he can hang out on to process the environment. It looks like you have a klimb in your yard that he really likes!

The runs are going well and he gave valuable feedback too! I grabbed some screenshots of what he was seeing in the spots where he had questions (or didn’t have questions). You can find them here:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_7mwGLplmNYTPJXnADIlfTl74gyYIA6tTyahCMlDHE8/edit?usp=sharing

Video 1:
The Pattern games definitely helped him focus! Then as you bring him to the first jump, you can go into the tricks and volume dial game, to get more arousal before starting the sequence.

He had a legit question on jump 3 of run 1 here – there wasn’t clear connection as he exited the tunnel (plus a big decel as you approach the tunnel, so he was turning to look for you at the exit) so he didn’t take 3. I have a screenshot of that moment.

If he passes by a jump, assume it was a handling blooper and do not stop – connect more and put him back on the line, then reward. Even if you have to make up a line – keep going to get success on a jump.

He got it at 1:52, partially because you had a clearer line of motion (more speed and facing forward more) and partially because he saw there was a jump there on the first rep 🙂 So a bigger connection back to him with your dog-side arm back to his nose will really help him see the line.

He had some bars down at 1:58 and 2:00 and 2:46 – I think the contributing factors were that he was jumping 12 for the first time on grass, plus you transitioned into a big acceleration a bit suddenly as he was taking off. So he needed to sort out the mechanics. The motion was later on 5 at 4:05 and the connection was bigger, and that really helped!

He kept hopping on the klimb at the end because it has value and you were saying go – the jump you intended was not on an obvious line but the klimb was right here!

3rd run and 4th run went well – better motion and connection supported the lines nicely!

Seq 2:
Run 1:
1-2-3 went well as the lead out push! Small detail – since he has a good stay, you can lead out a little further across the bar at 2 to set the line more clearly. You were on the right turn side of 2, so he jumped turning slightly right towards you. You started moving to 3, so he turned left when he landed. Leading out to where you want his line to be (closer to the center of the bar of jump 2) will get that turn before takeoff.

Nice connection on the send to 3!
You looked forward on the way to 4 so he hesitated until you showed better connection then he really drove the line (screenshots of those moments too :))
On run 2, remember to lead out with connection to support the stay – he got a bit concerned at 1:30 and started following you. It was more of a ‘what is happening’ broken stay and not a “let’s start the course” moment because he didn’t take the jumps.

When working the wrap on 3, remember to step to the jump. On the first rep of that, your upper body cued the the 3 jump but ower body did not so he had questions (bar down). Compare to 2:50 where you stepped towards jump 3 with your dog side leg: perfect! Screenshots of the as well.

And the ending line looked good! He is sorting out the 12” bars in extension!

>>And we will see you in GA for Brain Camp. I ended up choosing the agility track even though scent was tempting.>>

Yay! I am excited to see you and meet him!!!!!!!

Great job here :)
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! I hope the snow goes away! Ick!!! Too soon!

Looking at the video:
Like with class: when she was on leash and you put the toy down in front of her, she had no interest in it right away. That doesn’t mean she was not into the toy – I think it is more about the context and presentation. You can try presenting it differently: try with the leash already off, then do a silly trick or bark. Then either run away with the toy dragging away for her, or throw ahead of her to chase. That might be more engaging for the toy in that context and it is a good question to ask her 🙂 She might still say “no thanks!” but it is a worth a try.

You did some find my face in the beginning… she was great! You can actually disconnect less so you can see her peripherally. She found you pretty immediately but I don’t think you saw it 🙂 She didn’t curl in front of you (which is fine) but was patiently engaged so you can keep an eye on her peripherally to reward it faster.

Run 1 – Jumping away from the sequence at 1 was hard, so you can throw a reward for that. I am not sure if it was because it is a send away from the course with countermotion, or you did a “yay” as you moved to the jump (so maybe she thought you were going to reward?) but either way, you can totally toss a reward to the landing side.

Yes, you pulled her off 4 by getting way up the line and turning without connection – pinwheels are harder than they look!! She was not sure if it was a blind cross or not. Great job continuing! You can play with a send from when she lands at 3 – big connected 1 step send to 4 and throw a reward.

The BC at the end was late (you were on her line a bit, it is hard to get to!) but it was clear so she was happy with it 🙂

Nice decompression between runs 🙂

The second sequence went well too! The support to 4 was better so she was able to read the blind. She was a little unsure of the send to 5 (those sends away from the course with you decelerating are hard!) but she did it – that is a great place to throw a reward to the landing side of 5 as you peel away to 6, to keep pumping up the value for those sends.

>>I think we had chatted about this before, but Min was slighly hypo-thyroid and had low B12 levels that was diagnosed when she was 7>>

Yes, I remember that! Meds are magic!

>>In retrospect she was showing lower energy levels over the summer but it was subtle because she was always pretty lazy in class and super mellow at home. >>

And she probably showed no other traditional signs of hypothyroidism, like being fat with a greasy coat LOL!!! With my Hot Sauce, her T3 was affected by the low folate and B12. Now that the folate is supplemented, her T3 is perfect again.

>I emailed the vet today to ask if we should check Lift’s thyroid too when we do the Addison’s test. >

It can’t hurt – it is unlikely because of her age but not impossible, and the other values will tell you if there is something else going on (like the T3 and the antibodies and the TSH). Worst case scenario is that you now have a thyroid panel baseline for later years. Definitely get them to send it to Michigan State, because they look at ALL the values including the antibodies and other indicators of thyroid issues. Local labs don’t test all of the values.

>Her potasssium came back as normal in her recent CBC but on the low end of the scale.>

If my memory is correct, the Potassium as a standalone value is not indicative of Addisons. It is the ratio of sodium to potassium (Na:K). If it is 27:1 or less, Addisons can be indicated but also there are other factors like dehydration involved.

>So I think if she’s busy processing, she’s more likely to stay put when I use “jump” instead of break.>>

An easy fun game is to take a jump and strengthen the jump verbal – you are both standing still near a jump, nothing formal. You say jump and if she moves to it? Throw a ginormous treat 🙂 That can help the jump verbal get really valuable without handling. Perfect for indoors when there is snow on the ground!

>But there’s a mid-Feb Fusion trial that I’ve booked Casey Keller to judge and then there’s another one at Fusion mid-April, plus On the Run USDAA & UKI trials in March.>>

Those will be good! Ad if you can book Casey to teach a young dog handling seminar, I think everyone will have a great time. Her young dog seminars are one of the only ones I recommend to handlers of young dogs because they are age-appropriate, set the dogs up for success, super fast & fun courses. And I am super duper picky (as you might have guessed LOL!) so I have really enjoyed working with her.

>> I’m also toying with the idea of NFC Speedstakes at MAC’s Classic on Memorial Day weekend (it’s at On the Run and there will not be a food reward box since it’s a classic so that will depend on how she’s doing with toys in public) >>

Fun! Are NFC runs with toys allowed at a Classic? I can’t remember these things 🙂 But you can definitely plan on it!

>Claudette graciously did a practice measurement with Lift last weekend in the middle of the day after she had settled in and got her at exactly 12.75in. Lift was pretty relaxed about the whole thing but I do need to train the stand better so that she stays relaxed when I back away a step and don’t crowd her. I am sure no one will get her at 12.6in for WAO, but I am going to try really hard to get the 12.75in to jump 8in regular.>>

Did Claudette get the wicket under her coat and right down to the skin? This is an unpopular opinion but since both of my girls are right at the cutoff… I shaved their coats on the measuring area for their measurements. We are measuring the dog, not the coat LOL!! Did they look strange for a couple of weeks? Yes. Did they get the correct measurement for life? Also yes 🙂

>And yes – a traditional spay. At least it’s a one-time nuisance as opposed to the recurring heat cycles.>

Totally yes! I have 6 intact males in the house: no problem! And I am soooooo happy that the girls are spayed LOL!

>She has her front feet near the end, but she’s not that into scratching her scratch band. (she is stronger scratching at things held at an angle in front of her than on the ground too even though we’ve worked a fair amount had presenting it flat). How much should I try to get her scratching at the band sooner vs just rewarding her faster for landing close to the end (sometimes front feet on the band and other times just behind it)?>

You can reward for the instant hop onto the end of the board, then you can wait – see if she will scratch for another reward. It makes it fun to be in that position if she knows there are more treats coming for other fun things! But we definitely want to reward the very first drive to the end, because that is the main goal.

Great job here! Have fun at CSZ, they are fun people 🙂 Let me know what you think!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>In Synch has a new collar and a slipcollar lead combo. So yesterday started with putting it over her head and her putting her head thru it and also taking off- after the first time she had got it. Then did lead on off game this went well except video moved>>

Perfect! The leash on and off is a big part of the picture.

>>I do plan heaps but then she starts to move and it disappears from my brain…>>

When you plan, do you also move? As in, jog the course as you plan? We know that state dependent memory applies to humans too 🙂 so if you are standing still or walking to plan, you are unlikely to have as much success if you are jogging or running as you plan.

Looking at the videos:

Overall, the handling went well here! A couple of times the cues were late but overall great connection!!

>>okay some confusion on starting and not getting the dig for a couple of goes- but no biting and she was engaged. >

I will continue to bug you about make clean transitions and smooth lines up – she ight not have been biting, but there was a lot of jumping up (because she didn’t know what else to do) and also you were releasing her on your motion and not a verbal, which will make getting a stay a lot harder. More on that below.

Here are some specifics!

Video 1 – this is a video of the previous lesson, let me know if there is supposed to be a tunnel discrimination video.

Video 2 – she found the line on the 3 jumps really well. Spread them out so they are closer to true competition distance – this will help build up her commitment and allow you to practice the timing you will need. And more distance should make the timing easier 🙂

The FC at :15 was a bit late – you started calling and rotating as she took off. She responding but was wide because of the timing. She almost took the off course jump because you were on her line there. Ideally, the FC starts no later than landing from the previous jump here.

Video 3:
Can you bring her into the sequence with food and pattern games, and then line her up to face the jump? She is building a habit of jumping up at you, because she doesn’t know what else to do 🙂 And that causes her to sit sideways to the jump because she is facing you on the stay – then you release as you turn forward, so the release is paired with motion which we need to make sure is not the case. She dropped the bar on jump 1 here because of all of that going on. So even on sequences that are sends to start, try to have a smooth clean ritual of lining her up facing the jump, you lead out even if it is only one step, you face the jump, you praise her, then you release her with the verbal followed by motion.

Once you got her going – this was great connection and much better timing on the FC at :12! It was completed before she took off for the jump so she had a great turn. That is ideal!

Video 4:

She came into the ring here tugging which also helps with the set up and not getting the jumping up. But she was facing away from the jump and left the stay based on movement. That caused her to guess about the line (she ran the previous line, very clever!) But a clear set up and even a small lead out will make the handling so much clearer on the opening.

Once you got moving, things went well! You can show her the rotation for the FC exit of the tunnel at :42 before she enters it – she has great tunnel commitment so you can know a turn is coming, then use exit line connection on the exit so she knows exactly where to go.

Nice timing on the spin at :47! The FC was good but a stride late, so she was a little wide there.

Because she is so fast, the FC is hard to finish on time without getting in her way. So…try a blind instead! You can totally get a blind finished faster than a front! The other option is to do threadle handling where you don’t do a cross, but instead you use a threadle arm and verbal to pull her to the other side of the tunnel.

After the reward, go into pattern games with food so she doesn’t jump up. Adding these alternate behaviors like pattern games will give her something fun and decompressing to do rather than jump up for the toy. That will then allow you to line her up smoothly.

Then for the second run – take a moment to reset and line her up in a stay so you can praise then release. At 1:34 she was sitting then barked at you… and that was the moment you released her with motion.

Really nice line over the jumps to the tunnel – low arms, great connection, no verbals needed. Super!!

At 1:41 – remember to let her see the FC starting before she enters the tunnel – it happened right after she entered here so she turned after she exited, making the line a bit wide.

You can also start the spin at 1:46 and the FC at 1:50 sooner – they were happening as she was taking off for the turn jump. Ideally they start no later than landing of the previous jump like at :12 in video 3.

The run went well here too! You can then go to the pattern game, put the leash on and move out of the ring, rather than pick her up – We want to make moving out of the sequence really fun, so picking her up might end up being something she avoids. Jumping into your arms is fun, but she jumps up a whole lot so I am not sure we want to add more jumping up 🙂 So getting her to move with you is ideal then you can add the leash as you like.

Great job here!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
>>your comments in seminar re smells has my mind going down rabbit holes. Is it about the scent creating a link to the training ie in training calmer and less pressure so putting the dog back in that state. >>

Thanks for joining me in the rabbit holes LOL!

We know that scent has a powerful link to memory and good memories can also be linked to mood. So I am playing with the idea of using a specific scent and pairing it really good things from training. Those can include optimal arousal, highly reinforced obstacle performance, engagement, etc. We would first need to know we can definitely get those behaviors and then we would pair it with the scent. Then after enough pairings, we would use that in a trial environment by applying the scent before asking for those behaviors in the ring.

I don’t know exactly how it would work but it certainly wouldn’t hurt!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
This was terrific too! He was feeling spicy 🙂 and found you immediately with a little bit of barking LOL! I loved your bog reaction when he found you – perfect!

I think at 1:30 he saw you reach for your pocket, maybe hewas thinking food was coming so he didn’t take the toy as easily. But he ended strong and did great!

Another step for the find my face game: sometimes when he finds you, send to the next obstacle then reward him. This builds up being able to ‘fix’ errors on course. And sometimes just reward him for finding you 🙂

>> Figure if he likes tugging on the leash it might help me keep him excited going into the ring no matter if it a NFC run or live run.>>

That is great! He certainly liked it here!!!

And we can use his leash in the Remote Reinforcement games. So that is the next thing to tackle – let’s get those games looking fabulous! Let me know how they are going.

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>Funny story – I was trying this last night at class, and we had beverages at class which was not helping my word choices, so I kept saying the wrong thing while pointing at the jump and he eventually got so confused that he lifted his little foot to point at the jump (to wave, really) and we all died from the cuteness.>>

OMG! So cute!!! I wish it was on video!!!!

>> And I honestly only had part of 1 drink, so I can’t blame that.

Ha! But a good time was had by all, and that is the important part 🙂

>>I’m excited about the focus forward stuff, because I seem to have taught him that we have to make sustained eye contact while he’s in his sit stay, and while it’s adorable, it doesn’t really set either one of us up for success. So we’ll be working on that. 😐>>

His Border Collie genetics work in your favor on this one, it won’t take him long to figure it out and it is a great one for indoors too if the weather is bad.

>>So I’ve started to pay attention to how often I do this and, um, it’s a lot. I say ‘yay’ and clap like a weirdo. Need to reprogram to give a marker or the next cue – I will work on it!>>

THIS IS TOTALLY RELATABLE LOL!!!! I have trained myself to use markers by rewarding myself with saying “yay!” and clapping. You might notice in my NFC videos my on-course marker to come get the toy is “YES SIR!” as a “yay” replacement. But the “yes sir!” is a lot more consistent as a marker than Yay! LOL!

>>Here’s a little bit of volume dial + decompression while we were waiting to work on our 2×2 thingy (still working on just the 2 poles). He came into class super hot, and I liked the change that I saw after the tricks + decomp. Not sure if it shows up here all that well, but I noticed a less frenetic arousal – he still wanted to work, but wasn’t off his rocker.>>

That is awesome! He was definitely excited about the friends and fun in the environment but I can see how he was much more able to engage and respond to cues, tuning out the distractions behind him, and relax with the snuffle mat. He was really great about ignoring the dogs and person talking to you! How did his 2×2 session go after this mental warm up?

Find my face also looks great! His default is to line up, so good job to you for keeping your feet together. You might get a line up on course in a true find my face moment, so be prepared for that LOL!!! This went really well so you can add it to a simple sequence: start an easy sequence, then deliberaly screw up and disconnect. Big rewards for finding your face!! He doesn’t have to take any of the obstacles on the way to you, but it would be a great bonus if he did!

Nice work here!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>But I’m usually a bit later/early or need to take just another moment/step to support him. Or I’m early on a blind and he comes directly to me. Or I think he has the line and I start to move to my next spot and he pulls off. Would timing help with things like that?>>

Absolutely! Part of timing is when to change the connection – in both of your examples, your connection changes are too early and it pulls him to the next line too soon 🙂

He did well with both of these runs!

For the pattern games, on both runs… when there is a lot of energy and excitement as he approaches the ring, you will want to let him move more. This can come in the form of the back and forth pattern game, where you are tossing big chunks of cheese so he goes back and forth to get it. It can be further from the ring at a trial, but movement as part of the mental warm up is very useful! Then you can get closer and have him stationary for the up and down game – he was able to do that here for a few reps, but he would check out easily.

>> did I wait too long on the pattern games or was it just that the food was boring the second time as you’ll hear me say?>>

Probably a combination of not enough movement and boring food 🙂

That brings me to my next question – what type of treats were you using? You will probably need more interesting treats 🙂

He was very happy to play the volume dial game with the toy, and also very happy to enter the ring, line up, and run the sequence without the toy. YAY!!!!

Will he tug on his leash? You can use that at the end of the run – send him to his leash and play tug!

>>One remote reinforcement question. If I use “let’s go” to go to remote reinforcement inside the ring and “let’s go” for remote reinforcement outside the ring (either at practice or a show). What do you do at trials if it’s “Let’s go” to run back to his leash and tug and the “Let’s go” again to exit the ring and go to his snake (which is higher value)? Just use it twice?>>

The ‘let’s go’ marker is only for immediately going to the reward station (which is outside the ring here). So if the leash comes first, I say something like “where is your leash” and then when it is on, I add “let’s go”. Using it for the leash and for the reward station can be confusing, so you can keep using your leash markers for him and that will help direct him to the leash (I don’t use the leash markers in UKI or USDAA where leashing is not required – I just grab the leash and head to the reward, because there is often no ring gate either LOL!!)

Great job here!! I am excited for your next trial!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>> She also has a habit of taking the first jump after I take her leash off before she comes to line up.>>

Stay tuned for the Leash Off Engagement On coming in the next package – I agree we don’t want her to rehearse taking that first jump!

>>I felt zero pressure (other than the clock, lol), and Nox has helped me learn to not be embarrassed by whatever crazy antics they do in the ring, haha!>>

That is fabulous!!!!!

>> It was helpful that she doesn’t know the weaves, so I couldn’t even attempt to run the whole course. Maybe that’s a strategy, lol.>>

It is TOTALLY a strategy! Running at the lower height and ‘wrong’ division helps prevent us handlers from making poor choices about going for Qs 🙂

>She will do it on grass as well. She hasn’t done it as much in the videos you’ve watched since we are just starting to do bigger sequences with more space and speed. It seems to be tied very much to speed and arousal. I don’t know if she doesn’t have enough value or understanding for jumps yet since so much of her foundation training was done on wings, or if perhaps she can’t figure out how to sort out her jumping while maintaining speed (and she really values speed, lol) and finds it easier to go past the jumps. After she gets some of the crazies out and gets more tired, she is less likely to go past them.>>

All of the above! What height are you seeing it at, mostly? Processing is HARD for young dogs, and add in that when it happens, there is a strong likelihood that handling cues were late and/or unclear – which further delays processing. It is pretty normal for young dogs, which is why lower bars for a while and the handler prioritizing connection over running fast is really important.

>> (The email notification that you responded went to my “promotions” tab in my gmail (not even sure why that’s a thing)>>

OMG Gmail with all those fancy tabs…. SO ANNOYING LOL!!!!!

>> I do not have a valid defense for not following the two failure rule. 😂😂😂>>

It is a lifestyle!!! And it is important everywhere – I took a young dog to a seminar recently and he had two failures so I told the instructor that I didn’t want him to keep failing and I was going to break it down. It doesn’t matter if it was my fault or his fault (spoiler alert: totally MY fault LOL!) but either way, 2 was enough.

On the video:

The hard part on Seq 3 was the send to 3. What was happening was that as you sent, if you ran a ‘banana line’ (meaning your arm/shoulder/feet/motion) went in a curved arc like a banana, she thought you were cuing 4.

If you ran a ‘split step’ where you were connected as you sent, and your left leg (dog side leg) took a big step towards the jump (arm moving with leg) – that step helped commit her and then you stepped to 4 with your right leg. That way you were taking more of an angled step to the jump rather than running in a curved arc – which also holds the cue longer because it shifts your weight a bit onto the send leg.

:38 and 1:50 were good example of the split step! Remember to keep going/keep rewarding if it goes wrong – at 1:14 you made her take the jump and she was like, “ok….” but it didn’t correlate to the cue you needed her to do and it can frustrate the dogs when they read us correctly.

One other detail on the send: the right verbal should be done with the send. You did ‘jump’ on the send, and the right verbals were after that so they were were late and she turned after landing. Ideally, you would use the right verbal and a brake arm with the send to get the info in nice and early.

Once she got the 3 jump, the rest looked great!

You were connected and not sprinting on the end line! Nice! And she didn’t go around any jumps.

Seq 4 – doing a blind 3-4 worked really well. Trust your timing – you started it on time 2:42 but then hesitated a bit, which delayed it so it was a little late. As you exit the blind, remember to use exit line connection there to tighten up the line – she didn’t know which side to be on til the jump came into view.

Seq 5 – home run! Nailed it on that first run. Everything was connected and on time
Opening line – lovely! Layering – lovely! Nice connection and parallel line! Timing of the turn cues for the FC on the exit of the tunnel? Nailed it! Then the left cues (verbal and brake arms) on the 6 jump? Perfect! Connection and motion on the ending line? Great! Well done!!

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>I’m still feeling excited that we had success as defined by Reacher having such a good time!>>

I am excited too! As a dog trainer, I am supposed to remind you to expect an up-and-down road to the finished product, and that it won’t always be smooth sailing. But, in my experience – that only happens when we skip steps 🙂 So if you keep slicing things into small fun pieces like you did there, you should have pretty smooth sailing and a grand time! Yes, the holes will find us 🙂 but they won’t be major.

>> I had to laugh at the part about depletion and how it can make itself known in different ways, because when Reacher was a puppy it would get to a point in the evening just like a child where he’d get too tired and enter what hubs and I called “tantrum mode”. He would just turn completely feral and instead of settling himself down to nap he would get overtired and go kind of crazy like have a little tantrum on all the toys, his brother, whatever was near. That still happens sometimes. 🙂 We always knew then it was time to force him to bed!>>

Ha! YES! In my house, I call it The Whippeting because the young pointy dog(s) just go feral at about 9pm and run run run run run run (ideally outside but not always). All of the adult dogs just sit in a corner and wait for it to be over LOL!

The first Find My Face video was a good refresher, he got right into it. Super! I didn’t see any distractions pop up or frustration from him at all, and that is perfect.

Adding the wing was great, he started offering it and was even more excited – but also happy to find your face when you disconnected.

Since this went so well – onwards to adding it to a sequence! You can use one of the sequences from this week, taking a simple part of it and deliberately messing it up. Reward him for finding your face 🙂 taking the obstacle near you is a bonus but not required 🙂

Great job here!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! I am definitely seeing improvement in his engagement here!!! And with that, I have some ideas on how to get even more by doing less 🙂

>>right now his ‘turnip’ (which is a ball shaped like a turnip) and cheese seem to be his favorite. He also likes his fuzzy tug toy but right now in situations where he is likely to sniff, he really only responds well to food. I have been using ‘people’ food – mainly cooked steak. I will try some other high value people food like you’ve suggested to see if any of those interest him.>>

Awesome! One effective approach is often to keep switching up the reinforcement. Steak is incredibly high value, but it can lose some of that value if it is a regular thing. So you can have more of a buffet available: steak, cheese, baby food, whipped cream, salmon, squeeze cheese, liver brownies, etc LOL!! And dogs seem to love it when we grab food from other people by going around and asking everyone for a couple of their treat – I call it ‘trick or treating’, which seems appropriate for today 🙂 And they might give you a piece of steak which might be insanely motivating… even though you have been using steak as well. Dogs like the variety LOL!

On the first video:

>> At home he like to ‘find’ the little dinosaur toy – aka Dino – so I was seeing if he was interested in that. It was a no go!>>

It was totally worth a try! There might have been too many other things in the environment in that moment, making it hard to process the Dino.

Speaking of the environment – when the snuffle mat is in the picture, you can put several treats on it for full snuffling. That way, it continues to indicate directed sniffing/decompression for him and he won’t need to look up at you for the up and down game (then have it up on the table/out of the picture when you are doing ticks and crate games, so there is one less thing for him to have to process/ignore.

The tricks went well here, and he likes the crate games!!

That section of the video went from 1:41 to 4:33. Ideally, you would slice that into smaller bursts of 30 seconds – then a decompression, walk in the grass, break in the car. Then a few minutes later, another 30 seconds approx. That will actually pump him up a lot in terms of engagement and motivation. Even if he re-engages and does more stuff, going for 3 minutes can deplete him more than engage him, and also you tend to get sniffing/leaving at the end of the long sessions. With the short burst sessions, the sessions are finished before he sniffs or disengages, so there is no rehearsal of that happening: only rehearsal of engagement and the good feeling of being pumped up (not the feeling of being depleted, which is not as good).

At about 3:00, he got distracted by the sound of cars? Then people coming in. That was a lot plus he was already 2 minutes into the session, so you lost the engagement. Starting with the super short bursts of engagement, you will see engagement really start to transfer in two ways: you’ll get it more easily and immediately as he enters the training environment, and you’ll get more duration on it so eventually the sessions can be longer.

On the 2nd video – coming in to get on the Klimb helped a lot! There was a LOT happening right there by the ring gate, so starting the Klimb further from all of that pressure can really help!

You can also spice up the class sessions by splitting your turn in half: for example, the first turn was the tunnel. You got good engagement, he did a tunnel, you can give him a big reward and be done with the turn. The next dog can have a turn, then Sieger can run back in for another tunnel. Wheeeee! That keeps it exciting and also keeps the sessions short. If you ask for the same behavior multiple times in a row, you start to get more checking out and sniffing from him.

That holds true for the weaves too – he came out and did a good set of weaves then said ‘no thanks’ to doing more.

>> I literally had to put the cheese right on his nose to get him away from whatever he was smelling over there. >>

There is a LOT of pressure there (instructor, people, dogs) I mean the person in the red shirt was loud! LOL! And the weaves are super hard. That one rep for the turnip is a good place to stop and not ask for more weaving. Doing more weaving, even if he does it, might actually work against the intended goal of engagement and motivation because it is really hard and can lead to feelings of depletion rather than feelings of YEAH THAT WAS AWESOME (which is what we want :)) and the food or toys might not override that.

Doing the sequence starting at the back of the building definitely was great because there was less pressure from the crowd, and he did really well on his first run! YAY! That is a spot where you can split your turn as well – jackpot for that first run, then out for a snuffle mat while the next dog goes… then back in for another run, maybe (or not, it is GREAT to leave him wanting more :)) You did 2 in a row and he did them, but when you were heading back to the Klimb he started sniffing. You might have been going back to get his leash, but he didn’t know that so you got some avoidance happening there. That could be an indicator of depletion rather than him feeling pumped up by it, that is where the one-hit-wonder runs can be super effective.

Nice work here! Splitting up the turns and using some short training blasts will require a bit of creativity in the class setting (and a timer when training on your own :)) but you’ll see his engage continue to blossom! Let me know what you think!

Tracy

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