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Welcome back! I am excited to see the boys in action!
>>Enzo is pumped and Casper isn’t sure what’s happening yet.>>
Ha! That cracks me up and is exactly what happens at my house: 4 year old dog knows exactly what is happening. Almost 2 year old dog? Doesn’t know what all the fuss is about but is happy to get happy about it LOL!
>>a million thanks for posting the courses on Sunday mornings. This makes a big difference to me as far as course building.>>
Great! Your feedback on timing of course builds from last year was completely on my mind when we went to Sunday crack of dawn releases this year.
Have fun!
TracyWelcome!!! I think I have seen Rayna in the background of some of your MaxPup videos 🙂 I am excited to see more of her! Bummer about the other dog 🙁 Hope her knee feels better!!!!!!! We can also break down some of the skills for West if you want to show him some of this stuff too 🙂
Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
>>I’m hoping it’s ok to ask you about my independent study jump class.
Of course!
>>1. When using the Cato plank for the wraps and slices do you transition off the plank when they are proficient at the low bar height? >>
We have fading exercises later in the class (two ways to do it: fading out the sit on the plank, and fading out the plank with a sit on the flat).
It depends on the dog’s strength and structure. Because she is young and fit and seems to have good structure based on what I can see in her videos and movement, you can take a two-pronged approach:>>Sprite is doing great at 12 in with all of those exercises. Do I add height with the plank first and then go down and fade the plank? Or, do I switch now at 12 in to start fading the plank?>>
For her, add height from 12 in 2-inch increments. She might be able to work all the way up to full height, but it is not required. And it is very gradual because it is also a conditioning exercise: low # of reps and quit before she gets fatigued.
Separately, you can do sessions on a really low bar (6 or 8″ to start) with the plank fading out – you can alternate training days on this by, for example, using the plank to raise the height on a Monday, and on a Wednesday do the low bar and plank fading.
>>2. She’s struggling on zigzag by adding a stride if I soften the angle. I only have 4 ft bars. I’m assuming stay easy and grow core strength first before trying to soften again? >>
Yes – keep it easy where she can maintain form, then change things by an inch or so. You can try shortening the distance to encourage the bouncing by overlapping the wings a bit. It is an insanely challenging exerise so it might take all summer 🙂 It took me 12 weeks to very gradually get my Voodoo to do it with the really hard angles.
>>I just downloaded an app that supposedly measures angles to be sure I’m not drastically changing it. It’s possible I am.>>
Ooh! Cool!!! What app is that? And feel free to send a photo of the set up in messenger or email so I can see if there is anything visual we can do to help her.
Have fun!
TracyGood morning, welcome back! And getting hooked on another sport is great: Nose Work is fantastic for the dogs and fun for all of us!!!
I am looking forward to your updates! Have fun!
TracyGood morning and welcome back with Bacon!!! He is so fun 🙂
Yes, we will totally be working on timing to help with bars and off courses. He is powerful and also young, so he will need early info to sort out the mechanics of dealing with his own power 🙂 Fun!!! The timing is very different than his Papillon siblings – I can totally relate. Feel free to pop in trial videos if you have examples of off courses or bars – that can give us ideas to help as you work through these course challenges.
Have fun!
TracyHooray and welcome back to CAMP!!! Let me know if you want me to fit CAMP courses into the class space you have, to help convince your instructor 🙂
>>Finishing up my recovery / rehab from a knee replacement – running pain free is a wonderful thing. >>
This is so fantastic!!!! I’m so glad you are pain-free, that must feel so much better!
>>Used the off time to build pre and post run routines for Coal using CU super bowl patterns, a fun project.>
Awesome! This will be super useful for class and for trials.
>>Also hitting the 70 number this summer – how did that happen? My next dog may have short legs LOL>>
We will have to celebrate! The new knee is only a year old (or less) so I am sure you will be running like a pro 🙂 And if you want to test out a short dog, I have a few you can borrow – they are harder to see than the tall dogs, but easier to carry around LOL!
Have fun 🙂
TracyHello and welcome!!!! This will be fun! I can’t believe Spot is already!!!
You’ve got lots of time to get the field ready and the sequences done – Mother Nature has promised perfect weather 🙂
Have fun!
TracyWelcome back! I am excited to see her work!!! We can definitely focus on tackling these challenges from the perspective of:
– being in a good spot to support her jumping
– handling from behind as needed, so you can support jumping AND get the hard challenges AND get her to drive ahead.It will be fun!!!
Tracy
Hi! It has been great seeing you here in MN!! I am excited to see Saphira. I can’t believe she is already 3!!!! Sounds like she is doing really well in her sports 🙂 And fingers crossed that Mazi’s toe holds up (darned toes!!!)
Have fun!
TracyWelcome! I am excited to get started!
About the zoomies… have you played Find My Face with her on course? We can definitely add that to help her de-stress!Tracy
Yay! Welcome back!!! I am excited to see you and Maple and Huck – you and Mae looked fan-freakin-tastic in May when I saw you in person!!!!
As we get started, give me a list of things you have run into on course that give you trouble. The shorter distances with such a big striding, fast girlie are definitely challenging, so we can work all of these skills at short distances.
Have fun 🙂
TracyHello and welcome!!!
We can break all of this down to fit into the park or your yard. The bigger courses have pop outs we can take on the road 🙂
>> We are down to about one mistake per run. Often it’s a bar due to timing, but when I watched video it was often a panel jump, she just hasn’t seen that often enough, Also, she’s starting to pay more attention to me and pull off lines when I’m a million miles behind.>>
This is actually a normal part of the transition from baby dog into seasoned masters-level dog. I remember this with each and every one of my dogs LOL!!! All of these will smooth out and then things will be much easier 🙂 And you can create a panel jump by hanging a beach towel over the bar (we might need to do something like that because a wall jump is becoming AKC-legal too).
>>So, I’m hoping layering and lines with the handler behind will be in class.>>
Absolutely! The first set of sequences/courses has some independent jump commitment on opening lines, which allow for layering and also for big lines. We will keep building, building, building on that because layering and staying on big long lines (including ahead of the handler) are hot topics! And we will also be plotting strategy to get you not-so-far-behind on course 🙂
Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
The backside game is going well! As you move up the line to the backside – nice connection on the cue! Yay! You can put a line on the ground so you don’t accidentally end up converging towards the entry wing – you will be able to work further and further away from the entry if you move along a parallel path. That will also help when you add the German turns and similar fancy moves 🙂
>She wanted to GO FAST, and the idea of slowing down to take the jump was just silly!>>
I think she didn’t realize the bar was there, because the tunnel was such a big visual 😁 Since it was a big distraction, you can work. The backside stuff without it there and add it back eventually when she understands to look for the bar more. She was taking the jump if your toy drops were precisely timed but it will be easier to shape her to look for the bar without the tunnel there for now.
The countermotion is going well! You can look at landing more as you release from the stay and as you move through it. This will also be easier without the tunnel there for now, because she will be looking at the bar as you move through it and not relying on the cue.
The FC on the landing side went well, the rotation helped her see the bar (the blind made it harder so doing it earlier helped)
She did well with the circle wrap! Be sure you are not blocking the wing, so she can see it as she moves up the line.
>>Do you have any advice for deciding if a person should train a stopped vs a running contact?>>
It depends on how hard you want to work and on the state of your mental health (running contacts involve a lot of frustration!), and your dog’s structure.
Running dog walks are a TON of work (years of work), and even with all that work, you still might not end up with running contacts. There is no single method that works for all dogs, so you will need to find people who can make a method work for her. Shoulder and rear angulation also impact a RDW.
The running a-frame is a little easier to teach in general.
Many people have success with a stopped DW and running a-frame, in terms of getting the training done and not wanting to bang their heads on a wall.
And if you do choose a running dog walk, you can separately teach a 2o2o for the teeter and on a plank so that you can use it easily if you decide you are sick of working the RDW.
>>there’s the idea about a running a-frame being easier on their bodies.>>
There is no real proof of that or reasoning behind it. Assuming that both behaviors are well-trained, a running a-frame is performed at higher speed and requires TONS more reps on the full height contact to train it. Higher speed and more repetition are recipe for injury – slamming into the upside and the leap over the top (hyperextension) are the two places that are concerning. The stopped a-frame is a bit slower and also doesn’t need to be trained on the frame itself or with a lot of reps… so that reduces injury risk. The concern there is that the dogs ‘land’ on their shoulders but a proper 2o2o is al about weight shift into the rear, which also reduces injury risk.
Great job here! See you soon in CAMP and in MaxPup 3!
Tracy
Hi!
He did well here!
I think part of his question at the beginning might have been the toy in your hand: is it toy time, or turn away time? You took the toy out at :22 and he got it there! At :30, you gave a big YES! So he turned towards you 🙂 On the last rep, he turned away nicely! Just call him sooner so he turns before the tunnel exit (your call was when he entered and it needs to be more like 6 feet before entry).>>we still struggled with the left turns. I put a jump wing out there as a barrier, and that helped.>>
Yes! One thing to do is a walk-jog-run progression to help introduce more and more motion. Can he master the challenge with you walking? If so, do it at a jog. If he is highly successful, try it at a jog. If he is highly successful with you jogging? Go to a run. This will happen over the course of several sessions and get him used to finding the tight lines even with you running.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! I am glad the weather cooperated!!
>>He is so wild in public but at least doing well training with me alone
He is doing great! And I know he will do well in public soon too, with more practice 🙂

>>Question about camp for older dogs this summer – is there an option for second working dog slot? – I am considering who I would want to do class with…>>There is a TON of content, so CAMP has options for 2 dogs alternating working in one working spot… this is from CAMP 2023 but it will be basically the same this year too:
Multiple Dogs
If you have multiple dogs, you can give them each a turn! Throughout the summer, you’ll see 3, 4, 5 or even 6 demo dogs on the videos! Each dog can have a turn, within the guidelines of the Video Submissions and Recommendations above. For example:
* Fluffy can do Round 1 and Muffy can do Round 2
* Fluffy can do Rounds 1 and 2 of the Raise Your Game Challenges and Muffy can do Rounds 1 and 2 of the Live Class Sequences and Full Courses
* Fluffy can do one sequence and Muffy can do the other sequence or course.Or you can do 2 full working spots (15% discount on the 2nd working spot) but alternating dogs works great 🙂
Looking at the video:
>>It was hard to keep him off the jump with the fc wrap in the beginning- bad camera view but I was making eye contact
It looks like your connection as clear but your motion took him towards the jump – he looked at you for confirmation then took the jump pat :02 and :24 and :28 (you had leg stepping back on those last 2 . It was harder to see on the other reps but you might have been too close to the jump, so he had some confusion. Being more in the gap can help
Since it is handling, you can assume it is handler error and reward (so he doesn’t jump on your back :))
For the serps, I think there was too much speed so he was staying parallel to you on a lot of the reps. He did come in and get the serp jump on some too, but y toucan help him out and get a higher success rate. To do this, you can slow down your motion (send to the wing from further away so you are visible between the uprights of the jump before he exits the wing wrap) and also angle the jump towards him a bit, so he can see the bump more. That will allow you to start to ad more and more motion too!
And, since the MM is a very obvious target (and he loves it :)) you can move it more to the landing side of the jump so it helps encourage him to take the jump.
Nice work here!
Tracy
