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Hi!
She is looking good! These exercises are surprisingly exhausting, so limit the # of reps to maybe 3 or 4 at a time for now. You can see her form change by the end and toes sticking out to the sides mote. Also, try to have her approach straight on for now, so there is no sideways sitting LOL!2 other standard ones to add in:
Posture (also a lot harder than it looks, like a plank, just a fee seconds at a time to start)And mountain climber back leg isolations (super hard, you can see how hard the left rear is here, and some cat hilarity lol)
Have fun!
TracyHi!
I am not sure I would say he was worried – he definitely noticed, but he was trying to get back on without you so he was not terribly concerned 🙂 I am glad you only did 2 reps, that was perfect for leaving him wanting more! So try it again in a day or two, using bits of butter 🙂 and see how he feels 🙂This teeter has a lot of ‘whip’ to it, meaning the board is light and bouncing up and down a lot. You can minimize that by attaching a weight to the underside of each end – a one pound weight with some duct tape should do the trick!! That will help him be even more confident.
Keep me posted!
TracyHi –
>> but how on earth do people have their puppies ready to show at 15 months?Well, just because they are entered in a show and maybe they get a Q doesn’t mean they are ready to show. 15 month old dogs are not ready to show – it is against medical advice from sports vets, and against medical advice from behavior vets. But the addiction is strong in humans 🙂 so most people don’t wait. The results are not the long, happy career that most of us want for our dogs.
T
Hi!
>> Why didn’t you day something?!?!?!?! I had no idea my camera was giving such a horrible view during our live sessions. You must have had to squint to see something!!>>
ha! It was fine! The recordings are never as clear as the live stream, I could see everything with no problem.
>>We went out and worked the Forced front cross beginning steps. He did great with the throw back and FC and LOP, it was our stay I had questions about.>>
Yes – When he holds the stay, the forced front and throwback variations are great, plus he has no trouble with the serp balance. Super! He definitely has questions about the stay.
I think a couple of things to clarify mechanics will really help.
Part of his question is about the marker: you are moving the reward and your hand… then saying the marker. So his question is: do I move when the hand moves? Or when I hear the marker like “catch” or ‘snack’. So be ULTRA careful to NOT move the reward hand until a solid second or two after you say the marker.
Note how he is finewith and doesn’t move when you put your hand into the FFC position… because that is not associated with reward delivery. The confusion is about the cookie hand moving on the lead out, and the disconnection/reconnection.
Also, when you let him settle into the sit, tell him he is good, then stay connected and praise as you lead out? He is really very good with the stay! When you are not as connected and you are quiet, he often moves. So you can definitely help him by staying connected and quietly praise him.
Also, if you have not cued a specific position and he wants/needs to down… let him do it. A down is a very anchored stay position! You can also use a platform or something for him to do some stay work on as well.
And, take note of reinforcing the moments when you get a great stay, even if you are thinking about something else. For example, from 1:44 – 1:54 he dida 10 second stay while you walked away, fixed the bar, came back to him… then he jumped up in frustration when you stepped into him to change his position. Based on your cues and the context, he thought he had been cued to stay so he did… and then you coming back to adjust him was frustrating, thus the jumping up at you.
>>If he does it twice, then we need to stop our session.
One thing I know I need to do is incorporate some sit stay work in the house.If he gets up twice in that scenario, do I stop working?>>If he does it twice, you don’t need to stop the session – you need to adjust the session to clarify the behavior so you can reward more frequently. So if he does it once, make sure your mechanics and connection and markers are correct. If he does it twice, dial back the challenge or give him a platform to use, so he can be correct 🙂
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>Yep…I can see my head forward on both videos coming to the backside with that inviting yellow tunnel right on the line. I should have been connected back to her. You are probably right that rep 2 she knew the course and rep 1 was responding to my lack of proper cue.>>
I don’t think it was a connection issue, it was more of a tunnel-on-the-line issue so a little name call would adjust the line just enough 🙂
>>I’m confused about my feet for the threadle slice comment. I tried to do the threadle to a spin. So, where exactly should my feet be as I spin? I have to turn into her which puts them towards the tunnel.>>
It is a timing thing – your feet were actually rotated too early, which might cause questions on wraps. As you are stationary on the lead out, your stomach is facing the bar, right hand extended, feet facing that off course yellow tunnel (facing the landing spot). Then as she arrives to the backside/threadle, you can do the spin where yes, your feet do turn into her. Having your feet facing the landing spot as she is approaching the line to the threadle will clearly indicate that it is a slice. At :36, your feet were turned to the wrap landing the whole time, so she added several little strides then sliced. In a nutshell – so the slice then do the spin, rather than have your feet rotated before she gets to the entry wing.
>>I didn’t think about spinning 6 in sequence two. I felt like I could sacrifice that turn to be sure I could handle the threadle wrap after the tunnel. If I spun wouldn’t I be too far behind? It was too hot to do it again. Plus, threadle wraps are hard for me and I didn’t want to test teo in a row just yet at 95 degrees!>>>
Wider turns actually cause us to get further behind, because we have to manage the line for longer before we can leave. At :56, you had to wait there til she was definitely on her way to the 7 jump and you were not able to leave til she was just about taking off for it.
A spin will tighten the turn so when she exits 6, she will be facing the correct line to 7 – that means you can send her to it sooner, and then when she is halfway to it, you can be leaving already 🙂 So a tighter turn there should allow you to leave sooner because her line will be better and also your feet will be facing 7 sooner too.Tracy
Oi! That is annoying, they could have mowed around the course!!
>>With the backside at 13, I don’t think I would be able to layer the weaves. It would be a good test of verbal understanding>>
You can try front side of it with layering, or get the backside without layering! Have fun and stay cool!
T
Hi!
Sorry to hear you are having more of the intense heat!!!! Ugh!! But yay for your instructor for setting up something that is easily tweaked for this class 🙂The session here went REALLY WELL!!! I am loving the connection and teamwork that is developing! My suggestions are just smaller details:
>>. The spacing is not ideal and I couldn’t move the small yellow tunnel. Gemma taught me to block it. >>
I think the spacing worked well and the yellow tunnel adds PERFECT challenge (you might all be seeing something similar in tomorrow’s live class
) The jump-tunnel discrimination thing is VERY popular right now! First sequence:
Nice job with the switch away on 3! Nice layering! I liked the 2nd rep at :24 a bit better for the switch to the layering, because you decelerated and so she collected more before takeoff.Without the tunnel there, you only need the backside verbal – the dogs migrate in to us when there is nothing else out there. But with the tunnel there? You need a little name call to get her to ever-so-slightly turn to the backside line (the yellow tunnel is on her line, as Gemma seems to have mentioned :)) And the backside cue is a forward cue, so a “Sprite!” then when her head turns, the backside cue, should work like a charm. Any stronger turn cues might lock her onto the front side. She ignored the tunnel on the 2nd run (:28) but I think the first run was her more honest reading of the line. The 2nd run had a bit of “yeah, the tunnel is blocked, don’t bother looking at it” LOL!
Also worth noting is the countermotion on the backside, especially at :30, where you kept moving forward past the exit wing but also shifted your connection to the landing – she committed to the bar AND she she jumped it really well, setting up the collections. Click/treat for you BOTH!
2nd sequence – on the threadle opening at 2, she reads the line to 2 really well! On the threadle slice, be sure your feet are pointing to the landing spot. At :36 and :49, they were pointing to the wrap landing spot and not the slice landing spot, so she had some questions
She didn’t take 5 on the first run – you got really quiet after 3, started to look forward, switch the toy to the other hand, disconnected a bit… so as she was landing from 4, she started to look at you and then at :41, you were already turning (she was TOTALLY looking at you there) so she immediately came to you when you called her and did the blind. good girl!
Compare to :50-:52, where you were very clear with your verbals (Go Go Jump) and definitely connected – when she looked at 5, you did a FC and she was perfect! Now, the FC looked great but the BC would work too, starting when you see her look at 5 like you did here.
After whichever cross you choose, for her, we need a stronger turn cue on 6. You did decelerate, but with all of the speed coming from 5, she might need a spin as well. And in this context, a spin works great because it points your feet to 7! We explore more of that in the live class this week: timing of decel cues and also to spin or not to spin 🙂
Holy wow getting that threadle wrap at :59! Yay! You were not close to the jump, you were not ahead of her… but you nailed the cues with a verbal, patient physical cues with the shoulders and arms, and when she cued you to move on by looking at and taking the first step to 9, you got outta there. SUPER!!!!
Great job here! Stay cool!!
TracyGood morning!
Lots of really nice work here! Good handling comparisons, and also good coparisons when you stayed in motion versus when you stopped and did not reward. I definitely keep bugging everyone about either staying in motion and carrying on, or reward her immediately as if whatever happened was exactly right. Assume all errors were handling errors and reward her, to minimize frustration. She does a great job of responding to the cues, I don’t think she did a single thing that was not cued. Good girl!!
Looking at the first sequence: On the first rep – at :07 you were pulling away from jump 2 so she jumped towards you, then you looked forward and pointed forward. The break in connection and the line of motion both indicated blind cross, so she went to your left side (dropped a bar because you were in her way). You stopped and told her to lie down. Now, even if she got a cookie… that is still a punishment (stopping and the down) so it can be intensely frustrating even with a cookie being delivered. You can try to keep going, or praise and reward like she just won the class 🙂
Second rep – you had much better connection and you stayed in motion, which is really helpful for her – super!! At :28 you did not quite indicate the backside but at least you praised her and looks like she got rewarded too – note how she did not keep running on a line when you stopped, no frustration behavior, because she was correct and got reinforcement.
The rep at :32 had MUCH better connection at 2 so she went to your right side.
That whole sequence, from :30 – :52 looked super! Connected, you kept moving, and even when there was a slight blooper, you kept moving and kept going. Fantastic!!! The blooper was when she turned to her right at :45 instead of to her left. That was because as she landed from the previous jump at :44, your line of motion and feet indicated the right turn – so she made a takeoff decision. By the time she saw you move to the left turn line at :45, it was too late to adjust the takeoff line.That happened several times in the video, and gives you an indication of how much earlier she needs the cues especially on these distances: if she lands from a previous jump and you take one more step… she has to make a takeoff decision. So for timing purposes, try to be giving the next cue as she is in the air over the previous jump, so she already sees it when she lands and can make the adjustment. We will be working on timing in the live class 🙂
She had a couple of questions on the next run:
Connection on jump 2 was not as clear at :56 and she barked at you 🙂
A bar down at 1:01 because you stopped moving then suddenly started again as she was in the air and the right turn instead of the left turn at 1:08 because the cues happened after she had to make a takeoff decision.Sequence 2: SUPER NICE! Your connection from the start at 1:23 all the way to the end at 1:49 was FANTASTIC and even when something didn’t go as planned: you kept connection and you kept moving, and finished strong. Lovely!
Compare to 2:12 when you didn’t quite get her turned to her left and you stopped… so she came in to jump up at you and maybe deliver a tooth hug. That is a frustration behavior from reading you correctly (you needed to keep moving to the left turn wing til she locked onto it, like you did at 2:37) and then being told she was wrong (stopping to fix tells the dog they are wrong because we never stop to fix when they are right!)
She recovered from the frustration quickly but we want to avoid it entirely.
You stopped and praised at 2:28 but didn’t reward, so she was a little confused. If you stop and praise, be sure to give an immediate reinforcement so that the praise doesn’t become confusing or frustrating.
Nice opening at 2:25 – 2:40!
At 2:41 your motion indicated right turn until she took off, then you tried to change it to left turn I think, and she ended up staying on her line to the right. You stopped and praised, which is good, but be sure that gets followed by reinforcement!
She had a similar question e at 3:11 – right turn then trying to bring her into the gap, the cue qas late so she took the jump. You praised, petted, grabbed her collar…. but an immediate reinforcement of a cookie or toy will be far more useful because she was correct in her responses to the cues, and I am not convinced that herding breeds like to be held or petted when they are in high arousal work mode. Something goes wrong? Just reward her as if it was exactly as the map on paper.
I think turning her to her left at 4 will make the line to 5 much easier – you got her in the gap there at 3:27 and 4:03 but you had to stand still to do it and it presents a hard angle to 5 (3:29) – the rest went smoothly!
You can also use deceleration into 4 to get collection before takeoff – you had some decel and the verbal much earlier at 4:26 so she collected more before takeoff. That worked nicely!
She followed your forward motion at 4:08 to the off course jump – keep going there when that happens! 🙂
You had a similar bit of forward motion propel her off course at 4:32 to the jump instead of the backside – great job staying in motion there.
>>IMPT what time live on tuesday – lost it and need to sort out schedule
It is 6pm Eastern on Tuesday Aug 8, which is 10am on Aug 9 for you I believe, but double check that 🙂
Great job here! See you tomorrow!
TracyHi!
Thank you for the honest post!!
>>I continue to have a hard time staying positive for myself as it has been so hard to be perfect for Mookie. I did slip and the words “I suck” came out.
Don’t be afraid to sort through the phrase “I suck.” So rather than think about staying positive (which can be vague and sometimes annoying when things are going sideways LOL!) you can add more to the “I suck” thought: What, exactly, sucked in that moment or caused the error?
For example, when something goes wrong, I will analyze what I sucked at in that moment:
Did I suck at giving timely connection or decel? Yes, in that moment… that was it. And that is fixable for next time so I don’t suck LOL!!!!But did I suck at everything? Nope. Do I suck as a person? Nope. Did I suck at keeping my dog happy? Nope! So overall, do I suck as a human? Nope. Did I mess up a cue? Yup. Can I change it for next time? Yup 🙂
So try taking the I suck phrase to the next step and analyze what, in that moment might have gone wrong.
Also, a good mental reminder is that the faster the dog, the harder it is to be timely for everything. But fast is fun and while there might be more errors, the clear rounds are super glorious 🙂
>> then all goes to H in a handbasket as they say when I tried the same course with Mookie.
The course map might have been the same, but the handling and timing is probably entirely different with Mookie. Be sure to make that adjustment in your plan!
>> What helped me the most afterwards was your “What went wrong. Why it went wrong and what can you do to fix it.”
Super!!! And you can add in the “what sucked” LOL!
>> I figured out that I did not adjust for the a pole in the way when I walked the course for Mookie. Time walking the course was very short also. He is totally handler focused and watches my body. (I think due to him being a rescue dog who worries where I am at all times ). He needed extra verbals and support to get to a jump before going in the tunnel. When his view of me was blocked by the pole he went between 2 close jumps to get to the tunnel. >>
there ya go! Good thing to remember – he needs to see you!
>>What went right: No bars came down 🙂 which is our biggest issue.
Super!!!!
>> And I was able to re-run the course with what I figured out and we nailed it.
That is HUGE!!! You didn’t get stuck in the frustration – you analyzed it and moved on to success. Happy dance!
>>However, most of the people I know Q consistently but don’t have the speed to contend with.
Hang out with people with faster dogs or come watch some UKI where the dogs go REAL FAST and the Q rate is definitely not super high. Those dogs are more like Mookie 🙂
>>And your telling me at your last seminar that people would give their right kidney for Mookie will always make me smile no matter what we do>>
After thinking about it, I know people who would give you BOTH kidneys to have a dog as fast, motivated, and sweet as Mookie 🙂
>> 🙂 Little do they know how hard it is to really run him
They don’t see that, they just see how brilliant you two are 🙂
Keep up the good work!!! The mental game is a daily thing for us humans 🙂
TracyHi!
>.He was a bit sniffy but turns out he needed to 💩 during our second turn.
Yes, the sniffy was weird at the beginning but a poop baby would explain it LOL!!!! You did a great job of getting him rolling! Once he was in gear, the 3-4-5 blind and the line to the weaves looked great – nice job giving him a little handling support into the weave entry!
>>I was really stumped for the turn the wrong way out of the weaves I got twice. ..
Could have been one of these things:
– he felt a little rear cross pressure as you cued he entry (this seems less likely)
– the last direction he turns to finish the weaves is to the left, and you are behind him at that point, so he might hear/see better towards the left so he continued turning left.This seemed to be the more likely reason. Moving more laterally towards the 7 jump more will help fix that while also keeping you in great position for 8-9.There are a couple of spots on this course we can use to compare and contrast for what works and when to use it! One example is the outside arm as a brake arm or as a ‘get out’ cue.
You can totally use the outside arm as a get out cue for backsides when you were behind, like at :52 and 1:37 – the verbal said pass, but the physical cues said front at 9 – when you were pointing forward but behind him, that turned your body to the front of the bar. The outside arm there will point your body o the backside line and support the verbal better. He got it with you ahead at 1:52, because your motion was ahead of him and able to show the line.
After when moving to 10 – You had the outside arm up but it was more of a ‘get out’ cue at 2:06. Freeze it as he is landing from 9 and you will the outside arm was actually pointing to the off course (note how it turns your chest to the 21 jump). Good boy! A brake arm there can help as long as you keep turning your shoulders (more on that below).
I liked the spin you did on the next rep but you can spin and send him to the backside entry (the threadle on the entry side is harder for the dogs to read, especially when you are going to be behind at that point).
He did great with the layering 11-12-13-14! NIIIIIICE!!!
You ran a really good line 14-15 and even had time for an extra blind LOL! It was that extra blind that ended up putting you in the way and getting the backside at 2:33.
Good job staying in motion! And then, finally. poops! Yay!!! He felt much better after that and the next section was strong!
At 3:15 – you were moving to the outside wing of 15 then when you added the brake arm at 3:17, you ended up moving towards the center of the bar which pushed him to the backside, You can do the brake arm and keep moving towards the wing closer to 16, so it is an opposite arm/post turn combo.
Same thing happened at 3:22 on the way to 17 – you were moving towards the wrap wing and then rotated to the center of the bar with an outside arm, so he went to the backside. That looked like a ‘get out’ arm.
So you are probably like WTF difference with these opposite arms? I think of it like this:
the ‘brake’ arm to get soft turns is gently pointed to the dog, while I keep turning my shoulders.
the ‘get out’ arm is pointed to the wing of where you want him to ‘get out’ to 🙂Both will be super helpful with him!!!!
He ran really well here, even with a poop baby and zillion degree temperatures. Let me know what you think, especially about the opposite arm use.
TracyGood morning!
>>I thought I would circle back later in the week but it turned out he had a badly abscessed tooth (way back on the top left- the one you can’t see and can barely reach to brush even if you have small fingers like me).>>
Ouch poor guy! I can’t believe he just powered through… I would have been bed-ridden LOL!!!! I am glad they found it and fixed it.
The tree totally adds adventure to these sequences!
Sequence 1:
As you are passing the exit of tunnel #3, I don’t think you need to take the time to put your hand into the exit at all – he sees your position and also he turns really well, so you can use that extra step to get around the tree and re-connect and not end up tripping on the roots 🙂
On the first run, the blooper of not taking 4 threw off the timing of your threadle wrap and you closed your shoulder towards the jump before he came into the threadle.
You got the connection better on the 2nd run – the tree does make the threadle wrap timing harder but you got it here and even better: as soon as he turned his head to the jump at :24, you were outta there to get the 7 backside. Perfect! 7-8 looked really good too!!
Really good timing on the right verbal before the last tunnel – in this case, I think the post turn is a good choice for him at :33 because based on how far away 10 was, the spin would have created too tight of a turn. You can trust the right verbal more and go to the jump cue so he comes out looking for the jump.
Sequence 2:
Finding the 4 jump on the other side of the tree is really hard, but great practice for finding it on the other side of the a-frame or dogwalk! I guess he needs more fluency and trust that when you turn him to the other side of the tunnel, he should just go find an obstacle. You can isolate the skill with a jump in varying positions and a Manners Minder, so he gets a lot of practice and reinforcement for trusting that the switch cue always means you will want him to find a thing (jump, tunnel, weaves, etc). And using the tree as a pain in the b*tt, you can put different obstacles out there to help solidify the skill.Also, you can see if he will switch away from the tunnel exit without you having to go past the tunnel exit – that will allow you to stay on a parallel line, so he doesn’t see any motion pulling away from the jump. You helped more from the tunnel exit on the 2nd run, and he got it – but having to the pull away caused him to have questions about 5. Parallel line motion is a cue he reads well, so it might really help here.
On the send to 7 to get up the next line – for him I do recommend the spin there because the rotation will get the nice tight turn and more importantly… you will be further ahead. You did a send into a post turn at :58 which made the blind late at 1:01.
Sequence 3:
To set up the switch an parallel motion, you can play with going closer to the entry of 3 so you can accelerate into the switch from 4-5 – that will get you being able to do the switch line more towards the center of the bar (you had a little too much pull to your right at 1:29 and 1:50 and not enough connection/verbal info so he exited 3 looking at you and slowing down). And, because you won’t end up as close to 4, you can use more of the parallel line motion to get him flying to 5. Which will also allow you to do an earlier FC 5-6 (and earlier verbal, all before he takes off).You were a little late at 1:35 and 1:56 (after landing) so he was unsure about the tunnel on the first rep. Definitely better connection at 1:57 into the tunnel! Yay!>> redid the end so I could send more and hustle up the line better. He liked chasing me and the dig dig left wrap RC was really tight.>>
Yes – on the first rep you went all the way to 8 with him (2:01) which caused a wider turn then some questions on 10.
The earlier send there at 2:13 worked a lot better, just remember connection and verbal as you decel so he stays sure about driving ahead and doesn’t look at you. And the wrap to the left and chasing you back up the line to the tunnel looked GREAT!This is a spot where you can compare the send you did at 2:13, versus sending into a spin at 8. I think the spin might be a touch faster? But the only way to know is to try both and time them 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Hope you had a great vacation!
>.I do several fast “walk” throughs, but I only post one of them. 🙂
Aha! You can definitely post more of those, because those are the most important ones! In general, your goal would be to be able to go faster than she needs while maintaining all the connections, lines, timing and verbals. It is hard! And sweaty!
And if you are able to use an iphone or ipad, you can do a side-by-side or overlay in iMovie and see how the walk matches the run(s).
One thing I notice in both walk throughs is that the planning seems to have more to do with your position and not her position – you are handling when you get in range of the jump but in the places where she is ahead of you, things might go wrong. So always plan where she is on course – that will be a big help in terms of timing the cues.
>>I feel like things go really well on the shorter sequences (for the most part), but when we try to do the big courses, things fall apart.>>
I think on the smaller sequences, it is easier to be ahead so also easier to be in range of the jumps for handling and not parallel to or behind her. On the bigger courses, being aware of where she is as being more important than where you are becomes more critical.
>> I think that a lot of it has to do with me getting behind in sections, often due to having to support her line all the way up to a lot obstacles since her commitment point is so close to the next thing>>
>. Plus, all the bars come down in a scary way if I’m too far ahead.>>This is useful info for planning – you can plan to get up closer to obstacles (especially tunnels) which can also help you NOT get so far ahead!
Looking at the walk through for jumping 1:
I think the handling in general can be bigger (more exaggerations of the connections and arm movements, such as the arms for the flip away 7-8) and definitely faster with more transitions into deceleration to cue turns. The pace of the transitions becomes critical for turn cues.Also – be louder! to really get the walk through feeling like it is a real run, use your verbals loud enough and realistically enough that your neighbors think you are nuts 🙂 That will also help rehearse the connection and timing, because you will be directing the verbals to the dog!
Looking at the runs:
The opening looked good – you be earlier on the BC 3-4 on the first run, more like on the 3rd run at 2:04.
You were getting further and further from the 5-6 line, which is what caused the bar down at 2:09 (too far away and not connected enough)Really good thinking on your feet to cue the jump and keep going at 9 1:09! The lap turn worked nicely on the re-start and also on the full run at 2:15.
Yes, at 10-11 you left too early at 1:12 and at 1:30, but you can be more specific about what happened because that will help you correct it for the next run: you sent with a high arm as you turned away and did not connect until you saw her look at the jump. Remember to do a low arm and eye contact on sends, and keep moving forward until you see her look at 11. That is basically what you did at 2:18 – connection, lower arm, and you didn’t turn to 12 til after you saw her locked onto 11. Knowing specifically what happened and then re-walking it will help the 2nd run go even better.
The 12-13-14 section – it looked like you were having to think about it as you did it so things get a little delayed on the first run (1:30-1:36)
At 2;21, you needed more deceleration into it to tell her how tight the turn was – she got the turn away but thought it was more of a slice based on your motion, so she dropped the bar trying to adjust. Remember to connect to get her into the tunnel at 15 (2:26) On the last run you did not get the blind before the tunnel, which made things tricky for sure! That is definitely a section to walk at high speed to practice transitions and timing.Looking at the backside at 16 – at 1:40 you were positionally in a good place, it was a connection issue (looking forward with high arm got front side). Compare that to the much better connection at 2:32 that got the backside. YAY!
Ending went well – you did have to go all the way up to the weave entry lie you were doing in the walk through, so that is something good to have in your plan during the walk through. That weave entry is a good one to isolate too so she can get it more independently – that soft side entry is one of the hardest entries for sure!!
Also be careful of using “go” like in “go jump go jump” on turns or when there is not a lot of extension, because it dilutes the ‘go’ element of the verbal.
You are definitely getting better about the ‘keep going’ if there is an error, and she reminds you when you don’t – at 2:55 you stopped when you didn’t get up the line enough for the left turn out of the tunnel. And then she took off (frustration). So keep trying to stay in motion, no matter what, even if fancy dance moves are involved 🙂 My mantra is “Get on a line, any line, and go” 🙂
Course 2:
I think this is a great course for planning more about her position and cueing based on where she is!
An example of planning for your position, not hers:
At :18 in the walk through, you started the threadle for 9 when you were near the jump. When you did it in flow at 1:13 she was ahead of you there so didn’t get the info til after she had landed from 8 and had locked onto 9. At 2:05, you started the threadle cue when you were near the wing… but she was already over 8 and on the way to the wrong side of 9.
At 2:16 you pulled away more but that pulled her off the line.
At 4:27 you were ahead because of the bobble at 7 🙂Looking at the 14 jump, we can approach it from a similar perspective (the line might be better as a threadle slice, but a threadle wrap also works, and the timing considerations are the same):
She would need to know no later than landing of 13 that she needs to come in for the threadle wrap. That means you are starting the cues while she is over 13, regardless of where you are. At :33 on the walk through, you started the cues when you were close to the 14 jump (the cue looked like a threadle slice) – based on where you were looking, she would be next to you there but in reality, she would be ahead of you since you were not tha far ahead on the weave exit. So you would need to be looking at her jumping 13 and beginning those cues, even if you were not near 14.
A 1:34, 2:38, and 4:43 you were parallel to her at 13 which is fine – and that is when the cues needed to start. You were moving forward til you got more in range of 14, which is why things went sideways there.Thinking about the exit of 16 to the other side of 17 – at :42 on the walk through you you started the threadle cue when you were closer to the 17 jump… but the invisible Nox had already made a decision to take the front of 17. The timing of the cues there would be as soon as she lands from 16.
On the runs – at 1:45 and 2:47, you were close to 16 when she landed from it, that is when/where you should be starting the threadle wrap (or backside push cues, which you used later in the session). Moving forward more was what was putting her directly on the front of 17. Also, remember that on threadle wraps you need to pull your shoulders away, rather than just use your hands. Getting the backside at 17 as a push to the backside worked too! Same timing rules apply – as soon as she lands from 16, the cues for 17 start even if you are not near 17. Yes, you can plan to send to 16 more and leave sooner to get t a better position, but all connection should be directed back to her, so as soon as she lands, you are starting the next cues.Let me know if that makes sense! I think that change in your planning will make a massive difference on course!
>>do you have a recommendation of what I should focus on based on the skills we need to work on?>>
– Package 4, jumpers and standard
tackle these if possible, there are a lot of good planning opportunities! And prioritize jumping over standard because there are no stopping points in jumpers 🙂 So you will really have tolock into the timing based on where she is.
>>(There wasn’t a live for package 4, right?)
Correct, the next live is on August 8th – those are fun ones to do based on timing relative to her position, not yours, because the sequences are designed to put us behind the dogs and not comfortably ahead.
-Package 5, everything (Is there supposed to be anything on the overview page for 5?)
Try the RYG for Package 5, those are also good for planning timing and send-and-go. There is an overview posted – try refreshing the page? It should be visible.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
These are looking good! I think the 2 main take-aways are:– you can use more rotation so you can get ahead up the lines and get tighter turns, rather than doing post turns
– keep going if there is an error. No stopping allowed 🙂 Even if you have to make up a line to get her on and then run then reward for real – keep going 🙂Here are some specifics:
Good camera angle to see the tunnel exit! She was turning towards you on the tunnel exits a lot, so you can be showing her the converging pressure and hand cues and verbals right before she enters, so she is turning away even before she exits.
5 was on the backside on this sequence 🙂
Running it on the front side, you would need to start decelerating and then turning as she was landing from 4, so she could collect for 5 (which will also incidentally get you further ahead up the next line).
You started the turn cues as she was jumping 5 at :21 an d:48 so she was wide, which meant you could not leave for the next line til she got back on the line to the tunnel, which delayed you getting past the tunnel exit for the 7 backside.Push to the backside at :24 – there was a little too much push there, it looked like a ‘get out’ to her. Using the outside arm, your feet should also be moving forward to the backside jump. You turned your feet to the left, so she correctly turned to her left. But you were connected and helped her and kept going – YES!!!! Super!
MUCH clearer push cue at :52 – you had a more subtle outside arm (just looked like BIG connection) and your motion was more forward so she knew where to go. Smooth and nice!!!
Last tunnel entry:
at :28 you faced forward as she entered and said whoa while she was in the tunnel so she exited wide, not sure where to be. You can do a spin (so she can see the rotation) and say the verbal, all before she goes in – compare to :55 where you were half rotated and you got the verbal out before she entered the tunnel, so the turn was already much better. Nice!!!Your feet are already mostly pointed towards 10-11 as she entered the 9 tunnel there, so you can complete the rotation and run forward to 10-11, rather than do the post turn and turn back towards 8-9the tunnel and the post turn.
Seq 2 – nice opening! Same suggestion about showing her the turn-away cue from the tunnel exit starting before she goes in, so she doesn’t turn towards you then have to turn away to get it after she exits
She had a little trouble seeing the push at 6 on this sequence: You had a late push verbal at :11 (she was halfway between the jumps and already looking at the front side) plus physical cues did not really show backside. That all needs to start when she is over the bar at 5. When something like that happens, keep going, carry on til the end even if you have to do some fancy dancing – no stopping – because it is frustrating to the dogs when they read us correctly and then we stop. Even if she gets a treat, the dogs still know the difference and you will see frustration behaviors creep in.
You can also see the frustration behavior when you stopped at :31 after the 3 tunnel to fix the bar that was down at 1 – yes, she got a cookie but it was still frustrating for her (listen to her vocalizations there, and watch her looking around). Sometimes the cookie is not an actual reinforcement and the dogs still get frustrated.
Looking back at :24, the bar came down because she was sideways and looking at you when you sent her to it, the send was to the center of the bar, and you didn’t really turn til after she took off. So…. bar down. You can see your body language change as soon as you noticed the bar down, basically game over. But handler error produced the bar down so stopping like that will produce frustration. I am aware that a LOT of people stop for bars like that but it is very frustrating for dogs and doesn’t really help them keep bars up.
So bearing in mind she did the best she could with the info and release point, you can keep going to a true reward stopping point (like after the backside), reward her for real (“Good girl!!” then throw the reward), fix the bar, then start over. And if you are not sure why the bar came down, you can watch the video before the next rep 🙂
Remember to have motion support your verbals, especially on the layering – at :53, you were moving forward then did a decel as she landing from 4, so the decel plus the positional cue of you behind the tunnel pulled her (correctly) off 5. She did not get any reward there and is now officially BIG MAD (barking at you). And she started to get more tentative after that, head checking a lot, dropping a bar going wide. She continued to commit to the obstacles (yay!) but in a trial environment where she is more stimulated, I bet getting back on lines would be a lot harder for her.
Even the ghost kicked a rail while you were looking at the course LOL!!
So – keep moving, always reward for real, don’t stop even if you think it is her error (because the video will reveal that 99% of the time is it OUR error :))
Seq 3:
I know it is a hard habit to break, but here is another friendly neighborhood reminder to KEEP GOING LOL!!! When you stop, you get the rehearsal of the 2 things I am pretty sure you don’t want:
– more frustration/arousal
– more facing you and barking at youAt 1:30, she looked at you as she exited the tunnel. You said “jump” which is a mild collection cue towards you on jump 4, then you changed to switch so she started to turn left but the physical cues did not really support it, so she ended up turning to her right. No biggie, you can send her out to the layering from there!
By stopping, you had about 5 seconds of barking at you. The cues were clearer at 1:43 and 2;12 but mainly, staying in motion even if there is a bobble is better for the overall flow of the sequence and arousal level of you both 🙂 If there is truly no way to keep going, then you can throw the reward like it is the end and praise her.
On the 7-8 line, to get a good turn and get back up the line, you can start to decel as she landing from 7, then do a spin so that she gets a stronger collection cue and you are already facing 9-10 before she even takes off for 8 🙂 The post turn there at 1:51 and 2:20 has you facing 8 as she takes off, which produces a wider turn and also puts you behind for getting back down the line.
At the very end, your switch verbal was timely (2:23) but your physical cues said right turn, so that overrode the verbal. Great job staying in motion there! You were connected, you changed plans, and kept going – perfect!! More of that for sure! It gave you rehearsal of what you DO want on course: connected team work 🙂 The physical cue needed a bit more rear cross pressure into the line and maybe some hands cues – the verbal doesn’t quite override the physical cues at the moment.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Great job here! It is a long course, so I can totally understand why it ended up being too hot to run the whole thing at the end of the session.
I loved your “oh f*ck” verbal in the beginning LOL!!!! I can relate 🙂 The trick there is to recognize that moment and go to plan B (rear cross in this case) so you can keep things rolling, rather than stick to plan A and end up with a bobble.
On the 2nd run – you had a much earlier departure from the 3 tunnel for the blind at :40! Yay! That is an important element – how far can you send her to the tunnel so you can get that blind easily. In your walk throughs, give yourself a point you do not want to go past as you send, so you can guarantee getting to the blind. Often, less of a lead out helps because you can propel her past you and then you are in a great position for whatever is next.
She had a little trouble with the weave entry – I think you were trying to do it on a pure verbal but it was not as obvious of a line, so she needed more handling:
Your feet pushed into her line too much at :17 so she almost pushed off the line.
At :45, she needed a bit of a threadle to come to the correct line when you were on the other side, so she had questions there too. So definitely add handling to make sure you are setting the line to the poles.STUNNING weave independence at :20!!! And :49!!! WOWZA!
At :23 – you handled 8 like it was written on the map – but it was set on more of an angle, as a threadle or backside line (not quite straight) so she needed more info there.
She found the line at :52 (I think you were further away and more connected) and the push to 9 worked well 🙂Interesting handling choice to threadle her in to get the tunnel entry at :55. It would be fun to compare the difference between that threadle and sending her from the backside approach to the 10 entry. Either way, you were in a good spot for 11.
2nd half:
Super nice layering on the 11-12-13 line!!!!
She did not get it on the next rep. What was the difference?
You had BIG connection on the exit of the 10 tunnel at 1:02 that you maintained all the way til 1:05 where you saw her lock onto the tunnel.
On the 2nd rep through there – not as much connection on the tunnel exit, she hadn’t yet looked at 11 when you dropped your arm and turned your head forward so at 1:37 she looked at you and came of the line.
The re-start at 1:47 had a lot of connection on the release to 11, like on the first rep – so be sure to get the big connection to lock her onto the lines!After the 13 tunnel –
You called her at 14 but your motion was towards the tunnel and not towards 15 – the you were late sending her to 15 at 1:09 and 1:55 so she was wide there. You can run more directly to 15 and she will find the line more smoothly.I think the way the 15-16-17 line was built you would need to be further from 15-16 and more ahead so she can bypass 15 on the way to 17 – that 15 jump was very close!
On he 2nd rep there, the spin certainly took the off course out of the picture but then wrapping to the left was a bit slower (wrapping here will be slower than the slice) with a harder tunnel entry at 18.
The switch to the right at 1:59 was gorgeous! Tight, fast, great line, and you were in an even better position for the ending line! Super!!Great job here! Let me know what you think!!
Tracy
