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Hi!
Working for 10 minutes is plenty! You can split it into even shorter time chunks – the heat is brutal this year! It is great that the sequence fits in the shade and she was so good staying in her down while you walked it!
Super job here on seq 4! Lovely connection throughout your runs!
Only 2 suggestions for you:
Her line up spot can be on a slightly more ofslice line at 1 on the first rep and also at 2:30. That way she is looking through the uprights of 1 on a as straight of a line to 2 as possible, which minimizes the turn to 2 (and makes the handling easier too!
You walked a blind at :06 between 5 and 6, and I think it is a great plan! So in your run, send to 4 and power to the blind. The send to 4 is the critical element of getting to it.
Or, if you feel behind and you can’t get the blind, you can push to the backside on your right with more eye contact and less arm coming forward (1:04)
She read that blind well at 1:28 when starting closer to it! And then when you ran it again, you really drove to the blind and it was great!
Strategically, you don’t need to be as close to the exit of2 or jumps 3 and 4… you can be maybe 1 meter further away and she will read the line perfectly (commitment looks great!) and then you easily have that blind!
Lovely job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
>>a bit more space and her excitment and arousal levels higher here.>>
Perfect!! You can spread things out more and that way you have to also run more, like a trial.
Overall, I think the sequences went REALLY well. Your connection was almost perfect! My suggestions are mostly about which way to turn her and some handling ideas.
Looking at sequence 1:
>>I got myself lost a few times- Fusion says how can she get it right when human doesnt.>>She makes a valid point there 🙂 Make sure you walk all the sequences several times before you run her so you can stay on course.
Keep going or reward – do not just call her back because that indicates error For example at :27, you stopped and she eventually got a treat… but you can just keep going, find a flow, then reward.
Here in training, she stops and freezes in those moments when you top for an error. That will translate to zoomies (I saw a little of that here when she grabbed a couple of jumps after a stop when you said “oops”) or other things in the ring so really emphasize staying in motion – no stopping for errors, no fixing. And if there is an error like an off course… take more time before you send her into the next rep. What I mean by that is that you should re-walk the sequence, figure out what needs to change in the handling. And if it is not obvious in the re-walk, you can watch the video. Running it again without assessing changes can be frustrating to her and ends up with too many reps.
She has a ton of good skills, so staying in motion and finding the flow no matte what happens will make a huge difference!
For the handling: I like the send to 1 and FC 2-3! Keep moving through the FCs at 2-3 though –
You are stopping until she gets to your leg which negates the advantage of getting ahead for the Fc and puts you in her way on the line (:19)Then also keep connected as you exit the FC, she stays on the correct side (:08).
When you had the flow after that, it went well. The wrap cue on 5 really helped keep her away from the off course #1 jump as she was heading to 6.
Seq 2:
The serp line at 2 looked good! I suggest a left turn on 3. The right turn makes 4 super hard of a line (it is on the other side of the jump from the way you sent her)On the 6-7 line – turning to the right on 7 is fine if it is an easy line to 8 – you can do it as a FC 6-7 to a FC wrap on the exit of 7. That FC 6-7 can happen before she takes off for 7, starting it when she is halfway to 6 after landing from 5. You were starting it when she was in the air which made the 7-8 line harder to cue.
Great job rewarding her when you didn’t support the line there enough at :30!
Seq 3:
Super nice getting this one on the first run! Yay! It is a brain puzzle and you nailed it!Seq 4: This also went well!
I think the 2-3-4 line will flow better for her if you turn her to her right on 3 – it sets up a really fast simple loop. Turin to her left over 3 sets up a harder turn to 4 then a harder turn to 5 and a harder turn to 6… which is also harder for you because you have to handle all of those turns.
That would mean a FC or BC between 2 or 3 to get her on your left for 3-4-5. That is something you can totally do, similar to what you did on sequence 1!The other spot to turn her the other direction is on 7 – if you turn her to her right, she exits 7 facing 8 and the line to 9, which is much easier for both of you! Turning her to her left ends up making the backs at 8 harder and she landed looking at the off course. She didn’t take the off course, but when you walk the sequences you can look at the different options for turn directions and see how that affect the lines.
Great job here!!
TracyHello and welcome! Auditing is great – that way you have no time pressure and no video pressure, but you can still update and make a lot of progress 🙂
>>We worked some of the hot topic in Pkg 1 with Jamie. It was a disaster!! He could not get the concept of the wide 180* (1-2) in setup 1. He kept cutting in and trying to take 2 as a threadle slice.>>
Maybe he needed a backside cue? as well as a little more motion support? He is still a baby dog 🙂 You can also angle jump 2 to face him more so it is less of a 180, and then reward LOTS for taking it. Over time we then gradually angle it back to that flatter angle.
>> Which is crazy because in the few trials we have done, he powers through with tons of distance.>>
He is probably in a more optimized state of arousal in trials… higher! Try getting him higher (tugging, being sill with tricks, etc) and see if that helps!
>> Then when I set him up to take the 3-4 as a threadle, he kept taking the front side of the jump.
That is likely more of a handler timing issue – you were probably early with a young dog.
>>Interesting enough, I find him much more focused in the trial setting (indoor, turf) than in practice. He is obsessed with eating grass.The smallest disconnect or failure and he wants to graze.>>
Arousal! Get him higher in training. And also… simply do not let him know there has been a disconnect or failure. The grass eating is a stress behavior – so if something goes sideways, the two options are to either keep going like it didn’t happen (freestyle and make up a course if you need to, in the moment LOL!) or stop and reward like you have just won the world championships.
Separately – do you remember the Find My Face game from MaxPup 1? That is one of the golden tickets to eliminating stress behavior when there is a blooper. You can revisit it!
Keep me posted 🙂
TracyYes, that could be the difference! If you feel her arousal is pretty optimal in the trial ring, you should try to duplicate it in practice because the science tells us it is important 😂
If her arousal is not optimal in the trial ring, we can try to dial it in! It is fun to do it.
T
Hi!
>Am I correct to assume that you just put the Cato board back a bit from the jump so he has more room to take the actual jump after siting?>>
Not really, it is pretty close but the bar starts really low. It is usually a couple of inches from the bar.
>>How do you use it for slice jumping. Do you put the Cato board at the slice point, have them sit and ask for the slice jump from a static sit position?>>
Basically yes, it is a big progression 🙂 but they learn to organize to do that sideways jumping required for the slicing.
He is doing well with the tight sit! You can feed a little lower I think so he doesn’t have to lift up to get the treat, and be careful with the cookie release so he doesn’t torque himself getting off the plank.
The sit to stand is a good one, both the rock back and tuck variations.
>>I also included a zig zag grid session for your thoughts. I’m still getting ticks when the speed increases slightly. Should I lower the bars more? other changes?>>
Some ideas for you on the zig zag:
Only change one variable with the grid at a time. If you tighten it, don’t move. Or if you move, don’t tighten it. Otherwise we are asking him to process too much at once and you will get ticks.
What is the distance he is working? He is pretty tall.
I don’t think you should lower the bars, but you can use fewer jumps. I get this really good on 2 jumps, then 3 jumps, then so on. I think the video had 5 jumps? It might be too hard for now because as he was gathering speed and momentum, he was not able to control it and was ticking the bars a bit.
Also, I don’t really use a stationary target on grids anymore (because the dogs are trying to prepare to stop) but if you do, put it a lot further away so he doesn’t have to prepare to stop til he is 2 extension strides past landing.
I know that everyone else is using stationary targets but we have had amazing results with the moving targets 🙂
>>Yes, I’ve noticed he started doing that. I’ve seen it before with the Tervs. What can I do to help him with the follow-through form?>>
Those bars should definitely be lower so he has an easier time processing the mechanics (12” for now to start) and so he doesn’t rehearse the hoisting mechanics.
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
She is looking great and you are doing a fabulous job of really driving through the handling! Yay! Things are coming together so nicely! And she had plenty of tight turns – anything that was wider than wanted was more due to handling info.>>you need to trust her on the 180 and get moving up the line!>>
Yes! And also sometimes consider a rear which is also very effective (see below). I have won plenty of classes with a nice rear cross when everyone else was trying to get blinds and ended up with wide turns or off courses.
Run 1 starts after the release to 1, so we will assume she was perfect 🙂 Nice blind 2-3! Nice layering and keeping her out on the line! Nice threadle!
2nd run – be careful on how you use your hands on the mark and on the releases. If you move your arm fast and high on the release, and do it the same way on the mark… she is going to release thinking that it is indeed a release to begin (:14)
You were better with the arm at :23 but she has some confusion (movement and not looking at the jump)
It is entirely possible that she is one of those dogs that will not stare at the jump (um, whippet… LOL!) so if she doesn’t look at it you can release her and see if she takes it, then reward. She didn’t look at the jump at :40 and took it perfectly. The staring at the jump is something that Border Collies and field dogs do, but Whippety dogs are not really into staring at things that will not be moving LOL!
On the tunnel on the 9-10-11 line, she might need her tunnel threadle cue as you move up the line (:45) – you did it at :56 and it worked great
I think that the BC on the tunnel exit here is not needed… it is brutal to show on time with a dog of her speed and also the RC here is just as effective to show the line to the jump and probably MORE effective to get the turn on the jump, because you don’t have to decelerate or manage a turn cue.
At 1:11 you got her attention on the blind but the turn was a little wide and so was the turn on the jump. You can use your tunnel left and then slide into a lovely rear cross… great turns and you will still be ahead! On the 2nd run, she was tighter on the tunnel exit but she had already seen the sequence 🙂She is doing well with her weaves!! That is a hard entry and a hard layer! She got it and read the threadle after it. Super!
1:54 – she read the handling correctly. The FC at 2:09 was definitely better! And the left/tunnel on the jump looked GREAT at 2:10!
Full run 1 and 2
Why not layer? You went to the other side of the tunnel on the 5-6-7 line and I think it put you a little out of position. On the first run, you had. at :19 bar down at 8 – not enough turn cue there on the jump before the tunnel. And her line was a little wider on the 2nd run. It might actually work as a backside verbal, based on her size and the line!
On the 2nd run, the threadle was wider on the 7 jump because you were pushing in around the tunnel.1st full run: Good turn on tunnel exit with the blind but wide on the turn after it – you can consider a brake arm or a spin there. Or a rear cross LOL!
2nd full run – she as wide on the blind cross tunnel exit and then you were on her line so she took the backside of the jump. I mean, the rear cross there would be easier and get a sweet line too 🙂 If it is still set up, let’s play with the rear cross!
I think the rest was pretty fantastic – the only wide turns were on the jump that landed her looking at the DW. Even with it blocked off, it is a big visual draw for her, so no worries about that. Everything else was great!
You left the threadle after the weaves too soon on. The 2nd video so she didn’t take the jump – wait in the threadle spot until she turns her head to look at the jump. And then by the end I think yo were a bit fatigued because you were pulling her off things . So good job recognizing that and finshing up – there was SO MUCH GREAT STUFF here that you didn’t need to keep working it.
Great job!
TracyGood morning! She is looking great here!!! And I agree, she is looking for that first jump better. We will be seeing that challenge more and more, so we will really solidify it this summer.
She had a little trouble with her middle cue. There were some banging noises in the background that maybe were worrying her? Gunshots or fireworks or something? But after that she was great with her lineups!
Yes, as you mentioned, you were a little too early looking forward so she read it as a blind cross (smart girl!) Good rewarding!
The 2nd run looked fabulous – great job getting the opening line and layering on the tunnel send! She has lovely speed so we will want to use a lot of layering to get you way up the lines.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
It was great seeing you too!!!!>>Saphira’s training has been a patchwork. If you remember we struggled a lot when she was younger. So we’ve probably got quite a few holes in our training. >>
I think these sequences went really well!!!! Most of my ideas are handling suggestions, such as timing or connection things. Yay! The only training thing to add is more forward focus on the jump, as a cued behavior when you arrive in your lead out position. Ideally, she goes directly to jump 1 rather than zig zag (:15 :43 on seq 1. :10 on seq 2, :18, :31 on seq 4, etc). You can really see how important it is on Seq 4, but I think it is also important on th simpler lines so she is looking at the jumping and sorting her jumping, all before the release.
It is easy to add indoors if the weather is poopy: with her in a sit stay, you can put a toy on the ground or a food bowl. Then lead out a tiny bit, use a slow-moving arm/leg to point to it, and when she looks at it: release her to it (or use a marker for it, both are great for this stage).
Then we add it to a jump but putting the toy or food bowl on the other side of the jump. Then we fade it and use the jump and throw a reward.
The reason I suggest a slow-moving arm/leg to become the indicator is that if you do a fast point, she might break her stay. Your releases here also had arm movement involved so we don’t want to confuse her or set her up for failure.
Seq 1:
2-3 is definitely a natural line to the backside (a common trend nowadays) so on the 2nd rep you had more decel and pulled away a little to help her adjust the line. Yay! But that bought the off course tunnel when you started moving again – I think you wanted the backside at 4 based on handling, and I couldn’t hear a tunnel verbal? But great job rewarding her so it was hard for me to tell 🙂
You can also stay in motion more by using a verbal turn cue between 1 and 2 (so she approaches 2 turning to you) and then the threadle cue for 2-3. That can make handling 3-4 a lot easier!Seq 2:
This went well! I am pretty sure you wanted the tunnel on this one 🙂 You were really lateral as she was approaching 3 so if you want to get the layering with the tunnel, you can be closer to 3 so she accelerates past you and you don’t decelerate and have to wait for her. There is a lot of strategy in this layering thing!Seq 3:
She read the serpy opening line really well! You can decelerate more as she lands from 1 and heads to 2, partially so you can a turn before takeoff on 2 for the rap, and partially to put you on a great line for the FC to 3.You can also stick closer to 3 and 4 to set up the layering to the tunnel if you wanted to layer the jump rather than run into the gap between them.
I think she broke her stay on the 2nd run here – you can totally stop and bring her back for a re-start, because there might be some confusion about when she should release if you run. And, because things happened sooner than you expected, the cues for 2 were late and she hit the bar.
Nice job driving into the blind at 1:05! You can start it sooner, she seems to have really strong commitment. Looking at 1:04, she is locked onto it just after she finishes 4, so you can start the BC so the new connection is visible to her before she takes off for 5. The connection at 1:06 was a shade late which is why she was a little wide (she aw it after she landed). You can also call her so she is expected the turn there – verbals really help in these jump/tunnel discriminations,
Seq 4 – this I where the forward focus can really help get you into great position! Without it, she is looking at 2 like at :18, :31 and :44, even with the step to it at :31 and :44. You did a great job trying to help her out, like showing her the jump at :44 before leading out, and at 1:01 staying closer. At 1:23 she had it (you pointed at it before you lead out a bit). At 1:51, you didn’t indicate the jump before the lead out and also were further away and she said he was not ready for that by taking 2 instead of 1 when released. Staying closer at 2:10 helped!
The connection element of the BC can happen sooner at 2:14 – the side change was almost complete as she was lifting off to the jump which is really good timing! But the visible eye contact (with your arm back) came at 2:15 when she was locked onto the tunnel.
Because she is young and relatively inexperienced, the connection has to pop out sooner – one way to do it is to keep your arms in tighter to you and in your back pockets 🙂 so that as you start the turn, the eye contact is very quick and easy to show. When she is more experienced, I think she will read the cue you did here.
Good job on 2:31 showing her the jump before the lead out, and keeping the lead out short! I LOVED your BC timing here at 2:37! Really timely and her commitment was great. Freeze the video at 2:38 as she is over 3: look at that connection! YESSSSSSS!!!
Seq 5: the first minute or so of this is the same as sequence 4.
When you picked up sequence 5, it started at about 1:17.She found 1 very nicely! At 1:27, the commitment cue for 2 is keeping your arm back in serp position and maintaining connection until she turns to look at the jump. You turned forward too soon which cued her to go past the jump. You moved into the blind on the 2nd rep and it worked well – you had great connection to 2! I think the serp plan you started with was slightly better because you can get the serp and the FC on 2 sooner without having to also do the timing of the BC 1-2.
The wrap exit on 2 looked really good – nice decel and rotation coming into it! And the cues from the tunnel to the backside also looked great!
Seq 6: this one went well too!
On the collected exit of 3, add a little more decel and turn verbal so she collects before takeoff. My only other suggestion is to keep your shoulders open to her more (like a serp) for the 4 backside to support the jumping line there.Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyOmg that will require a lot of caffeine for times when you run them both LOL But it makes sense that you should both use the same verbals 😀
Hi!
<> I think a lot of it is me but some of it is arousal related.>> When training, do you get her into an arousal state that is similar to how she’ll be in the trial ring? You can use the toy to get it and then it will be help prep for you both!
>>I do better with the full out running on regular courses but the small courses I get stuck in the between because I feel like I get out of her way, so I’m glad I’ll have plenty of practice with small space stuff.>>
Yeah, I agree that tighter smaller courses can actually be harder to handle with a powerhouse dog like Sahweet!!
T
Welcome back!
I figure with the heat, we will all be out training at sunrise lol!!!The Friedman and Sternberg opportunities are too good to pass up. I was seriously considering the Sternberg trip!!! Can’t wait to hear all about it, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of Kool too!
TracyHi! Welcome back! It is to see you and meet the 2 new campers, Sahweet and Puddin’ 🙂 So fun!!
>>Sahweet is a power house and way faster than any dog I’ve ever run. She’s AMAZING and tries so dang hard. We are working on putting it all together but tend to have just one thing right now. She’s learning to handle me running all out without her head exploding. She’s really pushy but I adore every hair on her.>>
Yes! She is VERY fun and powerful – and she is doing great with you running because the sequence that you ran the most on was also the sequence that you absolutely nailed. So we will keep working on the whole running thing! It was fun watching her to try to figure out what she needs (or doesn’t need :))
>>Puddin is still just a baby. We are really green. She’s got really good understanding of the skills she does know but I’ve taken things slow. She had little self preservation for some things but can also be on the softer side if she thinks she’s wrong.>>
I think the “just keep going after an error” will really help her – you can freestyle a fast and fun line and reward her line you just won.it.all!
Looking at Miss Sahweet:
Seq 1:
She is doing great with her forward focus on jump 1! You were way up by 3! She does better with her jumping when she looks at the jump a little more rather than the half-an-eyelash 🙂 At :32 it as a half-an-eyelash moment and she pulled the bar. So if she doesn’t give you a pretty decent look, ask her again for it before you release her (she might be annoyed but it is better for the jumping LOL!) You can also start her a stride further back so she has more room to set up the sliceAnd about that threadle line 2-3: yup, it I is definitely one of those semi-hidden threadles we are seeing nowadays! You were a little late cuing it on the first couple of reps but you were really in locking in the timing at 1:05: you had the turn cue for 2 (which is very helpful to set her up for the threadle!) starting when she landed from 1 then the threadle before she took off for 2. Now keep that timing and add your motion. She seems like the type that would quite enjoy intense cues, so feel free to be big and loud in your verbals and arms cues so she reads the threadle line as you run.
Sequence 2:
She had trouble with the first bar at 1:12 – because you were stationary then starting moving as she was lifting off? Because it was a pretty severe slice? Both? She did not have trouble after that, so it might be a combination of more experience needed and her line up position was a little better on the other reps (you were moving on the other reps as well, so if the movement was the issue then she worked it out nicely!)
Question about your verbals with her:
She can turn a lot tghter on the exit of 2 which will make 3 easier too. You were saying dig there and a few other places, so what specifically should it mean? Wrap or general collection?I think you can add a brake arm (outside arm joining dog side arm and decel as you say the verbal) on the send to 2 as she lands from 2, to get more collection – let me know how she does with that!
She cracked me up at 1:27 when she moved in the stay, caught herself, put herself BACK in the stay and looked around like “what? I was here the whole time?” Hahahahahaha
On the FC at 3: She is jumping out to your position on 3 and pulled the bar there because she didn’t know the line was heading back to 4 on the first rep.
She did not read the send to 4 at 1:51, a little disconnected as you tried to move away to the next section. But them you made a great adjustment:
You got the BEST turn on 3 out of all the reps when you *ran* into it at 2:01 – she read the line better, you showed decel and a much better line. And the send to 4 was MUCH more connected. Then you *nailed* the blind on the jump at 2:06 – YES! Great job driving into that, your motion helped a LOT and the sequence looked great.
So definitely keep moving! That will help us sort out her timing needs and how powerful you can make the cues.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! These went really well, lots of good reps here!
>>Big thing I noticed was when I ovr thought or focused on something I felt was hard Iforgot to keep going…>>
Yes, you will have to actively tell yourself in the moment to either keep going or praise & reward. If you stop or get quiet… she seems to get stressed. So the reward must always come before the reset or the re-start, whether it comes from stopping and rewarding or continuing and rewarding.
On the videos:
Video 1, Seq 1: nice work! Great connection! And really nice adjustment to use the threadle on jump 2-3, that worked really well.
For the start – she found the first jump but it will be useful if we can get you into a more lateral lead out spot. What is her stay status? We can figure out how to maximize the forward focus and lead out without adding stress.Video 2:
She turned to the right on jump 1 because you were on the line to the center of the bar (which indicates rear cross) as she was making a takeoff decision. No worries. Rather than have her freeze out by the jump, you can just say your “yay good girl” like you used on the previous video and reward, so you can reset and start again from a better spot while also giving her practice in coming back happily after something has gone wrong.The rest of this sequence went well!
Video 3:
This one also had really strong connection!
Layering right at the beginning was a good way to use lateral distance without a lead out.
The 3 jump should be the backside though – you had her turn right on the front side, which set up a harder line to 4
The FC at :10 and the BC at :39 were effective in terms of getting her turned – it is hard to tell from the camera angle, but it looks like you were moving too much towards the tunnel while you did the cross so she went wide based on your position. That then caused you to push her back to 6 which set the line to the off course jump.Hard to see what happened next- after the first off course, it looked like you praised her and she came right back for a treat. Yay! After the second off course, you didn’t praise or anything so she was more tentative about coming back… remember to always praise and reward the off course if you don’t keep going, otherwise she gets concerned. Then take a moment to look at the video and you will see the handling that caused the off course 🙂
It looks like you took a moment to show her the line to the tunnel, but you don’t need to do that 🙂 The off course was entirely cued by handling, so it is better to *not* show her the sequence so that she can continue to give you feedback about the handling.
You got it with more decel and verbal at :53 and on the last rep but be sure to also reward the off courses so that she doesn’t get stressed if you stop.
Video 4:
This is the same opening but with the easier ending to the tunnel – very nice! Great connection and verbals!Video 5 – she turned to her right on jump one for. The same reason as video 2 (you were on the line to the center of the bar which looks like a RC line). Line her up on a slice facing jump 2 so she knows which way to go when she starts moving. This time you brought her back and reset. Just be sure to praise and call her while you do it – she froze a bit then jumped up at you. So, you can totally praise then line her up again with the treat.
The rest of the sequence looked good!Video 6:
You layered the opening here too which can be effective but in this case, you were pulling towards the tunnel too much so she looked towards you to see the line and knocked the bar.Then when you did the FC to the jump, you were very close to the tunnel, moving forward, and at :06, your dog-side arm was forward – that blocked connection and she didn’t see the side change, so she took the tunnel. As you exit the cross, be sure to have your dog side arm pointing back to her and look at her eyes, so she sees the side change. Think of it as looking at where she is (behind you) and not where you want her to be (next to you).
Call and praise immediately – it looked like she took off or kept going, so we don’t want to telegraph that anything was wrong on her part, so either keep running or praise/reward.
She got it on the next 2 reps – you added more verbal and that helped! It looks like the way the sequence was set that the line does indeed take her to the backside of the 5 jump, so you would need a threadle there like you added at :38. . Be sure to keep going or reward that off course, she was being a good girl!
Great job!!
TracyHi!
Seq 1:
The threadle cue worked great! The sequence went well overall!The bar on 2 is hard. Staying closer to it and connected really helps her – she touched the wing on the first rep (bar stayed up) and the bar came down on the 2nd rep (:18) when at :17 you turned your head forward (looking ahead, which drew her focus off the jumping and to you) and were pretty far ahead of her too.
After the blind at 4 to get 5: she barked at you at :08 when you pointed ahead (blocks connection and changes the line of your shoulder). At
:20, you didn’t point ahead and instead kept your arm back til she passed you: this showed more connection and line support, and she was great! No trash talking from her LOL!On sequence 2:
Be sure to support the lines for laying on a parallel path as well as the verbal.
Rep 1 had a conflicting indicator: the verbal said go tunnel but physical cues said to turn, so she went with the physical cues. On the second rep at :43 and 3rd rep at :54 you stayed closer and help the parallel line until she was looking at and moving to the tunnel. Super!!!Speaking of tunnels:
>>However, we struggled with forward focus out of the tunnel (0:56). This is a common problem for us. I can get the forward focus on the first obstacle consistently, but I often can’t get her back off of handler focus during the run, and she just stares at me and barks while curling in. >>
Forward focus on the line is all about placement of reinforcement and handling cues 🙂 For her, throw all of the reward miles and miles away from you on the lines, especially on the tunnel exits – and for now, never feed from your hand on course even if it is just a reward after a mess up 🙂
You tend to drop the reward relatively close to the tunnel exit, so she curls toward you (like at :13 and :26, and also at the end of 3B like 2:30). Dropping the reward close to you promotes the habit of curling towards you and we can shift that by having you accelerate and throw the reward as far as possible.
>>I know I can throw or place a reward out there, but that doesn’t help me during a bigger sequence, >>
Consistency of throwing it (not placing it in advance) will develop the habit of driving forward.
Plus, consistency of cues before it will help a lot too!
At :45 and 1:14 barked after tunnel – you were quiet as she entered and decelerated so she turned on the exit. To get a straight exit, you need to say GO GO GO and accelerate before she enters. If you might end up too far ahead, you can run in closer to the tunnel so you can show the acceleration,
At :56 you said right before she entered (which cues a turn on the tunnel exit) so she turned to her right on the exit, she was 100% correct. You rewarded which is good but reward by throwing the toy miles and miles away 🙂
So I think the combo of long long reward throws for all tunnel exits (and jump lines!) plus more clarity of handling before it will help solve the tunnel question!
3A – nice layering to the tunnel on the first rep and at 2:02! Both of those had a parallel line of motion from you until you saw her look at the tunnel, then you peeled away.
There was a conflicting indicator at 1:37 second rep: mouth said tunnel and body said turn turn turn.
Same thing happened at 1:49 – you said jump but were peeling away, so she came into the gap to the jump you were facing. Good girl! In those moments, you can reward by letting her take whatever line she is heading toward then throw a reward 3 miles down the street 🙂3B went well too – she never looked at the off course tunnel! To tight then line after the blind, you can add more connection as you exit the blind. Keep your arm back to her nose so she can see the eye contact – think of it as looking/pointing back to where she is, not where you want her to be. You had your arm down at your side and look down at your side, so she was a bit wider there while sorting out the info. I use the exit line connection skill of my opposite arm across my belly, to really help get my dog-side arm back and out of the way.
Second video: She found jump 1 perfectly! Yay!
She definitely had a question on jump 3! I wonder if a brake arm would help her? That is a soft opposite arm joining your dog-side arm as you turn from 2-3. It helps cue the collection better for most dogs and she might find it helpful!Sequence 4b, blind cross 3-4:
I think the timing was pretty strong in starting it but you can be more connected back to her like I mentioned above.>>I’m worried that she’ll knock a bar if I blind and leave it “unsupported,”>>
You can support it with connection!
Since we are obsessing on reward placement on lines after the tunnel:
At :34 you tossed the reward to her as she was looking at you. Replace that with throwing it like an Olympic javelin thrower (super far!), before she looks at you . We can change the habit of looking at you on lines.Sequence 5
She read the 1-2 line really well! As you indicate 2, you can decel sooner so you don’t end up going past the wing. That will get a really tight turn there.At :44 and :59 you gave your threadle cue but also closed your shoulder forward – it is a good camera angle! She can’t really see the exact side to be on until you get closer to the jump. The arm and eyes back to her nose will help get a more immediate drive on the line.
At :48 you gave the back cue (a forward cue) before she went into the tunnel, so she exited pretty straight! Yay! After the backside, you can reward with the toy on landing, but keep moving through so that the toy is nowhere near you 🙂
The back cue was a little later at 1:02 so her line was not as straight plus she had just been rewarded near you, so was gravitating towards you (because food is LIFE! I can relate, I must be a Sheltie LOL!)Sequence 6:
She read the opening well here too! I bet you can leave jump 2 sooner (you were still between the uprights at 1:09) so she went a little wide then had to wait for info about 3 = but then she sent to 3 beautifully! You left a little sooner on the last rep and she had a better line there.
Nice job with the backside and the tunnel sending! This is a tunnel exit where you can throw the reward super far and long too – both reps had the reward curling her back in towards you.>>I plan to move on to the jumpers course next rather than do another round with sequences 4-6, especially since the main point was the forward focus, and I think we have that down, at least for the first jump, haha!>>
Yes, she did great with her forward focus on jump 1. You can move to the jumping courses! And apply the “all rewards thrown 75 miles away especially on tunnel exits” concept to those 🙂
Great job on these!
Tracy
