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Good morning!
>Let’s start with me signing up for Max 2 as a working spot.>
Sounds good! I will send something when I am back in the office so you can have the reduced price.
She is doing well with her jump grid! Because she is being held to start, she is pulling a little which sets her a little forward on her shoulders but still maintaining her balance through it and driving with strong forward focus. Super!!
She is ready for the more advanced grids, but we really want a stay for that – now that is hot out, you can add in stay training inside to sty cool 🙂 If it helps her hold position, you can use a low cato board or something similar (anything stable that won’t slip out from under her when she releases).
On the RC video:
She is driving ahead really well to allow you to change sides behind her. The next step is to change the placement of the reward on the ground to help her turn the new direction after the RC. She was going straight when you changed sides so moving the reward target over to where the turn should be will help show her the turn.If that is easy for her, the next step is to take out the reward target and use a thrown reward instead, so she gives you feedback on if the RC info is on time or not. If she turns the ‘wrong’ way, reward anyway because it means you were late with the RC info 🙂
>Rou and I are really struggling to work with toys out. Instead of improving, the issue seems to be getting worse, so I think I need to take a step back and address it properly. >
She is definitely very driven for her toys, which I love!! So we will definitely clarify this for her – my bet is that she is will have a lightbulb moment with minimal adjustments then it will be easy peasy to use toys in your hands.
>She’s driving nicely to tunnels, but if I have a toy out, I can’t get a wrap. >
There are a couple of reasons why this could be happening:
– she might need clarification on toy markers, so she knows when the toy is available for grabbing and when it is not (this also includes human mechanics of delivery)
– She might need to have more connection from you (pretty direct eye contact at this stage) to cue the wrap, rather than arm pointing. The cue is the connection (because of how it uses your shoulders to show the line) and pointing might actually turn her towards you and away from the line.
– She might need to learn to offer the wing even in the presence of fabulous toys 🙂 so a bit of shaping is something we can do 🙂
– We might need to adjust the placement of reward on wing wraps – if it all comes from your hands, it might be building too much focus on your hands and not enough focus on the wing. No worries, that is an easy adjustment!
– Or it could be something completely different 😂
If you have time, take out a favorite toy and try a session of tunnel to the wing – let’s get it on video so we can see what she is doing and why. That will direct us to make the adjustments she needs, then it will be clear sailing 🙂
>The overarousal has been slowly building for a while, and I realize I’ve been managing it with band-aid solutions rather than addressing the root cause.>
Lots of reasons that it could be building up in this context too (adolescence, frustration because things are not clear, toys being very stimulating, all of the above, none of the above haha).So grab the video when you have a moment or send one where it all goes wrong 😂 😆 and we will see what’s happening. It is a great skill to focus on at this stage!
Great job on the videos and I am looking forward to the toy plus wrap video!
Tracy
Thanks!
That is really funny about the favorite toys 🙂 We can make it a game that will also help build the value of the less favorite toys. I love any game where I can sit on the couch haha
Some ideas:
– you can build Manners Minder love by sending him to eat a cookie from it, then coming back to you for the favorite toy tugging.
– you can do this with a treat too: toss a treat for him to go eat, then come back for the favorite toy to tug or chaseI suggest these because it will do 2 things: help build value for the MM and food in the face of his favorite toys, and show him the concept of ignoring the favorite toy to go interact with other reinforcement.
Then you can add more toys: throw a medium-love toy to start – and the reward for bringing it back is the high value toy. And if he will release that one for a different high value toy, throw a 2nd high value toy. Then you can trade & throw the medium value toy. Using a cookie to get the high value toy back is also appropriate. We would basically use mostly high value toys at first and when he is in the groove, slip in a medium value. Then eventually slip in a lower value toy – and he will be in the groove of just bringing back all the things, to get the next one. And if there are any toys that are so high in value that everything else disappears, those don’t need to be part of the game yet 🙂
Let me know if that makes sense or if I need more coffee! Have fun!
Tracy
Good morning!
>well hmm, maybe she is just overtired. We had a surprise visit from her breeder who flew from GA to CA so we also went out Sunday to the river. >
It is entirely possible! She had a busy weekend and when all of that gets stacked up, we often see a lack of impulse control because the dog is physically and mentally depleted. Add in that she is an adolescent…. 🙂 Yes, probably overtired 🙂
>It’s finally hot. I need to set a timer. I thought our whole time outside was 5 minutes but it was 10.>
I don’t think 10 minutes is a super long time to be out with the puppy at this point because yes, a good portion is play and resetting. But as you saw – things like heat can add to how quickly we lose their brains. She hasn’t been alive for a real summer yet so when it is getting hotter out, there is a LOT for her brain to process. All of that pulls away from her ability to remain completely engaged the whole time. But the good news is that with a bit of experience, it will get much easier for her and won’t be an issue.
>That said, today she did great working the finding a jump game. >
I agree! She did great here!!! Your connection on the tunnel sends was almost perfect – you pulled away a little too early on the second rep at :13 but all of the others were spot on and she read them perfectly.
>On one side she went by the jump twice. I am not sure if I didn’t line her up right, it was too high or she was eager to get to her toy.>
It was the toy 🙂 On the first side, you have perfect connection and motion as she exited the tunnel – no question from Roy at all.
When you switched sides: at :29 & :37 you were moving faster but also less connected (your arm was forward more which closes your shoulders) so she was looking at you – then you threw the toy so she continued past the jump.
But on the last reps on that side, you went back to the lovely connection (note how your do-side arm was back towards her at :44 & :54) so she had no questions about the line. Super! You can add back going faster as long as you keep that lovely connection happening.
>I think when this session ends we should sign up for AU098 and repeat the session. She’s doing great with what I have had time to train her but I don’t feel we are solid enough to move on yet.>
You totally can – there is a big discount if you want to repeat with a working spot (no fee to repeat as an auditor). But also – I am going to run MaxPup 3 in September instead of over the summer. Part of it is weather-related: Most of the participants (working and auditing) are in parts of the country where it will end up being way too hot to do a lotto training in July & August. And the other folks are in New Zealand where it will be the dead of winter 🙂 And part of it is a couple of months more will put the cohort all over a year old, which is a perfect time for MaxPup 3!
Another option is to join the MaxPup 2 that starts in July to keep training going then if you want, we transfer you over to the MaxPup 3 in September when the weather and time schedules might be easier 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
Awwww what a good boy here, with his focus forward, his gentle pick up of the ball and return to your hands! Hmmmm maybe he should try flyball too 😀 The retrieves look great and yes, you can add more distance.Since he was so brilliant here, a fun thing to do is to have a pile of toys or a basket full of toys. You can sit on the Klimb like you did here, or relax on the couch – and throw one toy or ball from the pile. Then he retrieves it to your hand, you can throw the next ball or toy. A great way to practice retrieves and also tire him out a bit 😂 without breaking a sweat. It will also help him let go of the toy he retrieved, because the reward involves getting the next toy 🙂
He did really well with the serps here! I think you can rotate at the waist a bit more, to make it even clearer when we add running.
You had lovely rotation on the first threadle! The 2nd one did not have as much of that upper body rotation so he did not come in – but all of the others had lovely rotation (including when you switched sides) and he did great!
You can take this game outside if the weather is decent! That will give you more room to move faster 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>Curious what you use in it? >
I have used Zukes, freee dried treats, tiny cat treats (mixed in with dog kibble) and stuff like that. I have also rested a frisbee on top of it for the dogs that love frisbee more than food 🙂
> Could we try this with a toy on the ground or dish with treat?>
Absolutely!
>Side note. I had seen your post about one of your dogs being allergic to Myos? Could you share the symptoms and how you found out?>
I put her on Myos at the recommendation of the rehab vets/surgeon. Around that time, I noticed a couple of rust-colored areas on the front of her elbows (from licking) and the skin on her belly looked red and inflamed. She had never had allergies in the past, but I thought maybe she was allergic to something in her food? I was getting ready to change her food when someone else posted about their dog being allergic to Myos. So I stopped the Myos and boom! No more licking/rust-colored areas, and no more inflamed skin. I also had not be able to really put a lot of muscle on her, which makes sense if she was fighting inflammation from the Myos. It will be interesting to see how that changes now that she is not on the Myos anymore.
T
Hi!
>On the sends…do you say “go” so they keep going to look ahead or do you cue the wrap with the wrap verbal?>
In this case, I use the wrap verbal because it is the behavior I want. The wrap verbal means to keep going and wrap the jump, as opposed to the go verbal which should indicate jumping in extension and straight.
>I haven’t registered for Max Pup 4 yet. Will you be sending out a reminder for that? I know you sent one but I’m sure it’s buried in my e-mail somewhere. Can’t remember if there was a discount code or not.>
Yes and yes! I will send the MaxPup 4 info and also yes, there is a discount code 🙂
Have fun at the seminar!
Tracy
Have fun! And I think a fun summer plan is to start bring the jump heights up! He seems ready for more 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
San Diego sounds wonderful 🙂 and sniffy games are always fun!
On the video:
He was so cute at 1:00, standing in the tunnel and wagging his tail, waiting to start the game. Love it!Wing wrap to the tunnel went really well, he is a pro at that 🙂
>he nailed all the far-end tunnel entries!>
Yes! He is really good at those and seems to really enjoy them too 🙂
Going from the wing PAST the tunnel is harder of course 🙂 And the increased eye contact really helped – you can see the clear connection at :47 and 1:20 and 1:32, for example, and he was great! Those were really good examples of using connection to commit him to a line, rather than hands.
>switching the toy from one hand to the other was hard for him. Then I put it in my pocket – but then the tail started dangling – which was still hard for him >
I think the dangling was less hard than the hands – when the toy is going from hand to hand, it blurs the cues. But I bet he will also love a smaller toy with a ball on the end of it that is easy to stuff into a pocket!
I am so glad that you and Skizzle had fun and I agree that you have made tremendous progress! This is where it starts to get even more fun: we put the big pieces together 🙂 I am looking forward to see in you in MaxPup4!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Wow, he was a layering superstar! And more importantly, he didn’t blast to the off course tunnel when you cued the turn. He was paying attention to all the cues!
I am not sure that he needs a soft turn cue on the pinwheel jump (I think that is what you were saying at :21 & :30, for example) – you can see him collect and kind of wait for permission to blast forward 🙂
Because of his size, you can just let him blast, no strong turn cues needed – I think that is what you were doing on the first couple of runs and he was perfect. A 20” jumping dog might need turn cues there but a 16 tall dog can run it in full on extension even when the bars go to full height..
Based on how well he did with the basic structure of the layering, there is an opportunity for a double layer on this setup: when he was exiting the tunnel and driving forward to he jump, you were layering a jump then went in to support the last jump. He had no questions – so you can try layering the 2nd jump that it out there too! Will he stay on the line while you layer 2 jumps? Certainly a useful skill on course nowadays! And of course you can place a reward or do a really early throw to set up success.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
He is reading the decel really well here!>I think when he came back out of the tunnel and I ran to the second jump, I pushed on his line and he took the middle of the bar. I was trying to get tucked in by that wing. Is that necessary? >
This is at :33 – and yes, he was seeing a bit of pressure (similar to rear cross pressure) towards the jump so he was more centered on the bar. If the line to the wing is straight, you can run straight to it. But if you have to push in to the line to get to the wing like you did here, you can stay outside the wing and do a forward-facing decel. The setup here had the slightly smaller wing as jump 2, so you had to go around the first wing and push in to get to it – so in this case it is better to keep moving straight rather than push in. That way we don’t get any accidental rear crosses 🙂
The best way to cue the send (especially with the small dogs) is to keep your arm back and down, pointing towards his nose as he exits the tunnel. That way when he exits, he sees your eye contact as you step forward into the send. The arm travels with him as you send, rather than points ahead of him when he exits the tunnel. Pointing ahead rotates the shoulders away from the line, and many dogs (especially inexperienced ones) will look at the handler for more info or get on the wrong line.
What a fun class video!!!
>I opted to break it down for the lead out because I thought it might be a weird picture for him but he totally knew what to do so probably didn’t need the toy thrown in the beginning as he actually was headed to the tunnel.>
It was smart to break it down and reward! But also it is soooo cool to see him understanding the big pieces. Exciting times ahead!
He was great with his stay and yes, he totally knew where to go even though I am not sure he has ever seen the tunnel-under-the-dog-walk thing. Be sure to look at him more after that tunnel exit – at 1:38 you turned your back on him and took off, which drew him off the jump. He was not sure if you wanted the line or an immediate blind cross. Much clearer on the next rep of that! Fun!!!
Yes, probably some amazing critter smells back there! You can whip out amazing food to fight fire with fire – it looks like he was able to work for food at the end and that is fine: I am sure he could smell birds, sheep, goats, chipmunks…. Very hard to ignore! But he finished strong 🙂 The layering is impressive and fun to see the parallel path foundation game coming into sequences!
Nice work here!
TracyThe good news and also the bad news is that Kong makes a LOT of amazing toys out of tennis ball materials 😂 I have purchased way too many 🙂
Have fun at the specialty!!!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
This went well! As you saw at the beginning, he had a couple of questions especially at the beginning. For the serps, your feet and position were really good! His question was about the upper body – the shoulders are what cue him to choose a line. So when you were shoulders were a little closed forward, it cued him to go pat the jump (layering! Smart pup!!) When he was able to serp the jump, your shoulders were more open towards him.
What I mean by that was you were a little more rotated at the waist, which pointed your shoulders back to the jump bar and not to the MM.
So to get more consistent serps: keep your feet as they were (pointing towards the MM) but rotate even more at the waist so your upper body is almost facing him. The goal is to have the center of your chest pointing towards the center of the bar – it will feel a bit like an agility yoga haha – but swinging your arm back even more will help!
And the threadle per body is similar too – you can swing your arm back even more to exaggerate the upper body. He read your position really well though and got the threadles!
I think he finds the MM a little boring 😂🥱 😂 so his attention wandered a little. He likes food but I think he likes toys and interaction with you better. So you can mix in throwing a toy around or even throwing treats around and playing a bit, he will stay pumped up more 🙂 You don’t necessarily have to tug (we want you to protect your hands!) but you can have a dance party with him after every couple of reps and he will be happier to work for the MM 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>I am finding the off-side arm send to be super helpful. I recently purchased the Backside Sends self study course and am working through those videos. The one about “extreme commitment” really helped to seal the deal for me. >
Yes, I love the opposite arm 🙂 It is a really useful tool and worked super well in the videos here!
>I know I saw somewhere that you had a “naughty arm” class, but I don’t see it on the Agility U site>
It is here:
[AU-089] The Handler’s Toolbox Winter Camp: The Opposite Arm!
Looking at the videos:
Seq 1:
This went really well! It is hard to time the 2nd blind (4-5) and trust the dog’s commitment but you nailed it at :07 and again at :52 and 1:30! He was a very good boy!
Using the opposite arm for the send to the other side of the tunnel worked great. My only suggestion is to do a post turn on 6 to set it up: Doing the spin on 6 was not needed with the out coming up because it sets a tighter turn, and we don’t want a very tight turn for a small dog there. The spin worked great to go back to the tunnel.
His only question was on the tunnel entry at 3 at :35 and 1:18 – if you were a step or two too far past it, he would run a parallel line to yours and not commit. I think your handling line was fine and we do kinda need him to let you get that far ahead! So it is a good section to break out and train: you can get ahead by walk through it so motion is not as compelling, then throw a reward back to the tunnel exit as you continue to move well past it before he enters.
Seq 2:
The BC from the tunnel to jump 3 looked great each time. Yay!!!
Sending to the ‘get out’ behind the tunnel at :10 & :36 needed a few more steps parallel to his line to support his commitment (you were turning away a little too early, which is why he thought you wanted the tunnel). A post turn on 3 will work here too, to give you a slightly wider turn and less collection, which sets up the send into the layering really well. Much better driving a line parallel to his at :57 & 1:44 & 2:17 and he easily found 4-5. Super!
Having to support a little extra at :57 & 1:44 made the BC a little late 5-6, but connection got it done so I twas still a good line. You really trusted the commitment and stated the blind even earlier at 2:19 and it produced a really good line!
You can add a BC to the exit if the wrap on 6 (spin) so you can have him on your left there and not need to rear cross the tunnel entry.
Sequence 3 – I think he is really liking the get out concept! He had no questions about it here 🙂
Good timing on BC 3-4 – try not to get past the wing of the jump at 3, as it ended up getting you too far past the mouse line at :08 & :49 which created a wider turn. And keep that in mind for the last BC at :25 & 1:04 – motion will support the line so you do’t need to get between the uprights of the BC jump.
On the last run you did a FC on 4 – that made for a slightly slower line to 5 but got you into a decent spot for a FC on 5. You did a spin to the tunnel threadle handling on the previous reps and it all went really well – it is fun to have both tools available!
Great job here 🙂
Tracy
