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Hi!
Nice work on these! One thing that you will see when you watch it back was when you were connected with low arms, he read everything really well (like the 1-2-3 line each and every time. Super nice!!!)
When you started pointing ahead, he had questions. Pointing ahead of him changes the line of your shoulders, so he would check in and look at you or go to the line he saw.
For example, on the 3-4-5 line to the tunnel, if you pointed ahead he had a question about whether to take the tunnel or not (like at :23 on the first video and :38 on the 2nd video). When you kept your hands down and looked at his head, even from behind? No questions š
The hardest part was the 8-9-10 section. Part of it was that 9 was close to 8, so he didnāt have a lot of room to adjust. And it is possible that the edge of the 9 jump was on a backside line from 8, so when you said GO and pointed forward, he (correctly) stayed on his line past the jump. Good boy!
Compare that to when you decelerated, kept your hands low, and called his name? He got the jump every time š Super!
That is great info: stay connected and give stronger turn cues to get the hard turn. Then when he is on the line, you can add your go verbal. Watching his eyes to see where is looking will really help!
Great job here :)āØTracy
Hi!
>>yes sheāll need to cope with my inability and learning how to handle a border collie.>>
All young dogs need to learn to cope with us learning how to NOT mess up LOL!!!!! The key is to keep going, never let on that there has been an error, and reward something else. Eventually we figure it out, they figure it out, and things come together really well š
>>So when is adolescents over? hah.. >>
The scientists tell us it can be closer to 3 years oldā¦. Sigh. LOL!!!
>> Kinda afraid of her coming back demanding miles and miles of exercise daily or a different dog>>
She will be fine! She will like the brain work and she will like being back with you!
>>.. I have worse separation anxiety than she does.. sheās having the time of her life!>>
OMG this is totally relatable LOL!
>>I will follow those border collies! I also remember reading one that has difficulty being caught at the end
That reminds me – you can also follow Levy (auditing) – he is a BC/Whippet cross and a half-brother to my Contraband. And Levy does not want to be caught at the end š So we are planning end of run behavior to help him out.
Tracy
>>Originally I was having her go through my legs and then line up by my side. But, she just couldnāt do it. So, I am trying to make it simpler. >>
A lot of dogs like lining up between our feet and not at our side, then we ādismountā and lead out. It helps us also get the dog into a great spot right away.
>> Iāll post some video for you. It was very windy which is distracting by itself.
The session looked really good!
Back and forth looked good here, very quick and engaged responses.
Was she able to do it with this same latency with you moving closer to the ring or walking around near other people and dogs? Or with dogs running? We definitely want to work it now with other dogs running – maybe start with a small dog jump height so you donāt run into any BCs that bark the whole time while running šThe volume dial went well and she was very happy to tug! Hand touch to tug looked really good, and so did the spin and through tricks. Super! This is also good to move closer to the ring while other dogs are running.
>>After the posted session and a break we went between the two rings while one ring was down and the other one walking. I was chatting and she was in a down. She was very calm and just taking it in. We then tried some games and lines up. Nothing on film as I didnāt trust leaving the tripod out in that area in the wind.>>
Excellent, she did well! At class, can she come out and do this while another dog is running, to keep practicing it?
>> Interesting comment about hand touches. Yesterday once she gave me eye contact I cued a hand touch to the side o wanted her to line up. She seemed to like it. Iāll see if she can do that in class. >>
Cool!! Maybe it helps make the line up cue into more of a silly trick, less pressure š
>>What currently happens is she starts grabbing grass as we walk to the jump. Donāt love that behavior.>>
I donāt love it, I donāt hate itā¦ it is good info! Does she grass grab in class too? That is generally an indicator of an uncomfortable arousal state (over-arousal) and she is grabbing grass as a coping tool (doing repetitive things with their mouths is a proven decompression tool for dogs). Now, if a bit of grass grabbing leads to low latency line ups and perfect runs? Then we leave it along LOL! Since it appears that the latency is NOT low on the line ups, we can help her develop other coping skills: you can bring her to the line doing tricks-for treats, like hand touches back and forth in front of you to get her bouncing around a nit (most dogs find movement very helpful in that scenario). At first use a treat for it, then we can fade the treat and develop it into a pattern game.
You can also use a toy on the way to the start line – that might be a great release for that over-arousal energy that she is now releasing with grass grabbing.
I know it is counterintuitive, but more movement and less control is often the answer for dogs feeling the over-arousal on the way to the line (and most dogs do feel the arousal shift, that is not unusual at all).
Try experimenting and see how it goes – do a couple of turns trying one thing on the way to the line. And then do a couple of turns trying something else. Get it all on video of course š We will get this piece of the puzzle sorted and then everything will be very smooth!
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Nice work on these!
One major theme that I will keep bugging you about: no standing still š Keep moving! We want deceleration to predict turning so if you are standing still on extension lines, we will lose some of the decel = turn info.
On the first sequence:
On the first rep, move on the lead out rather than stand still to support the line and keep decel cues intact:
– with all of the stationary position parallel to 2, she should consider collecting on 2 (she did consider it at 1 but not at 2). Even with the tunnel verbal to override it, we want to keep her reading the decel cues for now.
– you being in motion the whole time will get you to the next position sooner because you can be in motion the whole time šYou were in motion the whole time on the 2nd rep and she was able to read the turn nicely! She is turning nicely on the tunnel exits! You can switch the verbal sooner: the ārightā verbal can change to a jump verbal when she is in the tunnel, so she is not still hearing it when she exits if you want a straight line.
The sequence where you wanted the pinwheel jump shows us a bit why I recommend always moving on those straight lines and not decelerating or being stationary while she drives straight. She was not sure about the turn when you were facing straight, even decelerated like at :45 (where you were facing forward so she correctly went straight).
For cues, you can use a decel where you stand up straight but you also need to turn to the next line š I think you are doing too much standing up facing forward decel – that is best if you are about to rotate like a FC wrap cue, but not as useful on a post turn because it doesnāt give the āwhere to go nextā info at :56 – you were asking for collection but not showing how much so she dropped the bar.
You had a little bit of turn at 1:09 so she got it – you can see how well she reads the motion! So ideally for a turn like that, you can start the verbal and a little decel after she exits the tunnel, and then turn your shoulders (use a brake arm if you think she needs more help) so she sees you facing the pinwheel jump before she takes off for the previous jump. And keep moving, no more standing still š
Next sequence looked good! The rear cross was the only hard part here – she was reading the turn the next direction (remember to not say go :)) She was not reading the deceleration into it, so exaggerate the decel more and then as soon as she commits to the jump, turn and run the next direction. If you stand still and wait for her to come back to the line after a wide turn, she should theoretically be reading a cue to decel on the next jumpā¦ but if it is then paired with extension, she will lose that understanding. So even if she has a wide turn or misses the next jump, always pair the decel with moving direction to the next line so she associates decel with collection to go a different direction.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I hope 81 stays fabulous for you! Were you northbound or southbound on 81 when you sent this? Harrisonburg is not tooooo far from me. I will be on 81 today and later in the week, not sure when you are doing the next leg of your adventure!
T
Good morning! Great job on both of these sessions!
On both videos:
Nice line up position on the slice angle on all of your runs here! His stay looked great and he committed o jump 1 really well, which allowed you to be way up the line. Super!!!Lovely connection and he read this really well. One suggestion:
Cue turn on 3 sooner – when he lands from 2 you should be starting the cues for the turn on 3
On the first rep you did it when he landed from 3. On the second run you did it when he took off for 3.On the 2nd video at 3, the turn for 4 started after he landed and you turned your shoulder, so that did support the off course line he took at :26(good boy!)
You used your outside arm at :32 which worked after he landed but made you late for showing the line to the tunnel so he had a spin there.At 1:15 you were definitely earlier with the cues for 3! You start it as he was about halfway between 2 and 3 so he jumped 3 already turning to 4. YAY!
This was your best timing š
On the last run on the 2nd video, you got him pumped up and he still ran perfectly (just faster :)) On this run at 3, you were a little later with the cues (he was taking off for 3) but I think he had learned the sequence so he was very smooth.
So definitely aim for the timing you used at 1:15 on the 2nd video – when you see him exit 2, start the cues for 3. That will give you the best turns and keep you both moving up the line.
Great job!!
TracyGood morning!!
>>Anyway- I saw pretty much the exact same behavior we are seeing in agility. just running and running- she would get on the sheep then fall back- barking at them- running the opposite direction and laying down. >>
That is good to know! I think of it as a coping skillā¦ In Sadie’s defense, she was probably like “WTF IS THIS OMG I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO” LOL!! Good girl for trying!!
From the human perspective, when we are stressed about something, we all cope differently. I eat ice cream. Some people do a big workout (that is NOT EVER my coping skill LOL!!) There are lots of other coping strategies.
And from the dog perspective, we see that they, too, having coping strategies. Some dogs sniff, some dogs fawn all over peopleā¦ Sadie runs and runs and runs. That is actually NOT that unusual and I have seen it in agility, herding, flyballā¦
It comes back to the amygdala and the F responses (fight, flight, freeze, fawn, fidget). Her impulse to run run run run is likely related to flight or a big fidget response. And it is all fine because we will work her through it and give her other coping strategies.
>>Her breeder stated that she canāt handle pressure very well either.>>
Most adolescent dogs canāt handle pressure all that well, which is why the scientist and big time behavior people tell us to back off pressure during adolescence. Unfortunately, in dog sports, that is when most people ramp up the pressure because the dogs are coming of age to compete. But you were smart and took a step back, which gives us time!
During adolescence, the dog brain is changing rapidly and the front of the brain (which is basically in charge of suppressing the BIG EMOTIONS and developing the good decision-making of executive function) is just not that highly developed. So we move carefully through this stage and help the dogs, with lots of empathy towards them and towards the owners too, because adolescence is HARD!!
>>I canāt help but think its something I did or didnāt do when she was younger? especially the canāt handle pressure part? >>
Nope, you didnāt do anything that caused her to struggle with pressure. This is actually something that happens a LOT but no one wants to talk about it, because there is just so much shaming out there (I mean, did you look at Facebook last week with all of that shaming of people who might have dogs that struggle in the ring? That was UGLY and I hated it!)
So hopefully it helps to know that you didnāt cause anything, there is nothing wrong with her at all š and we can develop the skills she needs to help her in the ring š Those skills are not sport skills, they are arousal regulation skills!
>>will we learn some games for that?
Yes! The pattern games and the volume dial game are the bedrock for that, which is why we started with them. Get them to be looking great and then it is easy to build on them. And more coming tomorrow to build up her skills in that department.
>>or is that just the breed?
Well, yes LOL! Some Border Collies tend to cope with stress or pressure by moving MORE or barking MORE. Some freeze, but it sounds like she is not a freezer LOL!! There is also a genetic component to it – whenever we tart digging into the pedigrees and behavior on the pedigree, we can actually track a lot of it. I mean, I have a 15 month old dog who is exactly like his pedigree suggests he would be (and exactly what the breeders told me what he might be like LOL!) Same with all of my dogs – I can trace their behavioral traits back through their pedigree. It is pretty cool, actually! What is needed is honesty about behavior from the other folks (or a good memory if they have gotten past adolescence).
I mention this so you can be sure it is not anything you did – there are multiple factors in play here. All are normal and we have lots of tools to help you help her š
>lack of confidence?
It is hard to measure confidence, so it is probably easier to measure things in terms of behavioral expression: she probably takes longer to return to physiological baseline (biological resilience, where the HPA axis centers back to baseline) – this is normal for adolescents as well. The scientists tell us that adolescent dogs take 2 or 3 times longer to return to baseline than puppies or adults. Eek! The games here help build the biological resilience too (more of that coming tomorrow).
We will also emphasize coping skills because we humans mess up our handling and also because we bring the dogs into all sorts of new environments, so coping skills and self-regulation are key! And with adolescents, it is a bit up-down-sideways-backwards for a while but then it comes together beautifully as the pups grow up.
Keep me posted on what you think! There are other BCs in class you might want to follow that are a little older so you can see where we are going with this. They are Ripley, Kotaulo, and Casper, Sid, and Vinny. There is a BC girl of a similar age (Caper) who is also working here!
Tracy
Good morning and welcome!!!
>>We still have some Startline issues.
Tell me more!
>>Heās nice and focused when we run. We did fix our end of run routine with your help over the last year. Now instead of coming into me and jumping at my face at the end he happily goes to find his leash and brings it to me to tug and put it on.>>
This is all great! In your opinion, what really helped him for the end of run behavior? What didnāt seem to help? I like to keep track of all of this so we can use it in the future for dogs with similar questions.
>>I have gotten AWFUL about quick releases and need to get my crap together and stop doing that. >>
You need a snuffle mat before your runs! LOL!!!
>>The great news there is that heās really excited on our field now and so making the same mistakes he makes at trials. Gives us, finally, a chance to work on that stuff more at home (he used to basically be perfect at home and so made it tough to recreate his trial feeling and how they impacted his ability to maintain criteria).>>
This is useful for sure!!! And we have more games coming to help, I have some videos I can dig up and share to give you more crazy ideas š And also definite NFC work can help the contacts – do you have any UKI or USDAA coming up in the area? Both of those allow thrown toys, which is great for reward placement on contacts (thrown to the dog as you go hustling past the contacts).
>>Full disclosure- I had not had breakfast or more importantly coffee.>>
That is the ultimate dog training braveryā¦ training before coffee. My dogs would flee LOL!!!!
I admit to almost snorting out my coffee when you walked onto the screen with the giant stuffed Border Collie LOL!
The first set of patterns without any distractions went great – SUPER low latency and lots of motion (BCs like motion!)
The up and down game was perfect in the first session and then hilarious when he was staring at the treat behind you LOL!! You were probably wondering what the heck was happening LOL!!!
But that can go on the list of novel distractions for the pattern game! We want his latency to remain the same, even with a cookie behind you! So start with a cookie on the floor behind you, a little further away and try it! Thanks for the feedback, Ripley!!!!
And for up-and-down, if he puts himself into a down, you can place the cookies out just past each of your feet so there is a bit of movement and no accidental down stay š
Because his back and forth was sooooo perfect and fast, we are going to jump ahead a little and move into the next arousal regulation step of adding engaged chill. There are several ways to do this, but the one to start with back and forth is for you to slow the game down. What I mean by that is when he re-engages, you will wait an extra second or two before throwing the next treat. So he will stand still and breath (not offering stuff, not moving) then the next cookie is tossed. This eventually transforms into him being able to just peacefully hang out next to you, ringside, regardless of distractions.
And more coming tomorrow about advanced arousal regulation skills!
How did the local show go?
Tracy
Good morning!
>> I donāt want to fuss too much with it now as sheās starting to line up and sit faster. The last thing I want to do is get her up and move her. >>
TOTALLY agree! I don’t want to line up a dog then move the dog because it was *me* who chose the wrong spot. If she is in a ‘close enough’ position, you can go with it! If you accidentally put her in a really bad spot (I have done this, oops!) then you can lead out, reward, then reset in a better spot š
I thought of a another question for you: when going into the ring at class, where she might be a little slower to line up & sit… is she able to respond to any cues for goofy tricks like a hand touch? I am asking because you can also teach her aq between-the-feet or behind-the-back line up, which has movement (dogs love movement!) and can be taught as goofy tricks š
>>Yes, I think snuffle and pattern games between runs helps her. There were areas that could have been tighter, but I didnāt repeat anything either. Soā¦thatās information as well. Maybe best to move on and repeat something later if Iām trying to āfixā something. I was very happy with this session. No extra tunnels at all!>>
I agree that your one-and-done approach here was great! She ran them really well, probably the best handling session I’ve ever seen from her! Yay! Yes, maybe there is a spot or two to tighten but really nothing that was glaringly obvious.
And it seems like olfaction like snuffling and also pattern games (which have a big olfaction factor) is really helpful – this is great feedback from her! More coming tomorrow about that.
How did your time at the trial go?
Tracy
Good morning!
Definitely keep me posted on how she does in different situations.>>I have started doing them at home. We train every morning before work.>>
Perfect! The goal of the pattern games is to get them really solid at home so they are much easier to use in other places.
And there is no rush to get her into the agility ring – you can look towards just getting her into the ring to play with toys or even eat treats at a fun match. No rush for real runs any time soon because we all have to make it through adolescence LOL!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Yes! We are taking I 81
81 is generally a more civilized drive than 95 š If you need any info on stopping points, let me know – I am up and down 81 all the time! And depending on when you come through, I can meet you and bring you road snacks LOL!
ļæ¼
āØ>>Also, my hubby is working in Newberry SC now so Iāll be living back & forth between there and FL soon. I may be up in your area more often!āØIāve got to see what is aroundāØfor agility training and trials.>>It looks like Newberry is between Charlotte NC and Columbia SC. There is a TON of good agility and flyball around there (one of the top multi-breed teams in flyball has a Boston terrier on it!). Let me know what you are ready and I will get you hooked up with fun people!!
Tracy
Good morning!
The zig zags looked great! No jumping questions from her.
>>My poles are 4Ft long. I measured 6feet from Jump Cup to Jump Cup.>>
On the next session, you can have the wings touching the end of the previous jump, so the distance is 4 feet (and if that makes it too hard too quickly, you can spread it out so it is a 5 foot distance).
If that goes well? Replace the 4 foot bars with 3 foot weave poles and the wings touching the end of the poles, for a 3 foot distance. Your cues will have to come faster but I am sure you can do it.
>>Weāve been having a bit of trouble with her holding her stay, overall.>>
It looks like the broken stay was just a bit of anticipation here – as soon as you stopped moving, she was sure the release was next (and she is not wrong LOL!) When dogs start to anticipate like that, it means that we are accidentally pairing the release with something else, like a hand movement or stopping next to a wing. So try to be *less* predictable about when you release – sometimes if it while you are moving, sometimes after you have stopped and praised her, and keep the hand movement happening after you release. That should help keep her stay solid.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!!
Very nice work here!
>>I am trying to move more and use more connection but old habits die hard. Everything happens so fast I get no time to think and use my verbal cues.
She is so fast and yes everything does happen really fast! You did a great job here especially with your connection and staying in motion. Those are the two most important parts!!!
On the opening line: on the first run, you can leave sooner and move forward (:02) When you added more movement there at :16, it really helped her to not tick the bar.
1st run you can cue the tunnel exit before she enters- your position was great! You nailed it on the 2nd rep – all the cues happening before she entered (:19) and she had a lovely turn š
Very nice turn on 6 at :08 and :22!! You had connection, decel, verbal, shoulder turn and she read it beautifully.
There was a bar down on the #7 jump both times – maybe you can turn sooner to move to away but also she was adjusting her stride jumping towards the wall so I think that was the issue more than anything else. She had no trouble with bars elsewhere.
On the first run on the 8 jump you did a spin after some decel – very smooth line for her.
2nd run you did a post turn and she hit the wing (:24).
So I vote for the decel and spin on 8!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Thank you!! I have not had a problem sharing or saving from iMovie so I really could not figure out why Barb was…
Tracy
Good morning!
>>This makes me feel like there is hope after all LOL
There is totally hope LOL!!! Handling young fast dogs is HARD!! It will all come together.
>>So today I took Caper to a friendās barn that she has never been too. She was quite worried and anxious about this >>
This is a great opportunity to use the pattern games. Even before you see Caper communicating that she is not comfortable, you can start the pattern games – it can be as soon as she gets out of the car. And she will continue to communicate how she feels about the environment, based on how quickly she can re-engage. And I bet she will be able to play tug too!
When it is your turn in the ring, try to get her playing before the leash even goes off, and playing a bit on the way to the line so she is not pulling quite as much.
She did really well finding the jumps – nice job being patient with that. There is a lot of āclutterā in the environment for young dogs in new places (other obstacles, smells, different footing, different lighting, etc) so at first she was more ānearā the jumps and less ātakingā the jumps. But then she got better and better and better, and you were great about breaking it down and rewarding. And her stay looked terrific!>>I was very proud of her efforts to work even though she was so worried. I need to do more of this in other places. >>
The pattern games will help a whole lot, even if you play them with 2 toys! And getting her moving and tugging should help too.
Great job!
Tracy
