Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
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!!
TracyHi!
I am fully recovered from the Open, sort of LOL!
You and Miss Mochi are totally ready for the next class! The games don’t need to be perfect, they just need to be pretty good -and Mochi is closer to perfect! I am thinking the winter hybrid class will have 2 tracks in it: puppies/teenagers, and adult dogs. That will be doubly fun for the puppy people, because you can play the young dog games and then you’ll also have the adult dog version of it for when she is older.
>>If you do decide to have another class, a hybrid of sorts, or something else, how will I communicate with you to ask if we’re ready for that class? The forum will be closed.<< You'll get an email. I was hoping to have the outline finished already but alas, crazy things keep cropping up. I hope to have it done and posted by next week. Thanks! Tracy
Good morning!
Great job in class last night – I am glad you got home in time!
>I have been working on/planning on the following marker cues but I have some questions:
Questions: – I’m thinking of combining toss and get it into a cue to go get the toy/treat. My thoughts are I often default to saying “get it”, but is it important to distinguish between toy & treat w/the marker? >>I have personally not found that the dogs have questions about using ‘get it’ for both the toy and treat. The context makes it very clear to them plus I would never toss both and ask them to figure out which one based on the marker. I mean, I’m sure it can be done, I just don’t see the reason to do it as it sets up too much failure potential).
And it is far too easy for all of us to accidentally default to ‘get it’ on both things like you mentioned, so we might as well trust the pups’ ability to read context and not worry about separate cues.
If we see questions or frustration from Lift, we can change it and add another marker but I doubt she will get mad at you about it 🙂
>>>>And should get it be more about driving ahead as opposed to the cue I will use with the pattern game or the backing up when I toss the treat between their legs? (Right now that would be a toss cue for me which is maybe a bit more thoughtful than a run and get it for the toy).>>
If ‘toss’ is a lower energy delivery, to the side… and you can remember it… then yes, you can totally use it to differentiate between that and get it. I use get it for both the driving ahead and the pattern game food tosses, because the dogs read the context and my movement so easily. I personally don’t ‘test’ the markers that much, but if I say “get it” the dogs will stop looking at me and start looking for where I have thrown the ‘thing’.
>>– I picked “Yes” for the come get the treat from my hand since that is what I tend to default to say when I want the dog to come to me to get a reward out of my hand. However there is the tendency to use Yes when I”m excited that they did something (like hit a weave pole entry) and that is a situation where I don’t want them to break off what they are doing and come to me for a treat. >>Entirely relatable and when Hot Sauce and CB were baby dogs, I would pull them off things ALL THE TIME by saying “yes”. Oops! So I cleaned up my markers, learned to stop yelling “YES!” 🙂 and now the marker on course is the next cue.
>>So I”m thinking about switching to snacks. But if I do that, does “yes” have a specific meaning or is it just a generic encouragement workd?>
Yes just gets used so much that I think it becomes background noise with different meanings in different contexts. I am standing in my kitchen with all of my dogs right now, and I yelled “yes!” Like I would for a great weave entry… they didn’t even look at me. Then I said it “yessssss” like I do when shaping something and going to give a cookie… they all got up and walked over, looking at me LOL! Dogs are brilliant.
>>– And thinking ahead to directionals, I clearly need something other than “Left” given her name. Is Links (German for Left) too close to Lift? Do I need something else for left? Haw or Port maybe?>>I think any Li or Le might be too similar. Haw or Port are good. What about ‘soft’?
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! This is looking really good!!
The next step will be about preparing for the Turn And Burn game 🙂 So the first question is: what would you like to use for her to wrap around in that game – a big barrel? Giant cone? Whatever you choose, you can do a session with the 2 bowls and the object. No need to move the bowls further back, instead you can just do a value building session or two on the barrel or cone or whatever you choose.
Then if that goes well (and I am sure it will!) you can move to the turn and burn game we added last night 🙂 If she needs help getting started, you can put a bowl down on the exit line. I bet she will not need help though and will jump into offering it 🙂
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
Very nice job on the sequences here! She looked great, she was focusing on her lines beautifully, and was FAST! Love it!!
My only suggestion is to try a ‘jump’ verbal instead of ‘go’ for the jumps, because go means straight and we want to keep that for those big straight lines.
Great connection here and she seemed to have no question about where to go. Super!!
>>I stopped before she lost interest >>
Perfect!!!
>> i think I’m going to have to practise some longer sequences at some stage.
Yes, you can throw in some longer sequences (I have more coming that are longer and will be posted next Monday). And also, you can work on the remote reinforcement with very short sequences, so she learns to run without the reward in your hand or pocket. Start it on the flat and then start to add some jumps and short fun sequences.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
These are looking good overall! I think they might be posted in reverse order 🙂
>>Interestingly, when he got rewarded by a thrown toy, toy at end lost its value.>>
A “live” (moving) toy is more exciting than a “dead” (placed) toy 🙂 so you can mix in more driving to the placed toy.
I think the first video here was the last sequence (with the rear crosses): The toy placed on the line indicated the straight line, so when you were late on the RC (:46 and 1:52) he drove straight. AS he was lifting off for the RC jump, you were still on the straight line position. Your timing at 2:41 was better – he could see the RC diagonal sooner so he got the RC there.
2nd video – He had a similar question about the timing of the RC at :41 (you were not yet showing the info as he was taking off). The timing at 1:27 and 2:13 was better – he could see you getting on the RC line before he had to make a takeoff decision.
For the backside cues on this sequences and the other videos, remember to use more connection out of the tunnel to consistently get the backside push, and keep moving forward to the jump til he locks onto the backside. And then maintain connection to show the line to the tunnel entry you want. At 1:57 he was correct when you said ‘here’ and pulled him to your line so he took the other end of the tunnel. He is reading everything really well, so if something goes wrong try to watch the video before the next rep so you can see what he was seeing.
3rd video – A little too much Go Go on the jump line before switching to the RC cue at :47 was what go the off course 🙂 Go is a powerful word so you want to be careful when you use it 🙂 A ‘jump’ cue will get less forward momentum and make it easier to add the switch cues.
4th video (maybe one of the first reps?) – this had the GO line with the placed toy – very nice! The big loud verbals really helped support the line even when you aren’t running.
5th and 6th video (same video) – the straight line looked good here too, lots of driving way ahead even with you behind and not running hard. SUPER!!Nice work here! Have a happy Thanksgiving!
TracyHi!
The sequences look good!
The go lines are looking really good here!Small details:
On the FC on the backsides at :10 and 1:37, you can decelerate and be more on his line to tighten the turns a little. You will literally be standing on his ideal landing spot as he comes around the backside wing – then move forward towards the tunnel so you are not in his way when he needs the landing spot.Seq 2 – Good job calling sooner before he entered the tunnel on the 2nd rep of it! This is a hard line to set on the tunnel exit (deliberately designed that way to put the handlers a little behind :)) To set the tighter line to the next jump, stick closer to the tunnel exit so you can set the line then drive immediately onto the RC diagonal – you don’t need to turn and face the line at all, you can be running directly to the center of the bar on the RC jump. That will smooth it out!
3rd sequence: When going back to the straight line, you can totally use your GO verbal for at least the first jump after the tunnel. Then you can decelerate into the wrap, like you did on the last rep at 2:05 – that was lovely! YAY!!
You were a little too early at 1:52 by stopping your motion and rotating as he landed from the jump before the wrap jump. The last rep was a really clear transition of going from fast to decelerating (while moving forward) then rotating. NICE!!!Great job here! Have a happy Thanksgiving!!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>To me, he seems like an all-business kind of guy.
He might be all business! I think most dogs are all business in the time between the ring entry and the release from the start line, as long as we optimize arousal before they enter the ring and they know how to self-regulate. It takes some practice/experimenting and he is doing well!
I don’t think he will need the Pink Panther lead out at a trial, but it is GREAT for practice so he rehearses his stays and other behaviors in the arousal state he will be in at trials.
He did really well here and you’ll want to add in rehearsals that are more trial like: working on leash and doing this around other dogs (especially after watching another dog run!).
>>Sitting by the jumps waiting or lining himself up. >>
Yes – but that is also not something that will happen in the trial ring, so be sure to mix in reps to show him what the trial ring entry would look like: leash on, go to the first jump, leash off, line up. If he is in the habit of waiting at the jump for you, or lining up without a leash, it could be a brain exploder if we wait too long to add in the actual progression he will see at a trial. So adding it in now and practicing it will take it very easy 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
He is doing well with the leash coming off! The main thing is that we don’t want the dogs leaving us and we want them to regulate their arousal – he was great with both. So you can reward that, either by using the toy or treats, or moving to the jump.>>He sometimes gets into the border collie stare>>
You don’t need to wait for eye contact here – you can reward “thanks for not leaving when the leash comes off” 🤣 He was getting a little sticky/frozen because the leash was off, he was engaged, and you were standing still staring at him… so you can reward for simply not moving away (it doesn’t matter if he makes eye contact or not, because he might not be able to make eye contact in that arousal state in that moment, and staring will add more pressure than needed).
Great job!
TracyHi!
Remote reinforcement is going well! It looks like there is a lot of intrinsic motivation for the game, so he is happy to play agility without the toy in your hand.
You can start to mix in different sequences, different obstacles, etc – as long as most of the training is still with the reward in the ring.
Do you have any access to FEO/NFC or fun matches coming up?
Tracy
Good morning!
Great job getting this to slow down so he can stand relatively still! The next steps would be to keep slowing it down so there are increasingly longer delays between treats, along with you looking around as if you are watching the course or planning your handling. The goal is to get him to be able to just stand still and basically do nothing 🙂And you can also play this game in front of some distractions, like when other dogs are around – you will probably have to keep it pretty fast-moving at first when adding distractions.
>>without him wandering off
Add the leash to this. This game will be used when he is on leash, outside the ring. So adding the leash will partially put it in context, and partially prevent him from wandering off.
>>how you move into a chill position or behavior or ?????>>
For a dog that likes to move a lot, the engaged chill behavior might end up looking like just standing still next to you and doing nothing (no moving around, no staring at dogs moving, no offering behavior, just standing there chilling out). He might end up offering a down but we don’t want to ask him for anything – this is all about internal self-regulation so standing still next to you would be great chill 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
Good job breaking down the skill here! As you break it down and get a couple of good success, be sure to balance it with straight lines too – that way we can be sure he is reading the different cues and not just running to the toy thrower 🙂One thing to be careful of is going for too long or doing the same thing too many times in a row… he was really tired by minute 6 of this session and it went for 10 full minutes. So be sure to set a timer for maybe 3 minutes, then give him a break. That way he can have fresh legs as you work on the skills.
Having him follow the toy throw helped get his eyes on the RC line. Nice! Try to fade the helper out and off the line, so he is not looking at her and looking at the jumps instead.
Nice work here!!
TracyGood morning!
On the outdoor video: The whole first part looked terrific! Great job with your connection and showing him each line. YAY!! The only blooper was at the very end, when he went straight instead of turning right. I thought your rear cross line at :24 was timely but as an inexperienced dog, he was locked on the line and heard the GO verbal, so off he went. A name call there might help get his attention on the turn, calling him before you switch to your right verbal.On the indoor video, he definitely confirms that GO is a powerful verbal for him! You were saying it a lot so he was going straight – at :39 you can be earlier on the RC info but definitely say GO less. The rep at 1:22 had earlier physical cues and a little less GO verbal, and he got it. YAY!!
So as you are setting up for a rear cross, you can use a soft jump verbal or left/right along with his name, but since the louder GO verbal is very powerful, you will want to be careful about using it too much.
Nice job here!!
Tracy
