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Hi! This run looked GREAT!!! You were running aggressively and that REALLY helped him!!! He was working really hard and was a super good boy 🙂 The future is amazing!
>> We are still learning how to go from tight sequencing to finding a jump out on the line >>
There were 2 spots on that course that looked easy but were REALLY hard with fast dogs – finding the jump straight out ahead after the straight tunnel at the beginning was HARD! Good job rewarding or staying in motion, even if a jump was missed. This was so lovely!
TracyGood morning!
>>Challenge 2: I never got the BC. I will have to make this easier with more distance and blocking the tunnel entry or taking the tunnel out for a bit. I am very late.>>
The tunnel is what gives us the feedback that the info is late 🙂 The goal is that you are finished with the blind and making BIG eye contact as they are jumping the previous jump. With Watson, that eye contact needs to be downward because he is really little – so you will literally need to look down to the ground. Connection with Levy should be easier.
Now to get that timing, 2 ideas:
– you either have to start much earlier and trust their commitment
or
– you have to keep your arms out of the way so they see the connection.Or both!
it is possible that you are starting with perfect timing but they are not seeing the connection because your arms are blocking it. Or, you have great connection but really late 🙂 Either way they would end up in the tunnel.
Let me know – you can freeze the video as they are in the air and that will tell you if it is timing, connection, or both 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!! This looked really good!
On the jump switch aways, your footwork was great when you were moving away from the camera towards the street. She read that wonderfully!
When you were moving towards the camera, you wanted to turn your feet to her more, so you can start with less of a lead out and then walk through it, so you are moving the whole time.The tunnel exits are looking good too!! On the first rep, she needed one more step to show her the jump. You gave her that on the next reps and she nailed it! Super! It is definitely a trained skill, so keep giving her that extra step for another session, then you can start to fade it out.
To add more motion, lead out less so you are still ahead but moving into position (rather than releasing her when you are in position). She’s definitely ready for that!
Try adding the motion in the next session and if that goes well, you can start trying the Super Combos in handling 6 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>>. I have always tried to set the line midway between the obstacles…for a small dog>>
I think that is too late for her speed and commitment. Think of the cue timing as putting cream cheese on a bagel: start in one spot and spread it all around (keep maintaining it, calling her, etc) til she is reading it. It you start it sooner but don’t maintain the cue, she might be left to her own devices to decide what to do.
Keep me posted!
TracyThank you for butting in LOL!!! Great info 🙂 I’m totally going to need all of those ideas to keep the whippety dogs cool, they get hot so fast!
Hi!
>>Yeah I got a lot of push back from my regular vet asking for the full panel 🤷♀️
Range is 1.0-4.0 so he is low end. The lab even notes “ hypothyroid dogs can have a low normal T4 (1-2 ug/dL). Hypothyroidism may be further assessed in these dogs by adding a free T4 and canine TSH.” but I was told no further work up needed 🫣>>A million years ago when my Export was tested, I got push back too because he was youngish and not the typical fat/greasy dog. He actually lost weight. I basically said “it is not really intrusive and I am willing to burn the money and if nothing else, we will have a baseline if he is old” so they let me do it because they trusted my thoughts on his behavior changes. I do have the before & after panels somewhere if you want to see him, and the BC side of his pedigree (there was a LOT of hypothyroidism in the BC side of his pedigree, it turns out)
Then I took the panel results (it was sent to Cornell) and sent it to Hemopet for analysis (I know Jean Dodds is not everyone’s fave but her database is really good). She came back with “yes, he needs meds” and happily, my vet concurred.
Export’s case was not an anomaly, turns out that it happens a lot.
>He did have electrolytes checked too. He had a mildly low K (3.9) and normal is 4 but we were dock diving the day before so I assumed that was dilutional.>>
I am always on the lookout for Atypical Addisons, so we want to watch his Na and K ratio. It sounds like all is good though!
T
The T4 is a standard test on most bloodwork, but it is not provide sufficient info for any potential diagnosis. (That is the full extent of my veterinary knowledge, right there. LOL!) What was this lab’s range on the T4?
I believe the panel is the only way to go with a young-ish dog. A truely low T4 means things are REALLY bad. But with a young dog, you also need to see the TSH, TGAA, T3, FT4, and other values to see what is dropping, what is rising, etc. Like if the pituitary thinks the thyroid is not working, you will see other values increase, etc.
I found this useful for my non-medical brain:
https://cvm.msu.edu/vdl/laboratory-sections/endocrinology/thyroid-function-in-dogs
Have they tested his electrolytes too?
t
Hi!
Out of curiousity, what were his thyroid numbers previously? Or maybe they didn’t pull the panel, I can’t remember LOL!!!If his thyroid is happy – and it might be happy, but I do know plenty of relatively young BCs with autoimmune thyroiditis (if that is what it is called) – then it might be gentle conditioning followed by heat conditioning? So as spring goes to summer here, I work up the conditioning cycle for the dogs and then gently build up heat tolerance: sprinting in the heat of the day, etc. But it is gradual and I am careful – these whippety dogs run even hotter than the BC type dogs!
T
Hi!
>>Note to self, watch video or read field guide before attempting exercise
>>LOL!!! The session went pretty well, I think his only question was on the arm cue:
On the switch aways, I totally think an outside arm will help him. On a normal serp, it will be your left arm (dog side arm here) and it really never means a switch away. On the switch aways, you can bring that opposite arm (right arm) up before commitment so he prepares to turn. You were doing both the switches to the tunnel and the regular serps with left arm so it could have been either – and that is why he was confused and not necessarily going to the tunnel (waiting for more info on which it was).
After the tunnel fiesta, you did the outside arm more clearly at 2:21 and it was SO clear!!!
>>My handling isn’t clear and he’s really hot so I almost lost him and brought him back >>
A little hot, yes, but also he deflated when the handling was a bit grey. Running through the tunnels was great fun! And finishing the session at about 3 minutes without adding on the tunnel to jump section was smart training! Get the behavior, finish happy 🙂
Great job here! Onwards to more switch aways in the next session.
Tracy
Good morning! Thanks for being patient with me being offline yesterday!!
This was a really terrific session – lots of flow, lots of reinforcement, very happy-looking red dog 🙂
He was definitely very happy to do the big distance to the tunnel LOL! Wheeee!
Very nice blind to the threadle! You are going to laugh…. I think you were too early. LOL!! At :33 as his nose exited the wing wrap, you were almost done with the blind so theoretically, he should have turned immediately. So you can be one step later: look at him no your left side as he exits the wing wrap, see him look at the jump, use a jump verbal then do the blind.
The FC was better timed (pretty perfect) at 1:25 and you got a better turn on the FC. Now, I think with more exposure to the blind there, he will be tighter as well – and the blind can be super helpful for staying miles ahead on course. But it is also great to see the FC being incredibly effective there for him!
>> I did the 4th set up twice trying to tighten up his turn out of the tunnel and added a directional verbal, but didn’t get a tighter turn. I wanted to know your thoughts there, although we might lose speed tightening the turn>>
I think the speed will be faster if it is a little tighter. We don’t need him to decelerate in the tunnel to turn sharply, but taking out a couple of extra strides towards the fence will definitely be faster. I think on the last rep you didn’t get the tighter turn because he might hve been tired by then (he gets hot easily) or because the ‘right’ verbal is not that powerful in this context (big distance). You can try a big name call (first name and middle name haha) at the same timing as your right verbal was here (a few feet before he enters the tunnel). And try it at the start of the next session when he is feeling spicy 🙂 (And remember to run through the last jump before throwing the frisbee, so he keeps the bar up :))
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! Thanks for your patience in the delay in watching it!!
She definitely loved the tunnel layering element 🙂 Perfect each time!
It as fun to try the FC into the gap – they were too hard to do on time because of how early they had to be done and the amount of rotation. They were late at :09 and :15, she jumped long (especially at :17) and turned when she landed. You can try getting further ahead so you can start the FC as soon as she looks at the first jump, and also part of the delay is the toy switch from hand-to-hand, and the other hand coming up, then the rotation. The rotation is the most important factor so you will want to start it as early as you can… or not do a FC there and do the BC instead LOL!
The blinds: PERFECT! This is great – you were very timely and clear, and she read them beautifully even with the yummy tunnel right there. They were so much easier to do than the FCs!! One thing to remember here and also on the mini sequences – keep moving and don’t throw til after she lands from the last jump. Because she will be coming in on a tighter faster line after the blind, don’t stop short: at :22 you deceled sharply and said “get it” as she was lifting off so the bar came down.
At :32 you were talking and said get it but did not decel – bar stayed up. So the decel is probably what distracts her the most in terms of dropping the bar when you throw the frisbee.
You were talking to your videographer about something there – it looked good to me, but it sounds like you are saying the wrap verbal for too long – she is still hearing it as she is approaching the first jump – so you can switch to the other verbals a lot sooner.
Mini sequences looked good! I think a name call or ‘right’ verbal before she enters the tunnel will help! On the first run, you said get it early (after she nailed the threadle so she didn’t take the last ump (which is fine). On the 2nd rep – nice cuing of the last jump but then you deceled and threw the frisbee and said get it – bar down at :56. So be super careful to maintain acceleration all the way through the end as if there is one more jump to show her.
The switch aways on the jump looked great! I think I heard you say “turn” on the 2nd one – but maybe something ele on the first one? Hard to tell, so be sure your verbal is consistent. You can definitely work the tunnel switch aways and the sequences on these too, she looked lovely!
Great job!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This session went well! I think you can start the switch away arm movement on the jump while she is lifting off and over the bar, rather than wait til she lands. That will get an even nicer turn! She seemed to find these really easy, so you can definitely add in an earlier cue.
Side note – this is a good game for getting her to add more collection to her striding – she has to collect or she will run into you 🙂She did well on the tunnel exit switches too! You can repeat the verbal cue a few times, and on the tight turn exits you can give her an extra step to make sure she sees the backside.
>> When we got to the backside that was harder as she turned much tighter on one side versus the other. Or, I’m cuing differently.
Both, I think 🙂 It looks like on the left turn exits, you were further ahead and so your feet were rotated sooner and that really helped. On the right turn exits where she was wider, you were not as far ahead and it looks like your feet turned later, so she was wider. And it is entirely possible that she has a left-turn side preference – in the demo video, you can see CB has a strong preference to one side, so the quality of the turns was different. It all evens out with practice, no worries.
>>Mechanically I should wait until I see her face at the tunnel exit before I turn my arm, correct? I’m not doing that consistently and it looks like I’ve turned my arm before she exits on some reps>>
Yes and no LOL! You were raising it with perfect timing before she entered the tunnel (you can start the verbal at that time too, and keep repeating it). And then for now, yes, let her fully see the arm swoosh cue. Eventually, it can be early because all she will need is a glimpse of it, or she won’t need it at all 🙂
Nice work here! I would let her see this set up for one more session, then you can move to the Super Combos!
Tracy
Hi there! Thanks for the videos!!
>> I need to lower my arms, stop pointing, connect with eye contact and open my chest and pay attention to where my feet are pointing and set her line. I never thought about the concept of upper body & lower body cues but now I am seeing that I am really relying only on pointy upper body cues. When I have paid attention to my lower body more, (like in the water bottle game) it gives her better information.>>
Yes, but also no – now that I have gotten to watch some FrankieTV, it can be easier: she commits like a big dog (she commits just before the exit of the previous obstacle) so you need to handle her with big dog timing. You are trying to handle her with small dog timing, but she runs like a big dog. So yes, you can focus on all the things you described above, they are all great – but you might end up driving yourself crazy when the answer is simpler 🙂 I think you need to make only 1 adjustment: be sooner. When she is jumping the previous jump, or at the top of the frame, you need to be fully turned to the line you want or she will stay on her existing line.
So on the aframe to tunnel moment: as she was at the top of the frame, you weeconverging in towards her (tryng to get her attention maybe?) but that convergence and leaning in and getting loud actually sent her into the off course tunnel. Ideally, you would be trusting her frame and moving away towards the threadle side of the tunnel so as she is in the contact zone, she already sees you over there, decelerating, using your threadle cues.
>>Here is an example of why I was using a soft turn cue for her (see at :44 seconds). I lost her to an off-course jump. Maybe the soft break will help too.
Yes, it will totally help, but also be earlier – at :42 you were still accelerating forward which locked her onto the wrong line (plus I think that off course jump looked like the ending jump).
Ont he 3rd video, you had an almost off course at :07 after the teeter because when she exited the teeter, you accelerated to the jump and set a straight line to the tunnel… she did come back but it was a heart-stopper (your videographer was hilarious!)
Same thing happened on the line after the frame: on the jump after the frame, you accelerated a lot so she took off for the double looking ahead – then you kept up a lot of speed so she stayed on her line. A little decel and a brake arm, no later than halfway between the two obstacles, will totally help! And turning sooner will also help keep the panel jump up befoe the dog walk here.
So it is more about earlier timing and trusting her more, running her like a big dog. Does anyone local have a big dog you can test drive, so you can feel the timing? Next time I am in Florida, I am going to have you run one of my bigs to feel what Frankie’s timing should be 🙂
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! This went really well!
She seeed to find this skill really easy on the jump! Yay!
Good job breaking down the tunnel exit switch, she thought that was hard!! Doing it to the right was much easier for her – maybe she is a righty? On the next session, start with the right turn tunnel exits and see how she feels about it 🙂 Great job with your reward placement!Also for the next session, try these with your feet facing forward and not facing her, so it is more of a tandem turn and less of a lap turn – the uses of this cue on course will almost always require you to be moving forward so you won’t have time to turn your feet to her (or you won’t be far enough ahead). And you can add in motion by moving forward.
>>On the 2nd clip, guess that I shouldhave rewarded for her almost correct choice.
Yes, it was close enough to correct on a hard skill, a cookie would be fine there 🙂
Great job! Stay warm!
Tracy
