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Hi!
>>First thing, I am confusing myself. Except for Casper, this summer, every time I have done grids like these I have used a placed toy. Every time. I assume this is to promote forward focus but that’s how Susan Salo teaches it and that’s how I’ve done it.>>
Yes – that is how she does it (last I checked). We’ve evolved it since it was first introduced though – I use a moving target if there is a toy plaid out ahead and I add in handler motion a lot earlier. A stationary target was causing the dogs to prepare to stop more than it was helping them stride through the grid, and the moving target has had great results in terms if getting powerful striding.
>>At any rate, while some people can throw toys and they magically appear over the dogs head and support forward focus, I am CLEARLY not one of those. Also, Casper is much more handler focused than previous dogs and I need to work on that.>>
Same here about the throws! But we do have to at some point fade the placed reward (because it easily becomes the cue and there is no behavior without it). So, a bad throw is acceptable as long as it is consisntely arriving *somewhere* out ahead 🙂 along with a ‘get it’ marker.
<>I think the wing and toy combo has resulted in forward focus. >>
Yes! Much better head position and forward focus! You can put the toy on the other side of the wing so he doesn’t have to fully go around it.
>>he was jumping at least 16 and didn’t lower to 12 in these 7 trials.>>
That is not a problem – the bar is low so the mechanics of the jumping are effortless as he thinks about looking forward. So leave it low for now – the next step is to get your position moved to be parallel to him then behind him as he is moving up the line, so he continues to look forward no matter where you are. You can add motion for both, so he learns this with motion in the picture too.
>>If you haven’t heard Terry Pratchett’s Guards, Guards — well, go get it. He is the best!>>
Yay!! I will get it for the next long road trip leg!!
Great job here 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I did do a few set points at 6in last week and she looked good. Should I keep her at 4in for the handling stuff for now just to keep it easy though?>>
I think the easy handling lines can go to 6 inches (like the straight Iines) but keep the harder moments (wraps, backsides, rears) at 4 for now so she doesn’t have to think about handling cues and jumping mechanics at the same time.
I am glad she did not mind the wing wrap starts – I was having flashbacks to when she used to think they were soooooo stuupppiiiiiiid LOL!
The mountain climbers game is going really well. She is definitely happy to go to the end of the board with you doing a variety of different things. You ran past and you also let her drive ahead. You can start really close to the wing and do a rear cross too, I don’t think you had one in there?
Keep raising the teeter to get it up to full height, she is doing great! And the joy of the martingale there is that the opening is huge so she was pretty happy to put her head through. You can also do that in the middle of the session – martingale on, cookie, martingale off, back to a little more fun stuff. That way the leash going on does not get paired with being done – that is where a lot of avoidance shows up!
I am glad she liked the straight lines game – lots of running does make it fun!!!
Morning session:
For the food reward throws on the GO lines, does she like a lotus ball or treat hugger? That will allow you to throw the food further and sooner, and is more visible out ahead. And that will all help her really drive ahead and leave you in the dust 🙂The FC wrap and the RC both looked really good here on 2 jump.
When you added the tunnel for the backside, two things caused her to spin at 2:32:
– a little too much motion pressure to the outside of the wing when really you would be running to where the wing and bar meet
– not enough connection to her eyes (too much looking forward)You nailed it in the 2nd session (below)!
At 2:52, she has some RC questions – there was a heartbeat of pressure on the line on the FC wrap plus you were looking ahed, so you got a RC there. You can see it more clearly at 3:10, when you pressured in to get closer to the wings of the jumps and then leaned forward/pointed forward before the decel – all of that reads as pressure into the line for a RC. No need to lean forward at that point – you can do it as you are accelerating away from the tunnel but the leaning forward might confuse her about whether it is RC pressure or not.
So to differentiate – handle the wraps from wherever you are on the line, rather than pressuring in. But also, sort the RC pressure line sooner and more clearly when you do want a rear cross, so she is seeing the difference in cues from the jump before and not later on.
And also, it will help her know what predicts a RC as the correct answer (not just pressure or you being near the line).
That can help eliminate her questions there.Afternoon session:
Go line is looking good here too (throwing further and with something heavier) will help get even more acceleration. Does she like balls?Looking at the rear cross versus FC wrap – I think that you can give the info sooner to help clarify what you want. As she is over the bar of the jump after the tunnel, you were generally going straight and so that info all looked like a FC wrap line. The RC info was starting when she was past the halfway point and preparing to turn towards you… so while she did get it correctly at 1:32, it was a last minute thing based on your pressure in towards the bar and not based on you being on the RC line or changing sides.
That would explain why in the previous session, she was doing the RC when you wanted the FC wrap: when you pressure in to the bar at that timing, it is more likely to be a rear cross 🙂
I took some screenshots to show the visuals! They are here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1swwjQaNStqFAbZuaVwJxPJCF71rZKtyRoJEwoMfdIvA/edit?usp=sharing
To clarify the RC versus FC, the info can start as she is over the bar after the tunnel. If you are going straight, it is a FC wrap. If you are starting to converge a bit to the center of the bar of the next jump, it is a RC. That makes the info earlier and also very different, so the questions about FC versus RC will go away.
And going in closer to the tunnel so you don’t get too far ahead for a rear cross will help too, but be sure to also do that with FCs so she doesn’t associate your position being ahead or not as part of the cue 🙂
Your backside line and connection looked great at 1:50! And she had a lovely ending line there too!
Great job here! Keep me posted about how she does in the seminar!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I’m going to rewatch the videos from this past weekend to see if the rear cross issues were connection. That’s helpful info to go look for.>>
It is fun to watch videos like that! Play them in slow motion, watching him. Freeze the moment where he looks at you or makes a decision to go somewhere you were not intending…. Then look at what you were doing an you will have your answer about what he was seeing 🙂
I am sorry to hear about your back!!! OUCH!!!!!!
>>Ven seemed a bit unsure so I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong or it’s just been a while since he saw this game. >>
I think his questions were mainly countermotion questions – following the smaller cues of hand and eyes looking away while your body was turning facing the other direction.
At the beginning, it looks like it was a case of “why would I leave this hand filled with treats to to go to the wing over there, with you facing the treat-filled hand”. You were a little too far away for him to see the value of the wing versus the value of the treats in your hands. And that is part of this game: the impulse control to leave the food or toy to go ‘do a thing’ while the handler is also moving away. It is hard!!
When you got closer at :26, you got the ball rolling and he was really starting to get it. What you saw after that point were what I would call processing moments: He was thinking extra hard to process all the info, so he could do it… he just couldn’t do it fast yet.
He was also successful when you got a little further away at 1:19 and after that! He had a moment of processing before he started moving on the cues here too, but he processed them correctly without getting frustrated, and I call it a big win!! Yay!
You can help him by throwing the reward to the wing as he is going to it. That can answer his question about why he should leave the food in your hands to go to the wing: because he will get food at the wing (or a toy when your back is feeling better). When you see him getting it without having to process as much, you can go back to rewarding from your hands and add even more countermotion by moving away when he is heading to the wing.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>>I learnt that I cannot get round the end of the tunnel before her after handling #8 jump.>>
Ye, in the tighter spacing, the sending was a MUCH better idea! It worked really well! In bigger spacing, I think you will be able to get to the other side of the tunnel, based on how well she was sending to the jumps here.
Looking at the different sections of the sequence:
The opening is looking strong! On some of the reps you did a spin on the tunnel entry (like run 1, and again at :31) – that seemed to produce a nice tight turn on the tunnel exit and get you to the FC sooner. On the reps where you did not spin, it was harder to compare her turn (harder to see from this angle) but those went well too.
Getting the FC 3-4 went really well each time when you layered the jump to get there.
You did not layer at :58 and that made the FC at 3 and the turn on 4 late, so both bars are down. Compare to the previous reps and the next rep at 1:10 where you did layer and the timing was much earlier so she had a tight line and the bars stayed up!
On the middle section: the more you hung back near 4 and 5 then sent her to the big line, the easier it was to get the ending line and the easier it was for her jumping too!
When you went a little past 5, she had one bar touches as you decelerated and stepped back to layer, and then you ended up having to handle from the landing side of the closing line. That worked really nicely on the first run! She nicely went past the tunnel at :11 – really nice connection to her even from behind! The out verbal can come no later than landing from the previous jump to get the info to her even sooner.
When you were trying for the cross, you could not quite get there in time if you went past jump 5.
The rotation at :23 was too early (she had not yet really seen the next jump) so she had questions and ended up with a spin and the wrong side of the last jump.
You tried to get ahead at :37 and she ended up in the tunnel: there was too much forward motion as you went around the wing of the jump to set up the cross and the turn cues were late, mainly because you went a little too deep past 5 to send her on the line.
I was going to suggest staying closer to 4 and 5 so you could send her away more and get to the cross more easily…. And that is exactly what you did at :48- ; :51, so you got the FC easily. YAY! That allowed you to get the out past the tunnel too! That made it look easy 🙂
You went a little too far past 5 at 1:15 so almost didn’t get back in time for the FC on the 7-8-9 line (she was wide there and ended up on the backside of the jump after the FC when you wee still on her line)
On the last rep, you hung back nearer to 4 and 5 again, and sent her away on the line – that made it easy for you to get back to the FC and get her around the tunnel! Super nice!!
So overall – she is really good at sending away on the big lines, and she also pays attention when you change the line – so using this to layer to get where you need to be is going to be very helpful on the big courses!!
Great job here!! Let me know what you think.
Tracy
Hello and welcome!!!!
>>we are finally on the board, lol!
Yay! You two look great here!
>> just bumping this post up >>
No worries 🙂 I go through the posts in time stamp order, and that includes the puppy class that is running – which is why I was in this forum then left for a bit. Puppy videos! You were probably like “WAIT!!! WHERE DID YOU GO?!?!?!” 😂🤣😂
Since you and Moon have some seriously excellent skills already, we can work on using them more strategically in certain spots as well as getting better turns in other spots.
Some ideas for you:
You had decel on 3 at :04 and 1:08 but he did not really collect. This was especially true on the first run, where he went wide there. You can add a brake arm into the decel: it is the opposite arm giving a bit of a “whoa, slow down, add a collection stride” cue in conjunction with the dog-side arm and the decel. We don’t need a LOT of collection there, just a little, so the brake arm is probably all he needs. We did a lot of brake arm work in the live class if you want to check it out.
Nice job cuing the threadle wrap at 7! On each rep, your timing got better. Rep 1 was a little late, so he came shooting out of the tunnel. The rep at 1:11 was fabulous – you had the cues starting (verbals, hands, decel) before he got into the tunnel and then he knew exactly what to do.
Also, at :30 and 1:11, you stayed connected as you left to get up the line for 8 and 9. On the first rep at :11, you disconnected as you took off, so so he second-guessed himself and came to you. The connection makes a big difference for him.
You did a BC to a RC on 9 at :35 and 1:18 and it worked pretty well… it might be a lot easier to do a threadle slice there! Less handling (no blind, no rear cross) to have to do on time, and it will likely be faster too!
Sounds like you called him before the tunnel entry but he did not turn tight at :38. He turned better at 1:20 but still a little wide. What verbals were you using? It was hard to hear – he might need a ore specific verbal to get a tighter turn, or a brake arm there too (I tell ya, the brake arms are AWESOME for getting turns!)
He has nice independent weaves! Since that weave entry is hard for you, you can support the line by putting pressure into the line of the entry so he doesn’t curl in and hit the 2nd gap.
Getting the line to 13 is one of the places we can talk strategy – we want him to take the jump, but we also want a tight turn (we want it ALL!) On the reps where he did take it (:47 and 2:13), he was a bit wide because you were on a parallel line and moving well past 14 (he was correctly jumping to the line you set).
When you hung back, you decelerated and rotated a little too soon so he didn’t take it.
Strategically, you don’t need to be as laterally far from the weave – you can hang a little closer as he weaves so as he exits the weaves, you can move on a parallel line til he commits to 13 and still e in a good spot on the landing side of 14 – that parallel line you ran at 2:12 is what we want, but without getting past 14 so you end up on the landing side of 14.
Very nice threadle wrap!!!
He took off early at :52 for 16 (bar down, he was probably trying to process what the cues were)) – looks like you had a little disconnection/looking forward while you decelerated.
He didn’t hit the bar there at 2:17 but you had a big decel and sent him forward – so he didn’t see or hear the turn cue until he was locked onto the off course tunnel. That was rewardable, I can see his argument for taking that line 😁At 2:27 you hung back more and turned sooner (which is also what you did at :53) and he got it.
So, more strategy: in this situation, you don’t need to leave the threadle wrap as much because it causes you to have to slam on the brakes before going into an extension line (layering).
You might find it makes more more sense to hang out at the threadle wrap til he is jump about landing, then accelerate into the layering. That way you can send him past you but also hang back, to get him turned to the jumps and not looking at the tunnel.>>I left an off-course tunnel in the back of the arena…which of course then came into play between 17 and 18.>>
Having it there was great, that is exactly what you would see at a trial!! And you got good info about when to turn him versus how to send him to it 🙂
Ending looked great, both times! Yay!! The layering skill made it really really easy for you both 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>>the screenshots have taken it to a whole new level!>>
I am glad you liked the screenshots!! They really capture the moment of what the dog sees, even if we humans don’t always realize what they are seeing in the moment.
The motion override (sits in motion) is indeed a really hard game! On the first rep, you could see her processing, processing…… she got better and better as you went along but it was still hard. To make it easier, just start by slowly shuffling your feet along, not remotely a real walk – and then see how she does.
Try not to use an arm cue at all, just the slowest possible movement (can even be like marching in place!) and see if she can get it on her first cue there.
The bang game/teeter end behavior is looking good! Try to line her up at your side facing the end of the board (you can hold her collar) and then give the cue to jump into position. The rep most similar to that was at 1:24 and she drove directly into her target position. Yay! You can also add staying in motion on this game – slowly walking forward as she is moving into position, and keep walking for another 2 or 3 steps after she is definitely stopping in position (then reward 😁)
Sends to tunnel – nice connection!!! No screen shots needed, you looked great. She is finding the line really well. She is exiting the tunnel pretty straight, really blasting out of it – this is a good thing! And that is why she missed the jump on the first rep: she didn’t know there was a turn 🙂
So to get her to exit looking for the next jump (s you don’t have to help as much) you can give her a mild turn cue before she enters the tunnel. A ‘left’ verbal or just her name would work, delivered while she is still about 4 or 5 feet from the tunnel entry so she definitely hears it before she enters.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>Thank you for mentioning it. I thought we should work on it ‘in-order’ so haven’t even looked at other games before you mentioned it!>>
Working them mostly in order is good 🙂 We don’t want to do too many things on one setup, because we don’t want the dogs to get bored. So the crosses, for example, can be worked in the next game too!
>>Any chances that ‘weave’ class will run sometimes soon as ‘working’? >>
Probably not – the rest of 2024 is packed pretty solidly.
>>And do you know if this class will available to get later – or if we want it, we need to buy it now?>>
It will be available for a long time – until I run it as a working class again, which probably won’t happen until 2026 LOL!
>>I need to buy a set of weaves so we can’t train it now anyway >>
>>is there a way to figure out which one Fly would prefer before buying weaves?>>Can you borrow a set? Weaves are expensive! Many folks have borrowed a set or two to do the beginning stages of the class, then either bought a set based on the dog’s preference, or finished the training on the borrowed set.
>>And we got ‘backside’ class! Something to train on backyard when the weather is too hot to go anywhere.>>
Fun! Let me know if you need any ideas on how to tweak it for a tiny dog like Fly when you do it with him – he is able to do most or even all of the games 😁. I think it is all large dog-friendly but I might have missed something.
>>It was BEAUTIFUL, 70 degrees and breeze!>>
70 degrees! I am jealous!!!!!
>>You can see ‘my problem’ with that setup>>
Ah yes, the a-frame certainly does make it a different training session LOL!!! I agree, it was still a worthwhile session – we see tunnels under the DW and a-frame all the time, so you got some good practice getting him to find the tunnel rather than the more obvious a-frame. And the a-frame is probably easier for him AND you’ve rewarded it more, so it was great to get the tunnel here! Once her relied the he had to really lower his head, he got the tunnel really well.
On the blind crosses – you were helping him more than he needed on the 3rd jump 🙂 You can easily send him away to jump 1 and 2 (he was great about committing) then stay parallel to jump 2 – don’t go to far over to jump 3. As you are coming down the line to the blind, stay parallel to him and no need to go to the landing spot of the 3rd jump – let him find it (he will :)) That gives him better turn info
For example, your position on the exit of the blind at :48 was closer to where you wee going next, so you got a good turn there. At :13, you went across the bar on the landing side of the blind cross jump – so he jumped straight rather than turned, then changed his line after landing. Thinking ahead to when he is jumping full height, the bar might not stay up if you go all the way across the line there. So keep trusting him and stay laterally away from the jump, to set up the great turn.
>>Also on video Fly’s favorite ‘reward’>>
OMG that is so funny! He is very polite about it, even though his head is the same height as your height when he plays like that LOL!! Good boy!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Great to see you here and doubly great that Obi has been cleared by the sports vet!!!! We are all trying to stay cool in this heat, which means lots of sunrise training sessions LOL!!
Looking at the videos:
He was very keen to play the lazy game!
He was finding his jumps really well. I think he was working out how to look at you AND take the jumps, so you can change the timing of the marker and reward throw: rather than mark & throw when he gets to the jump, change to mark and throw the instant he looks at the jump. That way the reward is flying and landing as he is approaching the jump (so he is highly unlikely to look back at you).You can increase the distances between the jumps to do this – if they are close, he will be able to take the jump while watching you 🙂 But if you spread them out to 18 or 20 feet apart, you will be able to mark the moment he looks at the jump and not at you.
I love how easily he went from food to toy to food here! Perfect!
On the 2nd video:
The one step sends looked great when you showed a lot of connection like at :17 and :28 and after that – lovely! He had a slightly harder time on your left side in that session, but in the 2nd session he did not have a hard time on your left. It almost looked like there was something out there he was looking at?
The toy was visible (and exciting!) in the second session – it was great to see him drive past it to the wing, and then he had a LOT of speed. But he controlled the speed and still got a nice tight turn into the tunnel and around the wings. SUPER!!!So you can add on the middle wings here (doing the middle wing then the FC back to the tunnel). He looks ready!
Great job!!
TracyHi!
Yes, the countermotion is a bit of an awkward game because of all of the rotation and sending behind you.
Shifting your connection on the countermotion really helps! Connect to her as she is getting to you, then as you cue her to go past you, let her see your eyes follow your hand as it points to the wing behind you. For example, at :25 and :29, you did just that and she got it! Yay! Compare to :05, where you were sending by looking down at her, so she went to the other wing (you were also blocking her line there a little).>>So many misses. I finally got the idea of having her super close.>>
Welcome to the joys of RDW training with an adolescent dog (although I am sure you have experienced that before LOL!!!)
Even when she did hit the mat, she would still leap up for the MM. So, take the MM out of the picture and use an empty food bowl – you can then mark and toss a treat to the bowl. That should be less stimulating.
The other thing to do is elevate the mat, so she has to step up onto it. Try it attached to something that is 2 or 3 inches off the ground (something stable) so she has to step up onto it – that can get her thinking about her feet.
I also like to do mat stuff like a flyball box turn: send her to the mat, looking for that 1-2-3-4 footfall pattern, then reward her back at me (toy or cookie from my hand). Practice it in both directions, and also I think the elevated mat would be useful for that one too!
>>ast but not least we are going to a trial with a practice ring. You pay for a weekend of 2 mins max as often as there are no lines.I was thinking about going in and taking her leash off and playing. Then maybe next session sit stays with toy reward and next session maybe a jump tunnel?>>
Very fun!!! Is it UKI? It is a great opportunity for sure. For the first time in, leave the leash on, play… and when she is happily engaged, you can take the leash off. No need to take it off before she is engaged! And then yes, you can build it up to tunnels, wing wraps to tunnels (take the bar off the jump because you are probably not allowed to move any obstacles). Sounds like fun!!!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
He is doing better with the motion override game! One suggestion is to
throw the reward back (‘catch’ marker) or release forward while you are still moving (rather than turn to face him). This will simulate handling on course, where you will keep moving forward.Be sure to keep a slooowwwww pace for a few more sessions – you started to speed up a little and he had a little trouble with that at 1:06 and 1:32. He got back on track when you were moving a bit slower.
Teeter: He did really well with the bang game! Yay! You can start him right at the very end of the board – I like to gently hold the dog’s collar or harness so I can line them up right at the end, get them jazzed up, then give the cue and let go so they can jump on it.
Backing up is also going really well! I this session, he immediately locked into stepping back up onto the board. See if he will do it without you moving your hand at all – I think on some of the reps he was trying to follow the cookies and if your hand was not perfectly straight while you moved it, he moved to the side. So you can keep your hand stationary and let him do the stepping backwards away from it 🙂
>>On the teeter I think he’s defaulting to the behavior for the dogwalk which is 2o2o.>>
I agree, he was probably trying to figure out the end position based on what he is training in other contexts. So you can add a target to the end of the teeter board – for the littles, I put a strip of duct tape at the top of the board, so they can put their front feet on it (and that is where I give them the cookie :)) That can help differentiate the teeter 4-on versus the dog walk 2on-2off.
>>On the driving ahead he did a couple of real nice ones at the farthest distance & then started coming in instead of going over. I’m not sure what happened there.>>
On the reps that were successful, 2 things were happening: you were closer so motion supported it, and you were throwing the reward sooner. When he was just past the tunnel exit, you were throwing the reward, so he then found the line based on the throw.
As you got further away, motion didn’t support the line as much and you were throwing later (he was already past the halfway point and on his way to you) so he missed the jump.
Let’s flip the script! You can take out the wing, I think it was getting in your way 🙂 And as he exits the tunnel, make BIG connection to his eyes and move forward while you are saying the go verbals. As soon as he looks at the jump – then you throw the toy. So it will be after he looks at it, which will help pump up commitment. Start this pretty close for now, maybe 6 feet away, and see how he does and how well you can see his face! Seeing where a small dog is looking is MUCH harder than seeing where a big dog is looking, so it might take a couple of reps to dial in the connection so you can see where his head is turned to.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
She looked super happy to go up the tall teeter! The “Lift Guard” cracked me up!!! She was happy to drive to the end with or without you 🙂 and you stopped short a bit (on purpose, yes?) so she could go to the end without you. You moving past her or going to the other side? No problem! All good!
Before adding more height, I think it would be better to add speed by doing a wing wrap before it (although if she hates the wing wrap start, you can do a jump or a short tunnel). And if she is still happy with more speed? Then yes, raise the teeter to full height 🙂 And then yes, add in the Galican teeter so she gets experienced on a different feeling under her feet.
The Blind to the tunnel looked great! You can keep your wing (arms) in tighter to your ribs, so you can go even faster down the line and show the new connection more quickly Without having to pull your arms in, all you will need to do is turn your head and the connection will be very visible.
The FCs at :54 and 1:34 went well – and you maintained connection so she got the wrap after it too. Easy peasy! I think it is good to show the dogs the FC here, but I think ultimately the BC there will be a much easier and faster move for you both 🙂
>>I did get Robin to put another clasp on the front of her harness so it doesn’t have to come off over her head but she still gets into over aroused moods (usually before going for a walk) where she says she just can’t push her head through the loop (and doesn’t want it undone then either). >>
The pointy dogs here wear French martingales (whippety dogs are *special needs* when it comes to collars haha) and Robin made one for Ramen that also has a clip on the next: so I can have him stick his noodle nose through the loop, or I can clip it/unclip it. It takes away any issues with stuff going over his head, getting caught on his skin (WHIPPET DRAMA) and he can’t back out of it. It might be something to consider with Lift!
>>Now I think I”m going back to the nice lady at Rush to Tug to get a slip lead collar made so that I also have the option to hook her leash to that. >>
Yes – that might be the French martingale style! I have leashes and separate collars of them. The one that also has the clip on the side is the absolute best one.
>>In some cases she’s showing signs of coming out of adolescence but in others (like being able to walk around with me in a new environment wwith giving me attention here and there) I feel like we’ve regressed. >>
All completely normal. At one year old… she is fully in the throes of adolescence and all of the daily brain changes and hormone changes that come with it. Sending my support LOL!!! Hopefully, because she is small and female, she will be done with it mostly by 18 months old? Or 2? Many dogs it takes til they are past 2 years old and closer to 3.
>>She’s got her first seminar on Friday afternoon with Rachel Pearson. It’s indoors and a small group and like a 1/4 day session so hopefully it will go well.>>
I am confident it will go GREAT 🙂 You are also terrific about doing what your dogs need, and I have heard good things about Rachel’s seminars 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi! These are looking good! The better reps where when you started your decel as he was over the previous jump, same time as when the verbal starts.
Then you started getting too early LOL As he was exiting the first jump, your hands were going up and the verbal was starting before he really had commitment to the 2nd one, which could dilute the threadle on that jump.
The way to avoid being early (and to keep getting honest feedback from the dog) is to mix in a ton of balance reps: straight lines, rear crosses, wraps, pushes to the opposite backside, etc etc. That will keep him telling you if the cues are clear, and will keep you from starting too soon.
>>One of the things I realized from video was that frequently I didn’t get my arm across my body enough for Sly to see so I tried thinking bring my right arm across until my right connects to my left which really helped me get better about getting it across far enough for Sly to see>>
Yes – there is an upper body rotation back to him so he can see the hands. I like the concept of getting your right hand to meet your left hand (as long as your left hand stays back and doesn’t come forward to help out your right hand LOL!)
>> I’m feeling like we’re headed in the right direction>>
You are totally are! I think adding in balance reps is the next step, because then you can assess the clarity of your cues when he is not necessarily expecting them.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Looking at the wobble board video:
I think using the food here was really beneficial! It helped her release the toy, and it helped her get on the wobble board. Even with very little movement, she was a bit unsure of the wobble board, so stay at this level for a while: using the food ad a bit of a lure with tugging mixed in. When she starts leaping on it by herself, you can fade the lure and also add a tiny bit more movement of the board.The countermotion game went really well!! She committed really well – the only times she had a question was when your arms got too high and too ahead, which broke connection and turned your shoulders away. That only happened twice, though. On the rest of the reps, you had low arms and great connection!!!
She did REALLY well working for the toy in your hand. Super!!! You had your markers going too, which helps! The only struggle seemed to be getting her to drop the toy. Will she trade for a cookie? That way you can trade, toss the cookie away for her to find, and that gives you a moment to reset for the next rep.About the measuring:
Yes, practice the chin hold and having someone step in to measure. For my 2 small dogs, I did not use a chin hold 🙂 instead, I let them stick their heads in a tub of peanut butter or cream cheese and lick the whole time. That also allowed me to move their position as they were being measured, to get the best measure.
The other thing to do is get a wicket or measuring device and lock it into place – then teach her to walk under it and into position. Start with a tall one then eventually get it lower and lower until it rests on her shoulders.
Measuring is such a pain! I also shaved the shoulders of my smaller girls because they are right at the cutoff.
Nice work here!!!
TracyHi!
Yikes, I am sorry it ended up being bronchitis but I am very glad you are feeling better!!
And I agree – Spot was terrific! Yay! Does it seem like he is expressing his opinions on course more than ever? I don’t remember him being this talkative LOL!
Jumping course:
He was so funny at the beginning: totally did NOT look at 1, but totally took it when you released. Good boy!
On the FC 2-3, try not to run past his line at all, that almost put you running into the tunnel 🙂 at :18
He did well with the layering! He had a BIG MAD (barking and generally trash talking) on the 6-7 line at :25 – maybe because during the layering you were stationary for a few strides, so he was preparing to turn on 6 into the tunnel? You can keep moving through the layer and get ahead of the tunnel exit there, and I bet he doesn’t have a BIG MAD about it LOL
Turn cue on 8 at :27 can be sooner (before takeoff) – he had an opinion there too 🙂 The turn cue can be a verbal left cue or a brake arm, or both, to get that one stride of collection before takeoff. You can start it when he has landed from 7 and is looking at 8.
Nice turn on the tunnel exit and RC on 10, and handling past the a-frame LOL!!! He was *this close* to getting the weaves – got the entry and probably second guessed himself with the jump there and you layering. He might need a placed reward as a focal point out at the end of the poles so you can get the layering – it is a useful skill.
Going in so there was no layering helped support the poles and you got the threadle on 13 beautifully.
There was a little bobble heading to 15 at 1:21 but it looked like maybe you were trying to figure out which jump was 15 🙂 Really nice job saving it and setting up a really strong ending! His send to the last tunnel allowed you to get a really nice tight turn with the dog walk right there.
Overall your connection and timing is looking lovely and he is getting really independent and responsive on the big lines and hard skills!!!
Standard course 2:
You probably don’t need a ‘here’ for 3
He got the push on 6 really well – keep moving to show the exit to 7 (you stopped so he had no info and barked at you )7-8-9-10 looked good! I think you called the seesaw a tunnel, I can totally relate LOL!
He is showing really strong distance and sending skills. I bet you can send him from 7 to the teeter and tunnel and stay super lateral, so the BC between 10 and 11 is easier to get to and you can start it sooner. I feel like you were significantly hustling to get there but you were still a little late on the BC (:19) with the connection to change lines coming as he was over the bar (he had an opinion there too LOL I feel like he is expressing his opinions more 🤣)
You pulled away from the 12 backside one step too soon at :23. I also thought he had it!! He might have come off the line because it was a wingless jump, which is not normally a backside.
When he does get it, you can use your walk it and tunnel verbals while you basically disconnect to run to the next important connection spot, which is the tunnel exit.
>>Seems like ‘GO’ works better than ‘Go On’ from the straight tunnel to the jump, or maybe I just started saying ‘over’ sooner.>>
I don’t think it was the verbals – your verbals were loud and urgent, which generally means “KEEP GOING!!!”
You got there positionally at :40, but you pointed forward ahead of him, which broke connection and turned your shoulders away from the line so he did not take the jump. Amped up connection and maybe even an opposite arm can help get that jump – as I was typing that, you did the amped up connection and outside arm and it was lovely! Then the ending looked really strong too 🙂
>>I thought it was funny that a bird landed and watched us>>
That was funny! Then the bird had a small heart attack when Spot was headed to that jump LOL!!
Great job!!
TracyHi!
>>We really struggled with the left turn after the first tunnel, and I had to stay so close to it that I wasn’t happy with my handling on the jump after the turn; we never really sorted it out.>>
On the first video, the way it was set was that she is turning to her left out of the tunnel and needed a slight lead change away to her right to pick up the line to the #5 jump. This is a perfect spot to trust that the dog is giving info on the line and handling, and if it goes wrong twice: stop and watch the video and re-walk the line. She was actually correct on all of the reps 🙂 That is why it is so important to either keep going and fix later, or stop and look at the video after 2 reps – feeling it in the moment is not as effective as looking at it on video.
So with that in mind, here are some pictures for ya! The times where she got it, you had nice connection and you got close enough to the line to support it. The times where she didn’t get it, either the cues looked like a threadle wrap or you were stepping backwards (which also looks like a threadle wrap). Good girl!! But not getting rewarded for it is going to confuse/frustrate her and dilute the threadle wrap.
It is possible that you were intending the outside arm as a ‘get out’ cue like at :31 – for the get out, the opposite arm should be pointing to the wing of the jump you want her to take, and it is only the opposite arm (that is one of the ways we differentiate it from the threadle wrap).
One other thing – the verbals and handling should all start before she goes in the tunnel, so she doesn’t come out looking at you for info – that will help too!
Here are the screenshots:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WDcPHZ8HIYku0lH69YK0xYwzWpwWbEvNgu5ZHS_ScS8/edit?usp=sharing2nd and 3rd video:
Nice opening! And you supported the 5 jump nicely!On both runs, you did the FC but then started the brake arms/rotation for 6 really early so ended up running backwards at :12 on the first video and on the second video, got the backside of 6 at :11.
You can do the FC there and step forward out of it, with an immediate decel and spin rotation to get the collection (and matching verbals, of course :))
The other option there is to keep her on your right and have her turn to her left (with a decel and spin) on 6 – that sets up a really nice line 5-6-7.
Great weave entry!!! Nice line to the backside after the weaves! On the 2nd run where you didn’t reward, you had great connection to create a really right exit line there. NICE!
Threadle wrap at :42 (2nd video) and :23 (3rd video) on 13 looked good!
On the 2nd video: The push wrap on 14 can have more rotation before she passes you to get more collection – ideally, your feet would be rotated forward to the tunnel there. Having your feet facing the bar could also indicate a slice so she didn’t make a decision on which direction to turn until she saw your next line of motion.
On the 3rd video, you did a blind to a threadle wrap and it was soooo much clearer (and tighter!) for her. NICE decel and connection to set it up!! Look at how your feet are pointing pretty much at the tunnel. Nice turn!
The other option there is a threadle slice, because it is a very fast line over 14 and a straight line to the 15 tunnel!
She is really getting those long distance backsides! Wow! At 16 on both runs, you had the opposite arm supporting the backside line: note how the opposite arm is pointing to the entry wing and she did not have any questions about it if was a threadle wrap or not.
The FC 16-17 worked well because you were already rotated from the opposite arm for 16, and easily out of her way 🙂 . If you don’t need an opposite arm, you can hop in for a blind 16-17.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
