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Hello and welcome! I am excited to see you here!
>>I’m not sure how the format works. Are we supposed to work through all of the week 1 games before the first live class?>>
You can work on these games at your own pace throughout the week. The first live class (next week) is an entirely different set of games – the folks who registered for the live spots will work them during the live session, and then they will be posted for you and the other online working participants to try and post here in the Forum.
have fun!
TracyHi!
Welcome back! I am excited to see more of Baxter!!
>>so it is on me to keep our sessions short, which I have a hard time doing LOL.
It is cracking me up how so far folks are mentioning how hard it is to keep sessions short! All of our phones have timers on them… set the timer and live by it LOL!!
Looking at the first video:
This is going well! I agree that finding the the treats in the grass was the hardest part. It is a game you can do on your mats indoors! He figured it out pretty quickly but it was hard to know how to keep moving when he was looking for the treats. You can add more distance indoors- and maybe even use weave poles as jump bars, which will give you more room between jumps indoors.Great job!!!
TracyHello and welcome back! She is at such a fun age now!!!!!
>>as it’s been really easy to train too much, for too long, since she just wants to keep going!>>
Always set a timer and when it says you are done… you are done. Don’t train without one!
have fun!
TracyHello!
This is looking really good – easiest game ever according to Saphira!!! Just be sure to have a little bit of connection so after she eats the treat and looks up at you, she can see the line (and not come to you). Yo can definitely add more distance and now and go to the next steps! Yay!!
Great job 🙂
TracyOops, I missed this one. Sorry!!!
I think on the first send she didn’t realize it was a cue to start 🙂 So you can warm her up with forward sending, then give her a little ready ready moment – then send. Once she was not the game, she understood to go to the barrel.
She did really well here when she saw you shift connection from her eyes to the barrel, following you hand as it pointed there. She was consistently finding the barrel on the first send. Yay! She was not consistently finding it on the 2nd one, when you did 2 in a row. What was happening on those was that you were changing the toy from hand to hand and then hugging it to your chest (which draws her attention to the toy) and that made the connection shift from her eyes to the barrel exit not as clear. So either leave the toy in the same hand the whole time, or stick in it your pocket so you don’t switch it around 🙂 The way you can show a really clear connection shift and she will nail that 2nd send.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This is a really fun course – lots of good course trends to work on!!Firt sequence: Opening looked really good, nice wrap before the tunnel! The tunnel-tunnel layering section looked good – before he goes into the first tunnel, you can be telling him to go go go then tunnel tunnel tunnel so he knows to look forward when he exits. You got quiet and he hesitated until you said tunnel after he exited.
Teeter layering looked good!
The 2nd sequence picked up on the layer to the teeter- without as much momentum, be sure to tell him about the teeter before he takes off for the panel jump.
He had a question on the jump after the teeter – based on your position, he thought the wrap was back to the tunnel. Since he seems very confident and independent on the teeter, you can move away more laterally before even cuing the wrap jump, so that he sees the line to the next jump based on your position and motion (and it takes the tunnel out of the picture).
Very nice job layering to find the tunnel under the dog walk! That is a SUPER useful skill nowadays!!!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Look at you – clear round! Super!!! She looked good jumping 20 and it is more forgiving on her body for sure! You had really nice connection throughout and she looked confident!!Question about the contacts: Do you have to slow down with her, or will she stop if you keep moving? So far I am bugging all of the FF people to keep moving and not stop with the dog on the contact LOL!! If she needs you to put the targets out on the ground so she can learn to stop as you keep running, that is great! Being able to run past the contacts or be laterally away from them will really help you get to great spots on course!
For example, you can get a smooth line from 6-7-8 (the line after the DW if you can leave her on the dog walk and be more lateral. And if you can leave her on the a-frame, you can send to the backside after it (10) and get ahead for 11-12, allowing you to decelerate into the FC at 12 so she can collect more. Practicing with the targets there will really help.
Nice switch to the teeter! Then if you can leave her on the teeter and get ahead, you will be able to smooth out the ending line by handling it from further ahead, and calling her sooner before she goes into the tunnel 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
The handling on the jumping/tunnel sections is looking really good, so to practice that, a couple of behavior things to help her out:
>>Reaction time when things got hot on the start is still a challenge for me. Atleast the first time. I was able to atleast have a plan the second time.>>
I think for now – just take out any start behavior and begin someplace in the opening where you can send and run.We are woking the start line separately, no need to put it on course right now. On this course, you can just slingshot her at 4 and run run run. There is just too much failure on the start lines and you are getting frustration behavior. We don’t want it to become a source of tension so for now, just remove it from the equation for now.
With the contacts – also too much failure here. For course work runs, use targets when you are running courses so that she does not fail and is not told she is wrong (and so you don’t have the dilemma to what to do if she is not correct). That way she can be correct and fast.
For the handling – try to break this down to 3 or 4 obstacle sessions on your first time through it, so you can run with connection and add more reinforcement into the jump sections. You were running for your life (relatable LOL!) so while you were great about staying in motion, she didn’t get a lot of connection or reinforcement (then ended up on a contact that when slightly awry too)
Then after you get the 3 or 4 obstacles, turn it into maybe 10 obstacles (without the stay and with targets on the contacts, or whatever aid you used to train them). And reward reward reward before it goes wrong 🙂 That will allow you to work the connection and lines! And then you’ll see that it is relatively easy to put the whole thing together (starting without a stay in a place where it makes sense to send and go, and with targets on the contacts).
I don’t mind having targets in for now, because as you mentioned – it is really hard to set up the flow if the contacts go awry! And I don’t want to tell her she is wrong, but I also don’t want to tell her she is right to not do the contact behavior 🙂 So the easy answer is to help her out and get success with the targets 🙂 Then it will be very easy to fade them out as you keep that really nice flow!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Nice work here!A general observation:
I think in practice you tend to run parallel to her when ideally you would run ahead or laterally. This is especially true on the contacts (more below) so it is changing the lines you run. Rehearsing that might mess things up at trials, when you will need to be ahead or she is moving faster or bothOpening line –
The lead out worked well on the first rep! Very nice!!The shorter lead out would mean a RC on takeoff side of 3 to get the line – you did it on t he landing side, but you were not quite far enough area so she spun.
She also had a little question on the line from the DW to the frame: The jump at :23 (jump after the DW) is a serp you turned your shoulders forward so she didn’t read the 2nd part of it and had a question. It was smoother on the 2nd rep but you can be more laterally away from the DW and so you can get the backside and show the serp arm/shoulders there.
The A-frame exit at :31 was confusing – you decelreated then moved towards her, then said good and she released. At 2:08 you rotated towards her and then moved forward so she released but did a zig zag – caused an extra step to the backside for you. Just keep handling and either release to the next jump or throw a reward back to her.
I think the confusion on the frame delayed the send to the backside at 10 . Be sure to turn your shoulders so that she knows it is a right turn not a RC at :36 rather than step in. You had a great shoulder turn on the next rep:
Really nice a 2:12!!You can add in some decel into the FC at 12 so she collects, to get a tighter turn there.
OK, let’s talk about contacts. There was the decel and moving towards her on the a-frame, and you did the same thing on the teeter – decelerated, rotated towards her, stepped towards her then released on motion which would explain why she thought she should release the frame.
I think you are doing all 3 contacts: decelerating, rotating towards her, then trying to rotate back to the line. Ideally you would keep moving – is this decel because she might not stop? If so, put targets back out on the contact bottoms so you can help her stop while you continue to drive through the handling.
Hanging out at the teeter bought you the off course jump at :49 and at 2:23 you totally stepped to it. Reward her or continue, she was correct – no stopping without reinforcement (very frustrating for her and she rehearsing barking at you and being in front of you after the first stop there) . The ideal handling would be to leave her at the teeter and drive past the tunnel entry, so a target for the teeter end position will really help!
One other small detail – when saying go on the last line, say it to her (more connection, even if she is ahead :)) and not to the jump so that she gets the connection and makes the line smoother.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think, especial about the general observation of staying too close to her line especially at the contacts 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
Sorry to hear about Enzo!! Hope his rest is short and he is back in action soon!Casper stepped up rally well! I am happy to look at his work 🙂 He does need things broken down more because he is still trying to process the lines, the handling cues, and how to use his body – all while going really fast 🙂
He did really nicely on the first line – you had a little too much pressure into the jump before the weaves, so he read it as a rear cross – a lower arm and more motion towards the right turn wing will help smooth that out. Nice weaves!!!
He had really good distance on 1-2 on 2nd clip! He needed a more obvious connection to the 3 jump, you were looking ahead and peeling away so he came with you. Be sure to reward more so he is getting a lot of reinforcement for his effort on these really hard courses – if he misses a jump, just keep going and reward somewhere else n the line (like after the next obstacle) rather than stop him. Missed jumps are handler error with baby dogs so it is fine to keep going. That will keep him in a really centered arousal state and not frustrated at all.When you did it again, you definitely had more support and he read the line better (different handling choices, but that went well!) You can reward after the tunnel then set him up to be able to get ahead of him again: those weaves are miles away 🙂 and we want you to be ahead to support him. And then after the weaves, you can isolate that line to the tunnel – convergence and lead changes away are hard for youngsters, and he gave it a great try!
So definitely keep playing with Casper 🙂 I think breaking things down into 3 or 4 obstacle sets will be a good starting point for the really wicked stuff 🙂 Then we can build it up from there.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Zane’s runs went really well!!!
Most of the handling lines were super smooth, even the spots that were challenging in round 1!!!The send to the tunnel in the opening on the first rep so you can layer was OH SO CLOSE! You can totally break it down – take another step or two the tunnel then throw a reward for it – and each time step a little less and keep throwing a reward for the tunnel exit. We add more layering next week which will make it easier. It was so close!!! He will get it 🙂
>>Then the 10-11 jumps…ugh. I wanted to try to improve having the correct leg, >>
I thought 10-11 went well! And yes, you can use your dog side leg more but at :28 and on the 2nd run too – you got closer to 12 and that helped him a lot too. Trying it without Zane so you can be slower is a good way to get the muscle memory of the dog side leg for the send started.
Nice line from the teeter to the tunnel! Doing it in flow really helped in the first run but you nailed it after the release the 2nd run! Nice!!!!
Dice was great in the pop out!! The opening looked awesome – very nice job trusting him and doing s timely BC at :03 and :16 I think the BC at:03 was actually better because the rep at :16 was a little early, so he was not as sure about taking the jump 🙂 The other lines looked great!
And yes, at :07 it is a ‘kiss kiss’ tunnel threadle 🙂 You had it too, he was coming in, but you opened up your shoulders too early and stepped back to the tunnel at :09. On the 2nd rep, I think he needed a more exaggerated cue because he looked at you then popped into the tunnel. Definitely a good spot to refresh for him by breaking it down then adding it back to the rest of it.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Congrats on your super successful weekend with the dogs!!Rosie’s video:
Interesting that with the tunnel there she added the distance to the tunnel! I wonder if she was in trial mode where she probably ran bigger courses? Or in the previous session, she had the warm up of running it without the aded jump so this was harder!
You can open up your shoulder line as a serp to help bring her in and see how that helps her ignore the extra jump. Closing your shoulder to pull her in actually kept her out on the line, so swinging your dog side arm back for the serp (left arm here) can really help her.
On the second sequence – the opening line looked great and she didn’t look at the added jump at all. Super!
The blind cross opened up the tunnel for her, so you needed to really emphasize the connection – it worked like a charm when you did that!
On sequence 3, she needs a tunnel turn cue before she enters the tunnel, especially if you don’t layer. She didn’t pick up the off course when you got in front and faced her, but it slowed her down. I think sending to the tunnel with a turn cue and then layering the jump will really help her find the turn on the tunnel exit.
She was super about not looking at the tunnel at any other point! Yay!!
Lily did have a ton of energy! On the first rep, you pulled her in a little too much 2-3 – the extra support on the other reps really helped her! She was speedy and perfect on the other reps, and didn’t seem to look at ht tunnel or the extra jump.
Seq 2 at 1:06 you stepped to the center of the bar and accidentally cued a rear cross on 4 – make sure you reward her there, she read you correctly. On the next reps, you had a nice line to the left turn wing of 4 and then a very connected blind to get the turn and not the tunnel 🙂
Seq 3 -The blind cross 2-3 works really well. The opening looked really good and she got the tunnel turn with her name call as the cue. Nice!! I agree, handling from the landing side of 5-6 made the push 7 easier for sure!
On the 5-6 line – getting to the inside for the blind was great – be sure that the blind is done before she takes off for 5, and then make a big connection to push to 7. And if something goes wrong, assume it was handler error and reward her 🙂 She is reading you correctly, like at 2:45 when your shoulder turn/lack of connection to play with pulled her off of 7. You had lovely connection on the ending and got that push to 7 really nicely!
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I hope you thumb isn’t too painful!!!
Nice angle on the camera here – the yard looks great!!!
This session went REALLY well! My ideas are really more about timing and running lines, to tighten up turns and take out some strides – he is now at the level where we look for any spot to cut off ticks on the clock 🙂 I don’t think he looked at any of the off course options 🙂
Seq 1, no distraction obstacles – super nice! You can trust him more and do the blind as he is over 2 and then open up your serp arm sooner as well. You can push the timing to see how early you can deliver the info!!!
Seq 2- looked great! When he is landing from the 2 backside and turns his head to look at 3, you can immediately drive away to the wing of 4 to get a slightly tighter turn on 3-4. I couldn’t hear if you were using a turn verbal or a threadle verbal or not, but it is a good spot to use one!
Seq 1 with added jump – he appears to have not even looked at the jump 🙂 and you were earlier on the timing of the blind!!! Yay! Try to open up the serp arm sooner – at :46, he is about a stride from takeoff and your shoulders are closed forward s he takes off towards you not towards 6. He changes line on landing, but adds strides to do so. Getting that lead change before takeoff of 5 will take out extra strides 5-6!
Seq 2 with added jump – very nice! As with the first, you can leave sooner for 4 to get a tighter turn on 3, and use a verbal (if you were not using one :))
Sea 3: Lovely! You can do the blind sooner and more towards 3 (1:14 was a little wide). This might be a spot where the FC might be a better choice, because it turns your feet to 3 sooner and creates a tighter turn. Ending looked great!
Seq 1 with tunnel – super nice! And earliest blind yet on the 2-3 line! Keep pushing that timing forward – he was halfway between 2 and 3 here, and I bet you can do it when he lands from 2 or even when he is over 2 🙂 as long as your position is up by 3.
Same as previous rep, open serp arm sooner so that he can drive to the 6 jump and not towards you at all.
He never looked off course here either. YAY! He is totally locked onto the lines you set.Seq 2 – Adding the tunnel here opening up a line question: he was wide at 4 because you were right in front of the Tunnel at 1:52. You can get closer to the wrap wing, or at least the wrap wing line if yo car not that far ahead, and pick up the connection there then step forward directly to the next jump (you were stepping back a bit which was ending you up near the tunnel.
You had a little disconnect at 1:56 unusual bar down, no worries because you were great on all the other reps.Seq 3 – nice opening and great timing of the right cues for the exit of tunnel 3! Your surprise cracked me up LOL! Talking to him about it distracted you both so he almost missed 5 🙂 Good save!
At 2:13, you are a bit far from the ideal line and a bit close to the tunnel on the FC on the backside – so there were a couple of extra strides. Try to get right on the wing and then move out of the FC directly forward to the next jump, so you don’t end up near the tunnel.
2nd rep was also great opening!
At 2:34 the turn was a little wide on the BC 5-6 (it can be a little earlier, but I think the FC will be the better choice here). And there was that same tiny bit of wideness at 7 for the FC after the backside there (2:36). I don’t think he is looking at the tunnel, I think he was chasing your line so if you get right on the wing then head forward to the next jump, you will see him drive directly to it.Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
About the lead outs – to bridge the gap from training to trialing, about half of your runs in training should be practiced with a lead out… and half in training should be done with little or no lead out so you can get into the mode of handling her when you are not ahead of her.
>>Did exercise 2 first- video I was confused as to where it went- pulled her to the inside of jump and then nothing lined up. Second time forgot to turn video on after rewalked it and we did it correctly. We seemed to find this easier than first sequence.>>
I was confused too LOL!! Exercise 2 has a backside at 2, so I was not sure if you wanted it on the first rep and she ended up on the front side? Be sure to stay connected and moving towards the backside jump until you see her lock onto the wing to the backside.
>>Second time forgot to turn video on after rewalked it and we did it correctly. >>
Ah! That makes sense 🙂
I think the first sequence reps were the last two here – it was kind of a combination of sequence 1 and 2 but that is fine because you were connected and smooth and fast! Yay!!! I thought you were moving well. If you feel restricted because the ground is slippery – do you have cleats or something type of great running shoe for mud? That way you will feel comfortable running and not feel as restricted by the ground.>>Will do again on wider spaces hopefully thursday but 90 min round trip to where can do this.>>
Perfect!! She is definitely ready to see this with more distance between the obstacles, to match what you would see at a trial.
Nice work!
Tracy
