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Good morning!
I hope your internet is back. I hate it when my internet goes out!!!
The jumping foundation grid looks good, I am super happy with 99.9% of it. He seemed to have no issue at all with the angled jumps and his form is looked balanced and powerful. So what is the .1% we can tweak? 2 minor details:
– Always aim for the tuck sit where his front feet stay stationary and his brings his back end in towards them to sit (instead of the rollback sit) The tuck sit like at 1:21 and 2:04 were great, for example – really lovely put off into the jump!
The sit at :59 was more of a rollback sit and you can see his positioned was not as ready for power – fortunately on that rep you rewarded him, so all of his jumping work was done from the tuck sit.– the other tiny detail is while his form over 1 and 2 is spot on, he is diving with a low head over 3 because the toy is really low. It is a good choice and your timing is good, but the profile of it (low to the ground) is too low. So I suggest a toy change. Do you have something like a jumbo sized hollee roller:
https://www.chewy.com/jw-pet-hol-ee-roller-dog-toy/dp/38460?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=19996370614&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19996373038&gbraid=0AAAAADmQ2V3XKpEzG4YuFH23i3NvYsd35&gclid=Cj0KCQiA7rDMBhCjARIsAGDBuECwKK-V-xid1_Mx5WMcTeV1TGmzhRFmKgRif4Uz-cL8tcuZ7UY_jWoaApwlEALw_wcBThe large might be good too but the Jumbo for sure would work.
The proofing game went great! Serps were no problem at all, and he balanced to the tunnel really well to. Your arms and verbals looked really different on those, which made it clearer for him.
Adding movement to the serp looked strong – nice arm position all the way through without pairing the release with arm motion. And good rewards thrown back for the stay – you are the absolute BEST about getting stay rewards in!!! Truly, you are so good with mixing in stay rewards and it shows with how good his stay is!
I was proud of him for getting the threadle right away even after a bunch of serp and tunnel reps! You set him up well for success – the only tiny blooper was when there was a toy on the ground behind you LOL!
>much as I tried, apparently I can’t help myself on the threadles to keep my arm back and not cue the tunnel with it.>
It is a small detail. But yes, you can keep reminding yourself to keep that arm locked back 🙂 You don’t move the serp arm or shoulder at all because you are rewarding from the other hand, so I know you can convince your threadle arm to stay locked back too 🙂
Excellent work here!!
Tracy
Hi!
The wrapping is going really well – she is doing a great job ignoring the bowl to go around the cone. Yay! Easy peasy! She seemed to be looking at the cone and not at the bowl, so you can add a ‘look’ cue to this: when you point your hand, you can also say “look” (or any verbal you want to use :)) to add in the cue to look at the cone.
Since this is going so well, you can leave it and check out the turn and burn game that was posted on Monday! She looks ready for that! And it is fun 🙂
She was so cute giving hugs and kisses at the beginning of the 2 toy video 🙂 She did really well going back and forth to the different toys. Yes, this means she is definitely able to do Turn and Burn because the toy is the ideal reward for that 🙂
The toy race video was HILARIOUS! It was like she knew you were trying to cheat to win, so she didn’t want to go get the cookie you tossed hahahahah! Love it! She still easily got to the toy first with excellent speed and forward focus. Good girl! She is moving really really fast here, so you will want to save this game for floors where she can really grip. The wood is a bit slippery, so you can play this on a rug or you can take it outside to grass or dirt.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Backing up is off to a great start! Click/treat for you for keeping your hands really low – that kept her head in a good position so you were able to get her backing up really well already! You were also quick with your rewards, and that really helped. Super!!!Keep going with this method and you can throw the treats further and further back to get more steps. And you can also play with the advanced level, where you are using a target: she starts with all four feet on it and at first you only lure her front feet off (then let her offer stepping them back on). Then you can get all 4 feet off and see if she can step her back feet on. This is often the easiest way to add more and more distance, because she will be looking for a “destination”.
Nice work!
Tracy
Hi!
>I’ve modified our AM routine a bit to minimize Ripley’s frustration since we had some build-up leakage this weekend at the UKI Festival. So, Vibe gets his kibble in his giggle ball while I train Ripley, then Ripley gets his pickle with peanut butter/squeeze cheese while I train Vibe starting with toys.>
Perfect! Balancing things when bringing a new pup in to the house takes a bit of choreography, but it sounds like the new routine is going well.
>I went ahead and did the full 360 style this AM to start with something more arousing to also work on tug play. >
It was a true turn and burn session! Super fun and super high energy! His commitment is looking good and he is happy to finish his wrap with you taking off for the FC relatively early. Yay!
You can alternate energy too: big energy during the rewarding and tugging, but you can also teach him to drive hard to the barrel independently of you by asking for a bit of a lineup: Get him to lineup a your side (cookie lure is fine), gently hold his collar, start your verbal… then let go and let him explode to the barrel. That will teach some amazing explosive fun out of the ‘quiet’ moments like stays. And it will prevent him from sending himself to the barrel without you LOL which we were seeing a bit of at 1:02 🙂
Because this is super high energy, try for fewer reps/shorter sessions with breaks: I’d say by the 1:32 mark here, he was tired and at 1:52 you were asking if he was ready and he was not sure if he was LOL! 😂😝 He will continue to work and play because he is that kind of dude, but the body language there looked like a break would be good to relax for a bit, then come back and do a few more high energy reps later.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi! So fun to get to the training center and have all that space!! He is looking fabulous!
Look at him tugging so nicely on the pill bug game, even after he ate a treat! YAY!!! That is a huge thing!!!
The pill bug game is going great. It is great to see you running again! The pot turn reps and blinds all looked great. I loved the addition of the other tunnel, where you did the blind and sent him through it. Super fun! And your connection was gorgeous! If you get back to the ring rental again, you can keep going with this and all the other variations you can think of (without hauling tunnels around too much haha)
The zig zags are going well – his stay looks strong (nice job rewarding) and he is easily able to change his leads. I think the lead changes will go better if you take the TnT out of the picture for now 🙂 He was a little locked onto it so he would get the first lead change, then he seemed to think it was all about finding a line to the TnT LOL!!! So rather than worry about that here, take the TnT out of the reward and reward from hand, to get him following the cues that you show him. That will allow you to show him all the variations on the lines without him trying to get to the TnT 🙂
He is doing a great job with all the motion in the jumping grid! Yay! He maintained his form even with the dragging toy, then with you running. Super! You can angle these jumps a bit – the change of visuals might be challenging in a good way! And to prep for what is next in jumping, keep the first 2 bars low and the 3rd bar can be higher.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! He did great here! This is a hard game and he was really successful. YAY!
>I think I caused the first question! >
Yes – on Rep 1 on both sides, you can rotate more at the waist to cue the serp before the release, like you did on rep 2 and beyond on each side.
I think he needed to see the cues sooner on those and also on the tunnel & threadle reps. What I mean by that is you were walking to position and doing the arm cue basically simultaneously with the release, which does not give him a lot of time or room to make a decision.
A clearer way to do it is to be moving into position with your serp arm already back the whole time (you will feel like you are holding a tray of drinks or something haha) then release when you get to position. That way he sees the arm cues a lot sooner. Same with the threadle and tunnel cues: have your arm back for the threadle the whole time, or shoulder closed for the tunnel as you walk to position so the arm and release are not happening at the same time (this will also protect the stay so he doesn’t start to release on arm movement) .
That will help get him to 100% success!
Great job here!Tracy
Hi! This session went great!!!
>Definitely was way too far to start, >
I don’t think it was too far – I think a little more connection was needed on that very first rep. If you watch your right arm, it was a bit parallel to you and even pointing ahead a little bit. That blocks connection and turns your shoulders slightly away from the line, and a baby dog won’t ignore that and take the jump anyway 🙂
When you added more eye contact and your arm further back on reps 2 and 3 and beyond, she did great! No commitment questions! On the first rep when she was on your left, you had a low arm and lots of connection and she found it easily! Super 🙂
On the other reps on the first side, as she got comfy you were adding the arm pointing ahead a bit more – resist the temptation LOL! Keep your hand pointing behind you to her nose so she can see your connection. That also keeps your shoulders pointing to the line to support it.
The were only one little blooper at 1:29 , where you said tunnel but turned away from it before she passed you and saw it, so she came with the shoulder turn (good girl!) That was a one-time-blooper, your line and connection to the tunnel on all the other reps were perfect 🙂
Great job here! Keep adding distance away from the jump, and you can also add in being way ahead of her, as well as meeting her at the tunnel exit to see if she will drive ahead.
Tracy
Hi!
>She will learn thru different games that the bowls can be used in many ways. >
Yes, as long as the contexts are different. And be sure to not obsess too much on one game (like stillness) with the bowls because we don’t want the presence of the bowls to be the cue for stillness, if that makes sense.
>Will we ever be able to use the bowls with “obstacles” for wrapping for example like the cone or we will figure out a different approach? >
We don’t need the bowls anymore for the wrapping games – but we do use them here and there for other games (that don’t involve stillness, she will be moving past them to a target). She is incredibly smart so I know she will figure it out 🙂
>I’ve never used a dead toy before. All I know is that it’s pre placed.
While I love Get It – I use that for thrown cookie or toy. That won’t be confusing?>You are welcome to have separate markers, but I don’t think you need separate markers. The dogs are fine with get it meaning thrown or placed, as long as it is out ahead. They know where to look and that makes them happy. You can totally have separate markers, but a lot of folks (most folks?) with all the markers tend to mess up the markers and that gets frustrating to the dogs. My dogs have a get it that covers toys/treats that are out ahead moving or placed and there is no confusion. They have a lot more awareness of what is happening and don’t need the extra verbals.
Looking at the video:
Super nice progress with the backing up already! Yes, luring her forward then letting her step back while keep ing your hands low definitely helped her start to figure it out.>the balance pad & a wedge along with my mechanics.>
The balance pad and the wedge were probably too hard at this early stage. Good job ditching them for now! You can take a low, stable mat and have her back up to it: start with all 4 feet on, lure her front feet off, then let her step back with just front feet. When she can do that repeatedly, you can lure all 4 feet off and reward her for stepping back with her back feet onto it.
Nice work 🙂
Tracy
Hi! All of these games are looking lovely! The suggestions are mainly about head position (his, not yours haha) and markers:
He did great with his parallel path work! He has a ton of value for it and is very happy to go to it. He wants to watch you, though, and we want him looking forward at the line. Easy fix: As you keep adding distance away from the prop here, change the ‘yes’ to your ‘get it’ marker. The ‘yes’ marker gets the dogs looking up at us and the ‘get it’ keeps them looking straight. So you can say ‘get it’ just before he gets to the prop (rewarding him for committing to the line to go to it) then throw the treat straight, before he looks at you.
Nice job with the countermotion! This is where the yes is effective because we want him looking at you after he hits the prop. The only thing to add here is a moment of engagement with you before you send him. Rather than loop right back into the send for the next rep after a reward, call him to you. Then engage with him with a bit of the ready dance 🙂 then send to the prop. That gives him a clear picture of when to start driving to it, and makes it easier for you to add more and more countermotion too!
Backing up: He is doing so well with this! Yay!
Because he is short and we want you to keep the reward hands low (at or below your knee the whole time) so he doesn’t try to look up at you while backing up: you can totally sit on something (a low stool or on the edge of a chair, so there is enough room to lure him forward between your feet?). That way you a rest your elbows on your legs, dangle your hands down low so he keeps his head low, and just flick the cookie towards him when he backs up. That will keep his head in a more natural position which will lead to even more steps backwards 🙂You can also play with the advanced level where he is backing up to a target like a mat or low bed!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>However, watching back I feel I am pushing in too fast too soon on her.>
Yes, you were pushing in a bit too much and pushed her off the line at :14 and :22. The placed reward helped her a lot… but then it didn’t matter what the handling was because she was going to the reward no matter what 😂 😆
So for the next session, don’t try to throw early or place a reward – set the line by running to the center of the bar then moving to the other side when she is past you so she can commit and turn 🙂
For the ladder grid:
>I tried her closer with the five feet spacing but she didn’t seem to have the power to get through it without the double tap now. We changed it back to four feet and she seemed to do better.>
The sorter spacing was definitely better for now! She did not double tap, but she is also really young (6 months-ish, right?) so the power will continue to develop and she will be able to go back up to 5 feet when she is in a more adult body 🙂
Also, be sure you are not facing her on the release. That might have been cueing collection and reducing her power on the bigger distances.
But because she is so young, this doesn’t need much revisiting at all 🙂 Maybe every 2 weeks or so – you will see that her form won’t really solidify until she has a more mature body.
Looking at the Diamond game: this went really well!
Gorgeous connection on the racetracks in both directions!! That looked super smooth through the session (and fun!)The tight blinds were really good too – she is VERY strong at reading the beginning of the cue, so even when you were late she was able to produce a nice tight turn. But when you were earlier (trusting her commitment and starting the blind when she was halfway to the wing) like at :59, her turn was GREAT! So definitely keep trusting her. And be sure to look all the way back to her as you finish the blind: when you were not looking back or switching the toy from hand to hand, she would look at you for more info. So as you finish the blind, look back to her eyes and say the next verbal directly to her – that will keep her looking at the line.
Great job!!!
TracyHi!
He is doing well with his barrel wraps!!!
To take him to the Turn And Burn game, you can fade out the back and forth with the treats. You can start him on one side, send him around the barrel with an arm and leg cue (same as you did when you sent to the prop). Then be stationary til he finishes the barrel… and then do a front cross and run a few steps before rewarding.Have a line on the ground at the exit, so ypu can watch for him to get there before you do the FC and run. That line will incrementally move back towards where he is starting so you can do the FC sooner and sooner. That will take a couple of sessions 🙂
The lotus ball is fine to use – you can add a line to it so it is more of a toy to drag as you do the FC and run. And before you bring out food, try a session with a long dragging fun toy. I think the key to toy play is a long toy you can drag for him to chase as you run away. Try to get it on video so I can see why he doesn’t want to play with toys.
Nice work here!
Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
I agree, he has the concept of backing up! Yay!
I also agree, he is a little erratic in his movement 😀So to smooth it out, let’s give him less room to back up and a lower, bigger object to back up on to. At this stage, form is more important than distance or number of steps. With that in mind, start him only one or two steps away from his target. Stay nice and close til he is smooooth 😀
The target he’s backing up to now might be a little high and narrow for his little legs, so you can try something that’s maybe an inch tall (like a crate pad)
Because he’s growing so much, he will basically have to re-learn his mechanics each time his legs grow 😆 so keeping him closer for now will make the backing up smoother 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi!
>Aelfraed was excited and happy for his training today. He had been able to have more outdoor time earlier and it didn’t seem like he needed to run extra before training but we did start with the diamond game so that he could run straight away.>
Interesting! I am glad he was feeling good for training – I bet it becomes a non-issue when the weather improves 🙂 And starting with the diamond was a good choice for sure!
The Diamond went well! The race track looked great and he transitioned from extension to collection for the blinds really well!
You might notice he was drifting a bit wide on the blind cross exits at :11 and :27 on the first side and at :44, :59, 1:37 on the other side – that was because you were trying to connect with the dog-side arm while keeping it closer to your body, so he didn’t really see the connection until a stride or two late. At 1:09 an 1:21 he never saw the new connection so did not make the side change.
Ideally you can use exit line connection (the opposite arm across your body) to get the dog-side arm way back to his nose. That will tighten up the turn by showing very clear connection.
The rep at 1:57 had good timing and the best connection, which is why it was the tightest 🙂
The rear crosses were really strong!! The first one (:10) was a stride late which is why he turned after landing. But the rest were clear and timely so he was able to get the new direction easily. Super!!!!
Backside wraps are going well! Getting the toy in nice and early helped! You can now start to delay the reward a bit by waiting to get a little more commitment – you will get this by shifting your connection to the landing spot (and not looking at him) as he gets to the wrap wing. Looking at the landing spot and pointing to the landing spot with the hand next to he jump will support commitment so you can throw the reward a bit later (like when he begins to take off) rather than as an aid to help him take it.
Looking at the serp/tunnel proofing game:
>He was enjoying the cookie toss start, although it definitely made it more challenging to be in the correct position.>
Since we don’t want to try to outrun him to position, the secret is to get into position then toss the start cookie 🙂
He did well on this! The serps and threadles and tunnel cues all looked difference, which really helped him be very successful. He had a question at the beginning (went past the serp) but that might have just been him grabbing the treat and not processing the cue in time.
The only other question he had was about the threadle:
Keeping your threadle arm back until he takes off for the jump will take out the question he had at :42 – you turned forward which actually cues him to not take the jump, good boy! The threadle arm staying back will keep your shoulders rotated to the jump to help commit him to the jump.The arm was a back for longer at :48 and he found the jump nicely!
>However, the last few times we have trained, he consistently opens it himself if he felt the activity/repetition was easy and consistently looks to me to open it for him if he had to concentrate hard or found the thing he had just done more challenging.>
That is so interesting!!! Might be bandwidth thing, where he is using the brain space to answer the harder question and needs help getting the lotus ball open. And the easier games might leave more brain space available for the mechanics of getting the treat ball open?
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>We practiced this Sunday with a treat and train>
It might take a while to build up drive to the TnT – many dogs are just ‘meh’ about it. But the toy moving works well for these!
No worries about the FOMO hound LOL!! It is hard to be left out of training and to have a girl in season in the house!
Theses sessions were interesting and informative! Overall, her form was really good, so these suggestions are just about tweaking the set up and mechanics so she rehearses her good form over and over.
>I need to work on stays and releases.>
Yes – you mixed in lots of rewards and she did well! You can keep mixing in rewards, including when you lead out past jump 3 and put the toy down: definitely reward her for staying 🙂
Looking at what produced the best form: that was when you were pretty far past jump 3 before the release (10 feet or so past it), and moving the whole time with the toy dragging until she got to you.
The best example of that was the last rep (2:32) on the shorter video – the 2:38 long video that was posted second. She was powerful and balanced on all three jumps! Nice form!
The previous rep on hat same video (1:54) was also good!
When the toy was not far enough from jump 3 or it stopped moving before she got to it, she elevated to pounce on it (you can see that at 1:02 on the shorter video and 3:09 on the longer video, for example).
And if the toy was not on the ground when you released her or stationary the whole time, she was not as powerful or organized with her footwork as she was when the toy was out ahead and dragging.
She didn’t see to have any questions about the angled jumps! Yay! And I think the distance was really good here too!
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
