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>>I donât mind victory laps when training by myself but we are doing more advanced classes and I need him back a little quicker. I have been trying two tug game and rewarding with food. Any other suggestions?>>
They throwing the reward then just as he arrives at it – call him, run the other way, and offer a very exciting reward like a treat or cookie đ That can help him drive back pretty immediately.
T
On this last video, you made two terrific adjustments:
-More active tricks, to get him into a higher state of arousal (which can give more focus when working with distractions)
-Using a bag of treats (great minds think alike LOL!!)
He was very successful! So definitely keep the higher action tricks when using food, and the cookie bag instead of naked cookies. And adding the leash should make it all even easier.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyThis is volume dial and remote reinforcement with obedience behaviors. I would say he likes his obedience behaviors, but they might not be enough crazy ‘action’ like the tricks đ
“Around” near the reward station: very hard! You told him he knows this⊠but he doesnât know it with a stool of cookies right there! LOL! For obedience, that is a GREAT little proofing challenge to add because it will help him learn to ignore âeasierâ distractions like the judge or stewards.
And he definitely has trouble with the cookies on the reward station because he didnât move away here and ended up eating the cookies. So, using the leash will help cue him to move away, and also having the treats in a bag or container will help too. That way there is still some excitement and distraction, but it is easier than naked treats sitting there đ
This is Volume dial with toy – he was clearer that he should move away with you, probably because you were talking to him on the first rep. And possibly because the toy is more stimulating? Or because the food was more interesting than the toy was in this session :). On the 2nd rep of moving away, he was not as certain, maybe because you were quieter.
Since we donât want your verbals to have to be the cue here, you can definitely add the leash in when you move away because the leash will always be part of the picture at a trial.
I definitely like this setup for the box work! It will help him look forward more and at you less. One adjustment: Carry the remote for the MM rather than have it on your neck, so the timing is better and your hand can be in a more natural position. The timing of the clicks were a little inconsistent here because you had to reach for the remote after he was through the box, or reached for it before sending to the cone and ended up being too soon. So the remote in your hand will allow you to run and click as soon as you see his feet in the box, making it really consistent.
For this behavior, limit each session to 5 reps (about a minute) then give him a break while you look at the video. Then a few minutes later, you can do another 5 reps and either switch sides, or adjust what was happening. Definitely add in starting closer to the cone so he drives ahead of you – your comfort zone is to send to the cone and be parallel to the box, but we need you to be in all sorts of different locations đ
Hi!
This is a bit of volume dial tricks before remote reinforcement. The tricks were good! He had no idea that you wanted him to come with you when you walked away. My guess is that it is a combination of lack of context (you put the treats down and walked away, so he was offering an impulse control behavior) and he had a big weekend, so he is probably mentally tired from that.If you see him freeze like that, you can help him by making the context clearer – add a leash! That is an inherent cue to move with you đ and can set up success.
When he was offering behavior and you were moving back to it and talking to him, it was a little less clear so he did a frustration leap. So rather than let him percolate that long, you can help him sooner so he doesnât go too long without success.
The other thing to consider is that, after a big busy weekend – he needs recovery of a couple of days before you do any training. Sure, he didnât do a zillion runs over the weekend but being in that environment AND all of the focus and mental energy required for the FEO runs is exhausting. Monday training after a trial weekend is not likely to be as good (even with adult dogs) so it is better to plan decompression and rest đ
Good morning! Nice work on these!!!
Great video angle here to show us what she is seeing! When she is going towards the tunnel, you were beautifully connected. When she is exiting the tunnel going towards the next jump, you were looking forward so she was not always sure where to be. So as you move to the line after the tunnel, look back to her. This will help her see where to go and it will help your timing on the next line.
She ran the first sequence really well! The only adjustment I suggest is at 7-8 (after the 2nd tunnel) is to add more connection (like a serpentine, eye contact back to her and upper body a bit rotated towards her) and getting past the 7 jump as early as possible REALLY worked to get a nice turn to 8.
At :08, you were running straight for a few steps too long, so she jumped 7 straight and turned after she landed.
Compare to the next rep:
You got across the jump sooner at :21 so her line was better and she turned before takeoff! Just add a little more connection and it will be perfect!The BC you did at the end there (between the tunnel and the jump) will work well too – I think she has really great tunnel commitment so you can use your âgo tunnelâ verbals sooner too on the 4-5-6 line so you can go to the blind cross even sooner and without feeling rushed.
Seq 2:
The smaller distances are great for sharpening up timing!
As she exits the tunnel, and as you are setting up for the RC, you can accelerate to get closer to the #4 jump then decelerate to face the RC line, so she sees motion to the RC line and can turn before takeoff.At :33 she thought it was a left turn based on your position and didnât get the right turn info til she was in the air. Then having to stay there to help her out delayed setting the line to 6 so the bar came down – make sure you are moving more on those straight lines so she doesnât ask if your decel means collection or not (that is part of why the bar came down).
Compare it to the timing of your rear cross at the end (:51) – you started moving to the rear cross line MUCH earlier, as she was exiting 4, so her turn was lovely and that also set up a nice ending line. Yay!! Super nice!!!
The blind on this sequence will be very effective too, because I think she can be really independent on the 3-4 line allowing you to get up the line for the blind. At :43, the BC started as she was lifting off for 4 and ideally it should start as she is over 3 or landing from 3 (depending on distance, so in this case because it is a smaller distance, it is over 3). That way the BC will be finished before she takes off for 4, which also gives you time for the decel and send into the wrap at 5.
The decel/send to 5 will start pretty immediately as she is landing from 4 on a shorter distance, maybe even while she is in the air over 4. At :45 here, you were starting the verbal wrap cue but continuing to move directly forward with a lot of motion, so she was not sure if she should respond to the verbal or physical cue. She jumped straight over the bar, and then when you moved away for the wrap she tried to adjust (bar down). You marked it with an âuh ohâ and stopped⊠but that is entirely a handler error moment đ so I recommend you donât mark it and just keep going. When you watch it back in slow motion, you will see that the info was late. I only mark bars and stop the dog when I am 10000000% sure that my cue was really timely and clear⊠which almost never happens for me. LOL!!
So if a bar goes down, keep going. And if you know what caused it, you can change it on the next rep. If you are not sure, watch the video in slow motion and freeze it when she takes off: that shows you what she is seeing as she is jumping.
Great job here! Let me now what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!!
>>How long ago was it that Matrix chewed out of the crate at that seminar in Colorado? >>
Ha! I think that was about a million years ago? It must have been 2009.
>>Zubie did running dog walks with you through agility-u years ago. Looking forward to the chance to work together again with my new puppy.>>
Me too! Can’t wait to see Venture!!!
>Ven already has some skills but weâll go back to the basics with each game.>>
Perfect! Some games might seem simple but there is specific underlying theory for why we do it – a combo of agility concept work and also arousal regulation, and confidence and resilience building. I will try to explain the underlying concepts but feel free to ask if it seems like I need more coffee haha!
>>I didnât video but did a couple of quick sessions for pre-games 1 and 2 and he got them really fast. Venture is teething so Iâm not asking him to tug much but he does have tugging skills.>>
Fantastic! And yes, we want to protect the tugging and keep it fun fun fun, so you can stick to super soft toys and limited tugging during teething đ
Have fun!
TracyGood morning and welcome to class! Thank you for getting my morning off to a great start with these terrific videos!
And OMG she is SO CUTE and CHARMING and SMART!!! The pre-games look great đ
On the foot target video – she was really figuring out the foot targeting and we can see the value being built up here. Yay!
Nice tugging between the treat eating! That is great (and really hard for puppies sometimes)!!! You helped the transition by making the tug the most interesting and obvious thing in the environment – excellent training. And great job with your markers!
And she did really well in a relatively distracting environment. What a terrific start!!
Because she is so small, you can try it sitting in a chair or on the ground – that can help get quick reps and quick reinforcement. And you can have multiple treats in your hands – because she is so quick, the heartbeat it takes to reach for a treat is building in a bit of looking at you, so having 2 or 3 treats in each hand can get her looking at her target more because the rewards will be delivered so quickly.
She is offering a lot of downs (probably because you have shaped it and she loves it LOL!) so you can move to your âget itâ markers more than the reward in position marker – that way she remains in motion and will be less tempted to offer the down.
We build on this game tonight!
Great start to the hand target – as you presented it in both mini-sessions here, you also looked at it and that made a big difference for her.
I think the âget itâ marker will be helpful here too – when you had a lot of rewards for standing still near the target, you got some down behavior and other behavior such as the cutest bows on the planet. If you use a âget itâ marker and toss the reward, then she can come driving back to the hand target. I think she will like the movement and will be less likely to offer the down or offer looking around.
Great job here. I am particularly excited about her level of engagement in a distracting environment, her ability to offer a lot of behavior, and her ability to go back and forth between food and tugging!!!!! YAY!
Tracy
Hi!
Using this setup adds a bit of proofing element, but she did really well!
Backsides are looking terrific! She is finding the entry really easily. She does best finding the bar when you shift your connection to the landing spot with the countermotion, and that is fine!
Over the course of multiple sessions, you can very gradually fade out the upper body rotation to look at the landing spot by just looking at the landing spot and pointing to it. And you can also use a placed reinforcement – leaving the frizzer or a MM on the landing side tucked in near the exit wing. Then eventually, the placed reward rotates out away from the landing spot, getting further and further up the exit line. That way it is both a reward for taking the jump and a bit of a distraction/proofing moment đ
This can be very gradual, no rush, because we want to maintain the high success rate you had here!
Threadles are harder, of course! With the main plan being that you can cue the threadle as an in-then-out behavior chain and not have to cue the jump at all: Try not to cue the jump at all by keeping your shoulders/arm/eyes frozen in threadle position so that she comes in to the correct side and then takes the jump without any additional movement from you. Staying connected – yes! Turning your shoulders to the jump or relaxing your threadle cue – nope!
So the threadle position of the upper body should not move until she lifts off for the jump – otherwise we accidentally build in a 2nd cue for the jump which we donât want to do.
On the first rep at :47, you looked forward ever so slightly to the jump and moved your shoulders forward so she read it as a blind cross (which is actually correct). You can use a reset reward for that, because it was a legit response to what she saw.
On the other reps, your connection was better but your shoulders were moving to the jump, so she found the correct side. Your position relative to the jump was great, so keep that position but freeze your shoulders so you donât accidentally turn to the jump. I recommend holding a cup of coffee or a glass of wine in your threadle hand, so your hand/arm/shoulders wonât move because you wonât want to spill it LOL!!! Then it is a double reward: she gets the frizz, you get the beverage. Winning!
If she has trouble finding the jump without you moving your shoulders, use a placed reward out on the landing line to help her. I think she will find the jump well, though, because she really seems to love jumping!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
Accordion grid – looking really nice!!! Lovely session.
I love how her head is down and she is looking forward here – it really promotes lovely form, so keep going with the reward as far away as you put it. And I would also want her to see this with the moving target reward (toy being dragged, can be the frizzer on a long leash LOL!). That will get even more power and maintain form in higher arousal, which will translate really well to trials.
She is in a down-stay in front of first jump on these. I am guessing that it is the most stable & happy position on the longer lead outs, which is great – a happy lead out is more important than what position it is. Normally we want the pupâs feet to be close enough to the first jump that there are no extra footfalls before jump 1, but that assumes it is a sit. After watching these reps, from the down, it looks like the one step into the grid gets the best results for her, when starting from the down.
When she is close enough to get into the gap without an extra step before jump 1, she really has to âreachâ with her front to get the striding done. And she gets it done, but is a little short to the bars (reps 1, 2, 3, and 5)
On rep 4 (the release is at :21), she was little further back and put in one step before the first bar⊠and that was her best rep in terms of power, striding, balance, and landing pretty centered between the bars. LOVE it!
Compare to rep 2 which is the same distance – but she was closer to the bar on the release and was not as powerful and organized over the bars.
My guess is that coming out of a down, she needs the one stride to get her booty organized to power into the grid. And we want to support her power booty plans đ
So, for the down as the start position put her just far enough away from jump 1 that she can put one little stride in like she did on rep 4, and see how it goes. If you ever decide to switch to a sit in front of the jump, you can move her closer to the jump. (Side note: since the down is so solid and her form is lovely, I see no reason to switch to a sit if that might cause her to lean forward or break).
The only distance she had a question about was rep 3 – she had 2 balanced strides between 2 and 3 then kind of flung herself over 3 LOL!! It was her just trying to solve the puzzle of the distance. It was not too bad, but not as good as her form over the other jumps. Next time you try this, ask the same question in terms of the distance, but do 2 things differently: her line up position a little further away, and the moving target reward. If she still has a question, then you can shorten the distance by a foot and see if that helps.
Great job here!!!
Tracy
