[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>The RC was a fail

I think for the RC, you would have to lead out even less and get onto the RC line sooner…. probably not worth all that extra effort in order to try to make it easier LOL!

I really liked the blind – big powerful strides from Enzo and he knew exactly where he was going. And since you did the lead out push after it… I had to time the difference (this should surprise no one LOL!!)
The blind was definitely faster! Not by a ton, but by about a stride and that is the difference between a placement and a too-bad-so-sad in the big 20″ class 🙂

And, an added bonus that I could not time because the video was edited: on the blind opening, you were passing the 11 jum pas he entered the tunnel. On the lead out push opening, you were not yet past the blue tunnel and not near 11 when he entered the tunnel. It is always a benefit to be ahead with a RDW!

So that goes into the toolbox as: he has the skill, it is faster, definitely choose it in this scenario 🙂 The 5-6-7-8-9 section looked great, including the layering of the 12-17-2 jump. He was curling in off the frame a bit on the way to the 10 backside so you went in to help him – can you start saying the around cue when he is at the apex of the frame? And as soon as he looks at the backside, you can leave again for the 11-12 line – watching his head o the way to the backside will let you know when he gives you permission to leave for the next line.

The other thing to consider there is using an outside arm to cue the backside, so you don’t have to use convergence. The outside arm is a convergence cue without motion, so the dog gets on the line but we humans don’t have to run to it 🙂 I use the outside arm to get backsides at a distance, because if I have to run in to support the line, then I end up out of position for the next line. It is a handling move totally stolen from the Europeans LOL!

>.. I had to redo the end because of laziness. >>

Ha! Yes, but the redo was lovely 🙂

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hello!

>> I love the idea of turning jump 2 while we develop the backside skill. I also think the double front cross will work and he will be able to do that I think pretty easily.

Perfect! And training the skill will make it easier for later on when we need it too 🙂

>>The air quality in my area is code purple. I hope it will be a bit better by this evening. Also Quantico is bombing today which is really hard on Watson. I wanted to give you a heads up as he will not be at his best tonight. I plan on keeping inside until it’s our turn and if it is ok keeping the session short. I wanted to give you a heads up if you need to adjust anything.>>

Poor Watson!!! Keep me posted – we can always try to move you to a different class if the weather and the bombing just makes today too hard!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

Nice work on these!!

>>Rep 1 – she read the blind well! Not sure if my timing was great there though. At 6 I used our still pretty new threadle verbal “close” and she got confused & spun.

Yes! The blind was great! And the blinds will definitely keep you ahead on most courses. You can start it even sooner, when you see her land from 2.
I am not sure you need a threadle cue on the 5-6-7 line – as she landed from 5, you had turned your shoulders forward but 5 is a serp, so you will want to rotate your shoulders towards the jump to cue the serp (like Bazinga’s strike a pose game :)) and then keep moving to 6. 6 is a wrap, so a wrap cue and running away to 7 should work like a charm 🙂

>>Rep 2 – I clicked into auto-pilot and did rear crosses. I left it in so you could see the difference. I know I’m supposed to run it the same way for the exercise! GAH! I’ll stick to the blind.

The RC looked great! And it is definitely a comfy move for you, so yes, keep working on those blinds so they get comfy too 🙂 You did more of a serp on 5 and a wrap on 6, and she read it really well!!!

>.Rep 3 – back to the blind. I kept quiet at the threadle and she read the body language.

The blind went really well here too! And yes, not using the threadle helps her (because I think she and I agree that it is a serp, not a threadle LOL!!) So on the serp line at 5, you can lock your left arm back and turn your shoulders to the bar more but definitely keep your feet running forward like you did – that was great!!!

She is definitely ready for you to add the extra jump, and then if that goes well, add the tunnel too!

Great job 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>.The angle of the video from Monday is not great since I was alone.

Actually, this angle was perfect because we could see what she saw when she exited the tunnel!!!

At :07, first rep, you were just really early on the blind. If you wanted her to go tunnel to tunnel and not even consider the jump… that would be the timing 🙂

She had a wonky line up on the next rep, so missed jump 1, good job fixing her position on the other reps.

At :48 you were less early… but still early LOL! She never saw a commitment cue to 3 when she exited the tunnel, only your back and arm at your side, as you migrated to the red tunnel. So she started to commit but then you were over-managing and did the FC early, so she didn’t take the jump.

It is a champagne problem to be early LOL!!!

At :57, you went into over-helping mode with a big decel so she took the jump and collected but no other info (you were facing forward til liftoff) so she dropped the bar.

So 2 suggestions for you:

– watch the video after each and every rep if something has gone wrong. Don’t do another run until you have watched it in slow motion, looking at you connection and timing. Yes, it is a little bit of a pain in the butt but it will be a HUGE game changer! So at :07 you will see that she is just barely out of the tunnel and you are already finished with the blind cross over by the tunnel entry at 4. And you never gave a jump verbal, you were silent. So, she was correct.

– to reduce the rushing that happens with such a fast (and opinionated) dog, think of things a little differently: let her cue you when she is ready for you to go to the next line. So what I mean by that is:
when she is exiting the tunnel here, you should be moving up the line towards 3, arm bac to her, looking at her face, giving a jump verbal. And when you see her exit the tunnel and look at the jump: that is her cue for you to do the blind and move on. On this video, she never cued you to do the blind (or front) because she never had a chance to look at the #3 jump.

Let me know if that makes sense! You won’t have to do it on every single line, but any cross or commitment cue will really be much easer if you watch for the moment she cues you to do the next thing 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>I’m going to try really hard to stop stopping! I’ve been doing it for a VERY long time, so I know I will make mistakes with that.>>

You will get used to it with some practice – and it is also very useful for thinking on your feet at trials if something unexpected happens!

Seq 2:
I think turning her to her left over jump 1 so she lands facing the backside will be a better line than turning right on that first rep. And, not taking the jump bar on the backside is a training question, not a handling question. You handled it more by standing still at :19 but that made you late getting the line and connection for the wrap at 4. So on those hard angles of entry, you can run past and drop a reinforcement on the landing side so she looks for the bar and not at you 🙂

When you added the tunnel, you turned her to the left and it worked a lot better AND she took the bar on the backside without extra help – so maybe getting the coordination from the harder angle of entry was what made it harder to take the jump?

She had a little question at :40 – in that spot, you can turn to the exit wing of 4, looks like you ran straight to the center of the bar then rotated to your right so she read RC. She sees everything!

Also in the category of “Nox Sees Everything” 🙂 watch the section from :55 to :57 in slow motion: she started to turn to her left when your right leg stepped forward. Then your left leg stepped back *before she took off* and your right leg stepped back, so she adjusted to the RC into and turned right.
Compare to :34 where you kept your right leg forward until she took off and then you stepped back, so she read the left turn. You kept your right leg forward a little longer too at 1:00, so she turned left. So to get that turn, hold the cue until you see her committing to the left turn – and since it is jump 1, it is probably going to be at takeoff!

Remember to ramp up the eye contact to keep strong connection, especially when the tunnel is in the way like at 3-4-5:
Your connection got really soft over 3 at 1:04 and you were looking forward at 1:07 so she took te tunnel. Compare to 1:18 for 3 and 1:21 for the FC at 4, both of which had great connection and she got it really well!

Sequence 3 – the opening looked great 1-2-3 but then connection softened (looking forward, arm parallel to your side) and you were pretty far from the 4 jump so didn’t take it, Ideally, your fingers are pointed at her nose and eyes on her eyes – that will help set the lines. Also, try to run with empty hands (the lotus ball can be in your pocket or something). I don’t think she is looking at it, but not holding it will help you improve your connection by using your hand to point to her rather than hold something, and also it will help you keep going! If things come off the rails, keep going to get her back on a line, any line, even if it is the tunnel – then throw the lotus ball. I want to keep frustration down with staying in motion and lots of rewards, but also if she is running at your side and barking at you and you throw it… we could create other unwanted behavior. So at 1:35, for example, you can keep running to the tunnel then throw the lotus ball after getting it out of your pocket.

The next rep had much better connection on the 3-4-5 section! Yay!
Freeze the video at 1:56 and you will see she is pretty wide to the tunnel – that happened for a few reasons: the Fc was a little late (started as she was lifting off for 5 and ideally you would be pretty much finished at that point) and also as she is finishing the turn, she can only really see your back: your shoulders are closed forward so even though your head is turned, she can’t see the connection which indicates the line. So, she drifts a bit to wait for you to move, which gives her line info (and then she drives to you). Note your hand position, pointing to the takeoff spot. If you can change that and point to her nose as you make connection, she will see an entirely different picture and be able to make the turns sooner

At 2:22 and 2:43 you had the same timing and arm position but you were moving forward sooner, so the turn was better! The earlier timing and pointing to her nose will really help 🙂

>>You said to keep moving my feet to the next line, but as you have seen, we have a lot of issues when I start moving to the next line before she’s completed everything on the current one. I’m not sure how to keep my feet pointing at the next line while still giving her the support she needs to prevent those arguments we sometimes have.>>

I think the section at jump 7 at 1:58 and 2:24 will help answer this question:

watching her head will let you know when she cues you to go to the next line.
So to make that work and let her cue you:
– keep moving to the current line while watching her head.
– when her head is looking at the correct line, that is her cue for you to move forward to the next line.

So looking at 1:58 and 2:24, you decelerated and stopped moving forward when she landed from 6, and started to rotate (your arm got high, your feet curled away from the line towards the front of 7, and you started to step back into the FC). But, she had never looked at 7, so she came off the line and barked.

Ideally, you would keep moving forward, looking at her head until she looks onto the 7 jump. Yes, you can be decelerating but you can’t start stepping back until she cues you to do so, by looking at the line you want there. So she doesn’t have to have completed it – she just needs to see it and give you permission to leave by looking at it 🙂

Note the difference at 2:45 when you kept moving forward on the line to the backside til she was passing you and looking at the entry wing, and then you started the FC. Nice!!

Let me know if this makes sense: keep moving forward and she will cue you as to when you can leave, and don’t leave any sooner than that 🙂

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! Tons of lovely work here!!!

>> One thing I noticed in addition to the things you pointed out was that on the backside #2 of sequence 2, I was trying to handle it more like how I have been trying to do it with Dice. With Zane he is used to a big old arm fling. lol. So, you’ll probably see a bigger arm flinging out on his reps.>>

Yes, with Zane, you do end up moving your arm forward more but you started the cues with fabulous connection, and he looked terrific!

Zane adding the jump:
The first sequence went really well! After 2, maybe he looked at the added jump a little? Hard to tell but he didn’t go to it and definitely didn’t look at it after 4.

The backside cue on the 2nd sequence looked really good – nice line, nice connection, no big flinging arm 🙂
Th timing for the wrap begins at landing if 2. At :22, you were running forward and didn’t start it til after he landed from 3. Note how on the next rep at :34, you were already moving away laterally and he was able to read the wrap and come through the gap! Start the verbal sooner though – the in cam after he landed. He didn’t look at the added jump at all here!

Sequence 3 also went really well – you can be sooner on the FC 2-3 (as he lands from 1 and looks at 2, start the FC so you are finished with it and close to 3 before he takes off for 2 (that will become really useful when we put the tunnel in.

Zane Adding the tunnel:
Seq 1: Super nice! He read all of the lines, very clear handling, he never looked at the added jump or tunnel. Yay!

Seq 2 – I think the pressure of the tunnel there made you a little late cuing the wrap on 3 (:19) but he did come through the gap (with a little bit of grumbling haha) He took a big look at the tunnel after 4 (:22) so be sure to talk to him more with the wrap verbal on the 4 jump then name calls after it so he can really lock onto your line.

Seq 3 – you can start the blind sooner at 2-3 (:32): as soon as he is approaching the entry wing of 2, start the blind so you are finished and reconnected in time to see him jumping 2 (you did the blind as he was taking off so he had to adjust in the air)

At :34 he went straight on the tunnel exit – I don’t think there was a turn verbal before he entered the tunnel and you were also moving straight
Good job staying in motion!!!

On the 2nd rep, you did the blind at 2 a lot earlier (nice!) and at :55 he saw you moving laterally away from the tunnel entry. You did call him while he was in the tunnel, but calling before he goes in (or using a ‘right’ verbal) will be even more effective.

You don’t have to layer the jump there – if it is easier to go past it, you can run into the gap rather than backpedal to get the layer.
The rest looked lovely! You can keep working to get the FC earlier on the 5-6 section, so he has a tighter line there.

Dice:
He totally took a long look at the added jump at :05 but then saw the blind and made the turn. Young dog stuff 🙂 I think a stronger verbal will help him – I couldn’t hear if you were saying anything, but repeating a left verbal or his name will totally help! And, reach your connection all the way back to his eyes there (at :06 your arm was a little back and your eyes were looking downwards, so he didn’t quite know where to be – young dog stuff). good job staying in motion!
He read the opening line more easily at :23 and then the closing line went well too! One suggestion: have the toy in your pocket so that you don’t switch it from hand to hand – you might not even realize you are doing that 🙂 but it delays the cues a bit, and also it draws his attention up to your hands.

Seq 2:
>, I did do a rep of the backside dropping the toy like we did in class, but I didn’t include that in the video. It was before the 1st rep when I actually attempted the sequence. >

Perfect! You can keep dropping the toy in to help solidify it. And your bog connection also helped! Just be sure that you keep heading to 3 – you were migrating further from it so he missed it at :39 and you had to push all the way back to it at :52

Sequence 3: young dogs keep us honest about our running lines LOL! On the first rep, you were pulling away from the lines so he was not sure about taking all the jumps. On the second rep, you moved along the lines properly and he took all the jumps. Lovely!!!

He was great about not looking at the added jump in sequence 2 and 3!!

Adding the tunnel:

I think the tunnel distracted you more than him on the first run of sequence 1 – you pulled him off the line a couple of times with a bit of rushing. You were closer to the line and more patient on rep 2 and it looked great!

The backside at 2 on sequence 2 looked really great! Remember to run to 3 – he was looking at you because you were backing up towards the tunnel, but he was not considering going into the tunnel.

He did end up in the tunnel at 1:01 – you were connected but moving towards the tunnel at :59 – 1:01. Compare to 1:16, where you moved away to the #5 jump much more immediately and he did not consider going into the tunnel. YAY!

Seq 3: even though the backside skill is newer for him, you can still do the blind sooner (as he is approaching the backside entry wing) – the blind will actually help bring him over the bar. You cued him to take the bar at 1:24 (so he thought it was a serp) and then did the blind so he tried to adjust the line but didn’t have enough time to make the adjustment. Plus, cuing the bar there made you late for the tunnel exit cues (things happen very fast on this sequence LOL!) Good job staying in motion – you got back on track and the ending was strong!!

The opening of the 2nd rep was much better! The blind was sooner and the tunnel exit cues were sooner so he got both of those hard elements! As with Zane, start the FC from 5 to 6 sooner – at 1:51, you start it when he took off for 5 which is why he landed pretty wide. He was not thinking about the tunnel, he was just processing the info when he got it. The rest looked awesome!!!!

Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!!

Lots of good work here!!! I am bugging everyone to be more proactive and aggressive in their handling, and you had several spots on this course where you were brilliant with that!!

On the opening:
you did the FC 3-4 and it was good, but the Bc 3-4 that you did on the 2nd video was PERFECTION. Aggressive! Connected! Nailed it!

Keep driving forward to the weaves like you did on the first run – you can also add in more info as she exits the #4 tunnel: you can be telling her to GO and then weave (all before she takes off for 5) On the 2nd video, you were quiet and not fully connected, so she looked at you and then you decelerated and said weave, so the bar came down.

I was going to bug you about getting too close to 7 after the weaves because it would make it harder to get the 9 tunnel entry, but you NAILED the timing of the cue for the ‘get out’ to the tunnel so she nailed it too. You can totally send to 7 from further away to get a couple of steps ahead! And don’t call her name, I think you said “Mae” before you gave the tunnel cue.

On the 2nd run, you sent and accelerated at :19 (to jump 7) and that had a little disconnection element – the bar came down. Which brings me to this:

>>The second run a handful of bars came down too so I’m guessing I was late with stuff.>>

I think the real issue with the bars is that at 24″, which the spacing relatively small (to fit into the building, but pretty similar to AKC courses) – she just doesn’t have enough room to stride and make adjustments and go fast (especially on turf which has less grip than grass). You would have to be moving slowly and perfectly to try to keep the bars up, which is both impossible (no one is perfect in agility, it is a dirty sport LOL!) and also moving slowly would annoy both you and Maple 🙂 You should consider jumping her at 20″ so she has more room to adjust in the smaller tighter spaces. This will be especially helpful to set up more success when training in smaller rings and also at trials where the judges set tight lines. I know that the judges might wheel a line at 20 feet, but that is not the actual dog’s path – the actual dog path is often 15 feet or less and that is insane for 24″ jumping dogs. Food for thought!!

There were a couple of spots where you can be more aggressive and more proactive in your handling – and they are linked, of course 🙂
The first one is the turn at 10:

I have been bugging everyone about not managing the gap 10-11. Cue the turn as soon as she exits the tunnel, then head to 11 before she even takes off for 10. On the first video at :25 you were starting the turn when she was taking off for 10 then backing up out of it – that caused you to rush and disconnect at 11 (bar down).

On the 2nd run, you were more proactive and managed the turn less at 10. YAY!!! It got you further ahead with a smooth line. Yay!

On the 4th run, you were not as aggressive and proactive as the 2nd run, so the wrap cues on 10 were a little late and you are managing by staying there a bit – you were backing up which presented the off course at :06, and at :44 you were closer to the wing of 10 so that created the line to the tunnel.

So look at :25 on the 2nd video: you did the FC and took off for 11, and she followed the line beautifully 🙂

>. I really had a hard time figuring out11-14.

Yes, that was a particularly wicked section that had to be handled aggressively with early turn cues 🙂

I liked that you did a FC before 13! Good proactive planning! You are the only one of the FF group that started off by being aggressive there. Yay! To get her to stop looking at the off course tunnel, the turn cues for 14 (the jump before the tunnel) needed to be sooner: You need to tell her to turn at 14 as she is in the air over 13. You did it after accelerating and started the cues while she was in the air for 14 (:34) and you continued facing forward, so she went forward to the off course tunnel.

So it was not an error of handling choice, it was just a timing question.

On the 2nd run, you slowed way down and did rear crossey stuff on the 12-13-14 line – she had more questions and still got the off course 🙂 because the RC had too much acceleration.

On the 3rd video – you went back to the FC (yay!) but you were a little in the way of 12 at :04 – no need to stop her for bars, the cue was a little late and she is trying hard and sometimes stopping and sometimes not stopping is cinfusing (she was sniffing). She didn’t have trouble with that bar anywhere else.

Then you did the RC and got the off course again 🙂 Accelerating into the rear cross definitely does not get the turn to 15 – you would need to do the same deceleration but from behind her, which is harder (and which is why I liked your FC choice better!) At the end of the 4th run, you did the FC then decelerated at :50 and it was SO much better – just a little late – she got it but that is closer to the info she needs. The Clapper is not what got her attention, it was the decel LOL!

So with the timing: always start giving her the turn cues when she is over or exiting the previous obstacle. Giving her the info when she is arriving at the turn obstacle will be too late. And she has really good commitment, so that earlier timing should work nicely!

The other option for that 11-15 line is to send to 12 and get outta there to do a BC between 13 and 14! Then as she is jumping 13, you will be connected and decelerating and right in front of her, so that should set the turn up really well.

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! Both dogs were lovely!!! I will be bugging you to be more aggressive and proactive in your handling (I am bugging everyone about that, in case you were feeling attacked LOL!!!!)

Wish did a great job! Maybe it is not above her pay grade at all! The proactive handling and big connection will really help: I am not sure she needed as much support for 3, you were over-helping 🙂 give her the big connection and run closer to it, but also watch her head so you can start the blind on time – as soon as you see her look at the jump, do the blind. Then stay connected and don’t praise – that pulled her off the tunnel. She only wants the facts on course (cues) 🙂

Good job when you kept going!

After the weaves, I believe you can trust her more – you can send to 7 and accelerate to 8 to get rid of the head check over 8 (:21). Stay connected like you did, and I bet she nails it!

10-11 is a place to be super proactive to set up the ending line. At :46 – try not to manage the gap between 10 and the off course near it – on the first rep there, you were over-helping and backing up which presented the off course she took (backwards motion is the same as forward motion :)) You stood still there at :58 which got her through the gap, but that set up rear crosses for the ending line and she almost got the off course tunnel instead of 15.

As scary as it sounds with a younger dog – you can totally handle that 11-12-13-14-15 section from ahead of her: send to 12 and run away, driving to between 13-14 and do a blind. Your line of motion should draw her to 13 and give you plenty of time for the blind! And then you can decelerate and cue the turn to 15, taking out the off course tunnel possibility.

At the end – she had a moment of Big Mad (barked at you) when you wrapped the 17 jump instead of slicing it 🙂 The slice is a better/faster/easier option, so you can get that with a rear cross.

Charm was great too!!
Charm needed more connection and a jump verbal on the exit of 2, so she could take 3 – your arm was high and you were not looking directly at her, so she was in handler focus. You started the blind before she committed, so she came with the handling. Keep going when that happens – she was responding correctly 🙂 and staying in motion is great handler training to recovery from any little bobble on course at a trial.

Note the difference at :26 when you made connection and said “jump” – lovely! The blind looked great there!

As with Wish, you can leave 7 sooner after the weaves and converge towards the 9 tunnel, starting the tunnel cues (‘tunnel’ or a ‘get out’ directional) when she is halfway between 7 and 8. Wish totally understood the line, so you can handle it more aggressively – that will let you leave for 10 sooner, which lets you leave for 11 sooner, and so on.

And also as with Wish… don’t manage the gap from 10 to 11 (:41). Note how because you stayed there for a while, she started (correctly) migrating towards the tunnel and you really had to rush to get 11-12.

12-13-14 can be more proactive to get the turn to the 15 tunnel without The Clapper LOL!! You hung out by 12-13 and then moved forward into the RC a 14, which totally opened up the off course tunnel. You have plenty of time to send to 12 and take off to a blind cross 13-14. That allows you to set the turn at 14 from ahead (no Clapper needed) with decel and eye contact 🙂

She had a very nice collection on the turn on 17!! Nice! It is the slower/harder line, so definitely try the slice there – you have plenty of time to do a ‘forced blind’ aka Japanese turn on the takeoff side of 17 and I believe Charm understands the move really well! Or, the slicing rear cross will be perfect for that spot too.

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
Course 1 and 2 seem to be the same link here (both course 2) – can you repost course 1?

Course 2: the entire opening looked great (1-8) – and the way you handled it fit entirely with the current trend of distance on simple lines, so the handler keeps moving and yelling the cues 🙂

The line to the 10 tunnel (8-9-10) can be cued even sooner, ideally he never looks at you (:26). There is a lot happening in that section, so I looked at it in terms of what you can take out in order to give the tunnel cues sooner: Because there is not a lot of time given his speed, I believe after you cue 8 you don’t need the ‘come here’ verbal – you can be moving up the line and start the ‘get out’ or ‘tunnel’ as soon as he lands from 8 and is turning left. The come here makes the tunnel verbals late, so he looked at you – your position and line of motion are getting the come here really nicely, so I bet he doesn’t need the verbal there.

After his name at :30, add your jump verbal – the jump verbal is becoming increasingly important in these discrimination moments when the tasty teeter is really visible too. He looked at you after the tunnel but the jump is recessed, so he was beginning to assume it was the teeter – a jump verbal can help clarify for him.

Great job cuing sooner for 12 (:32) which set you up to leave sooner for 13. And that whole line 13-8 was a lot more proactive in terms of cue & leave. Yay! I will keep bugging you about that because he has a ton of skills – so a top summer priority will be to see just how far we can stretch them, in terms of how early you can leave to go to your next spot 🙂

>>. I think it went well except I didn’t give enough turning cues at #20 and he went backside on #21>>

Getting around the 15 jump makes the RC 20-21 into more of a threadle-rear or a tandem turn. He never looked at the tunnel that is right there (yay!) but the convergence of you coming around the wing of 15 definitely showed the backside of 21. So, a bit of a tandem turn into a ‘switch’ cue will definitely help!

Great job! I am looking forward to seeing course 1!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Fingers crossed for good weather!!! And also – when you have space restrictions, you can prioritize the sweet lines for handling and we can use the space around it to add the rando obstacles in your way 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

I am SUPER happy with how this went – this is really challenging for experienced dogs and Sprite was fabulous (and so were you, she couldn’t do it without you LOL!)

You set these at UKI distances, which gave her plenty of room. You can also try to set these at AKC distances (more like 18-20 feet between obstacles, 2 strides in general) if you are going to add AKC to your trial calendar.

Seq 1: Well done!!!
Nice BC timing on the 2-3-4 line! Perfect each time
Move parallel to the bar at 3 (you were in her way at :10 and :31 so she considered the backside) You were more parallel to the bar at :41 and she saw the front side more clearly.

Timing of decel and leaving (and verbal too, harder to hear) all were good at :16. I liked your timing at :34 even better but you had a connection break so she ended up behind you. LOVED the cue at :45! Nailed it!

>>Ideas to tighten that turn at the end? I’m not great at pulls.>>

Yes, even with the great timing, she still didn’t quite read it the way we want her to, in terms of putting a collection stride in before the jump. I don’t think this was a reflection on your pulls, I think she needs more info. The send & go leaves the handler facing forward for a bit longer, so some dogs have a harder time processing the collection mechanics (because we are facing forward so they only have the decel and verbal to go by)/ This is pretty normal with young dogs, I saw it with Voodoo and Hot Sauce at this age as well. So for now, try using the exact same timing, but do a spin. That is a slightly stronger cue with the added rotation making it easier for her to process the collection cues, and can get her rehearsing the mechanics of putting in the stride before takeoff (you can see her trying to process it!) With the youngsters, we often add the spin to clarify the mechanics for the dog, then we fade it out as the mechanics get easier for them (both Voodoo and Hot Sauce needed it at age 2, now that they are 10 (!) and 4, they don’t need it because they have mastered the jumping mechanics.

Sequence 2 also went well!
>> I gad the jump angle wrong and needed a threadle to be correct>>

Ah yes, it definitely ended up being a threadle line.

You were blocking the line to the 2 backside at :52 so she went somewhere off screen 🙂 Not the different at 1:05 and 1:23, where you had a better line and she wsa gorgeous finding the backside of 2.

Then be sure to head directly to the outer wing (left wrap) wing of 4 – you turned your feet to the center of the bar at :56 so she read it as a rear cross (good girlie!) and picked up a right turn. In that moment: keep going! You were still working a lovely run there 🙂 It is a good handler training moment to carry on and not stop 🙂 because those little bobbles will come up at trials.

Good timing on your collection cues at 1:07 and 1:26 – and the rotation of the FC really helped her – nice turn! That is part of why I think a spin will help her for now, in other scenarios.

One thing I notice here is that now that she is jumping full height, you will probably need to move up the timing of the cues by a stride or so – so in sequence 1, you can start you decel as she is in the air over 5 to set up the turn at 6. And here as she exits the wrap at 3, you can already be showing the deceleration rather than see her exit then decel. This will be especially important if you do AKC courses where there is less room between jumps.

Now, speaking of the spin – on the ending of this type of line, she is already on a more natural line to the exit so you do *not* need a spin here, just timely cues – she can run this type of line as a “NASCAR” line where we don’t need the collection before takeoff, because the NASCAR line automatically turns her the direction we want (the line in sequence 1 does not have this same natural speed line). The turn at 1:11 was a little late and no real decel so she was a little wide, but the timing at 1:29 was much earlier and her turn was really good!!!! One step sooner, as she is over 5, will be perfect 🙂

Sequence 2 was first on the second video: zero problems with the added jump! You blocked 2 a little so she was wider but the rest looked great!

Sequence 1 also looked really strong! She *might* have looked at the added jump after 2 a :23? And at 1:03? Maybe? Maybe not? A little hard to tell. But she was great 4-5-6!! And you lovely blinds and also had a really nice running line more parallel to the bar of 3 on these

Since we are obsessing about the timing of the turn a 6 – at :29 and 1:08 here, you started the turn cues when she landed – when you add the tunnel, start those same cues when she is in the air and see how she does with the timing and spin. (Bar down on 7 was the sudden decel and toy throw, so keep running through the ending).

Sequence 3 (starting on the new jump :)) looked lovely! She is looking like an experienced dog on that one.

Freaking LOVED the timing of your FC at 1:18 – aggressive proactive handling and she nailed the commitment AND collection. Hooray! I mean, the first run had a nice FC but this one was fabulous! Same with te Fc at 1:23 – you sent and left. And not only did she commit perfectly, but she set up a better collection AND found a new gear of speed. Happy dance!

A suggestion: Try to run that ending line harder – because you know 7 is the last one, you are taking small steps and waiting for her. A good rehearsal for both of you would be to send to 4 then drivedrivedrive the handling to the end and run past 7 like there are 10 more obstacles 🙂

One thing that I am seeing on both of these videos and ESPECIALLY on the last run of video 2: you are starting to feel more comfy being super proactive: send and leave! And it even looks like you trust her a whole lot 🙂 SUPER!!!! Keep this up, it is all looking lovely 🙂

Great job here! Onwards to adding the tunnel!
Tracy

>.It’s doubtful I can build the entire jumpers course, but it looks like you have breakouts for that too. I have the training yard Friday so I’ll see what I can get done.>>

Yes – the pop outs should fit! And any variation of the full courses will be fun to look at too.

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
Nice work here! I think a main point of focus for Dancer will be to get rid of her “what’s next” head check questions by having you handling more proactively (give the cue, send and leave!) rather than managing turns and lines.

When you are proactive, she is able to read the lines beautifully and with a lot of speed. When you are trying to manage too many things, the information gets diluted and she has questions which lead to errors.

And if there is an error, either keep going like it didn’t happen or if you need to stop: reward her like she was correct (because she was :)) I see some frustration behavior from her when she doesn’t get rewarded (more on that below). Just because she won’t leave the work when she has a lot rate of reinforcement doesn’t mean she isn’t frustrated. So, pay up! Errors on course are handling errors 99% of the time.

Jumping course:

Well done on the blind between 3-4! That was proactive and you both nailed it. You can give her a forward verbal cue (like GO!) more info as she enters 4, so she doesn’t curl towards you on the exit. When you are quiet, she curls towards you to ask “what’s next” especially on tunnel exits, so defintely add more verbals to your tunnel cues, so she knows what to do when she exits.

Nice job sending to 7 (:15) so you could get pretty far up the line. Proactive! Super!

Start telling her about the 9 tunnel earlier (no later than halfway between 7 and 8) with convergence and the tunnel verbal – she was already looking at you over 8 (“what’s next, mom?”) when you said it. You can say tunnel or use a ‘get out’ directional to help her shift her line to the tunnel. And tell her before she enters 10 to go straight on the exit soshe doesn’t look back at you (:20).

A place you can be more proactive and less reactive is between 10 and 11 (more on that in the pop out below) Don’t manage the gap between 10 and 11 (:22) because it bought you the off course at :23 🙂 By managing the gap, I mean sticking around to direct her turn as she is jumping and after she lands. The key is to cue the turn and as soon as you see her look at the jump – you move to 11.

In that moment, she was 100% correct (watch it in slow motion and you will see that she was totally following the line you were standing on and your first steps of motion) so try to just keep going. If you stop, though, you must reward her – NOT rewarding her is the equivalent to telling her that she was incorrect and she was correct! She got a little frustrated by that and barked at you at :31 – and then she begins to slow down.

Managing the gap 10-11 also puts you pretty far behind for the 11-12-13-14 line, so you ended up doing rear crosses and the RC at 14 ended up being late in terms of the physical and verbal cue … and that set the line to the off course tunnel at :39. You called her off of it but you can see how she really thought it was the tunnel straight ahead and not the left turn. So you can do a rear cross there, but it needs to begin with the verbal and decel as she lands from 13 (you did it at takeoff to 14).

A more proactive way to handle it is to send to 12 as a spin so you are running to the gap between 13 and 14 on your left, but the spin allows you to both leave sooner and get a nice tight turn on 12. Then you can get a blind betwen 13 and 14, to set up the turn to 15 🙂 The timing of the turn cue on 14 is also as she is landing from 13, but being ahead to do it is much easier (and the blind is very doable there when you send to 12 and take off towards 14 :))

That will also help you set up the RC at 17, by decelerating a lot sooner on 16 (as she is exiting the tunnel) so she is seeing it and turning before takeoff – at :45 she thought you wanted her to go straight based on your motion and running forward.

Pop out 1:
The blind cross on the tunnel exit worked well, she had less of a question about going straight and not looking at you, but you can connect more to both get rid of the little head check entirely and time the collection cue at 4.

Ideally that cue for 4 will begin when she exits the tunnel. At :13 and :48, she heard the verbal and saw the decel when she was taking off, so she couldn’t turn til after landing. In both of those reps, you were facing forward as she was jumping, which also cues the wider turn (ideally you would be well on your way to 5 by then) That caused you to have to manage that turn and and made the layering really hard on the first rep (you don’t need to layer, it is an easier line if you run on the other side of the tunnel) and almost got the off course at :50 and you were also saying “go” there (followed by the refusal at :54). reward her for her effort there, she was doing a good job with the info!

You were definitely earlier with the turn cues at 1:14 (yay!) and got a MUCH better collection! But… managing the gap almost got the off course at 1:16 again.
The reason she is correct to think you want that jump is when you rotate to face her, the next thing she sees if you turning back to face forward – and that is a cue to shift away to the line she sees (which is the off course in this case, based on your position and rotation). So you can either send and leave with no rotation. or you can do a complete spin (instead of turning towards her then opening up again) because a spin will also get you outta there sooner.

So after you cue the wrap, try not to rotate towards her to bring her through the gap: cue the wrap as she exits the tunnel and when you see her lookinga the jump, leave for 5 (no managing the gap). Send and leave is the way to go 🙂 And if she doesn’t understand to come through the gap, we can train the skill 🙂

The reason the layering was so hard here was that 5, you were slamming on the brakes and turning and disconnecting, so she was really confused. And you turned a lot at 1:20 so she guessed it was the tunnel because it looked a bit like a blind (and, also she was offering it probably out of frustration because she had not yet been rewarded for her work, all of which was correct so far). You got it by going to the other side of the tunnel at the end, which worked really well – but because she had gone the whole time without a reinforcement, you can see the frustration in the form of more barking and also slowing down. So – think of every error as a handling error and either keep going or reward her like she was correct (because she was probably correct – watching the video in the moment will tell you what happened).

The other handling option here is the BC on the entry of the 3 tunnel – then you can send to 4 from further away (which helps with the collection and line) and gets you to position for 5-6 much more easily too!

Nice work! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

I am glad you made the list – you are carrying A LOT and I am sure it is not easy. Hugs!!!! Your strength is showing, because the load you are carrying is massive yet here you are, carving out time for all of the people and animals AND the time for yourself to post here. A giant high five to you!

You *can* control gathering more help to carry this load – asking for help is SO HARD for the women of our cohort, we somehow shoulder a whole lot by ourselves. So my question is – what can we help with? Are there folks locally who can come lend a hand, especially with the work around the property? You give so much to everyone, I know that the community will step right up to give back!

>>Trying to eat better so I feel better

Yes! And stay hydrated. And if you want to eat or drink something that makes you happy in the moment? Do it!

>>Trying to carve out. Consistent time every day to train>>

YES! It doesn’t even have to be anything hard – it can be just running around on an easy course and having a grand time with your beloved critters. It will be great!

>>Don’t always have enough time or energy to train properly

That is ok, though – try to avoid any guilty feelings or frustrated feelings about it. As long as the dogs are happy and getting exercise, then proper training can wait for now. You can do ‘improper training’ of easy, fun stuff that doesn’t require a lot of setup and makes you and the dogs smile.

>>Our Q rate is really low and I wish it wasn’t
Courses seem very tight for my big girl>>

Relatable! With AKC being the dominant organization in your area, your GSPs are being asked to run on short distances compared to their stride length and power. You can help them out by running them at 20 instead of 24 (makes it SOOOOO much easier to deal with the potential of a 15 or 16 foot distance) and also picking judges who set big distances (ideally judges who judge more than just AKC, because the design rules of the other organizations require bigger distances).

>>Feeling very overwhelmed with a almost 3yr old and almost 1 yr old to train

You can set a performance goal of 1 real 5 minute training session for each of them, per week. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it actually is plenty! Schedule it on a calendar 🙂

Dog sport I can control
>>Learn how to target my training sessions to help me and the dogs learn better and more efficiently>>

Yes! Focus on skill areas you want to train or improve. Perfect!

>>Make sure we only enter trials with good surfaces to help keep bars up

Yes this is HUGE!!! Doesn’t matter how good your handling or training is, if the surface is poor. So big yes to good surfaces, BIG rings (don’t go anyplace with a small ring for trialing), and good judges. You might end up trialing less… but fewer trials with more success? Yes please!!!! That would be fabulous!

Keep me posted!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

This is a great update! And I am so glad that spotting the success helped you with the class! SOOOOOO many good things happened in that class!!!

I like the points you picked out from the Zoom – I think that those apply to most of us in our agility ‘cohort’. Many of us share the same thoughts and behaviors!

>> HALT – Needs to include Rushed for Time for me

You can change it to something like “HART” (Hungry Angry Rushed Tired) because feeling rushed is definitely legit and valid – I often feel like everything has a clock to it!

>>– I’ve gotten very good the last few years about seeing success in others and saying something. Really suck at doing it for myself and even worse at doing it with Jim, my husband.>>

So keep pointing out the success in others by telling them – and your next step is to do it with Jim. After some practice with others and Jim, it will be much easier to do it with yourelf.

>>– My Inner Critics favorite sayings “I have a really hard time getting a course in my head”, “I’m really good at this in slow motion without my dog” and “How am I going to do verbals when I’m lucky if I can remember my name some days”

Keep practicing your Wide Advocate responses to these, using phrases that can help such as “I have been learning courses for decades and this is a skill I own” (because it is true), “I am a connected, confident handler with my fast dog” (because, also true!) and “I am going to keep practicing my verbals so they become second nature” (also true and a good performance goal!)

You might not believe any of it yet, but fake it til ya make it! Because, practice makes plasticity! The plasticity in your brain will develop those new neural pathways and then you will actually believe it and it will feel so much better 🙂

Have fun!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>I had worked the opening Monday night and could not get the BC 3-4. Either she wouldn’t take the #3 jump or I was so late it was ridiculous so after giving it some thought I went with the rear at 5 knowing she could find her poles and I could still catch up.>>

I think that the RYG exercises will clear that up, because you will get the feel for just how aggressively you need to move on course 🙂 Doing the jumping course first doesn’t give that same feel, so definitely go back to the RYG challenges because they will make the big courses sooooo much easier because you will have practice being super aggressive (the RYGs will eat you alive if you are not aggressively handling LOL!)

One of the things I have been bugging everyone about so far is to be proactive (drive in aggressively, cue the thing, get outta there) rather than reactive (waiting and getting behind). So in the opening of the jumpers course, doing the RC on 5 was a bit of reactive handling in that it got the sequence but she had a questions (looking at you on the tunnel exit then slowing down to the weaves), Yes, you can catch up in the weaves but it won’t always be the weaves in that scenario LOL! And also, in training, she will be polite about questions but at a trial, my guess is that she will be far less polite about it all LOL!!

And since we have been talking about arousal – the little questions or barks you see here in training are information-seeking moments, when she is not sure what is next. At a trial, when she is more aroused, those information-seeking moments will really blow up into frustration which we want to avoid of course. So, handling aggressively will help reduce that a whole lot! It will take a bit of getting used to but will be super helpful 🙂

So – your original plan of the BC 3-4 was GREAT – if you have video, post it so I can see what happened 🙂 It is definitely the proactive choice! The other proactive option here is to send to the tunnel and blind cross the exit – you can probably send her from further away to make the blind easy and not death-defying 🙂

She had a little question about finding the #9 tunnel, so you can send to 7 from further away (closer to 8) so you are further ahead at 8, and also give your get out for 9 sooner (no later than when she is halfway between 7 and 8)

That middle section is all about handling aggresively through those boxes and staying ahead 🙂 No waiting for her! Don’t let her get into the information-seeking mode!

On the FC at 10 – cue the wrap and as soon as she takes off, your work there is done and you can move out of there to 11. Stay connected and all but head to the 11-12 section. You were waiting for her at :21 (which caused the bar down at 12 and put you to far behind to get 15, so she ended up off course). And you were waiting for her at :56 too. so she had some questions.

The post turn at 12 then the RC was also not quite as proactive as I am going to convince you to be 🙂 She almost went off course again at 1:03. I think a more aggressive way to handle it would be to send to 12 from your left as the beginning of a spin, then take off to between 13-14, to do a BC between 13-14. You will barely (or not at all!) connect on your left side before going to the right side for the blind. That puts you miles ahead so you can set up the turn on 14 to get 15.

Good job staying in motion – the ending line went well here!!!

Pop out 1:

She has a great send to the tunnel entry here, so you can easily get the blind on the exit – you were pretty close to the exit when you sent her to the entry, so strategically lead out less, send more (without going past the tunnel exit) then you will have time to order a pizza and some wings before you do the blind 🙂
By waiting for her at the exit of 3, you can see the big information-seeking moment at 1:37 and a wide turn on 4, and a big question on 5. Layering is not a good option on this sequence, getting ahead and going into the box for 6-7 will work nicely 🙂
On the 2nd run, her frustration was starting to come up, so she had a question on the tunnel exit then an off course after 4.

You did the blind at 2:40 – proactive! Huzzah! Loved it! Then you waited at 2:42 as she took the 4 jump by rotating then standing still then opening back up – reactive – she had a big slip on landing of 4. And because you waited there, she was information-seeking between 4 and 5 (looking at you and barking at you), which carried over to the layering (she almost didn’t take 6).

So big click/treat (ice cream!) for the blind cross!! Then as she exits the tunnel, watch her head as you cue 4 – Josie will actually cue you went you can leave 4 and head for 5. That cue will look like her looking at 4. When she is locked onto 4, she is basically saying “yes, I see it, where next?” so it is really important that you don’t hang out there because then the “where next” info doesn’t materialize. So ideally, as she is lifting off for 4, you are halfway to 5 🙂

And yes, it might unveil a couple of spots we need to strengthen with training, but that is great! And it will also greatly decrease any information-seeking frustration, which is going to be SUPER helpful 🙂

Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

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