Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Good morning! They are not your nemesis anymore! These are looking good!
One small detail that will get. them all perfect: stay closer to the start wing to set the RC sooner. On the RCs where she turned the wrong direction, you were actually too far ahead so you were not able to get onto the RC pressure line until she was halfway between the wing and jump. That is too late, even for little dogs: they have made a takeoff decision.
Compare to the reps where you got the RC: you were showing the RC pressure to the center of the bar before she got the halfway point, so she got it. The last 2 reps here were especially strong! Those were both right turns, so you will ant to get on that RC line extra early to get the left turns which are harder for her.
Sticking near the start wing (or near the first jump on a course) really helps use set the RC line – so by hanging back, we are actually earlier and will get ahead more easily on the RCs. So counterintuitive but works so nicely!!!
Great job here!
TracyGood morning! It is very fun to hear that you were playing long with the live class š
Nice job working through the RCs – he was surprised at first, but the bowl REALLY helped him out. Also, I think he is a lefty: on the questions he had on the right turn RCs, he turned left first then right. When you switch to the left, yes, it looks like the bowl target was there but it was still a lot easier to get the left turns going. So for the next session, start him with the left turn RCs and see how he does.
>>We struggled with taking the tunnel! He got the serp no problem.>>
The Serps looked great, he had no questions about taking the jump. Super!!! One detail: be careful to have your arm in position, wait a couple of seconds, then release him: you were releasing and moving the arm at the same time, so he might begin to think that the arm movement is the release.
Straightening out the tunnel really helped him too – it is possible that the tunnel curved away might have ben the source of his questions because it turned him away from your position. He did great with the straight tunnel (and the placed treat), and adding motion went really well too! You can try the advanced game with the threadle mixed in now too š
The diamond went really well – you had really great connection after the BCs!
Because he is so little, keeping your arms low really helped him out. And, adding more connection to his eyes on the tunnel exits helped too: when you were looking ahead and had a high arm, he didnāt know where to be on the tunnel exits because connection was blocked (like at 1:57 and 2:17 for example). But with low arms and more connection? Super!!! U can see this at 2:40, so nice!!!!
And the same when you exit a FC on the wing to send to the tunnel – low arms and connection to his eyes really helped, like at 2:14 and 2:37 – so nice!
>>On the set point, I moved the bumps out a few inches.>>
Great! Those reps looked good, especially the 2nd one (last rep). You can leave the framework there for a session or two, to let it percolate a bit as we add more to the grid š
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
>>we worked a lot on tight wraps ( I think it was more than one spot) anyway, now that JJ is getting faster, she is finding that actions that may make her think more and and collected better are getting worse so I want to go back and review these things with her.>>
My guess is that is it not a lack of thoughtfulnessā¦ it is more that she has gotten faster, so the info is probably coming later so she is not getting the turn cues in time. The most important element of the tight wrap cue is the deceleration, which needs to happen basically no later than landing or exit of the next obstacle (and if the distance is tight, it starts as she is in the air of the previous obstacle). If the deceleration happens after she makes a takeoff decision (which is usually no later than the halfway point between the jumps) then you will get a wide turn because she saw too much acceleration, so chose her takeoff based on that info.
So definitely get video of where she is going wide so we can plan out the timing for her current needs (it is was easier when they were younger and slower LOL!!!). And if you get video during class, you can watch it between turns to see if your timing is on or not.
>>the serp was in line with the opening of the tunnel to the left (only a couple of feet to the left of the tunnel opening) and I had a really difficult time getting her over the first jump in the serp. >>
Sounds really hard! Based on her age and her serp experience and her speedā¦ probably above her current pay grade as you mentioned. Using the class time to break it down and even angle the jumps as you break it down will help teach her the concept – it sounds like it was a scenario she had never seen, with high speed serps which are a newer skill anyway.
>>If I get a change I will try to duplicate the angles at home so you can see it better.>>
Yes! That would be great. And bring your camera or phone to class to get all the videos at this stage: she is a transition period from baby dog stuff to higher level handling, so video will be instrumental in getting the info to her in time as well as breaking down skills as needed, so there is not too much failure.
>>although this is a class for young dogs.>>
Sometimes the skills are too hard for young *fast* dogs, so be prepared to break things down as needed. I live by the 2-failure rule in classes & seminars too: If I think the dog can get it, I might try the skill. But if the dog fails twice in the session? Time to break it down and leave it broken down (rather than put it back together in that session – that is probably going to go sideways LOL!)
Keep me posted!
TracyGood morning!
>>she didnāt seem to be going fast ā lots to take in up in that arena on the hillside.>>
The circle wraps require a lot of collection, so it is hard for either of you to go super fast when there are several in a row š
The serps are also looking great! Your running line was really strong so she was able to pick up the serp line really well, even driving ahead when needed. Yay! When serping, you can have your serp arm back sooner: as soon as she exits the wing, you will ant her to be seeing the arm back and shoulders rotated so she can set up the slice jumping of the serp. On a couple of reps, you were hustling to get into position so your shoulder was closed forward, which changes the line on the serp. To be able to get to the serp jump and also have the arm back, sending to the wing from further away will make it easier! And she has a great send!
Speaking of the send:
>>I need treatment for my āgoā babbling.>>
Ha! Yes, there was a lot of āGO!ā On turn lines happening. She was wide because she was processing the go then switching to the turn. But we donāt want her to ignore a āgoā cue, so be sure to take a moment before each rep, pull up the turn cue, and send her on that: youāll get a tighter line and keep the āgoā verbal from getting diluted.
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
Looking at the winginā it games: you had absolutely great timing on the first FC on the wing at :20 (on your right) – note the decel then the rotation, so he committed and also had a nice tight turn, while you were moving the other way.The other side was harder for you with the timing (on your left side). There was a bit too much forward motion at :45 and 1:04, making the FCs late – at 1:18 you added rotation but he read it like a rear cross because you did not have the decel before it.
Nice adjustment at 1:30 to have the decel and the rotation! Yay!!! That got a really nice turn too.
>>did make exit connection. >>
Yes! That really helped him be super clear on where to be when he exited š
On the ladder game video:
Yes, he doesnāt fully understand the countrmotion of the circle wraps, so good job breaking them down to work on them! Because there is so much countermotion with you moving forward and him needing to complete the wrap, the ideal place to throw the reward is back behind you, to where the landing spot would be if there was a jump bar there.
He could complete the wrap if you stayed on the landing side and rotated, so that is a great starting point. As you work on the skill, you can add in walking forward so you can show him the countermotion and fade out staying on the landing side or rotating your upper body.
>>I missed the back side wrap training in the previous camps. >>
If you can to check them out, you can find them in week 8 of MaxPup 1 and week 4 of MaxPup 2.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
He had no questions about the zig zags! His stay looked great and he was perfect about changing his direction on both sides. YAY!!! Yes totally add another wing when you get back to your yard – and if he is fine with that, you can actually move the wings in closer so he has to do his zig zags even quicker (and you have to cue them quicker too LOL!!)>>Weāll be working the serpentines next, I think š we thought we got strike a pose in max pup 1, but teenage brain evaporated that. So weāll go back to those games for quick refresh.>>
If he is having questions with the motion being added to the serps, you can angle the jumps he bar is facing him more. You will still move on the same serp line, but the angle of the jump will be easier and he can find it easily even as you move.
Great job here!
TracyHere is a video of me moving past the target on a higher level game – we haven’t taught the pups this game, but you can see my walking past the target while the dog hits and holds position. I went back to reward him on these but that was a while back, nowadays I would release forward or throw the reward back.
Hi!
>>Iowa!?!? Thatās nearly half way across the country! >>
Ha! Yes, it is exactly close to neither of us LOL!!!
> I also realized I didnāt make her follow through with sit when I told her placeā¦.whoops! Bad mama training.>>
I think in this context, you were a good mama to reward her for getting on it and ignoring the the tunnel! You can get the sit during the next session š
>>So with the teeter gameā¦I watched your video over again and I didnāt get the explanation I need so Iām going to ask. Hopefully itās not too dumb of a question. How does the target play into this long term? >>
Not dumb at all! I didn’t explain it at all LOL!! The target is commonly used in contact training to develop an independent understanding of the contact position: the dog should go to that position and hold the position while the handler does any number of a zillion things LOL!! Then we fade the target out while maintaining the independent position.
>>I donāt know how Iāll possibly translate that to the teeter in a course environment because I obviously wonāt stop to reward that. Is it just teaching her where to target her feet and eventually the target is phased out?>>
Yes – it is teaching her to love going there and waiting until you release, so you can get to wherever you want to be on course.
>>Also, with your suggestion of starting to slowly walk when she gets into position, where does the target and rewarding come in?
The goal is that she doesn’t cue of your stopping or being nearby in order to get into her contact position. So you would keep moving, slowly, until she definitely stops: then you can release her forward and reward, or throw a reward back to her.
>> Is my back turned to her but face watching her?>>
Yes – you would be moving forward but watching her to see if she does it š
>> When or where do reward if Iām slowly walking a couple steps past her.>>
I like to stay “break” and release the dog forward for a reward, or “Catch” and throw a reward back.
>> Essentially this skill is teaching her to stay on the teeter until released even if Iām in motion, right?>>
Exactly!
>> Do I use any verbal like stay or just let her figure it out and offer it?>>
I say “target” and that means “hit position and hold it”. Some people say stay, some people just use the teeter cue.
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am glad she is doing well with only a small setback!!! Hopefully she heals up FAST!!! And it stinks to have to go into the office for real, maybe it will rain so you arenāt missing nice weather š
>>I am going to obsess a bit about tunnels to see if I am rear crossing tunnels when I shouldnāt be. Can I come back with questions if I start driving myself crazy?>>
Absolutely!!!! Bring the questions!
āØ>>Question: Do I put the target down & reward in position & throw the reset cookie and leave the target in place and repeat? I just wasnāt sure if I needed to add the target each time after she gets on the board.>>Honestly, I think she was getting annoyed by waiting for the target LOL!! You were not being slow, she was just being super fast. So you can already have it on the board and let her leap into position, reward in position, then release and toss a treat off to the side to reset for the next rep.
Have fun!
Tracy
Good morning!
She is doing well with the left & right verbals! She had very few failures when you were off-centerā¦ but a lot of failures when you were centered on the wings. So, remembering the 2 failure rule (no more than two failures total in the session), you will want to stay off-center for another session or two and then inch your way to the center position. And if there are failuresā¦ dial it back to where she can be successful and donāt make it harder again, because she starts to slow down and guess at that point. We want to keep her confidence very high!
.
The serps are going well too, with a lot more motion added now! She is doing really well with the left turns towards the jump (which is a slight right turn over the jump). The right turn to the jump (left turn over the jump) took a couple of reps to solidify – you exaggerated the serp cue and that really helped. Super!When adding the backside: you will get fewer questions if you keep your dog-side arm back pointing to her and not ahead of her at the jump, and move forward on a parallel line to her line to the backside for longer, before turning your feet to the next (serp) line.
At 2:34 and 2:39 you were saying ābackā but the high arm pointing to the wing turned your shoulders away from the backside line, and your motion also turned towards the front side, caused her to look at you with a question.
Then when you were further across the bar at 2:43, as she exited the wing your verbal said back but all of the physical cues said front so she took the front. You gave her an āuh ohā marker but I really think a reset cookie is far better there: the uh oh marker implies that she is wrongā¦ but what happened was the cues conflicted so she correctly went with the stronger cue (all the physical cues and motion). So, rather than mark it as wrong, reset her with a treat and clarify the cues (or watch the video before the next rep to see what she saw). You can see her slow down and get sniffy after that, which we want to avoid, of course.
On the next rep at 2:49, compare to how your line of motion was parallel to the backside line for a lot longer and your connection was much better, so she went to the backside You were closer to the entry wing there which is fine, and as you get further across the jump, you will want to use the same physical cues. You also had a good line of motion and connection on the reps on the other side. Yay!
The zig zags are going well too! Be super clear here about supporting her if there is an error, because the chances are that the errors are human errors and not canine š and live by that 2 failure rule – there were a LOT of failures marked on this session. That can cause dogs to slow down and stress. So keep the sessions shorter and let her success level guide you as to how fast you can add more challenge. She did really well with 3 wings. Adding the 4th wing makes it harder of course! So at 3:51, the handling was late and you were moving backwards (which presents different motion info). So a reset reward is fine there (she was correctly following your motion). The same happened at 3:59.
At 3:54, the cue to make the first lead change was a little late too (it was after the release so she moved forward then saw the lead change) so she missed the first gap – again, a reset reward there is fine, no need at all for a ānoā marker because that can be deflating to her when she is reading the info correctly.
Note the difference in the cues at 4:04 and the reps after it to help her see all of the gaps. Those were more obvious and really helped her be able to process the cues and get her mechanics going.
Since I am being a pain about the 2 failure rule š at about 4:30 you changed the picture a bit (other side, different use of the leg) and she failed times in a row. She did get some successes after that, but she slowed herself down and I think we prefer the speed and confidence! So when working the games as t hey get more challenging, donāt allow more than 2 failures (total) in a session. And you can spread the training out so that adding the challenges is more gradual over the course of a week or so rather than multiple challenges in one session.
Find the jump went really well!!!
>>I really enjoyed seeing her drive out of the tunnel so focused. >>
Yes! There was a lot of speed and a lot of reward! On the first rep (4:55), I think the pole got in your way: you were on the other side of it but not connected and didnāt say go, so she stayed on a straight line but it was past a jump. That is another good spot for the reset reward because human error caused the dog error š
The rest of the reps had great connection and line to support the jump, and she found it easily! She was confident and fast, even as you added layering the pole – and when you did run on the other side of the pole, you were still connected and she found it easily. You also added try āgoā verbal a lot earlier (before she got into the tunnel), which really helped as well.
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
>>It gave me time to ārememberā the course and time for Teagan to play with his tug toy.
That is great! I like to play tug to buy myself some time to remember the course š
>>I am not always getting out the correct verbal for a left wrap (FLIP) versus a right wrap (WRAP).>>
Definitely practice the words by jogging the sequence without him, then checking that you have used the correct one š And, remember that the flip & wrap verbals can be very quiet (compared to āGOā which is nice and loud) and that will help the turns too.
First video is marked left but it is rights at the beginning (and you used the correct verbal :)) . The left looked good too! Try to call the left & right verbals before he enters the tunnel so can turn tighter on the exit. You can add more distance between the tunnel and the wings, so you can move more and not send from a stationary position as much.
The lefts at the beginning of the 2nd video looked good – you were moving more instead of sending, which supports the line better. He is seeing good connection here too, which helps him find the lines!
When getting to the wrap wing after the go, you can still use a go before he enters the tunnel to help him propel straight out of it.
On the 3rd video – nice connection on this video, and you had even more movement Super! You can put a line on the ground about 4 feet before the tunnel entry, to mark the moment when you need to be starting the exit line cue (left, right, or go). You were starting the directionals when he was already going through the tunnel, so he didnāt make the turn til after the exit. Starting them before the entry will help him turn before he exits.
>>We still need work on the GO. >
To build up that skill, keep throwing the reward straight when he exits and show him acceleration too – the acceleration will predict the toy throw, so he will start to rocket straight out of the tunnel.
You had more acceleration at :38 and :50 on the 3rd video, so he had a better GO exit there. Yay! Remember to stay connected so that he can see which side to be on as you indicate the wing. You had better connection on the next rep there (:53) so it was a much smoother line.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
She did well with the jump angling back to being āflatā! You can move the PT to where the next jump would be (almost parallel to the exit wing of the serp) so your line of motion will be parallel to the jump bar even more (not moving away to give her the one to the PT). That will add a little more pressure because she has to jump really close to your leg, so you can angle the jump a little if she has questions.
The FCs are also going well! Your connection looked really strong, and th best reps with motion had you moving on the line in the gap, rather than to the jump. Her only blooper was at 1:23 when your connection was strong but your motion towards the jump on the FC overrode the connection. The rest all looks great!!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
This is looking great! I am laughing that you called them lazy – nothing lazy here, you were both hustling! Yay! Super strong session here. You did a great job with your connection going to the wing on all the reps: perfect! On the wing exits, you were very strong too – there was only one spot (:08) where you can see you were looking ahead on the way to wing 3, so she was behind you for a bit and not sure which wing to go to. The other reps had clearer connection, so she knew where to be each time, including the reps where you did a blind to the threadle wrap on the last wing! Super!!āØ
Great job here š
āØTracyHi!
>>Speaking of which, my friend who recommended your classes to me said you sometimes travel to teach seminars. Do you happen to have the west coast on your travel list this year? Iād love to take a lesson in person one day!>>
I would totally love to meet you and the girls!!!! I think the furthest west I go this year is Iowa if you are up for a road tripā¦ maybe Utah in the fall but we are working that out. I will keep you posted!
The contact discrimination game is SUPER hard – anything that is verbal only with no handling cues is sooooo hard for the dogs at first.
>>Three, she also seemed confused because I had no motion. >>
Yes – the lack of motion can be mind-bending for the dogs. Kashia definitely seemed to think you were insane LOL!!! The āplaceā cue was easier, probably because she is used to getting on the place without you moving? And the tunnel was harder because the place had more value in the lack-of-motion context at firstā¦ but then it got more value when she got it right a few times, so she had to āfindā the place again. So hard!!
>>I only included a few but in between those bloopers, sheād do pretty well. Why do they back track like that? One minute we get 3, maybe even 4, good reps and then all of a sudden itās like we are back to square one with not knowing which to do. >>
My guess is it is depletion in the brain – they get a little brain tired and use their train of thought. And since it is a new skill, it is easy to lose their train of thought LOL! Plus, if you change sides or change locations, it can seem totally different to the dogs and it is like going back to square one sometimes. All totally normal, and they figure it out with a couple of sessions. She did well here!!! And she will keep doing better and better each time she sees this crazy game LOL!
She did great getting right back onto the teeter board! She has a LOT of value for the teeter now – you can add a little ore tip so she has to jump up on it a little more (another inch for now). And if she is happy with that, you can also add slowly walking past the end of the board while she is moving into position. Picture it as when you are on course and she is doing the teeter, you will not want to stop with her when she stops – you will want to keep running while she holds her teeter position. Starting with very slow walking will get that going š
>>I didnāt figure you needed to see me bouncing around like Tigger trying to excite her.>>
That was funny! She was like āYOU CANNOT DISTRACT ME FROM MY TEETER, HUMAN!!!ā Hahahaha
Great job here!
Tracy
