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Thank you so much! It has been a pleasure watching you and the boys working through the courses, and it is SO FUN seeing you handle them both with great timing and connection! Zane has always been brilliant and it is awesome to see Dice growing up to be amazing too!!!!
Enjoy the rest of the summer!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
Yes, when motion was added, the tandem turn got a lot harder. I think the main challenge was that even with your upper body trying to get her attention, your lower body was going straight on the line to the wing and that motion overrode calling her name.
So 3 suggestions for you:
– call her before she goes into the tunnel, or se a left/right directional, so she exits looking for you and not looking straight. On these reps, you were calling her after she exited and when you were moving up the line, so she didn’t realize you wanted a tandem– as she exits the tunnel, turn away from the wing a bit, so your feet are turning away from her and to the line parallel to wing – think of it as pulling her off the line. At 1:354, your feet were turning that direction more and she came in very nicely!
– you can move the wings further out so it is easier for her to bypass them.
Then it will be easier to get her to flip away to the wing! It is a more dramatic handling move but it should help clarify things for her 🙂
Great job here!!
TracyHi! Between the air quality and the heat – what a crazy summer!! Poor Dean, I hope he didn’t back tooooo much. I bet he was glad for the new cool coat!!!
Seq 1 looked great! Watching it in slow motion, he was able to make the turns while staying pretty much in extension – super!!!
Seq 2:
>>Not sure why he was trying so hard to get the back of 3 when I was telling him right which means take the front side of the jump & turn. >>
Watching it a bunch of times, I think there was a subtle convergence there as you were setting the line to the backside at :29 & :39 – the tunnel exit was set to face the backside, and you were moving ever slo slightly on a parallel path towards the center of the bar – backside cue! So that overrode the verbal – the verbal starting before he enters the tunnel (like the name call you used at :45) will help but later in this sequence and in sequence 3, you did not converge and you stayed more on the right turn wing, and he had no more questions. You can see it at :52 and 1:00- you were more laterally away and no convergence so you got the front side easily!
On other little tweak – at 1:16 a little too far across the bar of the backside at 6, so the line was a little wide as he followed your line. You can stick closer to the entry wing and get right on the line, to tighten it up.
The rest looked great! Nice backside on the ending line and connection to get past the tunnel!!
Seq 3 –
This also went well! Just a couple of subtle details:
O the 4-5 line, he turned into you over 4 then you pushed him back out. Yo can start that backside push cue earlier, when he is maybe halfway to jump 4, so he stays on the line to the backside and doesn’t do that little zig zag there.>>thought I’d get a tighter turn out of #6 tunnel by saying his name quietly as he was heading in….and he turned right out of the entrance! >>
Yes – you had a really nice turn to the tunnel but then he saw you turn your shoulders away so the name call pulled him off – that is unusual for him, so maybe the heat was part of it. Even when it is in the 70s, he can heat up fast!
He slipped a little on the landing of the last backside which means the cue was a little late – the decel into happened as she was a few feet away from the backside at 1:59, you can start it as he exits the tunnel so he passes you ready to collect (that will also get you to the next line sooner because you can rotate and run the new direction sooner :))
Great job here! Fingers crossed for clean air and cooler weather ahead!!
Tracy
Hi!
Oh yes, the smaller spacing and tiny tunnel definitely will keep you on your toes! But this went really well!!
Warm ups – tunnel was easy 🙂 Yay!
For the left turns – the send was a little wide on the first rep (was tighter when you moved away sooner later on). The brake arm had a similar slightly wider turn… I think on a really severe angle like this, a spin might be the best answer! Stretch the distances out, and then it is all much easier to get on the send.The full sequence went really well!
At :51 as he exits the tunnel you were saying push but rotated so he turned to face the line you were facing. You had a MUCH clearer cue at :59 and 1:23! Very nice job getting that threadle then the GO to the tunnel – that is HARD in a small space (especially the threadle)He did have a bar on the threadle at 1:41, but I think that was just maybe slightly later timing and a tiny jumping error, nothing to worry about because he was great on all the other reps.
When you switched to the left turn – you can move up the timing of the left cues so as he is exiting the wrap on the threadle wing, you are already showing the left cues and saying the left verbal.
The Left cues came when he was about halfway to the jump at 1:44 and 2:00 but he still got it.
I think you said “jump” as he exited the wrap at 2:13 which is really good timing, then the left as you moved away. I don’t think you need the jump verbal, just the left verbal at the timing you did it at 2:13. Super nice!The timing of the left verbal was earliest on the last rep! Yay! On this severe of a line, it would be interesting to see if a spin would get him to put in a turn stride before takeoff rather than after landing. If you revisit this, let me know how he does!
Great job here – let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>As always…my timing and decel more. It doesn’t look like I ever stop moving.>>
Yes, timing and decel, but here and there. Most of it spot on! And it is here and there for all of us (which is why I leave my bloopers in the videos LOL!)
>> So, should it be decel and STOP motion until she catches up to me then rotate?
If you end up at the wing then yes, stop moving til she catches up. But if you have room to move, keep moving in decel so you can rotate as she passes you.
>> I’m not sure why I have so much trouble with this.
Because it is really hard! Timing of decel is the 2nd hardest thing in agility (getting perfect connection is the #1 hardest thing).
>>Also, on the reverse wrap. If she starts DOL then it’s my RIGHT hand pointing to the take off spot? I’ve never heard that before. I’ve seen the right hand over the bar.>>
Yes – the right hand as a bit of a ‘stop sign’ to get more collection. The right hand over the bar was from back when the dogs needed extra commitment help. They don’t need that anymore, so we can cue the collection and get outta there 🙂
>>Do you think Sprite needs a brake arm on all 180 turns at the moment? The soft turns seem to be troublesome for us.
Possibly! And that is normal to give stronger cues to baby dogs and then fade them out as they get more experienced.
>>Haha…I forgot the verbal look, look, look on that one rep and said to myself threadle cue. Threadle just came out of my mouth.>>
I loved it! And honestly, maybe we should all use that as our threadle cue LOL!!!
>>What are the fall plans for classes??
Stay tuned for a Transition To Trials class which will have sequences, how to get the dogs super successful in trials, and stuff that builds on the mental prep stuff we did in this class. I hope to get it posted in the next week or so 🙂
Great job this summer, it has been SO FUN to watch Sprite develop into such a terrific agility partner!!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>If she was your dog, would you avoid running on these kind of mats (they are Great Mats brand)?
She was not really slipped but she was really working hard NOT to slip 🙂 So the great mats would require you to change your handling to stay closer to the lines, because it takes longer for her to organize the jumping. It might be good for some straight line stuff and sends, but I don’t think it is a great option for the technical stuff or distance stuff.
>>You said to focus on where she would be, not necessarily where I would like her to be when I’m doing my handling.>>
Yes, there is a definite difference and most of the runs looked lovely!!!
Looking at the video:
Walkthrough 1 – mostly looking clear and strong!! The places that looked like questions in the walk through were the rear crosses on 11 and 15 (both looked a bit more like wrap cues) and the switch away to the tunnel after 16. That was kind of how it played out too – the rest looked really good!
Very nice opening, each and every time!! Yay!
She had trouble finding the 7 tunnel: Definitely keep driving to the tunnel until you see her looking at it – might mean you don’t layer but that is fine 🙂
At :54 you were puling way and she never looked at it. The rep at 1:54 was better but she needs a parallel line of motion to support commitment, more like what you did at 2:28 – that worked well!Looking at the RC on jump 11
You asked in the video if it is a switch or a right – that depends on what switch means. I would use a right because it is not setting up layering
But either way, more connection will make the RCs work a lot better. It is counterintuitive to look at her more to get her to drive ahead, but it works really well! So for example on the rep at about 2:34, you were coming down the line after the poles, nicely connected so she read the 9-10 really well! Then you looked forward (and you were still ahead of her) which changed the line of your shoulders so she was no longer sure of the line If you keep your arm back and make more connection there, she will drive past you and you can run to the center of the bar on 11 to set up the RC. Then definitely throw rewards out on the line for the RC so she cn get lots more value for driving ahead of you.That added connection will also work well on the RC at 15, where she did not drive ahead when you looked ahead. But overall, more thrown rewards out ahead to help her get more value for driving ahead will work REALLY well to set up the RCs.
To help solidify the flip away to the tunnel 16-17, you can bring up your arm sooner and see if she will turn over the bar rather than at landing – then step forward to the tunnel for as long as needed, until she is locked onto it.
Nice FC on 18 and really nice ending line!
Course 2: The walk through also looked good – your backside cue for 2 in the walk through was not all the=at clear but you nailed it in the runs. The other 2 spots that might have been questions were the wrap at 8 – it was harder to see if she would turn her head away or not. And it looks like you left out the 11 jump.
On the run:
Very nice opening line and weaves! I thought you supported the tunnel well so we will ignore the bug-behind-the-tunnel moment LOL! It was beautiful the 2nd time through there and after that as well.
For the threadle wrap after the tunnel on 8, make it more of a slow motion move so you can turn her head away. Most of the reps you did it as a lap turn, which involves locking her onto your hand, stepping back, turning her away, then showing the jump, all pretty slowly to she can set up the turn. Remember that the window you are looking for is for her to turn her head to her right and take a step to her right… then you can move to the next line You were moving too fast and it looked like a slice cue.
Doing it as a threadle wrap instead of a lap turn worked so much better towards the end!
At 6:13 you did a slice to a blind – maybe that is what you meant on the other reps? The blind makes the exit turn wider, so a throwback to a FC so she exits on your left will be nice and tight there. I think the threadle wrap sets up a better line, though
I the middle section, you did leave out 11 which is which the line didn’t make any sense to her (because it was wonky to got 9-10-12 LOL!)
She drove ahead on the RC at 13 at 5:31! Yay! Didn’t quite turn to the tunnel but I am happy she drove ahead! Look at the RC at 7:26 – connected and you drove to the center of the bar, so she got it beautifully!
On the backside cue at 4:41 and 5:45 on 13 – you were late starting (she was already getting ready to take off for the front) then you needed to look at the landing spot as you move through.
You got very stop-and-go there and so she was frustrated – stay in motion, keep going even if it goes sideways. You told her to stop there and other places, so she stopped barking but that doesn’t reduce the overall frustration so during the other stops, her barking response was bigger.You were right on time at 7:34 but let go of the cue too soon, so she came off it. On the last rep, you held the cue til she locked onto the backside wing then helped her commit to the bar, so she nailed it. Yay!
>>On another note, I was wondering if you were still planning to send me the extra pup tent you had?>>
I have it with me on the road, and just need to get it to a post office! Hopefully this week!!!
Great job with everything this summer – you and Nox are looking sooooo much smoother!!!! Yay! The rear crosses are the next big thing to tackle, but I am sure those will be smooth soon too. Great job here and hope to see you soon in person!
Tracy
Good morning! VERY nice session here!!!! She was able to commit beautifully, no running past jumps!
That first run looked great! Great connection on the takeoff side of 3 and found it perfectly.
Her head was up a little at the ending line – she might need an earlier toy throw perhaps, or maybe it was 14” bars. Or both 🙂 She will sort it out and then you will see her head get lower again.She had the #1 bar down at :20 – she was set up too close to be able to have a full stride into the jump. Much better starting point at :27, good adjustment! So always be sure to start her a solid 12 to 15 feet away from jump 1 so she can stride into it properly.
The cross on the landing side of 3 was harder here because it was harder to clear her line so she could see 4 and still get commitment to 3. You were a little in her way on the first rep on landing of 3, so she really had to think about jumping 4.
You were further up the line on the 2nd rep, not as connected and calling urgently (running a bit sideways to 4) so she came to you at :45. Note the different at :59 when you made eye contact – great connection and she got 3 really nicely! But on this setup, the takeoff side of 3 is the winner because it is far easier for you to connect and show the line 2-3-4.>>I was late cueing that darned RC at the end but she read it and turned the correct way. Yay!>>
Yes – a little late but she read it – GOOD GIRL!! That is why we keep rewarding them so they never get mad at us 🙂 If they are relaxed and happy to read our cues, they start to save us when we are late LOL!! Yay!
>>I also had the bars at 14″ which I think is the highest I have had. I think I will try raising them to 16″ next time.>>
Based on her head position here, you can leave them at 14” for a few more sessions – she was definitely thinking about the bars (which is good!). When she lowers her head again, you can go to 16”. No rush, we have plenty of time to get her there.
Great job here!! She is doing brilliantly!
Tracy
Hi!
>I need to learn a balance of when to start them, you’re right, with his commitment I should be able to start them earlier than I am.
The timing will all get easier as you get onto bigger sequences – when everything is close together, we have to be sooooo quick to show all the cues. So hard!!!
>>Watching his commitment is hard for me sometimes, I tend to pull too soon and Bless his little heart. He does with me! Sure love 💕 our dawgs>>
This will get easier too – the more we practice watching their heads, the easier it is to know when we can move away to the next line. They give us “permission” by looking at the line we want or starting the turn 🙂
Tracy
Good morning! I am really liking what I see here – there is a ton of great work so the suggestions below are pretty minor details to sharpen up certain spots. She has really come a long way in learning her coursework – this is very exciting!!! I am very happy to se all of the independent commitment so all we need to discuss is the timing or where to put a hand or what line to be on. Very cool!
>>Also, if I was too far lateral Sprite wouldn’t take the first jump. More homework.>>
You can train it at home with a toy on the ground or a MM, to replace the jump (getting really lateral then releasing her to the MM or toy in front of her). Then put a jump in between her and the toy/MM, and release to take it laterally. Then, fade out the placed reward and go to throwing a reward for taking the jump laterally. She will figure it out really fast.
Pop Out 1: Looking really good so we can sort out some subtle details:
You did a decel 2-3 but she was still a bit long on 3 at :07 and :26, so two things to try:
– Earlier decel (when she is over the bar of 2 so she sees it when she lands, rather than starting it when she lands)
– Brake arm as she lands and you decel into 3
We don’t need a lot more collection there, just maybe one stride, so those should help.Nice collection on the 6 backside at :14 and :32! Nice turn!!!
The serpy line 7 to 8 might need an outside arm to get her to 8 because you are behind her at that point. The 2nd run was smoother because you were converging to 8 more. You can also try leaving 6 sooner, I bet her commitment is strong enough for you to send her past you as you rotate and you can get even further ahead!
Pop out 2:
Her turn on 2 was really good but it can be super gooder if you put your right hand down on the takeoff side of the jump at :48 and 1:15 and 1:42. What Imean by that is as you release her, indicate the takeoff side of 2 with your right arm near the takeoff spot and a bit of eye contact – that can get one more collection stride. But I am really pleased with how she is collected and independently bending over the bar as you takeoff for 3 🙂 NICE!>>On the second sequence she was falling on landing of 3>>
About jump 3 at :51 and 1:18 and 1:45, I think she needed to see/hear the cues sooner:
– as soon as she exits the wrap wing of 2, you can begin the decel then the rest of the cues. It was a bit late and she was falling because you were doing it as she was approaching takeoff, so she didn’t really adjust her stride til after landing. Start the decel as she exits the wrap wing will feel early but gives her the info sooner – just be sure not to move away until she is passing you and looking at the jump.The timing of the FC at :56 and 1:22 and 1:49 (jumps 4-5) tells me that yes, you can leave sooner on the FC in the previous pop out because you were fully rotated before she took off here. Yay!
A shade more decel into it will get an even better turn – the decel should start as she is over the bar of 4 so she sees it in progress when she lands. You had this bit more decel at 1:49 and she added a lovely collection stride!!
You are going to see ‘rounder’ lines on this type of dog path partially because the angle the dog jumps on, and partially because that rounder line is slightly faster than a really tight turn (NASCAR style!)
The rhythm of that decel is: as she is taking off for 4 – a long stretch of decel followed by the rotation as she is passing you. Starting the decel as she is over the previous bar or exiting a wrap wing should give her nice early info to adjust the striding.
Nice threadle 6-7! I think you said “threadle” as the verbal cue at 1:25 which is actually a great verbal cue LOL!!!
I like the BC 8-9 (1:01 and 1:29 and 1:55) but it looks like you were a little too far across the line so she jumped wide (correctly following your line). So on that BC, figure out what you want her ideal path to be, and run the BC right on it (you won’t be in her way because you will be long gone form the spot when she lands). So in this case, you will be closer to the inside wing and not past the center of the bar to set up the line.
The closing looks great including the last RC! WOW!
>>I could not get the BC in between 7-8 and had to rear with both dogs.>>
That RC, though, was fast and tight and you were ahead again after it (even though there was no place to go LOL!) so that is likely to be as fast or faster than a BC there!!!
Great job on these and fabulous work all summer!! Sprite is really coming into her own and in just the last couple of months has developed into a serious agility dog! YAY!!! I definitely hope to see you both in person soon (and Gemma too of course :))
Tracy
Hi! Apologies in advance for this relatively boring feedback where I ell you how great you did and how great she looked 🙂
On both of these videos you did fabulous job of getting her to be independent on the tunnel threadles – you showed the handling but then moved towards the tunnel entry you wanted without going much pulling or pushing on her line. She was finding the tunnels brilliantly!
First video:
On the warm up reps, you can add more motion by meeting her at the exit of the first tunnel and moving forward to the threadle tunnel entry, to see if she can drive ahead of it to you.
The Wing-tunnel threadle is going really well! She is especially brilliant when she turns to her right on the wing before the tunnel threadle, but she also nailed it each time when she turned to her left on the wing before the tunnel (she was a little wider on those because they seem to be harder for her).
Great job with ALL the verbals! Ad great timing with the threadle arm and other handling!
The 2nd video started where you left off from the first, with really lovely drive around the wings and then a great job turning her for the tunnel threadle. But the star of this video were your tandem turns (threadle wraps, really) on the wings – WOW!! Those were so great! You did a lovely timing the turn cue for the middle wing, so she was already turning – then the threadle wrap was easy peasy, and also quite independent! Very impressive for a baby dog!!!!
Well done on both of these! You can add challenge by adding more speed… but spreading the wings out even more 🙂
Tracy
Unfortunately, after tomorrow I start a cross country drive to teach in Seattle and some other places along the way, so I won’t have computer access to be able to watch videos 🙁 Too many hours driving coming up!
T
Hi!
First video looks really nice! He is definitely driving across the mat really well! You can add two things this:
Rather than use a “yes” marker before the reward, say “get it” and throw the reward (so he looks at you less!) And, you can give the marker when he back feet him the mat (not the front feet).On the 2nd video: The banana line looked good too! You were sometimes using a get it marker on this one and that will totally help him look forward – so keep using it consistently rather than the “yes” marker where turns back to you.
Since he is touching his mat so nicely, the next step is for you to move faster 🙂 Try this game with you jogging and see how he does :) Great job !
TracyHi!
This is going well too! He is getting more and more confident about jumping o it and going bak and forth. I am not sure he loves it yet, but he is definitely on the road to loving it! Great job having him jump on and off and go back ad forth. Adding more peed at the end with placed reward was great because it also added more tip! And he didn’t seem to mind at all.
You can very gradually start adding a little more tip. Stay at each new level of tip for as many sessions as it takes for him to get happy with that new tip. Then when he is happy, you can add a tiny bit more tip 🙂Great job!
TracyHi! These all looked really good!
Seq 1: This went well!!
Fo the tandem turn, you can start it sooner (after he passes the pole) to pull him in then turn him away on the line.
Same with the 2nd video – starting that tandem turn when he is exiting the middle wing will help pull him in past the next wing so you can turn him away sooner.
3rd video – for the FCs on this one, you can have the toy in your pocket so that way you can be one step sooner with t he FCs. With the toy in your hand, you were switching it to the other hand then doing the FC, which made you a step late.
Tunnel threadle at the end of this one looked GREAT! Very clear cue and you moved directly yo the tunnel entry you wanted.4th video – Really nice line around the wings and into the tunnel! You can show the FC on the tunnel sooner by starting before he enters the tunnel, so he is turning when he exits and so you can already be facing the other way.
He also has really good commitment, so you can start the FC on the wings just before he reaches the wings – you were tending to do it when he was halfway around the wings, but he is definitely ready for you to do it earlier.
5th video – this is the mirror image of video 4 – also really nice lines around the wings an into the tunnel! As with the previous video, you can start the FC on the tunnel right before he goes into the tunnel, and the FC on the wings right before he arrives at the wing. The tunnel threadle at the end here looks great too! 🙂
6ht video – at :21, you pulled away from the tunnel so he had a question on the tunnel threadle. On the previous videos, you ran directly towards the tunnel entry you wanted and he was very clear about where to go
7th video – at :12 here on the FC, you started it just before e arrived t the wing. NICE! Then you moved directly to the tunnel entry on the tunnel threadle (you didn’t pull away at all) so he was perfect in finding the correct tunnel entry. YAY!
8th video – this one was super connected and you really drove him through the lines. Super!!! He is definitely ready for you to do this in a bigger space so you can add more motion and speed.
Nice job on these!
Tracy
I don’t think you need a treat on the target, it depends what she remembers about the target? You can start with a treat if needed but fade it and the reward can come from the RT out ahead. And yes, start with a bigger target (4″ x 4″ approx) then fade it smaller and smaller. In UKI, you are allowed to run NFC and put the target on the ground!
T
