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Hi!
Sorry for the delay, I am still in catch up mode from all the tech going down (thanks, Mother Nature! NOT!)
>>but in motion- what’s the difference? Is it where we’re going next? both switch hands/sides?>>
Both the FC and the Spin and be used to indicate a different line (wide turns, tight turns, everything in between :))
The FC ends up with the dog on the other side than the one she started on. The spin ends up with the dog on the same side she started on…. But with the FC rotation followed by a blind to get her there.So the next question is probably WHY? LOL! For a spin versus a post turn: the spin rotation can create a tighter turn than a post turn, if it turns the handler’s feet to the next line sooner than the post turn (or if the dog needs stronger turn cues).
On the video: these were actually front crosses, because you started her on one side and finished on the other side. Your connection wa great though and she knew exactly where to be! And you had to do it fast because there garage space is small 🙂 For the spins, you would want to start the FC then do the blind right after it. For example, if she starts on your right, do a FC as if going to your left but before she catches up to you: look at her over your right shoulder again (with exit line connection 🙂
>>I did notice once that I turned too soon which caused her to come in>
Good catch, and good reward! Connected for another heartbeat or two until she looks at the jump ahead will get her committed, and then you can start the spin.
Nice work!
TracyHi!
>>Clarification question when you said volume dial and patterns are mentally expensive. It’s not the game itself that is expensive, but doing it for arousal management in a challenging environment right?>>
Since the games operate on arousal management, they are expensive in each new environment and not as expensive when neural pathways have been well-formed. So the games were probably pretty expensive even at home in the early learning stages (which is why we start them with young dogs and in very easy environments). Then the neural pathways are formed so it is not nearly as expensive. Then in new environment, the game is expensive again because of the processing challenges and arousal regulation challenges. Then at some point, those neural pathways get formed so the game becomes less expensive there too 🙂
>>I did a super bowls and a power bowls this morning to help neutralize them after the trial for both dogs and it seemed really easy. >>
It probably was! And the neutralizing concept is more about classical conditioning/associative learning: if we only do the games right before something arousing appears, or in highly charged environments… then the games becoming arousing and highly charged (like a doorbell does LOL!)
>>Lift even did some retrieves wtih a toy and this was before breakfast. Then she slept all day and still said no thanks to the toys when I was warming her up before her live session turns tonight. When she works for toys, I feel like it gets her more aroused and she likes it, but only if she doesn’t tip over into the leaping lemur or decide to wander off to find cheese debris.>>
That might have been leftover brain-tiredz from the weekend, or maybe it is a hard time of day for her for training (hard for me too LOL!) If she had a challenging weekend, even in a good way, it can take 72 hours to return to baseline (or longer, for teenagers). It is a definite balancing act that will get much, much easier as she continues to mature.
Tracy
Good morning!
You had a BUSY week, but I hear the trial went really well!!! And having him play his pattern games at the trial is absolutely priceless training 🙂 It sounds like a fabulous weekend!The backside slicing is going really well! Every time I was going to suggest adding something, you added it 🙂 such as getting further across the bar, or adding toy play. He was very successful with all of it!
So now we can move forward and add more of the next steps:
As you add more distance away from the barrel, maintain connection to his eyes as you are moving up the line, especially on the left turns. This includes having your dog-side arm back a little and shoulder open. You were lookinf forward a bit and also had your shoulders “closed” which points your shoulders to the front side of the bar. You can see his question at 2:13 and 2:19. You were holding your hands in the center of your body so he was looking at you fo rmore info. Yes, he was looking at your hands (and face and shoulders) there because he was seeking more info – so having your arms down and a little backto him will help.You can also add more motion – walking faster and more cnoenction while you do that – that will help propel him up the line. At the end you were walking very slowly so he was asking if he was supposed to drive past the decel or not 🙂 These are valid, legit questions!
You can also add your backside slice verbal, starting from position 1. The verbal will help you connect because you will be saying it directly to his cute face and not to the barrel 🙂
>>Looking forward to the live class tonight!>>
The weather was instance but we actually made it work – I was not so sure for the first 30 minutes, then it all settled down LOL!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>but I feel like our results were kind of disastrous again.
Definitely not disastrous! Most of it was really strong – your exit line connection was perfect on each rep! And the ‘regular’ connection was really strong too – she has a couple of questions on the reps where your arm came forward a bit (like at :39 on. The first video and :14 on the second video) but she was really strong with her commitments!
>> After just a couple reps, I couldn’t get Kashia engaged, motivated, excited, nothing. She was just lolly-gagging along with the motions. It was extremely frustrating, if I’m being honest.>>
In those moments, channel your frustration into being a sleuth: hmmm, what are the clues that might be creating this? It is entirely possible she was tired – she has done this setup a lot recently, so her brain and body might be deleted from the mental work part of it. Or, maybe the reinforcement value had dropped off and she needed a better (or even just different) high value reward.
Also, there were some weird echos in the background that I had not heard in your other videos. It is possible that there were weird noises in the environment that night and she was having trouble with that.>>Anyway, now Kashia is at that point and I’m feeling these feelings all over again. Is it me? Am I doing something wrong to shut her down? Is it just my dogs’ personalities?>>
I think the main thing to look at first is the reinforcement: what type of treats were you using, and how often does she get them? I bet if we tweak the reinforcement then she will be ready to rock’n’roll!
>> My problem is motivating them.
That is why I want to look at her rewards. Reinforcement is the root of motivation, so if we can unlock the highest value reinforcement then you will see a big change in her motivation.
Does she like tennis balls? What type of treats do you use with her?
>>Is Kashia just bored of the games? We only practiced for about 6-7 minutes at the very most. I felt like her first couple of reps were good and then she just shut down. Boredom? Uninterested? Not happy? Confused? >>
I wouldn’t say confused, but if she has a question and gets it wrong – you can reset her with a cookie as you figure out why it went wrong. Then on the next rep, set her up for success. When she was not going around the start wing, stronger connection helped for sure and as you figured that out, she can get reset cookies to line up for each new rep. And, fewer reps are always a good idea – if she gets it right twice? No need to do it again, you can do something else. Variety is good!
But again – the value of the motivator will be key, so give me the details on what she likes to eat and what rewards you use 🙂
>> Meanwhile, training days like this can be discouraging.>>
Totally relatable! But dogs tend to do better with more days off from training in between lessons, then they come back really strong. So she might just be tired out. And if something goes wrong, be a sleuth to find the clues 🙂
>>Also, why in the heck would she not go around the crates (wing)? What was I doing to miscommunicate with her? She did it a zillion times in a row. >>
Having done it a zillion times in a row might be why she stopped doing it 🙂 The dogs get tired (physically and mentally) especially if there are a lot of reps, so you can give her a break from it and come back with a stronger motivator.
>>I know we all have our good days and bad days. I know this was probably just a bad day for Kashia compared to the other days where she seemed happy to be working. I almost didn’t share this so I could try again tomorrow on maybe a better mood day. >>
I am glad you shared it! It was largely a successful session. The one thing I would NOT do is try again tomorrow… give her a day off and let her brain re-charge 🙂 She is a teenager and teenage brains need rest 🙂
>> Nothing excited her today. I even changed treats to see if she needed a different reward. It didn’t seem to help.>>
Let’s brainstorm motivators: what treats did you start with? Which ones did you change to that were still “meh” to her?
>> I know Kashia has great talent and capabilities! It just sucks going through this cheerlead phase again with a different dog!>>
I agree – she has a ton of talent! So we will unlock the motivators then it will be much easier 🙂
Looking forward to hearing about her favorite foods 🙂
TracyHi!
>>So I am embarrassed to post this, but I know I should show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. She was the good, I was a bit bad, and even a hint ugly.>>Nothing to be embarrassed about! There is always good stuff to look at on any video 🙂
That first rep looked SUPER good!!
He was barking at your side from :38 to :51. In that moment you can ask her for a sit then get on with it, rather than waiting. I *think* you were waiting for her to be quiet but I am not sure (and neither was she) so you will want to cue something to help her out then get right into the game. Otherwise, you wait for something and she guesses (and barks) and you both get agitated but it. She is your teammate, so fill her in on the plan and ask for a sit 🙂
The release there didn’t have enough connection as you moved to the wing so she was confused, then more confused when you walked away, then more confused when you told her to stop. But when you got into the work and gave cues? Lovely! Connected and smooth!
The next rep was nicely connected too – I think bringing her to the start spot, asking for a sit, then getting right into it (with connection of course :)) will make a big difference in the barking.
The last 2 reps had little bits of disconnection that caused questions. The one at 2:12 was obvious (she didn’t take the jump) because you looked forward at the jump and slammed on the brakes 🙂 On the last rep, you looked forward (so she looked at you) but you kept moving so she got it. So remember to look at her over jump 1 – one way to remember to do it is to remind yourself to say the verbal cues directly to her cute face, and not to the jump.
>>The good news is my oldest girl, and superstar, Paris, earned her way into the GP and STPL Semifinals of next fall’s Cynosports. >>
Yay Paris!! Congrats! Cyno is in Tucson next fall, right?

>>Have you done USDAA lately? They are Really stretching out their courses, UKI influence?>>It has been several years – USDAA is pretty dead around here. But I am glad to hear about the course deign changes and yes, I would be it is a UKI influence 🙂 They might be trying to grab their audience back from UKI 🙂
Great job here!!!
TracyBrrr that is COLD for your neck of the woods!! EEK!!
Super nice reps on all of these! Good send to the start wing, and good connection through the line to commit her to the jumps: that allowed you to turn earlier which helped make the exit line connection easier. It was all SUPER clear!
>>Like I said previously, her barking really got to me today. >>
Yes – but from the other perspective, sometimes the barking is fine and you ignore it, and sometimes you get mad at her and yell or shush her. So…… I am pretty sure she doesn’t know why you are suddenly mad. Rather than have both of you get stressed about it, I highly recommend either wearing ear buds, or cranking music in the background like you did indoors! That will give your brain something happy to focus on rather than the barking 🙂
Nice job here!!
TracyHi!
Nice job with the blinds here! The exit line connection looked great! And so did the stays 🙂
The first rep was lovely! Yes, as you mentioned, the 2nd rep was a stride too early – the BC was already starting before she landed from jump 1. Nice adjustment on the 3rd rep – really good timing!
THi!
The connection looked really good here! She was driving ahead without question, which means she was seeing the cues she needed to see. Yay!>>We tried putting the toy at the end. She was able to leave it and go down to work with me. But had trouble going to it, even back chaining. Perhaps a bigger toy or MM.>>
Yes, it looked like she did well leaving it – but it didn’t have enough value to go directly to it. So a bigger or more exciting toy is a good choice, as is the MM.
>>Even though tried cleaner starts, still had trouble with the 20ft send, so went with her for that.>>
Cookie line ups are good to help with the cleaner starts and she was definitely facing the right way more on these – and that helped a lot!!! And 20 feet is far – that is a lot of strides for a little dog! So you can bring the wing in closer to jump 1 so she can be more successful then gradually build up more distance.
>>And, I’m sorry to say, her barking Really got to me today.>>
Her barking seemed to be the same as usual, so if you are not handling it as easily – your options are to either put headphones in while you train, or have her got to a mat or cot to wait in between reps (then call her into the start area) or not train 🙂 Otherwise you add a layer of unpredictability of sometimes being fine with the barking and sometimes getting mad about it – and she will not really be able to figure out what you want. That can add stress for you both.
Nice work here!
Hi!
I really liked the reps here! It is definitely the ‘sweet spot’ for her: you were connected but not hovering 🙂 and moving without pushing too far ahead. She drove ahead and looked ahead really well! Definitely keep working this sweet spot whenever you use regular connection!!!!Yes, she had the one blooper on the send but it was a good adjustment to wait one heartbeat longer before you took off. She had no complaints LOL!!! She is driving away from you on sends so much better!!!!
Great job!
TracyHi!
I am sorry to hear about your mom… and I totally agree that the health care system sucks!!!On the first Regular connection video – nice job with the wing sends! Your connection looked good so he went to the wing really well!
On the line of jumps, you had a conflicting indicator: your motion said go but your opposite arm was up like a threadle as you were moving forward… that is what was pulling her off the line. You don’t need the opposite arm on regular connection – you can just keep the dog-side arm kind of out of the way and look towards her eyes
looks like you did at :50 and after that where she found the line nicely!On the 2nd to last rep she went wide on the wing but you were also facing that direction, so she ended up going around the jumps. Compare to the last rep where you sent her to the wing and left, so he got a good turn and easily found the jumps. Yay!
No worries about bad toy throws – the placed toy worked really well here!
On the other side, she did have some trouble running past the jumps. I am not sure if it was a connection issue or not (maybe that is why you were using your opposite arm, to bring her in?) When she was tight on the wing wrap, she found the line, no problem. When she was wide, she ran past it. So working on sending to the wing (is left/right the wrap cue? If not, try the wrap verbal too) and lot of reward for finding the first jump, even if you slow down your motion for now to help her out with that.
Try not to use the outside arm to bring her in, because that will end up changing how she reads threadle arms. So for now, send to the start wing and just walk up the line with connection to help her see the line without as much excitement from the motion 🙂
>>>Ginger is one and I have the jumps at 10”. Do you think that is okay or should we do the puppy version?
I think this was a good set up for her! When you were ahead and moving fast, she had trouble finding the jumps but we can teach her that by splitting the behavior: putting you ahead but but not moving that fast for now. When she get used to that, we can add more and more of your speed.
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
>>she already knows what she’s doing.
Mostly! She know how to follow the handling but she doesn’t know quite enough yet to save you if you are not very clear.
>>Spent years and years being told to “look at where the dog is going- dont stare at the dog”>>
Yeah…. Turns out that didn’t work so well LOL!! Yes, don’t stare at the dog, because that implies that you are hovering or not moving. But you should look at the dog pretty directly and keep moving – that works really well!
On the video:
Very nice attention to mechanics on your exit line connection! SUPER!!!! The only questions were about the connection 1-2:
Remember to connect to her (regular connection) over jump 1. And if you mess up, no worries… reward her anyway because her response is likely to be exactly what the handling told her to do (like at :31 and :48) and we don’t want to frustrate her by withholding reward. Remember – the reward to the dog happens regardless of if you get it right or not LOL!
You can connect more to her at :45 as well. This is where we use arm differently: you were trying to look over the top of your arm at her, but your left arm was forward and blocking connection… so she did not see the connection. And the arm being forward turned your shoulders and feet a bit away from the jump. So, a a baby dog: she went exactly to where your shoulders pointed.
Note the subtle different at 1:01 where you arm was back until after she passed you: that time she saw the connection because all of your parts (shoulder, feet, etc) were pointing to the line and the connection was more visible. Then the ELC at 1:03 was great!!!
When you switched sides, your connection all the way through the rep at 1:30 was GREAT. Your arm was back so she saw the connection 1-2 and the ELC was very clear on the exit of the FC too! NICE!!
And the last rep was perfection ❤️ Look how tight she turned!!!! High five!
Great job here. Onwards to the spins!
TracyHi!
>>At the trial this weekend, I forced myself to do blinds…some worked well but we also had a jumpers run that was a serious crash and burn.>>
Good for you! And some crash and burn runs are normal with young, fast dogs 🙂
>> I’m struggling with when to look at my dog for connection and when I’m just looking at my dog because I don’t trust her (or am admiring her beauty! >>
We actually talk about that specifically in the games posted tomorrow!!

>>Since I didn’t do a toy in the ring for the trial, I made myself grab the opposite pocket in my vest to get the arm across the body.>>I love it! Clever!!!!!!!
Looking at the video:
On this set up, the ELC overall was looking good! The key is to use more of the regular connection as she is taking jump 1, looking at her more as you drive the line, for a couple of reasons:
– looking at her more helps support her line 1-2
– looking at her more (while you keep running of course :)) will really help timing because you can start transitioning into the turns when she lands from 1, rather than when she arrives at 2.Looking at the FC reps:
At the beginning of the video, at
:03 you had good connection but it can be stronger because she is looking at you and curling to you, which generally means she can’t see the connection. At :20 – she didn’t see connection at all, so she came off the line, maybe thinking it was a blind? But compare to the next rep:
Big difference at :32, great adjustment! Nice ELC there too on the spin!!! The next few reps were nicely locked into the connection 🙂When you revisited the FCs later – more connection over jump 1 will allow you to see her landing and start to decel so the FC starts before she takes off for 2. The reps at 1:07 and 1:34 were late when the FC started when she landed from 2. The FC at 1:57 had much better timing! And he has good commitment, so you can do it even sooner 🙂
Your spins seemed more comfy here in general (you commented on that too in the video LOL!!!) You were earlier with the timing and also had good exit line connection! Yay! Remember to keep moving after the spin rather than wait for her.
The Blind at the end had really good exit line connection! Yay!!! You can start it sooner (2:09) – it is similar to the FCs in that you can see her land from 1 and then keep moving forward while you start the blind.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>So, when the manners minder was behind her, it was really difficult for her to release towards me.>>
Yes, it was definitely hard! But she did a great job lining up and worked beautifully!!
On the front and spins, your regular connection to get her committed to the lines looked great!
>>I seem to see things backwards sometimes
I think you had the hands/toy reversed, so that made it harder to show the exit line connection.
On the fronts, you can have toy in the dog-side hand (and resist temptation to switch it to the other hand :)) that way when you exit the FC, the toy is now in the opposite hand and you can show it to her across your body to get the best connection. You had it in the opposite hand to start so ended up connecting with the dog-side arm at your side, which makes it harder for her to see connection (which is why she was a little wider there)
On the spins, the toy does start in the opposite hand so you can keep it in that hand – which will end up being the one to put across your body when you exit the spin.
That will help your dog-side shoulder drop back to show more connection, so you’ll get better turns too!
One other small detail on the spin video: at :35, you were connected and then when you looked ahead, she cut in front of you to take the jump. That was her reading the turn of your shoulders (good girl!) so maintaining connection until she reaches the MM will keep her on the line.
Video 3:
Blinds are looking good! You had your dog-side arm down and back as you exited the Blind so she saw the connection really easily. Super!!You can move to the combos if you like!
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
She totally has the threadle idea here! And no issues balancing it with the serp. YAY!! That moment where she fixed her line at the last minute was GREAT (and also hilarious LOL!!)
Only 2 mine adjustments to make: you can move the RT a little further away from the bar (on the same line it is on, but maybe 3 or 4 feet further away). She wants to go fast so having it further away will allow her to really accelerate through these (while still turning nice and tight :))
And on the threadles, you can be a little closer to the jump. The goal is you can reach out and touch it with a relaxed, bent am: really close! As we build up the threadles, you will not be standing there for as long so she will have plenty of room to noodle into that space 🙂
I will make inquiries about the local teams and keep you posted!!
>>We revisited the SCARY FIELD today and she did just fine! Did back and forth with some bits of leftover pizza, played with snowballs, did a couple blind crosses on the flat and a couple hand touches. No concern from her at all!>>
Fantastic! I am very glad to hear it. The weird experience last time might have been an adolescent day, or something she noticed in the environment that you did not. My dogs have noticed things like coyotes or other dangers and have asked to leave the environment. So when they ask to leave, I trust them and we leave 🙂
Great job here!
TracySorry for the confusion! On the threadle reps here, he was on the takeoff side of the jump to start (which is a good way to introduce the concept). Now you will want to dig more into the threadle concept but putting him more on the landing side of the jump, so he has to ignore the obvious side and come around the wing to find the takeoff side. Start him on an easy angle where he is on the landing side but facing the entry wing of the threadle jump, so he goes past it and squeezes himself in between you can the jump before taking off. It is what I call position 1 on the demo video and the pup has a pretty straightforward angle there.
Let me know if that makes sense or if more coffee is required 🙂
Tracy
