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Good morning! This is going really well!!!!
I love how she came blasting out of the tunnel looking at the #3 jump and and every time! Super!
>>I seem to have forgotten how to do a throw back.
For the throw back think of it as a half-front-cross, and you stop halfway through and throw back with the ‘new’ hand. So in this case, it would be the left hand (I think you were trying it with the right at one point?) The other thing that helps is shifting your connection from her eyes to the landing spot, like you did at :21 – that was great! When you looked directly at her, there was too much pressure and she didn’t pass you to get to the jump.
The RC on jump 5 at :52 and 1:56 and 2:14 worked really well!! Just be sure to stay connected moving into it- you were looking forward coming off of 3 and she almost didn’t take 4 at 2:10
On the line back to the tunnel, she was great about getting back on the big one and layering! She was so good about it that you can call the tunnel cue sooner, before she even takes off for it.
The wrap on jump 4 was the hardest past for her. On the wrap towards you, you can stay a little more on takeoff side (at a distance) and think of it more as a throwback to be able to rotate sooner. It is a more awkward line than the switch away line, but she did really well!!!
On the switch away, try it as a tandem turn at a distance. As she is over 3, you can b decelerating and showing her your tandem turn hands and begin the turn away cues as she is landing. You can refresh it on the flat and on one jump, then try adding the 2nd jump (jump 3 in this case) and distance away from it – that is probably something that will work at home: tunnel – jump – jump with the tandem turn away on the 2nd jump )
Great job here!!! Let me know what you think! Tracy
Good morning! These are going well – just little details to smooth out on each.
RYG 1: Nice job building up the layering and rewarding her for finding the line to 3, then to 4.
When wrapping 4: stay on the take off side more – you were on the landing side a lot on the first rep and 3rd rep there, so based on your position and motion she thought she was jumping long – and landed on the bar when you rotated when she was in the air. On the 2nd rep, you were a little more on the takeoff side and that turn was much better!
When you did the switch away there at 1:35, you were much more on the takeoff side and she was totally ready for the turn – NICE! That switch will get tighter and smoother if you start the switch cues earlier. She read your position and decel perfectly, so at the same time (when she was landing from 3) you can also be starting the verbal and using the hand cues so she sees it all before takeoff.
As you are working out the timing, she is dropping a lot of bars because the info was happening over the bars. So to help protect her from getting hurt, run these at 12” until you nail the timing, then the bars can go back up.
RYG 2 – nice job with the connection and cues to help her find the jump behind the tunnel! For the timing there, start that cue when she is between 1 and 2, so she sees it before takeoff to 2 and can make the adjustment.
>>she was convinced it was more efficient to jump over the tunnel
She is a very honest dog LOL! At :33 and :54 and 1:09 you went past the tunnel to get the jump behind it, then you had to pull away to get past the tunnel… which set the line over the tunnel LOL!!! She is very honest and literal.
One more little details: When handling big send lines, make sure there is nothing else on the line. Having the weaves on the line at :37 was confusing when you sent her out: voice said jump body said weaves, so she went with the body cues but she was not sure.
The line back to the tunnel after that was looking really good!
Nice work here 🙂
TracyGood morning!
85 degrees?
That sounds almost winter-like LOL!!!He did really well finding the jump behind the tunnel on just the verbal! You needed very little handling to get it, just connection/motion/verbal. Super! He also had no question about finding the jump even when you moved it to the harder positions. SUPER!!!
The real test was when you added the tunnel into the sequence, and he nailed it: got both the tunnel the first time and then went back out to the jump behind it at the end. You can try adding more of your motion and see if it makes a different to his processing when you are running (it might help, or it might make it harder LOL!)
He was definitely feeling the heat by the 2nd half of the video, even though it looked like a different time of day. So if it is a million degrees out, you don’t have to repeat somethng that he did well.
His only question he had was on finding the tunnel entry when layering but he nailed it later on that very first time. It might have been that he had gotten a bunch of reward for that jump so he was thinking he was finished and was surprised by the tunnel cue? But he was great on all of the next reps, so no worries there. And he easily did the layering line for the closing line of the sequence. Yay!
I think he had a tunnel when you said jump later in the session too but you were both hot at that point LOL!
He is definitely ready for the bigger courses and/or pop outs. Great job!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>You may have to include hints for the pop ups too since I don’t even see the handling options that are featured that week- LOL!!!
I used to give pop out hints, but this year I wanted to get people looking for the featured skills without me. You will probably now be looking for layering options a lot more!
On the first pop out:
Hustling closer to the lines to support them better, which will also get you to better spots on course! For example on the opening, you were far from 1 and 2 so you had to push her back to 2, which delays leaving for the next line. If you stick closer to 1 and 2, you can see her head turn to look at 2 then you can actually leave for 4-5 sooner than when you have to push her back to the line at 2.She found the zig zag lines really well!!
The turn on the tunnel exit was late on the first 2 reps – the verbal and convergence and any hand cues need to begin when she is still 6 feet before the entry. On the first 2 reps, you did it as she exited. On the 3rd rep at about 1:07, you showed convergence before she entered and kept showing it as she exited, so she got it. You can treat those types of turns on the tunnel exit as a tandem turn or switch away on the flat, beginning the cues before she goes into the tunnel.
>>On #2, how do we get the back side of 5? I didn’t even bother and figured just getting the turn to the jump behind the tunnel was enough of a challenge. It’s apparent just getting #5 straight on was a struggle until I figured out what words she really needed.>>
BIIIIIIG convergence of your line to the 5 jump before she enters, and the get out cue to get her moving away (before she enters the tunnel) followed by the backside push verbal and physical cues starting while she is in the tunnel so she sees them before she exits (I would use an outside arm with my dogs there). And leaving the 1-2-3 line earlier will make it easier, which is why setting the line to 2 sooner by being closer to that line will make it easier.
2nd pop out:
>>I also need to spend even more time on the jump skills for something like jump #2 when I started course #3. I tried to support it, tried not to support and nothing I tried seemed to help her keep that bar up. They were not at 16″. Help.>>
The line 2-3 was hard but gives us a good discussion of where to put the FC and BCs, and timing. Most to the question from her was about timing and your line (see below). We also did a class about these jumping skills last fall/winter – I can’t remember if you were in it? It was all about teaching the dogs to get organized 🙂
On these FCs and also n the BC on the next rep (she dropped the bar there too) try not to go across the bar (you were going to the center of the bar) because it gives her motion info about a slice and you do not want her to slice there. Think about where her ideal line would be to the next obstacle, if she was the tiniest little mouse: that is the line you will want to run on, which is barely past the wing. Your line on the BC at 1:47 was closest to that!
And, as she lands from 1, be sending and moving to the line so that she sees it, and watch her head. When she looks at 2: that is your cue to do the FC or BC. And she is likely to look at it immediately as she lands so you need to be ready 🙂 so that the rotation is finished before she takes off (and on the correct line, I know, I am a pain in the butt hahaha)
At 1:19 and 1:47, for example, you were doing the rotation as she was jumping (ideally it would be finished by then), which means she took off prepared to slice. She tried to adjust in the air but could not do it (bar down).The RC got it done when you were stationary, but you can use a brake arm to get the collection and keep moving – it is a really hard angle to jump!
Hopefully the weather settles down so you can do more of this to play with the timing and position!!!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
She is figuring it out but you will want to keep a placed reward out there for now (can be a manners minder!) – too many errors when there is no thrown toy (we only want 2, total :)) That way you can do the switch to the MM, and mix in some wraps to you for a toy or treat.
Think of it as first turning her on the flat, then cuing the obstacle. The arms were both turning and cuing, so she didn’t always get it right. So start her a bit further back like you did at the end, then show her your hands first nice and low (as close to nose level as you can, even at a distance) – get her head turned, then cue the jump. It is a tricky skill but she is beginning to lock it in!!!
>>Should I give it a different verbal from my rear cross verbal>>
You probably can use the same verbal but we can change our minds on that later down the road if she needs more clarification :)
Nice work!
TracyGood morning!
>>>I’m in so much trouble with this little girl!
This is what we call “good trouble” and also why we are proceeding slowly to lock in all the pieces. Imagine if she was at a trial or something and she had this question? There would be frustration getting built in. But because you are being super amazing rockstar awesome about putting all the foundation pieces together, we can figure out the answer to her question without frustration which will lead to maintaining all of that speed while keeping her in a happy arousal state.
On the videos:
The lazy game stuff on the first video looks really good – your shoulder turn was earlier for sure! And she was both finding the jump AND setting up a gorgeous collection, then powering out to the next line (this is something whippety dogs can do that other dogs cannot do LOL!) Great session!
Looking at the 2nd video – You actually had more momentum into the sends to the middle jump, and she was still great. On these sends, you had the decel and a big send, which works really well (as opposed to the decel from the previous videos where you were rounding the line with her and decelerating. The send and go worked really well here.
The blinds to the tunnel were tricky at first because of the timing when you were doing it on one jump: too early, and she didn’t take the jump. Too late, and she took the tunnel 🙂
You found the sweet spot at 1:05 – very nice!!!When you added the send to the middle jump – you can wait for her to land and let her cue you to start the blind. When she lands then looks at the blue jump: that is your cue to do the blind.
How to do the blind with the quickness of a tiny whippet coming at you? Have your arms drawn in tight to your sides (elbows bent near ribs, hands low and behind your hips) so that all you need to do is turn your head. When your arms are out to the side, it takes a pretty long time (in whippet years) to get your new connection visible, which is why she would sometimes be wide on the blind. The low arms held in tight to you will make a huge difference especially as you start running.
I think the best arm use here was at 1:11 – 1:12 – 1:13. Your arms were low and back, not really out past your body at all. Note how she found the blind cross side change immediately AND found the next line perfectly. As she was passing you, you were saying the tunnel cue straight down to her head and that was perfection. It really showed her the line.
Great job on these!!
TracyGood morning!
>>Ha, this will make it a whole ‘nother ballgame
Yes, it sure did but in a really good way 🙂 One thing I REALLY like about the send reps in the beginning where that you were asking her to drive to the wing and commit to the turn independently while you decelerated, and sent hr past you. She was pretty darned perfect! You are becoming SUPER connected with her on these sequences and that is really food with such a young dog.
I also love her balance of full out speed and lovely tight turns.
This is turning into a post about how fabulously well you two are working together LOL!!! But it is true – super lovely session!
>>I know at 1:22 I cued the middle wing too early and should have supported her longer with my dog side hand because she started to come in at first. >>
Yes, one more step would have been ideal however – you caught it IN THE MOMENT and supported her, so she could be correct. No errors, no frustration, great teamwork. That is why connection is so key!!!
>>The next rep I tried to support her better in that spot….>>
Yes, that looked good! And your timing of the FC after the 2 wings was looking strong throughout.
>> (My older dog has conditioned me to cue really early, so still trying to find that sweet spot (and knowing that can change when MiG gets more experienced)).>>
This might be a good thing because really early for the older dog might just be perfectly on time for MiG! When you add bars, you will get a better feel for what her true timing will be and you are correct that it will change as she gets experienced. In general, we start off with what would be slightly “late” timing with the youngsters to really help support everything, then with experience and maturity, we can cue really early and that is good 🙂 In a perfect world, the timing would be the same for both of your dogs so you don’t have to switch back and forth between timing moments for the dogs.
I am looking forward to the lazy game videos and also she is definitely ready for the rest of the sequences we did in the live class 🙂
Great job! Enjoy your weekend!
TracyGood morning! Sorry about missing the previous videos!
One more coffee-fueled thought about the teeter, after watching the video I missed: when he gets to the top and gets his treat, he tries to get the heck off… so give him the super high value treat then get him outta there so he doesn’t start to think about it. And very short session will help too – I don’t think he was seeking shade, I think it was too hard at the top so he was asking to stop. Only doing one or two reps will help avoid that fore sure.
Looking at the 2 lazy game videos:
First video:
He is definitely getting the idea here! He is being pretty quick to get the treats in the first one, so you can slowly keep moving while he is eating, like you did at approx 1:03. That way he can see the info (your motion) as soon as he lifts his head from the treat, and move forward to the jump without looking at you as much. Moving the middle jump out went really well, he found it really nicely!!>>and he won’t bring a toy back to me yet
As he puts this together to 2 or 3 jumps in a row, you can try a lotus ball and see how that goes!
On the 2nd video – he was so engaged with the toy! I love it!!!! And holy WOW he is fast! This allowed you to string together several jumps in a row, with the only questions being about how fast you had to move (answer: FAST lol!!!) I am loving his speed and excitement here!!!
Since he has decided to kick it up to a higher gear of speed, you can add the tunnel and start the sequences added last Tuesday in the live class. That builds on this and adds more speed ad fun. If he will do it for a toy – perfect!!!
Great job here!!! Fun times ahead!
TracyHi!
He is doing so well here, lots of grown up stuff! He was finding the 3 jumps pretty easily and then finding them after the tunnel.On the left turns – he is doing worlds better!!! He had trouble when you were pointing forward, high arm, not really moving, too far from the jump. 1:12 and 1:49 (where he jumped on you, frustrated) are good examples of that. Compare to 1:37 when you were connected, closer, and moving – he totally found the jump! Then you need to move more to the middle jump (1:39) so he finds that too. So use less arm on the left turn side and lots more connection and motion near the jump. That will really help lock it in.
You are more connected and closer to him on the right turns, so he finds them more easily for sure.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
He did well on the go go go here on he first clip! He was not sure of the rear cross – I think a bunch more reps of driving ahead will help, and maybe someone else can throw the to? it will be easier when he almost automatically drives ahead of you, so you can set the rear cross line.
So to structure a rear cross session: have the jump about 5 or 6 feet further from where it was here. Do 4 or 5 reps of go go go til he basically expects it and drives ahead. Then throw in a rear cross…. Then go back to the go go go lines. The heavy emphasis on the Go will make the RCs a lot easier
On the angled grid – he seemed to have zero questions about finding the line and keeping his head low! Yay! I think the first 2 jumps were too far apart (he was taking a stride and should be bouncing like he did between jumps 2 and 3) so try jumps 1 and 2 set at 5 feet apart and see how he does.
On the 2nd video:
He is beginning to get the idea of the lazy game – loving that he was able to sort it out and get all 3 in a row in both directions!!! Definitely a little better turning to his left as you noted – so keep your line very close to the jump to hep him out. The other thing that can help is if you have a bunch of cookies already in your hand – when you reach for your pocket in between throws, he is watching you and not the jumps. Having a bunch of treats in your hand will really help his stay focused on the line.He is also doing well with the wing wraps and tunnel!!!
>>Keeping my shoulders open and more connection=TTFJ!!!>>
Ha! Yes!!!! Connection really sets the line.
The wing wrap to the left needs a lot more connection for sure, that is where he was having the most trouble. I think his questions were partially because he was not getting a lot of connection there and partially because another dog was barking (don’t underestimate how hard that is for young dogs, because their brains are not set up to ignore the barking – it is entirely possible the amygdala prioritizes the barking as ‘Danger! Danger!’ Which leaves not a lot of bandwidth for the newly formed front of his brain to process cues and respond. So there are lots of little errors that can be avoided – any way to not have the dogs barking at him? It might not be as big if an issue when he is adult and more experienced, but I am pretty sure some of the errors were due to the processing and prioritization his brain was trying to do (that includes the little refusals on the right wraps too). Maybe the other dogs can get good chew bones when it is his turn, so they can be outside but not barking?
Nice work on these!!
TracyHi!
These all look really good!!!!
She is one confident girl on the mountain climbers so you will need to stay with her (which might mean moving faster sometimes LOL!) so she doesn’t jump off or lose her balance.
Plank confidence is looking super good too – she was turning around really nicely here so you can add in tossing the reward off the end of the plank, so she can find her balance getting on it at a run (I promise it won’t mess up contact criteria LOL!)
Look at her being a pro in a new location and in the blazing heat! Good girlie!
Very nice commitment in both directions! I felt your connection was MUCH better into the wrap at :33 (you don’t even need to point forward of her to the jump, you can keep your hand pointing to her nose). She had a little question at :12, where you disconnected and pointed forward so she almost came off the line (but the verbal and prxomitiy to the wing convinced her to take it – super!) So in those spots, remember to add a little more connection and let your hand follow her nose 🙂
Great job on these! Stay cool!
TracyHi!
Lazy game part 2 – super! The sends are really strong and she is collected to make the turn all on her own: PERFECT! The main thing on the send is to be connected til she is past you as you send. You can bowl after she passes you LOL! I think the last rep was the most perfect in this respect: note your eye contact and low hand as she is passing you, and she went miles away with no questions 🙂 Super!
You can definitely be adding more and more speed to this now – the distance is great for what we want it to be, so now we can start to get into the handling stuff more and more.
Great job!
TracyHi!
>>That was so interesting seeing your dogs gain so much speed and confidence on the mountain climber. >>
Yes, those videos were from an 8 week process to teach them the teeter 🙂
She did well here, and yes, you can lift her off if she doesn’t mind, or reward her for turning around and help her walk down. By visiting this game here and there for the next 6 weeks, you will see her confidence really bloom!
She did really well on the send sequences at the beginning!
The 2nd sequence was the wrap and it was a Goldilocks moment showing the transition: On the first rep, she went a bit wide on 4-5 because you were stationary at 3 then really accelerated to get to 5 – so she accelerated (good girl!) It was too much giddy up 🙂On the 2nd rep you were better about not suddenly accelerating at :34, but that meant you were decelerated the whole time so she never saw the transition 🙂 So it was not enough transition into the wrap. Same thing on the 3rd rep at :49, going the other direction, and your feet were pointing to the RC line so she rear crossed (very good girl!) Be sure to reward when that happens because she was correct! On the th rep, your feet were pointing to the correct line so there was no RC (yay!)
To get the ‘just right’ transition on the wraps – you can hustle as she is exiting the tunnel and show lots of acceleration from 3-4 – then when she landing from 4, show the decel followed by the rotation into the wrap.
Great timing on getting to the blind at 1:09! I bet you can do it even sooner, which will make the reconnection faster so the line will be better. And excellent job thinking on your feet when you did the FC after it on 5, then had to rear cross 6, Caper thought it was GREAT! So did I!
You started the BC sooner on the next rep but actually finished it later, so the turn was wider – watching it in slow motion from 1:19 you will see that you started the rotation as she landed from 3 but then took a few steps before you did the reconnection, which is what ended up making it late.
The send to 5 looked good!
For 6 and 7, you ran forward for a few steps at 1:23 which committed her to go straight (and past the 7 jump, as young dogs will do :)) On the very last rep, you turned sooner, which totally helped!!!Great job working to sort out all of the timing! It gets easier as she gets more experienced and then you will not have to be as perfect with the timing :)
Tracy
Hi!
On the fast lazy games, most of it was perfect – I was all set to say that she is a righty because she only had trouble finding the middle jump on the left turns… til she had trouble finding the middle jump on the right at the end. Aha!So, a couple of things:
Try to turn shoulders to it sooner, no later than landing of the previous jump. If you are at all facing forward, she shoots past it.And, break it down without the tunnel there – the tunnel can be present but not used, so it is stimulating but not *that* stimulating. She can be in a stay in front of the jump after the tunnel to do the little pinwheel section, then back chain so she starts at the exit of the tunnel.
And, add a clicker: click the moment she makes the turn to lock onto the middle jump. That might be very clarifying for her!
Also – take out go verbals – too stimulating for now 🙂 We are getting a lot of go and so we don’t need to worry about that verbal 🙂
2nd seq – the wraps are looking good! Super!!!
The hardest part for her was the middle pinwheel jump. You were decelerating to help her, which worked, but we want to fade that decel asap because it is more of a management tool there than a cue.
Ideally you can just turn your shoulders. Since we have been talking about timing and the window to look for – let’s see how she does if you are turning your shoulders no later than landing from the jump before it (staying connected, of course LOL!) That should help fade out the decel.
The decel over the bar is what caused her question o the bar at :22 – and it also delays the transition into the wraps. Her wrap turns looked really good, so let’s focus on getting her to just follow the line of your shoulders as they turn without adding a change of motion/deceleration. Then you will be able to really drive into the wrap turns and decel which will get them even tighter 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know how she does with the earlier shoulder turn!
TracyHi!
>>I’m hoping to work on the Raise Your Game Challenges this weekend for package 2, so I need the weather to cooperate! >>
For real! It is like living in a rain forest here!!!
These sequences went really well, and you made really good adjustments!! Some ideas for you:
Seq 1: Finding the sweet spot of connection 3-4 is hard! Yes, your shoulders were open to the off course jump on the first run but you kept going like a pro 🙂 Yay!
She took off a little early for 4 on the 2nd rep because you closed shoulders and broke connection. The 3rd rep had the sweet spot of turned shoulders and connection so she did great! YAY!
The FC and wrap at the end looked great!
Seq 2A – The blind went well! I was writing that I think she needs a turn cue on 4 so she knows she was turning left, and then you added it on the 2nd rep (verbal cue, a little decel) and it really helped!! Super!
2nd rep had a turn cue (verbal) and it really helped!
You were a late on the turn 6-7 – some of the commitment questions and bars are definitely the processing in this tighter spacing with the tunnel right there: there is a whole lot of visual processing going on as they learn these skills!
2B – to help her set up for the threadle, she needs a turn cue on 2 so she is already turning. The threadle cue only tells her which side of 3, but if she is not already heading towards the the correct line, the threadle cue will be harder to get. A name call might be all she needs, or a right verbal. And the bigger upper body motion REALLY helped too (more rotation, swinging the upper body back like at 2:27 and 2:40).
She had a bar down at 4: a lot of the FCs are send and go where you don’t get past the entry wing to set up the turn. On this one, you were center of the bar at 2:30 so she read it as a slice based on your motion and position, then you did the FC as she was jumping and she tried to adjust and couldn’t keep the bar up. You were a a little less across the bar at 2:43 and she was already better! So try to not go past the line you want her to run and that will help with the bars too.
seq 3:
>>>.I did stop a couple of times for crazy bar knocking.>>It was happening in seq 3, so this is where we can look and see what is happening. I don’t think she was reckless on the bars here, I think she was trying really hard with what she could see. Reckless seems a little like we are blaming her. It is a different way to look at it: extreme effort versus reckless LOL!!
>>, but one of the things that seems to be making her more thoughtful about jumping is stopping when she plows into it;
I don’t think it is more thoughtful… I think the next rep is more cautious, which is different. She added strides and was more careful and slower.
>>there is no punishment, just communication that we are stopping and sometimes asking her to sit or down so she doesn’t turn into a barking tornado.>>
True, there is no punishment in the form of a physical correction or harsh verbals (positive punishment). But it is still punishment: there were verbals markers associated with it and a withdrawal of the availability of reinforcement, aka negative punishment. And that can work, of course, because the quadrants can work – but there is fallout that comes with it such as being more careful/slowing down, and/or frustration. We saw a bit of both here (she immediately barked when you stopped, so she has frustration built into the stops). And that frustration could bleed over into the frustration and barking we sometimes see when you decelerate.
Plus… the jumping error is all handler induced 🙂 She needs to see the info to process it, and if she can’t see it or it is delayed, the processing is delayed too and with agility dogs, the jumping form is usually the first thing to go. She is making a really big effort to get it done, and is not always successful with the mechanics. Reckless? Nope. Huge effort? Yessssss 🙂
So looking at the bars: at 2:52 there was a late left cue and sudden acceleration:
you marked it, stopped, she barked.At 3:06 -you were a bit too center of the bar on the FC set a wide line then you accelerated away without a lot of connection to support the next jump, so she rushed to get on the next line at 3:07 – you trying to get around the tunnel, a little disconnected, so she didn’t have time to produce good form. Definitely not a great mechanics processing moment! But not reckless.
You stop her, she barks…
On the next reps she didn’t touch bars but she was adding little strides to be cautious and also was barking a lot more on that section (frustration perhaps?) .So if there is a jumping effort that goes totally awry, you don’t need to acknowledge it by stopping or marking. If it needs to be fixed for a safety reason, you can do a couple more jumps with more connection, reward, then go back and as you reset the jump – think about adjusting the handling to be able to give more motion and connection support (or watch the video if you are not sure what went wrong :))
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
