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Hi!
It is great to train and practice in new places with new people & dogs! She did really well! I think the hardest part was the stay – but that can be trained separately from these little sequences.She had a little trouble finding the jump when you were moving forward pretty quickly. At :45 you were saying jump and she took the tunnel. Yes, we want to keep the rewards flowing but you can reward a little differently to basically tell her “nice try, not quite right, try again”. Rather than throw the toy as if the tunnel was correct (the placement and timing will affirm that she was correct) – you can call her back happily, reward at your side with a reset cookie, then try again. I use words or phrases like “C’mere!” or “you’re cute, come get a cookie” or “oopsie!” to reset the dog so they come back to my side for the cookies. It is a subtle difference for us human – but a massive difference for the dogs š
When you broke it down she did well finding the jump! Nice!!! The next step now is to add your motion, because I think motion is the biggest challenge for her (and for all the dogs, not just Changste). So when you are back chaining or breaking it down, be in motion the whole time like you would be on course, – the difference is that you can be in slow steady motion for now, and over time build it up to running.
>>We did not have much time but then less is more! sometimes!>>
I think the session worked out perfectly: some distractions in place, a bunch of good reps on the skill, then finished! Super!!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>I tried to join the zoom class on Thursday but I was in a car and Zoom wouldnāt let me have audio. I guess there is a drive-safe mode that I couldnāt override. Iām sorry I missed it! I am watching the video this morning. >>
I guess our cars are smart enough to know when we should not be thinking about dog training LOL!!!
>>OMG Jitterbug is such a FuzzCute!!!! MEEP!!!!>>
Thanks, he is like a tiny teddy bear. He is virtually the same breeding as my Voodoo – both accidental, 10 years apart! I absolutely did NOT intend on a puppy right now but Voodoo is really special and I couldn’t resist getting another one like him š
>>Frankie was AMAZING! We did not have a single off course! We trialed 3 days and she QQd 2 days!
WOW WOW WOW!!!! Being consistent like that with such a fast dog is REALLY HARD – well done!!!!!
>>I used the ājump,jump.jumpā cream cheese spread verbal on a line of jumps that was pointing right into an off-course tunnel. The dogs needed to take a sharp turn right in front of the tunnel to a jump. I rear-crossed the jump in front of the tunnel and kept saying ājump, jump, jumpā and she got it!>>>
Yay Frankie!!! Yay you!! The magic of cream cheese handling hahaha It sounds like you were connected and clear.
>>The bummer this weekend was that she was nervous in the environment. So that got us a few times. When she is nervous she runs slow so I probably had more time to handle because of that. There was a dog using the practice jump right outside the ring & it was aligned with the weaves and she saw the dog & jumped out of the weaves. I felt so bad for her because I could tell it was involuntary & she looked at me like āCrap! Did you see that!? Sorry!ā and then she jumped right into the weaves and drove out ahead and did great. But the seed was planted and she was nervous all weekend.>>
Poor girl, I can see how that would have startled her!!
>> I really want to take the FACE class, because what Iām doing isnāt enough for her, but I just donāt have the bandwidth for another class right now. Maybe the next time it is offered.>>
TOTALLY understand the bandwidth thing!!! 10000% LOL!!! What you can try to add is the resilience games we did with Bazinga in MaxPup 1. Those games were all really easy for Bazinga, because she was a puppy š We never taught those resilience skills to Frankie’s generation, because we just didn’t know if would be useful. But Frankie can benefit from the pattern games and some of the later games in the resilience track as well – we use those with the adult dogs to build up confidence a lot too š
>>We have nice weather today so Iām going to set up Handling 6 with Frankie. Excited to get back to it with her! >>
Have fun! They are challenging š
>>Thank you SO MUCH for the extension, it really took the pressure off to not have to rush through the last set of exercises.>
The weather around the country has been INSANE so at least no one felt like they were rushing or missing out.
Keep me posted on how Handling 6 goes š
Tracy
Good morning!
>> I LOVE all the webinars and zoom meetings even though I donāt think Iāve actually āattendedā one. They have become my new book on tape. And although I canāt watch while driving I listen and if thereās anything I want to see I just find and watch that section later. I didnāt sign up for yesterdayās as Iāve got so many in the cue to listen to already!!!>>
This is great to hear! Being able to do webinars with the Behavior Vets people has given me a whole new understanding of dogs. Dr. Murphy is basically giving me a masters degree education in the neuroscience LOL!!!! It is fun to pass it along and I am glad you are enjoying it!
>>Had to laugh in that even with the tape on the ground to āmanageā my movement Iām not exactly the same. Maybe I need 2 pieces of tape so I have a little well defined pathway>>
It is SO HARD to move but not handle. Soooo hard! You were really food with that here! And that was GREAT because alternating between the “back” cue and the tunnel was challenging in all the right ways here. The back cue was a little easier here, the backside was more on his line but he did take a little look at the threadle side (2nd rep). And going to the tunnel was harder for sure, he had to process it and he was great about finding it (note how he had to send himself back out to it in the first part of the session here!). The 2nd half of the session was great too – more excitement with Helen and Changste there, and more motion from you (but not in a helpful handling sort ofwhat :)) but also you were not as far ahead… and he NAILED it. YAY!! Those verbals are coming along for sure!
>>Now to change the 1st jump to a more difficult position
Yes – and you can throw in a couple of threadle slice verbals for giggles š
Great job here!! Well done to you both!
TracyHi! Sorry for the delay, just finished a day long webinar!
I agree – this game is SO HARD because motion should not tip off the dog as we emphasize verbals. Eek!!
>>And honestly, I didnāt like them. I didnāt like what I was doing ā way too many errors (thank goodness for reset cookies!) and I couldnāt seem to figure out how āto progressā without them ā Felt stuck, not enough time to edit video, blah-blah, blah-blah, blah-blah.>>
This is pretty normal – some āmehā sessions then the skills lock in. Latent learning! This session looked really good! LOTS of huge successes!!! Good for you for regrouping and trying it again!
He loved the layering to the tunnel š
At :13, it was fine to reward because at least he looked at you LOL! āMom said something different!ā
I was also watching this to figure out what he was cuing off of when he was successful versus when he was not, in terms of finding the jump or tunnel. I think what was happening was that he was reading subtle motion cues that were overriding the verbal cues:
– the tunnel cue was when you were moving parallel to the bar and with some speed
– the jump cue was when you were pulling away from the bar slightly and decelerated.For example:
1:09 – parallel – tunnel (correct)
1:15 – moving away – jump (correct)
1:23 and 1:31 – more parallel and more motion. Voice said jump but body supported the tunnel. (Error)So keep trying to have your motion and line be as identical as possible for these verbal-emphasized sessions. It is hard to move parallel to the jump bar and get him to take the jump with āclosedā shoulders, so you can start super close to the barrel so he is ahead of you the whole time and doesnāt need to be āserpedā in to take the jump, if that makes sense. The barrel can be on that same angle, but further away so as he rounds the barrel, he can drive ahead and see both the jump and tunnel.
The early ball throw totally helps – try to minimize your arm motion so that is less of an indiction to him. But also bear in mind that on course, we will of course use motion as well š So as the verbals solidify, your motion will support him too!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
This went really well!
All of the tunnel sending and backside slices were really strong! The only question he seemed to have was at 1:27 when he looked at the jump before going to the tunnel. That was because you stopped in backside wrap position while saying tunnel, so he had to take a look at it. For now, et up a little more motion so he doesnāt ask questions about the backside wrap position – you can do that by not being as far ahead (starting closer to the start jump).Looking at the backside circle wraps:
I think he was generally reading them well!
>>Looking at the video I can see that often he canāt see that off arm due to my body blocking it so I want to figure out how to show him a clearer physical cue for this skill so he doesnāt read it as a slice.>>
I donāt think you need the outside arm that early or in that position (I sometimes do use an outside arm, but it is low and right before the dog gets to the backside wing, kind of a stop sign before the dog starts the turn.
The key to making the backside circles clearer will be the positional cue and decel if you are ahead, the positional cue is you where the wing and bar meet, so he can see the whole wing, with your feet pointed wherever the next direction is – and you wait there til he passes you (decel!).
And, the verbal should be quiet like the front side wraps, to draw him in.If you are behind, you will still run towards the wing & bar meeting point but you may not be able to decel if you are really far behind.
I think there is a misconception that the backside wraps and threadle wraps should have the same fast & steady motion as the slice versions, but the wraps all have decel. How much decel depends on the dog and the context like handler position.
On the video, staying in motion the whole time was what caused a couple of questions on the backside wraps:
He was a little wide at :29 because you were blocking the wing. And he ended up in the tunnel because you moved too early at :34, which pushed him off the line (he chose the tunnel as opposed to going through you :))
The next rep was better – better position, better patience.
And I think the threadle wraps looked good here too! You were much clearer that it was NOT a slice!
So the main thing is going to be the decel to set it up as well as the patience to get the turn before you run to the next position. You will know you have the turn when he turns his head AND starts the lead change the new direction. As he gets more experienced, you can leave as soon as he turns his head š
>>Rip the sooner he knows what he needs to do the better, and if he doesnāt have all the info heās likely to make an assumption OR drop a bar trying to adjust at the last minute for the late portion of my cue.
With the decel on both cues, he can see that as he is over the previous obstacle so that begins the cue – decel plus position (push wrap or threadle wrap) will really help!
He did have a bar down at 2:10 but I think it was probably a little fatigue at that point because the wraps and slices are all really challenging – the turn was nice!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>Field is still under water so weāre on the front lawn again, no real room to open up yet.
I hear you are all under some type of atmospheric river or something. EEK!
This was a great session! It almost had a āproofingā element to it because you didnāt do a lot of handling. In fact, your line of motion looked almost identical on each rep as he was approaching the first jump. YAY!!!!
>>He had 1 wrong obstacle ā tunnel instead of backside of jump at the very beginning and then was fine. >>
That was probably the most important rep of the session. He was reading motion (your line of motion was pretty similar to the tunnel line you had just run) – then SURPRISE! Not the expected outcome for doing the tunnel. Not a bad outcome, just not the expected outcome, and that is how they learn. I have been geeking out on reward prediction errors and dopamine coding – fascinating stuff and that is why it is fine for the dogs to sometimes have this type of error with this type of human response š
Speaking of line of motion: he had 2 bars on the rep at 1:06. That was a processing question because it really looked like your motion was saying tunnel but then he processed the jump verbal (first bar). Still rewardable, because it was a great response! And the reward was coming as he was in the air over the 2nd bar (the big yes) so he dropped that bar too, probably because he was in full brain-exploding processing mode. This is why I donāt get mad about bars – he was 100% fabulous on that rep and it was HARD!!
I think the reps at the end were actually easier because the line was easier to see and the tunnel was a little less on the line.
Yes, when the speed is higher and your have more room and you donāt have 10 days straight of rain, this might be harder but I think the main thing would be to add more speed into the challenges where your line of motion would be basically the same for both obstacles. If you stay in the smaller area, you can try adding more internal arousal with crazy tugging before each rep.
In a trial, I would probably add a little handling help (like a brake arm or decel, depending on the context) but in training, we can control the outcomes to the responses like you did here on reps 1, 2, and 3 to set up great learning. š
Great job here!
TracyHi!
Another really nice session here! You did a great job showing her the difference between the jump and the tunnel after the switch away. Since she did so well, you can add the switch away verbal on the jump too, she is ready š I didnāt have it in the video on all the early reps because it was the first session and I wanted to be sure the dog could do it.Only one blooper, at :34 – you needed one more step like you did on the next rep, then she was back to being perfect.
Adding the rear cross to the tunnel – awesome! She was brilliant! I think she really likes these!
Give these skills a day off so latent learning can kick in – then try the bigger super combos.
Great job on both of these!!!
TracyGood morning!
This session went really well! You can tell she is figuring out the situation, where she would be asked to turn away and do the big layering. Yay! I thought your handling looked great – nice easy timing, clear verbals and physical cues, and great connection. Click/treat for everyone! And great job gradually changing the angle of the jump. So good!!!!
If you wanted to play with this setup again, you can see if you can hang back and not go as far past the tunnel exit – can she turn away without you there? It might take a few sessions but definitely something to work on.
Great job!
TracyHi! This run looked GREAT!!! You were running aggressively and that REALLY helped him!!! He was working really hard and was a super good boy š The future is amazing!
>> We are still learning how to go from tight sequencing to finding a jump out on the line >>
There were 2 spots on that course that looked easy but were REALLY hard with fast dogs – finding the jump straight out ahead after the straight tunnel at the beginning was HARD! Good job rewarding or staying in motion, even if a jump was missed. This was so lovely!
TracyGood morning!
>>Challenge 2: I never got the BC. I will have to make this easier with more distance and blocking the tunnel entry or taking the tunnel out for a bit. I am very late.>>
The tunnel is what gives us the feedback that the info is late š The goal is that you are finished with the blind and making BIG eye contact as they are jumping the previous jump. With Watson, that eye contact needs to be downward because he is really little – so you will literally need to look down to the ground. Connection with Levy should be easier.
Now to get that timing, 2 ideas:
– you either have to start much earlier and trust their commitment
or
– you have to keep your arms out of the way so they see the connection.Or both!
it is possible that you are starting with perfect timing but they are not seeing the connection because your arms are blocking it. Or, you have great connection but really late š Either way they would end up in the tunnel.
Let me know – you can freeze the video as they are in the air and that will tell you if it is timing, connection, or both š
Tracy
Good morning!! This looked really good!
On the jump switch aways, your footwork was great when you were moving away from the camera towards the street. She read that wonderfully!
When you were moving towards the camera, you wanted to turn your feet to her more, so you can start with less of a lead out and then walk through it, so you are moving the whole time.The tunnel exits are looking good too!! On the first rep, she needed one more step to show her the jump. You gave her that on the next reps and she nailed it! Super! It is definitely a trained skill, so keep giving her that extra step for another session, then you can start to fade it out.
To add more motion, lead out less so you are still ahead but moving into position (rather than releasing her when you are in position). She’s definitely ready for that!
Try adding the motion in the next session and if that goes well, you can start trying the Super Combos in handling 6 š
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
>>. I have always tried to set the line midway between the obstaclesā¦for a small dog>>
I think that is too late for her speed and commitment. Think of the cue timing as putting cream cheese on a bagel: start in one spot and spread it all around (keep maintaining it, calling her, etc) til she is reading it. It you start it sooner but don’t maintain the cue, she might be left to her own devices to decide what to do.
Keep me posted!
TracyThank you for butting in LOL!!! Great info š I’m totally going to need all of those ideas to keep the whippety dogs cool, they get hot so fast!
Hi!
>>Yeah I got a lot of push back from my regular vet asking for the full panel š¤·āāļø
Range is 1.0-4.0 so he is low end. The lab even notes ā hypothyroid dogs can have a low normal T4 (1-2 ug/dL). Hypothyroidism may be further assessed in these dogs by adding a free T4 and canine TSH.ā but I was told no further work up needed š«£>>A million years ago when my Export was tested, I got push back too because he was youngish and not the typical fat/greasy dog. He actually lost weight. I basically said “it is not really intrusive and I am willing to burn the money and if nothing else, we will have a baseline if he is old” so they let me do it because they trusted my thoughts on his behavior changes. I do have the before & after panels somewhere if you want to see him, and the BC side of his pedigree (there was a LOT of hypothyroidism in the BC side of his pedigree, it turns out)
Then I took the panel results (it was sent to Cornell) and sent it to Hemopet for analysis (I know Jean Dodds is not everyone’s fave but her database is really good). She came back with “yes, he needs meds” and happily, my vet concurred.
Export’s case was not an anomaly, turns out that it happens a lot.
>He did have electrolytes checked too. He had a mildly low K (3.9) and normal is 4 but we were dock diving the day before so I assumed that was dilutional.>>
I am always on the lookout for Atypical Addisons, so we want to watch his Na and K ratio. It sounds like all is good though!
T
The T4 is a standard test on most bloodwork, but it is not provide sufficient info for any potential diagnosis. (That is the full extent of my veterinary knowledge, right there. LOL!) What was this lab’s range on the T4?
I believe the panel is the only way to go with a young-ish dog. A truely low T4 means things are REALLY bad. But with a young dog, you also need to see the TSH, TGAA, T3, FT4, and other values to see what is dropping, what is rising, etc. Like if the pituitary thinks the thyroid is not working, you will see other values increase, etc.
I found this useful for my non-medical brain:
https://cvm.msu.edu/vdl/laboratory-sections/endocrinology/thyroid-function-in-dogs
Have they tested his electrolytes too?
t
