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Good morning! I am glad things are going well at home – his stay here looked happy đ
He is doing really well with the forward focus!!! You might consider adding a hand cue (slow, low point to the jump). You had a foot step forward and you had very direct eye contact⌠but those are subtle and in a harder/busier environment, he might miss them. Plus, the hand cue tells him exactly when to look at the jump and takes some of the pressure off of the eye contact.
The sequence went really well after you released to jump 1 – the line to the tunnel was super easy for you both. The blind to the jump and *not* the tunnel was perfection! Well-timed, great connection⌠he was able to set up gorgeous lines without having to drop off any speed. YAY!!
Great job here!!!
Tracy
Good morning! Welcome back to you and the corgs!!!
>>I think getting the timing will be challenging.
Yes, but also because we have threadle cues, we donât have to be as concerned with perfect timing (no one has ever accused me of perfect timing LOL!!!)
â¨>>The first one is: You state that when approaching on the landing side, (slice or wrap) push to the backside, then do you immediately do a blind cross (timing is tricky) to get to your position for the next part of the course?>>I might be a little under caffeinated, so let me know if I am misunderstanding đ
For the landing side backsides on slices or wraps, the timing depends on what the next line is:
– if you remain on the landing side and head back in the general direction you came from, the timing of starting the blind is as soon as the dog is âcommittedâ to the backside. The commitment is generally an invisible line that is a 45 degree angle between the foot of the jump and the plane of the wing: when the dog hits that line they are committed (yes, it is before they arrive at the wing and definitely before they arrive on the backside of the jump).– if you have a countermotion exit like a German turn or a reverse wrap/full circle, the timing of the blind is actually a little later! For the slices (German turns), I do the blind as I am passing the exit wing – this of course relies on pretty independent commitment. And the same is true for the circle wraps: I move forward as soon as the dog has passed me, and the reconnection from the blind happens when I have passed the wing. If the dog has good independent commitment, you can turn your head forward and begin the blind pretty much as soon as you think they are committed to going to the backside, but the reconnection happens after you pass the wing.
â¨>>The second one is: You state that approaching on the takeoff side, you would need to do your blind beforehand, then a threadle to get the slice or wrap then move on down the course?>>
Yes – we used to start our blinds REALLY late (in my opinion and in the opinion of the dogs LOL!) by starting the blind when. The dog was committed to coming to the backside. We didnât need a threadle for that⌠because the turns were so wide LOL!!! So now we start the blind a lot sooner (as they are in the air over the previous jump, approximately) and use a threadle to âseal the dealâ if there is *any* choice if which side visible to the dog when they land from the blind.
Plus, course design has evolved a lot and we are seeing these blind-to-threadle lines. The dogs are recognizing them well after a bit of training.
Have fun! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>For the warm up sequences Mookie needed a threadle arm plus âin in inâ verbal cue to go from 1 to 2 correctly at first as he was very impulsive today :).
And, if you set the sequence the same way as I set it, it was indeed a threadle so the in in cue was needed.
>> Break arms worked beautifully for Mookie out of the tunnel for both sequences. Alonso was perfect for 2 runs in a row and understood my âin in inâ verbal well. The break arms worked nicely to turn Alonso tighter
SUPER! So now we apply those brake arms to bigger courses, to see where they are needed and where they are not needed.
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>> Buddy could not get 1 to 2 without a huge threadle Feet face dog with a cookie
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Buddy has never threadled well but I have not really practiced with him. >>Yes, probably lack of experience with threadles because you have put a lot of value into âget on a line and go!â
>>Buddy did well with the backsides and the backside circle wrap. All three dogs went to the backside of 6 without a question. Tunnel Exit: Both Mookie and Alonso were perfect X 2. For seq 1 all 3 dogs turned nicely 5 to 6. Seq 2 Mookie wanted fly by me 1 to 2 and I really had to use hard break arms to get the backside circle blind to 3. Alonso my only Max pup graduate nailed seq 2. >>
Great! This gives you good info about what helps each dog – they are all lightly different, so figuring this out can help you in the long term as you switch back and forth between them.
>>However, I am seeing that Alonso really needs Break arms both in and out of tunnels but especially at the first jump or he could knock the first bar. He wants to go fast immediately at the start and the break arms get him to collect to not crash or knock the bar of the first jump. This was a great exercise in learning your dogs.>>
That is pretty normal for a lot of young dogs: GO FAST!! GO FAST!! And that is great – the brake arms will get the turns and keep you moving.
â¨>>And I did let Alonso start a run when he held a stand stay and he nailed the run. That was great advice to start the trial with a down stay and then do the second run with a stand stay. I will try this next trial which is at the end of AugustPerfect! The most important thing is to keep the start line stress-free, so it is fine to let him stand if that is what works better đ
Thanks for the update! The boys are doing great!!
Tracy
No worries! I figure we will spend the summer dodging the heat, so the end date will get pushed back and back as we see heat, hurricanes, etc, worse than ever. Do what you can but there is plenty of time to catch up.
Hi!
Toy races for forward focus are great, and I am glad she loves the toy! The next application of this game would be to have you moving đ She is good at it with you stationary but my guess is that might change when you are walking or running.>>Tarot also likes to chase me (very velcro) instead of focusing on the next obstacle so if I try to leave, I will pull her off the obstacle because her commitment is not that strong (focus forward again, countermotion?)>>
For now, put all the bars back down low (you will get better commitment if the jumping effort is easy) and reward everything out on the line⌠no rewards from your hands in agility đ That plus the training games will start to get a lot of value on the lines!
Tracy
Hi!
>>10 days weather forecast shows high 90 to 105. UGH. So I guess weâre stuck inside>>
It is not even July and the summer weather is already nuts! We have extra time in the class o no one feels rushed, because the weather often gets in the way.
About his motivation:
Agility is HARD for the big dudes! They have to fit their big selves into small spaces and onto/in small obstacles⌠so we can really make it worth his while and then you will see the speed blossom:I recommend 3 things to help:
– Go with really short sessions. Get him pumped up before you train, and end the session after 1 or 2 reps. He will definitely be craving more! Even if he is slow⌠give a giant reward then be finished. The science behind this will work in your favor and you will get more motivation.
– since he likes toys, you can use toys more by attaching them to a line or another toy, then drag it and let him chase you for it, or throw it and let him run around with it. Fun fun fun! And if he says âno thanksâ to a toy in the moment because he wants food? Give him the food (and use really really good food :))
– get him pumped up before you train, with goofy tricks for fun rewards. Does he bark on cue as a trick? Or do anything easy and fun? Do a couple of those then when he is looking excited, you can try a bit of the agility. That will stimulate his arousal, which is great for getting more speed.>>Interesting that in in-person class, with other dogs in the class, he is much better â faster.>
Probably because his arousal level is higher (in a good way). So raising his arousal level with tricks will help too.
He did amazingly well with the plank! Good boy! Yes, when you have a more solid plank, you can elevate it a bit – putting blocks under it so it is very secure and a few inches off the ground will help him work his footwork and balance.
Turning around? YeahâŚ. Maybe NOT haha! But you can flatten an a-frame f you have access to it, or widen the playing field by putting 2 planks next to each other – I bet he can turn around on it like that!Great job! Stay cool!
Tracy
Hi!
>>And Iâm caffeinated enough at this point to understand!
This is VERY relatable LOL!!!
Have fun!
Tracy
Hi! Lot of good stuff here!
Ooh, the purple sky is cool on the first video!One-step Sends:
Sending is looking good! She has good commitment and a lot of self-propulsion, so she is happy to go to the wings without you. SUPER! And great job adding the verbals!As the distances expand and you work to hang back more on the sends you can amplify the connection by making a bigger connection as she exits the tunnel. You had peripheral connection going on most of it, and she hd questions on the reps where you were looking ahead of her (like 1:20, 1:44, 2:03).
So to pump up the independence of the send, you can decel sooner so you are stationary as she exit, but make a BIG đ connection and show the big leg step/arm send.
This is also a great game to practice exit line connection, where you look back at her with the dog side arm pointing back to her (not pointing at your side). This will be good for Katniss (and Nox!) so you can finish a FC, point the dog-side arm back to her as you make big connection, even put the opposite arm across your stomach to push back the dog side arm even more. For example, at 1:32 and 1:48, you are finishing the cross and closing your shoulder forward, so connection is not as clear as it will be with exit line connection .
Mountain climbers – this is going well too! Placing your food reward in the center of the plank so she doesnât have to turn to you to eat it (like at :59-1:03) was much better for her balance.
When moving with her, be ready to move at her pace – if you are not ready or slow down, she turns around like at :49 (which is fine, she is still figuring out if she is supposed to go or not). So have the cookies ready and move with her so she can go at whatever speed she wants đ And having the reward on the target at the top of the board will get her even happier to leave you in the dust. I think you had it up there at 1:52 and beyond. I loved her drive up the board when you recalled her!!!
And I agree that helping her turn around is better than trying to lift her off đ
The next steps of this game are to build up more independence so you donât need to be near her or facing her, then oh-so-gradually add tip. We have plenty of time to add tip, so another couple of sessions where you add more independence will be good over coming weeks.
The plank confidence game is going great! She seemed to have no questions about running across, hopping on, hopping off, turning around, etc. This is a game to revisit maybe once a week or every two weeks, just to keep things fresh as you add other games.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
He was really good about going up the teeter! It is a lot of height and he seemed pretty darned confident!
>>I opted not to add any real speed coming into it, because he wasnât totally confident. >>
He will start adding in the speed, and that is when you can go to the next games.
Since he was moving pretty quickly already so it was hard to keep up and get the treats to him: You can have the reward placed in advance at the top – a smear of cream cheese or peanut butter can be at the top so when he gets ahead of you, he has a focal point and reward. You can create a target like a spoon or spatula you can duct tape to the underside of the board, so it sticks out a little and can hold the reward. That is better than putting it right on the end, especially since it is not your teeter LOL!!!!
>>Generally these went fine when I told him to take the wing instead of telling the wing to take the wing>>
Yes, I think this went really well!
He has a lot of self-propulsion already, so all you need to do is ramp up the connection to go with the one step, and make sure he sees the one step. You were actually a bit early on a couple of reps, the end happened while he was in the tunnel so it was finished when he exited (connection and leg already pointing to the wing) so he didnât go to the wing (:30, :51). You had one rep (:07) where I think the connection and step were just too subtle. But then when you had connection and he saw the step to the wing? PERFECT (:03, :19, :23, :43, :57, 1:04)! So exaggerate the connection and step, and let him see it as he exits the tunnel.
He looks ready for more distance between the tunnel exit and the wings – add maybe another 2 feet and see how he does!
Great job đ
â¨TracyHi!
I am glad he was feeling well enough to play!He was definitely finding the back and forth on the plank to be pretty easy. Yay! The next step would be to get the plank higher (maybe a foot off the ground, with blocks or something to support it). And have him hop on and off in the middle – this will help teach him to be able to safely hop off if he loses his balance on the dog walk. It happens to all dogs at some point, so the first thing I teach them is how to safely dismount a plank đ
He had a pretty normal response to the first time on the mountain climber game: Whoa! This is tall! But there is food so it is basically OK.
It was a short session so I give you a massive click/treat! The short, high value sessions are the way to go on the teeter for sure. He probably needs one more session just like this where you gave lots of treats as he walked up. When he starts to drive past you, you can go to the next step: have a reward placed at the end of the board, like a shmear of cream cheese, so he can go up and lick a high value reward (the licking gives you time to get there and help him off the board from the top :)) You can duct tape a big spoon to the underside of the board, so it is sticking out enough for him to reach without leaning forward or bending over too much, with his feet at the end of the board.
Great job here! Stay cool!
Tracy
Ah, bummer about the bar! The rest of it was really nice!
There might have been several factors contributing to the bar:– jump to weave starts are awkward for inexperienced dogs because they have to collect into the weaves. When did you say the weave cue? She might have been collecting into your stationary position then trying to extend again to the weaves then collect again. It was a short distance!
– I think she was at a hard distance away from jump 1 and had to throw in a short stride before takeoff. So either set her closer to the jump so she only needs one stride. Or further so she can take a BIG stride before liftoff. I generally opt for further đ
– I think processing had something to do with it too: yes, she’s processing your cues and the course, but also her brain is being bombarded with stimuli from being outdoors and this is what might have drawn just enough bandwidth away from processing her jumping mechanics: note the leash runner reaching in with a device and dragging her leash away. I’m quite sure her brain had to process that!
So ask the leash runner to chill til she is released, and/or toss the leash a lot further away.
She might be coming in hot, but it looks like she sat relatively quickly and held her stay!
And you’ll see the courses and sequences this week are shorter in distances, and you can shorten them up more. I mention it because she really had to work hard to deal with the distances. She pulled it off! But I definitely want to show her more AKC distances so she doesn’t have to work nearly as hard to measure the striding.
It was a really lovely run. Are you entered today?
TracyGood morning!
I am really loving her drive up the board on the mountain climber game! She was really beginning to drive to the end and not think about slowing down in the middle.
To help get even more drive to the end, you can have the reward already there, so she can focus on running to the end and not think about where you are. That way you can begin to run past, rear cross, etcâŚ. And she will just go directly to the end đ
I used a spoon and duct tape to attach it to the board, so the reward and be past the end of the board (that is where her head is when she is in her down). And a little bit of cream cheese on the spoon. YUM!! She doesnât have to do the down at the top of the board yet: she can run up, lick the cream cheese, then do the down and you come back and give another reward. She is gonna LOVE the teeter LOL!
She is hitting the board with a lot of power now and that is great! It is also moving the wing around under the board, which could cause the wing to fall and the teeter to full drop (that would possibly surprise her too much and make her hesitant which we donât want of course). You can put tunnel bags on the feet of the jump and see if that holds it in a more stable way, so it doesnât fall out from under her.
On the handling games:
She is showing really good commitment here!!>>I realized when watching the video I am late with my verbals a lot!!! >>
On the game with the jumps, I think your timing was good! My only suggestion with the jumps there is that you donât need to use âgoâ at all (because she is turning the whole time, slightly). You can use âjumpâ because that can indicate commitment with a mild collection and keep using the left/right for the middle jump like you did here.
One step sends to the wings:
Nice connection and sending here, she is doing well!The timing of the verbals was mostly good here, I think only the first rep ws a little late but the rest were starting on time. At 2:06 for example, you started the verbal along with the send as she exited the tunnel. And that is great timing!
One tweak:
Try not to say âgoâ before any of the other verbals like âgo leftâ at 2:10, or go before the wrap cues. The left/right and wraps cues are commitment cues, and we want to protect âgoâ as the big extension cue for her to accelerate on a big line. If she hears âgoâ too often associated with turns, we might lose that big extension. So, as you walk these sequences, practice the verbals without the âgoâ and all of the verbals will be even more solid.
Great job here! You can expand the distances between the obstacles on both games here, and we will be building on them on Tuesday đ
Tracy
Hi!
>>I have another, maybe odd, question. I have no verbal for the teeter.>>
Not odd at all! Do you mean, no cue for getting on the obstacle? Or no cue for stopping? Or both?
I think she will eventually need a different verbal for the teeter (as the obstacle name) so when you send her to it, she knows which obstacle you want and also that it is the teeter and not the dog walk (sometimes the angles make it harder for the dogs to see the difference at high speed).
Using ‘wait’ a your target cue at the end sounds like it is working very effectively, so keep doing it. As you add the teeter into sequences (like doing a wing wrap or tunnel before it) you can add a teeter verbal quietly as she is heading to it, to be able to name the obstacle.
I use the word “teeter” a the obstacle name (not very creative hahahahaha) so the dogs can drive to it pretty independently. You can add something like that quietly so it doesn’t turn into a disconnect, and your motion will help support her line to it.
Let me know if that makes sense, or if I need more coffee hahahaha!
Have fun!
TracyNow I say very little, until âwaitâ at the end. At this point, unless I lure her off with a treat, she just stays there, 2 on 2 off. Same with the AFrame, there Iâm using âupâ, like the others, and âwaitâ.
Good morning!
>>Yes, keeping my arm low is always a unconscious issue. I never know Iâm doing it until I see videos. >>
I used to be a giant arm-flinger and I fixed it by running little sequences with a bottle of water in my hand. And it was open – so I felt the weight of it and knew where my arm was, and if I started getting my arm to high the water would spill and remind me to keep me arms down. It is a fun summer game! We have it coming later in this class.
>>She is target trained, both with a floor one (pot holder), and I have the MM.
Perfect! I like the pot holder better as a target because it is easier to fade out than the MM is.
>>On all contacts she is pretty solid until a release, sometimes even just staying until I throw a treat. Iâm still open to any advice for letting her run ahead and wait. >>
Working on just the down ramp, you can have your target at the end of the board in a spot where she can do her 2 on 2 off easily. And send her to it, without you moving until after she gets to it. Then you can move in and give her a reward. Start with her very close to the end of the board, then you can back chain til she eventually can go all the way across the obstacle without you đ
>> she is progressing well and really running, hitting hard, and solid 2 on 2 off.>>
Awesome!!! Sounds like teeter training is going great!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Yes I noticed it and I was so happy with it! âMotivationâ is something weâre âstruggling withâ, he is not a âGolden Retrieverâ who will âwork anywhere and everywhere and for anythingâ LOL>>
Yes! One of the way we build motivation is with a really high rate of reinforcement⌠but on a bit of a variable schedule so there is an element of âsurpriseâ (which can lead to a dopamine spike which is partially where motivation comes from :))
â¨>>Is âmotivationâ also covered in this class, or thatâs something that âwill just comeâ â as I saw yesterday with him! >>
Yes and no LOL!! We cover it here by keeping an eye on success rates and using lots of play in ways that the dog enjoys. And session structure also plays into building motivation, so we can look at that for sure. The motivation gets built in as we get the games and sequences going.
When he is struggling with motivation, what is happening? What are you seeing in the session or as distractions? Let me have as much detail as you want to share and we can sort out how to help him đ
>>Teeter â you know Iâm actually glad that this âteeter fallâ happened as I was video-ing it and you were able to see it! >>
Yes! It was a perfect video angle! And a lot of youngsters like to go fast on the teeter but keep their heads too high and donât shift their weight. So it probably feels like the ground dropping away from underneath them as the teeter moves, which is where they lose their balance and fall. The good news is that while he didnât freak out or anything, he also decided that he did not love how it felt and changed his behavior for the next rep.
>>Iâll use reward in-front of teeter instead of in my hand.>>
Perfect! That will help him look ahead which will also help with the weight shift.
This video: Winginâ It.â¨Iâm using 2 wings instead of tunnelâ¨I donât have more wings so using jumps without bars in-place of âwingsâ in setup.
He definitely liked the sending and had great commitment! Yay! His turns are nice and tight. Do you have a wrap verbal? You can use that as you send.
He thought the 2 wings as the tunnel-replacer were a little weird LOL!! So you can get him hyped before sending him to them. He might like a little âready readyâ with a bit of a little dance with him đ before the send. For that little dance, I ask the dog is they are ready, bend my knees a little, get crouchy⌠then when the dog is like âheck yeah, I am ready!â I send to the wing. Then you can get more speed in the tunnel-replacer section and even more power into the sending.
And if that goes well you can add more distance on the send wings, to build up even more commitment and distance.
â¨>>Iâll try with tunnel next (need to figure out how to stabilize it, I donât have tunnels bags and since the tunnel is 26 inches, canât find where to get those)>>No rush to add the tunnel til you can get tunnel bags sorted out – it is such a hard obstacle for the giant breeds tat we want to be sure it is completely safe s we donât risk his joints. Tunnel bags are expensive and you are correct, hard to find for 26â tunnels. So you can try a âdo it yourselfâ method. Two ideas for you:
– bags of âplay sandâ from Lowes or something, placed inside of sturdy black garbage bags (the sand can stay in the original bag). Then each garbage bag can be secured as tunnel bags by tying a knot in the bag and ten using a towel or strip of fabric to tie the bags together.– you can use jugs of water as the weight or bags of landscaping rocks. Both are heavy and can rest on the ground, holding the tunnel in position. I put them in garbage bags to cover them and make them easier to attach like tunnel bags with strips of fabric so they act like tunnel bags đ
I will ask some of my agility folks what they are doing for easy tunnel bags, and let you know if we come up with any other ideas đ
Great job here!
Tracy
