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Good morning!
He did well with the set point here! I think the toy was good, you just needed a slightly longer lead out so he can land and power out to it (he was a little ass-over-teakettle over jump 2 because the toy was a little close, mainly because you were trying to set up success on the stay). He will have more room to get his hind end powerfully under him if the toy is 12-15 feet past jump 2 as he is approaching jump 2.
I think part of the stay question was the environment especially at the beginning – some frantic barking in the background made it harder! We humans don’t really hear that but puppies sure do, and their brains have to process both the barking and the stay behavior – not easy for baby dogs. I am not sure there is a way to stop the barking, so you can start the session with short stays and TONS of reinforcement so he learns to ignore the barking, then you can build up to the longer lead outs. Also, I think he is releasing on the connection when you turn your head to look at him, so try to un-pair that with continued thrown reinforcement back to him when you look back at him. Yo were doing a lot of that and it really helped!
He did well with the proofing! He was definitely all about the wraps LOL! Nice job letting him hear the verbals before you let go of him – he might need to see you step or turn towards the tunnel, that was harder for him in this session. I think also the tunnel entry was not all that visible to him here, so be sure to curve the tunnel a little so he can see it squarely in front of him – both to make finding the tunnel easier and to make the wrap harder, since he is all about the wrapping now : )
When there is an error, reset with an immediate cookie so you don’t get the frustration behavior of jumping up (3:10, 4:24) or avoiding the collar grab (4:15). And when he does get the hard thing right, use big fast exciting reinforcement – he got the tunnel right at 4:30 and you had one delayed cookie while he was sitting LOL! That rep was worth a toy throw 🙂 And to balance the value and keep the tunnel value high, you can toss a reward to the end of it so that he looks at you less on the tunnel cue.The proofing games are hard, and the pups tend to swing back and forth between values for a bit like he is doing – then it all evens out nicely 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Hooray for good weather!!!
NICE transitions into decel!! She was able to commit in collection while driving ahead of you – perfect! One oopsie but that is on the side that seems to be less comfy for you (dog on left) but you worked it out and your last rep was perfection. SUPER!!!!!
Next step when you train this skill – raise the bar to the next height (2 inches higher).
Yes, set aside the Mission Transition for now. You can do the other games for sure, and you can use this simple wing-to-jump setup to try to show her all 4 of the cues we have worked on it: GO (that is easy :)), the decel/wraps, the rear crosses, the backside circle wraps. That is easy for the dogs… very very hard for us humans because we have to be spot on 🙂 It is a fun challenge!
>>I wanted to ask you about “This game can go into the general rotation” (zig zag comment). I don’t have a general rotation, can you give me some examples of what we should be doing for a general rotation?
By general rotation, I mean choosing games to play when I have training time during the week. If I get 3 days with some time to train agility with the pups, I might do one handling game on each of the days, and maybe one jumping game on one day, and maybe play with weaves or contacts body awareness on the other day (depending on how old the pup is). Being able to train 3 times a week ben for 5 minutes would be GREAT! Sometimes I can get twice a week in… sometimes once a week. Sometimes zero times LOL!!! It is all good – so when carving out some time to train, I will ask myself what I haven’t done recently and what needs to be worked on and what sounds like fun – sometimes I will pull out a jump grid because it needs work and is fun 🙂
>>t’s almost all I can do to get through each week’s games and haven’t been working past games in.
Because of how the games are structured, you don’t need to go back to past games that you have done – they are generally built into the new games each week. There is no need to work any game or handling skill to perfection – just get it roughly right and move on to the next week. That should make it easier to keep up and also keep things spicy so it doesn’t feel like drilling. For example – you don’t need to revisit the Diamond or Smiley Face, because the Starfish (added today) includes those skills.
>>I haven’t been training agility every day; there’s usually at least 1 day in between, often more.
That is perfect – I do NOT recommend training agility every day. Every other day or every couple of days is great.
>>I know we need to work on rear crosses, serps, left/right, Go! etc. (basically everything, I guess!) >>
Yes, all young dogs need to work those skills 🙂 But that doesn’t mean you need to back track – you can keep moving forward because the skills move forward with the games as well, so you can practice them in different contexts. And in agility, they constantly appear in different contexts so it is good to approach them that way.

>>I want to be careful not to overwork Hola or dampen her enthusiasm. We can only do so several short sessions in a day with this heat. >>Yes – the heat makes things really hard but also it helps limit the amount of training!
>>Should we be doing maybe ONE past exercise on our off days so we’re doing something every day??
Nope! Don’t add anything to a day that is a rest day. And on training days, pick something you haven’t worked on yet.
>>What about things like the Zig Zag, Ladder and Minny Pinny, which are jumping skill exercises? How often should we be doing each of these?
Jumping games can be done once per week, and you get a new jumping game being posted today – so you can leave the zig zags and move to the new one (posted in a couple of hours).
>>Will we be raising the ladder drill jump heights in Session 3 and adding in more jumping skills?>>
Yes – bars will slowly start to come up, you will see that start to get added in during the games and also on specific skills for the pups who are old enough (Hola is old enough). You’ll find that the jumping skills are pretty easy because we’ve waiting til she is matured and also done the foundation!
Nice job on the video here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>I was judging scent work at a 4 day cluster this past weekend so no free time for puppy agility. >>
FUN!!! I hope JJ will be learning scent work as well; it is such a great sport and so terrific for puppies! And it is just fascinating to watch the dogs work.
>>I am not sure exactly how the posting should work. Do we have a maximum number of times to post in a week or day? >>
No maximum times to post in a week or day, just some general guidelines:
Short sessions are best, no need to edit videos, and generally a 2 minute total length to the video is great. You can post several games per day, or a new game each day – whatever you end up doing is fine 🙂 And, before trying the game again, it is best to wait for feedback in case there is anything we can change or add. But you can post other games in the meantime!
More on the posting guidelines are here:
>>I was so excited to get the working live spot. We got tomes adjusted so that I could sign up right when the class opened even though I was in Australia at that time. >>
I am so glad you are in a live spot too! You and JJ were fabulous and it is going to be so fun watching you two work live. I am very impressed that you figured out the time to register from Australia! WOW!!!
>>My friend and dog’s massage therapist Kirstie Dean highly recommended your class. That all being said, We are trying to get back on track with things with JJ>>
Kirstie is wonderful! I’ll be sure to send her a big thanks 🙂
On the videos – these are both perfect examples of adding video! They can be longer if you want, and can show any toy play before and after as well.
On the first video:
I love how JJ changed her striding to arrive at your side in collection on the first rep. It was not as obvious on the other reps because she was chewing and trotting LOL! Great job feeding nice and low (at your knee) so she was able to get nice and tight to you.She also did a great job with the distractions in the environment. Only one loud sound caught her attention, but then she returned to full focus. Super!
Looking at the 2nd video:
Actually, I was wrong about her chewing being the reason things were not as obvious in the decel – it is more about which side of you she is on! When she is on your right side, she runs to you then decelerates. When she is on your left side, she trots to you and decelerates (which is why it is not as obvious as when she runs). Aha! We have discovered her side preference! Cool! This means that either she is more comfy working on your right or she is a lefty, or both 🙂This is good to know, because you can begin each new skill with her on your right, where she is more comfortable. That will speed learning because she won’t have to think about her coordination as much as she would have to on the other side. When she gets the hang of a skill on your right/turning left, then you can start it on the other side. And the other side might progress at a slightly different rate, but this is normal and fine 🙂
So looking at this 2nd video – she did really well here too! And because you were moving more, she was moving faster – which means you can show your deceleration sooner. When she is no more than halfway to you, start the deceleration. She looks to be a pretty powerful pup already, so the earlier decel timing will give her more time to shift into collection.
Great job on these!!! Let me know what you think ad how the other games are going 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
She totally had the rhythm with the bowls, so adding the upright was no problem. You are correct – adding it then moving it out did not faze her one bit, she stuck to her back and forth rhythm and get wrapping the upright Yay! Lovely session.
Two things to add to this level:
– using the food, you an slide the 2 bowls back so they are closer to your heels than your toes, so she travels more distance around the upright and so she sees the bowls less.– you can try this sitting on the floor with 2 toys!
The next level of this age gets added today (published at about 9am Eastern) so stay tuned for the next steps. She is ready!
Great job :) Tracy
I totally have a side preference too 🙂 I always knew dogs had side preferences, but watching zillions of videos during covid times really rammed the point home for me – these pups can be great turning one direction, but completely out of sorts going. the other direction. No worries, we can work the training so the skills are learned in the new direction first then transferred to the harder direction.
Tracy
Good morning! This session went really well! There is some real power happening and her head position is great! She had no trouble at all with the increased angles. Super!
One small detail: remember to have the toy in your dog-side arm as you drag it, not across your body (we don’t want a lot of upper body rotation on this one).
The further you lead out, the more power she is able to produce, so lead out at least 10 feet past jump 3 before you release her (her stay looks great, which is why we can add a longer lead out :))Brad asked about marker words: yes, you can use a bite verbal but also it is fine if you let the context speak for itself:
The marker to get the toy is implied in the setup of the session: you would never otherwise drag a toy in this context without wanting her to get it 🙂
>>I still have the bars at 6 inches and don’t know if I should be raising them at all.
The bars on this type of grid never really go up. Maybe 8 inches at the highest, at this distance. We will start introducing height later on, stay tuned for what is coming tomorrow!! I personally delay heights going up until the dogs are older adolescents and also when I have clearance from y sports vet – the goal is to get to full height somewhere between 18 months and 2 years old. The results of waiting have been amazing because the dogs practice great mechanics. Do your best to ignore all the people who raise the bars on baby dogs, that will create issues!
>>Is the goal to continue to get the grid straighter so the jumps are more slice?
Eventually, very eventually, it turns into a wicked hard grid where the jumps are completely “flat” but that is much further down the road and they have to be adults to do that.
>> Should I be doing any of the grids that are straight on?
We add another straight grid tomorrow 🙂
>>Mostly this past week I have just been working on her ability to station while I do things with the other dogs and for her to be able to do some little things while they station. We try to make it lots of fun, and the activities I do with the boys while she stations are very low energy at this point ex. calling to hand touches or perch work. I think it is helping her overall ability to deal with the stimulation of other things going on around her but we have to do baby steps for sure.>>
This is good, but keep it very very easy/successful/baby steps because it can be a big brain drain for an adolescent dog and also can be very frustrating. So do it a tiny tiny bit but there is no need for it to be a lifestyle 🙂 Again, that is where I differ from a lot of other people – but we know a whole lot more about the neurobiology of what is happening during stationing, and too much emphasis on it during adolescence can do more harm than good. Teenage brains can’t handle a whole lot of that challenge 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi!
Yes, the cooler temps helped and he had some time to think about driving to the tunnel during the training break 🙂 He was able to put together wing-to-tunnel REALLY nicely!!
When you switched sides, I think he needed the tunnel warm up that you gave him on the first side. Also, he might have been a little mentally tired because he had a moment at 1:02 where he took off for a bit. You got him back, but he struggled to find the tunnel so it is possible his brain was done for the day 🙂 I can totally relate! So on the next session, start with the tunnel on that side to do a few reps, then try wing to tunnel, then be done (don’t do the other side in the same session). As he gets used to the heat and working outside, you will see his physical and mental stamina increase.
Great job here!!
TracyGood morning!
>>Most useful really I think was that I can’t work too long. Especially when it’s hot. They are saying is in the mid eighties today. And last weekend at dock diving I swear Kaz was saying… It’s never been this hot in my whole life!>>
He is correct! He has never experienced heat, and never had to train in the heat. Your neck of the woods had a long winter! So short sessions will build up his heat tolerance.
>>ou asked her how cool it would be if in school she gave something a good try and the teacher always gave her an A+. And what what we want for our dogs. They always get a A+ no matter what! I>>
Yes! Can you imagine how good our human educational system would be if we rewarded effort – especially when that effort is based on information that the student relies on from US HUMANS in order to be correct? That is why I reward effort in dogs a LOT because a) they are learning and b) they have to sort through my trashy cues LOL!!!!
On the video – first of all, he was tugging like a fiend here! LOVE IT! He was very keep to play.
Yes, he is still learning the big long tunnel outside. You can stretch it out more so it is not quite as bent – if he can see more light through it and less of a tight bend, he will commit better. Then when he is more comfy driving to it you can bend it more. He is definitely figuring out how to do it, as you can see from his offering later in the video.
The wing wraps are looking AMAZING – fast and tight! He is still sorting out getting started but that will come together with more experience. He did great here!
And yes, at 2:00, he was cooked. Tugging and running is HOT HOT HOT without a lot of time to breathe, so you can do one minute then back into the house to cool off. I also work early in the morning or in the evening before sunset when it is really hot here.
Great job!!
TracyGood morning!
>>Esp after this past weekend… we did one day of a seminar on Saturday that I was told was puppies/ young dog. I asked specifically if he would be appropriate because we hadnt done any sequencing. “the other dogs are all at about that level”. yea, not. The good parts – his stays were AMAZING, he was eager to work and tug in a new environment and on turf which he had never seen. >>
Hooray for the good parts! But booooo on being told one thing and asked to do another. Hopefully the instructor broke it down for him – it sounds like he was an amazing dude 🙂 Love it!!!!
On the video –
On the wraps at the beginning, he was wrapping really well! Try not to throw the reward in a way that tries for a second wrap, that was setting up some awkward movement from him – reward the first wrap (which was beautiful) away from the wing. No need for any multi-wraps at all with him – his first wrap is lovely 🙂 AND he was offering nice ones to the left like at :25 and 1:39!!!!Wing wrap to the tunnel looked great, good boy! Try to say the right verbal like the timing of your go verbal at 2:38
Sitting in the in-between area between the wing and the tunnel was HARD, great job getting reward in.
On the wing send to start the sequence, remember to connect. When you don’t connect and point ahead of him, he has questions like at 1:29. When you do connect on the send, he is lovely (like at 1:45).
Proofing: He did well, this is such a hard game!!!! Starting with two tunnel reps was probably what set up the failure on the first wrap rep on both side, so on the next session, start with the wraps before trying any tunnel reps. Also, hold his collar to start the verbal on the wrap reps so he hears it 3 or 4 times before you both start to move. On the left, you held him but released the and said the verbal simultaneously. On the first right reps, you didn’t hold him, so moved and started the verbal. Ideally, hold him for 2 or 3 fun seconds while you say the verbal before you let him go That will allow him to process the verbal before motion and raise the rate of success.
>>I was giving him a cheese ball as/before I took his collar, He is his mother’s son. Looks like I am pulling him off his feet>>
Ha! He was rarin’ to go 🙂 Good boy!!!!
Both videos were the same here – let me know if there was supposed to be a different one.
Great job here 🙂
TracyGood morning!
She was an absolute STAR on the wraps!!!! WOW!!! It was especially cool to see that happen after you did 2 GO reps in a row. She was tight and balanced and fast on both wraps. YAY!! Well done to you for showing her the distinct transition elements (fast, slow, rotate) to help her commit in collection. Click/treat for you both!!!!!
The get out is going well too! I think the transition at :25 when she disengaged was because things got mellow while you were getting ready. So before the send, do that ready dance to get her looking at you and ready to go like at 1:16. And to help her commit to the start wing (and ignore the jump that is nearby) be a little closer to the start wing to give her the send. The ready dance plus being closer will totally help her ignore the environment and ignore the jump (which is hard, because now the jump has value).
The first get out was a little late and she didn’t expect it (so didn’t process it til she was past the jump) but the 2nd one was earlier and she was more prepared so she nailed it. Yay!!
>>We are hitting that super busy time of the end of the school year! Todays session was last I could do till next Saturday. We won’t be able to do last live class. Susan is doing it>>
I bet things are busy busy busy!!!! I am looking forward to seeing Susan in the live class and then the rest of Team Prytania when things calm down as the school year finishes 🙂
Great job here!
TracyGood morning! Hooray for no puking! Hopefully that is a thing of the past. These sessions looked lovely!
First video:
Nice transition from the toy play to the treat toss! And then back the toy play at the end!
She is doing brilliantly in her transition from toy play to get the cookie to drive to handler focus!!! You can slow down sooner: note how her butt was swinging out wide. That was because you were decelerating as she arrived at you, so she didn’t have time to organize her collection. So start to slow down before she is halfway to you, so she can make the collection. Her turns look great and so giving her earlier decel cues will make help her be even tighter.
2nd video:
The ‘free’ toy out is looking so good! You can totally reward with a cookie! The double turns also looked good – she is being a rockstar about coming into handler focus, staying with you for both turns! Yay!>>We were having toy malfunctions. I put extensions on them and practiced separately but still had trouble making them work. More practice. >>
In these early stages, you are experiencing the awkwardness of sorting out the mechanics and reward strategies. It will all feel smoother with more time in the saddle 🙂 That is why the skills are easy for now, because we have to sort out all the human mechanics 🙂 I think it went well here, even if it felt a little weird 🙂
>>Also I was trying to keep her low on the ground, but I can see watching videos back how much she likes to jump up. Will work on that too.>>
You were great! The toy play was nice and low, so she could choose her play style. Yes, she likes to lift her front feet off the ground to grab the toy, which is fine – the difference is that she is able to keep a natural head/neck position. When we lift the toy up, it cranks her neck up and that is less natural.
>>I’m having to experiment how big to cut her treats. Big enough for her to see, but small enough that she can eat quickly or swallow. I think she would have had trouble seeing them on the turf.>>
The cookie sizes seemed to work well here. Out on the turf, you can use a target: place a cookie on the target while you are holding her, letting her see you do it Then bring her to your starting spot and send her to the cookie target (as if you had thrown the cookie) and then you can be ready for the next part of the game. That can simulate the sending her away like a throw would, without worrying if she can find a tiny treat in the turf.
Plus, as she grows up, she will get used to tracking and finding the one tossed treat, so it will get easier and easier.
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
>>I had to practice and practice that without her and still felt like I was doing it wrong.>
When I started doing the blinds this way, I had to practice a whole lot without the dog, then with my adult dogs 🙂 It will feel natural soon!
This session went really well! The goal of the reward across the body is to open up huge connection – and you nailed it! She seemed to have zero questions. And you were on time, so she easily made the side change.
>>My instructors are always telling me I’m late, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m late on these games too>>
It is possible that you are not late, but you are on time and not connected enough (especially with a smaller dog). The blind crosses hinge on the connection on the new side, so try this style of connection and see if your instructors stop telling you that you are late 🙂
Great job!!
Tracy
