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Hi! 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!
TracyHi!
>> Vibe is 4 1/2 months now and going through a bit of the juvenile “I don’t need you” stage and working outside has been harder for keeping her focus.
This is pretty normal, developmentally 🙂 I do lots of pattern games in the great outdoors (on leash, if needed, even in my own backyard LOL!) and lots of simple play too!
>>She really prefers food to toys for training outside & is teething, but loves to tug if there is no obvious training involved (if that makes sense?). I have been keeping training sessions short & fun, with lots of rewards. If you have any suggestions, that would be awesome.>>
Short and fun is great! You can incorporate tugging into training by first and foremost, keeping it fun and not about pressure or ‘earning it’. What I mean by that is – if she has a particular favorite play style with a toy, you can use that with simple fun things that she already likes to do. So if she likes to run through a tunnel? Cool! Send her through a tunnel and then throw her toy. You might not be able to have food around yet, and that is fine, it will all come together.
You can also do some throwing/chasing of toys outside, separately from any training, just to noodle around and play! I find that if we keep food and toys separate for pups at this age, it gets easier to merge them as the pup groups up 🙂 And then you can do something like throw a toy, then trade for another toy or a (boring) cookie, then throw a toy, and so on. So it is more about developing reinforcement strategies and less about trying to actually train skills 🙂
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Thank you for the update about the class!!! Sounds like Georgie was GREAT!!!
>>Georgie was excited and barked every time a dog took a tunnel, so I tried to distract from that, otherwise might need to crate in the car.
I like to crate in the car to give the dogs a chance to rest between turns. You can also play some of the pattern games (from back in MaxPup 1) so she learns to handle hearing someone else yelling TUNNEL TUNNEL TUNNEL without wanting to join in 🙂 One of my dogs would just about have his head explode when he heard that as a youngster, so the pattern games really helped him remain calm 🙂
>> So pleased how focuses she stayed on me, and I was excited to realize I could actually let go of the toy. (My other dog likes to run off into a tunnel with the toy, and drop it right in the middle of the tunnel, so I learned to hold on tight to toys.) She held her start lines, except once, with much more distance than I get at home because, well, little yard. Lori said she really works to do what I want. And no BIG MADS! LOL.>>
This is so fabulous!!! So much success and no BIG MADS 🙂 That is such a terrific start to classes in new places 🙂 YAY!!!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>she doesn’t give me a chance to show her what I’m going to do because if I’m behind her on any contact she comes off the side and comes back at me. I don’t know how to address that because I can be behind her at home. She may do 2o2o to the side but she waits. Always being ahead is not very realistic for me.>>
I agree, always being ahead is not the answer – being able to run past her when you were behind her is very helpful.
The skill can be taught – at home, get her into high arousal (10 tunnels in a row, perhaps?) then send her over the a-frame or teeter with you walking or jogging up the line so you are behind. Have a target out there to help her. And the reinforcement comes when you have past her – either throw it back to her, or release to the next jump. In these high arousal training situations, you can add more and more running and then fade the target out – and never reinforcement with you next to her when she arrives in position or coming back to her. That is not a useful picture for competition.
I am not sure what you do in the FEO runs, ideally you would work on moving past and then releasing her forward (because you can’t throw the reward in AKC). You can set that up in FEO runs, but if she is still struggling in regular runs, you might want to skip those until it is sorted out. If there is *any* UKI available, definitely do it because you can bring a toy AND a target into the ring to train the skill specifically, and you can throw the toy. This is a total game changer for a lot of dogs, to help transfer the skill to a trial!
>>If I’d known then what I know now I may have considered running and no I do NOT think that would have solved all my problems but her desire to stay in motion is difficult for both of us.
Running contacts are a whole different can of worms LOL! And the desire to stay in motion might be more about frustration – so with more clarity, she might have a much easier time holding still.
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>Ok, so backside S curve aka German or back to a serp. I need to shift my gaze and the dog side arm as she’s approaching the wing? I know I’m watching to see if she passes by the jump. But, she did produce a nice tight turn!>>
Yes – as soon as you think she is just about at the entry wing, shift your connection and point at landing, so help her out. Separately, on one jump/low bar, do some work where you are NOT helping with the connection shift, but instead walking through it with countermotion and dropping a toy on the landing spot to really pump up the value for taking the jump.
>>Also, the threadle wrap I need to be lateral but PAST the jump plane? No wonder she’s struggling. It’s a tight turn and I thought I needed to still be closer to the front side of the jump and have her pass me.>>
I think most dogs find it easier in the learning stages for us to be past the plane of the jump, making it more of a come-here-turn-away behavior. When we are not past the plane. I think it adds the challenge of ignore the front even more, and also then the dog has to be sent ahead into the turn away – that is a little harder.
>>Hmmm…what’s the name of the jump class? I’m sure I’ve taken just about everything. But, Sprite needs help jumping up off her rear to elevate over a jump. She’d rather take off flat. I’d love to revisit that class.>>
It is this one:
And I just checked, I don’t think you took it. Maybe it was running at the same time as one of the other classes? This one is all about powering off the hind end for wraps and slices (front and backside of jumps).
>>Did I earn an adult beverage? I’m pretty sure the answer is yes. Lol.
I did the math here:
1 beverage for hauling to the park and setting up in the heat
1 beverage for nailing run 1
1 beverage for nailing run 2
1 beverage for NOT trying it again after nailing it.So, yes, 4 adult beverages, but probably not all at once LOL!!! Cheers!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
Sounds like you have a busy (and HOT!) week ahead!! New windows will be so nice! And hopefully the weather is cooler for the UKI trial.
Great job with the sequences here!!
Seq 2 (first one on the video) looked great – tis is definitely a less-is-more type of sequence, in terms of the lead out and setting lines! Less lead out, less send-and-leave works GREAT on a smaller tighter sequence before a big layering moment because then you can accelerate into the layering like you did here – and you still easily got to the line after the layering. Love it!
Seq 1 looked great too – I believe he understands the backside slice w/ countermotion, so looking at :35 – :38, you can see that he found the entry at a big distance, and you were both on the takeoff side before he took off, you didn’t need to do anything to help hi (I don’t htink he looked at you at all there) – and so the exit was tighter AND faster because he could really drive the next line. Super!!!
Seq 3 walk through:
Nice handling choices!! The only thing to look at is that on paper, I agree it is a threadle wrap on 10 to the 11 tunnel. Bu the way it looked here on the ground with the tree… the slice might have been the faster option (and still gotten you miles ahead for 12 :))You can lead out more, to be earlier on the FC 2-3 so he can see it before he gets into the tunnel (and so you can be in good position on the exit). You did it with your invisible dog after he entered the tunnel at :44 🙂
And remember to connect on the exit of all crosses – the walk through was speedy but you were looking forward a lot and not back at him.
On the run:
Everything went really well! Small details to consider:
The FC 2-3 was a late (1:25) – it was earlier than the walk through but still later than he needed to see it. The less-is-more lead out was not as helpful here, because it showed too much acceleration into 2 and so he was wide on the exit.Very nice threadle 5-6-7!!! We are not seeing a lot of layered threadles, but they are popping up more and more so I expect you will see this skill at the US Open and other big events this year, then more regularly next year. So it is good to know you have the skill!!! Yay!
The threadle wrap at 10 worked well – you can start calling him sooner (before takeoff for 9) – he was a little wide there on the 9-10 line before the threadle cues, so a little name call before 9 can adjust it just enough to be perfect.
Super nice FC 11-12 – great timing and connection! That made for a tight turn there and a super fast ending line. YAY! His commitment is really looking great and he is powering out on the next line brilliantly.
Great job on these!
TracyGood morning!
Poor Ken, that sounds really painful. It really sucks that the ER missed the break the first time around. I hope he is feeling much better, and that things get easier for all of you ASAP!!!
And yes – so much heat! Heat, smoke, rain… that is the theme for Summer 2023 in most of the country. Yikes! Makes it hard to train at any time except maybe at sunrise.
The course run went really well!!!!! Yay!!
Nice job on the opening!!! He considered passing by the bar of 3 when you were moving forward – he got it when you decelerated and helped him, but it is good to work the skill of countermotion there so you can get further ahead on courses that need it. So as he is arriving at the entry wing, you can shift your connection to the landing spot (and point back to it) while you move forward to help commit him.
The other thing you can do with this opening is the mirror image of the handling: you did right turn on 1, left turn (towards the course) on the 3 backside, then send to the weaves. You can try left turn on 1 (away from the course) and takin g3 as a slice from the other direction (entering on the a-frame side and then turning right to the jump). That puts him in a very direct line to the weaves and might ultimately be faster/smoother. You can run the same line you ran (on the a-frame side of things) and do a threadle-slice on 3.
Fantastic layering from the weave exit all the way through the teeter exit. That put you in a great position to get the 8 jump at :27 – he did a great job reading those cues!
A BC between the a-frame and the 10 tunnel would make that line smoother to get a nice turn to the 11 jump, but I am not sure if it is feasible with the running frame. Handler position does need to be relatively close to 8 – maybe you can be 2 or 3 feet further and take off for the 9-10 blind as soon as he turns his head to look at 8? Even then, the Rear cross might still be the best handling choice because you can show it clearly without trying to outrun him, and it does not put you too far behind.
He had a question on the exit of 10, because at :31 you did a big shoulder turn to your left, so he thought you wanted a left turn on the tunnel exit. He read the change of direction on the flat (good boy!) but you can drive the RC line to the 10 tunnel – as he is exiting the frame, you can be running towards the center of the tunnel entry. That RC pressure should cue him to turn right on the exit (plus your right verbals :))
Super independent weaves (no surprise, but always worth celebrating!) set up a gorgeous dog walk entry. He did leave it early at :41… perhaps the turn away physical cue to the tunnel overrode the DW performance there? You cued the turn at the top of the down ramp there – that is not necessarily incorrect, but he responded as soon as he saw it and left the DW early. You were later with the cue at :45 (he was already in the yellow) and he got it nicely. I like the timing of the DW exit cues to happen early (like at the top of the down ramp, at the latest) so he might just need a refresher on “finish the DW *then* turn”.
For the ending line, he dropped the bar at 16 – that jump requires a lot of collection after all that speed 13-14-15 and a couple of lead changes! 2 ideas for you:
– you can handle the 13 DW exit from further away and further back, closer to the exit of 15 so then you have more time to get to 16, decelerate, then run the ending line.
– or you an handle from close to the dog walk and send alll the way away to the 16 threadle (which will build in decel from the send) and then layer the a-frame (fancy!) to meet him at 19. Running on the line with him made 18-19 harder. Layering the frame will make that line very easy!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Thanks for the update! It sounds like the dogs all did really well on the RYG sequences!!
>> Alonso became a tunnel sucker at first. His teenage brain kicked in more than usual this week:) >>
Usually when that happens with adolescents, it is because they have found a new gear of speed… and we are late LOL! So they end up on a line and keep going – good dog! Be sure to video to see if he was truly tunnel sucking, or if you were late. Youngsters need more processing time than adults!
>>Buddy struggled as we did these sequences indoors at my training center and there were extra people in the building. I had to fight to keep his attention 🙂 He has the skills. Just difficult with people distraction.>>
Those distractions are really hard – his brain is divided between paying attention to the agility cues, and being concerned about the people. Have you ever tried pattern games with him in that situation? I know he likes food, so patterns can really help!
Great job with your boys!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>. I was going to ask though, do you feel the release is enough of a reward and no more treats?>>I think it is a complicated thing and not as black and white as that… in training, we need to show the picture they will see in competition, to be sure they understand it. So if you are decelerating and stopping with her in training (and often reaching for the cookie in your pocket :)), and going back and giving her a treat – that is an entirely different picture than what happens at a trial. And that can confuse and frustrate the dogs at a trial, when they are already more aroused.
FEO at trials is very useful, but can also present a confusing picture: sometimes at trials, you decel and give her a toy… sometimes not.
And also, we don’t want the presence of the food or toy in the ring (or in your hand) to be the cue for the contact behavior (and dogs are brilliant at pairing those things LOL!)
So, in training and FEO runs, the handling should always look like what you want it to look like in a ‘for real’ run at a trial. And then, when she hits and holds criteria, you can either release forward to the next line (and keep going or reward from your hand, in the case of AKC FEO), or you can throw a reward back to her (in training or UKI). And if she struggles with you staying in motion, then we can help her in training to understand the picture (rather than showing her a different picture).
Let me know if that makes sense.
Tracy
Hi!
Very strong walk throughs here!!! You were connected, showing great motion, running good lines and and getting the verbals out. Super!
The first run went really well, almost perfect! The only questions she had were on the exit of the 7 tunnel and the 8 jump – it looked like you went straight for too long, then needed to look at landing more to support commitment, as you moved away to 9 after the FC on the 8 jump
The second run was perfect! You were running fast (she loves that!) but also connected and clear with your verbals and handling. YAY! That resulted in a gorgeous, fast run. Definitely keep rehearsing those walk throughs, they are really helping!!!
Great job!
Tracy
