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Hi!
>>I did have a great couch day! With a long nap too.😉>>
Ahhhh, sounds like perfection!!!
>>I do think I have chained together coat, harness, car. So hopefully that will fade since I won’t put the stuff on anymore. I can put some super yummy freeze dried liver in the crate when I put him in the car so hopefully it’ll get better.>>
I am sure any connection will fade, because nothing aversive or traumatic happened 🙂 And I am sure the liver treats will help too!
>>That’s a great idea about having something he really loves after I put his harness on. I can do that at the training barn and then let him chase Dreamer though the tunnels. He would think that’s awesome fun!>>
That sounds great! As long as they don’t slam into each other 🙂 But yes: the sound of the harness clipping on should be immediately followed by a ‘go run around’ permission 🙂 Back when I used Gentle Leaders, I would have the sound of the clip act like a click: if the pup let me put it on, as soon as he heard the clip clicking I would then either throw a toy, or let him run, or let him dive into a bowl of food 🙂
>>I am bummed that this is the first year in years that we have so much snow and I can’t work on the backyard. But then again it’s a nice excuse to veg in the winter lol>>
Yes, snow is ANNOYING but hopefully winter gets over itself soon, so you can use your yard in March when the games get big and even more fun!
Tracy
Awesome! Thanks for finding the sizes!
I found the website, in case anyone wants to check it out:
The friend I was talking about last night in class used this during training with her young dog, so he could train and she wouldn’t have to worry about him grabbing mulch or mushrooms. The dog was a happy dude with it on, and could play with toys and catch a ball with it on. She would slide treats in through the side LOL!
Tracy
Good morning!
This was a really fun session to see – she drove fast to the ball each time, clearly she likes the ball a whole lot. But she was slow on the first return: “I got my ball, I chomp my ball, be back soon”. But you made it super fun to bring it back (cookies, play with the ball, praise, etc) so each return was faster and faster – no “be back in a moment” and not much chomping the ball. YAY! So definitely keep practicing these “ignore the cookies and get the ball” games – you can use a 2nd ball as a reward since she loves the ball, and you can also switch the balls out entirely to a different toy!
I think she turned to her right on all of these 🙂 Good to know! And a good reminder to be patient with left turns.
Was she mouth wrestling with you in the slow motion moment? Or practicing her dragon imitation? LOL! Nice teef happening there!
Great job 🙂
TracyGood morning!
>>The coming in for the serp has progressed nicely with a few sessions of throwing balls for it then using the MM. >>
Great! And when we eventually put it in the context of sequencing, it will be even easier for her 🙂
The rocking horses are looking strong – she is committing easily on the FCs, the spins, and the race tracks. YAY!!!
One suggestion is to add more connection directly to her eyes. You were tending to look forward and ahead of her. I am sure you could see her peripherally, but she couldn’t really see the connection so was looking at you a lot. You can really see it in the slow motion secton at :32, for example. Compare it to the exit of your spin at :08, where you made a fabulous connection back to her – she drove the line there and didn’t need to slow down or look at you.
It is totally counterintuitive, but the more we look at the dogs while we move, the less they look at us an the more they look at the line or obstacle. So strange LOL!!!
When she is back from her spay, you can spread these barrels out so there is more running for both of you : )
>>We are going to follow a spay rehab program.>>
This is GREAT!!!! Do you have a link to the program you are using or is the vet giving you a program? A spay is pretty big surgery and I think it requires a rehab program, but so many folks just return to normal activity when the stitches come out 🙁
Nice work here! Fingers crossed for a fast & easy spay recovery!
Tracy
Hi! Welcome back from Dayton – I am sure it was fun but ewwwww snow! Ha! You are really not falling behind – everything builds up from what you already had, and we have the rest of February to finish all the games 🙂 A little time off is a good thing!
The serps are looking good in both directions – he needed you to be slower in your motion than you were on the first rep of the first video, but then you slowed down a bit and the rest were strong!
As you very gradually add more motion, be sure to look at your hand more (at the landing spot) and not at him, that will help too.
>>We are struggling with holding stays and I have to work harder on this. I’ll go back to the stay games and concentrate on them more frequently.>>
Yes, he had questions about the stay and the release – he seemed to be anticipating the release, meaning he thought it was your position relative to the bar and your hand movement, not the verbal-only. So, for now, take the stays out of this game entirely. We don’t want to muddy the waters: you stopped when he broke the stay, but he had already done a picture-perfect serp when he got the feed back the he was incorrect. The question he would be asking is: “what is incorrect? The serp that I just did?” And trying to mark the stay break sooner is going to make both of you twitchy 🙂
So to keep things from getting muddy, don’t use a stay 🙂 You can work this game (and the threadle games) by switching things up a little: put the MM where you would want him to start, with an empty food bowl in the reward spot. Put yourself and him where you want to start – send to the MM (you can totally click it as a lure) then when he gets the cookie, you can be moving through the serp (and reward by dropping a treat in the empty bowl). That should allow you to work the skill without having to worry about the stays 🙂 And yes, work the stays separately to strengthen them a bit more.
Wing wrap concept transfer: easy peasy! He looked great in both directions! He had no problem maintaining his commitment as you moved away. Great job with the toy placement too, he really seemed to like chasing the toy as the reward!
When you got further from the wing at 1:53, he needed more connection and less pointing to see which side of the wing you wanted (when you pointed ahead, it turned your shoulder to the other side of the wing and he had a question about that. Compare to 2:58 and 3:18 when you were further away again, looked at him a little more and pointed less… and he got it. Yay!
Next up on the wings… verbals! Add your verbal wrap cues, he is totally ready for that.
Great job here! See you in class tonight!
TracyThis is great! Was he able to play the pattern games with treats too? That will be incredibly useful as you get closer and closer to the ring.
T
HI!
I think this is about the right size – his face looks so dramatic LOL!!! You can see his baby dog sit is still a little loose – as he develops more, you will see him draw his knees in under him and his back toes will line up behind his front toes pretty directly. So practice this a couple of times a week and you will see things change as he physically matures 🙂
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
The ball retrieving is looking good! Yes, he is a strong lefty 🙂 And he did a great job of bringing it all the way back to the toy. Super!!! And any time you do something like this where you emphasize one direction, you can do the next session of. the day with a few reps going the other direction, to keep him balanced.
You only had about 5 reps on this, which is perfect (that is about the # of reps we limit to in flyball, because it is so explosive). So 5 reps in 4 minutes? That means it was mainly play play play which is great 🙂 Yay!!
T
Hi!
>>up that there were no wings. I wanted to ask you about doing this with no wings versus wings. Do you start with no wings and then add the wings in later? Is it easier without wings?>>
Good question! It is easier without wings at first because the pup can see more of you without the wings blocking anything. That way the pup can see where your arm/shoulder is, without it being hidden behind a big wing. The bump is also more visible that way too. Then we eventually add in the wing.
On the threadles – Bloopers are good to see!! When he was having trouble coming over the bar, part of the reason was toy placement that was causing him to not find the bar – it was on a strange angle so he had to over-turn to find it on the first few reps. The placement was better at :33 and :45 where he could see it across the bump more easily.
To help him remember to default to the bar after he comes into the threadle, set the toy on that angle but warm up the session with a couple of reps without you moving at all. If he can find. The bar 2 or 3 times without you moving you can add in some very oh-so-slow motion, almost shuffling.
And if he still has questions, you can angle the exit upright a bit: leave the entry upright where it is, and your line will be the same, and the toy placement will be the same. But you will move the exit upright towards you so that as he comes around the entry to the threadle, the bar is far more visible and an easier turn to get.
About where to look – yes, ideally you look at the threadle hand when you say the verbal, you might have to tie your hair back because it was hard to see when hair was covering both sides of your face 🙂 But then don’t worry about where to look next – you can follow him with your eyes, but the toy will do the heavy lifting of creating the default to the bar.
On the serps –
>>Also, am I saying “break” too early on the serp? I realized I’m saying it more in the middle versus at the 2nd pole.>>
That timing was fine, as long as you keep moving so you are out of the way when he gets to the bump 🙂 You were releasing but then decelerating so you were in the landing spot both times. So keep that motion going so he has the landing spot all to himself 🙂
Nice work!
Tracy
Hi –
He looks like he will 10000% recall to you so it is a matter of mechanics now 🙂>> (I’m thinking I need to try to keep it lower so it’s more level with his head?????)>>
I think it should eb a different toy 🙂
The toy is definitely too small, hard, and too high – he has to come in and jump up for it, which makes for an awkward neck position and less drive to the toy (which is part of why he dropped it pretty quickly). So try to have a long, softer toy that can be at or below his head position *while he is running* – that is critical because that is a lower head position then when he is trotting to standing. I like to use toys that will reach the ground or get close to reaching the ground, so the pup can look down at the toy.>>I totally forgot about running away afterward for the retrieve part. I got distracted by the other humans and missed that second half. His reaction is totally telling with dropping the toy. Tùlka and I trialed the two days before and I think mentally and physically I was a bit spent by the time Sunday puppy class rolled around.>>
I often will write out 3 or 4 important steps to remember, text them to myself or jot them on scrap paper, then read them right before I do the session – it is easy to forget details so I have become really good at texting things to myself LOL!!!
And you will also get really good at ignoring other people til after you have finished the rep 🙂 No one was trying to be distracting, but people love to chat while we are training the puppies 🙂 We humans feel like we have to pay attention to them which draws focus away from the pups… so I ignore people til I have finished the rep, then I might respond 🙂 They don’t seem offended LOL and the pup is happy 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
The transfer to the wing did look very easy! He was able to maintain commitment and bendy really well!>>Should I stay close to the wing until I see that he consistently doesn’t hit it?
I watched this a few times t see where/why he was hitting it… I only saw one hit (:12) and then he was like “that didn’t feel great” and went out of his way to not hit it after that. Were there more hits that aren’t on the video? Usually the pups will hit the wing when they are rushing for reinforcement. So what you can do is have 2 approaches:
– more motion from you, and food rewards (which should be less stimulating for him)
– get him excited with a toy reward, but walk through it instead of run>>I was thinking I should let him run through the toy each time so he doesn’t get hurt.
Yes – I like for the dogs to not wrench themselves, so you can totally let him run through the toy or use. Really long toy that you can drop on the ground so he can pick up one end of it.
>>And I also noticed I tend to pull up and stop running (boring human LOL). Should I keep running after the turn and burn so he really has some fun chasing me?>>
Yes! Run run run…. But not if it causes him to rush or hit the wing. Then it is walk walk walk LOL!
Nice job!
TracyGood morning!
The threadles are looking good! One little oopsie on each side (she was probably just anticipating the move to the MM, especially later in the video) but overall looking really good! One thing to consider is dipping your shoulder down to show the threadle arm movement more especially as you start to add motion… because I think she is ready for the next step where you start to very sloooowwwwlllly start to move 🙂
You will find the adding motion game here, in week 11:
>>She was less bouncy but I took a picture instead of starting the video. LOL!>>
I feel this pain SO MUCH!!!! LOL!!!! As you work through running contacts, there are lots of ways to get striding instead of bouncing, so this is a very good start!
>>I had to move the tunnel because of an ant hill and she just flat out did not want to go in the tunnel. So I didn’t push her. We came back to it later in the day and I moved it again and she ran into it, so I played a little, but she ended the game quickly. I’ll see how she feels tomorrow or the next day. >
This could be because she was used to the tunnel being in that one spot, or hormonal changes from being in season, or adolescent brain changes… or all of the above. Or none of the above LOL! The smart thing to do was to NOT push it, and revisit it at another time.
And when you revisit it, start with easy non-threadle entries to remind her of the joy of running really fast through it rather than having to think about the coordination or tuning away to it.
>>We are down 2 pool noodles for the Minny Pinny game. (Rest in Peace) Any ideas of something I can use that won’t look so fun to her? I can get new ones but I’m not sure if they’ll survive!>>
I am so sorry that the 2 noodles were sacrificed to the cause! LOL!! You can slice the noodle in half or make an opening straight down the length of it and put the jump bar inside of it (I did that with the parallel path concept transfer for my puppy). The other options are 2” jump bumps (which would be 4” round PVC pipe cut in half, or any variation of that). There are garden PVC pipes that are easy enough to ut (or have Lowe’s cut them) but be sure to not get the ones with the holes in them because she could get a toe caught in it.
Nice work here!! Let me know how she feels about the tunnel next time you try it 🙂 Tracy
Hi!
>>almost don’t want to pot this b it what the hey! The moving serpentine was mui difficulto. I think I was frequently too far forward which brought him past the jump and to the MM on some of these.>>
I am glad you posted it! The harder sessions are always the good ones to post, because the video will give us answers 🙂 And yes, this game is incredibly challenging because it is not a ‘natural’ behavior for those Border Collie-types 🙂 A couple of ideas for you:
I think on a lot of the blooper moments, his feet were actually facing the MM and not the bar. You can help him by having him face the bar and not the MM.
It is entirely possible that processing the stay AND the serp cue was too much, so on the next session you can have someone hold him so he doesn’t have to think about the stay.
As you move through the serp, move VERY slowly, almost a shuffle – I think you were moving a little too fast in the beginning and that was making it harder (plus getting you past position when you released, as you noted).
And as you shuffle to position, your serp arm should already by in place – rather than gt there and then add the serp arm. By adding the serp arm after you arrive in position, you are building the arm movement into the release, which made him want to release on the hand motion. If you just have it up the whole time, the release will be verbal-only.
One thing that has helped some of the dogs is to start on the so-called “hard” angle (position 3, next to the MM) – it is actually easier because they are not looking at or moving towards the MM, they are not looking and are moving away from it. So try that and see if it helps!
Because this game is incredibly challenging and there might be errors or questions, I would like to see reset reinforcement on every.single.rep., lots of rewards thrown back to reward the stay, as well as toy play between each rep and NO oops markers. More reinforcement will help keep the umbrella (overall) rate of success really high. And getting rid of the oops markers will keep his frustration levels down. Even one little oops sends him into a bit of a spiral – he already knows he is wrong (dogs are brilliant!) so we don’t need to tell him twice 🙂 And tugging in between each rep and each MM reward will help keep him happily balanced and it will reduce the emphasis on the MM 🙂
The concept transfer to the wing was great! He is digging in and getting low, bending so nicely without sacrificing speed… in both directions! Woot!! Love it! All reps were perfect except 2:33 where you didn’t let him get past you LOL! Fast, tight, powerful – looks amazing!!!!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>She keeps me on track. What am I gonna do when she moves? 😭
She is going to need a helicopter for quick trips back to NoLa!!
>> knew my mechanics were off and too many failures. Definitely don’t want to poison his stay.
That is why I live and die by that 2 failure rule. I note the first failure… but then if there is a second, a voice in my head says, “That’s TWO, TRACY!” so I change something (or if I don’t know what to change, I do something else, end the session, then watch the video).
T
Hi!
Yes, we have to keep an eye on how young she is – she is even younger than my pup, I think! And he is soooo young, legs going everywhere LOL!! Excellent brains on these babies… but they are not necessarily coordinated yet as they learn to process All.The.Things.
>>I suggested to Susan to try to have toy already on ground and then drag it.. just like jumping class.>>
We add that in the next class, no need for it here yet 🙂 Stay tuned!!!
Have fun!
Tracy
