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Good morning!
>>When I was out in the field after Robie’s runs tossing the frizz, I was able to get some decent tugging with him and then I did a big treat scatter in the grass. The 10 second thing is eye opening!>>
Yay! It sounds like he had a great time!!
>>I thought I needed to wait until he really grabbed on and tugged, but I see now that the arousal management is far more important. >>
Getting the grabbing and tugging is mainly about figuring out mechanics and play style, but there doesn’t need to be duration on it. Each pup tell us what they need, and he very clearly asked for arousal management help 🙂 I appreciate his clarity of communication!
I think the sessions on the video looked really good! Excellent choice of toy, solid mechanics – and super playful and fun looking 🙂
>>I definitely went too long on the first try. Should have done the scatter BEFORE he jumped in the air for the tug.>>
I didn’t think you went on too long but you can count to 10 more (see below). About the jumping up – Do you mean at approx :18 when he was chasing the toy? The toy came up a little high, so he came up to it. I didn’t see that as overarousal, jut good boy following the toy and not grabbing at you 🙂 He didn’t lose his toy engagement and he didn’t switch to biting/grabbing/humping. It was really good!
>>I am not sure how to gauge 10 seconds without a helper to time me, lol! >>
Feel free to count to 10 in your head. Or say it out loud as part of your playful chatter to him as you play for extra goofy factor. Or sing!
>>On the first try I included the whole time when he was snuffling because I wanted to ask if it was correct to wait until he was done and re-engaged with me.>>
You can wait til he is done, so he isn’t still looking for treats 🙂
>>I know you’ve told me to let the other stuff go for now, but that completely stresses me out, lol! >>
If you are feeling stressed about not doing much skill training, do this:
– go read the posts from this past weekend where Facebook was all on fire about dog behavior and arousal in/near the rings. Don’t get emotionally invested in any of it, just read through a bit. Most of those issues are because people didn’t take a little extra time to sort out arousal self-regulation and how to play at this baby dog stage.
– then get off of Facebook LOL! That is where we see 6 month old puppies running sequences which is UTTER INSANITY because of what we know about their brains and bodies. And even though we intellectually know that we don’t need to be doing that, those posts still mess with our heads. So… hide those folks or don’t scroll Facebook.
The truth is you are training the most important skill you will need for success in agility: arousal self-regulation. It is a part of every single foundation game and every single run Yuzu will have in any sport, for his whole career. So you are training the sexiest skill which will put you way ahead of everyone else 🙂
That is why I emphasize it more than any of the games. If he can do another session like you did in the video here, what I suggest is adding in one of the skills you want to play with: Choose food rewards for the skill then after 3 or 4 food rewards, break off for 10 seconds or less of toy play…. Then treat scatter or snuffle mat…. Then back to the shaping.
It is far sexier than it sounds 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am totally here for the pajamas! They are an important part of success in puppy training 🙂
Turn and Burn is looking good! There was some noise distraction in the background and she worked through it so well!!!
She looked really strong in both directions here – it is hard to even know if one was stronger than the other. Yay! So now keep revisiting this game so you can slide through the front cross earlier and earlier… eventually you will be able to send to the cone and start the FC before she even gets to it!
One of the goals of this week is to start adding wrap verbals, so start planning which one(s) you want to use. More on that coming tonight 🙂
>>Then you can see smoke coming out of my ears as I try to remember what hand should be holding and doing what as we worked on blinds/collection and then sends in the last couple reps.>>
Totally relatable!!! Doing this games will make actually handling a course seem easier because you will have so much more time 🙂
I am sure the older dogs had fun playing this as you worked it out – all the dogs are happy to do this as long as the cookies and toys are flowing, even if we are doing crazy thing 🙂
She is SO quick to change sides with the blind! Fast feets!Because of her quickness, you can start the blind even sooner, so it is finished before she is even halfway to you. That will make the side change seamless. And that will make it easier to get the decel in a little earlier. One thing I notice about her is that she does not need a lot of decel in order to make a tight turn. This is great – we really don’t want to have tooooo much turn with small dogs. We want them to power through the turns and that is what she is doing here.
So you can add in even more running which will get her reading the side changes with more excitement from motion (and makes it harder for you too LOL!)
Stay tuned for a new game based on this and turn and burn being added tonight.
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
First video was sending to the prop:
Great job with the ready dance! That really gets her pumped up and ready for the send. Then when you send, remember to exaggerate the sending with a big step and arm sending – that was when she was most responsive and did a great job. If you were less clear or more subtle, she was less sure of what to do.
Make sure you use your leg along with your arm. When you did the arm and NOT the leg (like at 1:22) she didn’t go to her prop. When you did the arm and leg, she was perfect!
Smart choice to with to the toy – this starts to get exciting so the toy is a better place for her teeth 🙂 Delivering treats from your hand when she is moving fast can get ouchy for your fingers, which I think is what happened right before you switched to the toy.
Second video was changing your position:
The backwards sending looked fantastic!!! You can put a piece of yoga mat under the book so it slides less (she was hitting it pretty hard 🙂 )
Since she did brilliantly with this, you can start moving the opposite direction even earlier now, so she sees more counter motion. As she is passing you, keep pointing to the prop and looking behind you at it, but slowly walk forward so you are moving the opposite direction before she even arrives at the book 🙂
Great job here! Let me know how she does as you add more countermotion. It is easier to post it here as a reply, so we can keep everything together and so I se it sooner.
Thanks!
TracyGood morning!
>>Since it’s Brain Camp week, I figured I’d send you a brain issue! >>
Yay! I love brain stuff!! Bring it on!
>> he is having an issue with getting over-excited. Each week gets worse. >>
Based on what you described, I think he is communicating that the agenda for the class is too hard for him at only 7 months old. Jumps/tunnels with you moving AND other dogs/people present and also moving? Toooooo hard.
As a frame of reference, my baby dogs do not start jump/tunnel stuff in ‘public’ settings til closer to a year old, after they are happy to be in that environment and do normal puppy stuff. Jumps/tunnels are NOT normal puppy stuff, despite what you may see on Facebook. I know people post videos of their 6 month old dogs doing sequences on Facebook but to be honest: Knowing what we know about how puppy brains and bodies develop, that is insanity. The behavior professionals and the sports vets cringe when they see baby dogs doing jumps/tunnels.
The reason that it is too hard is baby dog processing:
His brain is still developing and learning how to process the environment. He does not yet have the brain development or neural pathways to know that he is supposed to prioritize doing jumps/tunnels and proper mechanics over trying to process other people/dogs/new environment/movement/ etc. The part of the brain that manages that is the front of the brain, which is really underdeveloped in puppies/young adolescents. The back of the brain, which handles BIG EMOTIONS is better developed which is why you see him having BIG EMOTIONS 🙂 Some dogs appear to be ‘fine’ with it but there is fallout in other ways that we can’t see as easily. I appreciate that Mason is a very clear communicator.
This is all 100% normal, especially for a lovely drivey BC.
>>Mason will usually do the exercises, especially if they are stationary type games like the Vito game, but his head pops off anytime motion is added. >>
Good boy! Do you mean your motion being added is too much? You can add less motion for some of the games that require a LOT of processing (like wing wrapping) and just walk for now (I mean, he is only 7 months old, so this is entirely normal).
>>After each rep, he zooms around or jumps on the trainer. Lately he has been running to the fence (4.5 ft tall) to try to jump on the other students standing behind it. Once he almost made it over the fence, but he hit the top of it in the gut like a failed Lambeau Leap. During the whole hour his eyes are as big as saucers with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, even if I put him in the car between turns.>>
Poor buddy! He is saying “OMG THIS IS TOOOOO HARD IMMA BABY DOG”. This is all stress response so we will want to help him out. He’s a good boy and is going to turn out to be amazing 🙂
>>(1) How to survive the next 2 weeks of this class. My previous dogs were sniffers, not zoomers.
Bear in mind that you don’t need to survive the next 2 weeks. You can tell the instructor that it is too much for Mason and see if she will switch you to a smaller group that is not nearly as hard for him. Or, if there are no other options… skip the classes and maybe train one on one with a friend 🙂 No need to put him into an environment that is too much at the moment.
>>– Should we skip the sequences and just do the foundation games? Or just do the games and single obstacles?>>
DEFINITELY skip the sequences and skip the single obstacles. I suggest not getting obstacles involved yet. If he can be happy and engaged in the environment, so yes to some foundation games and yes to play, but on leash so he can stick with you and not take off. And super short sessions! And also as far from the people or dogs as needed so he doesn’t have to try to process ALL the things.
>>– Should we work as far from the fence as possible? Or should we acknowledge the fence and play Look At That with it?>>
Both 🙂 Start far away, on leash, and do the back and forth pattern game. He doesn’t need to acknowledge the fence or look at it, so you might not want to start with LAT.
>>– What about the toy? He’ll run to a toy in my hand and tug, but he releases it after a second and takes off. He often runs past a toy on the ground and zooms instead.>>He is a little young to work off leash in that environment, so do short fun games to the toy (like the focus forward game) on a 6 foot leash.
>>– Should we use treats only for a while in class?Since he will play with a toy, use the toy for some games. And treats for other, and for trading for the toy. But since he takes off, keep him close to you and on leash for now, to develop a reinforcement history of play and not taking off.
My guess about the taking off is that the environment is just to hard for a baby dog just entering adolescence, so we cn help him by giving him less access to be on his own in the environment, far from you or off leash.
>>Should I try the Treat and Train for Get-Its instead of a toy on the ground?>>
Skip this game for now 🙂 I don’t think he knows how to handle the environment so he doesn’t need to be off leash (he is only 7 months old, maybe almost 8 months old… baby dog!)
>>– Should I put his leash on him in between reps?>>For now, tweak all games so that he is on leash for all reps.
>>– Should I reward him for coming back to me after jumping at the fence?>Yes – leaping at the fence is a sign of struggle so yes, he gets cookies or toys for coming back. Good boy! But also…. Neither of you are having fun when he is leaping at the fence, so keep him on leash and as far as possible from the massive challenge of the fence area, to help him be able to process the environment.
>>(2) What to do for the next session of classes which start in January. – Should we skip the January session and just train at home and during private arena rentals?>>
Yes – skip the session. Do home stuff, out-and-about stuff with the resilience games/pattern games, some arena rentals, and maybe hang out with some friends to train. I have 2 baby dogs so I would love to do some baby dog training in January.
>>– If it’s important to be an in-person class, would it be better to take a low-key class that is in a classroom, e.g., rally or tricks?>>It is important to set him up for success, so if that means NOT doing in-person? Cool! Or, if there is a class environment which is easier, that is a far better choices. I vote for tricks!! And with an instructor who can recognize when it is tooooo hard and help him out.
>>Thanks for your help!! I’m still putting the Week 2-3 videos together. Next week I’m going to set a 2-minute timer so I don’t have to edit so much.>>
Yes – 2 minute timer is easy because then you don’t have to edit 🙂 Editing is the hardest part!
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>For a couple days I’m going to first concentrate on getting a stronger drive to her prop. In the morning, after our breakfast, but before hers, she is pretty sharp and willing. She was getting real nice sends without me moving, then tossing the treat. We will do this for a day or two, then start off the other pieces with your suggestions. >>
Perfect plan – building value will make the games even easier and also help develop the concept of commitment for when we transfer to wings and eventually to jumps.
>>Yes, I treat from the table, something most people frown upon. Otoh, my dogs don’t steal from the table. >>
I treat from the table too – good dogs can have good snacks 🙂 I agree that it is a great opportunity to teach manners.
>>Anyway, she does the “two bowl” thing when I give her a bit. One side, sit, look at me, wait. I treat. Under the table to the other side, same. If I don’t have anything she goes back to the previous side. No treat? She looks for a toy in the basket ☺️ She is a very trainable pup, for sure. I just find it interesting she has channeled this game to a different one.>>
That is hilarious and brilliant. She cracks me up!!! So clever 🙂
Have fun!
TracyGood morning!
She did really well here! LOVE your energy when rewarding!!!Yes, having a videographer makes things harder but that is good – no worries that she ran to him twice because it is the challenge she needs to see in her world. I don’t mind that you sounded extra urgent because I am guessing that is what you will sound like in class or at a trial, so it is fine to show that to her now 🙂
With the videographer: She clearly was able to work through the distraction!
1st rep was perfect!
2nd rep had an added turn at :40 which was late so the bar dropped but she was working hard to respond – that was a handler oopsie moment and not a doggie distraction moment. Yay!The runs without the videographer were easier for you both and looked great. If I understand correctly, you did these first – it was smart to show her the sequence without the distraction, then add the distraction. It is hard to train *both* the tunnel threadle and the distraction, so choosing to do this first was great!
Go on video:
To GO line looks great! Yay! Lovely connection from you to how her the lines on the first run, and great job with your verbals.On. The 2nd run, the verbals were good but you will want to get right on her tail for the RC. What happened was that you facd forward down the line to show her the jump after the tunnel and then the RC jump… but that showed her the full go line. So with her speed, no need to face forward – you can angle yourself to the center of the bar of the RC jump and run to it. That will show her the info sooner, even if you are pretty far behind.
Great job with the wrap! Nice decel and verbals! She will get even tighter with that turn as you show her these skills.
>>we seem to be stuck in on/off leash purgatory, and lack of engagement/focus hell. I assume it is going to take us a very long time to get out of this “limbo”. So, I need to practice leash on/off anywhere and everywhere away from agility.>>
Yes – practice it all away from the pressure of the people and other dogs, with TONS of reinforcement. Doing leash off/on at home for cookies a few times a day will help a lot!
>> And I need to do the same with more engagement/focus games.>
Yes – lots of play and reinforcement away from agility will help create the behavior and neural pathways we want in agility!
>>She is getting a little better with the leash since we do it in everyday life and have started making a game of it. >>Perfect!
>>However, she’s obviously not ready for it around equipment without getting a treat for it. >>
She can have a treat, then! We don’t need to fade out the cookies any time soon because it is a really hard behavior.
>>And even with that, she’s not comfortable enough to have a start line.>>
That is exactly what it is – she is not comfortable. There is so much pressure with the dogs/people in the start line area, plus the stay behavior is hard. So for now, either do the start line as far from distractions as needed so she can be successful, or don’t use a start line stay – just go go go 🙂
>>I just don’t feel the love with engagement and focus at the start most of the time or if there are people within 100’ feet or so. >>That is your starting point – because she is not comfortable yet ignoring those distractions, you start as far as needed. If she needs 100 feet to do a stay? Cool! If she can start without a stay at 30 feet? Also very cool! You don’t need a stay to get her very happy in the agility ring (and stays make most dogs kinda unhappy anyway). We will add the start line back in when she is comfortable.
>>And yet, at class, she’s better than if a family member is videoing us.>>
Family members are harder than classmates. She is used to the class environment. But having family come watch or help? Head exploder! So keep asking for family help 🙂 and so simple fun stuff with the high energy rewards you had here – she really loved that and so did I!
Great job!
TracyHi!
Driving ahead is looking great 🙂 Driving ahead and also driving ahead while the handler is pretty far away laterally are BIG trends right now, so you can use this driving ahead setup to add more lateral distance, and also you can go all the way down to the tunnel entry, touch it, then drive forward so she ends up being REALLY far ahead.On small detail on the FC after the Backside at :21 – try to get right on her line there, right where you ideally want her to land, then get outta the way to set a tighter line. You ended up stepping across the bar, which widened her line there.
Great job getting that wicked RC too! Try to stick closer to the tunnel exit to tighten the exit line of the tunnel, then run directly onto the RC line (center of the bar of the RC jump) – yes it puts you further behind for the RC but that was the evil plan there LOL!
Gettin the wrap from behind her was harder – remember to use your Mission Transition game where you emphasize the deceleration while you move forward, and rotate later. At :52 and 1:02, you skipped the decel and went directly to the rotation, so she came off the jump. The next rep was better and had definite decel! That turn will tighten up more when she has more experience with it. And great job driving back down the line to the tunnel 🙂
For the RC at 1:30 – you don’t have time with the speedster here to be facing forward on the line to cue the jump after the tunnel pr cue the RC jump. She correctly reads that as a straight line extension cue. You will need to be passing the jump after the tunnel while already running to the center of the bar on the RC jump, so basically as soon as she is committing to the tunnel, you are heading for the RC line.
Great job staying in motion and finishing strong there though! Yay!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Nice job in this session! She reads all of the small details of the handling and verbals. So fun!
Because you are a musician, this should make sense:
I think the difference in her turns at :19 and :25 when you wanted the left affirms my belief that dogs (especially inexperienced dogs) are not necessarily responding to the actual word, but are responding more to the pitch/rhythm/tone etc. The verbals sounded very different even though they were the same word.
I think your handling was slightly earlier at :19 too, which helps of course 🙂
The cues at :35 and :45 were more like :19 in terms of how they sounded plus you dug in there and used more handling (a bit more ‘in your face’ with a decel/brake arm) and it was great!
The left at 1:00 was a little late but the cues were very clear so she got it (ticked the bar because of the timing).
Putting the full sequence together – nice job on the first 2 runs around the circle but then she ended up on the off course tunnel at 1:19. The cues were a little late starting there so you were facing the tunnel she took, and also a bit urgent sounding – so facing the tunnel and sounding urgent is very ‘go tunnel’ like 🙂
You fixed that on the last rep and she got it! Yay! It is hard to NOT be urgent-sounding on the cues for the left into the tunnel threadle at the end, but you need to fake being calm LOL!!
And you can also aim for consistently earlier timing: start the left verbals and handling cues as she is in the air over the pinwheel jump so they are already in progress when she lands. At 1:36, you started when she landed and it worked well, but at 1:42 you started them one stride after landing so that starts to get a little late. Your shoulders were great there, though, so she got it! Yay!
Great job!
TracyGood morning! Nice work on these!!
Video 1: He definitely understands the go on for the last big line – love it! Yay! And your connection was lovely.
My only suggestion is that when you wanted the ‘around’, you don’t need to say ‘go’ as well because go implies front side of jump.Video 2 – nice job on the wrap with him way out ahead! You can start your wrap verbal a little sooner but he was great about driving into the turn without you needing to be ahead of him
Video 3:
Very nice! The opening with the backside looked really good – nice connection and timing! The pole makes the straight line go a little harder but you were super connected and using your go verbals, so he found with line with questions. YAY!Video 4:
On the backside in the opening, your connection was not as strong as it was on video 3, so he ended up on the front side on the first rep. You fixed it in the next rep with much clearer connection and he got it really well! The go line at the end looked good too – you had just done the other go line, but your position on this one made it clear so he knew exactly where to go.Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I’m not sure if it was the “yelling” of the numbers or the “yelling” of the barking dog that drew her attention more. But, she is entered next weekend in T2B. I didn’t enter FAST as you get much less time even for FEO. It would be 32 sec versus I think at least 50 or more for T2B.>>
Could be either or both of the yellings LOL! She definitely perked up when she heard the judge yelling. Maybe at class, your instructor can yell some numbers while she is running? And for FAST, 32 seconds is still plenty of time to do a fast, fun course and reward 🙂
>>Also, I did walk her up and back towards the ring entrance while they were course building. I didn’t take her leash off though or try a line up there. We did that by the practice jump the day before. T2B should be in that same ring next weekend. The caveat is whether or not I can run due to my knee.>>
Good news about the practice! Fingers crossed about your knee – knowing that you might have a movement restriction, plan for things that you can do without moving much so she doesn’t ask questions about why you are not running as you usually would.
>>LLW is a work in progress. It is hard in general. On walks Sprite likes to be in front and she’s on a harness. She’s not pulling really, but she’s not LLW either.>>
Truth! It is hard! My dogs like to be a little in front too – the leash is loose, they are not pulling, but not at my side necessarily. I am fine with it!
Tracy
Hi!
Fingers crossed for a 20″ measure! Who is the judge?And switching to a 2o2o on the frame should be really easy – it is not that hard on their bodies because it is all taught on a plank or on the bottom off the frame, so doesn’t take as many reps as the running contact does.
T
Good morning!
>>Tried it this morning and she stalled out some and also wanted to cut between me and the barrel when going left to right if I was sitting or standing. Then she got a walk and napped most of the afternoon. She needed something to do before dinner so I circled back and voila! >>
This sounds like a classic case of what the scientists tell us: learning is happening even if the dog doesn’t actually present the behavior in the session. (That made my head explode when they first told me that LOL!) So you didn’t really see the behavior in the morning session, but turns out she was still learning it because there is was in the afternoon. It brings us humans to a whole new level of ‘chill’ if we have a session that is not so great. LOL!
The barrel session on the video looked really good. Nice start with the bowls and gradually adding a little distance, slooowwwlllly standing up… she did really well. She seemed to notice the changes but she stayed in the pattern and keep offering. YAY!
She had a little oopsie after the tug break but I think it was a processing thing: there were some protest sounds from her sibling(s) which her brain will prioritize processing at this stage – so she kind of lost her train of thought. You helped her a little and then she was back in action.
She did jump up in the transition from the barrel/treats to the toy – my guess there is that you were too quick to start the exciting toy play chatter and too slow in tiny sheltie puppy years to actually get the toy out. So you can be quieter in the transition (quiet praise) then get more verbally exciting when you have presented the toy.
I think she is ready for some Turn And Burn on the Fox barrel!!
Backing up:
>>Pretty good when 1 or 2 hind feet stay on the mat but does think it’s easier to turn around to get on the mat if 1 or all feet come off.>>
Totally agree – this is HARD mechanics for the pupster! The singing in the background was lovely, thanks Dean!
She did really well and when she was doing it, her form was good. So there is no need to get more steps for now, because we want to maintain this form. You will see this continue to percolate over the coming weeks – and when that initial step or two gets easy, you will see her beginning to offer more and more steps. So you can stick with just 2 or 3 feet off the mat for a session or two, and when you see her quickly backing up – that is your cue to ask for all for feet off the mat.
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
Really nice sessions here – both of these games require a lot of mechanics for the human and the pup, and you did a great job working to sort those out while also keeping his rate of reinforcement really high. Yay!!On the plank video:
He does like the personal play! With the opportunity to offer behavior on the plank right there, you can keep the play shorter so you can move into the training before he steps away to sniff (dog-speak for ’that’s a little extra’) or offer getting on the plank. He liked it when you were moving away a little and he was moving towards you.Nice rewards on the plank and transitions to the release off it! The mechanics of throwing the release cookie were spot on – he had no trouble getting it and then coming right back. Super!!!
To get all 4 feet on it in a stand more easily as well as the turning around without stepping off, try a wider plank for now and feeding him lower (so he doesn’t need to lift his chin to get it). He was putting himself into a sit to balance and to be able to reach up to get the cookies (SMART!) and had trouble following the hand to turn around. So a wider plank (or two planks side-by-side) can make it easier and the lower cookie hand (especially on the turning around) will make it easier too. He is at the age where processing mechanics is HARD so we can make it easier as he develops the mechanics.
Backing up is also really hard and he was so cute coming through and turning around (“that’s what you want, right mom?” LOL!) He was convinced!
You can make it easier by sitting in a chair (easier for your back, because there is a lot of bending over with small dogs. Plus, with a chair, he is less likely to go all the way through then turn around. That way you can place the cookie right between your feet like you did at 1:40 and the chair will help him not want to go all the way through. (And you can do this with your back to a wall either standing or in a chair, so the wall helps him consider options other than coming all the way through).
The other option is to use a destination like a dog bed with low sides or a mat (anything big enough to stand on). Start him with all 4 feet on the destination, then lure just his front feet off… then reward him for stepping his front feet back onto the destination. Do that a couple of times and then if he is doing well with stepping his front feet back on, you can try luring his off even further so his back feet come off… and see if he steps back onto the destination.
There are a couple of other ways to get the behavior going, so try these and if he stills things it is a turn-around game, then we can try a different approach 🙂
Great job here!! Let me know what you think.
TracyGood morning! Hope you had a good weekend!
>>We hosted my sister’s family (with 3 little kids) and it was pure chaos lol. I tried to do some training but always got interrupted, >>
That is actually a lot of training for the dogs – handling the excitement family and kids! Fun! And looks like there was some kid “stuff” in the training area, which provides a perfect low-level distraction.Parallel path is looking good, I love how she went out of her way on the first rep to go get it. If she misses – no need for a marker or turning around to go back to where you started… just keep moving forward (no marker/no cookie) then turn and go back the other way. The lack of ‘get it’ and lack of cookie will speak volumes, so we don’t need a marker or to go back to the start point. She will likely make an adjustment and hit it on the next rep.
Rear crosses – these are harder so you can ‘warm up’ the session with a few reps of the parallel path game. And, give yourself more room for the rear crosses. You will want at least 10 to 12 feet, so you are both moving forward up the line (rather than sending) so she can see you changing sides before she needed to make a decision on how to hit the prop. She figured you out when you went to the left turns 🙂 but more room will make the right turns easier too.
Turn and burn is looking really good! I am glad you went to the toy, it is perfect for this game and she did really well. And she is going back and forth for food to toys really well too!
She is ready for the toy on the other side (right turns) too – just wait longer for her to go all the way around before you take off and run. That way you can fade the bowls out completely.
Time to start thinking about your wrap verbals! Which wrap verbals do you have for Laszlo?
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I think this will be much easier after a session or two of the ideas above for the sideways sends. His first rep her was really strong (right side) but yes, it is too hard for him on your left side. My guess is you have built extra value on that side and/or he does not turn as well to his left as he does to his right.So the change of reward placement to being tossed to the prop (and looking at the prop) will totally help this, so try it first with sideways sending with your right side, then go to left side. When you come back to the backwards sending, start with a bunch of reps on your right side before switching to you left, to build up a reinforcement history.
Nice work!
Tracy
