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Good morning!
The zig zag grid is going well! Since she has a solid stay here, you can lead out more and use a moving target – that is her toy on a long line (like tied to another toy or a leash) so you can drag it as she is jumping. That will get her to look at the line more and up at you less. You can lead out about 5 feet past jump 2, put the toy on the ground (holding the other end of the line) then release and drag the toy forward. And if she is happy with that, you can then flatten the angles a bit more š
The turn aways went really well! She is driving to your hands and flipping away around the wing really well. For the tandem turns, you can get a little closer to the tunnel exit so you are moving up the line more when she exits – that will get even more speed on those. The lap turns (where you are facing her) were spot on – those are a lot more decelerated with less motion.
>>sheās forgiving of my silly mistakes sometimes so thatās nice!>>
Yes! She was reading the lines really well. You were very connected and she didnāt need you to be 1000% perfect. And she is driving through deceleration now, which she used to think was sooooo stupid LOL!!!
Looking at the last Winginā It video:
This went really well too! All of the physical cues looked great – the race tracks, tunnel sends, tunnel threadles, and flip aways on the wing. YAY! The connection was really top notch, and I felt like you were communicating all of the cues directly to her (rather than looking ahead) so she read them really easily. The only spot to add more connection is on he tunnel exits: remember to keep your arm back and eyes on her as she exits the tunnel so she can see the next line without you needing to be right with her.
About the verbals:
>>I donāt have any verbals for these things yet. I wasnāt sure how sheād do so I didnāt want to add a verbal until I knew she understood it. >>
Yes! We donāt want to make the verbals confusing or add them to the wrong behavior by accident! So it is good to wait. She was super though so you can pick your verbals and add them š
>>I also didnāt know what verbals to come up with. Everybody uses such random words and noises which is just so bizarre to me.>>
We are a bunch of weirdos LOL!!!! I choose my verbals based on 2 things:
– making sure they are all pretty different from each other and from obstacle names (the word and how they are delivered)
– making sure they make sense to me and I stand a chance at remembering them LOL!! So my tunnel threadle word is ākiss kissā because I tell my dogs I will give them a big kiss if they get the correct end of the tunnel LOL!! And my wrap verbals are noises that cannot be delivered in a loud way, because loud words do not help collection and I can be a bit, um, loud hahahahaSo as you decide: Use what is intuitive for you! You were using āoutā to stay on the line and āhereā to bring her into your hands for the turn aways. That worked great!
I highly recommend a tunnel threadle word because ātunnelā means take the one on your line in front of you and the other word will mean ātake the other sideā even if you are not in perfect handling position. I know a lot of people who say āme me meā for this, as in ātake the side near meā. That is very useful because using a compound verbal like ācome tunnelā will ultimately rely on the perfection of timing and delivery – if tunnel could potentially mean either side of it, if we are not perfect then she might end up in the wrong side of the tunnel. And agility is way too hard to be perfect, it is easier to remember another word š
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
>>It has noodle vibes! PT! PeeeeeTeeeee!>>
OOH PeeTee might just be his nickname! I was trying to come up with an easy nickname. His breeder calls him PT Cruiser LOL!
>>Maybe I should teach her to do a scratchboard while Iām at it so she has that skill too?>>
Yes! Great idea! And worse case scenario is that you donāt use it on the teeter but she can file her own nails on the scratchboard (I use it to get my dogsā front feet nails done easily LOL!)
>>So my specific question is ā does the tandem turn move morph into Threadle Wraps? Or will the Tandem Turn be itās own move (where we both turn together & go in the new direction together) and the Threadle Wrap will also be itās own move where she comes in to me & takes the jump from the other side, wraps the wing and I keep going & she completes the wrap & follows me? >>
They are cousins for sure! The Threadle wrap is almost always a circle wrap on the threadle side (backside between you and the jump) and you will almost always use the threadle wrap cues as you keep going forward (but sometimes you do turn with her). So the threadle wrap gets its own verbal cue because it is soooo specific.
The tandem turn does have us handlers turning with the dog and go the new direction together. It can be used on the front side or backside of the jump – when on the front side, it is almost like a RC on the flat and the verbal will dependent on what the turn should be on the bar. When it is on the backside, using the threadle wrap verbal will fit because it will be the closest verbal without having to add yet another verbal š
āØ>>My bigger question is what is the best way (other than putting it to use) to figure out when these moves are best? Is there a general āguidelineā for each one? Like Rear Cross = when the dog is ahead and you need to make & turn & change sides?The threadle wrap is easier to sort out to answer this question: when she comes in between you and the jump to go to the backside of the jump, and exits on the same wing she enter onā¦ threadle wrap verbal. And nowadays we are almost always moving forward in true threadle wrap style.
The tandems on the front side are most like RCs on the flat, where we have to turn the dog to find the line first, then flip them away with the tandem turn. A true rear cross is easily done by running forward to the center of the bar and a tandem turn will need you to pull her in first to set the line before turning away. And on a RC, you will cross behind her line to get to the next position on course but on a tandem turn you donāt really cross behind her line to get to the next position after the tandem turn. Let me know if that makes sense!
She did well with the zig zags! Nice power!! When you flattened it out a bit, the distances changed it looked like she couldnāt find the sweet spot there and had some trouble with the bounce. So yes, you can use a shorter bar (weave pole works great!) and you can overlap the wings in the middle more (it was hard to see if they were overlapped or not).
The bang game on the teeter is off to a great start!!! She was really working to balance her weight and get into position – super!! She was turning to face you a tiny bit which can change her balance, so you can put an empty food bowl out ahead (maybe 3 feet past the board) so she can focus ahead on it. You can reward her for hitting and holding position, then release her to get another cookie from the bowl. If that helps her stay straight, then we can add a bit of handler motion too!
Great job here :)āØāØ
TracyGood morning!
The sequences here went better than the 2 jump drill here – it was probably easier for you to show the line and for him to read the line in flow. The extra speed was no problem – YAY! And great job rewarding him even if it was not perfect. After the very first rep, he came in VERY well for the serp jump! As you add more speed, you can keep that jump angled: speed is more challenging and so we can make the visual of the jump easier.
The one question he had here was finding the front side of jump *after* the serp jump. You were releasing the serp upper body and pointing forward to that jump a bit, which actually can turn your shoulders to the line that goes past the jump. Or if you point too much, it pushes the dog to the backside of the next jump. So to help him find the jump, you can maintain the clear upper body serp position you had as you keep moving forward to the next jump. Keep serping with your upper body and moving along the line until you see him turn his head away and take that first stride to the next jump (and waiting to see that before relazing the serp position will also amp up connection, which helps too!)
Great job here š
āØTracyHi!
>>1) I saw you are coming to MN in June and Iām really bummed itās those dates because thatās the Midwest Cup so I wonāt be able to make it. Are you planning on coming back sometime this year?>>
It is such a bummer!!!!! I won’t be in MN again this year, but I will be in Quad Cities in August and possibly in Middleton WI in July if you want to come play!
>>2) Do you know when/if youāll be opening another Maxpup class for puppies? My friendās mom just got a puppy and she was wondering about classes.>>
I think the next one will be in the usual spot in November, but I will keep you posted if something starts sooner!
Tracy
Good morning! Nice hoodie š
Good job on the RCs! I think the info was earlier when she was on your right in the 2nd half of the video, like at 2:29. You were closer to the RC line so the pressure to the center of the bar was earlier and more visible. She was able to look forward a lot better on those! On the other side, earlier in the video, when she was starting on your left, you were a little further from the line so it was harder for her to see the RC line. She was looking to her right for a few strides before switching to her left over the bar. Getting closer to her as she exits the tunnel will help set that line even more smoothly.
>>So she seems to be good with a toy outside for 3-4 reps and then the poprocks go off. Should I try just stopping at 4 reps? Or maybe mix in food to give up the toy between reps to see if that calms her down so that she can do 5 reps?
A couple of ideas for you:
Since it might be a processing/arousal regulation thing we are seeing and we donāt need duration on the toy play (that will come as she matures), you can end at 2 reps with the toy so there are no pop rocks opportunities or even getting close to pop rocks zone. Or end at 1 minute, which is 2 or 3 reps with the toy. And in between toy reps, you can let her walk back to the start without tugging – tugging back to the start might be over-stimulating for now and might not give her adolescent brain a moment to bounce back.Also, when the toy play is in the picture, donāt stop or reset if there is a blooper – that also makes arousal levels change and harder to self-regulate. In this session, the leaping up happened after a couple of little bloopers at the wing and the RC at 1:22 pushing her off the line (you were a little too far away starting it there). You did reward her at 1:22 and on the next RC, but I think the frustration management (resilience) was the struggle there from the wing questions. So you can add freestyle āI meant for that to happenā moments where if he ends up on the wrong side of you, you just go with it and run her into the tunnel and reward. You did stop asking for the wing at one point and just started at the tunnel, which is great.
I think when food is in the picture, you can do the longer sessions or reset after a little blooper. The food is just easier for her in terms of processing skills and arousal regulation. Her toy play is really looking great so you can do it in the shortest bursts for now and it will totally build up even more over time.
>>Question on the advanced level with the standards for the next āobstacleā, if you are curving to the inside standard out of the tunnel should you be using the verbal turn cue instead of Go?>>
Yes – you can use your soft turn verbals when you want the turn and mix in GO GO GO and reward straight š
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
The layering looks fantastic! She is fast fast fast, jumping really well, and getting a tight turn to a tunnel. SUPER!!!! This is especially important for small dogs because they have to run the same big layers and big distances as the big dogs, and she is nailing it.
I mention the good jumping form because often if the pup has questions, they will have a head-up or flingy jumping form. Not here with Taq! She had lovely form while working at high speed and at a distance. Happy dance!
You can mix in going straight after the layer jump and NOT always coming back to the tunnel, so she doesnāt think every tunnel she passes is a tunnel to come towards š
Looking at the rears: the hardest part for us humans is to not use any forward commitment cue that involves squaring up her line to the jump. What I mean by that is any shoulder turn or foot turn to face the jump straight on will also commit her to a straight line (and not the RC). I think you might be trying to send her past you and then show the RC, but ideally that happens simultaneously. If you send her past you to the jump, she is going to commit turning the direction of going straight on that first rep and the RC info will be late.
You can see that as she exits the tunnel at :36 and :44 and :50 (upper body and left arm swinging forward which turns your feet forward and which indicates straight line/right lead). She turned right on the first rep – and she turned left (RC) on the others because she figured out the context š
So to consistently get the RCs especially to the left, keep your dog-side arm back and as she exits the tunnel (or even just before it), you can be immediately moving to the center of the bar without squaring up to the jump at all. Your motion on the line will tell her to go past you, and that same motion will tell her to turn away for the RC. Let me know if that makes sense!
>>Maybe it was the camera angle? The same one that adds 50 pounds.>>
HA! That would explain why I look so slow in videos LOL!!!
Nice work here š
āØTracyGood morning!
>>AI never tires, but sure it gets confused!>>
So true! LOL!!! But will eventually figure it out and I am sure it will replace me in the future LOL!!
>>Edit: I rewatched your runs with Elektra in and cleared it up that it should have been soft tur cues.
Yes – soft turns on those because they are doing more of an L shape of a turn and not a C or U shape around the wing. It will be easier when we add bars in so you can see the turn he is doing over a bar,
>>Seems like Iām not yet there to goof around on the spot with verbals, and I just need to stick to a pre-determined concrete plan so I donāt muddy those for him. (like going out and practicing blinds for the figure 8 before getting him out to play).>>
I always do a quick walk through to plan verbals before I add the dog – it might happen when the pup is running around with a toy and it gets easier as we practice it š You are doing great!
The figure 8 with the crosses are going well! There was a small question from him on the very first rep but then you increased your connection and he was great with all of the other reps. You were also adding some decel into the wraps and that helped tighten them even more. Super!!! Both the FCs you did and the tight blinds looked terrific.
The race tracks look awesome! Great job maintaining connection while running and then still getting the tight blind and exit line connection after it! You are making that exit connection super clear and so he is able to go fast, turn tight, and know exactly where to be. Click/treat to you!!!! You can make up courses on this setup to mix in the big race tracks with wrap FCs, soft turn FCs and BCs, etc. It will have all the speed of running a big course with him!
Great job here š
Tracy
Good morning!
CM did well with the layering! The placed reward really helped him out. I think starting the session with the tunnel entries turned down so the tunnel itself is there but he canāt get into it will help eliminate the errors – running past a tunnel entry is HARD for all dogs especially baby dogs š And then if he does well, you can open the entries up again in that session to build to the next steps.Zig zags are also going well! You can turn the wings 90 degrees so the jump cups are facing each other – picture jump bars being there like on a giant serp š
He got it really well when you used your leg to step to the line but without the super big clear step (like at :47 and 1:03) he did not lead change away from you. That is just bay dog stuff, of needing a really dramatic cue to break through all of the visual processing (the wing, your position, etc) and mechanical processing (how to use all of those fast legs!) that he is doing in that moment. Prism wonāt need that because he is an adult who has learning history and strong mechanics to rely on, so it probably felt a lot easier when you did it with him š CM will get there for sure, but feel free to use big dramatic cues for now š
The serp versus tunnel versus threadle looked great! It sounds like you were using your release word on the threadle reps – since he did so well and your position/arm cues were so clear on the threadle, you can switch to releasing with your threadle slice cue on those.
My only suggestion is to make the serp more obvious with upper body rotation before you release him and keep moving parallel to the bar and not away from it as you serp. Everything else looked super strong!!!!Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
Yikes! You have some crazy weather coming up!He did really well with the layering game here! I think the freeze dried chicken is a winner – have it in your hands already because when you drop your arm to reach for it, he totally sees that and looks up at you (and stops looking at the line).
Speaking of arms – you can keep your arm a little lower and more connection, even at the distance. For example, when your hand got really high (like above your head), it can turn your shoulders away from the line and cause him to look at you (like at 2:00). But when your arm/hand is lower, at your shoulder level or below it, he can see the cues really well (like at 3:40). Arm position will get less important as he gets more experienced with layering, but for now the shoulder-level or below hand position is very helpful for him.
For future sessions, you can start further away to get even more momentum to the start wing and also move the start wing to the other side of the tunnel (non-layering side) so he goes around the outside of it to get to the layering line. And as you do that, you can mix in rewards for staying on the line so that the layering line maintains the value (otherwise the tunnel and coming back to you will end up with the most value).
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did really well here – he was able to find the line to the jump even with the big tunnel there. Good job throwing the toy – that helped support the decisions he made because sometimes he did have a big of a question mark over his head. The earlier you tossed the toy, the better for him to support his good decisions.
Since the other side might be his harder side, you can throw the toy even sooner : as soon as he rounds the start wing and looks at the jump line. And he doesn’t have to go to the wing after the jump on either side, that wing is just a visual aid to help keep him looking forward.
>>Question, since he was sort of wrapping around the first stantion I was using my left wrap verbal (flip). Is this correct?>>
It was correct for this first level. As things expand and the wing moves over a little and the tunnel entries are visible, a wrap verbal might open up the line into the tunnel. So more of a “GO!” verbal will help for the layering, so he goes in extension to the jump on the other side of the tunnel.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
She did well on the zig zags! You can add foot movement to help her and also, lower hands – if you have your feet moving and your hands more at her eye level, she can probably see it better and process it sooner. But, no need to worry about it on 5 wings, you can do that on 3 or 4 wings.
>>I think weāll come back to it at some point because I can see some value in reading crosses from a distance,>>
This game actually builds to a jump grid for slice and backside jumping, and that will make it easier to get the 5 wing added in too š
She did well with the serps! When you added the backside: the reps she had questions about were when you were sending to the wing but pulling away to the reward, rather than moving forward to support the backside line. When she was on your right, I think the line was easier for her so she found the backside. When she was on your left, the line was definitely harder and that is where forward motion on a parallel path to the backside will help. At 1:36, for example, you can see your feet and lower body pointing to the front side of the jump, along with your shoulders. You had more forward motion at 1:46 and after that, which totally helped her see the line there. Super!!
She did well with the ladder grid, even when she sat backwards LOL!!!!
I think the 4 foot distance is a tiny bit short for her now – try 4.5 feet and we will see how we like it! Also, you can move the reward further away so she can power out of the grid – a stationary reward can be 15 feet from the 3rd bump. Or, you can use a moving target!Great job on these!!
TracyHi!
>>Lift likes the frizzer mainly to steal it from Kaladin and then jump on his head and smack him with it.>>
Seems like a legit endeavor LOL!
The circle wraps are going well – nice job with your reward placement behind you and the connection shift to help commit her. The best reps where when she could see the barrel better (being sent ahead before you started to move, as opposed to :52 where you moved early and she had a little trouble with the pressure on her line).
And she was great about finishing the circle while you moved up the line behind her.
>>Do I need to be more to the opposite side of the barrel if it is standing in for the standard?>>
Do you mean letting her see the whole thing, like being where the wing would meet the bar? Yes, that worked really well. If you mean something else, let me know – I blame the eclipse for my lack of brain power at the moment hahaha
She did really well with the Minny Pinny too! Turning away to the right was easy. Turning away to the left was harder – she did turn her head away but couldnāt quite process the turning the body to the left too. She was not frustrated at all – it is possible her brain was totally telling her she was nailing it. So what you can ad to the left is tossing a cookie to her left over the bumps as soon as she turns her head. That can affirm the head turn and help with the mechanics of turning the body too.
Great job here š
Tracy
Hi!
Look back at this from MaxPup 1:
I particularly like the clicker stays, because it really isolates the release. Be VERY careful with your mechanics: don’t move your hands or cookies until after you click. Same with a release or throw back reward… say the word first then move your hands. Dogs are brilliant at seeing everything and it is possible she thinks that your movement is the release and not the word.
T
Hi!
>>I tried more actual serps in the backyard, and it was mostly a disaster. I had to turn the jump almost perpendicular to the wing to get him to see it>>
There was probably a lot to process there (the skill, motion, being outside, etc) so he couldnāt find the jump. Driving in hard to the handler is not a natural Border Collie behavior!
Slowing down the motion like at :22 for a bunch of reps, and keeping the jump angled will really help solidify the skill. You were able to get him to take the jump but he had some failure right off the bat – you can start where you left the last session with the highly angled jump to see what he remembers š And you donāt need to get the jump flat in the session – getting him to do it with you moving is more important than getting the jump flat. He was having success with that here (yay!) so you can angle the jump again and add more motion next time indoors. And angle it a lot outdoors because there is probably so much more his brain has to process.
Since you have the FAS-assistance plan in place for the ladder grid, you can add the reward target on the ground. Having him jump with you holding it then throwing it is causing him to jump looking up at you and curving a little. So, have it down on the ground about 10 feet past the last jump. And if he does well with it stationary, you can try dragging it š Thanks to FAS for holding!!!
Zig zags looked great too š adding the wing went very smoothly on both directions, so next time you has FAS-availability you can add a 4th wing. Yay!
Great job on these!!
TracyHi!
The RCs are going well – when you get immediately on the RC line, she reads the super well like on the right turn RCs and the left turn at :40 and :49 (she had a question on that one because you were stopped and turned your shoulders to the right turn wing for a moment before getting on the RC line).
If you stop moving or move forward on the straight line, she doesnāt see the info in time. That is what was happening on the left turn RCs. So you can go in even closer to the tunnel, run the line with it, so you donāt have to stop (they can hear that we have stopped and come out looking at us, like at :21 and :27. You were stopped there and turned facing straight (and at :21 said go as you started to move), so she was taking off by the take you did the RC line. Remember to reward that anyway because there is a high likelihood of handler error on these (the right turns here indeed handler error :))
The layering looked great! She was happy to stay out on the jump line, no problem at all!
>>. I was not sure about my fronts x into the tunnel. Late???
Yes, late at 1:12 and 1:18 because you were hustling to get past the tunnel and making sure she was committed to the jump, so the FC was visible when she was also past the line to the tunnel. You can turn a little sooner, as soon as she lands from the jump – that should get a nice line for now! Turning much sooner than that could potentially pull her off the tunnel entirely so we want to keep her happy to stay in extension for the layering.
Great job here!
Tracy
