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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 pup’s 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 ‘reach’ 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 🙂
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!!!
TracyHello and welcome! It is going to be so fun to watch Yuzu work here!!!! His canine teammates are very excited about it too 🙂
The pre-games are looking good!
On the foot targets, he was happy to put his front feet on basically everything. Yay! For the purposes of the games coming up, I think the book is the best choice to use but you might need to put something non-slip under it because he will be moving pretty fast to touch it on some of the games. The other two items will end up being useful for body awareness/conditioning stuff, so let’s go with the book as the main “prop” for the crazy games ahead 🙂
The hand touch target also went really well. You don’t need to say the touch word, I bet he can offer it perfectly 🙂 We will come back to this game in a couple of weeks!
The next step for the foot target pre-game is to have you stand up and see if he can still touch it with his feet (I bet he can :))
>>Is this the correct way to post working spot videos? We don’t create a new topic every time we post, correct?>>
Correct! Dropping a YouTube link into the forum here is perfect, and keeping it all in one thread will make it easier to find everything.
Great job!
TracyHi Linda! This is your thread for you and Kishka 🙂 I am looking forward to seeing more baby whippet action!!
Tracy
Hi Linda!! Great to see you here! Whippets are SO FUN!!! My whippet youngster will make some guest appearances in the demos 🙂
I have started a separate thread for you (titled “Linda and Kishka” :)) so you can put all of your questions/videos/etc in that thread by replying to it! You will see it in the thread list, let the know if you have trouble funding it.
Have fun!
TracyHi Jen, great to see you here! Things have changed a bit in foundations in the last 11 years 🙂 so I bet you will have fun with Mason!! Enjoy!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! I love her name!!! I am looking forward to following her adventures 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi! She sounds like a blast! The MaxPup class has some new parts to it since Kaladin’s generation, so it will be fun to see her play the games 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi!
>>We worked on remote reinforcement. I’m a big fat chicken to try the leash. I will need to do lots of stimulus control for that. And I will!>>
Do you mean trying the leash as the toy? Pretend it is exactly the same as the toy you used here – and it can be on top of a reward station instead of on the ground to start with.
She did well on both videos here! The reward station was really far, and she still did well 🙂 You can have it closer to the sequence, for 2 reasons: it will be easier to get to and a little more tempting 🙂 The food seemed easier (I love the “chips” marker LOL!!) and the toy was a little harder – she got a bit frozen for a heartbeat but then worked through it. Remember to mix in lots of short bursts of moving away from the toy or treats, rather than sequences.
Add in some praise and coming to you before you use your toy or chips marker. This will help her understand that it is marker-only, and not just a the end of the sequence 🙂
>>So should I do this all over again with a leash? Leash off and then leash on?>>
Yes! Because the leash is a source of stress, working with it in all of these non-stressful games should de-stress you both 🙂 For now, you can put the reinforcement on the reward station, move her away from it on leash – and either do some tricks then run back to it, or take the leash off and do a jump or two. No need to worry about the leash going back on yet, we will add that in when she is happy to come in with the leash on.
Great job here :)
TracyPS – we know that stress/arousal states can narrow the field of vision, so it is possible that what they look at and see, and we WANT them to look at and see are two different things. That can help explain why they sometimes get ‘tunnel vision’ on a line if our handling is unclear or cannot look at us on the start line. It does not mean they are in the wrong arousal state or anything, it is just a physiological response to stress. Same with us humans! I am researching more info on that and how we can use it help the dogs 🙂 Stay tuned!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I meant if she glances after a tossed treat during the volume dial game.
>>But, on the volume dial if she glances a tiny bit after a tossed treat do I keep playing or go back to pattern games?>>Got it! One tiny glance away? Keep playing and get the rewards and tricks more energetic with more moving from you both. Repeated looking away or really slooooow responses to simple tricks cues? Yes, go back to pattern games because she is telling you the environment is hard.
>> If I’m playing back and forth and she glances I just keep playing that game. If she got really sticky, then I’d go to the up and down game. Is that the general order of operations? >>
Yes, in general. Her response will give you feedback so you can make adjustments. Other possible adjustments are to move further away from the distraction, or start with the up and down rather than the back and forth. You will be able to ‘read’ her body language and responses to help you decide what to do next. Because the environment is fluid, we have to stay flexible with the games too.
>>Sprite can watch Gemma work. That’s pretty easy at home, but not at the park.
So at home, if she can station while Gemma works and it is easy, it is a great way to just rehearse the line ups and games leading up to it.
>> However, she’s whining in her car crate so she knows I’m out with Gemma. Typically I work Gemma first.>>
Terrific! The park will be a good intermediate step. How close can you have Sprite watch?
>>So, when I add the leash…. Previously I was told to wait for eye contact to remove it. What is your thoughts on that? If she can’t offer that and is scanning there is little chance she could line up.>>
I think it totally depends on the dog. Optimal states will look different for every breed and every individual, and eye contact might not be part of that. Same as some dogs loved to be touched in that moment and some really shy away from it… this will depend on her! Bear in mind that scanning is different than not offering eye contact – very different behaviors with different things going on.
In general, a lot of waiting for eye contact before the leash comes off creates a lot of pressure except for the dogs that naturally/intrinsically offer eye contact. Plus, other than standing still and staring at the dog (PRESSURE!) there is no real cue for the desired eye contact.
I prefer to take the leash off and let the dog offer engagement. The leash coming off is both a pressure release and a cue, and it involves movement for both of us. Does engagement mean eye contact? Depends on the dog and what it looks like for *that* dog to be in the best state for a great run. More on that coming in games package 3!
And if the dog takes off when the leash comes off? Well, that is a separate issue 🙂 and we teach the engagement of “stay with me” before we worry about eye contact.
Bear in mind that stress/pressure causes the brain to burn more glucose. And if we add to that stress/pressure by requiring really challenging or undesirable behavior, we are burning more glucose in the brain and that could exhaust the dog before the run even starts.
So for Sprite, engagement might include eye contact, or not. The eye contact doesn’t really matter – what matters is reducing the pressure, moving in and out of that situation quickly, and helping her get into the optimal state to be able to run the course.
Side note: I don’t train any of my dogs to make eye contact, specifically. Of the 4 dogs running agility right now, when the leash comes off in the agility ring, one dog does a happy bark and little dance, then lines up and stares at the jump. He doesn’t make eye contact but he is READY. One dog makes indirect eye contact. One dog makes very direct eye contact and start barking at me (this is THE indicator that she is truly in the optimal state: barking at me on the start line). And one freezes in position wherever she is when the leash comes off and looks at the first line (so I line her up before the leash comes off).
All of this was learned through observing their engagement style especially when under pressure at the start line, with the goal being a happy start line procedure. So if offering eye contact is natural and easy for her? Great! Do it! If eye contact in that moment is uncomfortable for her? Don’t do it, let’s not add anything that is uncomfortable as it could actually be increasing the scanning and stress.
>>I just did a quick session in my living room with the leash and tugging to the line. She’s swinging her butt into line up! >>
Very fun! Plenty of dogs like to tug their way to the line, release the tug (the leash, generally), line up, and get on with it. She will let us know!
Fingers crossed for no mud! Have fun!
Tracy
