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Hi!
>>It felt like a discombobulated mess! >>
This was NOT a discombobulated mess!! It is mostly really strong with a bit of energy loss at the end. No worries!
>>We started with extreme connection and she did fabulous.
The first few get out reps here looked great! She definitely remembered what you did last time, and you were very convincing with your connection!
The get outs on the longer sequences here also looked great! You were starting to add in a lot of praise and good girl moments, but I think that confused her: she was not sure if she should come to you or keep going. Yo can see it at :58 for example.She did well with the turn aways too! She did better on the reps where you were quieter or using directionals – and she looked at you a lot when you were praising or talking to her. This is good to know – Kashia likes info and facts, not praise LOL! So make sure you are using verbal directionals and obstacle names rather than praise.
I agree that her energy dropped off by the last few reps – part of it might have been the cold and being a little worn out from it (it takes a lot of energy to stay warm!). Especially if she didn’t want dinner – she might have been wiped out. Part of it might have been that she was bored with the setup – same darned wings, 2 days in a row LOL! So she might need different setups if you are training more than one thing – that way she sees two completely different games and it keeps things spicy and not repetitive. I don’t think she was overwhelmed or anything, and I agree that she had a LOT of really great stuff here!
Nice work :)
TracyHi! Thanks for your patience with my travel schedule – I am still in catch up mode 🙂
>>As soon as I let her off the tie, she was bouncing up and down and anxious to go! I was so pleased with that enthusiasm.>>
Yay! A little jealousy can go a long way LOL!!
>>I was a little unsure how she would react to the “get out” command since I kind of use that already. When I walk my dogs at 4am on our private road unleashed, I’ll yell ‘get out’ or ‘stay out’ if they are trying to wander on my neighbor’s acreage.>>
That is great that she figured it out! Dogs are brilliant with context: she will know what ‘get out’ means in each different scenario. We all have plenty of words or cues that might sound like something else, but the dogs know the difference (like when I say “GO!” Meaning to take a jump in extension versus “go potty” which means to potty LOL!!)
Looking at the video: This is a hard skill and she was moving really well!! When she was asking questions on your left side, I don’t think you were doing anything different than the right side. I think she was conflicted: get out to the wing, or stay with the reward near you 🙂 So to help her want to leave you for the wing, you can toss the reward to the other side pf the wing rather than feed from your hand. Even if you have to go over to where you tossed it and open up the toy to deliver the food, that will still emphasize leaving you to do the get out versus coming back to you for the reward.
She did get it sorted out on your left side by the end of the 3 sessions, which is great! You can still throw the reward to the other side of the wing to help really solidify the skill.
On your right, she was smoother and more fluid – might be her stronger side! Dogs generally do have side preferences 🙂 You can throw the reward on that side too, just to keep things balanced and predictable for her.
Great job here!!
TracyHi! I am so glad you are finding the connection useful already! It takes a long time for it to become easy for our brains 🙂 but practice will help it become easier 🙂 And yes, I think the dogs can move faster and more confidently because the info is clearer.
On all 3 of the videos here: she started turning her head away pretty much as soon as she saw the connection shift and the hands move. SUPER!! The next step here is to start that as soon as she exits the wing. You were tending to do it closer to the jump, but you will get even more distance and speed if you start it as soon as she exits the wing wrap.
>>I know my hands look like Im starting an 80’s dance as I try to shift focus but I didnt need it.>>
I think it is just fine to do it as a dance move! The more exaggerated it is, the more the dogs can see it in the heat of the moment 🙂 So keep on dancing! She read it really well.
You can also start to fade out the rear cross motion: you were moving in towards the jump a bit to support the turn, but since she is reading the hand cues and connection so well: I bet you can stay further away and get it at a distance! That will be very helpful on bigger courses, depending on what the next line is.
>>One of the videos has verbals and the other doesn’t. I found it interesting I didnt need them but I think it just helped Mira’s confidence that she was indeed correct.>>
Yes! I like verbals to support the handling – it is one more thing to help the dog out. When we are too quiet, they have less info 🙂 It is good to try without verbals sometimes to make sure the physical cues are clear, but overall the verbals are an important part.
Great job!!
TracyThese are the bigger sequences: really good job with your connections especially on that first rep especially because it was right turns!
When exiting the long distance sends to get to the BC or FC between the jumps, maintain connection a little longer as he exits the wing send so he can see the cue for the next jump. When you were not really connected (1:01 and 2:59), he didn’t take the jump – it looked to him like the BC was already starting so he came to you. Compare that to
1:34 and 3:34 where you held your connection longer, so he could see the commitment cue and took the jump. That made it easy to get the blinds 🙂 The FCs are easer here because you don’t have to disconnect at all, but the blind is a very worthwhile move too!Nice work on these!
TracyYou really added more connection on these! Yay! The first rep at :09 was the best connection so far! Super! And that made for a great send 🙂
The connection was also really good at :29 and :49 on the other side. It is still hard for him to send on the right turns so definitely plan to bring the wing in closer to pump up the value and help balance out the right turn sides. You can also get him checked by a massage person because I don’t remember him having such a strong side preference, so maybe he is tight or sore on that side?
These started with dog-o-right (left turns) which were a lot easier for him. You can still add a lot more connection on the send to the wing to help add even more distance to the send – very direct eye contact and less arm moving ahead of him will help.
Yep, we are seeing a definite side preference here: The reps to his right (:54 and the last rep) did not have the clear connection, so he turned to his left (don’t get frustrated with him, he is providing excellent info!). Making the distances shorter will help him out a lot to get the right turn side equally as good as the left turn side.
These two (1300 and 1301) were all dog-on-left (right turns) and we might be seeing a side preference manifest here! He was having a little trouble striding the slice jumps to his right and when the sending was not clear, he went and wrapped the wing to his left!
The send to the wing needed to be a bigger connection to him til he was well past you (at :58 in the first video, and :19, :37, 1:08 in the 2nd video).
So for the dog-on-left sends (where he turns right), bring the wing in a lot closer to make it easier to connect and send, and then throw the reward to the other side of the wing.
He was sending better in this next session! He was still asking questions (looking at you, slowing down) when he was going to the red jump.
When you changed sides, your first rep did indeed look like a send to he backside of the red jump 🙂 Good boy!
He seemed to have fewer questions on the other side when he was turning to his left on the yellow jump – so maybe he is a lefty? So you might not need to move the jump in closer when he sending from your right side (turning to his left) but definitely move it in closer to help pump up the value of the sends when he is sending from your left side (turning to his right).
These are sends – it is good commitment practice! He really wants you to go all the way to the jump with him 🙂
The connection and first step of your send was really good, so to improve his commitment you can bring the jump in a lot closer (10 feet away, perhaps, with an 8 inch bar) so he is more likely to commit on the first step of that send (rather than needing you to take multiple steps). And then you can throw the toy to the landing spot more easily too, as soon as he starts to look forward.
Hi!
These are the turn aways on the wing – you were using a shoulder pull/dog side hand to get them, which totally works as long as he knows it is coming. You can make the hand more visible here as you pull your shoulders away, and shift connection to your hand more to help him know it is not just going straight 🙂 And, before he arrives at the turn away wing, you can be cuing it: you were really good with that at 1:07 and 1:26! The other reps were a little later, so try to be early like you were at 1:07 and 1:26.
Nice job!
TracyHi! Thanks for your patience with my travel schedule this week!
The work on the video looked really good: She was great about following the line and not grabbing any extra outs between the wings 🙂 And her outs, when cued, were really strong!
>>Am I late with the out cue ?>>
Nope! You can’t really start that until she has exited the wing wrap, which is what you were doing here. And your connection was great! The only thing I would recommend is that you keep moving straight while you do the out rather than step and send. Most of your outs here were sends with you standing still, which might be why they felt late?
Compare to the rep at :23, where you were moving the whole time and it was great! Yay! That should make it feel even smoother.
Nice work here!
TracyHi! These looked really good! It was a little hard to see if your were looking down at your hands, so keep exaggerating it. But you can see how well she responded to turning away even when you didn’t fully run a rear cross line.
One the you’ll find is that you don’t need to move your hands that fast to cue the turn away. It is actually a little easier if we move our hands slowly.
>>keep moving across her line after she takes the jump and flips away?>>
That will depend on what is next on course – yes, you can do a rear cross and move across her line but you might not need to – you can also flip her away and mov directly to your next spot without cutting across her line 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi there!!!
The connection on the lines is looking strong on most of the reps here! A little blooper here and there 🙂 But the vast majority is REALLY great connection.>>I don’t know what to do about him jumping up and grabbing at my hands and arms. He ended up breaking my skin today because I didn’t move my arm away fast enough.>>
Thanks for leaving that in – it helps us problem solve!
>>I think he is grabbing thinking I have food in my hands.
Based on what I see here, I don’t think it is a food issue. It looks more like a frustration issue when there is lack of clarity on a line up or a release (and possibly when you disconnect in a sequence too, but you were quick to reward here when that happened so he did not jump up). More on the frustration below:
>A couple of weeks ago,I started rehearsing the different reward markers with him– hasn’t made a difference yet.>>
Reward markers are great! Highly recommend! But I can see why they aren’t helping yet: the frustration has nothing to do with not knowing where the reward is. It is more about him not being sure how to start or seeing the connection at the start, so he gets frustration very quickly (and it leads to errors on the sequence, which can be frustrating too).
First 2 reps looked good (forget about the tainted cheese moment LOL!)! Smooth and connected!
I think he got frustrated at :12 and was jumping up at you when there was no clear line up followed by no clear connection on the sending. He likes clarity! And if he jumps up – rather than just re-send him, line him up and get very connected before the next rep.
The rest of that rep was very connected!
The other side seemed to have clear line ups and no jumping up – the connection and sequences looked great! Click/treat for you both!!!
You got more jumping up when the line up and transition into the sequence was unclear (:37-:52).
Telling him no just seemed to get more frustration (and I am sure your were frustrated too!)
Then when there was no clear connection on the release :58 – he jumped up.
Compare to the connection on the release at 1:20 – nice sequence! And also note when you connected at 1:27 he focused ahead on the jump! Yay!
You can be more connected on the sends to the wing at 1:31 and 1:39 – you are pointing forward so he was unsure. He did a great job committing to the wing!
Gorgeous connection at 1:41!!
So returning to the question of jumping up: your teenage boy likes CLARITY and currently has a low frustration tolerance (as most teenagers do, he is normal). So help him out by always always showing a clear line up and clear connection on the send. I think part of what was happening was he was waiting patiently while you sorted out what you wanted to do then things got unclear when you wanted him to start. Something you can add is a mat or Klimb or something that he can hang out on between reps, get rewards, and then you can call him into the line up for the next rep. That can help make things very clear and should help get rid of the jumping up.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyThanks for your patience with my travel schedule! I am just about home now.
The videos look great – for such a small dog, she can send for miles! Yay!! That means you have built up great commitment value AND your connections were clear on the send. Super!!!!!
Super nice connection on the sends on the first 2 videos. So clear! She sent very easily. The first video was perfect. On the 2nd video, she might have felt a little backside pressure based on how you stepped in a lot on the send towards the center of the jump bar? And she did go to the backside on one rep, so on the following rep you still had a good send but it was more clearly to the front side, so she got it.
She had a little trouble finding jump 2, I think it was a shoulder turn question. When you turned your shoulders like a 180 or post turn on the 2nd jump? She got it with no questions.
Adding the sequences: These went well too! The only thing to consider here is the send to the wing might not need the outside arm and probably doesn’t need as much motion towards it. You can connect and send with the dog side arm like you did on the first 2 videos – decelerating by the jump and doing the big send to the wing with the big connection and dog side arm. That will make it even easier to get to the BCs between the 2 jumps.
Speaking of the BCs – you are more comfy doing your BCs from left to right arm because your timing is much better on those! You were very timely, basically finished and reconnected before she took off (for example on the last video at :18).
When you went right to left on the blinds, you were later with the blinds, just starting it as she took off (like on video 4 when she went to th backside of the next jump, and on the last video at 1:08)So keep up the good timing on the left-to-right blinds and try to be sooner on the right-to-left blinds: when you see her about halfway to the jump, start the blind 🙂
Great job here!!
TracyHi! Thanks for your patience with my travel schedule – driving is a PAIN!!!!
>>This did not go particularly well. The turn away got the wrong turn a lot.>>
I read your note before looking at the video and I was concerned that it was going to be chaos LOL!! Actually, it went really well… it is a WICKED setup of very challenging stuff. You made great adjustments and ended up doing super well!!
>>Too hot for Jan though.>>
It did seem like she was hot!
>>I broke the two failure rule.>>
It looks liked you were making adjustments to try to help her out and get things clearer, and she was still rewarded a lot – so unless you edited out a lot of errors, I think it was fine!
>>Post turns are not our thing and she kept kicking out so wide that she was on a huge right lead.>>
I think what happened there was after the first rep or two of the get out, she was all in GET OUT MODE (it is probably fun for the dogs :)) So yes, it took her a moment to process the cue to NOT get out and the turns were a little wider… but got better and better as the session went on.
Part of the goal is that we get the dogs to be reading and processing info, so some delays (and wide turns) are to be expected. Plus it is a good handler challenge to still time and execute the next cue even if she was wide. You really made strong adjustments!!
She was surprised by the first get out cue, maybe because she was in wrap tight mode. You helped her and made it more obvious: super!
Then she was in get out out mode – so each time you switch to a different cue, you can make the cues big and obvious – if you are too subtle she might not read them. Using a verbal on the wing wrap helped her to come back into wrap mode really nicely!
Same with the RC/tandems: you were a little subtle and a little late at 1:26, so she stayed on her line to the right.
Compare that to 1:36 where you wee SO OBVIOUS (practically using her middle name haha) and it looked great.
You kept the big obvious cues going a you did the sequences too, and those were very successful even though they are hard. Don’t worry about any wideness from the get out jump to the backside of the jump before the FC – it is a weird angle in the course design, so you can blame me for that 🙂
The only place to add more connection is the exit line connection of the FC when you are doing the backside – you were looking forward to the wing before she found the new side, so on some of the reps she was a little wide behind you. At 1:55, she didn’t see the new line that well after the FC so had not had a look at the wing when you did the send and ended up coming to you as you tried the FC.
The rest of the connection was looking really good!!! Nice work here! Fingers crossed for more good weather ahead!
Tracy
