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Hi!
Yes – his MaxPup 1 body and his MaxPup 3 body are entirely different 🙂 So revisiting the plank work is a good refresher for the other stuff ahead 🙂
TracyYes! let’s go back to it! It will help with the heat for sure and he is a full year further along and is ready to use it in his agility 🙂
TracyGood morning! I am looking forward to seeing you today!
I loved his joyous entry to the first video – literally leaping into action!
The mechanics of the serp are really precise which is why they are hard – so you need to be in position and stationary before he starts to move. Using the cookie tosses, you can put yourself on the correct side of the jump in the right spot before tossing the cookie, so you don’t ave to try to move back and get frozen in position before he starts moving towards you. Same with the stay – be completely frozen in position before you release him.
He is reading it really well, so showing him the position before he starts to move will make it much easier. He was very successful when you did that )being frozen in the right place before he started to move) but he had misses and some frustration (running around on the 2nd video) when he was moving before you were ready. So the easiest thing will be. To get into position and then throw the cookie away to start the rep 🙂
Head turn video – yes, it felt weird because the hand use was reversed: when he starts on your left it is your left hand that sends to the upright and turns him away. You were doing it all with the right hand, which made the turning away much harder to get. So you can reverse the mechanics:
The left hand is empty when he is on your left, the clicker/treats are in your right hand. The left hand sends – and as he is going around the upright, the left hand goes to your right knee to ‘meet’ him. When he gets to your hand, draw him across and turn him away (kind of like a lap turn.And when you change sides, you will switch the mechanics – at the vern end he was on your right side and you were nailing it: right hand sends right hand grabs him and turns him away – and he was perfect! So looked at 2:30 to the end and you will see perfect mechanics.
Great job!! See you soon!
TracyGood morning!
>>I start pups on this for rally obedience and rear end awareness for obedience. The perch that I use is a bit higher than the one that you see here and I love it because it is a rubber feed dish for poultry or other animals. >>
Super! The difference in perch size for the different sports is based on what we want the mechanics to look like. For rally and obedience, the higher perch tends to lift the head and also get a bit more weight shift into the rear (less on the front) which works well for heeling behaviors.
For agility, we want the wight balanced as much as possible and a more neutral head position – that helps with the lifting of the back feet for stepping over things that we build it (which is also a highly recommend conditioning exercise especially for the groin!
On the first video:
>>I had a hard time seeing if she had both feed on the disc or not. I am not sure how to check that out better. Neither of my other dogs are black in color and I do not remember having as much trouble with them at this kind of thing. I realized that I wished I had a clicker for this so I stopped the video to get a clicker.>>
Yes, it is hard to see with darker dogs – I have found that being one step further away expands my field of vision to see their feet better. And you can get a large bathmat or cheap rug with a rubber backing, so it doesn’t slide around as she moves on and off it.
The 2nd session went well – the placement of the cookie will get her start pivoting around into position in both directions – she was already offering it when you started that! Yay! Yes, one side will be easier than the other but that is normal, especially because she already has a background in this 🙂 She definitely had a harder timing going to your right side but that will get easier with practice.
>>I do not hear me saying “get it” though.>>
No worries, add it for next time – you were super focused on the other mechanics and you had the clicker, so I didn’t see JJ looking confused at all 🙂
>>It is really important for me to expect a good perfect front from the pups, but I did not think that was our goal here so I did not want to include the cue word >>
Correct, not our goal at all here – we want movement, not a front. So she will return to center but it is a moving behavior.
On the video – going to your left side? Easy! Going to your right with the body pressure – not so easy 🙂 But she was doing it, literally one step at a time LOL! She was even getting a couple of steps by the end – SUPER!!!
The head turning to get her to turn right took a moment to click in on the next video, but she got it after you showed her turn to your left side. Then she was able to offer it a bit towards your right side! The last video also had a bit of this, took her longer to get the behavior going – it might be that she was a bit fatigued by that point, but also I think she is moving differently with the cookie use here – more front end and the hind end scoots in behind. I think the other ways to get it will get more independent use of the hind end.
>>If you think that we are ready I can add in the bars to go over on the floor.>>
Give her 2 days to let the brain wire this in, and check to see if latent learning has kicked in by doing the exact same thing in the next session. If so, the follow ing session can add one bar on the ground.
Great job!!
TracyHi!
The impulse control games are built in and not standalone – they work better in real world training scenarios when presented in real world training scenarios 🙂
So prepare for that, you can take a look and refresh the following games from MaxPups 1 because they add in a lot of the impulse control games 🙂
Resilience Game 2: Predictability Part 1 (Clean Mechanics And Markers)
Good morning! I hope your conference went great – I am sure it did!!
>>We’re definitely going to have to catch up a bit in the weeks to come. >>
No worries – we got til almost the end of August here, so you should have plenty of time to do the things without feeling rushed.
>>In this session we didn’t really have any off-course issues but did have some bars.>>
Do you have a good sports vet/soft tissue person who can check him one for trigger points of any soreness he might be hiding?
The sequences looked good!
Seq 2 (first one of the video) went really well – nice and smooth and he didn’t seem to look at any of the off courses. The in in 3-4 at :07 seemed to surprise him, but at :26 he seemed more prepared when you added the dig dig turn cue before it!
Seq 3 I also looking good! The BC 2-3 was lovely (he jumped the 2 backside better with you a little closer – he was less organized there on the previous sequence with you way up the line – lots of process on that jumping effort!)
You can trust him finding the 4 jump more without waiting for him – that will get you to the FC at :46 sooner. It was a little late (bar down) because you were a stride late starting the turning (and you were quiet there, so he drifted a bit – a verbal even if it s just his name will really help support the line with the big tasty tunnel right there 🙂 The timing was much earlier on the 2nd run, just add a few verbals so he can process that even better.
And trusting him more to find 4 by just moving along the line will help keep the bar up at 1:15 too – you moved in towards it then moved out away after his takeoff decision was made, so he didn’t really have a good prediction of where the line was going.
The tail grab of the wing close up was cool! Monkey boy! The earlier FC timing will help him set his hind end – the tail might be swinging around as he balances to try to make the turn over the bar. Setting up before it should resolve that. On the second time through there – he was also carrying his rear a little, so landed short on the jump and pulled the rail.
And the close up of the bar at 1:36 was also cool to see – yes, the handling can help get the turn better but also he didn’t power up with his rear there. It looked like he was carrying his rear over the bar more than he was pushing off with it. That is why a soft tissue person should poke around and see if he is compensating somewhere. He was also carrying his rear over 2 a bit at 1:44
Looking at the bar down at 2:29 – it was hard to see what part of him touched the bar, but he looked like he was pulling from the front there and the rear was not pushing as much – listening to the video, you were great about not stopping or anything and it looks like you were connected – but you can hear his frustrated noises at 2:18, which tells me he is trying really hard but can’t make it work. And since he was successful earlier, I don’t think it was a lack of skill or anything, just something off in the mechanics.
The tight turn mechanics where he slows down to get up a tight turn looked great – the FC on the backside of 7 was lovely each time.
So I don’t have a lot of handling changes to suggest with the bars – yes, there are spots to be earlier and trust more. I think the next step is to rule out anything ouchy. Then when the is ruled out, we can do some organizing work if it is an organization question 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
LOTS of great spots on this run!!! Some definitely good human behavior to keep repeating too 🙂
Great job making the start line area a fun place to be!! Start line areas are pressure-filled and stressful (for the dogs too, LOL!!!) so the more you make it a great place to be, the easier it will be to get a stay.
And using the targets on the contacts really helped! No real questions from her on the DW and a-frame so things were much smoother there.
>>I probably should have taped the targets down.>>
Yes, great idea! And since the goal is that she does the stop while you continue to move, you can ask one of the other folks to put a cookie on the target for you so it is there before she arrives. That will help prevent the target moving, it will allow you to move to a ore independent spot, and it will get her used to random people in the ring with her.
If she goes off course into the tunnel after the backside: Do.Not. Fix. Just keep going to the next line. I know this is a hard habit to change for us humans but stopping and fixing immediately brought up the frustration – it doesn’t matter how cheerfully we do it, the dogs still perceive it as punishment (no reward, stop in the action) and then get stressed (note the barking). And it is more ideal to just keep going after she misses jump 12 (that was handler error, you were too early) – dropping a treat and then redoing is also frustrating (the treat is not valuable enough to override the stop in motion).
When she is more experienced and done with adolescence, the frustration won’t crop up as quickly – those teenage brains get frustrated really quickly and take twice as long to return to a nice baseline.
Yes – teeter worries did crop up. (Could also be a by-product of the frustration right before it) So next time, reward the jump before it (as if it was the end of a course – hooray! Big excitement!) then help her on the teeter (or skip it if it is in front of the crowd and do Super Bowls instead, or just do the bang game or some small piece). Taking the target and running off was a stress behavior so we want to make sure she is a happy girlie in that pressure area in front of the crowd.
At 1:31 you cued a go so she went to the wrong line at the end and you kept going as if it as 1000% correct… because it was, based on your handling cues 🙂 PERFECT!!! That was a happy Chata and then when you redid the ending – you changed your cue and she was happy and not frustrated, so she was ale to respond beautifully. More of that, it is SO NICE!!!!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
Yes, the first rep was not quite as aggressive as you usually run (poor thumb!!), but still mostly good! He had a little drift out to the off course jump between 3-4 (“MOM YOU MISSED A JUMP”, probably haha) and your dig dig to get the turn 6-7 was a little late at :15 so he took the back of 7.
The 2nd rep was more lovely! He didn’t look at the off course jump as much (it seemed like he slowed down a tiny bit because passing that jump was weird) and then you were timely with your cues or 6 (decel and verbal) and he took 7 beautifully.
One thing on both of these reps: he was wide at 5 on the FC – Iwatched it a few times to see if he was looking at the tunnel, or if it was handling/position/timing. I believe it was your position: you got a little bit across the bar there, and he took the line you were setting and lot looking at the tunnel behind him. Good boy! So on that FC, keep your position just on the wing and don’t go past it to the bar, and that will tighten up that turn even more (or it will let us know if I am wrong and he was indeed looking at the tunnel :))
Sequence 2 looked great! He did not look at the tunnel or off course jump at all! The blind was really well done and that is why he found the line so easily.
>>I guess it’s based on connection and where you are running as I would have been headed towards the tunnel if I had wanted a BC into it.>>
I agree – you nailed the line and connection, so he knew exactly where to go. If possible the blind can be earlier (you did it as he was over the bar) but based on watching a lot of videos… it turns out that the more skilled dogs like Kaladin don’t even need us to be on time for these blinds, as long as our motion, line and connection are correct. Super!
Seq 2A also looked good, he did really well finding the threadle!!! I could’t hear if you were giving a verbal on the way to jump 2, to help prepare for the threadle turn. A verbal there (for him, probably just a name call) will really help him set up the line better because he will be turned to it sooner.
We had a good angle on your FC position on jump 4 (which is reminiscent of jump 5 in Seq 1) – you were pretty much on the wing here, only one leg got past it and his turn was good! You can decel a step sooner so you don’t go past it at all, and the turn will be perfect. The ending looked great!Seq 3 also looked really smooth here! He didn’t seem to look at anything other than the line you wanted. Yay And the FC on 5 also looked smooth and tight. You were not near the wing (it was more of a send into it) and that worked really well. The only turn that could possibly be a little tighter was the jump before the tunnel at the end: you can have your shoulders turned more before takeoff at 1:24. The main turn came after he took off. My guess is that the tree played a role in that LOL! It is actually a great handler obstruction here! So when you have to get around things, you can use a brake arm when it becomes almost impossible to turn the shoulders early.
The balancing work is looking good too – he is great about reading the different lines at the end there!!!
Nice work on these!! Looking forward to seeing you live and in person on Saturday!
TracyHi!
Yes, you are always great about saying kind things to other people. That is one of the many wonderful things about you!!!!
>> But not so much for me. I always tell me exactly what I did wrong or what could have been better. Or that I shouldn’t even be trying to do xyz. That part is really hard so far.>
try writing it down on a little piece of paper, r texting it to yourself. Start by texting yourself whenever you have a little win. It can be something like “I was super connected on that sequence with Mae!” or “I nailed that standard course” or “I took wonderful care of all the people in my family that needed me today”. All of those are big successes that you can say kind words to yourself about!
Tracy
Hi!
Great lists here! Now try to 8 successes a day 🙂 I am sure you have way more than 8 🙂>>sending healing thoughts to CB and HSM. I hope they are feeling better. Levy wants to run with his Bro in the lanes.>>
Thanks! They both feel great now 🙂
How are you Kind Words Challenges going? You are always great about saying kind words to other people… how is it going saying those things to yourself?
TracyHi! I am glad you are having fun! It sounds like you are doing well with all 3 boys, and that you are making adjustments in your handling so they can all be successful!
>>None of my dogs took the off course tunnel.
SUPER!!!!!
It sounds like you are breaking things down nicely for Alonso – that is very appropriate for a baby dog and it seems like he is doing really well!
>> I found praising him on course for paying attention to me really helped him >>
This is great – sump dogs really love the extra talking on course. You can also try to get him super pumped up with tricks before you run and see if that gets even more speed and engagement.
Great update!! Keep me posted :)
TracyHi!
>>I had to change from using a push (back side slice) cue to around (back side wrap) cue. I think that’s why the bar came down when we were practicing the back side because he was expecting a different line.>>
Yes, I agree that it would be a backside wrap cue because he enters and exits on the same line. After the first rep, it looked really good!!
>>Anyway, I’m not sure how to tighten up the wrap at 2. He usually will wrap tighter when I use his wrap cue, but consistently on these he was wide there and I felt like I needed a name call to get him coming toward 3.>>
Using his name is fine to do! The physical cues can be sending to 2 from further away so you can start the blind sooner (as he is approaching 2 you can start the blind), or doing a FC between 2 and 3 (lead out more to get this really easily – when we add the tunnel it might end up being your favorite option there :))
The blind on the landing side of 3 was a little wide for him – you were on his line after the blind so he had to go around you on the first rep. That is why he found that tunnel way in the back! LOL!
You pulled too much after the blind at :50 so he got the front of 4. That FC between 2 and 3 might be the easiest way to get the tighter turn at 2 and easily show him the line there.The last rep looked really strong! He is definitely ready to add the tunnel, whenever the tunnel is ready to be added 🙂 Nice work!
TracyHi!
You really attacked this course and I think you nailed it 🙂 One or two little suggestions, but overall it was really super 🙂First video:
Nice aggressive opening! You were really driving her and not waiting for her! Everything was super, only a small detail of not getting as far across 12 at :35 – you went to the center of the bar there to do the FC, and that made for a wider turn. If you can stay just at the edge of the wing, the turn will be perfect 🙂You were one heartbeat too early turning your feet on the RC at :40 – reward her (or keep going) so you can start it with flow from the tunnel before the jump)
Give her more connection on the last 2 jumps so she can look forward on the line – she was looking at you and did a bit of a zig zag on the line there.2nd video:
The BC opening worked nicely too – which one felt better to you? Yo can lead out a few steps more and do the BC sooner – start it when she lands from so it is done before takeoff for 2 🙂
For 12 on this course too , stay at the edge of the wing to tighten the turn for the FC. That will also allow you to get the BC sooner after the 13 tunnel!
On the 3rd video – you left the FC at 12 sooner and got ahead and nailed the BC after the tunnel. YAY!!!! And great job angling your position as she was doing the teeter, so she was facing the tunnel when you released her. The layer to the ending line was great!! It got you way ahead. Just add more eye contact on those last 2 jumps, because it will turn your shoulders to the line more and she will find it more easily.
Great job here!!! The aggressive handling really paid off!
Tracy
