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Good morning!
>>I was just today talking about the importance of connection with my students. And they are supposed to be Masters/Premier students.>>
This is a conversation we all need to have and hear, at every level. I teach about connection all the time and still mess it up LOL!! Connection is so simple, right? But yet, it is so hard to maintain.
Super job on the video! Because he is young, he will be very “honest” about the clarity of connection. Adult dogs aren’t “dishonest” but they can sort out the line without as much help from us while youngsters don’t save us if we aren’t good LOL!! He said it was all very clear. When he was on your right side (first half of the video) he was looking straight the whole time. He was jumping to his left a little (towards you) but I think that wa more of a product of the angle coming around the wing and you were ever-so-slightly stepping to your left to avoid running into the wing of jump 1.
Interestingly, he was looking at you more when he was on your left in the second half of the video. I don’t think it was a connection question, I think it was more that he needed the toy to be visible sooner. So a placed toy out past jump 2 can really help keep him looking straight on that side.
You can add verbals to this (saying them to him directly) as that will also help maintain connection. And you can start parallel to the start wing and hesitate a little before running forward… so he drives ahead. You were ahead of him on these so using connection to support staying ahead is a useful skill.
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
I can totally relate about the icky weather! And more is on the way – ewwww!!!
>> Took him fewer reps to focus on the jumps than in the first video, but they still aren’t the first thing he looks for……yet.>>
On that first rep, you can help him look for the jump immediately by moving even more slowly and having a placed reward halfway between the wing and the first jump so in that high arousal moment, he finds the line to the jump and you get immediate success. Then the next rep can have the placed reward between the 2 jumps. And if that all goes well, the reward can move to after jump 2 and you can start to add more motion too!
Once he was looking for the jumps, the line and connection looked great! This was especially true when he was on your left side in the 2nd half of the video – so nice!!! We have regular connection in just about everything, so you can ‘warm up’ the line-finding with the placed reinforcement for each game where he has to immediately find a line. Then you will be able to move into more handling and connection because the line finding is easier 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning! This was SUPER! You had excellent attention to the details of the mechanics. Exit line connection was super clear! The only moment that looked less-than-comfy was the first blind (2nd to last rep) but then you added motion to it on the last rep and nailed it. And, his turn was fabulous!
I think you will definitely find this easier with more practice lime you mentioned and also more movement into the crosses (it probably feels weird to do this without a lot of movement LOL!!) But you are nailing it! Keep it up!
Great job 🙂
TracyYay! Thank you for the update! Being able to practice it with all the dogs really solidifies it for us humans too 🙂 Enjoy!
Tracy
Good morning! Thanks for all the info!
I am just in the process of getting to know Kashia 🙂 so the training history info is really useful! It is pretty normal for dogs to find certain treats or toys or games to be super exciting at home or outside the training environment… but then far less exciting in the training environment. There are a LOT of reasons for that and plenty of science behind it too!
But in a nutshell – we need to flip the script and make being in the ring *incredibly* fun and reinforcing 🙂 so she is wild with motivation to do agility 🙂 Here are some ideas for you:
– since the ring environment is hard for her (for a variety of reasons – I don’t think it is boredom causing her to check out, I think it has more to do with how the HPA Axis works in arousal and when stressors are added, so what are you seeing is more of a stress response than boredom) we need to fight fire with fire 🙂
>>Having that said, my dogs think cat kibble is absolutely delightful and they are always trying to steal it from the barn cats. When I put the cat kibble in my pocket, Kashia was jumping up and down and very excited to get some. As soon as we walked into the arena to start practice using the cat kibble as a reward, she immediately lost interest.>>
This is not that unusual when the dogs feel the pressure of the training environment. But we can change that!
The treats you describe are good… but I recommend going up to GREAT MIND-BLOWING treats for training, to really flip the script. My favorite training treat for hard environments? An Egg McMuffin 🙂 Not kidding! I don’t use the bread but the rest of it is incredibly motivating 🙂 Insanely high value stuff like that, or grilled chicken, or meatballs, or string cheese or the turkey franks you mentioned… that is going to be key to flipping the script in training so she start to get super excited in the training environment. (Same thing for obedience if you want more motivation there).
When the lotus ball toy arrives, introduce it with gross cheese in it 🙂 And short sessions will be good so she doesn’t have any GI upset when getting started. And take out anything that is less-than-great, so keep things simple and take out the e-collar – set her up for tremendous success in all of these environments so it is the best thing ever 🙂 A couple of weeks ago, a training colleague was telling me about a Brittany on her flyball team that worked for smoked gouda early in her training and is now the fastest Brittany in the history of the sport (bonus, the humans could snack on the cheese as well LOL!!)
In each training session, use good-sized bits of the mind-blowing food and relatively simple skills at first, and set a timer for 1 minute. Do as much as you can in that 1 minute, then you are finished and the other dogs get a turn. Kashia will likely to be like “wait, WHAT??!!?” And that is what we want: leave her wanting more and all the delightful things happen in the training. Very few reps at first, then it will be really easy to build things up.
>>They get so much activity that it gets harder and harder to entertain them and stimulate their little brains! I’ve done this to myself! >>
She is an athletic teenager 🙂 So before training sessions, you can have her chill out for a few hours, to see if that helps bring more brain and body energy to the session (but this is less important than the mind-blowing rewards).
>>this is normal for her! >>
It doesn’t have to be 🙂 We can turn things sideways and get her to love love love training and go really fast, even with multiple reps 🙂
Let me know what you think!
TracyThanks for putting the runs in! Jumping is all about mechanics and processing to produce those mechanics. If something interrupts the processing or distracts her brain… the mechanics slip as she tries to process the change. Here is what I mean:
Premier – SUCH A NICE RUN!!! SUPER! 99% fully connected.
The video is a little hard to see because it is far away, but put it on the biggest screen you have and watch the section from :23- :26 in slow motion. You can see you were connected on the previous jump and then you looked ahead (broke connection). That was enough of a distraction to her processing that she lost her mechanics and took off early landing on the bar.On the JWW run – these were all processing bars too.
Bar on 4 – you were looking ahead while she was jumping towards the judge. So much to process there, so the jumping mechanics slipped away a little.
Bar on blind at :29 – you were late starting the blind, so she was trying to process the mechanics of the cue changing and jumping.
:33 – The connection here and you looking ahead (not enough connection) and further ahead, so she took off early (processing).
If I recall correctly, you are doing jump grid classes, yes? You can add connection changes to the simpler more successful grids to help her maintain her mechanics! She still gets rewarded for trying hard, but adding in some of the distractions to processing in a controlled way can help.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Great job on the exit line connection on the FCs! Lovely! And her turns were fantastic 🙂
Walking the BCs looked good – the exit line connection was great! She needed more regular connection on the landing from to commit her to 2. On the rep at :38, you looked forward when she landed from 1 (you can see her ears come up). That started the BC before she was committed to jump 2, so she didn’t take the jump. Excellent adjustment on the next reps: You had more connection on the 2nd rep (:46) so she got it – you can turn sooner like you did at :52 – that was your best timing on the blind! The connection at
:59 on the other side was also really strong. You can try leading out more, as that will give you more time to get the blind started – she is fast!The connection on the spins looked great! Remember to keep moving after you finish the spin so you are not caught standing still as she comes driving around the wing 🙂 And the wrap blind at the very end looked great too!
Nice work here! To answer your question: Yes, you totally have it!!! Yay!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I’ve never had a dog be SO vocal for training. >>
She’s a talker! She has been chatty since she was very young 🙂 She has a lot of opinions 🙂
>>Paris will bark at me on the start line for an Important run at a Major event or on the table because “Tables are Stupid”>>
Paris is correct: big runs are exciting and tables are STOOOPID lol!!!
>>But other than that none of my dogs have barked at me SO much for agility.>>This is correct, she is barking for it. Almost like she is shouting: “LET’S DO IT! THIS IS FUN! RUN RUN RUN!”
>>Also. Can you tell me again your opinion of making a dog wait until they ‘Look’ at an obstacle before you release them? It seems popular here for some people to make an exercise of it. >>
It is a very popular exercise indeed! It is worthwhile as long as you break it down and train it, and if the dog has a great stay. And if you have a high level of success. I start it with a toy on the ground (think back to toy races, but with a sit instead of a collar hold).
>Have the dog sit in front of a tunnel, wait for them to look at it, then say tunnel and let them take it. Then have them sit in front of same tunnel, when they look at it Don’t say tunnel, and reward in place for Not taking the tunnel. Rinse and Repeat. Stimulus control and Focus Fwd to be more obstacle focused? >>
I think it is fine if the dog likes it. I think some dogs/breeds that like to stare at things really like it (cough cough *border collies* cough cough). Other breeds are decidedly “meh” about it for a variety of reasons. My whippet flicks an eyeball the obstacle but doesn’t stare at it… probably because he thinks it is dumb to stare at something that is not going to move, and he knows it is there. LOL!
>>This exercise seems to just Frustrate Mochi which leads to more barking.>>
Starting it on a jump or tunnel might be ‘lumping’ so it frustrates her. Try it from a stay with an empty bowl on the ground and see if you can release her to the bowl when she flicks and eyeball to it, then put a cookie in it. And if the game still frustrates her, you can put it away for another time. She is an adolescent and they are particularly susceptible to frustration and big emotions, so no need to add to it 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
Regular connection is hard! And since he is just a year old, he is really inexperienced so needs to learn more about finding the line. I think you were trying to manage the turn & line (especially when he was on your right side, turning to his left in the 2nd video). That meant you couldn’t really focus on connection, which definitely made thing harder!Basically, when you go fast, he goes fast! But doesn’t really know how to find the line. When he got on the line, he was great! It was getting on the line that was hard if you were moving. And we need you to move, not stop 🙂 No worries, we can help him (see below).
>>I struggle with not paying him for attempting something even if it is not exactly right because I want to keep value for the game.>>
You can give reset cookies to line him up between each rep if there is nothing to reward on the actual rep.
>>I am not sure if I need to go back and revisit the find my face game but it doesn’t seem like Zyp is looking to make a connection.>>
No need to do that – we don’t want him look at your face, we want him looking at the jump.
So to help him find the lines: basically, if he was on the line after the wing wrap, you could run. But if you ran *before* he was on the line, he would run around the jumps. So what was happening was that you were tending to stay near the wing to manage the turn a bit until he got on the line to the first jump. We can teach him to let you move the whole time!
To do that, you can work through this game being in motion the whole time…. But *walking* for the first session. The big acceleration is cuing big acceleration… but he is inexperienced so he doesn’t always include the jumps LOL! Don’t stop moving but also don’t go fast. Just walk up the line.
Along with that, let’s change the reward placement to get him thinking about the jumps, that first jump in particular: – do one session with you walking, with thrown cookie rewards for finding the line to jump 1 (like GIANT pieces of string cheese). You will be connected so you will be able to see himlook at the line to the jump after the wing wrap (mark and throw the cheese to the landing of 1) or looking past it to go around it (sadness, no cheese LOL!) – If that goes well, do a session with a thrown toy to land between 1 and 2, with you walking. – If that goes well, place the toy on the landing side of 1, halfway between 1 and 2
Because each session can be just 3 reps, you can do each step, take a break, then come back and do the next step. If he struggles, you can do it more slowly in terms of spreading it out over several days.If he can find jump 1 easily with your in motion (walking) the whole time to the exciting place toy, then you start moving the toy back – move it to the takeoff spot of jump 2 (you can take the bar out of jump 2 when you do that so he doesn’t splat himself) then to the landing side of 2.
If that goes well? Repeat the process with you jogging the whole time (started with the food rewards tossed to the landing of 1). Then it gets repeated with you running

It might seem like a lot of steps, but it will actually happen really quickly!Then you will be able to really focus on your connection and he will have a great understanding of finding lines 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Hi!
You did add decel on these and it helped! On the first FC rep, you had too much motion and started when she took off at :11 so the turn was a little wide. On the second rep, you had a definite decel and she turned a lot better!
For the ELC, think of showing her the toy in your hand more while you look at her more directly – you had it a bit across your body but I don’t think she could see it because your other shoulder (right shoulder) was closed forward because you were looking forward (to throw it). This is a good camera angle to see it at :40.
>>Not sure what I was doing wrong here but I did it 2x in a row
On Rep 3 at :58 a she landed from 1, you were looking at little forward so it pulled her off the line. More connection directly down to her (will feel like you are looking at her butt LOL!) will help support the line to 2.
>>and then the third time I actually sent her to the left over the second jump.
It is possible you were over-compensating to get her to take jump 2 and pushed in to the center of the bar, so she read it as a rear cross.
On the right – definitely better connection on the 1-2 line, especially when you were in position 3! You can add in the decel here and more direct eye contact on the exit line connection to make it really smooth and tight.
The spins were not clumsy at all! The first rep and 3rd rep were both really strong: a bit of decel set up the rotation for 2 and you did it earlier so she collected nicely! Then you went smoothly into the blind, and made more direct connection on the ELC – look at :06 and you will see how clear it was. SUPER!!
>>I do not have video, but in position 3 I could not get do the blind on time. I was too far behind.>>
It is possible you were too far behind – she is fast!!! And also make sure you had the clear ELC you did at :06 with the spins.
Nice work here!!
TracyHi!
On the video:
Good job sorting out the mechanics of the arms – you were connected the whole time but getting the exit line mechanics very clear definitely helped! Really lovely connection on the FCs! And also a good ‘sweet spot’! And also, getting the arm across the body for mechanics is good even if the toy is not in it 🙂
The spins looked great too – she had no questions (she would be yelling them if she did LOL!) and was fast with lovely turns 🙂
For the blinds: You were working on getting them sooner – well done seeing that. They were a little late. The last one was the one of the best ones! At 2:46, you started the blind when she landed (front feet down) from jump 1, so you were basically finished and showing exit line connection before she took off. That created a lovely line (and a soft landing from her because she didn’t have to change directions when she landed). The rep at 2:25 was also well-timed to be able to show the exit line connection – such a nice turn there!! The exact timing will depend on distance between the jumps – this was more of an AKC distance. You can start a stride later if you are on the bigger UKI distances.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>We were at a trial this past weekend, and she knocked a bar on her premier JWW run on a wrap. It was actually a really nice run other than that. After rewatching the video, I can see that I did not have enough connection (Exit line connection!!). On her novice JWW run, she knocked 4 or 5 bars. I don’t think I had enough connection there either.>>
Do you have videos? We can analyze in terms of where the connection was strong and where it can be stronger! Post them if you have them!
>> She still really struggles with jumping, especially in an arroused state, and I’d love to figure out if my level of connection (too much or not enough) is impacting that or if it’s mostly something caused by her emotional state. >>
All of the above! For whatever reason, she has to process EXTRA HARD to pull off jumping skills. Add in arousal – DOUBLE EXTRA HARD processing. So your connection is not causing it but it can make things easier if we can find the sweet spot (and harder if you disconnect and takeoff on a line, but you knew that and you tend to not even disconnect and take off).
>>I’ve experimented with both levels of connection, but maybe I’m missing the sweet spot in the middle.>>
Might be in the middle for certain lines. And more for other, and even less for others. The sweet spot shifts around depending on the line you need to create.
Tracy
Hi! Sorry for the delay – the huge storm yesterday took out a lot of the internet infrastructure here (including my Starlink, sigh) so things are just getting reliably back online.
>>I’ll still trying to figure out her commitment as it seems to vary a tiny bit. We will practice more soon. Should I move onto the combo exercises?>>
Check out today’s games with the shifting connection – the will help her commitment too! And yes, you can do the combo exercises because the shifting connection concept will help those too 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
>>I don’t know if you have it as a policy to only do one video at a time but sometimes my access to the training building is not always that easy (right now there is 8 inches of snow and the building is on the ridge in the La Crosse WI area. If you would rather I submit one video and wait for your response –no problem.>>
You can submit them as you train them! No need to only do one at a time if you have a couple ready to go 🙂
This also looked great! Excellent exit line connection mechanics!!!
>>I have to say I was freaked at how tight her turn was on the front.>>
Freaked in the best way, right? She looked great! You will definitely want to add a bar to this so you can work the timing of the turn cues: as she exits the wing wrap, she should see you moving forward and decelerating. Then as she passes you and is collecting to take off, you can do the FC (before takeoff) and then she can see your exit line connection before she even lands.
Great job here! You can add the spins and the combos too!
Tracy
Hi!
Sorry for the delay, I am still in catch up mode from all the tech going down (thanks, Mother Nature! NOT!)
>>his past Sunday at TCOTC (you were correct) I executed the Exit Line Connection with a blind around one of those poles and she read it beautifully.
This is awesome!! Yay!!!
The regular connection here with the arm-pumping looked GREAT! You seemed to have a completely clear view of her the whole time (which is useful for timing!) and she never had to look up at you. She drove straight with excellent form – power jumping!!!
You will find this to be very useful at the end of courses and on big lines! You can spread out the distances and start closer to the wrap wing, so that you can practice this when she is ahead of you too.
Great job!
Tracy
