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Welcome! This should be a great way to build communication with your baby girlie!!! And I believe she is related to two of the demo dogs (Voodoo and Jitterbug, who are not in the week one games but will appear in the others đ )
Have fun!
TracyHello and welcome back! I’m excited to see you two work through the competition track!
Have fun!
TracyHello and welcome!!! I’m so excited to watch you and Sieger here. I think you’ll find it complements the MaxPup classes nicely đ
Have fun!
TracyGood morning and welcome!!!!
Yes, the photos show up from other accounts linked to gravatar. I sent info on how to load or change it in the welcome email this morning.
Have fun!
TracyHi!
>>I forgot to thank you for offering to let my friend join the class late. She ended up deciding to do an independent study class instead since her pup is already doing sequences.>>
Yes, thanks for referring her! She ended up doing an independent study MaxPup 2.
Strike a pose is going well! He was coming in over the bar then going back out really nicely in both directions đ Yay!!! And he got onto his toy at the end: SUPER!!!!
>>The only issue we had was that putting an actual treat in the target bowl before asking for the nose touch was too hard, so Iâm using an empty bowl and then I toss the treat into it.>>
That is fine to do! You can also use the Manners Minder as the reward target. That will help with the threadles too! You can also work just a hand touch to the target when there is a bowl with a cookie on it on the ground nearby – it is a good skill to play with!
>>The only other thing I noticed is that my pose doesnât look all that much like I think it will when Iâm running. >>
I think you did a great job with your upper body cue – it was very clear and you held the position as you dropped the treat in the bowl. You can make it more âserpyâ by pointing your feet to the reward target (the direction youâd be running towards). That will also transfer well to the threadles (pointing your feet to the exit line/reward target there too).
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>Iâm laughing this morning watching the video. She can only stay if she belly punches me first⌠>>
1. My question is should I try and get rid of this? >>I have no problem with it as long as it doesnât hurt and doesnât include biting! My year old BC mix does it too and it is pretty hilarious. My whippet clacks at me when I cue a sit⌠then he does his sit. I find it all entertaining and I also know to let them do their thing before I lead out.
ďżź
>>2. I took notes on your comments. I am as impatient as my dogs. I NEED TO WAIT BEFORE TOSSING TOY.>>Just a heartbeat of waiting needed. I say that to myself too ALL THE TIME: say the word THEN move the reward. It is hard for us humans LOL!
>> I canât believe you did not mention the fact that I used 4 different markers for the same behavior⌠arrg. I need to tell myself before I start which cue and be more consistent.>>â¨
There were a couple that were not quite in the right place but most were fine đ>> I am torn about the throwback if I should use a different cue for food VS toy and a different cue for thrown back VS anywhere.>>
In the spirit of NOT needing 10,000 marker words, I use the same word (âcatchâ) for throwing food and toys back to the dog. I mean, they see what I am doing so there is no question from the dog. I donât ever proof to a crazy level (like throwing a toy but saying a cookie word and expecting the dog to NOT take the toy – that seems rude LOL!) so I trust the dogâs understanding of context. And my dogs have no questions about it.
I have a different marker for thrown ahead (get it) and like âcatchâ I use it for food and toys. And also like âcatchâ – zero questions from the dog.
The only different food versus toy markers are when they should drive to me hands to take the reinforcement: I want the dog to know if coming in HOT for a toy is happening, or coming in gently for a cookie, so I use different words (âbiteâ for a toy and âyesssssâ or âsnacksâ for food).
>>Get it- is treat thrown (forward or to the side- could be back)>>
It can be, but since there is movement involved, I like to differentiate between move forward (get it) and stay there/look behind (âcatchâ).
>>Is it bad if I just use âget itâ for the treat (meaning it will be thrown somewhere) >>
I think somewhere is too vague. Part of the joy of markers is that they indicate clear placement (like look ahead for it) so if it can be anywhere, that dilutes that value.
>> Lucky for my agility dogs so far I rarely use verbals (because I would obviously use the wrong ones) but I want to do everything I can to help Taq run as fast as she can.>>
You will have plenty of practice with Taq! And plus, you can use the verbals with the adult dogs just to practice them even if they donât know what they all mean đ
Tracy
Hi!
>>I tried removing the pillow and the wobble board became a little too intimidating.>>
Yes, it was a big leap for her to have no pillow so it ended up being a session more about getting her happy on the wobble board, so that was really good! She was confident with getting on it and turning around and assuming the position for backing up, and then was able to do a little front end backing up with her back end staying stable, then some reaching back with her hind end. Super!!
For the next session, you can split the difference: have a the wobble board a bit propped up (about where it ended here, that worked well!) and I bet she gets the backing up going again really well. A little bit of latent learning will kick in and she will be backing up onto it again.
Great job!
TracyGood morning! Happy New Year!
>>I had things going on and then was course building for 4 days plus 32 runs!>>
All good! I am sure you were a little busy and also that Taq got to do some good stuff in the crazy trial environment đ
The 2 perch sessions went really well!! You are starting to get some independent foot movement on the perch – she did best when the rewards were tossed to the side and she then offered pivoting back to center. So definitely keep going that route! When you were waiting for her to offer it when already on the perch, she offered a tiny bit of movement. When she was pivoting back to center after a tossed treat, she had a lot of steps! Yay!
You donât even need to reward in position – you can do a session of clicking then tossing to the other side, so she moves away, gets the treat, then pivots back to center (then get a click/treat toss to the other side).
Try that for a session and then I bet we can add something for her to step over as she pivots, like a bar taped to the ground so it doesnât roll.
Stays are looking really good too! She was PUMPED UP (occasionally punching you in the gut before she sat LOL!) but still had lovely stays.
Adding duration went well – try to have your toy hand in a natural position (you had it curled up by your shoulder) so that way the toy hand position doesnât accidentally become part of the cue. You will want to be able to walk away moving your arms, so you can add that in here in tiny bits – small movement then a bit more duration then reward, so she doesnât think the movement of your arm is at all related to the release.
The same thing applies for walking away without connection then re-connecting. If you disconnect then re-connect, always praise and/or wait a few more heartbeats before the release, so she doesnât pair the reconnection with the release and self-release by accident.
She figures things out so quickly that these little details will make a big difference! Plus also be sure you say your marker then wait a heartbeat then throw the toy (rather than throw as you say the marker, which might make movement part of the release).
Great job here!
TracyGood morning! Happy New Year!
“”Weâre not as far behind as it seems. I just have a backlog of videos to submit. Weâre actually going to be starting on Week 7 later this week.””
You’re doing great! And this is a light week in terms of new games (one of which builds on what you did in this tunnel video :))
Super strong session here! I think you did a really good job releasing when he looked at the tunnel (you are totally correct in that he will look back at you pretty quickly!) and also, when you got a little too far from the entry and he did the spin, great job making the entry a tiny bit easier and he was great
The threadle side is definitely harder so you had to hold your position until he was definitely heading into the tunnel – on the rep at :35 when he did NOT going into the tunnel, it was because you stepped away before he was really committed, so he came with your motion. But he wasn’t just going to the MM there – note how he did the tunnel the other direction and ignored the MM LOL! That is rewardable, especially because the threadle verbal is not in place yet – so he was not wrong to go to that end of the tunnel on a tunnel verbal.
So the next step here is to add your tunnel threadle verbal so he can differentiate between the tunnel on his line, and the other side of the tunnel (then you can check out the new game added today that uses the tunnel threadle and I think he will find really fun!!)
>>Having the TT behind him was super hard, hence all the squealing. >>
Yes, he was PUMPED UP lol!!! But even though it was hard, it looks like he was super successful! Yay! You can also try this with a placed toy instead of a MM, if he finds a placed/’dead’ toy to be motivating. If not, you can stick with the MM.
>>I see that Week 7 has a remote reinforcement game, so hopefully that will help make setups like this one easier.>>
Yes, it is the very beginning of working away from a placed reinforcement.
Great job here! Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
>>with some tugging in between sides I cut for time>>
I keep forgetting to mention – you donât need to edit out the tugging for time. It is fine to leave it in and probably easier than editing it đ
The threadle session looked fantastic! I think she is really beginning to understand that in in means in THEN ALSO back out and that is a critical part of it. Great job with your reward marker and placement to help create that.
You can see at 1:01 and 1:30 that she was coming in and going back out in flow without needing extra help or cues from you⌠this is exactly what we want đ So you can now start to delay your âcashâ marker until she turns her head to the jump.
>>The 2nd to last rep made me laugh haha! Smart girlie!>>
That was awesome LOL! She decided to go fast, almost messed it up, but then nailed it (and went back out to the bar on her own there). SUPER!!!
So 2 approaches for the next steps: you can keep the easier angles and add in the advanced level where we show her the difference between the threadle slice and the serp (by changing your position and verbal). And, separately, you can do a session where you change her start angle so she figures out how to threadle from any crazy angle.
>>And to answer your question from the drop in class at the new facility, the instructor was Grace Huffman.>>
Cool! Regular drop ins would be great just to get Vesper out and about in those settings, or even a class! I always enroll my pups in a class that is one level below what I think they can doâŚ. That way I can set them up for BIG success in a harder environment and not worry about the skills.
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning and happy New Year!
He is getting the idea of going around the upright twice!
>>It was really hard for me to discern when he was turning his head away because I kept thinking heâs just following the treat in my hand.>>
Following the treat in your hand is definitely the starting point đ You were actually clicking a little too early on most of the reps – the click was happening as he was coming towards your hand. The reward placement was spot on which really helped but you can actually click later (I know, we humans are almost always late so it is funny to be early LOL!!)
For the timing:
Lead him through the turn with the magic cookie hand like you did here. Cue the turn away and wait until you see him turn his head away from the cookie hand and towards the upright⌠then click and toss the treat. You will see the definite moment and that is your cue from him to click đThe 2nd rep here was closest to the perfect timing (:12) – you clicked right after he turned his head. I think you tossed the treat before the click on this rep, though, so remember to wait for the head turn then click then toss.
Getting a shade closer to the upright might help too because you can create the turn more easily (or not – play with it and see how it feels :))
Ooh, nice new cavalettis and he did well here! Really good balance for a teenager (usually these teenagers have crazy spider legs going every which way LOL!!) He is not rushing as long as you are not too far ahead and not moving fast.
He needs a focal point to keep his head straight to keep the movement balanced (and so you donât have to move fast) so you can add an empty food bowl about 6 feet past the exit of each end of the cavalettis: that can provide the focal point for him to trot to, then you can drop a treat in it. Introduce the concept on maybe just 2 cavalettis at first so he realizes that trotting to the bowl gets the prize. Then you can easily build up to the full set.
Once the focal points make sense to him, you can also add in working the Cavs in higher arousal – this will challenge him to keep his balance and footwork even when he is more stimulated (which is useful for every single sport :)) You can do that with fun silly action tricks for cookies, or with tugging!
Holy wow perching looks GREAT!
>>Well, holy cow he was doing so well that I had to turn it on!>>
I am glad you did! Latent learning is magic and also after the head turning session and the cavaletti session, his body awareness was definitely activated and he was brilliant here. So cool!
>>, I see that his head is still high, but Iâm not sure how to fix that when I am NOT using my hands. Should I try keeping hands by my sides?>>
Yes, you can get his head a shade lower by holding your hands lower: you tended to have them at the bottom of your rib cage here, so you can shift the hand position to the top of your thighs or just below your belly button. I find that having my hands together in front of me is most comfy and gives a clear focal point for the pups, as opposed to a hand on each thigh which can split the focus a little.
I think he is ready for you to add a something to step over, like a jump bar taped to the ground (so it doesnât roll).
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHappy New Year!
Sounds like you and Teagan had a good weekend at the trial! And it also sounds like he was comfy in the trial environment (and the car ride!) – that is great đ
The 2 toy game is looking good – he really liked the new toy but also really liked the original toy! He might particularly enjoy ânewâ toys or toys that belong to other dogs, so you can keep a rotating stash of toys that he doesnât get to see that often. That way when you pull it out, it feels brand new! Or, you can let one of the other dogs play with it – for some reason, puppies love to steal toys from other dogs LOL!!
Since he has the cool new toy – put it away for a couple of days so it retains its ânewnessâ. Then put a small bowl of the most boring possible treats (if there is such a thing as âboring treatsâ for him LOL!) in one room. Play with the toy in a different room – then run to the cookie room, give him one incredibly boring cookieâŚ. Then run back to the toy room and see if he will play. The goal is to oh-so-gradually get him playing with toys even when cookies are around (this is so hard for him at this point because he loves food).
This can all hold true for the squeaky toys – you can feed the boring cookie in one room then run to the other room with the squeaky toys!
He interacts with them beautifully and he seems to really like chomping on the smaller one rather than bringing it back. I think the smaller one might be his favorite one because he drives to it better overall. I think the novelty of the green toy squeaking helped him retrieve it on the first rep, but then his love for the smaller toy took over. Good news though – he loves the toy! And he isnât running away with it. And I agree with you, the retrieve will develop as he grows up (he is still really young).
You can try tying the green squeaky to a longer toy so you can drag it around and move away from him, to help him want to retrieve the smaller toy (no guarantees that it will overcome his love for the smaller toy though LOL!)
>>I had trouble, mechanically, trying to hold 2 toys and him.>>
Yes, it is hard because the toys are big and you kind of need 3 arms⌠you can try stuffing a toy in your arm pit on the same side that holds his? Or under your shirt?
Great job here!!!
TracyHappy New Year!!
>>I canât figure out what I am not doing right in this head turns thing.>>
What was making it a little harder here on the first rep was that you sent him around the upright with your left hand but then tried turn him away with your right hand, but that didnât mark a lot of sense to him. On the other reps, you were sending with your left and trying to turn away with your left which will make it all easier for sure. I think what was missing was a cookie in your left hand so knew to follow it. It looks like you had the clicker in that hand so he didnât know to follow it.
When you changed sides – you had the right mechanics at 1:08 (right hand sends then also turns him) and I think there was a cookie in that hand too – but you were too quick to try to turn him away so he was confused.
Two suggestions – practice the turn away on the flat without the upright, letting him follow your hand in a slow circle so he understands to follow. The cookie hand, and so you practice moving the hand slowly so he can follow it.
Then you can add it back to the turns – letting him really lock onto the cookie hand and follow it as you slowly turn him away.
>>when Axel is done with his training turn, I canât get him back to his crate.>>
It looks like everything else is soooo fun and he just doesnât like being in his crate – possibly even finds it punishing (negative punishment) or because he just doesnât like it. If the crate signifies the end of the fun and the end of reinforcementâŚ. Then he is going to avoid it like he was doing here. The snuffle mat and 123 game are all fine, but he might start avoiding those too if it they predict going back to the crate.
To help him out, get a different crate (a nice big one) and separately from training, let him have some really amazing chew bones or stuff kongs in the crate. And during training, you can sometimes randomly go into the crate but donât close the door – instead, immediately release him back to the game so that the crate isnât always associated with being finished or being confined or having to watch other dogs (all of which can lead to him not enjoying the crate).
Le me know what you think!
TracyHappy New Year!
Yes, so many words!!!
>>Ok so I should be using in-in as a backside slice and back as a backside wrap.>>
Question – for backsides, do you mean threadles or pushes? Ideally there are 4 ‘backside’ verbals” 2 for when the dog pushes away and we are on the landing side as they go the backside, and 2 for when they threadle into us and we are on the takeoff side. Let me know if that makes sense, or I can send video.
>> Then I have two different verbals for front right wrap and front left wrap.
That will serve you well, though!! She is fast!!!!!
Tracy
