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Hi!
The Go reps look good! And so do the RCs. That first RC is a left not a right, you caught yourself after the fact LOL But good RC line so she read it anyway on the RCs.For the backside wrap:
Throwing the toy to landing was good – she was getting to the correct side of the jump but then was not sure what to do with herself. As you move forward past the wing, you can help her by looking back to the landing spot and throwing the toy there. You hung out on the landing side longer on the last rep (3:20) but you will want to keep moving through and throwing the reward to the landing side so she doesn’t rely on your being there.
>I added the barrel for a reminder for the back side wrap. I don’t even remember training it in level 1>
Having the barrel in for a couple of reps is fine, I am not sure it helped more than the reward placement on the landing side but either way you got some good reps in. Now… fade it out asap 🙂 because it can get caught a a lure/aid for jumping form that is hard to fade if you leave it there too long.
Nice work here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>I cheated a little and had the favorite toy as the one I threw lol but he seemed to get it pretty well!>
Ha! That is not cheating, that was smart training. Otherwise, he might have just locked onto the toy on the ground.
The session went really well! He was not even looking at the toy on the ground on the first balance rep where you went straight: awesome!!! He looked at it a little on the 2nd go rep but that was mainly because your toy throw was a little late and he was not sure where to look.And by comparing the go line with the RC (like the last rep), it looks like he is truly reading the RC line! That last rep was a really strong rear cross and it was created by him following handling, not by the toy on the ground. Super!!!
You can start playing with all of the wind in your hair skills in one session: go, rear crosses, FC wraps, backside wraps. That will keep both of you really locked into the handling cues.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning! Was this her first session? I thought it went great! It is a pretty weird/hard skill and she was happy to go do it.
You can give her a bigger visual on the jump to lock onto – I think the low jump bar might have visually gotten a little lost with all the other stuff there plus your motion. A big jump bump will pop more visually, so she can probably find it more easily.
When she was running past it on your left side, I think it was because you were going fast so she was going fast, and the visual of the dog walk might have drawn her past it a little.
Since we don’t want to move the dog walk and we don’t want to add extra handling, you can send to the start wing from further away on that side and do a slow jog rather than run up the line.
Also, rather than a go verbal (which she might be interpreting very literally as go straight even if there is no obstacle :)) you can use a jump verbal and see if that makes more sense to her.
She did great on the other side, there was only one drift in between the jump and the tunnel in the video (:51). She might have come off the line as you started looking forward and getting ready to throw the toy. The other reps were strong!
Overall, this went really well so for the next session, do a quick warm up like this then open up the tunnel to add that visual and add the advanced level.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning! She is definitely getting the idea here!
>She tends to jump at me a lot while she turns away. >
One small suggestion that I think will really help: as you move your arm back to start the turn away cue, let your eyes follow your hand as it moves, rather than look at her. That will draw her focus down to your hand as your hand leads her through the turn, which also turns your shoulders to the line. When you look at her, it keeps your shoulders straight so there is less info on the turn cue for her to follow.
>less motion from me. >
Yes, that is the other thing that will help – as you decelerated more during this session on the video, she got better and better. The arm and leg movement should be relatively slow for now because going too fast or trying to do a quick hand flick doesn’t give her time to process the cue. She followed the cue really well with the hand movement going slow and low 🙂
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
He did really well with the flatwork rear crosses! He is getting the idea and that is also helping with the RCs on the jump.
>He has a really hard time working when he knows the toy is on the ground somewhere else.>
Yes, the toy on the ground is hard but it really helped him direct his focus to the line you wanted. Super! You might have to put it a little further from the wing, it looks like he turned really well on the last rep but plastered the wing trying to get to the toy.
It looks like he had trouble going to the start wrap with the toy on the ground, so you can exaggerate the cue by using a big step to it (and you can be closer to it) so he goes to it (even with the toy on the ground on his mind :))
With the toy on the ground:
You can add in balance reps: Have a 2nd toy in your hand or pocket. And, even though the toy on the ground is on the RC line, you can cue him to go straight. That should take him past the toy – it will be hard! But he is a smarty and can do it. Then when he goes straight, you can give him a toy from your hand or pocket.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Jumping went really well! I think a lot of the dogs are having trouble really opening up on that footing – adding strides and dropping their heads sometimes. I see it on the other videos and saw her do it a little here too in a couple of spots, so be careful of running her too much on the mats if she has to adjust her striding.
>I didn’t intend the extra jump after the first tunnel but misjudged how she would carry out that far (yay Girlie!) >
She is driving out of tunnels really well, so give her clear info for a turn if you want one, while she is still 6 feet away from going into the tunnel. I think there was an unintended jump after a tunnel towards the end too – so you can stay closer to visibly set the line too.
>Faster after her food box snack but not sure how much was the food and how much was chasing me into the next line without needing to sit for a leadout.>>
Could have been the food but also she does love to chase you!
Congrats on your first Q! Yay!
>Had a short debate about sitting on the startline but it worked out. >
She sat as soon as you asked, even though it was not exactly facing the jump LOL!! But it was good to just lead out rather than mess with it, and she did great.
>Hard to tell in the video but I think the turn to the left when I was cueing her check check for a wrap right had to do with how I was decelerating and perhaps pushing slightly on her line so she read it as a RC. >
Ye, could have been that – from the angle of the video, it didn’t look like you were pushing in but also it is a tight line there so maybe your cross put you on the RC line? Either way, you were connected and helped her, so it worked out well 🙂
>So proud of her completely ignoring the leash runner moving at the end as we ran to our leash.>
Yes! She was all business, ignoring all the people. Super!
Sunday SS:
>Stefanie wanted the next dog in the ring early so I carried her in. Then the CKCS handler ran out of the steam at the end and took a while to get her and her dog over to the leash so we were waiting for a bit. I don’t have carrying her in down for our routine so I forgot to give her some time to shake if she wanted to>
It was definitely an unexpected wait…. but she was on fire in this run! Fast and sassy but also really listening!!!
>then completely didn’t cue the right turn out of the tunnel until after she exited driving to the finish jump. (whoops!)>
Yeah… oops. LOL!!! It is great that she is driving out of tunnels on a line, so adding more turn cues will help. I think sarting with a stay would have helped here, so you could set up a turn cue. But it is fine to get the E so you don’t have to move up out of Novice SS any time soon. Novice is fun!
NFC Jumping – you really do a great job of staying calm during the transitions in and out of the food box, and into the next sequence. So many people feel rushed (myself included) but you were calm, cool, & collected so you accomplished your goal of 2 fast and fun sequences. She did great!
>While she was happy about running, I felt like she was hitting the end of her rope brain-wise (me too) so we scratched Snooker.>
That is always good – a tiredness creeping in? Better to just scratch 🙂
>I think I need to experiment with unclasping her martingale slip lead instead of taking it off over her head. I am wondering if she would prefer that and be more inclined to line up faster with it not messing up her ear fur.>
Possibly! It is nice when the leash just drops away rather than go over the head! Definitely something to experiment with and see how she feels.
> I haven’t been unclasping it because I have to then reclasp it so it’s ready for the end of the run and the reclasping can take my attention off her a split second, but maybe I should unclasp it, let her shake/move around, cue a spin and clasp it as she’s occupied with the spin. Or something like that.>
Yes – you can re-clasp it right after you take it off, as you are talking to her or cueing the spin. Or, you can re-clasp it at the end as you pick it up, that will only take a second or two and I don’t think it will be a problem for her.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Well, we are really getting there! >
Hooray! She is doing really well!!
Looking at the first video:
>The second run was Standard. Which is the first video. It was a good video to contemplate with before the next day. Though she did Q, I know I really messed her up. Stopping, instead of letting her go, she also stopped, back jumped, so OC. >
Yes, that stop is where she had some questions. But you were moving well on the rest and that huge straight ending line was GREAT!!! Most dogs would have curled in off the line and she kept going really well. She also ignored all the ring crew and the judge!
>Friday, Jumpers, was a rather disconnected run with lots of ring crew visiting. She did get through the whole course, but way over time. >
If you have video, check to see if you were stopping a lot on this run, or if you were staying in motion. For now, staying in motion is more important than running the course perfectly, so if she passes something no worries: keep going.
>I took an ibuprofen, got some sleep, changed shoes the next day to my Saguaros (yeah, who knows… maybe it helped).>
Ibuprofen, sleep, and good shoes are 3 of my top 4 go-to fixes in dog sports! Caffeine is #4 LOL!!! And don’t underestimate the power of good shoes – our brains keep our bodies moving better when we trust the footing more.
>Her next run, our last of the day, Standard. She did not Q, but it was a fun run for us both. Just as our class started the sky got black, the wind was whipping, and radar showed a serious thunderstorm on the way. We were the last one. It was thundering as we went in. I knew we need to pick up the pace! >
OMG! You can hear the weather whipping around on the video! Eek!
>The first OC, I really thought was kind of a tunnel trap for a novice (L1) class. I was supposed to be the dw, jump, jump. I didn’t care that she took the tunnel in front of her. In her mind, the right thing to do. Good girl. I did, however, give her a, “choochoochoo”, hoping she’d come into the jump. >
Yes, that was definitely a tunnel trap! A brake arm helps with those types of turns: along with the choochoochoo verbal, use both arms to cue the jump. That will get her turned and not in the tunnel.
And for the spots where she missed the line after a tunnel – that was a connection question. You were looking forward and pointing forward, which pulled her in off the line. Ideally, you would be look directly at her as she exits the tunnel because that will turn your shoulders to the line you want.
>We will be going back to the same site in a couple weeks. Since her confidence level grew all weekend, good to return to the site. We do trial there a lot. >That is great! Looks like Sugarbush? I always loved trialing there when I lived in New York.
>Also, while waiting we did lots of pattern games, and some tricks. All happily. She does get excited watching the dogs before her, which bodes well. >
Overall on the videos, I thought that she looked a lot more relaxed and comfortable in the environment, which contributed to all of the success. Super!! Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
It is really good to see all of these! Her stays look fabulous! And her listening was also fabulous! She was not freestyling or making stuff up – it looks like she was doing her best to follow handling. Just be sure to be connected on the releases from the start line or a reset stay – when you were not connected, she did not take the jump.
Watching all of these on a bigger screen gave me a chance to count strides, especially on the big long lines on these courses. Based on her size, the jump height, and her speed, she should be doing 1 stride on the straighter lines – 2 hits of the front feet between jumps. But she is mostly doing 2 strides in between jumps (3 hits of the front feet). I think I saw two moments of one stride which seemed to get her off balance and she aborted a line right after that each time. And the 2 strides are tiny, careful-looking strides, with a lowered head and the 2nd stride being a short chip stride right before the jump.
And it appeared that the handling and her response was putting her right on the line to the jump and she looked at it… but if she didn’t have time to drop her head and fit the striding in (2 strides or 3 strides on the harder lines, with the tiny stride right before the jump) then she would have to go around the jump.
The wrapped feet on Sunday didn’t seem to make a difference – either the wraps need to cover her feet for more grip, or she doesn’t trust the footing at all so she kept being careful.
>Like we discussed, I’ll set up a similarly spaced circle in the yard on grass to see what we get.
>Yes – definitely set this up as close to the same distances as you can, on grass. We can compare the striding and get a better idea of how to help her out. I really feel that she is 1000% trying but having a struggle we need to figure out!
Nice job helping her out here with lots of reward. Keep me posted on how she does outdoors!
Tracy
Hi! This went really well!!!
>she definitely prefers left over right. She found the lefthand serps easier too. On the right turns I think it was only the toy lure that sent her right.>
Yes, I see what you mean – the left turns seemed easier for her without as much help from the toy throw. You had a nice line of motion forward to the jump while showing RC info for the left turn (and nice straight line balance). You were a little early at :57 🙂 You cut behind her when she was a stride or two past the wing so he turned. The other reps (like at 1:09) had the running forward to the center of the bar and the RCs looked great.
The right turn RCs can probably come a little sooner, in the form of getting closer to her and running forward to the center of the bar sooner to add a little more RC pressure. She did get all of the turns the correct direction, but they happened later than the left turn and yes, the toy helped 🙂 But she was processing the info because if you were really late or she was not getting it, she would still turn the other way even with a good toy throw 🙂
>I can also see the session went a bit long (6 minutes all up) – the latency in her wraps and the sniffing are giveaways.>
Yes – 6 minutes might not seem like a long time for a dog like Maisy because the big dogs don’t have to take as many strides and the length of the grass is not relevant at all. For tiny Grace, she has to take a lot of sprinting strides to play this game and even in short grass, the grass is close to her wrists which adds an extra challenge of getting through it. You can try breaking the session in half by setting a timer for 3 minutes then take a long break, then another 3 minutes. I think her brain was fine to do more, but her body was tired 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
He did great here! I think it was harder than it looked – the expression on his face was so funny and then after the first rear cross, he needed a short runabout to reset himself LOL!!! But he did really well with the RCs – since he is getting the idea of this game, you can add getting even closer to him by moving right to his side and next to his shoulder before releasing.
>I only have one set of wings here but I can use a cone? >
Absolutely! Yo can use a cone as the start wrap and then wings on the jump, or a wing for the start wrap and put a wing on the side of the jump he is turning towards.
>Or I’ll have a lot more equipment when I get back to Alabama in a couple days!>
Fun!! Safe travels!!!
Tracy
Good morning! Sounds like another good day! He had a lot of brilliant moments that we can really build on!
>Unfortunately, I didn’t do as well at sticking to short runs>
Yes, when the courses look do-able, it is hard to resist sometimes. But it is in the best interest of the dog to be careful early in their career, so I literally write “Don’t Be Greedy” on my hand LOL!!!
Also, remember to keep moving and don’t fix things at this stage – in Gamblers, you set up the tire and the first obstacle and he did what he did in class… went through the frame then he started sniffing when you stopped. Since it was a known issue, you can start on a different obstacle or don’t stop and fix (he started sniffing when you stop to fix it, and we want to build a lot more confidence before you start fixing things in the trial ring).
When you kept things moving in the middle of the run – he was great! Then when you were trying to fix something towards the end, right before the gamble buzzer, note how he started to get concerned and lose focus. So definitely write “no fixing” on your hand 🙂
So if he runs past something or something goes wrong… keep going, don’t stop to try to fix the course. The most important thing right now is flowing fun lines.
>We used the time to do a couple little on/off leash play sessions and he got up to letting me take the leash off at the practice jump to wrap the jump and get a cookie.>
Great! Keep building up that skill at home and class too, so he is getting rewards the instant the leash comes off (or after a couple of seconds of offering engagement with you) to really pump up the skill. You can see he is getting better at it, like at the beginning of the novice run when you asked for the stay first and he held it even when yo took the leash off. For the leash off/engagement on game, don’t ask for the stay first, just take it off and reward offered engagement.
>Second run of the day, I decided to take a shot at seeing how he felt about the aframe and if he offered to weave. >
The other thing to write on your hand to remember is ‘Don’t test’. What I mean by that is don’t ask for hard behaviors that he might not do. The environment is the test here, so keep behaviors super simple. Trying to get the weaves and bringing him back to try again caused the engagement and focus to dissipate – he went around jumps and headed for the exit. He did come back and finish, but we don’t want him to feel the need to leave. A major goal is to make all the runs flowing and fun so he doesn’t lose focus.
>I pushed too far on this one although he nearly got the weaves and only skipped the frame.>
This is another good one to write “don’t fix” and “don’t get” on your hands 🙂 When he went around a jump (heading for the exit, possibly, he needs more practice passing the exit and heading back into the course) – just keep going and handling, rather than stop and fix. He tolerated that fix but slowed down then had a struggle at the weaves – he slowed down and missed the frame.
>We have another ASCA trial in 2 weeks, indoors with a/c and turf. I plan to approach the trial similar to this weekend depending on how he responds to the environment.>
I suggest a different approach 🙂 Don’t ask for weaves at all, he does not seem ready for them in the trial environment. You will need a lot of self-control to skip them, so you should probably not enter classes that have weaves. We don’t want him to build up a high failure rate in the weaves at a trial, because that opens up a lot of stress at the weaves in trials. When he is running with speed and engagement and is very relaxed at a trial? You can ask him for weaves at one trial and when he does them, end the run and immediately run out to get cookies into him.
The other approach is to stick with the ‘don’t fix, don’t test’ mindset. At this very early stage of his career, the overriding goal is happy speedy Ven in the ring. We are seeing that when you don’t fix and don’t test 🙂 So keep on with the don’t fix/don’t test with short fast fun courses. The other stuff gets added in when he is really comfy in the environment, which will take a few trials (and that is totally normal). The turf might be easier for him or it might be harder, but either way – stick with the very strict don’t fix, don’t test rule and I am sure he will do really well!
Nice work here! Keep me posted!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I took advantage of a great bark training moment tonight as our nearest neighbors were having a party and even though they are not that close the dogs had to call it out several times tonight. So brought the treat bowl out and every time someone barked I was quick to add the cue and throw a treat. Reacher was gently woofing on command by the end of the session. I’m sure we’ll need to keep working it but it was cool to take advantage of an otherwise-annoying situation!>
That is great!!! And again, apologies in advance for the extra barking he will be offering in daily life LOL!
>He was running in extension with his front end but seemed tight in the hind end, not powering as much.>> This is quite interesting! I will start to watch for this now…the difference between what the hind and front are doing, I mean. I hope it was him just him thinking hard!>
It might have been him thinking hard and also, it might have been the footing. He does not want to slip or fall, so he might be regulating his speed on footing that is not great – between the hard challenges and the footing, he was being careful (side note, my dogs would do the same thing on mats so I don’t run them on mats). I see it on most of the videos of dogs running on mats (the restricted movement).
>The good news is I have a great instructor and helpful classmates, so we can set some things up.>
Perfect! Keep gently and gradually adding trial distractions while keeping it super reinforcing!
>Yes, the amount of things one could do to try to track this down is crazy-making. >
Yep, I have done it, and the dogs keep silent about it unfortunately. Over the years, the hunt for answers about underlying issues has indeed turned something up about 90% of the time. That is an astounding number!
>But I think I’ll start with chiro and bodywork since he does need that anyway and then go to the vet if that doesn’t seem to help. >
If he has any ‘regular’ vet appointments due, you can ask for some of the tests that would also be part of the regular care routine (like TBD testing and joint manipulation).
>I will also do some testing on this at home and make some comparisons to when we are at class/trials to see if I can detect any more patterns in this.>
Sounds good! Video all the things!
>And he’s never been a bit people person but would be interested and brave if anyone was crinkling a bag of snacks anywhere within 15 feet! 🙂 >
When you say he’d be brave for snacks (this is relatable LOL) do you think he might normally have some concerns about people?
>I have wondered if perhaps I’m too mellow to get dogs fired up, but since I had Tina (the ultimate party girl) and Ronin, the Party Boy, I think maybe it’s not so much me as I never quelled their enthusiasm! Ha!>
Nope, you are not too mellow, you are a party!
>I may try the food box again at the next trial we have in May. The first time didn’t go well but I’ll think more about how to take advantage of that. >
Do I recall correctly that he thought it was weird? The food box is definitely something to practice because it can be super useful (and your area uses it a lot more than anywhere else, which is really nice :))
>I think I need to slow my roll on bridging the toy/food gap and take more time with that so I can be confident that he understands.>
Time is our friend! You can keep teaching the skill (it is like teaching weaves, just another skill in the toolbox) and use it here and there depending on the course.
>And also, after reading your thoughts and analyzing more about this I need to think of Reacher’s training differently in that if I’m not seeing the drive I want now that doesn’t mean it will never show up.>
BINGO!!!! I have seen a lot of dogs (males in particular) come out in their early career at a nice speed but not yet blazing. And as long as we humans don’t put too much pressure on the dog and keep things fun and rewarding… the speed turns on after they get some experience and they grow up a little.
My Voodoo is a great example of this. When he was 18 months/2 years old ish (he is 12 now so I don’t remember the exact age), he was a lovely medium speed and I thought I would finally have a dog that was easy to run (not insanely fast) so I could Q a lot! Early in his career, he ran clean a lot, and was on a lot of winning USDAA DAM teams because he would never go off course and maybe get a refusal here or there if I didn’t run fast enough. It was lovely sorta, but also I was like “hmmm, he is kind of slow”
But when he was about 2.5 or 3, after about a year of trialing here and there, a switch flipped. He said I GOT THIS NOW and turned out to be one of the fastest dogs I’ve ever run. In his prime, he was one of the fastest dogs in the country and could win a 20” class by 2 seconds if I could run him clean. That was not happening all that often (running clean) LOL!!!
Same thing happened with my small dog, Elektra – kinda slow and thoughtful and somewhat concerned until she got some good experience under her belt, now she is plenty fast!
So I think Reacher is similar to them: he is going to think his way through the puzzle at this stage and we are going to keep making it fun fun fun. Then at some point the switch will flip then you will have to run a lot faster LOL
> It’s just not happening how I thought it would when he was younger and seeing different things. This is all just learning and growing at HIS PACE. >
Exactly – the baby dog games are much easier and with far fewer challenges/ distractions. Plus the dogs have to get through adolescence which really doesn’t finish til they are 3 or later.
>Reminding myself that that this is all about LEARNING, not PERFORMING, at this point (and probably forever) takes a lot of the anxiety out of how it’s going and worrying that I’m breaking my dog somehow or that he doesn’t like this. >
I think the dogs are always learning in dog sports – the performing part is what we humans do. So I like the way you framed this and yes, it should reduce anxiety by thinking of it as a learning process rather than feeling the pressure of performance.
>There is freedom in the learning which gives the license to experiment, fail, try again, etc. >
Yes, on the human side of things – but the dog sides of things should limit failure to scenarios where reinforcement is available right there and almost no failure in the competition scenario.
>Structure in this is still needed, but if I tap more into that learning mindset more it will open up more ideas for me after our class ends and I don’t have your expert guidance all week! >
The learning mindset is powerful!! And of course after this class officially ends you can always send me Facebook messages about how he is doing 🙂
>Ironically, this year my “word of the year” for myself is LEARN. I picked it because of the freedom it gives, I knew that it’s in approaching life this way, that I would find my center, my real joys, my true mission, my true direction. >
I love this! And since you are a science-lover like me, I am sure you know that learning all has a significant about of friction and even pain. That is the way it works, neurobiologically: we knows that learning encodes when dopamine releases but also part of that cycle is the re-uptake of the dopamine. That literally causes a level of pain! And that is what motivates us to move to find answers and get that dopamine release again (which then causes pain when it balances back). The dopamine learning cycle is like a pleasure-pain seesaw. So if you are feeling friction and pain… that is good because you are motivated and you are learning.
>I would be less afraid to try things in my job, and in building this new business I’m working on. I’d be more assertive. I wouldn’t worry as much about the outcome. I’d be a focused hunter when it comes to seeking opportunities, because the idea of it just being “learning” makes me feel more open and free. >
This is great! And it provides a wonderful framework for putting both success and failure into perspective to grow from.
>So for agility, re-focusing on the learning means that we will still have progress even if the training and experiments within it do not always have the outcome I am looking for. I’m going to work on this mindset shift applied as much to dog training as it I do in other areas.>
Awesome!!! And in agility, I think the sport involves learning all the way until the dog retires. We start training when they are puppies and there is really never a time in agility when they are “finished” training and we can just run them. Nope, we train all the way through the high masters level and keep training (classes, seminars, etc) until they are 6, 7, 8 years old or more. It is super complicated and ever-evolving… so much to learn!
Because of the complexity, I recommend a balance sport which is a bit of what I affectionately call “mindless fun”. This doesn’t require a ton of training and at some point the dog is considered “trained” so you can just go to events and run the dog.
For me, this is flyball – my adult dogs don’t train for it, I just keep them in good shape and they get to run at events. For other folks, it is nose work sports or barn hunt or dock or something similar. I want to try nose work because the science of how it helps the dogs in overall life is really cool! So you might want to consider a balance sport – yes, there is less time to train agility but that is fine because cross training is great for the dogs.
>Sorry for a bit of a weird brainstorm!>
I think it is great! Keep it coming!
Tracy
Good morning! He did so much better here!! Yay! He is definitely getting more and more used to the trial environment and to the other people in the ring. Big happy dance!!!!
>Venture’s entire line does the pacing thing when they are happy and relaxed. His sire, great grand sire, aunt (my dog Temper) all do it.>
Ah! That is good to know! Be sure to keep him moving fast enough so he spends most of his time at a trot during those in-between moments and during his active warm up before his runs.
The runs went best when you stayed in motion, and when the lines you chose went towards the area of the ring where he didn’t have a ton of visual distractions (like people, other dogs, etc). That was when he was running really well!
He did have some distraction moments and scooted away to the distraction or passed obstacles. When he leaves, you should starting running the other way and keep handling like you are handling a different dog on the course (complete with verbals and praise for your invisible dog). This will be more effective in getting him to come back than being stationary and calling him – it basically says to the dog that the opportunity to earn reinforcement continues with you, wherever you are moving… and it doesn’t stop to wait for him if he moves away. It is also more exciting to chase you and that can really help overcome the distraction challenges at the trial!
I like how you built up the amount of obstacles you asked him to run here – make it a goal to always leave and get the reward before you think you want to leave. So if you plan 8 obstacles… end the run at 6 obstacles 🙂 Short and sweet will really help built it all up 🙂 And don’t stop and fix anything – like when he went past the dog walk (the turn cue to it on that opening line was late, so he dropped the bar on 2 and didn’t make the turn in time) just keep going as if he was on the dog walk then cue the next line. Stopping to bring him back to do something opens up distraction possibility. When you keep going, he gets himself back on the line with focus. Yay!
The other thing to add to the tool box is the leash off, engagement on game. Right now, if you take the leash off without holding him or carrying him, he doesn’t know how to offer engagement. You will want to be able to take the leash off and trust he will stick with you, and that builds into lineups and stays, so pumping up the value for leash off/engagement on is the gateway to all of that.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
>But somehow, the older much more polite Reacher, made do with indignant looks. 😂 >
Ha! Maturity is a pain, sometimes we like it when they are wild teenagers LOL
>I have been practicing bark training moments and I think he’s starting to catch on slowly. I think we’ll get there eventually. I even had him barking a bit at the trial when there were some exciting moments where he woofed and we were not distracting any other dogs. I’ll keep working on it.>
Yay!!! And I am sure you are not distracting other dogs.
Seminar video –
>And on the other hand I think short sequences isn’t really what we need right now – I need long lines to get him to zoom!>
It did seem like he was just getting rolling then the sequence was finished LOL
>Here are a few highlights from the seminar. I still see no reason why he does not desire to open up more.>
I didn’t see what I would call a lack of confidence –
he probably had some questions about passing all the off course jumps and doing the discriminations (jump versus tunnel versus weaves, that can make dogs very ‘thinky’). He was running in extension with his front end but seemed tight in the hind end, not powering as much.
>He DID seem to like that game (um, prey drive is there at least).>
Yes! He totally loves the chase-n-kill 🙂 You can also bounce it around like a rabbit hopping.
>“I must leave mom and go check out that tunnel. Oh, there’s that interesting other person again, I guess I could run with you.”>
He might have been a bit like “oh, this same sequence again… what else is out there”
Onwards to the trial:
>Run 1 was Beginner Agility and the first thing that happened was on the dog walk at about :08 he glances at the judge who is waving her arm and saying to start the timer. I am hoping that’s why he was just trotting down the dog walk plank >
Yes – that was WEIRD to have a human stationary and facing him and with an arm waving. I was distracted by it (I didn’t even look at what he did, I was too busy watching her) so definitely chalk up his question to the weird presence of a stranger.
>and still hits a perfect contact with no aids. I’m happy with that in that 1) he didn’t freak out at the judge waving her arm 2) got a nice contact hit first time in competition and no aids. I do want him to blast down the plank in the future, but we’ll work on that this summer.>
I agree that he did well and still hit criteria even with weird things happening! We will chalk up him being more careful to the judge being in a weird place and the DW being right up against the wall where there were a ton of people. That is also a new experience for him, especially without the visual aid of the RDW aid!
Wow, you can really see the distraction level on the other angle on the RDW. That was A LOT – I didn’t watch him at all the first time I watched it, my eyes were immediately drawn to everything else happening!
>Then inexplicably until I watched the video, he jumps off the teeter. I think he’s only jumped off the teeter one other time ever, and it was the first time he’d tried that one. This one he trains on every week so THAT WAS WEIRD. But I really think he had a “holy crap” moment when he got up there and realized there was a bar setter RIGHT THERE. She was pretty close.>
It might have felt weird in the moment… but hooray for video because yes, there was a bar setting right there. Super close! He was probably like WTF. LOL!! So on the list for class is gradually adding more people to the ring so this stuff isn’t as surprising in the future. He trains on that teeter… but the context was very very very different so the teeter was actually brand new to him. He couldn’t quite process it (bandwidth probably still being devoted to the judge and DW) so he just came off and went to you. Good boy!
>Then I tried to regroup and get the weaves, but he couldn’t do them. Granted, they were kind of going into a wall and he maybe was thinking about the teeter thing and just couldn’t finish after getting about 3/4 of the way through.>
He (and you!) were probably still thinking about the teeter.
>We kept going and he was pretty slow throughout the rest, which included me doing a front cross way too early and him pulling off. I’m having flashbacks of the Speedy Jumpers seminar last month where I did the same thing. Definitely something to work on!>
He was back into extension, actually! You were disconnected so the timing of the FC got off and ended up pulling him off the jump. But he got back to running which was great!
I am not sure how much this footing is comfortable for him as compared to turf so you might feel the difference in speed: on mats, I feel like a freakin’ track star because I can out run the dogs 🙂 because they can’t grip as well as I can. On turf, grass, or dirt they remind me that no, I am NOT a track star – they can grip better and run faster.
>He wasn’t too slow right off the start, but not great, then he slowed down and DEFINITELY could not weave.>
Yes, you could have switched plans to bring the toy in but he started off well – watch his ears on the start line though. He was attending to you and then his ears swiveled back, processing something behind him. I think part of the slight reduction in speed was the fishbowl intensity of distractions.
>So, not a great day, but certainly made notes on things to practice. >
I totally understand the frustration feelings!!! I think the main takeaway is that he needs to see more of the ‘normal’ agility trial distractions like ring crew being *rightthere* and the judge doing weird things (with a RDW, he will need to get used to a judge running alongside to judge it, for example).
>Overall I just still wish I could figure out which button would turn on the motivation and confidence he needs to have fun at this game. It has to be ME. >
I don’t think it is anything more than gradually and systematically exposing him to the weird things he will encounter. When he is processing weirdness, he can’t go as fast. So definitely enlist classmates to be ring crew and use a ton of food/toy rewards for going past them (he passes a ring crew or judge person and gets rewarded with a meatball on the next obstacle, for example. That will totally help him be able to fly through the courses because he can devote all his bandwidth to agility… right now his brain is devoting bandwidth to the judge waving her arm, for example, or the person right near the teeter, or why are the weaves so close to the wall with all the stuff up on the wall there. That is pretty normal and 99% of dogs need to learn how to cope with that.
>but something just doesn’t seem like it’s adding up. And then today I notice he did seem a bit more nice sensitive than I’ve ever seen him before. Like a lot more startles at things. >
If your gut is telling you that you are feeling a bit too much mellowness at home and an increase in noise sensitivity (I am guessing you mean noise and not nice haha) – coupled with difficulty weaving, plus at the trial he was not fully extending his front end (opposite of what I saw on the seminar video) – then it is time to investigate for underlying issues. Pain or illness can show up with the only symptom being an increase in noise sensitivity. One of my boys had a UTI and was being doing some odd things like jumping off the teeter… the only real symptom was an increase in noise sensitivity. The vet found the UTI and when he felt better, he was back to normal. So I look for all the things that can cause noise sensitivity: soft tissue pain, UTI, thyroid issues (not as likely at this age but ya never know), tick issues, low B12 or folate, joint issues (the source of Hot Sauce’s noise sensitivity was a luxating patella), Addisons, etc. Blood work and X-rays and body work oh my! If nothing else, all of it becomes a baseline for his career and you rule out anything underlying that can be holding back the training.
>I think that was good environmental practice, but if you think that was too much after having two runs in the day let me know.>
Hanging out eating snacks was probably a happy end to the weekend!
> I did see him wag his tail once at least. He was stone still but got a wiff of girl in heat who was parked really close to us at one point. That doesn’t bother me, he has to get used to that. But it was pretty funny he thought she was pretty cute and wagged his tail at her but was to shy to do anything else about it (very appropriate) though.>
Awww he was flirting LOL!! Was he otherwise a bit tense about being around the crowds – not waggy or interested in socializing?
Overall, I think he is doing well and you unfortunately ran into some big distractions all at once in the standard run. But you get to work through those and they are simple enough to add to his class – he will figure that out very fast. And you can also incorporate the food box sometimes too – he loves food so the surprise of sometimes get a giant meatball during the run will be a very happy surprise too!
Nice job here – let me know what you think!
TracyWow, I agree, she was great at this game! She never took her eyes off the line and found the jump brilliantly!! At the end you added the ‘go’ verbal – You can use that all the time on this line now because she did so well. If you have room, feel free to add a 2nd jump for her to find on the line so she builds up even more independence 🙂
You can keep adding distance here and also you can add getting her to drive ahead of you – to get that, you can run all the way down to the tunnel, touch it and wait for her – then just before she exits, you can cue the go and accelerate again. She seems very confident and I bet she will be happy to drive ahead! Just be sure to throw the toy early so she doesn’t look back at you.
Great job!!!
Tracy
