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Good morning!
>> I think they were too big and too unique…she’s never had them before. No, she doesn’t always chew her treats, but she is a bit “careful” with anything new she is introduced to treat-wise.
This is good to know! Some dogs chew their treats only when they are processing something new in the environment and/or are concerned about something. Some dogs chew their treats any time they are new treats in terms of type or texture, regardless of environment – and that is what is sounds like Synnie was doing 🙂 I think you might be able to keep using those treats, because they are more familiar now? If they are high value and easily visible, then it is worth using them.
Keep me posted!
TracyGood morning! These are looking really good!
The stationary back and forth game, and the up and down game are both super strong. When you are moving for the back and forth game, remember to look at him so you can see if he re-engages with you (or not 🙂 ) before throwing the next treat – you were a little early on some of the treat throws.
>He didn’t seem to worried about the object I chose, should I switch it up?>
I agree, the object was just the right amount of tiny distraction and definitely did not worry him. In fact, I think he got pumped up because there was the potential for more action 🙂 All good! So yes, you can switch it up with random novel things.
And you can also take this game outside and add a leash. We will take it on the road soon.Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>>Unfortunately, I didn’t set my tripod back far enough. So, you can’t see the up and down game well. I also did the volume dial with toys first and then food. I’m completely out of the frame with the food. Oops!>>
Pattern games are looking good! Interestingly, on the back and forth, there was a difference in latency when she was on the left side of the screen (lower) than on the right side of the screen (higher). Why is it like that? Dunno 🙂 Could be any zillions of reasons but it was significant enough that we will note it and look for it in other sessions. I didn’t really see it in the previous session in your yard.
Up and down was visible enough that I could tell it was looking good too!At the park – are there any areas you can take her to that might be stimulating with people, other dogs walking past, kids, soccer games 🙂 , bikes, etc? That is a great opportunity to play these with more interesting stimuli 🙂
>>Sprite did pretty well in class. Unfortunately, she tends to whine on her crate, but we are working on it.>>
Is there a place the crate can be where she can settle? Or a visual blocker, or turn on music to block the sound a bit? Or would chewing something (like a bully stick) help? It would be good for trial days if she could relax in her crate more.
>> At the end of class she was in a down while a lower energy dog did some agility right by her. I have video of that if you want to see it.>>
Good girlie! Was she actually relaxed, or showing excellent control and holding position? Either way, all good! And I always ask this question because it gives us insight into her internal state: what happened next? Was she able to release from the down and do some “work” or be engaged?
>>Yes, it was Gemma on the side of the fence. I can give her a toy, but I’m not sure how to throw stuff for her and work Sprite. >>
Maybe Gemma can chew one something? You can also have Sprite close to the fence so it is easy to toss stuff for Gemma (you will need a third arm for this, possibly LOL!)
>>I can have Gemma out with a ball on the field running around. I’ll see what I can come up with. Actually, the soccer ball is a huge distraction. So, it can be one of the items out.>>
So if the soccer ball just sitting there is a big distraction, you can use it as a stationary distraction until she is ready for more (that low latency is our cue). Eventually, yes, Gemma can be running around with a ball near you 🙂 And you can also release Sprite in and out of the pattern games to chase the soccer ball or play with Gemma if that is something they both like! The play interspersed with the pattern games will help bring the arousal up in a good way, which helps cement the pattern games in higher arousal states (yay state dependent memory!!)
Great job here! Let me know how she does, feel free to be creative with happy distractions 🙂
Tracy
Good morning! I love the music in the background
These look really strong – low latency (quick responses) and she seems very happy to play the games 🙂 My only suggestion for this session is to make sure you don’t get into a rhythm because then you get going really fast and end up placing the next treat before she re-engages 🙂 So keep watching her to let her re-engage and then place the next treat.She is definitely ready more:
– playing these with the leash on and in different places. How does she do with these in class or other places?– add a novel object into the environment. Nothing scary, just new and different 🙂
You can also play these with a handful of treats in each hand without the cookie pouches around your was it. That is a massive cue for the dogs that we cannot take into the ring, so the sooner we can fade it, the easier it is to help the dogs engage without it.
Have you tried the volume dial game yet? I am excited to see it!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Will there be a Max pup 3?
Yes! The program goes through MaxPup 4 and then the dog graduate to the CAMP level.
>>Do you think Mochi and I will be ready to move on to Max Pup 3?
Totally yes 🙂
>>Do you know when it will start?
That is a great question… it requires bigger spaces which will be really hard in the winter for most of North America. Usually MaxPup 3 runs in the spring and summer. Plus, we have the holidays coming up which makes scheduling harder. So I will take a look at how to either revamp it so we can do it in the winter, or some type of bridge class (MaxPup 2A or Pre-3 haha) so that we can make it through deep winter before doing the full MaxPup 3 class. I hope to figure that out in the next week or two.
Tracy
Ooh I am loving my morning Tipsy updates! Coffee and terriers, nothing better than that combo!
>>She was a GOOD GIRL last night! I crated her the whole time between runs and gave her a chewie to work on and her reactivity was down a whole bunch. >>
SUPER HUGE HOORAY!! That likely indicates a change in her physiology so she was in a better state in the ring to be able to do agility 🙂 So definitely keep going with that.
>>She was a little distracted during some runs but she didn’t visit anyone! She came back to me after doing a little loop around the ring.>>
That is still an improvement and we haven’t even gotten into the nitty gritty yet 🙂 You can start to track what causes these little distractions and we can find “triggers” – you can do that by videotaping your runs, or keeping a journal, or texting notes to yourself (this is what I do). Just jot down what happened right before she got distracted: was it a handling bobble? A novel distraction, or a sudden distraction? Was it when you took the leash off? Tracking it will help us make a plan to help her out.
The next step is to get the pattern games really solid at home. Since she is food-driven, I think this will be very easy for her 🙂
>She’s still not convinced about the treat hugger…I’ll keep trying.>>
She probably needs more time to pair the treat hugger with food delivery, but it will come because she is a foodie. You can make it more enticing by having a treat sticking up out of it, like a long skinny piece of cheese so it is easy to grab and highly visible (and yummy!)
Great job here! Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
Interesting to hear that you are also seeing these openings, all the way across the world! Yes you can totally do them with both dogs 🙂
The pattern games looked AWESOME and in fact, I think Sassy thought it was the best day of her life LOL!! Is this the first time she has seen them? She was great. Mechanics looked strong and I am glad you added the leash.
We are going to strengthen these games a whole lot, because they are the foundation for helping her get over her very valid concerns about other dogs. You can play these games every day, but alternating the level of challenge: one day can be a novel object (she is ready for that) and the next day can be the normal easy game like you did here. It is important to keep the easy version of this game as he favorite thing ever as we very gradually build up the distractions (eventually we will add strange dogs).
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
She totally remembers her patterns from MaxPup 1 and the Up and Down game looked great! Note how quickly she returned her engagement to you.
>>The distraction we used was pretty mild.>>
This was cool to see… something as mild as a random box in a comfortable environment TOTALLY changed the picture. Her body language changed, she needed to investigate it, took several reps… Then BOOM! You can see her tail position change and she was like “I am ALL GOOD NOW, thanks!” YAY!!!
So definitely keep doing this novel, neutral object thing – every other day. And on the other days, do the pattern game without any novel objects just to keep the pattern game sharp and happy.
And are any of your other dogs super stable and confident in a way that they can model that for her, when you go into new environments that might be hard? Social learning is really powerful! And the flip side – if one of the other dogs might have a struggle with something in the environment, don’t have her also in that environment with him.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>How many novel objects in the yard?
2 or 3 should be fine. Also, was that Gemma behind a fence? Can you give Gemma something to do that might catch Sprite’s attention? For example, I will put one or two of my dogs on the other side of a fence and hand them all frisbees, so they run around like fools 🙂 That is a GREAT thing to work on because it can simulate trial distractions.
>>My energy is low today. Covid vaccine yesterday and I’m having mild side effects.>>
TOTALLY relate – I had it last week and it made me feel terrible for over 2 days. Worth it in the long run but it really a low energy. few days.
>>Also, I didn’t see a leash in your volume dial video, so I thought it would be okay. 🙂 I’ll add it at the park. It is a PITA, but likely needed. Do, I best get my mechanics down.>>
Starting without a leash is perfectly fine. Since you have really good mechanics with everything else, you can the leash now. Also, you can add verbal “chatter” before the cue because having a ‘magic word’ paired with fun things and optimized arousal can actually trigger that more optimized arousal state (and engagement). Mine is “ready!” which is not super creative LOL but very effective. If I say it, I will get pretty immediate feedback from the dog that YES HE IS READY. And if I don’t get that feedback? More patterns or more volume dial needed, depending on the situation.
>>Sprite does know how to weave between my legs. It’s a warm up. At one point I tried go between my legs and line up at my side. But, she got sticky and wouldn’t be parallel or she wouldn’t sit.>>
You can bring it out again as a volume dial game, and also you can use it as a stay behavior without the parallel line up or the sit.
I teach it without the sit at first: line up and stay there. Kind of like the old kids game “freeze dance” 🙂 where I cue the stay, move away, then release to party. I really don’t care if the dog is in a sit or if they are parallel to me. At first my dogs are all a little sideways and in a stand. And that is great because since I haven’t asked for a sit, I’m happy to reward them for holding position! It is also great feedback about the arousal state and takes out any conflict. It also allows the dog a lot of agency at the start line, because they can choose their position – for example with Contraband, I go to the start line and just say “stay” – criteria is don’t move from this spot. He can stand if he wants, or sometimes he puts himself into a sit. As soon as he has chosen a position, I move away and start the game.
>>Today in class I did use the back and forth game walking towards the first jump. She did well. New class with two loud barking Aussies. We did pattern games and short sequences.>>
Awesome! Doing it with new dogs is great, especially with loud new dogs 🙂 How did she do with it while waiting her turn or watching the other dogs?
>> I have a procedure Friday, so I might not get to the sequences until this weekend. >>
Sounds good! Hoping for a speedy recovery!
>>But, it’s really crate to gate where we need the most help.
All of these little pieces will come together into a great way to happily get from crate to gate, in any situation 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
The back and forth game with the novel object looked good – she looked at it for a half second before you started, then ignored it the rest of the time. Perfect! Pretty low latency (some looking for the treat in the grass which is fine because olfaction is our friend :))
Definitely take this on the road to novel contexts (you can do the up and down game too) and also try it in agility class – how far from the ring does she need to be to have this latency? And you can also set up a gauntlet of novel objects in your yard – then bring her out on leash and walk through/past the gauntlet with the back and forth game.
Volume dial should definitely be done on leash, because the leash will be on in almost every context. And the leash is a pain in the butt, so definitely use it in training so you can rehearse the mechanics of using it. The spins are such a great trick that you will definitely want to sort out how to deal with the leash 🙂
When you are using food, I would like to see more action in your treat delivery: get the behavior, mark, then run a few steps so she chases your hand for the treat. And during the treat delivery, you can reward up high so her front feet come up off the ground (this will increase arousal :)) And you can be as wild as you want to be – the goal it get wild, so feel free to be wild.
The spins are great for this, and so are the high fives. And if you do a down or sit, release quickly so it is a quick movement. She did well with the toy, lots of action! You can run a little more here too with the toy, so she feels the difference in your energy too! This might be the one game where we do NOT want the handler to have super clean mechanics LOL!!
No need for the chin holds here – not enough action, and most dogs don’t really breath properly during chin holds (notice the closed mouth) which can affect their physiology in undesired ways – so I have taken the chin hold out of the toolbox unless the dog can be open-mouth panting while it is happening (I only know of one dog that does that).You can also take the volume dial game to new environments: classes, parks, etc. Part of this game is learning what she needs in different environments to dial that arousal into the optimized state. And just like different environments, the volume dial game will be different too!
Does she know how to weave between your legs? Somewhere in my brain I thought she knew how to do it – if not, it is easy to teach with cookie lures. It is great for volume dial, it doubles as a physical warm up, and it is a great way to work up to a line up in high arousal!
>>I didn’t combine the videos so it’s two separateones. I hope that’s okay?>>
Yes, perfect! No need to do much editing: just do the session and slap it up on YouTube then into the forum LOL!
Great job here!!
TracyHello! Welcome!
>>some of these pattern games since the Power Patterns webinar, but I’ve only done them with her by ourselves either in the house or in the backyard where there are limited distractions. >>
Hooray for practicing your patterns! When you do them at home or in limited distraction places, how quickly does she re-engage? Does she always chew her treats?
>>Tonight we moved to the agility field, where she can see/hear cars on the road and I also let the other dogs out (who loudly explain how they are very jealous of the one who is on the field!).>>
Yep, that made it a LOT harder and her latency was high, meaning it took a longer time for her to re-engage (lots of chewing, sniffing, looking around and also chewing LOL!!). What that tells us is that the environment was challenging! Not overwhelming because she was able to re-engage… but definitely super challenging. They way to tell how the session went is to do another session in a day or two, just like this one. If it looks the same, in terms of length of time before re-engaging? Then dial back the distractions – maybe just have her out in the field without the other dogs barking because. Then if you seeder re-engagement gets faster, you can add back maybe one dog in the next session. She will let you know how she feels about the level of challenge with how quickly she can re-engage.
>>We are doing our first NADAC trial on Sunday (my first NADAC trial in about 15 years). Do you think she is at a point that I can bring this to the trial and use it maybe 20-30 feet from the ring to start?>>
My official answer is… maybe LOL!!! Probably! But you will definitely want to play these games with her on a leash (at home) first, because the leash can make things harder for you both. And if you try it at the trial, start with a small, less interesting dog and NOT the tunnelers class LOL!! If she is successful in terms of being able to eat the cookies and re-engage pretty quickly, then you can move a little closer.
If she struggles – can’t eat or re-engages slowly – you can move further from the ring.Let me know how it goes!
TracyHi! Great questions here!
>> I believe you said that you don’t ask for a stay in the first NFC trial you enter. >>
That is correct! Stays are HARD and so are weaves and contacts… so the first NFC experience is all about engagement and jumps/tunnels, and no stays or weaves or contacts (although I will sometimes do NFC and just do stay games and no other sequences). So if I am going to do a sequence and I don’t want to do a stay, I will gently hold the dog’s collar and just do a ready-set-go type of send. That way the dog has clear permission to start but there is no confusion about a stay. Plus, I want the ring experience to be super positive and engaging, so I don’t want to risk any issues with criteria. If I ask for a stay and he doesn’t stay… do I ignore it in favor of keeping it a positive experience? Or do I tell him he is wrong, and start to build in frustration/failure? I simply do not want that conundrum early on in the dog’s career.
>>What is your progression for introducing that? >>
It totally depends on the dog. If the dog seems comfy in the trial environment, then I might ask for a stay early on in my NFC progression. If the dog is NOT comfy? Nope, no stays – just fast and fun and run run run 🙂 And if I do ask for a stay, my mission is to release the dog before he breaks. So I will release the dog 50% sooner than I would in practice, to set up success. And I reward a TON of stays during NFC runs. And separately from trials, I work a lot of high arousal stays so the dog is prepared before I ask for it at trials. (The same goes for contacts & weaves)
>>You don’t feel as though you’ve taught your dog that it isn’t required in a trial?>>
Not at all! I didn’t ask for it, so there is no discussion with the dog about whether it is required or not. And a whole lot less pressure & stress at the beginning of their career. If they have any easy time transitioning to the ring, then I can ask for the stay pretty early on. Think of it as the same with dog walk criteria. Yes, I would like the dog to hit criteria every single time. But if I start the dog in NFC jumpers, then I am not asking for the dog walk 🙂 Or if I do standard, I don’t need to ask the dog for the dog walk. The contact criteria is still required, but I haven’t asked for it. That does not diminish the strength of the behavior, and in fact it strengthens it by getting the dog comfortable in the environment before asking for the more difficult skills.
>>How do you expose your dog to a multi-ring situation? I see lots of trials that are run indoors that have only one ring. I’m in California – we don’t have anything indoors (everything is outside) so there maybe multiple rings running at one time.>>
A lot of the games we play here will help the dog prepare! And I bring those games ringside (when they are ready) so the dogs are prepared to ignore other dogs running. And in classes, I like to have other dogs out and other people doing stuff while my dogs are running so there is a lot of prep for the dogs ignoring other dogs and people running around.
>>My videos showed I was not connected to her on the first run🤪, so she took some liberties since I likely confused the heck out of her.>>
Well that is really interesting and I am glad you video’d the run! Lack of connection = lack of info, so dogs get stressed. And she ended up in the Fawn end of the F responses… and visited people. So if you disconnect on course, no worries, it happens. But to help her out, keep running and rewarding so she doesn’t think that the error was hers. We have games coming to help her cope with handler disconnection (because we handlers disconnect a LOT haha)
Keep me posted!
TracyHi!
>>When Vinny sees and hears agility his total focus goes to the ring and he doesn’t hear me or see me. He won’t tug or take food.>>
One way to make headway here is that we can get his pattern games and volume dial game really solid, then gradually incorporate the sounds of agility by using recordings of it!
>> He can watch Marky do agility at home now without wigging out.
Can he watch Marky run around with a toy, perhaps, and eat treats or play tug?
>> When we get to the front of the building he starts to get excited and I start to lose some focus. >>
That is excellent progress! There is not a ton of room between the door and the ring, so being right outside the front door is actually pretty close. And it is a good spot to add some of these games. When you are working through your progression there, what games/cues are you using? What works well? Are you using food or toy (let me know if he seems to have a preference in that environment, because all games can be. tweaked to fit the dog’s preference of motivator :))
>>I would say most of the time he has held his start line but he’s pushing to leave and may start to creep a little.>>
You can maintain the stay by releasing him 50% sooner than you would release him at home, so ideally it is before he creeps 🙂 But if he is creeping forward immediately, we would isolate the stay during NFC/FEO runs in a different way such as NOT asking for it at the beginning of the run (starting from a gentle collar hold and send) and then after a few obstacles, working a stay for reinforcement in the middle of the ring.
>>He is easy to get a leash on and leave the ring when done.>
Excellent!!!
>> I’ve started to crate him upstairs in a wire crate 🙂 covered. The more hyped the dog in the ring is the more hyped he is.>>
Is he reacting to the dog in the ring, while he is in the crate? If so… definitely re-think crating him in the building as it is not going to help your cause 🙂 If not? Super!!! Yay!
>>I want to develop some kind of routine ringside that will hold his attention. I’ve done the 3 exercises in the first lesson and I also have him sit and tap my right then left hand back and forth for treats.>>
So he has the pattern games and volume dial in his toolbox? Cool! The next step would be to check his latency at home, and do the next steps of the framework which involves assessing the environment with the patterns by adding distractions (at home first).
>> I entered him on Nov 5th for his first AKC trial just to get some ring practice so will need a plan. It will be a standard class which will be his first time on contacts in the ring. I don’t know if I can FEO in that class but I will not be running to try and Q.>>
You cannot do FEO in AKC standard classes (it is only allowed in T2B and FAST 🙁 ) Can you switch your entry to T2B or FAST, so you can train on the contacts? If it is his first time on contact in the ring, you definitely want to do it FEO so you can help him out with reinforcement!
Tracy
Good morning!
Starting without you was hilarious! And very nice LOL!!He did a great job finding the jump here! Nice job staying closer to the jump and rotating your upper body.
>>I do think I could’ve keep my cue arm farther back and chest faced more towards the jump. >>
Yes, you can swing your arm back more and look back at your hand, that can open up your shoulders even more.
He had some questions here – the questions had to do with the approach to the jump. You sent him around the wing the wrong direction (away from the jump then did a FC) so his approach to the jump was more of a push through to the backside than a serp. That added an additional change of direction which made it more challenging. It will be easier to send him around the outside of the wing so he exits facing the serp jump (and no need to do a FC on the wing to push him to it).
Find the Jump looked great! He seemed to have no trouble finding the jump 🙂 You can add more lateral distance now, so you are progressively further and further from the jump but still supporting the line with motion and verbals. You can add more connection as well – this camera was in a great position because we can see what he sees for connection. As you gt further rom the jump, turn your eyes back to him more and point your dog-side arm back & down to him so that he can see your eyes and the center of your chest more (that will totally show the line to the jump as you move).
The diamond is a beast of a game – I remember how hard it was with the baby dogs when I filmed it, and it is hard now that I am doing it with my whippet baby LOL!
You were really emphasizing the blind cross mechanics hereat the beginning and that is the most important part. The mechanics looked great and he seemed to have no trouble seeing the side change.
>>And again I think my arm back for connection could be stronger.
I don’t think it needed to be strong – you were very connected and he seemed to know where to be at all times.
You were a little late at first with the blinds but no worries – as you were getting comfy with the mechanics, you started getting earlier and earlier like at 1:20 and 1:44. As he exits the tunnel, you can be cuing the wing and when he is maybe just past halfway to it, you can start the blind. As long as you keep moving towards the wing, he should commit and then the blind will be finished before he arrives at the wing. It might take some experimenting with how early you can start the blind, but it will get earlier and earlier as he gets more experienced.
The race track looked great! Wheeeee!!! Because of his size, you probably don’t need the left verbals here – it is more of a Go for the little guy. I was using the left and right for my big dog because he actually needed to collect to turn 🙂 but the littles can do the race track in full on extension.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
