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Hi! Congrats on your reserves!!! Well done!!!! It is hard showing young Paps against the more mature dogs, it sounds like he did great!
Great job on the countermotion game! He was just about perfect on all of the countermotion sends because your cues were very clear: your arm & leg & connection all indicated the wing. His only question was at 1:37, where it looks like you didn’t have enough of a step to the wing, only upper body in use, so he looked up at you. And on the very first rep, I think he was looking at the tunnel like he (correctly) dd at 1:21 when you said left and he turned left… directly on the line to the tunnel LOL!! You would need a bit more of a left cue there, like a brake arm or more decel.
And I am impressed with his distance on the race track – he stayed out on the line brilliantly without needing a lot of running from you, but also turned when you asked him to. Yay! The counter motion-race track combos looked terrific 🙂
Great job on these!!!!
Tracy
Hi!
>> is this something I should not do with a tunnel? Rear cross the tunnel if the next obstacle is straight ahead? >>
I think it should be done very rarely and only if the verbal Go is super strong – if we do it a lot, then it will dilute the RC as a turn cue and the dogs will ignore it when we do what them to turn.
Thanks for the serp clip! Frankie looks great! I think you had a little bit of motion away from the serp jump to help draw her over it, and Frankie is experienced so she took the serp and also found the next jump with no problem. Your connection was great! But also yes, I bet you can get even tighter lines with a bit more upper body rotation and that way you can keep your motion going forward. It was already pretty close to what you are doing with Bazinga so I bet Frankie has no trouble with it.
On Bazinga’s serps: Driving out to jump 2 looked really good! The only questions she had on that were when she went to the backside – that was because you were a little too close to the jump so the backside line was the obvious line.
To get her to come into jump 1 for the serp more reliably, you can open up your arm more (rotate a little more at the waist) and exaggerate it by looking at your hand or the landing spot – that can really draw her in! I think on the reps that she missed, she was reading your motion and the upper body was being a bit too subtle 😁 so you can add drama with more rotation of the upper body and looking at the hand/landing spot.Both girls on the board at the beginning – SO CUTE!!!!
Bazinga was hilarious: she would get on the board, get her cookie, then back up to get back into position to encourage you to give the next cookie LOL!!! So you can take it a step further: reward in position one time, then release so she gets a cookie off to the side and has to jump back on and into position to re-start the targeting (rather than scooting back up the board then back down it LOL!) The target has basically convinced her to put her chin down even when the target is not there – that will be great for criteria on the end of the teeter! I am excited to add this to the moving planks/bang game!She is doing so well with her motion override game! She gets the sit most of the time, and on the other reps she stands still while trying to process it. Yay! You made things really exciting when she got the instant sit which is great but also made the next reps harder because she was more excited. Since she is doing the down on the plank… you can add the down cue to this game to see if she can do a down while you are moving – great prep for the teeter!
Nice work here 🙂 Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
Week 8 is 3 jumps and a tunnel to do it fully (but you can replace the tunnel with a barrel 🙂 )Week 9 uses less equipment (a tunnel and a jump would be good, and a plank if you have one that is easy to travel with).
Tracy
Hi!
She might not have been ready to see the a-frame in this context yet, because the a-frame mechanics are so much harder than the cot 🙂 The next step would be a plank replacing the cot, something that is easy to get on. That will help prime her for adding the aframe and dog walk too!
Tracy
Hi!
This went great! It will be fun to take it outside when the weather behaves so you have more running room!
My only suggestion here is to use a soft turn left/right verbal on the start wing when setting up for the serp, and use the wrap for the FC (when you didn’t want her to take the jump). It sounded like you had the wrap for the start wing on all of the reps here, but it is more of a soft turn and not a wrap to set up the line for the serp.You can also go to the next step of moving the start wing further back so the jump becomes more of a backside push.
Great job!
TracyHi! Good session on the set point!
>>I was hoping you could help with advice on what to do to tweak my set up or what I’m doing.>>
He is processing a lot of things here (mechanics, motion, etc) so the hits of the bar/bump came when you were running and also when you said a ‘get it’ marker a he was over the bump (or saying it and running, like in the last rep :)) So for now, drag the toy slowly, no running yet, and be connected to be sure he doesn’t move before the release (that is what happened on the first rep here). Then after he lands from the 2nd bump, you can say the ‘get it’ marker. That can smooth it out and let him focus on the mechanics of the movement.
Also, having the cones in front of the wings might present a depth perception visual he has to process, and that changes his approach to the bar. So let’s try it without the cones (use only the wings) and let me know how he does!
Keep me posted! Nice work here!
TracyHi!
>>Did we do this kind of proofing for the wing wraps? I feel like we didn’t, but could have missed it!
No, we used the wraps for proofing with the tunnel but not for turning away. That is coming soon LOL!
>>I realized I switched the order from your suggestion – said the verbal first then tossed the cookie on the away turn.>>
Your cookies tosses were good here – they were still visible before he started moving and that is the key! He was far more successful this session! Super!!! I think there was team coming out of his ears on the left turns when he had to turn away – that seems to be his harder direction to coordinate turning away.
>>What was really interesting is that he was resisting the collar grab when it was time for turn away turns and wanted to line up on the other side of the jump. ‘Um, you are totally wrong lady’ attitude :)!>>
Ha! Yes, he was probably like “Those turn aways are just wrong, human” LOL! But he did great!!! Sooooo much more success already!
>.I always try to end a session with something he finds very easy to make him feel extra successful. So we went back to the easy sides.>>
Yes, that was great and definitely easier for him. The next step would be to put this on jump bumps when you are back in your yard 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi!
Serps are definitely hard, especially with the handler movement and the distraction of the MM out there! The dog side arm being used makes it easier for the handler to run, but the opposite arm is also totally a valid way to do it as long as you don’t rotate your feet 🙂
When he had the errors at the beginning, you can totally reset with a cookie right away at your side, no hand touch needed – because that can get him back into position without leaping at you, and it will reduce frustration because there are till cookies flowing.
Good job breaking it down to help him out! I don’t think it was your arms that he was struggling with, I think it was more about having to come in over the jump rather than run parallel to it. You build it up by doing it on one jump and then reducing the motion, which totally helped!
For the next session, we want to show him the serp while you continue ti move with pretty quick motion (that was the hardest part for him) so angling the bar can help him out a lot. Rather than having the jump “flat” like a serp, you can leave the entry wing where it is but angle the exit wing towards the camera/away from you, so as he rounds the start wing, he can see most of the bump. You will still move forward on the same line as if the jump was a flat serp jump (towards the MM) and then he can get the serp over the jump in an easier way. Over the course of a few sessions, you can inch it back to being flat and he will still come in over the bar, even as you move (and with whichever arm you prefer :))
Great job here!
TracyGood morning! Lots of great work here!
The left & right minny pinny went well when he had to turn towards you!
Turning away was much harder so if something goes wrong, don’t mark it or reach for him (you had some avoidance when that happened). You can line him up with a reset cookie at your side then try again.
He had more than the 2 failures for the 2 failure rule here, so you can get him understanding turning away with a placed reward between the bars as a focal point (hold him as you place it, then start the verbal, then let go). Do this going to his right first as that seemed the easier direction for him to go. And that will take out the turning towards you then turning away chain he was offering 🙂Finding the jump after the tunnel went really well too!
Rather than the PT, use a toy as the reinforcement. That’s partially because you’ll get more speed (he has to decelerate a lot for the PT) and partially so you practice the timing of the toy throw (as soon as he looks at the jump).
You can add more distance between the jump and tunnel now, as well as more motion for you 🙂
I agree, the serps were hard! 2 ideas to make it easier:
– start the session without a placed reward on the ground for now. The PT here was too big of a focal point so he had a hard time ‘seeing’ the jump. You can have a reward in your opposite arm and toss it when he takes the next jump.
– rather than turn your shoulders more or add the pressure of another person, we can make the bar more of a focal point by rotating it to face him more (it can start perpendicular to where it was here then very gradually rotate back to the flat angle of a serp. That way you can still move along the serp line (parallel to where the bar would be) and show the arm-back serp handling, but the bar would be a bigger focal point for him to lock onto.
This game is also good to live by the 2 failure rule – if he fails twice in the session, you can make it easier to get some success then finish the session. No need to do both sides, you can stay on one side for the whole session.
Great job!
TracyHi!
Yes, the toy with the zig zag game was definitely hard! He was a little confused about the release at first when the toy was involved (when the toy moved, or not?) and where to look (at the toy or at the wing) When you gave an exaggerated cue, he was able to get it – super! And using the toy worked the mechanics of these lead changes even when he was more stimulated (which is great prep for agility!) So you can definitely use the toy on this game specifically to work the mechanics when he is really excited.
He had questions about the stay release with the cheese too (broke position on the first stay) – so try to lead out with connection the whole time because connection can really support the stay. And if he doesn’t quite get the lead change, you can reward him because it is possible that your cues were not exaggerated enough for what he needs.
For the next session, you can mix in stay rewards by throwing the cookie back to him as well as adding a little more distance between the 2 wings.
Find the jump went well! He did a great job finding the jump!
The tunnel exit was not directly straight to the jump, so calling him was the right thing to help him find the line. Also, be sure to use a ‘get it’ marker when you throw the reward – I think part of the reason he was looking straight out of the tunnel was because you started throwing food, so he was figuring out if the arm movement was a cookie toss. A ‘get it’ marker for each throw will help him look for the line and not for a cookie toss until he hears it.
For the next session, you can add more distance between the tunnel exit and the jump, as well as more motion from you!
Great job here 🙂
TracyWow, this went great!!!!
Your timing is super on all of the verbals 🙂 The best results were when the physical cues matched the verbal timing, like on the first GO rep when you used your verbal and acceleration to get him to the wing after the tunnel, as well as on the left & right soft turn verbals too! Yay!No need to wait at the wing wrap after the straight line exit to move to the next tunnel cues – that was causing your verbal cues and physical cues to not match, so he had small questions:
For example, at :08, you waited for him to finish the wrap which made you a little late showing the acceleration for the GO, so he curled in a little. When you waited at the wing wrap at :36 and :49 then game th cue to turn right, the verbal timing was good but the body was showing acceleration, so he did turn but ti was wider than on the other right turn rep. So, you can send to he wing and when he commits (arriving at the wing is probably a good guarantee of commitment for a baby dog :)) you can do the front cross and move away, so you can show acceleration for the go or turn for the right verbal.Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! The serps went really well!!
She easily found the line on the first 2 videos when the jumps were very angled, no problem. You didn’t have your serp arm back on those, so you can practice that even though the angles were really easy for her 🙂
You started the serp cues on the 3rd video (2nd post here) but the best serp cue was on the last video (adding the tunnel on the other side). At :05, as she was exiting the tunnel, you already had the serp cue visible so it was very easy for her to read – perfect!!!
Hold that upper body position for another couple of strides – since it is also the cue to go to the next jump, you can hold the upper body in serp position until after she lands from the serp jump *and* steps towards the next jump. If you turn forward to cue the next jump, you might inadvertently cue her to go past it (especially if your position is not perfect or the line is not easy).
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
Turning away is going really well! The right turns were easier, as expected, and I think the mechanics were a little cleaner on that side in terms of the cookie not moving while she was processing.
The left was a little harder but she was able to do it as long as there was not a competing visual to process – in this case, the competing visual was the cookie hand moving (cheese is life!). If you were reaching for the treat and starting the verbals at roughly the same time, she struggled to turn to her left away from you (like at 1:20ish). But when the cookie was not moving for a bit longer then you started the left turn cues… she was able to process it (like at 1:31). So after you line her up and get the cookie ready, you can take an extra couple of seconds with no movement before starting the turn cues.
The line up and collar holding went really well, very smooth mechanics here and she seemed to be happy to do it! And it is fun t hear that she is moving towards you ‘gimme your collar’ hand 🙂
Fingers crossed that the snow melts while you are in Chicago! Safe travels and see ya there!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>We tried a Mini-Pinny verbals session with our makeshift travel agility setup The mountains got a couple of feet of snow, so we are taking the pups on a few days of advenutre.
This is awesome! I love your creative travel setup! The towels were great for teaching the concept indoors.
He did really well turning away to the right! The only thing I would add is to hold his collar, say ‘right’ a few times, then let him go because that helps him process the verbals before he starts moving (you did that at the very end of the left turn reps and he totally looked to his left!)
And yes, the left was definitely harder – he did sort it out but it was after turning to his right first 🙂 So you can help him out by placing the reward as a focal point before you start her verbal: hold his collar, toss the treat or toy out on the line between towels 1 and 2, start the verbal, then let him go to turn to his left. That should help him sort out the mechanics of turning away to the left which is definitely a brain-exploder 🙂
Great job here! Enjoy your snow adventures!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
She did great with the quicker zig zags! No problem at all. You can keep shortening the distance until they are 3 feet apart. But for the next session, be sure to rotate the wings so they are perpendicular to where they were here – you can visualize that they are jumps with a bar (but no bar yet for this game). Her line up spot would be next to the flat part of the wing (not the jump cups).
Great job with the find the jump game too! It looks like you gradually added distance between the jump and the tunnel, and also changed your position a bit. She seemed to have no trouble at all. Super! So for the next session, you can add a little more distance as well as changing your position:
– You can run all the way to the tunnel then hesitate before running forward again, so she blasts ahead of you
– You can send to the tunnel and get miles ahead of her
– You can add more and more lateral distance, so you are further away from the jumpWith all of those options, you can add in a “go” verbal before she gets into the tunnel so she exits straight, and keep saying “go” for the jump too.
Great job here!!!
Tracy
