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Good 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!
TracyHi!
I think the first sequence hinged on the tunnel exit, so looking at working on tunnel exits:
It is possible that the wing wingless jump was a bit too offset from her line, making the exits a little harder? But yes – keep doing the verbals and letting her see the cross all before she enters (2 meters before she enters!) so you don’t have to stand still to get the jump when she exits.About the verbals… it is possible that the ‘right’ verbal is not effective for her in this context. At :41 – great verbal and decel timing, she did not read it at all. Compare to :57 – you did a here here and an outside arm and she turned.
At 1:19 you did right right and rotated… she didn’t get the turn until you said here here and stopped moving.So I think that the rotation towards her with the outside arm visible and the ‘here’ verbal was much more helpful for her!
Once you got that, the full sequence :21 – :38 looked great!
Sequence 2 – the opening looked great! You can do the sends, even layer 34 to get in between 5 and 6 for a FC. At 1:41 and 1:51 and 2:05 you started running backwards saying here here here – she had no idea what that meant so looked at you but continued on a line far away all those times (that seems to be her default behavior when she is confused). Rather than keep going and repeating and repeating… better to finish the sequence, reward her, and figure out the handling. Otherwise, she just starts running loops and that is not great for arousal (she ran in a big loop over and over from 1:34-2:19, that is a long time!!) So yes, if something goes wrong keep going and finish the sequence, then reward and sort the handling out.
I think you can trust her commitment and trust her turns, and keep moving forward to the correct line rather than back up to cue 6 – that puts you really far from the rest of the line. You might have been too worried about super tight turns and overhandled 4-5-6, which confused her and put you out of position for 8-9-10.
The 3rd sequence went well!
>> Also been working on putting a command on the backside slice vs the wrap as realise these are about my position and movement not the verbal.>>
Yes, a different verbal is very helpful! You can also add in more decel to help get even more collection there. The rest of it looked really strong too!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>We had a Teacup Trial last Saturday and I was especially proud of my girls. They both went 3 for 3 and they both did 13-14-15 while I layered jump 8 without a hitch.>>
YAY! Congrats! And well done with the layering – very cool to be able to use it in competition!!!! That looks like a challenging course, especially when the girls are going fast!
Looking at the sequences:
Great job with the walk through! As you plan your runs, remember to keep your arms lower and work in as much connection as possible. Also, remember to practice the verbals too, to have them well reheared before you run, especially in the ‘go faster’ parts of the walk through 🙂
On Rosie’s runs – On the first run, you have time to do the BC on the tunnel exit to jump 4, that will give her more propulsion 4-5-6!
You had more motion going to the #3 tunnel on the other reps, and more motion into the RC on 4, so that got more speed too!
The layering looked great each time!! Very impressive distance!!!
The Backside at 8 was the hardest part for her. At :31 – hold onto the cues til you see her takeoff for the bar. What I mean by that is keep pointing at the landing spot with your dog side arm (left arm here) and looking at the landing spot as you move past it, more like what you did at :55 and 1:58 amd 2:11 (you can keep her on your left as she exits the backside, no need to do the blind).
And if she misses it, no worries, keep going – those are handler errors and when you tried to fix, there were more errors and she started to freeze up
With Lily – she liked all the motion in the opening as well, especially the big connection after the RC on 4 to get her to the layering. Super!!
She got the first jump of the layering really well but didn’t see the 2nd jump when you layered, so you can move the 2nd jump in closer to her line so she can find it more easily (then throw a reward to help build lots of value). Any time she gets the 2nd jump on the layering line, you can reward her – there were a lot of reps where she ran past it and didn’t get rewarded and the rewards came more when you were not layering or when you were sending her forward without moving as much. So the next step is to be able to keep going on a parallel path, alongside the tunnel, so she sees the 2nd jump as well and so you can get the #7 jump too! The placed reward (like at the end of the video) can definitely help you stay in motion too!
Like with Rosie, shift your connection to the landing spot on the backside of the 2nd to last jump so she can get it on the slice – the wrap on the outer wing worked but it is an extra long distance and she questions (looking up at you). The slice line was smooth and fast when she got it.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>.. As a matter of fact, I used to think that she was a dog who barked while she ran the whole course. I am now seeing that she actually is relatively quiet other than when she has questions. Quiet while running that is, not necessarily in the rest of her life.>>
Yes! I have noticed that she is quieter running courses in general now too.
>>UGH! I’ve been trying to break this habit for a loooonnnggg time. It never works, so you’d think I’d stop, haha>>
Pointing forward and breaking connection is probably the #1 error is dog agility for all of us humans 🙂 We all do it by accident LOL!
>> I like the timer idea, too. My watch was very much dead, so I did not try that in this session, but typically I have it when training, so I will add this idea in to our next session.>>
Yes – the timer will help. You can set it to notify you twice: at the halfway point, then at the end.
>>However, the screen is too small to see any detail, so I may have to switch to my phone for videos if I watch it after each rep.>>
Highly recommend a phone so you can get a look at any videos, in the moment. The in-the-moment feedback from the video is totally worth any tradeoff in quality.
>>Can you help me understand when I should break something down versus just running it all the way through so that she doesn’t memorize it? I guess the obvious answer is the teach the elements away from a sequence, such as with the threadle wrap that we struggled with the other day, but there are times when she seems fluent in a skill but on a particular sequence it’s difficult. Or it’s good in isolation but not in a sequence.>>
Good question! You can sort it out when you look at the course map: any parts that you think are fairly straightforward and she has experience with in a sequence, can be done in flow on course. If you see something that is definitely a new skill or hasn’t been done in flow or on course yet – break those out. You can train those separately, and tweak the course to simplify the lines to be able to run the bigger pieces in flow without asking for the harder challenges.
On the video:
The opening looked great!
Based on her questions here, this is a skill to isolate: getting commitment on a GO TUNNEL cue while you peel away, so the verbal overrides your motion (:24 and 1:31 and 1:38 ). She can send forward to it if you face it (:58) but she struggles when you try to move away laterally. It would be very useful for layering and getting ahead if you can ramp up that commitment. You can throw a reward or place it at the tunnel exit (or use a MM).
Since we were talking about pointing ahead – pointing back to her and not ahead will help get the backside pushes. At :32 and 3:13 – your verbal said back but you were looking forward so the physical cues said front, and that it where she went. Compare to 1:09 and 3:08 when she got the backside pushes – Your arm was less pointy 🙂 and your motion was converging a little towards the backside so she went to it nicely!
>>I got a little stuck on this a few times as you’ll see in this new video. I tried not to stop, but my default to that appears to be circling back. I tried to keep in mind that it’s not a great strategy, but my feet were a little faster than my brain, so I ended up stopping mid-circle.>>
I think it is just about re-wiring the habit of stopping and fixing. Keep reminding yourself to keep going, and the new habit will form. You did a great job with it at the end of the video here!
Looking at tandem turn on 7 –
For the tunnel exit, you don’t need to say switch til after she exits, because the switch is for the jump not the tunnel exit 🙂 Saying it really early on that first run would indicate a switch on the tunnel exit. You had much better timing at 1:59, when you started the switch cue as she was exiting.She had BIG MAD at 2:00 because you were saying switch and decelerating, but your connection and cues were forward to she straight line, so she did not know what you wanted. 2:15 got better commitment because you were moving forward more, but you did the RC as she was in the air so she turned towards the other wing.
Things were clearer at 2:23 with more of a pull-then-turn for the tandem and definitely better connection. You can use your hands more, having them low and behind you to pull her in then turn her away.
To not have to pull with motion as much, you can turn away a little but make a big connection and have your tandem turn hands pointed back to her – be watching her the entire time as you move her through it, to support the line.
I think the walk through and the actual run looked in sync, in many spots! Yay! The things that made it harder was that you couldn’t always get the tunnel commitment to get the layering going, and needed stronger cues for the backside push, for example, But your overall pace and connection looks good! Definitely keep working that skill on the RYG sequences so you can get all of the details planned in the walk through.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>. It’s hard to believe that Sprite will be faster, but Gemma is slowing down. However, I feel less frenetic as Sprite doesn’t bark.>>
I believe Sprite is already faster. It is deceptive, because her stride is longer and she doesn’t bark, so she might feel slower but I think she is faster already 🙂
Looking at the videos:
>>I know, I know. Run through the end. Clearly that’s a bad habit!>>
Ha! You can set up a penalty for yourself if you don’t run through the end, like you have to run a lap of the field (without the dog) LOL!
Nice walk throughs!!!
On the first sequence, I am liking the attention to detail. You might have looked a little ahead of her on the backside push? And looking at the landing spot looked a little late, more like the exit line, at :20 and :39. You can make it more obvious by seeing her just about getting to the entry wing and then use your dog side arm and make a big obvious point behind you and big connection shift behind you to the landing spot. A name call can help her too!
The Fast walk through looked good too – it is hard to really hit all of the connections and cues without the actual dog, but between the walk throughs where you pinpoint what she needs and when, then the fast walk through: I think you are covering all the bases really well!
Looking at the run:
OH HELL YES! on the first run! Woohoo!! Both runs looked great!The connection 3-4-5 in particular – chef’s kiss fabulous connection and cues!!
The jump commitment on the backside slice was the oly hard thing for her here – since it is a known difficult skill, the bigger exaggeration of cues will help, in a proactive way (as she is arriving at the entry wing). You were more reactive, catching her as she was going past it on that first rep. On the 2nd run at 2:17, you were more ready for it so you slowed down and got your outside arm involved – but I think that being proactive and starting the “take the jump” cues before she is even around the entry wing will help and allow you to keep moving forward past the jump too.
Sequence 2:
Also really nice!!! The attention to detail in the walk through then the fast runs are letting you really prep all the components, so the runs look strong!When training the threadle wrap – the cues will be clearer if your position is past the wing and so you can more easily flip her away flip her away – at 1:49 you were closer to the tunnel, so the cues did totally look like you wanted the #2 jump. You had much better position and 1:55 and she read the cues much better 🙂
The full run was another moment of OH HELL YESSSSSS SO NICE!!!
I think you nailed all of the moments here: connection, timing, the threadle wrap, etc. And you had patience, like at the exit of 6 to 7, she has a lot of yardage to cover so it might have felt like you were waiting – but you stayed connected and patient and she nailed it.
>> I was tempted to run it twice, but stopped myself. I wanted her to sleep on success.
Good for you!!!!!
>> Also, I noticed she clipped the wing on the backside into the tunnel. She tends to drop bars on that skill.
In that moment, you might have been too decelerated for too long – you can leave a bit sooner and that will change her takeoff point because she sees the acceleration sooner.
>> How to I get her to target the bar and not the wing? Do I need to do something different. I suspect the bar would have dropped at 20. However, I only noticed it on the video.>>
Did you do the class with jumping work and organizers? I think you did… it is not a matter of targeting the bar (she was totally looking at it) it is more of a hind end organization/propulsion issue, relative to the wing. So I use the organizers as part of the conditioning to help the dogs not touch the wing and get the right angle of elevation over the bar.
>>I haven’t figured out how to do overlays. On the iPad I only have side by side, Picture in Picture or some blue or green screen option. Do you have directions?>>
What I do is save the fast walk through as its own short video. Then I go to the dog’s run and use the blue/green screen option, choosing the fast walk through as the video for that. This is what creates the overlay. You might need to move the walk through video to line up with the dog’s start (by pressing on it then dragging it to where you want it) but the blue/green screen works like a charm to overlay it.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This sequence went well too! Great connection! The opening looked good – you can trust his commitment and be earlier on the FC 5-6 (:13) and also closer to 6, to tighten up his turn there. He was following your line of motion really well, which is why he needed up slicing 5 (because you had run to the center of the bar).When he commits to the 7 tunnel… get outta there LOL! At :17 you were stationary waiting for him, and quiet – and that messed up your BC 8-9-10. So, as soon as he is about to enter the tunnel, tell him to go jump jump jump so yu can be on the landing of 9 before he even takes off for 8 🙂 That way you can get better commitment and position, and have an easier time with the timing of the decel for 10 because you will be miles ahead 🙂
The ending line looked great! Just remember to use more verbals on the tunnel section: go go go!
Great job on these!
TracyWow! He was such a good boy on the threadle slice here!!! Super nice! Great patience and connection from you to help him find the line. He seemed to have zero questions 🙂
Look at :05, when he exits 5 – you were really connected to his eyes there and started the push cue as he exited the wrap wing of 5. He had no questions AND kept the bar up – NICE!! Lovely! That connection makes a massive difference for him.
As with the previous sequence: remember to use the GO GO GO cues for the last jump, so he doesn’t look at you when he exits the tunnel.
Great job!
TracyHi!
This is RYG 1b – very nice opening and push to the backside of 5!! Note your connection as you pushed to 5 at :06 – really looking at him, which supported the line perfectly. Yay!!Compare to the backside push at :08, where you were looking ahead and he had big questions and the late info ended up causing the dropped bar. Try to look at him as he is exiting 5 and start the push cue for 6 super early, both the verbal and the direct connection.
Remember to use verbal Go Go go cues on the big ending line so he does not look for you when he exits the tunnel.
Nice work!
TracyHi!
Great job on the pop out sequence here!!!
The opening looked really good – I bet he is ready for you to leave 2 sooner – as soon as you see him looking at it, head for 2 🙂 You waited til his feet were lifting off which is great – and if he is consistently getting those commitments, then you can easily start to leave sooner.I love the blind cross 3-4! The only thing he needed was a very direct eye contact as he landed from 3 – that direct eye contact will line your shoulders up to 4 to commit him to it – and you can maintain that eye contact til you see him look at 4. You had a softer connection here at :09 where you were looking forward more, so he never got the commitment cue to take 4. Good job carrying on!
Great job on the ending line!
See below for the rest of the sequences posted yesterday 🙂
Tracy
