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Hi! Lots of good work here – it is really cool to see him reading the handling so well!
Super nice session with the tunnel versus serp! You did a great job making the verbals sound really different and also making the upper body look really different. He is totally paying attention to all that and responding beautifully. The last rep was interesting – you had your dog-side arm dropped back as if you were going to do a serp… then after you said “tunnel” you closed it forward. So you will see him read the serp arm for a heartbeat and come towards you, then read the closed shoulder and process the verbal and get the tunnel. Good boy!!!!
One adjustment on the serps – try to be a lot closer to the bar, close enough to touch it with a slightly bent arm. And as you move, stay parallel to the bar rather than move away from it. That will add challenge by keeping the lower body looking pretty identical for both cues (serp and tunnel) and ask him to jump into the pressure of you being close to the bar on the serp.
You can also add the advanced level of the threadle cue with you standing still for now – the verbal, position and arm cue will be different 🙂
Looking at the tunnel handling video – he definitely is showing strong commitment for a baby dog! You will find it easier if you spread it out more, so you can move more. That way you can time the verbal and physical cues sooner (things happen way too fast when it is close together LOL!)
>> I wasn’t always getting out the right verbals but he always seemed to go in the right direction
Yes, he was reading the physical cues even when the verbal was not right. To be able to spit out all the verbals, you can do a walk through without him or even run Skipper through it make sure you have the verbals and timing.
You were working to get the verbals out on time and most of the time you did it really well! Having thing spread out (the wings can be 20 feet or so from the tunnel) will buy you time. For example, as he rounds the wing, you will have time to say tunnel then switch to the left/right or GO, and match the physical cue to it. He was moving fast here so you barely had time to breathe (high quality problem haha!)
>> and it’s pretty obvious when our connection was off.>>
Yes, but in general your connection was lovely. If it gets off and he ends up not being sure of where to be, you can try to keep going even if it means just cuing the tunnel then rewarding 🙂 And if you spit out the wrong verbal and he still tries to find the line like at :40, you can totally reward right away (there was a delay there).
It looks like he really liked the ball too! Was he bringing it back pretty quickly?
Looking at the rear cross video:
>>. I used the manners minder but still caught his checking in with me as drove across the jump. I am guessing that is normal? >>
He actually was asking a very good question 🙂 The checking in was as he was exiting the wing wrap – you were not really moving yet and not saying anything, so he looked at you because he needed more info. As soon as you started moving – he stopped looking at you. Yay! So, definitely move sooner so he gets the info as he is exiting the wing.
To give him time to get past you, adding distance between the wing and jump here will be helpful too – that way you can move sooner and also he will have room to get past you to the jump. Try it at a 20 foot distance.
Using the manners minder is something that he likes, but without balancing with the Go reps (where he would go straight and not towards the MM), I think the MM was creating the behavior and not letting you get feedback on the timing 🙂 For example, on the last 3 reps (:46, :54, 1:00), the RC info was late (you ran straight then cut in towards him as he go to the bar) so without the MM, he probably would not have read the cross. So for the next session, you can try one of these 2 things –
– the MM can be there, but also do GO reps so he doesn’t anticipate that it is always to the MM
– do the reps with the thrown the reward, so he will let you know if the timing is clear or not 🙂Overall, it is really exciting that things are going really well so we are only looking at timing and verbals and little details of handling. Great job with these! Let me know what you think!
TracyLet me know how the distance works – my guess is that 6 feet will end up being the sweet spot as he matures and as he adds the power that the moving target will bring 🙂
T
Awesome! The RCs get easier because as she gets more experienced, she will recognize the cue sooner and make the adjustment earlier. She is doing brilliantly!
T
Good morning!
You and Bazinga rocked the serp/tunnel game!!! Yay!!
>>I tried to stay in motion for both and it seemed to help her! What do you think? Keep slowing it down to fade it out?>>
I was thinking about the priorities and changed my mind about fading out the motion… you will probably never see this scenario with you standing still. You will see it regularly with you running, and you maybe a little behind your pocket rocket there LOL!! So rather than fade out the motion, I think you should ramp it up in two ways:
– lead out a bit and go faster and faster 🙂 to challenge her to differentiate the cues even when there is more speed and more excitement
– lead out less and move into it, so she differentiates the cues even when you are not ahead or not in perfect position. For example, as you are passing the first wing, can you get her to go to the tunnel? Or come in for the serp?
Motion will actually make it harder than being stationary and will ultimately also be more useful on course!
Looking at the rear crosses – hooray for the nice balance of toys and treats!!!!! And the GO reps looked terrific.
>>I think I am keeping my line too straight & throwing too late? I think she was watching the toy?
Yes – you were a little late on some reps so she was responding as soon as she saw the info and/or the toy. I took some screenshots so you can see the difference between the timely reps and the slightly late reps:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z4_iytbxL8AoqLnYXVScTEObhD6_QklLIG6OlNYkK-o/edit?usp=sharing
I made a note about each rear cross, so take a look and let me know what you think! You had some that were a little late and several that were spot on! Bazinga is reading everything really well 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi!
He did well here! What was the distance? It will probably need to be a little bit bigger when we start adding the moving target, but that is something we can adjust in future sessions. A couple of things to add to this:The bowl can be about 10 feet further away, so he can land from the 2nd jump and take a couple of powerful strides towards it, keep his head down. Or, you can use a manner minder but still have it about 12-15 feet away from jump 2.
The added distance means a longer lead out, so you can definitely reward the stays a lot by throwing the reward back. It looks like he thinks the release is based on your hand movement, not the verbal release. So keep practicing your stays, but add in this tweak:
– lead out, pause, stand totally still. Then either use your release for him to come forward or you marker to throw the reward back… and don’t move a hand or muscle into 2 seconds after you have said the word. You will eventually be able to do this in motion, but for now use your release words/markers while being totally stationary.You can then start to add in placing the reward on the ground, then being stationary, then releasing without moving your hands. Also, revisit the moving target pre-game because we are going to add that to the jumping games too 🙂
Great job here!
TracyOk, at 11 months, we still want to keep the bars nice and low 🙂 2 inches higher for the next sessions should be perfectly fine but we have plenty of time to let her continue to develop her lovely form.
Tracy
Hi!
She did well here, definitely powering through the grid easily. The distance and bar height is spot on, and she really loves the moving target reward :).Before we do more with the grids, though, let’s sort it this out:
>>I remember you saying I should face away from her and put the toy in my inside hand like a straight on reward. At this point, I’m concerned if I totally face away from her, like a lead out, in this exercise she won’t be able to hold her stay. Not that I’ve tried it.>>
Facing her too much on the lead out will either cause her to add too much collection on the jumping, or cause her to ignore collection cues and rotation. Plus, it makes it hard for you to move smoothly into lead out position. So… let’s get her to hold the stay while you do a proper lead out 🙂 You can totally stay connected and keep telling her she is a good girl… but walk forward rather than backing away from her (and then put the toy down like you did, then release to it).
And to preserve the high success level, do it in 3 steps:
– on the flat (should be easy!)
– on one jump (probably also easy!) – then on the grid, back chaining it by starting her between jumps 1 and 2 so she is only doing 2 jumps, then if that is fine you can start her in front of jump 1.The next step would be to angle the jumps, but let’s get the smooth lead out first then the angling will be easy!
Great job :)
Tracy
Hi! Good work on the RCs here! On all 3 videos, you were GO lines were much straighter (no stepping in towards the jump) and looked good!
Two small details that I notice about the mechanics:
On the reps where you are doing a rear cross, you are stepping backwards out of the wing wrap on most of the reps. That results in the first step or two that she sees looking like a GO line cue, so when you get on the RC line you to have to really hustle to get it on time. That means some of the info ends up being late so she can’t respond immediately.
Here are specifics:
On the first video, at :59, you got immediately onto the RC and she did a great job! By getting on the line immediately, you had crossed behind her before she even took off 🙂 Yay!
Compare to 2:00 where you stepped backwards out of the wing wrap – which made the RC line late so she briefly turned to her right before realizing you wanted a left turn.
2nd video – :36 and :56 both had the big step backwards out of the wing wrap, which caused the RC info to be a little late (at :58 she was already taking off for the jump before she saw you on the RC line).
3rd video – at :33 she saw you on the same line as the GO cue for the first few steps so she did not see you putting the RC pressure on the line til she took off.
:56 did not have as big of a set backwards which allowed you to set up the the RC sooner, so she read it really well!
Going back to the first video – at :58 you did not really step back, so you could get onto the RC line pretty immediately and that made things clearer for her.
So as you are working RCs from the wing wrap, you can eliminate the backwards step by sending her to the wing and leaning forward…then moving on the RC line as she is exiting the wing wrap.
One other small detail:
Try not to get loud on the left verbal, as the louder volume propels dogs forward and a left is a tighter turn. Keep the verbal at a conversational volume and she will turn tighter 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi!
This also went super well! Yay! He found the jump easily on each rep, even when you were further away. He had a tiny question when you were not really connected and not moving fast at the beginning, but he sorted it out really quickly and looked ahead on each rep after that.>>I realized at around the 50 sec mark that my connection wasn’t good.
You actually cranked up the connection at around :36 and it looked great! Super! One thing to add is throwing the ball sooner – get it thrown as soon as you see him lock onto the jump and look ahead, so it is landing before he takes off. You were tending to wait til he was between the uprights so he would look at you while he was jumping on some of the reps.
Next steps for him: more speed from you! You can totally add running to this game now – keep the strong connection, and add acceleration and work on getting way ahead, lateral, and even getting down to the tunnel exit then accelerating so he drives ahead.
Great job on these!
TracyHi!
No problem jumping around a bit! The only things that really need to be done in order are the jumping games, so this is perfect because you’ve already done the set point.
He did really well! What was the distance on the straight line grid? It looked a little longer than the distance center-to-center on the bars on the angled grid, but I think his form over the bars was a little better on the angled grid. So maybe shorten the distance on the straight grid by maybe 6 inches, and keep it the same when you angle the jumps.He is ready for the next steps! And that is to add the moving target reward (dragging the toy :)) You can do it first on the straight line grid, and it that is easy for him, you can go to the angles.
And if that is easy, you can angle the jumps a little more 🙂
And if you see any questions from him, you can make it easier (less angle, or move the toy less) but I think he will have no questions 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi! He is doing a great jib and your practice at home definitely shows!!! Yay!!
Yes, holding a stay in front of an obstacle is super hard, so keep rewarding the stay. And you can also set him up further from an obstacle, in the hopes that the added distance will make the obstacle less exciting. 🙂
On the smiley face – he had lovely commitment, and your connection was very strong. Loved it! Yes, you can be sooner: as he is approaching the wing, as he passes you, you can he slowing down and starting the FC as he passes you. We will keep adding timing games so you can play with getting earlier and earlier.
On the blind crosses – very nice connection!!! That is what is creating the side change: the emphasis on connection after the blind. And he is responding beautifully 😍
As with the Smiley Face front crosses, the blinds can be sooner. That will be much easier when you start him from the tunnel, so you can start the blind after he passes you but before he arrives at the wing.
The race track looked terrific! It is a hard game but you stayed connected and hustled, and he found his line 🙂 yay! It will get easier and easier with practice, so keep revisiting the game every now and then, maybe once a week.Great job!
TracyGood morning!
Really lovely session here, she had strong form and was very consistent, even when you changed the angles. The distance looked good – it was hard to tell if the center-to-center distance on the angled jumps was the same, so be sure the distance doesn’t get accidentally shorten when angling.
Her only question was a little bit of anticipation of the release from the stay, so keep on rewarding lots like you did 😀
Next steps:
3 options that you can do, but not in the same session (every other day is fine):– replicate the exact same session you had here, but with the bars 2 inches higher. Remind me how old she is? That will help us know how quickly we can raise bars.
– on the straight grid: use the moving target (dragging toy) to solidify the form with more arousal. Her head position is already nice and low, so the moving target is more about maintaining form when things are spicy 🙂
– use the moving target on the angled grid. If it goes really well, you can angle the jumps a little more.
Great job! Keep me posted on how she does with next steps!
Tracy
Hi!
>>We didn’t try Left as this session wasn’t ideal. >>
It was fine to not try the left turns but this was a really good session! She is doing well reading the rear crosses – the most important thing is to start the RC diagonal line pressure on your very first step to the jump, like you did on the last rep. That looked great!
On the 2nd to last rear cross, you took a few steps forward on the straight line and then started to cut in… she didn’t see the RC info til she was over the bar, so her turn was wide. The first rep RC info was sooner, but I liked the last one the best.
One thing to be careful of is to not accidentally step in towards the jump on the Go lines, as that can make the Go look too similar to the RC. Connect like you did but stay on a line outside the wing so she sees you running straight past the jump and not towards the center of the bar at all on the Go reps.
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
>>And. I Laughed Out Loud when you said don’t use YES as a marker word. Our local class instructor WANTS us to use YES as a marker. HA! I can see how that creates problems.
Please refresh me on what you use for a marker word in place of a clicker?>>Sorry for any confusion but “yes” as a marker that means reward is available can be very confusing for the dogs. I use “yes” to mark a behavior but I try not to have it also mean “reward is here!” because the dogs look at us when we say yes. So I use “get it” for a thrown reward or “bite” for toy in my hand. Both of those markers mean “you were correct, reward is available ” and it tells the dog specifically where to look for the reward. Much less confusing that “yes”.
>>She may not turn out to be my fastest or most talented agility dog, but she’s become a LOT of fun to train. Even with the heat, she’s out there giving it her all, with a smile on her sassy, adorable, little face
She is doing brilliantly!!!! Smart and fast! And being super cute is definitely a bonus 😍
Looking at the videos:
First video – really nice breaking down the skills and getting the mechanics! She read everything really well.
2nd video – you needed a bit more motion and connection needed on the 1st couple of reps, especially to the tunnel (you were pulling awau a little early) and from the tunnel exit (if you looked ahead, she looked at you.) Nice adjustments in response to her feedback 🙂 and you locked it in on the last rep, handling each part of the line with connection and then doing a super smooth, connected blind. Yay!
3rd video – 1st rep needed more connection from the tunnel, so remember to look for her eyes and point your fingers to her nose as she exits the tunnel, so she can see the connection.
On 2nd rep you got closer to the wing which totally helped, and more connection will make the timing easier.3rd rep – she got Big Mad when your arm came up and you pulled away from the tunnel too early. The reset was better (you drove to the tunnel longer to make sure she was committed)
And the last rep looked great!The race track on the 4th video looks really good too. She does best when you are near the wings for now, but with more practice you’ll see her starting to commit with more distance on these so you won’t have to run as close to the wings.
Excellent job here!!!!
TracyHi!
I see what you mean by trying to convince your muscles to do blinds and ending up doing spins about half the time 🙂 The spins looked good and so did the blinds! As you are moving into the blinds, it might help if you tell yourself to turn away from her (like a post turn) then do the blind. You don’t need to them fast – eventually sooner, but not faster. Slowing down the process might help you get your legs to turn away from her and not towards (which is the start of the spin).She read everything really well, spin or blind, and you had great connection.
The race tracks at the end looked awesome. Wheeee! Fun!
Her only question was on the countermotion wraps at :51 through about 1:10. On those, shift your connection from her eyes to look behind you to the “landing” spot as you move forward, to help support her commitment. You were looking directly at her while you ran forward, which was too much pressure to get her to go past you. And throwing the reward behind you to the wing will help build the value for that too.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
