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Hi!
Sorry to hear your knee is still painful! Hopefully it heals up soon!I think Gemma was adding some good background music here, to make sure Sprite felt like it was an exciting session LOL! I think it went really well – a strong rehearsal of the line up game and her sits were quick and solid! And the little moment of pink panther at the end was GREAT – she held her stay and was blazing fast on the release… but also turned beautifully. Exciting to see her executing so well in higher arousal!
She seems really comfortable with this so the next question is: when is your next class or fun match or even a trial? It is time to start testing out different options on the road. I wish California was closer to Virginia, we could have some fun going to NFC trials together!!
>>he bar dropped because I deceled and I wasn’t clear which caused the back jump. She got rewarded for both as the point for Sprite is getting to the line and setting up.>>
Yes! The bar and the back jump were non-issues – just handling oopsies, so no worries (she did the best she could with the info :)) Great job rewarding!
Nice work here! Happy Thanksgiving!
Tracy
Hi!
Thanks for the update!!
>>We’ve been doing short leash work sessions – on with some behaviours, followed by off with easy behaviours. Keeping it short, empty hands, cookies in pockets. It’s been going pretty good. Introduced a jump into the picture today.>>
Awesome!!! Sounds like she is doing well!! You can bring this to class, keeping things short and fun 🙂
>>Her “engaged chill” I think it’s when she is leaning into me as we wait our turn at nose work or other places. We haven’t really had an opportunity to practice this at agility other than while watching dogs do agility at a trial. Do you think this is the engaged chill behaviour I should hope for when we are waiting our turn for agility runs?>>
It would be GREAT if this is the engaged chill! It sounds perfect! Next time you are around agility, try it and see what she says! Start far from the action and act like you are at a nosework class/trial and see what she does!
Have a good Thanksgiving!
TracyHi! Lovely work here, she is looking terrific!
The backing up is looking good! Backing up to the upside down bosu is really hard, so do fewer reps and then give her a break – you can see she was beginning to lose form on the last few reps (going sideways, not backing up as well) – it was probably a bit of fatigue when form changes. So, one or two reps, then a break, then a couple more reps, etc, will help her maintain her form.
The parallel path looks great, I love how she picked up big speed speed! Try to have your cookies ready, so you can throw then before she looks at you.
Because looking at the line is really important (and not looking at you :)) you can replace the click and praise with a reward marker like ‘get it’ so she gets the info that she is correct and to look ahead for the tossed treat. That should keep her looking at the line nicely!
Sideways and backwards sending and countermotion is going well too! You can start to leave sooner (not faster, just sooner because faster was causing her to not hit the prop as well). So as she is moving towards it, maybe one step past you, you can start walking the other direction – that way you can build up the countermotion even more without her wanting to chase the motion
The rep at 2:43 was nice example of earlier countermotion – you were going the other way sooner, but not too fast so she was very successful!
Rear crosses are the hardest skill so far – she was getting the idea here! Doing it on the prop gives us humans good feedback on if we are on time or not 🙂 At the start of the session on each side you were a bit late – the RC info was happening after she was just about arriving at the prop, so it was too late for her to make the turn. Then you started getting them earlier, and that really helped and she was able to get the rear crosses. Nice!
The trick for the rear cross on the ‘takeoff side’ of the prop is to start further back and closer to her, so you can show the rear cross pressure on her line sooner, as she is moving towards the prop. If you were too far away, either the RC info was too late or it ended up being like a rear cross/turn away on the flat (like at 6:40 for example). So ideally you would be very close to her so you can cut behind her tail when she is still a stride or two from the prop.
The collection games look really good! Super nice connection!! The more you decelerated before the pivot, the better she was able to turn – just be sure to pivot slowly (8:20 and 8:48 were the best examples of the slower pivots and she was super tight!) so her butt can stay in line with the turn.
Turn and burn also looked good, she is committing really well. To maximize the turns, two suggestions:
– use something bigger to go around, like a barrel, so she has to bend more to go around it (the jump upright doesn’t really produce as much of a turn).
– after your FC, keep your exit line parallel to the jump bar like you were doing at the beginning rather than moving away from it on a perpendicular line (like at the end of the session). Staying parallel will really encourage stronger collection, especially because there is countermotion involved.Great job here! Have a good Thanksgiving!
Tracy
Hi! All of the videos look great!
Video 1:
Nice job sending to the prop!! She has great value for it and hit it really well! When you added a little more distance, it was hard to see where you were looking – ideally you would be looking at her and not at the prop, to help support the commitment. If you were looking at her and she stil stopped a little short, you can move in a little closer to it for now.
As you noted in the video, turning to the right is hard!! On the last 2 right turn reps (1:47 and the following rep) you were great about sending then moving over as you stepped out of the send, to encourage the right turn. That really helped!!!
You can definitely add in the sideways and bckwards sending now, starting close to the prop. And for now, try not to say “go” because that will mean ‘straight line extension’ and this is a turn. You can say something like ‘hit it’ for now.
Video 2:
She was a superstar with the 2 bowls here! Easiest game ever, she says! I think when you stood up, she lost her frame of reference so ended up behind you on some of the reps. No worries – she is ready for you to add the upright in front of you for her to begin wrapping, so that will provide the frame of reference to stay in front of you.
She was great about going to the toys too! After all those cookies, she got right into the toys – SUPER!!
Yes, she is totally ready for you to add the upright for her to go around.Video 3:
Driving ahead is looking strong! This is the perfect spot for your go verbal! She was driving to the toy beautifully AND retrieving the toy (double gold star for retrieving!!). You might have to cheat to try to win one of the races, to see if she can dig in fo reven more speed to beat you to the toy 🙂Great job on all of these! Have a good Thanksgiving!
Tracy
Hi!
The turn-sans-burn looked great! Excellent patience from you to let her get to the finish line! She was stronger turning to her left at first, then figured out the right turns by the end too. Super! She was hilarious when she starting walking away with the leash LOL!For the timing of the front cross here, you can move the leash around the barrel a bit, so you are starting the FC earlier and earlier. When yo udo that, start with her turning to her left at first (starting on your right side) because that seems a little easier for her. Then you can do the other side in a different session.
And you can take it outside so you can add the ‘burn’ and do some running.
>>I started this with a tug. She lost her mind and focus.
I want to start teaching her to focus when she is aroused, and also not to bite you when you say “ready ready” like she did at 1:56. So rather than use the toy as the reward, maybe just have it in the room – can she still be thoughtful in the presence of the toy? Then you can have it in your hand or pocket… but still use the food rewards. Eventually you can work up to doing a little tugging before the session, then switch to food. The goal is to gradually introduce the toy so you can use it without her losing focus.
And with the ready word – you can say “ready” then give her a treat for keeping her feet on the floor and NOT delivering any tooth hugs. That way you can talk o her like that and she will resist temptation to chomp on you.
Great job here! Have a good Thanksgiving!
TracyOh wow, look at how well she is backing up! I am very impressed!!! She is backing up thoughtfully, with good head position, and onto a moving object… all with you not need to move to help her. YAY!!! A big click/treat to you both!
Since it seems that you are able to cue it with a hand cue, you can add a verbal cue if you like too: I use ‘beep beep beep’ like a truck backing up 🙂
The next step for this can be moving the tippy board onto a surface that will add a tiny bit of noise when she makes it move. That will start to prepare her for teeter training 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi!
Here are two of my favorite places to get toys:
https://floridadogsports.com/product-category/dog-toys/
and
http://www.cleanrun.com>>. Also, any tips for a puppy that likes to grab my hands and arms when tugging (well anytime). She’s very visual and very stimulated by movement. Even with longer tugs she likes to go for my hands.>>
Longer toys that you can drag around on the ground for her to chase will help for sure, with something bit on the end that she can latch onto.
But also, I mix in a lot of treat stuff so we can teach her body to self-regulate the arousal and not use your hands as a chew toy 🙂 So I like to do stuff like tug tug tug then scatter some treats in the grass, or tug tug tug and then give the dog a snuffle. That way you can use a tug and not risk your flesh LOL!
Here is an example:
If you want to follow along with some similar pups, we have been doing this tug tug tug then chill out cookies with Shasta and Westerly in the live classes, as well as Elizabeth and Yuzu (both of the pups get really stimulated with tugging so we are helping them balance their arousal).
Let me know what you think! Happy Thanksgiving!
Tracy
Hi! I hope your mom is feeling better, that must have been really hard. Fingers crossed she is doing well!!
I love that MinnySota has her own theme music on the video! She is adorable – thanks for the intro!
Great job with the prop games! She definitely has value for it and the timing of your ‘yes’ and cookie throw is great! Also, you did a lovely job with the session structure: a bit of a warm up to hit the prop, then moving into the parallel path game. Super!
Because this went so well, you can definitely add more distance away from her. If you were maybe 2 feet away from her in this session, trying staying on a parallel line that is 3 or 4 feet away in the next session. Then you can build up to 5 or 6 feet away! She wants to look at you, so moving your line to be more laterally away will be a good challenge 🙂
Does she like to play with tug toys? If so, you can break off the cookie moment and play some tug, to help keep her pumped up – that way we are basically starting to teach her how to maintain her focus in higher arousal.
Great job here! I am looking forward to your Turn And Burn video. Have a good Thanksgiving!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I am literally a human Pez- super cute dog name…>>
HA! I actually almost named my youngest pup Pez… but I went with Jitterbug because I love that Wham earworm song LOL!
>>Click treat Danika. Short session, hands down, super back up! >>
This was great! She has very quick feet and was definnitely backing up. Yay! I was going to suggest you add the mat as a backing up target but you went to it in the 2nd half of this sesion: SUPER! I think the desiniation of the mat gave her a lightbulb moment and she did really well. You can now move the mat a little further away so she backs up further to it 🙂 Form is more important than distance, so there is no rush to get a lot of distance; we will keep emphasizing form.
>>Added in tugging off leg since I can’t work on just one thing>>
Tugging is a good balance for every cookie session! So it is great that you added it 🙂
>.Excited to work outside today and tomorrow on some of the new exercises.
Let me know how they go! Have a good Thanksgiving!
Tracy
Hi!
Were your ears burning today? Julie Tune and I were chatting about you and Nadja (wonderful things of course) because I met her to pick up one of the Fonts pups (Calibri) to go live with my parents and niece & nephew! Calibri and Nadja are the same age but not littermates, correct? But both are Camper pups, yes?Nadja looked great with the cone wrapping! It looks like there was just enough distance to give her some challenge but she had an easy time of it 🙂
Because this went so well, I recommend you go to the Turn And Burn game posted last night. If she has any trouble offering to go around the cone, you can put her bowl on the exit line to help her out. But I think she will figure it out fast and she will really like the action!
Backing up is looking really strong, she has made significant progress!! SUPER!! You can do a bit of a combo version of it now… using the long jump boards, you can also put the mat you were using previously for her to back up onto. Start the mat right at the entry to the channel of the boards… then you can move it further and further back, so she is backing up to target the mat. Let me know if that makes sense. And, you will soon be able to add the next step which is backing up onto something that is moving (posted yesterday too).
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
He definitely seems to have the flow of the back and forth here with the bowls! The cone went well too but he was better going to your left than to your right (where he was able to squeeze himself in between you and the cone). I think he probably needs one more session where the cone is super close to you and then you can start to inch it away from you.At the beginning of the session, he was disracted by the stuff in the environment – uf he is cleared to tug, you can start with a little bit of tug to help get him engaged. If he is not yet cleared to tug, then you can use cookies to engage him a bit – that will help the distractions fade into the background.
Great job here! Let me know how the next session goes!
Tracy
Hi!
>> Changtse always likes to rehearse maneuvers
She likes things to be predictable, so rehearsing will definitely help! I love her big leash!
Taking the leash off and lining up was REALLY hard with the reward station behind her! She did better on the 2nd rep but you can see how challenging it was even on the 2nd rep when she was looking behind her at it. I think the bag of rewards was too accessible, so you can put it inside something so she can’t grab it. If she runs off to the reward station, try not to get mad at her or even react – just go over and put the leash back on, and try again.
Wow, the driving ahead sequences looked great! She LOVES the go cue, probably because it indicates the ball will be thrown. YAY! Everything else looked really good too! The next step for these sequences would be to try it with the reward station at the end of the line, to challenge her to see if she can run the sequence with nothing in your hands and no treat pockets on.
Great job!! Hope you have a good Thanksgiving!
TracyHi! How is your surgery recovery coming along?
You have lifetime access to the forum and class 🙂 No rush to download things because you won’t lose them.
Tracy
Hi!
She did a great job with her accordion grid here! Se did not bounce the first rep at 6 feet, but she bounced it when you did it again later in the session, I guess she likes the bounce!! LOL!
>>I’m curious on what to look for moving forward. Do I make adjustments based on how she is jumping or does the exercise itself teach her to self-adjust?>
These exercises help her figure out how to adjust. You can keep th first distance at 30″ and keep changing the next distances, building up to competition distances. She is doing really well! If she starts to stutter step, or fling herself, or face plant… then we will have to change things. But she looks good!
>>She might be an impatient jumper if that is a thing. Hahaha>>
Ha! I think she is actually pretty patient – if she was impatient, that 30″ distance would be impossible. I like what she is doing! She is built like a tiny powerhouse with the bulk of her weight on her front, so her jumping style mght look different than say, a Sheltie, but she is sorting herself out beautifully.
>>We will keep working the other games to get to the advanced levels. Do you think I am too careful & go too slow on the games? I want to get the baby level solid before I move on, but then we don’t get to the advanced levels.>>
I don’t think you are going too slowly! As long as you remember the balane between not needing to be perfect, and not having too many errors – you will find that she learns quickly. You can definitely go back and look at the advanced level – I bet you find it easy to do them because her baby level looks good!
>>I am thinking about doing the independent study teeter class for the winter. I should get enough good weather to do it and if I remember correctly, I should train the teeter as the first contact since it is the moving contact.>>
Fun!!! You can train all 3 contacts at the same time – they are all radically different, depending on what you want her to do on them 🙂
I am so glad you had fun here! Stay tuned for a “winter camp” class 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Tracy
