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Hi!
This was a super interesting video – I feel like it isolated what is causing the jumping questions on the long line! Even with the up-close cone wrapping, his head is up and he is trying to watch you. This is especially true on the multi-wraps, so don’t ask for them here as it is rehearsal of what we don’t want 😀I think getting his head down will help line everything else up – spine, core, hind end, etc. When his head is up, he is inverting his spine and pulling from his front rather than powering from his rear.
In the video, he did get better but I think we can isolate things and get the form more quickly:
Using a cone or wing, have the toy placed behind it for now, so he goes over a low jump to the cone, to the toy on the other side. This should Jumpstart the behavior by giving him a visual focal point.
Take it out of context of the grid, for 2 reasons:
– we are placing the toy, so there is no opportunity for feedback on jumping
– we don’t want to approach the grid til we can get his head position down on the lines.So, one jump on a 12 inch bar with the cone 10 feet away will help get the form – when we see him driving to it, then the cone can move further away and then the bar can start to go up.
This won’t happen in the same session 🙂 and will take multiple sessions that are spread out – that gives him time to get the mechanics really embedded 🙂 then it becomes a long term fix!Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>The termite might try to eat it! >>
She might feel it is weird at first so you would want to try it at home then go do some agility. But I never leave it on the dog unsupervised – it goes on before a run then come off right after it. And I use medical bandage cutters (I am sure that is not what they are called but I am also sure you know what those flat scissory thing are) to cut them off.
>>Is there video on how to wrap pads? I’m sure I can google it.
there is always a video! I made this for an agility person who was having trouble with ripped pads. For Sprite, you would want to wrap to include the bottom of the foot so it goes over the pad. For flyball, I was wrapping 4 times around but for agility you probably only need twice around to fully protect the foot.
Hi! Sounds like you had a great weekend!
>>1. Pinwheel – what verbal should I be using? I used right/left. With past dogs I had a turning cue (sprinkler sound). Do we have something like that with MaxPup or is it not needed and we use something else?>>
It depends on how tight the turn is. If it is a very gradual turn, then you can just say “jump”. If it is a relatively collected left/right (but not a wrap), then yes, you can use the left/right verbals. The sprinkler is a bit of a general ‘turn towards me’ cue but it is not as specific as left/right. You can check out the Minny Pinny games to do the left/right – for a dog his size, on the wide open pinwheels you don’t need a left/right but for tighter turns you can totally use it.
>>2. Rear crosses – discovered Venture responds to the “wrong” arm for rear cross. No clue how I taught that but will be working to use the correct arm closest to the dog. >>It might not be the arm, it might be that using that opposite arm opens up more connection? And he definitely likes big connection. As you use more dog-side arm for the rear cross, keep it low and to his nose so he still sees the connection. Pointing forward ahead of him might break the connection and cause him to ask questions.
>>3. 3 jump serpentine – I used my 180 around command going in. When I fell behind he turned to me and missed 3rd jump. We experimented with using the around command repeated as he takes the second jump because at that point, it’s a 180 and just happens to come towards me. He read that perfectly.>>
Great! And also – connection 🙂 Keeping the big connection helps with serps (if we look forward and point forward, dogs go right past jump 3) and if you do get behind, you can totally use an outside arm here to keep him out on the line.
>>4. Social boy – a row of people at one end of the room was a huge challenge for him the first day but we worked through it and by day 3 he ignored the people and played with me all 3 turns.>>
Awesome! Social is good! Do you remember the pattern game from MaxPup 1? That is perfect for teaching social dogs to ignore people and other dogs.
>>5. Over tired = naughty adolescent. We have work to do for him to learn to chill between turns. He only protested being in the crate a couple times but he didn’t lay down and rest either. Covering him didn’t help.>>He just needs more experienced, probably. Yes, when the brain gets tired, the behavior definitely changes! Do you have a kong or toppl you can stuff and let him work on between turns? Or a snuffle mat? All of that or a bully stick can help him learn to chill out 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi! I am really glad she is doing well out in public!!! Yay!
First video: nice run here!! It was actually a front cross where she turned towards you as you changed sides. It was very smooth and connected 🙂
Second video: also really nice! Yes, the angle of the jump made it more of a backside but it was still a good front cross. She had a question before that – when you looked ahead and changed the toy to the other hand, she thought you wanted her to come in to your hands. That is why she almost came in to the other side of the jump.
To get these to be rear crosses, you can stay a little closer to the tunnel then as she exits, you start moving forward to the middle of the bar on the rear cross jump. That should let her get ahead of you and also give the rear cross pressure to turn her away.
But either way, your connection was really good and she was very happy to commit to the jumps!
Hopefully the weather cools down a bit so you can do more outside! Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>. I am not sure what I am doing that causes him to flank out so wide sometimes.>>
You are correct when you feel like there were connection questions. It is young dog stuff that will get smoothed out. Here are some ideas to be more connected and support commitment.
>> . Sometimes I feel like he is looking at the toy and not seeing the jump. >>
The toy does add excitement and indicate reinforcement out on the line, which is great for revealing connection questions. So keep using the toy 🙂
I made pictures LOL!!! Here are the screenshots illustrating what was happening, descriptions below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yu-vbcz6Wr1anN1ZQmpXDpE6xmlnePw3AslLw0Rloy4/edit?usp=sharing
A recurring theme was when you wee connected, he got the jump each time. When you were not connected, he went around it.
But to clarify, we need to define what the connection cue is because I am pretty sure you could see him on all of these moments 🙂 Remember that seeing him and being connected are not necessarily the same.
Connection is having your dog-side arm pointing back to his nose, wherever it is, and looking at his eyes, so he can see the front of chest and your eyes. Think of it as pointing your hand back to where he is in that moment and looking at him.
Disconnection is when you point to where you want him to be (especially with your hand high, like at shoulder level), even if you are looking at him and can see him. Pointing forward blocks his view of your upper body.
So when you are moving, he goes wide to get a better look at the info – this is VERY common in young Border Collies 🙂 Other breeds just come at the handler to bite them LOL and BCs tend to go out wide to get more info.
If you are not connected but you stop moving, he will come get the jump… but that is not always helpful because we need you to be able to run.
So the key is to keep your hand low and pointing back to him at all times, so he can see the connection. It will get easier as he gets more experienced. For now, keep moving, but connection is #1 priority of how fast you go. So you don’t need to run super fast as you prioritize being SUPER connected.
And if he goes around a jump? That is feedback to you that you are blocking your connection.
Exceptions to this type of connection involve countermotion, but there is no countermotion on this setup 🙂
The rep at :14 is an example – he was looking for more connection info, then you said tunnel, so off he went to the tunnel. Very literal young herding dog LOL!! He will eventually understand to take the whole like when you say tunnel but for now cue the jump with connection and verbal. You did that better in terms of verbals on the 2nd pass through there, but you stopped moving rather than connected more. We can flip that – keep moving and connect more to get the line.
When you added the wraps, at :51 and 1:02 you are really accelerating up to the middle jump which adds extension cues especially to the left – I think you can send to the jump and then go to the wrap jump, no need to go up to the pinwheel jump then set the wrap line. That can really emphasize connection.
You had a great adjustment in connection at 1:17 – 1:23!!! At 1:17 you were not connected and really accelerating, so he went past the jump. Note the difference at 1:23 – great connection, kept moving, and he got it brilliantly without you needing to sprint 🙂 Look at the screenshot to see how your were looking at him and pointing at him as opposed to the previous rep where you were looking and pointing ahead.
The other thing that was happening was he is turning better to his right than to his left. So on the turns over the pinwheel jump, you can add a bit more of a collection cue on your lefts and rights. That is a combination of a bit of decel, less motion & verbal ‘energy’ (be quieter, turn sooner) and maybe even a brake arm (using both hands to cue the commitment).
A bit more collection cue on the left turns plus really cranking up the connection will smooth it all out!
Great job here – let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I had to modify the setup for Package 3 a little, I’ve got the length but not quite the width>>
Perfect! The length is the important part.
>Hardest part is throwing the freaking toy
TRUTH!!! I have one rep where I threw the reward over the fence. My poor dog LOL!!!
This session went really well. At the beginning, he was driving nicely to the first jump after the tunnel, but then looking back at you a bit and slowing down.
After the break, you started throwing the toy a lot sooner and that was GREAT! We want the GO GO GO verbal to predict reinforcement way down the line. The first toy was too light to throw as far as you needed it to travel. At 1:03 it looks like you switched to a ball – that was great! Even if your throw was not perfect in terms of landing spot, it would keep rolling ahead so he kept looking ahead. So even with the less than perfect throws, he was looking forward on the go verbal and running in extension rather than looking back at you.
Since he seemed to like the ball, definitely keep using it as it seems to be the ideal reward in terms of throwing it 🙂 You can add in the circle wrap stuff here too, as well as hanging back and seeing if he will drive ahead even if you are further behind.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
The porch is a perfect place for this game!!>> She wanted me to tell you that she thinks this game is super hard and dumb>>
Yes, this is actually one of the hardest games we teach the pups because a verbal has to override motion and all of the other things they normally cue off of.
>> I tried adding in the hand signal with the hope of fading it out quickly, but even that was hard.>>
Yes, I think the hand signal ended up getting too much focus on your hand and not enough on the verbal. So keep your hands kind of relaxed and out of the picture, and dial back the motion:
Try marching in place slowly next to her and just say the sit cue (no hand movement at all). Your marching in place might be so slow that it is more like shuffling your feet in place 🙂 Then either use a ‘catch’ marker to throw a reward back to her, or a release for a reward thrown forward.
Don’t reward by delivering from your hand to her mouth at all on this game, because that will also get too much focus on the hand, plus she will want to stick closer to your hand… which makes it hard for her to sit while you continue to move forward. You’ll start to see very quick progress if mark the sit with either the catch (reward thrown back) or release (reward thrown forward)!
Nice work here!! Stay cool!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Honestly I was pretty impressed how FAST he was at those times when he was fast!>>
Yes! Fast and efficient, with a huge stride!!!
>>if we’re ‘lucky’ with weather tomorrow and will get to AG field, suggestion what to use instead of tunnels for this “week 2 Concept Transfer: “Fluffy” Blind Crosses and Front Crosses” and next games there (Send And Go, and BC to the Tunnel, and Rear crosses)>>
You can keep using a jump or a jump wing/cone. No need for him to run through a million tunnels. You can also change games for now – the straight line 4 ways game is great for jumps only, and the countermotion game is only 4 wings (and a hugely important skill). Too keep things exciting without getting too hot or doing too many tunnels, maybe use the tunnel for one or two reps of the straight line game, then do a bunch of reps of the countermotion game with the wings only.
>> even if setup there works with tunnel, I’ll probably do only a very few reps with tunnel with him 🙂>>
Makes sense! You can plan based on how the tunnel is set up so you don’t need to move it.
>>2nd question, unrelated to this class but related to your other classes here 🙂
So I was looking for ‘weaves’ class. I see “MaxPup Obstacle Skills Series: Weaves!” but I’m not sure if that’s what we need or there is or will be a better class for what we need?>>The weave class assumes no prior knowledge from the dog, so it starts at the very beginning of the process. And we do add speed and other ‘obstacles’ (wing or jump, sometimes a tunnel) before the weaves pretty early on, so the dogs get used to seeing it in the learning process. And there are 2 tracks (2×2 and channels) so we end up going with whatever the dog finds makes more sense to him. After the first couple of lessons, they always choose a preferred method, it is pretty fascinating!
So you might find it very useful to help him understand how to weave in the context of adding speed and putting the weaves in sequence.
>>another class question. “[AU-033] The Handler’s Toolbox: Super Independent Backside Sends!”
– Backside sends is something I had to ‘babysit’ even with Golden 🙂 So I think *I* need this class for Fly! And it says it will work in small space. But from what you saw on our ‘backyard videos’, do you think I have enough space on backyard for this class?>>I love this class, it was so fun! And yes, you have plenty of room for it – even the biggest setups will fit in your yard. Most of it is a wing and a jump, or a couple of wings – very small but very challenging 🙂
—
>>and last question. Forum related. Do you know if it’s possible to have this forum showing ‘latest’ posts first? Maybe it’s some option in settings or under account that I just can’t find 🙂 For me it is showing from earliest to latest so have to scroll down all the way to read latest reply. Not a big deal but I feel like it must be ‘there somewhere’ and I just can’t find how to change it…>>We have been asking the software people who program the LMS to have a way to re-order the posts, and they keep promising it but so far, it has not arrived 🙁 I will bug them again and see if they have made any progress. I can’t imagine it is hard to do, so it is probably low on their list of things to do. I will keep you posted!
Stay cool!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am glad you found all of the pieces of the Tip It thingie! It is going to inspire me to find all the pieces of mine LOL! It has already been 2 years since you moved? Time is flying!
Letting her watch you put the cookie on the target before rep 3 was a big life changing moment for her LOL!!! After that she was all about going up the board! Time to block it off so she cannot access it without you. Her solo adventure on it was actually a really lovely drive up the board though 🤣😁
>>I’m using my old teeter because I don’t want to leave the nice new Galican one outside and realized the old one (my first piece of contact equipment bought 20+ yrs ago for Fingal) is slightly warped so it took a bit of adjusting to get it to stop moving on the tip it. >>
If possible, show this game to her on both teeters so you are teaching her to handle different boards right from the start. The smaller & lighter the dog, the more important this becomes because all of the teeters move pretty differently!
It is rattling a little so you might want to put a towel under where it hits the Teach It so there is a little less noise.
>>My plan is to move it up in height probably over 2 more sessions.>>
Good plan! I don’t think it will be a problem for her.
On the wraps & BCs video – yes, the 80 degree weather might be part of why she was not in a tugging mood and preferred cool cheese. She ran really well!
On the blinds:
Your timing was really good and you also very clear exit line connection in both directions! NICE!Send to wrap after the blind: she decelerated and didn’t drive past you fast for the collection, preferring to chase you after it. You can shift the placement of reinforcement to help her drive past the decel to commit to the collection:
Rather than reward her for finishing the wrap and getting back to you, you can throw the reward to the landing spot as you decelerate. And you can throw it pretty far, or use a frizzer or something: that will make commitment really exciting. And since she is very good at turning, we will not get wide turns 🙂 We will just get more speed into the collected commitment.And that will also help with the FC wrap commitment!
On the wraps:
1:11 – 1:20 yo mentioned had too much decel and I agree – you were too decelerated all the way through so she didn’t commit. She was prepared to drive back to you.
Be sure to run into the tunnel and along the curve of it, so she does not see you standing still when she exits (2:38) as that cues a lot of collection. And that will get you more accelerated too, which makes it easier to keep connection into the wrap. At :2:44 you dropped connection and looked forward, so she did a blind (being n handler focus from the decel creates that quick responsiveness that we don’t really want LOL!)
On the last rep, you created more acceleration by moving closer to the line, and that totally helped!!
You can also re-visit a very decelerated lazy game so she gets cheese tosses for staying on the line of jumps, even if you are very decelerated.
You can move her to the next step of ‘find the jump’ games after the tunnel, to help build even more commitment (along with the straight line, 4 ways game). All of this is about committing so I think it will keep it spicier than the pinwheel stuff 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Sounds like a crazy week – I hope this week is MUCH easier!!
He did well with the mountain climbers and I love the crowd support LOL!! Since he is feeling pretty brave about it, you will probably have to make sure he doesn’t start without you – maybe toss a toy between reps so he can gallop around while you reset 🙂
The next step is to attach a target at the top so you can place the reward up there before he gets on. I recommend duct tape living in your car at this stage along with a spoon. That way you can tape it to the underside of the board so it sticks up just past the end, and then you can schmear some cream cheese on it. That way he has a focal point to move to and doesn’t watch you (or his admirers 😁) When he is moving up the board confidently and independently to his target, you can start adding handling: walking past, rear cross, more speed etc.
Motion override went well – the tighter space might have worked in your favor because there were fewer options. And he get a gold star for ignoring the cat LOL!!
You might have slowed down a tiny bit but it was really minimal. So for the next session, you can start with a slow shuffle and keep moving at that speed… then gradually get faster and faster.>>he started just stopping, instead of sitting.
He could have been brained-tired (this is a surprisingly hard game, on the mental level for puppies!) and also freezing in the stand is a common BC behavior. Slowing down your motion will help, even if you are marching in place on some reps.
>>And I effed up my markers yet again. Despite practicing them.>>
It is very hard to NOT say yes! I can relate! Moving very slowly will also help you spit out the correct marker 🙂
He did well with the right turns on the TTFJ game turning right! Do I remember correctly that he had. Harder time in that direction the last time you played this game? He found his line nicely here.
He was going somewhere on the first left turn at :28 – maybe he thought he was going straight because you started a little behind him then moved forward up the line then released? When you were ahead and turned your shoulders on the last pas through there, he had no questions.And nice job with being consistent and clear with your stay releases!!! Not surprisingly, his stay has also improved because you are clearer with the release. Yay!!
The more wraps video was the blind to the wrap – this is going well! He is finding the lines really well!!! Your timing of starting the blind at :16 was really good! After you start the blind, be sure to open up back to him so he can see the connection. You finished the blind with your shoulder closed forward, eyes and hand pointing at where you wanted him to go at the jump. But when the dogs are behind us, they don’t see the line clearly (all he could really see was your back) so he we wide there, waiting for more info.
Ideally, after the blind, you point your hand and eyes back to where he is (not where you want him to be) so he can see the connection and find the new line immediately.
I grabbed screenshots so you can see what he sees when you finished the blind:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FzVbMRuaHofn3Ki5XJk8z9HJB2kkm7GJZf5I2t5U3W0/edit?usp=sharing
The screenshots also have a comparison of the connection you used finishing the blind to the tunnel – that was really nice!!!!!!
On that video, the timing and the blind are going well! And he is finding the lines really well too (and changing sides when asked, even with a tunnel straight ahead, good boy!)
My only suggestion here is to stay more laterally away from the blind cross jump and not try to get to the landing side of it when doing the blind. When doing the blind at :07 and especially at :20, you were actually showing the line to the wrong end of the tunnel 🙂 which makes it harder for him to know the turn is coming. On the 2nd rep, you had a lot of motion to the landing spot and that pushed him (correctly) a bit wide on the line.
Ideally, you would stay on the plane of the middle pinwheel jump and not go anywhere near the BC jump. Yes, that means he has to find it independently but I think he is ready for that.
Great job here! I am looking forward to seeing you at Brain Camp!!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
Lots of good stuff here!!Motion override – he is totally getting the idea here! It is a hard game 🙂
He was able to sit as long as you also decelerated. At first it was obvious and then the deceleration became more and more subtle, so it was beginning to fade out which is GREAT!So now we go to the next step of keeping you in motion the whole time. Start by shuffling sooooo slowlllyyyyy but keep the motion steady and don’t change the motion until you are 3 or 4 steps past him, then either throw a reward back or release him forward to the reward.
And as you do that – don’t use your arms/hands at all. You can either let them dangle at your sides, or keep them on your stomach the whole time. You were lifting your dog-side arm as part of the sit cue and we want to be sure he is not cuing off of the arm movement here, and is instead cuing off of the verbal only 🙂
Driving ahead is looking great, especially when you kept moving! The wing made it a bit like layering when you were on the other side of it – when you stayed on the parallel line, he got the jump. Yay! If you pulled away to get around the wing, he (correctly) changed his line to follow your motion (3:40). So keep the parallel line going and he will keep getting better and better at finding the jump. Your throws were good and your connection was lovely!
Teeter games: he was very happy to slam the bottom of the board around and having a mat to throw the treat on certainly made it easier to find it 🙂
You can add in more of the bang game, where he jumps on the side (near the bottom) and you reward in target position. Yo were rewarding in the 2on, 2off position but I think he might be too small and too light for that? Generally we want a 2o2o dog on the teeter to be over 15” and closer to 20lbs. For the smaller dogs, a 4-on behavior is faster and easier because it is easier to control the board when it bounces under them.
Backing up – he was finding the board nicely by the end! Yay! You can add him backing up t get his front feet on it too 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I think the mad was because she felt neglected rather than the sits as i had been out with you and fusion allmorning without her she likes being in the center of things.>>
Ah yes, she might have been frustrated by that before you even started. Papillons like to be the center of things, even half Papillons LOL!
>> I actually repeated this at the show this weekend and got completely different reaction. I was careful to ensure nothing too distracting when i said sit but woth limited movement she was good. No video.>>
That is great!!!!!!
>>The lie down and bark is about rewards including attention. So see in training although less so but generally she is right in i have been too slow on rewards or askedtoo much.>>
Well yes – but it seems to happen most in situations where you ask for too much (like getting on the wobble board and she is not comfy with that). When you are asking for something she is comfortable doing, she does it without the down/bark even if you are slower with the rewards 🙂
>> But also get if am working on computer etc and she thinks i am not giving her attention. She is quick to point out my faults.>>
Ah yes, attention seeking for neglected dogs LOL!!!!
>>Got alot better reaction with wobble board on second session with pillows. Will post video tomorrow>>
Yay! Looking forward to it!!!
TracyGood morning!
This session went really well 😁
He did really well with finding the big line and jumping it – I didn’t see any bars down!The circle wrap commitment is looking really good – he was turning really well and you had nice timing of moving forward after he passes you!!! From this angle, it looks like you might have been blocking the wing a little bit at :22 and :36 – he was looking up at you and had a rounder/wider line to it. You can tuck right into the landing spot – that way he sees the full wing and you do not need to rotate to show him the bar at all (that can be confused with the cues for a backside rear cross, which does have rotation).
The threadle wrap is coming along nicely!!!! You are using the outside arm to do the come in and flip away… which ends up with your feet also rotating to the jump.
Ideally, your upper body cues all of it and your feet don’t turn at all (feet going forward are part of the threadle wrap cue to differentiate it from the slice), so you can consider using both hands here – you might find it easier to help him turn away for now, and more importantly – easier to fade out the big turn away cues. You can use the hands and then make the turn away cues smaller and smaller until he doesn’t need your hands to cue the turn away.
The rep at 1:28 had the best timing of the blind to get to the threadle wrap. You can be closer to the threadle wing, which will also help him turn himself away.
As you work the independence on him turning himself away when he sees the cue, you can carry the toy with you and toss it to the landing side of the threadle wrap jump as you move forward. Having it down by the tunnel negates the placement of reinforcement opportunity – it is fine for the simpler skills but for the newer/harder skills, definitely bring it with you so you can toss it to the landing spot and build up the independence,
Great job!!
TracyGood morning!
>>the distance on the exercise is 19 feet.
That is a very civilized, normal distance that he will see on course, so we can definitely get him organized for it.
>>I have used 7,7,7,15 then 16, 17, 18, until a stride is added. Then back down a foot at a time to 15.>>
I like that grid too! I figured he would have an easy time reading 1 foot increments, which is why I suggested 3 foot increments for the last jump which is much harder to read.
Thanks for the grid video – he did well but also watching it in slow motion… his footwork is a little all over the place 🙂 He was not consistent in his striding in the compression sections (6’) and he was definitely having to think about reading the distance to the last jump.
– lower the bar on the last jump to 16” so he gets the mechanics going before it goes to full height. Full height adds an element of challenge he is not ready for until he can effectively sort out a slightly lower height. And 16” still has enough elevation that he will sort it out.
– he wants to watch you and also is tending to lift his head/invert his back. So, let’s give him a focal point that is not a reward, so we can also give feedback about the jumping as needed. I recommend a cone (or wing) to wrap, about 18 feet past the last jump (it will move in and out as the jump moves). So it will be 5 jumps then the cone to wrap. If it is a clean effort, he gets the toy. If it is not clean, you can nope it before he gets to the cone. That way he looks forward, improves mechanics, but you can still do a bit of yes-or-no for the jumping.
When he learns that new setup with the cone, you can add more of your motion, particularly with you behind him. For now, start him in the same spot consistently close to the first jump. We might start with a cone wrap at some point to add in more driving ahead, but I want to see how he organizes with the cone out past the last jump.
He did keep the 2 bars up in isolation but watching in slow motion – he is off balance here with his butt going higher than his shoulders and head up. Then when you added the tunnel, he had so much momentum on the first rep that he lost control and tried to bounce and hit the bar. He added a stride after that, but I think he was also decelerating off of your position and motion at the last jump.
Not being able to control the momentum also speaks to possibly needing core strengthening/plyometric stuff added to his routine? What kind of stuff is he already doing? That can make a huge difference even if you only do it twice a week.
>>I threw the toy anyway (an error) which proves it is a good thing I train with almost all positives, since errors just mean extra toys/cookies.
>> These are the most true words LOL!!!! The worst case scenario is he get one extra rehearsal of incorrect mechanics, which is no big deal. Punishment (especially when we screw it up LOL) is much less forgiving. And, accidental rewards in situations where a reward is expected actually might not lead to learning/encoding – the science is really interesting!
Nice work here! Keep me posted on how he does!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>OMG, I went to an agility trial this weekend and looked at the courses which gave me the opportunity to do slices and wraps and really set the lines for Mookie. My goal was to try things out from camp and what I ended up with was 3 DQs in a row, all first places. Mookie’s speed was incredible.>>
Good for you!!!! Congrats! That is an impressive feat – getting all the Qs AND getting them at a high speed where they are also first place. WOW!!!!
>>It was hard to refocus back on camp after such an incredible weekend for us >>
You can stay on Cloud 9 for a while, it is well-deserved!

>>The warm up went well for all 3 of my boys. All 3 got the backside easily >>Perfect!

>> For sequence 2 what I thought I would have a problem with I didn’t. I could either blind or front cross 3 to 4 the first course seq 2. Course 3 of seq 2 went well also. >>Great – it sounds like they had no trouble following the handling to change the line, and you got around all of the stuff in your way 🙂
>>Course 2 of seq 2 with the send around the tunnel is where we needed to focus on. Buddy needed practice with this then he was fine. Alonso was fine with this until I decided to proof it and send him into the tunnel then the next run layer the tunnel >>
Yes, that is a hard element! I left in my blooper with my boy – it is hard to get around the tunnel without running into it AND maintaining connection. Or, sending past it to layer the tunnel is also hard and requires a lot of connection and understanding on the part of the dog. But that is why we practice it here, so it is easy when it shows up at a trial.

It sounds like they all sorted it out with a little bit of breaking it down and rewarding. Super!

>> I wound up working a lot on seq 3 and proofing by one time going into the tunnel then next time layering the tunnel. Mookie needed a come tunnel and an out jump command and he rocked it. Alonso and Buddy needed more support with verbals and an out stretched arm to layer. >>Awesome!!! It is good to know all of this for each dog, because you will see this on course for sure in the coming year. Alonso, because he s the youngest, will probably end up needing cues similar to what Mookie needs as his understanding develops.
>>Now I will look at the new pkg of stuff. Always lots of stuff to do for camp and the dogs love it >>The Hot Topics has big long lines – you are already seeing big long lines at the end of courses in AKC where the handler is not ahead, as well as across the ring – so definitely focus on getting all the boys to drive ahead. Then you can put a double or triple at the end of the line, which is where it is showing up on course a lot.
Have fun! Thanks for the update!
Tracy

