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Hi! I am glad you were able to get training time set up, and that your mom is still doing well. And she has a ton of good skills here! The soccer place is great for prepping for trialing! She definitely does not like it when you mark behaviors with oopsie or try again – you can see that she gets careful or freezes – so if something goes wrong, just assume it was handler error 🙂 and keep going or reset with a reward for the next rep.
Looking at the videos:
Set point – her jumping skills are going well! To keep advancing the skills and keep her head down, you can put yourself next to the MM (not laterally away from it or between the jump and MM) . That way she won’t consider your position a turn cue 🙂 Next step is to move to the moving target (dragging toy) as the reward, so there is more power and arousal added.
Smiley face game, video 1 – This went well! She is ready for more distance between the tunnel and wings so that she can add more speed and so you can start the turn cues sooner for the wraps. I see that you added the distance in the next video – super!!
With these sequences, you can give her a lot more connection on the tunnel exits and also on the way to the tunnel. Pretty direct eye contact and low hands will show her the lines as you stay in motion. And if something goes wrong, keep going or reward (stopping or oopsing was causing her to deflate, and continuing on will help keep her in the game and ignoring the distractions like the people cheering).
About the connection – You can see her looking at you a bit when you were trying to point forward, and that led to a few errors where she didn’t get a reward for the sequence, so she was not as convinced about the tunnel and was losing a bit of focus. The tunnel closer to the camera in particular was hard because you were turning away/disconnecting then saying yes – so she was unsure of where to go and freezing up a bit. So be sure to really maintain connection and move forward til she is in the tunnel then reward – and if an error happens, just keep handling as if it was right, and add more connection on the next rep.
Tunnel exit turns – she is finding her lines really well!! You can give all of the verbals soon 🙂 You were giving the Go or left/right verbals as she was exiting the tunnel, and ideally you would start giving the verbal and showing the handling when she is about 4 feet away from entering, so she sees it before she goes in. You can put a line or a cone on the ground about 4 feet before the tunnel entry as a visual for you, so you can be starting those cues as she is passing the line or cone.
When the Go verbal was a little late, she would exit looing at you. When the soft turn verbals were a little late, she would end up wide on the right turns in particular. So letting her see and hear those verbals should really help smooth things out on those lines and turns.
Nice adjustment to get the better connection after the FC on the GO reps! She didn’t seethe connection no the first rep, then you really ramped it up on the 2nd rep and she read it really well!
I think you had a right verbal naming a left turn on one of the reps 😉 Totally relatable! Make sure you take a moment to remind yourself of the verbals before starting the reps.
Nice stays and lead outs in front of the tunnel!!! That looked awesome!
Wind in your hair 1:
She did really well finding the jump, both with you walking and with you running! You can connet more here too as she exits the wing wrap – you were looking a little too far ahead so she was looking at you and coming to you as she exited the wrap. If you look at her more, she will look at the line more.Good job placing the toy and adding the GO verbal! She did really well here and was terrific about ignoring the toy until it was time to run to it 🙂 You can add more and more distance to this skill.
Minny pinny – the new location is distracting! To help attach the verbals more and keep her more focused, you can line her up on your side and gently hold her collar (but don’t lift her feet off the ground) and say the verbal a few times before letting her go. You can also use a toy for this game, as it might be more helpful to ignore the distractions.
In this session, we can see that she is NOT a fan of being told she is wrong – she freezes up and looks at you as if judging you LOL! So rather than mark something with an oopsie, you can keep better flow if you call her back and reset with a treat for the next rep. Definitely no more oopsie markers for her 🙂
Sends and serps On the send, adding more connection and being a little closer will help get her heading to the wing more. When you pointed forward and you were right next to the jump, the pointing turned your shoulders to the jump, so that is where she went. So less arm pointing and more connection will your shoulders pointing to the wing more.
For the serp, try to rotate at the waist so your upper body is facing the bar, with the center of your chest facing the center of the bar. That will get better come in-go out behavior – you were turning your shoulder perpendicular to the bar (simialr to a post turn) so she was coming in, but not reading the “go back out” part of the serp til after hte MM mae the beep noise. The rotated upper body will cue both in and out for the serp, so you will be able to move through it more easily.
The FC on the wing for the balance reps looked great!
Zig Zag on the wings – this is going well! I didn’t see her have any questions or trouble here, so you can start to do the cues a little sooner (so she makes faster lead changes. You an also move to the next step where you add the bars 🙂
Wind In Your Hair
On the go reps – keep moving even as you throw the toy on a straight line past the wing of the jump, so there is no pressure into the line like there is on the Rear Cross. You were running to center of the bar on some of the GO reps, so she was not reading the RCs as quickly because the cue looked the same as the Go
Don’t mark oops and remember to reward her even when you mess up 🙂 For example something went wrong at 3:38 and she didn’t get rewarded, so she got a little frozen there, and that bleeds over into the next reps where she is a little more cautious. And you can use your “get it” more on the thrown rewards, she was being a bit careful there too.Rear crosses: Nice job with the reward placement!
As you work the mechanics and running line of the rear crosses, you don’t need to add the verbals yet as long as you don’t say “go!” You had a couple of different verbals happening but emphasizing the physical cues for now will be more effective – really getting right on the line to the center of the bar so she can feel and see the RC pressure. Eventually the verbals will match whatever the turn is (left/right, or wrap, for example).Backsides are going well! Good job showing her the wing! Be sure to keep your dog-side arm back and make more connection so she can see the wing. When you do a big send arm, like at 4:41, it blocks the wing a bit and she considered the other jump that was off to the side.
Strike a pose proofing
– she did well here too with both the serp and the threadles! Be sure to have your shoulders rotated facing the jump and arm in position all before you release, so that she can see the cue before the release and also so that she does not release on the hand movement. That is what happened at 3:42 – you started moving your hand so she released (because that is what had happened on the other reps). So, be sure the hand is in position before the release, even if you end up having to put the hand up and rotate your upper body before you start moving into position.For the tunnel reps, you can connect more as you say the the tunnel verbal – if your back is too her like it was on the first rep, she is likely to come to you 🙂 And if she gets in the tunnel just reward even if she accidentally took the jump first – if she got it right then you ask her to try again, she will be confused (and freeze up). You did a great job breaking it down to help her, so just add a little more connection and she will have it.
Ladder grid – she is doing well with this when the lines were straight and also when the bars were angled, so we can make some adjustments in the setup to help her keep her head down and power over all 3 jumps.
At the beginning, it was hard to see where the reward was, but she was jumping with her head up at 3 for the first couple of reps so it was probably too close and not enticing enough 🙂 At :35 and the next rep the toy was out ahead but you were positioned a little past 3 and not near the toy, so she (correctly) came to you, reading it as a decel cue. Good girl!Having a cookie out ahead helped and towards the end, a higher value toy definitely helped her look forward too! but the cookie (and you :)) were a little too close to jump 3 – ideally, you would be 10 feet further past 3 so that she can land and accelerate to the reward and not decelerate to it over the bar.
So to help get her driving forward, you can use a placed reward about 10 feet or more past 3 with you right next to it. Or, you can go to the moving target (dragging reward) so she is watching it and keeping her head down the whole time.
My only other suggestion on the grid is to start her closer to it, so she doesn’t take a step before the first jump – she just lifts off her hind end. That probably means her front feet will be about 6 to 8 inches from the first jump.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>We were able to practice the pattern games while at a Nosework trial this weekend. She also did some serious chewing to decompress after searches.>>
Awesome! How did she do with the pattern games? And the chewing is a great decompression 🙂
Sequence 3 here looked great – you were connected and energetic and fast! My only suggestion is that you line her up on a slice for jump 1 so she doesn’t look at you like are nuts when you lead out 🙂 (that is what happened on the first rep LOL!). And also lining her up on a slice facing 2 will take out extra turns so you can handle less and get a better line.
Nice tricks before the sequences on the 2nd run!
>>My rear crosses suck. I wasn’t patient in letting her get ahead of me.>>
They looked good here! Feel free to leave in the bloopers because those can be informative for handling and more importantly, for arousal states.
>>She had been jumping on me a lot this day.>>
During the sequences? Leave those parts of the video in so I can see what is happening and give you ideas to help her NOT do it.
Seq 5 also looked good! You can call her and give her the right verbal a few feet sooner, so she sees and hears it all before she goes into the tunnel (my general rule of thumb is to do it when the dog is 6 feet away from entering the tunnel.
The handling looked connected and fast here too! The serp-to-blind on the 2nd run was TERRIFIC! That put you a little further ahead than on the previous run and you ended up turning your shoulders too soon at :47, which got the wrong side of the jump at :48. She came in and jumped at you (even though you were praising her) – so if something goes wrong or something unexpected happens: keep going as if it was totally correct and finish the sequence (or make up an ending :)) She was reading you correctly, so stopping can be frustrating for her even if she gets a cookie. Dogs do like their cookies and toys, but sporting dogs generally like to keep moving because they understand that stopping in the middle indicates an error.
>>Oh, I also tried running with my imaginary dog today when she left me at a practice field. She came back pretty quickly.>>
Perfect! Do you have videos of when she left, or when she was jumping on you? That is even more valuable to look at than the videos where you were perfect 🙂 Post both of the videos: the perfect runs so we can look at and talk about what works beautifully, and the imperfect runs so we can talk about what triggered the jumping on your or leaving the course.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Glad you had a fun weekend!
I agree that she was not super comfortable here in the pattern game video – the location was very hard, soooo many people in and out carrying weird things, and the door slamming. That door is loud LOL!
Were you able to do this further away from the traffic and the door (like in one of the alleys away from the ring, or the back room) and if so, how did she do? You can start further away until you get her feeling more comfy.
>>Well, first, I didn’t consider the fact that Syn has always lived in Ranchers and has never had to deal with all of those weird steps, so that took a bit.>>
Ah yes, good point. And that open balcony is a bit weird for dogs – they are not used to be up in the air like that, above the agility! So the frenetic behavior was just arousal because of that. We observe it and the patterns will help her – and next time at RSCR you can try it in easier spots downstairs and then again upstairs and see how she does.
>>but it was like my brain overrode that thought anytime something happened. I need to work on mistakes being part of the plan.>>
Practice this in training all the time – in training we often stop and give the dog a toy, or stop and fix – and then we stop and fix in trials 🙂 So treat training just like trials, and keep going all the time 🙂 When you stopped, she is starting to jump on your (JWW
>> We also need to work on our weaves. She always gets the entry and “weaves” but doesn’t usually make the turn to get that second weave.>>
She seemed to need you to be behind her and not moving that much in order to get them. It might just be too early in her trial career to ask her to weave. You can use a toy in NFC classes (T2B and FAST, and ASCA and UKI) to specifically work on the weaves, but for now I think the weaves are too hard in a ‘real’ trial run.
Also, what is her contact criteria? It was hard for me to tell, which means it will be hard for her to tell and you might end up seeing the behavior shift during trials. She was starting to look at you more and slow down sooner.
Looking at the runs – it seemed like you were first in your height for all these runs, which meant a LOT of tine on the start line waiting for them to finish changing the heights. In the 2nd standard, you were there for almost 90 seconds! So bring her in a little later especially in standard where they have to change the table. And keep her moving with the tricks like you did, that seemed really helpful!
Overall, your connection looked good throughout! The handling bloopers were only in spots where you needed to push her away on a line and didn’t do it soon enough. And example is the standard 1 run, where the line after the table was not a straight go line (the jump before the tunnel required a left turn) so it would be a ‘Get out’ or handled on the other side to get it nice and smooth. Another example is the line after the teeter in the 2nd standard where you had to push her away out you were not quite far enough ahead to do it.
The handling lines in JWW and FAST and standard were really strong overall! FAST went well – it is a great opportunity to use your toy for those weaves 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Nice work on these! One thing that you will see when you watch it back was when you were connected with low arms, he read everything really well (like the 1-2-3 line each and every time. Super nice!!!)
When you started pointing ahead, he had questions. Pointing ahead of him changes the line of your shoulders, so he would check in and look at you or go to the line he saw.
For example, on the 3-4-5 line to the tunnel, if you pointed ahead he had a question about whether to take the tunnel or not (like at :23 on the first video and :38 on the 2nd video). When you kept your hands down and looked at his head, even from behind? No questions 🙂
The hardest part was the 8-9-10 section. Part of it was that 9 was close to 8, so he didn’t have a lot of room to adjust. And it is possible that the edge of the 9 jump was on a backside line from 8, so when you said GO and pointed forward, he (correctly) stayed on his line past the jump. Good boy!
Compare that to when you decelerated, kept your hands low, and called his name? He got the jump every time 🙂 Super!
That is great info: stay connected and give stronger turn cues to get the hard turn. Then when he is on the line, you can add your go verbal. Watching his eyes to see where is looking will really help!
Great job here :) Tracy
Hi!
>>yes she’ll need to cope with my inability and learning how to handle a border collie.>>
All young dogs need to learn to cope with us learning how to NOT mess up LOL!!!!! The key is to keep going, never let on that there has been an error, and reward something else. Eventually we figure it out, they figure it out, and things come together really well 🙂
>>So when is adolescents over? hah.. >>
The scientists tell us it can be closer to 3 years old…. Sigh. LOL!!!
>> Kinda afraid of her coming back demanding miles and miles of exercise daily or a different dog>>
She will be fine! She will like the brain work and she will like being back with you!
>>.. I have worse separation anxiety than she does.. she’s having the time of her life!>>
OMG this is totally relatable LOL!
>>I will follow those border collies! I also remember reading one that has difficulty being caught at the end
That reminds me – you can also follow Levy (auditing) – he is a BC/Whippet cross and a half-brother to my Contraband. And Levy does not want to be caught at the end 🙂 So we are planning end of run behavior to help him out.
Tracy
>>Originally I was having her go through my legs and then line up by my side. But, she just couldn’t do it. So, I am trying to make it simpler. >>
A lot of dogs like lining up between our feet and not at our side, then we ‘dismount’ and lead out. It helps us also get the dog into a great spot right away.
>> I’ll post some video for you. It was very windy which is distracting by itself.
The session looked really good!
Back and forth looked good here, very quick and engaged responses.
Was she able to do it with this same latency with you moving closer to the ring or walking around near other people and dogs? Or with dogs running? We definitely want to work it now with other dogs running – maybe start with a small dog jump height so you don’t run into any BCs that bark the whole time while running 🙂The volume dial went well and she was very happy to tug! Hand touch to tug looked really good, and so did the spin and through tricks. Super! This is also good to move closer to the ring while other dogs are running.
>>After the posted session and a break we went between the two rings while one ring was down and the other one walking. I was chatting and she was in a down. She was very calm and just taking it in. We then tried some games and lines up. Nothing on film as I didn’t trust leaving the tripod out in that area in the wind.>>
Excellent, she did well! At class, can she come out and do this while another dog is running, to keep practicing it?
>> Interesting comment about hand touches. Yesterday once she gave me eye contact I cued a hand touch to the side o wanted her to line up. She seemed to like it. I’ll see if she can do that in class. >>
Cool!! Maybe it helps make the line up cue into more of a silly trick, less pressure 🙂
>>What currently happens is she starts grabbing grass as we walk to the jump. Don’t love that behavior.>>
I don’t love it, I don’t hate it… it is good info! Does she grass grab in class too? That is generally an indicator of an uncomfortable arousal state (over-arousal) and she is grabbing grass as a coping tool (doing repetitive things with their mouths is a proven decompression tool for dogs). Now, if a bit of grass grabbing leads to low latency line ups and perfect runs? Then we leave it along LOL! Since it appears that the latency is NOT low on the line ups, we can help her develop other coping skills: you can bring her to the line doing tricks-for treats, like hand touches back and forth in front of you to get her bouncing around a nit (most dogs find movement very helpful in that scenario). At first use a treat for it, then we can fade the treat and develop it into a pattern game.
You can also use a toy on the way to the start line – that might be a great release for that over-arousal energy that she is now releasing with grass grabbing.
I know it is counterintuitive, but more movement and less control is often the answer for dogs feeling the over-arousal on the way to the line (and most dogs do feel the arousal shift, that is not unusual at all).
Try experimenting and see how it goes – do a couple of turns trying one thing on the way to the line. And then do a couple of turns trying something else. Get it all on video of course 🙂 We will get this piece of the puzzle sorted and then everything will be very smooth!
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Nice work on these!
One major theme that I will keep bugging you about: no standing still 🙂 Keep moving! We want deceleration to predict turning so if you are standing still on extension lines, we will lose some of the decel = turn info.
On the first sequence:
On the first rep, move on the lead out rather than stand still to support the line and keep decel cues intact:
– with all of the stationary position parallel to 2, she should consider collecting on 2 (she did consider it at 1 but not at 2). Even with the tunnel verbal to override it, we want to keep her reading the decel cues for now.
– you being in motion the whole time will get you to the next position sooner because you can be in motion the whole time 🙂You were in motion the whole time on the 2nd rep and she was able to read the turn nicely! She is turning nicely on the tunnel exits! You can switch the verbal sooner: the ‘right’ verbal can change to a jump verbal when she is in the tunnel, so she is not still hearing it when she exits if you want a straight line.
The sequence where you wanted the pinwheel jump shows us a bit why I recommend always moving on those straight lines and not decelerating or being stationary while she drives straight. She was not sure about the turn when you were facing straight, even decelerated like at :45 (where you were facing forward so she correctly went straight).
For cues, you can use a decel where you stand up straight but you also need to turn to the next line 🙂 I think you are doing too much standing up facing forward decel – that is best if you are about to rotate like a FC wrap cue, but not as useful on a post turn because it doesn’t give the ‘where to go next’ info at :56 – you were asking for collection but not showing how much so she dropped the bar.
You had a little bit of turn at 1:09 so she got it – you can see how well she reads the motion! So ideally for a turn like that, you can start the verbal and a little decel after she exits the tunnel, and then turn your shoulders (use a brake arm if you think she needs more help) so she sees you facing the pinwheel jump before she takes off for the previous jump. And keep moving, no more standing still 🙂
Next sequence looked good! The rear cross was the only hard part here – she was reading the turn the next direction (remember to not say go :)) She was not reading the deceleration into it, so exaggerate the decel more and then as soon as she commits to the jump, turn and run the next direction. If you stand still and wait for her to come back to the line after a wide turn, she should theoretically be reading a cue to decel on the next jump… but if it is then paired with extension, she will lose that understanding. So even if she has a wide turn or misses the next jump, always pair the decel with moving direction to the next line so she associates decel with collection to go a different direction.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I hope 81 stays fabulous for you! Were you northbound or southbound on 81 when you sent this? Harrisonburg is not tooooo far from me. I will be on 81 today and later in the week, not sure when you are doing the next leg of your adventure!
T
Good morning! Great job on both of these sessions!
On both videos:
Nice line up position on the slice angle on all of your runs here! His stay looked great and he committed o jump 1 really well, which allowed you to be way up the line. Super!!!Lovely connection and he read this really well. One suggestion:
Cue turn on 3 sooner – when he lands from 2 you should be starting the cues for the turn on 3
On the first rep you did it when he landed from 3. On the second run you did it when he took off for 3.On the 2nd video at 3, the turn for 4 started after he landed and you turned your shoulder, so that did support the off course line he took at :26(good boy!)
You used your outside arm at :32 which worked after he landed but made you late for showing the line to the tunnel so he had a spin there.At 1:15 you were definitely earlier with the cues for 3! You start it as he was about halfway between 2 and 3 so he jumped 3 already turning to 4. YAY!
This was your best timing 🙂
On the last run on the 2nd video, you got him pumped up and he still ran perfectly (just faster :)) On this run at 3, you were a little later with the cues (he was taking off for 3) but I think he had learned the sequence so he was very smooth.
So definitely aim for the timing you used at 1:15 on the 2nd video – when you see him exit 2, start the cues for 3. That will give you the best turns and keep you both moving up the line.
Great job!!
TracyGood morning!!
>>Anyway- I saw pretty much the exact same behavior we are seeing in agility. just running and running- she would get on the sheep then fall back- barking at them- running the opposite direction and laying down. >>
That is good to know! I think of it as a coping skill… In Sadie’s defense, she was probably like “WTF IS THIS OMG I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO” LOL!! Good girl for trying!!
From the human perspective, when we are stressed about something, we all cope differently. I eat ice cream. Some people do a big workout (that is NOT EVER my coping skill LOL!!) There are lots of other coping strategies.
And from the dog perspective, we see that they, too, having coping strategies. Some dogs sniff, some dogs fawn all over people… Sadie runs and runs and runs. That is actually NOT that unusual and I have seen it in agility, herding, flyball…
It comes back to the amygdala and the F responses (fight, flight, freeze, fawn, fidget). Her impulse to run run run run is likely related to flight or a big fidget response. And it is all fine because we will work her through it and give her other coping strategies.
>>Her breeder stated that she can’t handle pressure very well either.>>
Most adolescent dogs can’t handle pressure all that well, which is why the scientist and big time behavior people tell us to back off pressure during adolescence. Unfortunately, in dog sports, that is when most people ramp up the pressure because the dogs are coming of age to compete. But you were smart and took a step back, which gives us time!
During adolescence, the dog brain is changing rapidly and the front of the brain (which is basically in charge of suppressing the BIG EMOTIONS and developing the good decision-making of executive function) is just not that highly developed. So we move carefully through this stage and help the dogs, with lots of empathy towards them and towards the owners too, because adolescence is HARD!!
>>I can’t help but think its something I did or didn’t do when she was younger? especially the can’t handle pressure part? >>
Nope, you didn’t do anything that caused her to struggle with pressure. This is actually something that happens a LOT but no one wants to talk about it, because there is just so much shaming out there (I mean, did you look at Facebook last week with all of that shaming of people who might have dogs that struggle in the ring? That was UGLY and I hated it!)
So hopefully it helps to know that you didn’t cause anything, there is nothing wrong with her at all 🙂 and we can develop the skills she needs to help her in the ring 🙂 Those skills are not sport skills, they are arousal regulation skills!
>>will we learn some games for that?
Yes! The pattern games and the volume dial game are the bedrock for that, which is why we started with them. Get them to be looking great and then it is easy to build on them. And more coming tomorrow to build up her skills in that department.
>>or is that just the breed?
Well, yes LOL! Some Border Collies tend to cope with stress or pressure by moving MORE or barking MORE. Some freeze, but it sounds like she is not a freezer LOL!! There is also a genetic component to it – whenever we tart digging into the pedigrees and behavior on the pedigree, we can actually track a lot of it. I mean, I have a 15 month old dog who is exactly like his pedigree suggests he would be (and exactly what the breeders told me what he might be like LOL!) Same with all of my dogs – I can trace their behavioral traits back through their pedigree. It is pretty cool, actually! What is needed is honesty about behavior from the other folks (or a good memory if they have gotten past adolescence).
I mention this so you can be sure it is not anything you did – there are multiple factors in play here. All are normal and we have lots of tools to help you help her 🙂
>lack of confidence?
It is hard to measure confidence, so it is probably easier to measure things in terms of behavioral expression: she probably takes longer to return to physiological baseline (biological resilience, where the HPA axis centers back to baseline) – this is normal for adolescents as well. The scientists tell us that adolescent dogs take 2 or 3 times longer to return to baseline than puppies or adults. Eek! The games here help build the biological resilience too (more of that coming tomorrow).
We will also emphasize coping skills because we humans mess up our handling and also because we bring the dogs into all sorts of new environments, so coping skills and self-regulation are key! And with adolescents, it is a bit up-down-sideways-backwards for a while but then it comes together beautifully as the pups grow up.
Keep me posted on what you think! There are other BCs in class you might want to follow that are a little older so you can see where we are going with this. They are Ripley, Kotaulo, and Casper, Sid, and Vinny. There is a BC girl of a similar age (Caper) who is also working here!
Tracy
Good morning and welcome!!!
>>We still have some Startline issues.
Tell me more!
>>He’s nice and focused when we run. We did fix our end of run routine with your help over the last year. Now instead of coming into me and jumping at my face at the end he happily goes to find his leash and brings it to me to tug and put it on.>>
This is all great! In your opinion, what really helped him for the end of run behavior? What didn’t seem to help? I like to keep track of all of this so we can use it in the future for dogs with similar questions.
>>I have gotten AWFUL about quick releases and need to get my crap together and stop doing that. >>
You need a snuffle mat before your runs! LOL!!!
>>The great news there is that he’s really excited on our field now and so making the same mistakes he makes at trials. Gives us, finally, a chance to work on that stuff more at home (he used to basically be perfect at home and so made it tough to recreate his trial feeling and how they impacted his ability to maintain criteria).>>
This is useful for sure!!! And we have more games coming to help, I have some videos I can dig up and share to give you more crazy ideas 🙂 And also definite NFC work can help the contacts – do you have any UKI or USDAA coming up in the area? Both of those allow thrown toys, which is great for reward placement on contacts (thrown to the dog as you go hustling past the contacts).
>>Full disclosure- I had not had breakfast or more importantly coffee.>>
That is the ultimate dog training bravery… training before coffee. My dogs would flee LOL!!!!
I admit to almost snorting out my coffee when you walked onto the screen with the giant stuffed Border Collie LOL!
The first set of patterns without any distractions went great – SUPER low latency and lots of motion (BCs like motion!)
The up and down game was perfect in the first session and then hilarious when he was staring at the treat behind you LOL!! You were probably wondering what the heck was happening LOL!!!
But that can go on the list of novel distractions for the pattern game! We want his latency to remain the same, even with a cookie behind you! So start with a cookie on the floor behind you, a little further away and try it! Thanks for the feedback, Ripley!!!!
And for up-and-down, if he puts himself into a down, you can place the cookies out just past each of your feet so there is a bit of movement and no accidental down stay 🙂
Because his back and forth was sooooo perfect and fast, we are going to jump ahead a little and move into the next arousal regulation step of adding engaged chill. There are several ways to do this, but the one to start with back and forth is for you to slow the game down. What I mean by that is when he re-engages, you will wait an extra second or two before throwing the next treat. So he will stand still and breath (not offering stuff, not moving) then the next cookie is tossed. This eventually transforms into him being able to just peacefully hang out next to you, ringside, regardless of distractions.
And more coming tomorrow about advanced arousal regulation skills!
How did the local show go?
Tracy
Good morning!
>> I don’t want to fuss too much with it now as she’s starting to line up and sit faster. The last thing I want to do is get her up and move her. >>
TOTALLY agree! I don’t want to line up a dog then move the dog because it was *me* who chose the wrong spot. If she is in a ‘close enough’ position, you can go with it! If you accidentally put her in a really bad spot (I have done this, oops!) then you can lead out, reward, then reset in a better spot 🙂
I thought of a another question for you: when going into the ring at class, where she might be a little slower to line up & sit… is she able to respond to any cues for goofy tricks like a hand touch? I am asking because you can also teach her aq between-the-feet or behind-the-back line up, which has movement (dogs love movement!) and can be taught as goofy tricks 🙂
>>Yes, I think snuffle and pattern games between runs helps her. There were areas that could have been tighter, but I didn’t repeat anything either. So…that’s information as well. Maybe best to move on and repeat something later if I’m trying to “fix” something. I was very happy with this session. No extra tunnels at all!>>
I agree that your one-and-done approach here was great! She ran them really well, probably the best handling session I’ve ever seen from her! Yay! Yes, maybe there is a spot or two to tighten but really nothing that was glaringly obvious.
And it seems like olfaction like snuffling and also pattern games (which have a big olfaction factor) is really helpful – this is great feedback from her! More coming tomorrow about that.
How did your time at the trial go?
Tracy
Good morning!
Definitely keep me posted on how she does in different situations.>>I have started doing them at home. We train every morning before work.>>
Perfect! The goal of the pattern games is to get them really solid at home so they are much easier to use in other places.
And there is no rush to get her into the agility ring – you can look towards just getting her into the ring to play with toys or even eat treats at a fun match. No rush for real runs any time soon because we all have to make it through adolescence LOL!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Yes! We are taking I 81
81 is generally a more civilized drive than 95 🙂 If you need any info on stopping points, let me know – I am up and down 81 all the time! And depending on when you come through, I can meet you and bring you road snacks LOL!

>>Also, my hubby is working in Newberry SC now so I’ll be living back & forth between there and FL soon. I may be up in your area more often! I’ve got to see what is around for agility training and trials.>>It looks like Newberry is between Charlotte NC and Columbia SC. There is a TON of good agility and flyball around there (one of the top multi-breed teams in flyball has a Boston terrier on it!). Let me know what you are ready and I will get you hooked up with fun people!!
Tracy
Good morning!
The zig zags looked great! No jumping questions from her.
>>My poles are 4Ft long. I measured 6feet from Jump Cup to Jump Cup.>>
On the next session, you can have the wings touching the end of the previous jump, so the distance is 4 feet (and if that makes it too hard too quickly, you can spread it out so it is a 5 foot distance).
If that goes well? Replace the 4 foot bars with 3 foot weave poles and the wings touching the end of the poles, for a 3 foot distance. Your cues will have to come faster but I am sure you can do it.
>>We’ve been having a bit of trouble with her holding her stay, overall.>>
It looks like the broken stay was just a bit of anticipation here – as soon as you stopped moving, she was sure the release was next (and she is not wrong LOL!) When dogs start to anticipate like that, it means that we are accidentally pairing the release with something else, like a hand movement or stopping next to a wing. So try to be *less* predictable about when you release – sometimes if it while you are moving, sometimes after you have stopped and praised her, and keep the hand movement happening after you release. That should help keep her stay solid.
Great job!
Tracy
