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Good morning!
Nice job with the teeter game! It defines helped to build value for being at the end and pressing it down with her hind end.It was definitely a little challenging for her! And a good workout LOL!
She led with her right hind leg on all of the reps – step up with right hind then follow with left hind! Interesting! It would be fun to see if you can get her to isolate that left hind and use it first – maybe have the right hind already on the board and lure just the left hind off, then let her put it back on (that will take some finesse for you both!)
The stretching forward at the end is a good psoas stretch! And great for holding position too 🙂 Be sure to clarify your release words so she knows when to come entirely off the board, versus when to stretch.
Great job here!
TracyOh wow! Super nice!!!!!
Good job with the warm up parts. The sequences looked great!The sequence :13 – :20 was fantastic!
Very strong connection all the way through. You were smoooooth too and that helped him handle the lines and bars.
Send-and-go at :18 was great!!!!
Nice blind timing and line to the tunnel, plus strong connection on the exit of the blind: he was able to execute the whole thing with speed and no questions. Super!!The other side was also super strong! Your BC thing was even better at :30 – perfect! You moved a little closer than needed to the BC jump, which puts you in line with the off course side of the tunnel. You got it with your strong connection. Being more lateral like you were in the previous sequence will make it even easier for you to get that line.
Great job!!!!!
TracyGood morning!
This is going really well – it is a super challenging countermotion skill!
Exiting the tunnel on your right in the first part went really well! You can run closer to the tunnel so you are not standing still at the wing. And she had one little question at :28, where she needed more connection to know which side to be on (there were no connection questions on any of the other reps though. Yay!)
On the other side:
>>Seemed like all the mistakes we had was because I was on her line.>>
Yes – you pushed into her line before she passed you to turn to the wing, so she responding by reading the line of motion you were showing when exiting on your left at :52, :58, 1:06. She needed you to have one more step of patience and staying at the wing so she can get past you to wrap it. It is possible your position was also blocking the wing from her perspective – it is a little harder to see from this angle – so be sure she can see the whole wing 🙂
Remember to keep rewarding her because she is reading you correctly (even if it is not what you intended, it is what your motion showed her).
Compare those blooper moments to the successful reps after 1:20 and to the end where you let her get past you to turn to the wing before moving again, and she as perfect 🙂
Double circles looked great on both sides! Super nice connection on the blind cross exits so she knew exactly where to be!
Great job here! Take a look at the NextLevel tandem and threadle wraps: similar countermotion concepts but they are currently a little more popular in court design than the push wraps (for UKI stuff in particular :))
Tracy
Good morning!
Baby level looks great, he was looking forward and driving to the jump brilliantly. You can say your jump cue sooner (before he exits the tunnel, then once or twice more) to help support the line. Great job throwing the reinforcement! You moved in a little too close to the jump when he was on your left and the wing was furthest away, but you stayed very lateral when he was on your right and he nailed it. Perfect!
On the advanced level: the harder distance didn’t seem to be a problem for him at all, on either side. Super!!! He was still looking forward brilliantly. He only had one little question: on the 3rd rep on your right side, your arm came up pretty high and that blocked connection, causing him to look at you and asking a question. He still found the jump, but on all the other reps your arm was nice and low and he didn’t look at you at all 🙂
Since this went so well, there are two other variations you can challenge him with:
Using the same process of the start wing in different places and the jump at different distances, you can add in getting him to drive ahead of you: after you send him to the start wing, run all the way to the tunnel and along the curve of the tunnel. That way you are not ahead very much at all when he exits, so he drives past you to the wing.
And you can flip it: send to the wing and tunnel from as far away as possible so when he exits the tunnel you are already past the jump – can he still find it?
Both of those challenges are hard and are situations he will eventually see on big courses.
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
This was a really good intro session to the set point! The stay was hard but you mixed in a lot of rewards and broke it down a bit, which was exactly what she needed. And she seemed VERY keen to do the game, so there was a little bit of leaning forward.Right now the stay was the harder part of the session so you made it more valuable – which means that you got a bit of trotting through the bumps on some reps – but you had bounces on the last 2 reps so that is great! You will see more power develop when the reward target has more value: the bowl/cookie here was interesting to her, but she was looking up at you a bit. You can try the PT if she is happy to hold a sit when the magical cookie device is out in front of her 🙂 Today we add the moving target, which I think will really help get the lower head and more bouncing too, which will also give us guidance on her exit set point distance.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>>I set up two cavaletti’s 3ft apart they were not even an inch high. Sealey is measuring about 14 / 15 inches tall. >>
It sounds like he is doing well! At 10 months old and at 14-15”, you can probably try out a 4 foot distance and see if he still bounces. If not, try 3.5 feet – my guess is that as we add power, the 3 feet will be too small. And if the stay is pretty solid, you can try the reward bucket at 12-15 feet, so he can really power out over jump 2.
>> few days later I caught Sealey doing the bounce we had worked on over the daffodils , there not blooming yet, since there are some rows of them in the yard.. LOL my over achiever!!>>
OMG! That is so funny!!! What a clever dog!!!!
>>The wrap proofing game: I decided after watching your video a couple times and then our zoom class to use “EEEE” for the left and “CHOOOCHOO” for right. By the way I am having more trouble learning and keeping track than he is.. I don’t use this with the other two so I am working my brain hard (lol).. >>
I can totally relate: adding new verbals is hard for the human brain! I always practice the verbals t double checkI am using the correct ones before each rep, even if it is just a little mental run through to double check. That has helped me add the new verbals!
<>> I worked with him outside going around the trellis.. He did really well with it being in a new place ( not in the house) doing the wraps.. >>
Yay! That was smart to use random things to wrap 🙂
>>As we were working on the last set of right wraps ( only 3 sets/ times of each side and we quite) The neighbor boy came outside and started screaming for no reason .. Well that was way too much for both of us and Sealey couldn’t focus with that noise all he wanted to do was bark at the kid. I had mixed feelings about that unexpected distraction but told myself that It showed me that was way too much for baby boy. >>
I think you made the right decision here. It sounds like the distraction was sudden and completely weird. Sealey was correct to say “that is waaaaay to bizarre!” If it happens again, you can use the pattern game we taught them in MaxPup 1 – it is set up to help them process weird distractions so it is something you can shift to when you encounter anything else that is distracting like that.
>>Even tho it was fantastic weather the distractions of the world was too much for Sealey to concentrate. Birds flying low and right over Sealey’s head ( I am talking inches above his head), people , motorcycles you name it. It was out enjoying the nice weather also !!! lol>>
OMG that is a LOT!!! Definitely try the pattern game, using great treats. It can help him engage and tune out distractions, then you can play one of the other games.
>>When I planted those daffodils 20 years ago never thought about in the future these could improvise something in dog training. lol>>
Now I will look at all the daffodils and be like, hmmmm, maybe we can use those for wraps LOL!!!
Great job here! Keep me posted!
TracyGood morning!
Great job setting up the different positions here – even without a ton of room, she was able to find the jump from behind you when you got way ahead (especially on the first rep where she was surprised when you took off and ran). And she moved ahead of you too! You showed a lot of energy in the running so even though you didn’t have space to get miles ahead (or for her to get way ahead) – the high energy movement can be a huge distraction for many dogs (like sighthounds :)) so that was great to show her here! She nailed it! When you are outside, you will have more room to run and she will be ready for it 🙂Nice work!
TracySounds terrific!!! The one universal thing I have noticed is that puppies really don’t like being moved around by their collars (or by their bodies) so they might tolerate it but generally avoid it. On the other hand, the whole line up game of cookie lure to line up, gentle collar hold without moving, then do something fast and fun is something they love! And eventually they start offering their collar to our hands: “c’mon human, let’s do the thing!!” LOL!!!
Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
>>For week 2 my goal is to really focus on connection since it sounds like that will fix a lot of things.>>
Connection is a life goal in agility 🙂 We work on it from puppy training all the way through masters level – it is really hard for us humans to maintain connection while running.
>>For the week 1 set point game, the jumps were set at 6 ft apart and the MM was about 10 ft after the second jump. Mason is about 21.5″ tall. Should I use the same spacing for the week 2 set point game? I haven’t seen the game description yet. I’m just thinking ahead.>>
Yes – 6 feet should be good for the next step! Have fun!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am glad your vertigo is going away!! And I agree – hauling tunnel bags is the worst!
For the verbals – you can choose front side or backside verbals based on where you visualize the bar being. I used front side verbals (visualizing the dog going over a bar then wrapping a wing) but it is also fine to use backside verbals (visualizing the dog going to the other side of the wing then back to the bar).
On the first video:
He did really well here! Yes, it took him a moment to figure out the straight tunnel but he was great!
Your connection was very strong on both the tunnel exits and the exits of the FCs, so he had no questions there. Be careful not to do too many in a row – at 1:14 he was starting to lose focus a bit because there were a lot of obstacles in a row. Keeping it to 3 or 4 things between rewards (like tunnel-wrap-tunnel-wrap) will wok out better for keeping him really engaged (and not thinking about going to the bathroom 🙂 )He REALLY liked the toy in the 2nd video!! With the toy in your hand, it was harder for you to make connection (which is why he missed the tunnels on some reps or didn’t get to the wing). Even with the toy in your hand, make the big eye contact back to him rather than point forward ahead of him, to show him the line. You had the great connection at 1:11 and he very smoothly went into the tunnel. Whenever he had a question or ended up looking at the toy, it was because the connection had broken a bit with you looking forward. So when the toy is in the picture, you can really exaggerate the connection so it is crystal clear even with the excitement of the toy around.
With the sessions that involve running, keep them to 90 seconds or less. I think both of these went too long and he got tired and checked out. Since we don’t want him checking out, you can set a timer and end the session even if he looks like he wants to keep going.
Nice work here!!
TracyHi!
>>Well, I don’t know why I forgot about the left/right mini pinnie. I am chalking it up to a senior moment!
Ha! Could also be that there are soooo many things to train with a puppy LOL!!
This session went well! He was fast, turning well, and looking forward to the line. Super!!!
He had a couple of questions about committing to the wrap wing, most of which were on the right turn side (working on your left side). It might be the harder side for him, but also the info was not as clear. As you were decelerating, you were bringing both hands and the toy up into the picture (which blocked connection) and kind of leaning over, so he was not sure what to do. You can see that at :21, :42, 1:26. At 1:11, your shoulders and arm were forward and turned away, plus he couldn’t see connection.
To help him commit, make a big huge connection to him as he exits the tunnel, and point your arm back to his nose. Then as you decelerate, keep the connection and just the one arm 🙂 and that arm should support the line and not block connection by pointing ahead of him. That will help commitment! And decel facing forward as you connect, don’t move sideways or backwards.
>>He sometimes wants to flank out on me>>
Do you mean at 1:44 – you were rotated but backing up so he was following your line of motion 🙂 and you kept backing up to try to get him to come in, so he kept going. I think it was Linda Mecklenburg who said “backwards motion reads as forward motion” and that is what was happening here. So if you make the clear connection and turn and run to where you want to go (rather than try to catch him with your arm and manage the turn), he will come right in. That is what you did at :06 and :40, and he had no questions on those.
The sequence from :57 – 1:01 looked awesome!!!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>He thinks that the MM is a slow and boring tease, and the Ready Treat is more his speed, so we switched to that. I feel like it’s also a good way to eventually get him to understand “later” while I load it and have us walk away (so hard!).>>
I guess that the MM just takes too darned long to spit out the treats LOL!!! He was driving ahead nicely for the ReadyTreat! And you can definitely reward him with a cookie (or many cookies) from your hand for walking away from the beloved Ready Treat – it is a great way to help him understand how to work independently from the reward on the ground.
And the cheese balls are perfect – easy to see and very motivating!
Using whichever one you want to use, you can add even more distance between the cone and jump – and throw the cheese ball or click the Ready Treat the instant he looks ahead after exciting the wing wrap.
>>I’d love to be able to run with a toy too while he focuses ahead, so that will be the next thing we do. I’ll have the Ready Treat and his favorite lotus ball both loaded with cheese balls and alternate as you suggested.>>
Perfect! That will allow you to use both and also get him looking ahead even if there is a distraction in your hand.
>>Speaking of toys, he gets super duper excited when the toys do have some food in them. He retrieves, tugs and is happy to have me open them or trade them for a treat. I’m struggling at keeping *just toys* exciting for him (especially in a distracting environment) Any tips on how to work that transition?>>
Food-based toys can be just as exciting and useful as non-food toys! Since food is his favorite thing, you can keep regular toys separate: use them in situations where you don’t have food and you can use your highest value toys. What does he like: fur toys? Huge toys? Sheepskin? Tennis balls? Bottle crunchers? You can sort out his faves and use those. For distracting environments, his brain is probably too busy processing all the things in the environment so food toys would be the way to go for now! And as he gets comfortable in a wider variety of environments, you can start to bring in his favorite toys 🙂 I have always found that keeping toy play fun, silly, and separate keeps it low-pressure, allowing it to blossom as they grow up 🙂
Nice work here!!!
TracyShe really likes to run too, and doesn’t need your running as a way to motivate her… she is very motivated 🙂 So there will be times you will have to slow down to show her the concept. Then it will all build up into both of you being able to run 🙂
The good news is that she makes her decisions really early! The bad news is that she makes her decisions really early! So handling will be harder early on but then you will LOVE that when she starts to run the big courses 🙂
T
Hi!
I don’t think his speed changes here had to do with longer sequences. Yes, shorter sequences for more rewards are always good to mix in! But what was happening was he would slow down whenever something was not clear…. then speed up when it was clear.He was scratching at the leash/collar at the start, so maybe that was different/weird feeling? But then he did well getting started. As he exited the tunnel on the :37, you said whoops then kind of stopped, so he was not sure what you wanted (and wanted the food instead of the toy).
The other 2 spots he slowed down was when connection was unclear at :55 (from the yellow to orange jump) and also when connection was unclear 1:46 on the tunnel exit. He was trying to get more info, so slowed down. But then he came right back up to speed when you were connected on the sequence! Yay!
So make connection the most important thing for him, and I bet you will see him being very enthusiastic! The connection for a dog his size involves a lot of looking down and keeping arms out of the way, so he can see it.
Nice work here!!
Tracy
