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Hi!
I think the ‘away’ arm will be super useful for you to be able to cue his distance skills while you go the other direction 🙂
On one jump: he was a superstar, moving to the jump when cued but staying on the line past it when you didn’t cue the away. Yay! He had a couple of bloopers with that when your arms were moving a lot (plus he loves the jump :)) When you arms were in normal running mode he had no questions.
He had one blooper on the away at 2:58 – I think 2 things happen to cause that as compared to the other reps:
* You were further ahead on that one
* Your arm was up but you were not really looking at him
When you had more direct eye contact, he got it. So when you are way ahead, be sure to look back at him as you cue the away with the outside arm so he really sees the turn of your shoulders.Great job here! He is ready for the sequences with this skill 🙂
Tracy
Hi! These looked fabulous! You really nailed the exit line arm use and his lines looked wonderful!
Sequence 1 – The exit line arm was great. Trust his commitment and start the cross sooner: when he exits the tunnel and looks at the jump, start the cross 🙂 You started the cross on both reps when he was taking off for the jump, so he landed long and turned after landing.
Seq 2: the exit line arms went great here too! That got him turned really well 3-4 and set up for the wrap exit of 4. Great connection on the line back to the tunnel! You can start the cross earlier here too – he has great commitment so I bet he will have no trouble if you start when he exits the tunnel, as long as you stay connected.
Sequence 3: So nice!!! On the first rep, you started your cues earlier here so the cross was almost finished when he took off. And the exit line arm sealed the deal of a super tight turn. On the 2nd rep, you trusted him even more and started the FC even sooner. That timing plus the lovely exit line arm set up a gorgeous turn! Wowza!
Seq 4 went well too – the timing on the first FC at jump 3 (:09) was not as good as on the previous sequence. Because you were still facing forward as he was approaching the jump, he jumped a little long there. The exit line arm showed him the next line really well! For the wrap on 4, to get a better line back to the tunnel: after you finish the FC, you can use a wrap brake arm to get BIG collection. His commitment is strong so I think he will be just fine if you used the opposite arm for that. The exit line arm really helped him find the line to the tunnel!
Seq 5: He did well here with the tunnel exit! If you want to get an even tighter turn, you can use soft brake arms before he goes in. The exit line arm made the next line super obvious to him. Super!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>today she was pretty tired from a 15-mile run, so the fact that she still was interested in participating in agility was a bonus!>
15 miles, that is impressive! Yes, she was a good girl to still want to do agility 🙂 but you’ll get more speed before the run 🙂
One overall thought: you are doing a really great job with your connection! You are showing the girls really good eye contact so they are finding their lines really well. SUPER!!!
The tight wraps went really well in both directions at the beginning. Lovely tight turns with your brake arm and also clear exit line arm made perfect sense to her. The backside wrap was also beautiful.
The exit line connection was really clear on the front crosses too!
Kastella definitely drives the lines harder than Kashia but interestingly, she is more responsive to the brake arm cues. At the beginning, I thought the brake arms actually slowed her down too much but maybe she was just sorting out what they meant. After about 1:30, she kicked it into higher gear and did NOT slow down too much – she set up really nice turns too! Yay!
You did a great job with the exit line arm with her too. At 2:01 and 2:07, for example, as you were doing the FC, the exit line allowed you to make great connection and she picked up the line beautifully.
For both girls, you can spread out the distances even more – you can aim for 24 feet or so between obstalces. That will get them really running like at a trial 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
You should now be able to see the upcoming MaxPup 3! The class listing is posted but the content has not started yet 🙂
T
Hi!
This went really well too – the timing of turning him away first then you turning too after he turned was spot on! You can let him see the turn hand for longer as you slow down, so he is ready to turn away.Before adding this to the barrel (which is the next step), you can decide which hand you want to use: dog-side hand, or outside hand along with the dog-side hand. Both will work really well! I think using the outside hand helps the pups see it better but it really comes down to handler preference.
Great job!!
Tracy
Hi!
Good job getting the threadle wrap started with turning him away! This is a cue that you can use the outside arm, kind of like the tandem turns on the turn away games – the outside arm works well with this because we end up decelerating into the cue, so we don’t have to worry about running fast 🙂
When he was turning really well, you were decelerating (or already stationary) and that helped a lot. When you were having trouble getting him to turn away, it was because you were in steady motion which made it hard for him to be prepared to turn away. So as you add in more motion, remember to decelerate to help him prepare for the turn.
Nice work!
Tracy
Hi!
Thanks for changing the settings!The threadle slices are going well – he is understanding to come in to the threadle side then go back out to the jump. Super!!! He also found it from the harder angle. Good boy!
You were saying that you were not sure if you were doing it right – your position near the entry wing and your connection was great! Some reps had the dog side arm extended, some reps had the cross arm (opposite arm) cueing the threadle. That is probably why it felt less comfy – when you decide which arm you want to use, it will feel better 🙂
The easiest way to do it is with the dog-side arm extended, similar to the serp arm. This is what you did at 1:15 and it worked great! The dog-side arm is generally easier because we humans can run better with just that arm out 🙂 And you can hold it out as he comes in AND until he goes to the jump bar. The arm is the cue for both!
The cross arm is an option (like at 1:51) – but it is generally harder to run with it up, so over the years we faded it out in favor of the dog-side arm and smoother running.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
Two very good sessions here! You had a ton of good clicks which really helped her isolate that it was her mouth and not her feet that you wanted.In the first session, turning it over was clever because the edges would stick up which gave her something to grab. But then she would step on it which made it hard to pick up. She seemed to figure out very quickly that it was something with mouth to frisbee so now we can help her figure out that it is lifting.
She has a ton of value for it now because she immediately interacted with it when you started session 2. Big hooray when she lifted it!!! Breakthrough! Nice job being patient and letting her work through the puzzle 🙂 After that first click for lifting it, she offered that multiple times for the rest of the session. SUPER!!!!
For the next session, you can see if she picks up where she left off by picking it up 🙂 The hardest part here was getting her to NOT step on it, because it is impossible to pick it up when her foot is on it LOL
If she struggles with picking it up because her foot is on it, you can hold it a foot or so off the ground so it is easy to get her mouth on and hard to step on 🙂 But based on how she ended here, you might not need to do that. If she does need you to lift it, you can switch gears in the session but it would be fun to see if she can solve the problem without needing you to lift it 🙂
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
Looking at Kaladin’s video:
The lap turns went really well! Easy peasy!
> I kept pointing my feet to the jump as he was coming into my MCH.>
Yes – at the beginning he couldn’t really see the opposite arm (:40) so you made it more visible (yay!) I think what was happeningafter that was that you were trying to stop your motion and lean over to set the turn with your hands… but that turned your feet to the jump so that is where he went. He was pretty honest about what he was seeing 🙂
Now compare to the rep at 1:53 – you were moving more which kept you line forward, so he read it perfectly. That is good to remember: yes, you can decel but you don’t need to stop moving.
He also read the line of motion perfectly on the balance rep at 2:54 where you went straight. That is the line of motion, so you can add in your visible arms and decel to get it consistently perfect.
Lift’s session did look smooth! You were moving forward, decelerating with visible hands, then turning her away. Lovely! She almost had a question at 1:02 where you stopped moving and turned your feet to the jump (like in Kaladin’s session) so she almost took the jump like a throwback line. That was the only time, though, the rest of the tandem turns looked strong!
The lap turn and the balance reps of going straight and the get out all worked great!
>Slightly above the high end of the range for cobalamin (she was on the high end for the last GI panel in 2024). Folate dropped a bit and is now just below the low end of the range.>
So folate is low end of normal, or clinically low/not normal? Hot Sauce’s cobalamin was on the low end of normal was when her folate was super clinically low, but she was much older than Lift is. Hot Sauce also had weird numbers on her thyroid panel (super low TT3 with everything else , which indicated *something* was off but not the typical hypothyroidism.
The vet was considering doing an abdominal ultrasound to look for GI disease but we supplemented with folic acid and everything went back to normal. We have no idea why her folate was low.
> Cortisol is on the low end of the range, but similar to the last GI panel. >
What were her electrolytes?
>We did an ACTH stim test to check for Addisons when it came in low last time and that was negative. >
It might not be Addisons (thankfully) but the low cortisol can indicate why she struggles to ‘bounce back’ easily from stressors. The bounce back mechanism in the body (HPA axis) is all about ACTH and cortisol – and if the cortisol runs low, there might be something happening that causes her body to have a harder time regulating stress responses (cortisol is a VERY useful thing!)
>I’m talking to the vet about next steps to determine if there is chronic small intestine disease or something else going on.>
You can see if the vet has a good internal med specialist you can chat with? It is definitely a puzzle!
Tracy
Hi!
>I am having a hard time with posting. The site keeps erroring out. Finally got it to stop I think by closing and reopening.?>
It is possible that the server is having trouble loading all the videos? That happens especially in iOs/Apple devices. You can start a new thread if you like – it can be Dublin Part 2 🙂
Nice job with the rear cross game! You had excellent cookie toss placement so you were able to get to the new side early enough for him to turn to the new direction. Super! He was very happy to eat the cookies because the game was so easy 🙂
For the handling combos – he was very excited about the toy, which is great! When you put it down, you can reward him with treats for moving away from it rather than holding his collar.
As he exits the barrel, the more you look at him, the better he will see the new side. The blind crosses(spins) when great!
When you did the decel and rotation as soon as he exited the barrel, he rotated with you really well! When you did it when he was almost at the toy already (like at 2:53), it was a little late and he went to the toy because it was right there.
The rep that started at 4:27 was GREAT – nice connection and timing of the FC followed by pivoting with you. SUPER!!
The sideways & backwards sending went great too. Nice job getting the verbals added too! You can add in starting another step or two away from the barrel, which allows you to start moving away before he even arrives at the barrel.
The stays are also looking really strong! At this point, the ‘catch’ and the ‘get it’ can replace the click.
When using treats, you can add in quiet praise before the reward now. And you can also add in using a toy as the reward instead of treats – tug tug tug, sit and stay… then release forward to the toy or you can say ‘catch’ and throw it back to him. He will probably be more excited 🙂 so keep the stays shorter for now so he can be successful when the toy is part of the game.
Great job!!!
Tracy
Hi!
It is $100 to upgrade to working. This link should work:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7HB5ZQGL579YEThanks!
Tracy
Hi!
Fantastic session here – 100% perfect! It was a really nice progression from the thrown treat, to adding the prop but still throwing the treat, then sending to the prop. He got it right every single time and you got to the correct side every time, nice and early. SUPER!!
>He is not magnetized to the prop but it did seem to draw his attention.>
He hit the prop better when he was starting on your right side (turning to his left). He kind of side swiped it when he started on your left (turning to his right) but he still got the rear crosses every single time. He might just need a clearer send to it so he isn’t think about a tossed treat in that moment.
You can add in moving this back into a bigger space to see if you can get him driving ahead to the prop on a straight line while you set the rear cross and cut in behind him.
>We were only allowed to crate one dog inside and given the frigid weather conditions, I was not willing to crate either of them in the car for lengthy periods of time. Also Sunday was Handler’s Choice and that day you can only work one dog. So I think it worked out for the better – was also Rusty’s intro to hotel stays.>
That makes sense – it was COLD!!! I am sure Rusty had a great time 🙂
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
>Took Sunnie off the property for some training AND used sting cheese >
How is her belly today, post-string-cheese?
She certainly liked the cheese, it made a pretty immediate difference after the first reward on the pattern game here. She was super engaged even with the distraction – I don’t think the added distraction stood out to her, because there were so many distractions in the environment already.
You can start the game without waiting for her to engage first: when you enter a new environment, you can show her to cookie then say get it and toss it. That basically acts as a cue to engage.
She did well with the parallel path game – true, it was not as perfect as it was at home but she is having to tune out the major distractions in the environment (on top of everything else, could you also hear the dog barking in the background? I am sure she could!)
>After some crazy reps on the one side, I decided to try the other, which worked out much better. Any idea why? Or was she just getting into the groove by then?>
Hard to know why she had trouble finding the jump on your right, at first. It could have been that she has a natural default to look at you when she is not sure or having to tune out the environment? Or maybe she needed you ahead or needed you to connect more with eye contact? Either way – it was a good idea to change sides and she totally had it on the other side! Super! Her overall focus was stellar so it is still a winning session!
>I did have a tug in my pocket which I tried to engage with her after this session, no beuno so we just walked around a little bit by the playground>
In the new outdoor areas, you might need to have a really long crazy toy and get her chasing it as you swing it around: think of making the toy into an insane bunny for her to chase 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
I totally understand how travel changes routines! But it sounds like your trip is pretty amazing 🙂 Super fun to get baby Vibe into a seminar!
>Rip made 3 podiums – 2 golds 1 silver and overall Festival win >
Woohoo!!! Congrats!! That gets you into the Speedstakes Final at the Open, or do I remember it incorrectly?
Nice facility in Tulsa! He was a super good boy with the handling combos – he was able to leave the toy on the ground really well (a couple of pounce-on-it moments but he figured out how it ignore it really quickly. The barrel wraps and exits looked great, including the decel/pivot at the end. And he also did really well with the pattern game.
The only question marks I saw over his head were about what to do when he arrives at the toy reward. He was driving to it and grabbing it – but seemed unsure about what was next. I think you were trying to encourage him to bring it to you but he was not sure and then maybe was thinking about food in that moment?
You can answer that question by separating the two concepts (handling and bring-me-the-toy-to-play). Use a really big fun toy for the handling, so when he gets to it you can easily pick up the other end and tug. And in a separate session, you can send him to the other toy (or the big toy) and do some reverse retrieves to get him bringing it to you. That way you build the retrieve but also immediately reward the barrel combos with tugging (without asking for an additional behavior of retrieving).
The parallel path game looked great! Yes, he didn’t always find the treat but he was in heaven to find the line over the jump! Nice distance!! For now, the thing to add to this is getting really close to him and starting right next to him, so he drives ahead of you. Then when you throw the reward, go all the way to it with him, then wait til he is ready, so you are close to him and moving at the same time. That will set you up nicely for rear crosses 🙂 plus it is a nice balance to all the distance.
He was so cute standing on his mat at the beginning of the RDW video! He is hitting it really well with distance and with more and more speed. I could see clear split RF hits that you were marking with good timing!
Right as I was typing “Now let’s get him to not look at you” the second clip appeared with the manners minder 🙂 Try to take out the yes or yay markers because they are drawing his gaze to you. You can click the MM for the rear feet hits, then add in the exuberant praise when he is arriving at the MM. And use just the get it when he is going the other direction (instead of ‘yay, get it’) so he is looking straight.
Usually the MM will get their heads straight so if the get it does not keep him looking forward, one option is that you can recall him to you on the other side (not across the mat) then send him again towards the MM. I also used additional targets to keep the dogs looking ahead after the MM (a bit of a chain) which worked really well but you might not need it if the MM and the get it marker keep him looking forward.
Great job here!
Tracy
