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Hi!
I think the tunnel threadle session went really well and also she gave you good feedback 🙂
When you were connected and moving the right direction (like towards the tunnel entry you wanted) – she was perfect every time throughout the video. YAY!!!
When you were moving the right way, but not connected? She had questions, like when you went from the tunnel to the wing at 1:54 and 1:58 and she didn’t know which side of the wing to be on. Watch it in slow motion and you will see that your arm was high and you were looking forward, so she didn’t see connection – and connection provides the info as to which side to be on.
Compare it to 2:13 with MUCH clearer connection and she nailed it!When you were connected by pulling up too short in your motion and not driving to where you wanted her to be? That was harder for her to read, so she would stop short too. For example, that is when she stopped going into the tunnel like at 2:48 and 2:59 – you were stopping short so she was not sure if she should keep moving.
So, stay connected, keep moving 🙂
>> I am thinking maybe I was crowding her on the way to the tunnel for the threadles on the later reps. >>
Yes- on those last couple, like at 3:15, you were rear crossing her line before she was committed to the tunnel so she turned.
One thing to do on these is to keep moving and watching her head – and when you see her head to turn the tunnel entry, that is your cue to also turn and go to the next spot 🙂
The tight blinds are super connected and worked really well! You can start to do the blind sooner – when she is about a foot away from the wing an looking at it/driving to it, you can start the blind so you are finished and reconnected before she exits the wing.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>With my other dogs, for an offside tunnel, I use my dog side arm and tap my leg
to pull and push. >>Something to consider- that will be effective when you are pretty ahead of the dog, but not as effective when you are behind or when the judge puts an off course jump or another tunnel there (which is currently the course design trend). So it is worthwhile to consider driving the line directly to th ecorrect obstacle because a pull or push could open up off courses obstacles as things get more complex.
>>For the running more, I don’t have much space with 18ft to run. So should I meet her at the exit of the tunnel? Or/and move the jumps out farther? Or/and use my longer tunnel?>>
You can meet her more at the tunnel exit, use as much space between jumps as possible, and use a short tunnel too!
>> If I say Left etc before a jump they are likely to turn Left before the jump.>>
Try it with them in a training session and see what they do! Maybe if you are moving to the jump they will take it and not turn in front of it?
>>So my timing for Mochi’s Verbals is new to me. But we are enthusiastic to have that kind of commitment from her. 😎>>
You will love the commitment!!!!!!
>>Will reward when I stop. She does get that Hard Angry voice. In the moment, My intuition says reward. But I must admit I’m guilty of trying to Save Time during the video…giving her the tug and getting it back for a treat takes precious seconds of our 2 min time.>>
No worries, you don’t have to be exactly 2 minutes. If you spend a few extra seconds rewarding each time? You’ll end up with a few extra seconds in the session but it is time well spent for sure.
>>Yes, she sees tunnel bags in class. Never had a need for them at home. I put the wings behind the tunnel for her because she doesn’t like it when it rolls.>>
Perfect! I just didn’t want her to be surprised by the giant tunnel bags 🙂
>Weirdly in my private today, I asked her to take a tunnel and she went to the side a few times before going in. Once she went in, however, she was fine with it, and did it multiple times. It was shorter than at home, bright blue, and brand new, practically just out of the box. She’s taken other tunnels in different class. Weird.>>
New tunnel, new smell, new color. Weird so she needed a moment. Totally normal and fine 🙂
>>On another note. I believe you once said for dogs that bark a lot, you can put the bark On Comand and then Stop on Command. Well, I finally discovered a specific noise I can make that will trigger her to bark on that noise. So can you please tell me how to cultivate that into Bark On Command and Stop on Command. And, oddly enough, it when I say
‘Achoo’. 🤪>>Oh! HAHA! I said that it is an old wive’s tale that putting barking on cue and the never cuing it will get the dog to NOT bark (it doesn’t work) and also bark – then -shut up as cues doesn’t really work either. Barking is soooo joyous for the dog that if you teach a bark on cue… you will get more barking and yes, you will say “shut up!” more but they won’t shut up LOL!! I still teach the dogs to bark on cue because it is SO great for engagement, then I tune out the extra barking LOL!!
>>Also, I’m not finding how much longer we can submit videos?
I can’t find it either! I know it is here somewhere. On my main calendar, the date is November 22 so that gives us plenty of time 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
These all look really good!He thought the first game was really easy and fun – tug like mad, eat a treat scatter. Heaven!
On the 2nd video, can you see his body relaxing as he was snuffling? High fast tail wagging to start, then his body really relaxed and he had a different (very chill) body language.
So definitely keep playing this game to ‘teach’ his body how to do this, and bring the snuffle mat with you as you go to new places to help with decompression!He was great with find my face! He thought it was super weird at first but then caught on fast and was happy to find you when you disconnected.
Good job adding the little sequence. You were rewarding him for taking the jump, but remember that you can disconnect as he is on a sequence and reward him for finding your face 🙂Great job here! You can use the decompression as part of every day training life! And keep practicing find my face so he in prepared in case you disconnect on a real course 🙂
Tracy
Yes, Contraband is Poeta x Quicksilver aka Breeder Drama x Breeder Drama LOL!!! No worries 🙂
If it is too hard to deal with, just keep her intact for now and leave things alone and revisit later on 🙂
T
>>This was ENTIRELY too much for my immature baby.
Yes, 4 days is a LOT even for adult dogs (and adult humans LOL!!) If you are at a 4 day trial, you can run day 1 and day 3, or day 2 and 4 – no need to run every day. Rest is helpful!
>>Yes, she’s 23 months old, but she’s a very young-in-the-head 23 month old.
23 months old is still fully adolescent, so she is pretty normal. The scientists tell us that adolescence doesn’t end in dogs til closer to 3 or maybe 4 years old. Eek!
>>She has the skills but as you can see as the days wore on she became more and more frazzled until I FINALLY got the message on the 4th day and took her over just one jump so she could experience some fun in the ring. I post these videos so others may benefit from what an overwhelmed young dog looks like when over aroused and not able to cope.>>
She does have the obstacle skills but not in the trial environment, not quite yet. And the coping skills are what she needs for sure! So for now, the only thing I would suggest you do in a trial is just play tug with the toy she liked in run 1 – no obstacles, no handling. You don’t even have to take the leash off! AKC is an expensive venue to do this in, so finding UKI or ASCA or CPE will give you more runs to do this for less money 🙂 UKI also has ways to use food in NFC and I bet she would like that!
One thing to keep in mind is when she is running off in the ring at a trial, she is looking to get out of the ring. I dno’t think even one jump in run 4 was fun, because she didn’t really get to play. So for now, put the emphasis on training in different places and working the pattern games and volume dial and remote reinforcement. Then, when she can run training sequences in new places with engagement, you can bring it back to trials for NFC. She will tell you what she is ready for 🙂
Were you able to work any of the pattern games outside the ring? If so, how did she do?
Tracy
Hello and welcome!!
>.The last trial, we just entered 3 runs FEO. It was a masters-only trial so we couldn’t run for real anyway – haha. But there were two gamblers runs so I was free to work on whatever for 40 seconds.>>
How did it go? Did he have any struggles?
>>He’s at that adolescent boy-dog stage, so working on dialling down his excitement a tad.>>
I love those adolescent boy dogs LOL!!! He did really well here. Definitely add in the pattern games and the volume dial game, because that will help teach him the arousal regulation he needs.
The sequences look great here!
First video – very nice run!! Yes, line him up on a slice but you already caught that 🙂
He had a good turn on 3, nice job cuing it! He slowed down a bit 3-4 because you had to finish the rotation – a blind cross there might be more effective because it is easier to finish the rotation and move up the next line sooner, making for an even better turn on 3, 4, 5 (those were a little late because you got behind on the FC). Blinds can produce surprisingly lovely turns!!And excellent job with your connection throughout 🙂
2nd run – he has a great stay! I liked your position on the line between 2 and 3 at :28 but you can rotate your feet to 3 (rather than facing the tunnel) Facing the tunnel caused him to jump straight in extension over 2 and turn after landing
Note the difference in your position at 1:26 – still in basically the same spot, but feet facing 3 and upper body facing 2 – NICE TURN! You can start to move sooner, trust him to stay on his line as long as you stay connected like you did (your connection is lovely!)
You can add a little deceleration and a wrap verbal on 3 to tighten up that turn a little. But overall it was lovely!
3rd video: Nice line up position! He read the opening perfectly.
With big stride, you can start the decel for the send to 3 while he is over 2, so when he lands from 2, you can send and leave for the BC. You started the decel into the send when he landed so the send happened as he was approaching takeoff of 3, so he was wide on 3. It was one stride too late for such a big striding dude 🙂 So starting the decel into it as he is over 2 will get it on time.
That will get you up the line sooner so as soon as you see his feet lift off for 3, you can disconnect and start the blind (as you run up the line as fast as you can 🙂 )
For the RC, try not to pull to your right then move into it – you will get a sweeter line and stay further ahead if you drive directly to the center of the bar on jump 5 – he will pass you and do the rear smoothly.
The only spot on any of these runs so far where you needed more connection was at :21 here – your arm starting coming up and forward and you were looking a little ahead, which turned you away from the jump and he looked at you, questioning the line. On the last rep, you made an excellent adjustment – kept the big connection and arms stayed low, so he had no questions and found his line. SUPER!! So definitely keep the low arms and big connections, he does brilliantly with that.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I totally replied to this yesterday but clearly I never hit “submit”. SORRY!!!<> Frantic is an excellent, accurate description. I can’t avoid thinking that she is going to leave me and go hunting …lizards under tunnel bags, behind the white barrier to the side of the A-frame and on the back wall. Someday I hope I will have her full attention.>>
I can totally relate! But she is a talented dog and you are doing a great job handling her, so it is totally worth it to help her get comfy in the ring!
>>Funny thing about the table… according to Dr. Brainiac, patterns create neuro pathways…or something like that. We have played lots of tugging and food games on the table since she was a baby. Who would have guessed she’d drive to it on a course. 😂>>
HAHA!! Practice makes pathways 🙂 So now we just need to make other pathways too!
>>I was ALMOST using food as a lure? Oh, I assure you, I WAS using food as a lure. 😂
Also relatable! My first agility dogs were Dalmatians so I spent a lot of time with panic cookies in front of them, trying to keep them from running off (spoiler alert: they ran off faster LOL!!)
>>Yes, I will use the up and down game and take the leash off while we do that. I will practice calmness.>>
Let me know how she does with adding the pattern games, right in the ring! And I affectionately call the calmness “Team Fake Chill” because we are not actually calm… we are totally faking it LOL!!
>>The leash is such a big thing! I don’t know who has bigger feelings about it – her or me!>>
Yes! That moment of taking the leash off can be scary if we don’t know what the heck the dog is gonna do. All of these games will help both of you feel more comfy in that moment.
Tracy
Hi!
>>Yes, she really likes the Cato board. I can try it if you think I should.>>
Try it! Make it really fun with lots of cookies and see how she goes! (FYI, UKI does allow Cato boards in the ring for training start lines in NFC runs :))
>>We worked on find my face the past few days and did that after a few jumps (unrecorded). She came right around to my front. ☺️>>
Super! That will give her something else to do if you accidentally disconnect, rather than bite you or hunt lizards 🙂
These videos are sequence 1 of the mid course sequences.
First run on the video (but I think it was not the first run in the session, based on your notes?) – amazing. YAY! You were a little far ahead for the rear cross so had to wait for her. With her speed, pop into the blind cross so you can keep moving 🙂
2nd run – the wind was CRAZY so maybe she was concernd? You noted on the video that you needed your imaginary dog but the run went well. So maybe there was a run left off? She did really well!
Last run on the video, first run according to the notes: SUPER nice!
At the end, you lost a tiny bit of connection on the way to the last jump: you started looking forward at the obstacles and not at her, so she pulled off the jump. Even though she missed a jump and you reacted to it, note how she circled back and found it and then she did FIND MY FACE at 1:20. YAY!! You gave her big praise and it looks like lots of cookies: Perfect 🙂The very last run on th video was the blind at the end. The opening looked great again and you nailed the blind. Happy dance!!!
So yes, keep handling like this: aggressive and connected. And in class where it is so much harder, handle like this but add a cato board to see if it helps her, and starting further from the pressure and distractions. And, add in the pattern games in the ring, and a litlte bit of find my face 🙂 You can think of that game as rewarding her for not jumping on you and not hunting lizards LOL!!
Have you started the remote reinforcement? That is a good one to add here.
Great job!
TracyHi!
Did she say why the breeder wouldn’t approve, or it is just breeder politics? There are lots of breeder politics out there 🙂 I mean, my whippet baby come from world-record holding royalty so it is not like there is anything wrong with the dog 🙂 Or maybe she wants smaller dogs only (both of my boys are over 20″ tall).
Either way, you will definitely want a say in the stud dog. At least the breeder is willing to consider breeding! So that is a step forward. The next step is to gently massage her into letting you have a say in the stud (so many great stud dogs out there!!!!)
T
Hi! I am excited for you to try these when you get her back!!! They will be very helpful for her, I believe.
Sorry about the missing PDF – I had a brain fart 🙂 It is visible now!
Tracy
Hi!
>> He did the up/down game the first time I tried it, but the other times he ignored the cookie. So I switched to the back/forth game which worked. It seemed harder for him to do the up/down game after he was stimulated by the first run.>>
Interesting! It probably has to do with his need to move when he is in higher arousal (back and forth has movement, up and down really doesn’t). You could do a couple of reps of back and forth then try up and down mixed in to see if he can eat. If he can’t eat, try moving a little further away and see what happens.
>> Does this mean we need to play it more in less stimulating environments until it’s stronger?>>
Maybe, or further away in more stimulating environments. What might also be very helpful is practicing the decompression games posted this wee: tugging/volume dial then decompression (snuffle mat) so he gets used to self-regulating.
>> Do you ever up the treat value in the moment?
Yes!
First sequence – very nice! Great send and go on the pinwheel, great connection!! Two little suggestions – move in closer to the tunnel at the beginning so you don’t get caught standing still with no place to go then have to accelerate like mad to get the blind. And, put the toy in your pockets so you don’t switch it from hand to hand when you should be busy running LOL!!
Definitely seems to be a different level of speed in the 2nd video after the volune dial! So you can plan for that! The open section was great. Keep moving in closer to the tunnel #6 so you can accelerate to the center of the bar for the RC. On the first rep you were running straight and he didn’t see RC info til after he made a takeoff decision.
Bar down at 1 2nd rep – even with the wrap verbal, you had a lot of forward motion so he was not sure if he should collect or extend.
You were better trying to get onto the RC line on the wnd rep but call him before he goes into the tnunel, so he exits turned. Yo uwere quiet here so he was wide on the exit and then had to come back and find the jump, so he got the turn in th eair.The 3rd video had the blind on landing side of the 2nd to last jump… NICE! You got there really well and maintained connection! Totally have the toy in a pocket because that moment of changing hands does delay the blind, and he is too fast for even a tiny delay 🙂
The last sequence on the last video went really well too!! Yay!! You were connected really well and hustling – a great combo 🙂 You got the blind with lovely timing. And a nice send to 5 (you did do a spin on the exit of it, but it was well done in that you set up the line and send, and the spin was only to get you up the next line.
He was looking at you a bit on the GO at the end – I think he is watching you to see the toy move. In his defense, you do move it back and forth, hand to hand, a lot LOL!! So run with a toy in your pocket so you don’t switch hands (I am sure you don’t realize you are doing it) and for the big GO lines, you can use a placed toy to get him to drive ahead and not look at you.>> I was trying to understand this last sequence where you RC on the take-off side of 5. Which side do you then pick them up on? I confused myself when I tried walking it so I didn’t try it.>>
It is an unusual angle for a RC, but you can start with him on your left, RC 5 and pick him up on your right for the last line.
>>Yesterday we played the volume dial game and then a snuffle mat. My question is do you usually do just one session (volume dial/mat) and then take a break or do you go back and forth?>>
You can do 2 or 3 reps of this, but long sessions aren’t needed.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Was that his leash at the end of the run there? It took me a minute to figure that out LOL!! He did really well with it – he seems to like tugging on it, which is helpful! You can build on this by putting it on after he gets to it, so that he gets used to the leash going on. And you can have him do that handling loop twice, so he goes past the leash the first time then gets it the 2nd time around. This is a common thing in AKC in particular (passing the exit and continuing the course) so we want him to be prepared.Great job! Do you have any NFC/FEO for him coming up?
Tracy
This is awesome! This is progress!!!!!
An idea for you – there are a lot of noises associated with motion that you can use to help her be in a better state when dogs are moving. For example, the sound of a handler yelling TUNNEL TUNNEL TUNNEL or the sound of a flyball tournament can be playing in the background while you do pattern games! Start at a low volume then gradually turn it up, then add your Kelpie working to it. It is a simple way to add challenge to home training and prepare for harder environments.
Tracy
Good morning!
>>And we were knocking a lot of bars tonight>>
The bars were all either disconnections or late cues, so she was trying to process over the bar. As her experience increases and as your timing gets earlier, the bar dropping will fade away because she is overall a strong jumper!
>>it got COLD here: 85 on Monday and 51 on Tuesday…I haven’t adjusted yet!!)>>
Same here in SW Virginia – it is 24 degrees this morning and I am NOT in my happy place especially because it is the ONE time this year I am teaching locally… outdoors. BRRRR!!! LOL!!
The sequences are going well overall!! Yay! She is reading the lines well and giving feedback on timing. Good girlie!!
And you were generally staying in motion and keeping going when there was a blooper – keep doing that so you can really develop the flow 🙂A couple of suggestions:
Seq 1:
For the opening line, you can put her on a slice at jump 1 rather than soured up to it, so she sees jump 1 clearly on the release and lands facing 2. Setting her facing straight to 1 creates extra turns and is easy to miss (rep 1) or drop the bar (rep 2) The slice line also allows you to be more lateral and have more distance, making 3-4 easier to get to (3-4 is the hardest part of this sequence).For 3-4 – the main thing will be to have more distance on the lead out so you can get between 3 and 4 sooner, so you can start the BC or FC when she exits the tunnel. The reps here were starting after she made a takeoff decision as you were running to position, so the turns were a little wide.
On the ending line – you can totally get ahead as long as you open up BIG connection back to her. There was a disconnection at 7 at 1:00 so she missed jump as your shoulders turned off the line. There was disconnection at 1:45 and 2:31 before the tunnel , so the bar came down there.
One other thing I notice is that when the handling to the tunnel is a little late and you say tunnel over the bar, the bar come down pretty consistently as she tries to adjust. So for now, try to start saying tunnel when she has landed from the previous jump plus turning your shoulders sooner so she
Seq 2:
She is reading the lead out push really well! To help her turn before takeoff of 2, you can be more center of the bar on 2 and closer to the jump, so she jumps turned towards 3 When you are further away from the line and the jump, she jumps long over 2 then turns after landing. So being very close to the line and the jump – then moving directly to 3 after you release her – will set a gorgeous line, more like what you got on the RC rep. I loved the rear cross rep, it was pretty perfect!Seq 3:
Yo can add more of a lead out advantage by lining her up on a slice at 1 as well, so you can be a bit further ahead and so she can see the line 1-2. That will give you time to set the turn at 3, which is the hardest part of this sequence.sThe timing was a little late on these – you were driving to 3 and then starting the turn cues, but she read the info as ‘go long over 3’. That is why you have the off course and then some wide turns/bars. The timing at 1:36, for example, was the best timing here and you can see her turning sooner! That turn cue was happening when she was just about gathering from takeoff.
You can definitely start it earlier: when she has landed from 2 and looking at 3, but still 20 feet away from it 🙂 you can start the verbal and the turn cues. Being further ahead by leading out more can make it much easier to start the turn cues earlier. That would also allow you to set up the RC sooner, to help her see the turn on 5.
Doing the FC between 3 and 4 would start at the same timing, which would give you more time to move up the line to the 4-5 line.
So it all comes down to the land ing of 2 being the spot to start the turn cues for 3 to set up the next line. She is small but has a big stride and great commitment, so it will be fun to see how early you can start the cues!!
>>After a sequence, if I reward Syn with the toy and say good job or something like that, she tends to take the toy away from me and play with it a bit. I go over to her and grab it and then we tug. However, if, after a sequence, I throw the toy and also say “Yay Puppy” or something similar, she runs back to me and offers the tug for tugging. >>
Good question! I watched for this when watching the videos… I think it is just that Yay Puppy is a retrieve cue, and when you don’t say it, you are generally fixing a bar or setting up the next rep. I don’t think she was doing it as a needed decompression, more as a ‘wait for momma to be ready’ moment.
So it is possible that she has figured out that if she doesn’t hear ‘yay puppy’ then she can stay a little further away with the toy. So you can say yay puppy for every reinforcement, tug tug tug tug… then let her go for a run with the toy while you reset for the next sequence if needed. Let me know how that goes
Great job here!
Tracy
