Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi!
One thing to think about is because he is soooo fast… you don’t need to be fast 🙂 you can precise and have clean mechanics, but you don’t need to try to be as fast as him 🙂
TracyHi!
I agree – the best part is the focus!!! Being able to walk into a new place and act just like it is home? Priceless!!!!!!!T
Hi!
Yes, it makes total sense that the stress in life made it harder to handle the up-and-down emotions of agility! I hope your wife is feeling better!!!
Thank you for the playlist! I am going to check it out as soon as I remember my Amazon password LOL!!!!
>.and maybe rub some apple pie scented Vicks under my nose 🤣).>>
I mean… science has been telling us FOREVER that scent is powerful as a memory aid. I want to use it for human mental prep and also for canine mental pre/behavior modification 🙂 I just have not quite gotten myself to do it yet, but I like the apple pie scent idea LOL!!!!
Tracy
Onward is right! In your visualizations, be sure to practice the connection as soon as you enter the ring, the release, and the first few obstacles. And let yourself get a little nervous, if you might sometimes get nervous 🙂 That can really help get you focused for the beginning of the run!
T
Hi!
It was great to see the how the up and down game helped Changste re-engage! Watching dogs go by the fenced yard is HARD (plus the bike zipping by) but it did not take long at all to get her focused again. Super!!>.I realize now that I should have done a very simple sequence after the Up & Down session. And here is the same sequence again:>>
I don’t think she needed a simpler sequence – she was fully focused and fast! On the first run on the first video, I think the handling was not quite as clear (plus, 4 is a front side wrap not a threadle to the backside :)) – you were a little late showing her the threadle cue then didn’t quite has as much propulsion getting her to the next jump.
On the 2nd video, the handling was clearer for sure – earlier call to the threadle, and then a lot of propulsion on the send to the 5 jump – she nailed it!
Nice work here 🙂 Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This session went really well! great job breaking it down to help her understand the concept – turning away after layering is hard, especially when we are trying to minimize rear cross footwork. She did well!
And yes, you can start the cues a little sooner (before she lifts off for the jump before it) and you an also emphasize the hand cues to help turn her away so you can fade out the motion and be further and further away 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi! He did super well here too! You are making a really hard game look really easy 🙂
He was more centered here between the crate and tunnel, and did really well! You can add challenge now: move the crate and tunnel to be about 2 feet apart, and line him up between your feet and try it just the verbals. Try not to wait for him to look at one or the other before you cue the obstacle – he can be looking anywhere 🙂 We don’t want him to look at the tunnel, for example, then you say tunnel.
Nice work!
TracyGood morning!
He looks very confident on his teeter bang game here! Yay! Since he is so confident, we can start adding things to be ready for when we add more handling to this:Before getting him on the board, take a moment to make a cleaner transition before you send him onto the board: tug, get your cookies out, then line both of you up next to the board – then ask him to bang. Then you can stay off to the side (more like what you did at 1:01 and 1:14) to put the cookies on the target (rather than face him). That will make it easier for when you start moving past him while he is in target position, plus it will help him stay straight on the board rather than look at you or curl into you.
He did really well with the discrimination game – it is a hard one! The only blooper was when he was lined up facing the tunnel, and you cued the crate. So try to keep him more centered, so he is facing the middle between the 2 things (they can be a little further apart), even standing beteen your feet – then cue which one you want without moving at all 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi! This is the Running contacts foundation – nice work!
He seemed to have an understanding of going through the box and good value for it – super! The hardest part is isolating the back feet. Doing it as a recall was causing him to look up at you too much, which was changing his movement through the box (the higher head gives more emphasis to the front end movement and not the back end movement).When you changed to being closer and rotating towards him, he got back feet in more but I think that happened because he was slowing down with you facing him – so was more about your position and less about him knowing where to put his feet.
So for the next session, take yourself out of the picture entirely 🙂 You can do that by putting yourself centered on the box, facing the box, but several feet away and not moving at all – and he goes back and forth through the box, with you tossing cookies back and forth for the correct responses. that can really help him get his feet in. He is a big dude – so if he struggles with the small box, go to a bigger box so he can be successful! Then eventually you can go to a smaller box (you never need to go smaller than the size of the aframe contact zone, which is pretty big 🙂 )
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
He seems happy to interact with the teeter here board – yay!! He seems super confident with the movement and the sound. That is great!He seems to be confused about what you wanted at the end. Question – is he supposed to be doing a 4 on behavior, or a 2o2o? The target position here promotes a 2o2o, but then your body pressure was backing him up into a 4on and then he got confused. So if you want a 4on, put the target right on the edge of the plank (literally on the plank, not off it), to help him know where to put his feet. I use a strip of duct tape at the edge of the board as a target for my 4on position dogs (the small ones do a 4on position). That can help clarify that you want him to stay fully on the board.
Food for thought – a 2o2o for a dog his size will be clearer and easier for him to do, and will also be faster while giving him more independence and better control of the board 🙂 He was doing it really well here already!
Nice work!
TracyHi!
This one is the crate versus tunnel discrimination – this went well, it is a hard game!As you got started, really good job holding his collar so you could say the verbal a few times before he moved on the first side. That really helps him process the cue before the motion gets added. When you changed sides, you stopped doing that so he had to rely on your movement more… so definitely hold his collar at the start of each rep to get the verbals really independent and reduce errors.
Since this is a new game, he is not ready yet for the verbal to override the physical cue, so he did best when the he was not pointed to the wrong obstacle and when there was a little physical cue to help. Be sure that he is hearing the verbal while facing the setup (and ideally a little closer to the correct obstacle, for now), and before you start to move – there were lots of reps where you were facing away from the setup and then turned to it and said the verbal all at the same time – there were a few too many errors on those, so remember to always line him up, say the verbal as you hold him… then let go and start moving. Eventually you can add more challenge but for now, the line ups really helps him.
Nice work!
TracyHi!
These two videos are the tunnel- wings game, focusing on tunnel exits.
The earlier you give him the tunnel exit verbal, the sooner he can turn. He is responding beautifully!For example – on the first video, the verbals on the first run were a little late, but good job on the 2nd run getting the left/right verbals in earlier which really helped him turn much better.
You can also see it on the 2nd video as well:
on the 2nd rep, the right verbal happened as he exited so he didn’t turn as well. Compare to the
5th rep: the left happened just before he entered the tunnel, and he turned really well!!I think the verbals can come even sooner – as he is still about 6 feet from the tunnel entry, let him hear and see the turn cues. And then when using the go verbal, repeat it a few times and also let him see you accelerate as he is heading towards the tunnel, so he can really accelerate straight on the exit.
Nice work!
TracyGood morning!
This is Serps on one jump – he did well here!!!
You can be closer to the exit wing so he can see you between the uprights for the serp as you move forward, and also that way he can see you look back at the landing spot (and not at his cute face :))He might have been having a hard time with the toy on the ground too – you helped by rotating your feet and pulling back, but ideally you would keep your feet straight – so for now, skip the toy on the ground and maybe use an empty foo bowl as a target (then toss a treat into it when he comes in over the bar). That way you can add more motion and he will have even more success.
Nice work!
TracyHi!
The one jump and two jump (and hidden 3 jump :)) exercises on the first video looked really strong! She is committing nicely!! My only suggestion on those is to open up your shoulders back to her more (a little more turn at your waist, as your feet drive forward like they did here). Your arm back was good, but the further ahead you get the more you are going to want to rotate your upper body so that you ‘face’ the bar more (and shift your connection to the landing spot on the serp jumps)2nd video –
>. She did really well until I straightened out the jumps a bit. Her jumping was awkward but she tried.>>
I didn’t see too many of the struggles here – was she running past the jumps? She did have one weird jumping moment (:37) but it looks like she shook her head over the first jump – maybe a bug bit her or something?
I think the main thing that was happening here was that you were running forward and not showing the serp upper body (arm back with shoulders rotated to the jump). When the jumps were on a relatively straight line, she got it (looked at you a little on the last jump, so you can throw the reward before she takes off for it so it lands sooner and keeps her looking forward).
When you added the harder angles, the serp handling become more important so when your shoulders were closed forward (and you were looking forward), she was not as sure and looking at you more. So, try opening up the serps arm and shoulder even more, make it more exaggerated like you did in the one/two/three jump exercises – that should really help her read those lines.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
