[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

Oh yes, the smaller spacing and tiny tunnel definitely will keep you on your toes! But this went really well!!

Warm ups – tunnel was easy 🙂 Yay!
For the left turns – the send was a little wide on the first rep (was tighter when you moved away sooner later on). The brake arm had a similar slightly wider turn… I think on a really severe angle like this, a spin might be the best answer! Stretch the distances out, and then it is all much easier to get on the send.

The full sequence went really well!
At :51 as he exits the tunnel you were saying push but rotated so he turned to face the line you were facing. You had a MUCH clearer cue at :59 and 1:23! Very nice job getting that threadle then the GO to the tunnel – that is HARD in a small space (especially the threadle)

He did have a bar on the threadle at 1:41, but I think that was just maybe slightly later timing and a tiny jumping error, nothing to worry about because he was great on all the other reps.

When you switched to the left turn – you can move up the timing of the left cues so as he is exiting the wrap on the threadle wing, you are already showing the left cues and saying the left verbal.

The Left cues came when he was about halfway to the jump at 1:44 and 2:00 but he still got it.
I think you said “jump” as he exited the wrap at 2:13 which is really good timing, then the left as you moved away. I don’t think you need the jump verbal, just the left verbal at the timing you did it at 2:13. Super nice!

The timing of the left verbal was earliest on the last rep! Yay! On this severe of a line, it would be interesting to see if a spin would get him to put in a turn stride before takeoff rather than after landing. If you revisit this, let me know how he does!

Great job here – let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>As always…my timing and decel more. It doesn’t look like I ever stop moving.>>

Yes, timing and decel, but here and there. Most of it spot on! And it is here and there for all of us (which is why I leave my bloopers in the videos LOL!)

>> So, should it be decel and STOP motion until she catches up to me then rotate?

If you end up at the wing then yes, stop moving til she catches up. But if you have room to move, keep moving in decel so you can rotate as she passes you.

>> I’m not sure why I have so much trouble with this.

Because it is really hard! Timing of decel is the 2nd hardest thing in agility (getting perfect connection is the #1 hardest thing).

>>Also, on the reverse wrap. If she starts DOL then it’s my RIGHT hand pointing to the take off spot? I’ve never heard that before. I’ve seen the right hand over the bar.>>

Yes – the right hand as a bit of a ‘stop sign’ to get more collection. The right hand over the bar was from back when the dogs needed extra commitment help. They don’t need that anymore, so we can cue the collection and get outta there 🙂

>>Do you think Sprite needs a brake arm on all 180 turns at the moment? The soft turns seem to be troublesome for us.

Possibly! And that is normal to give stronger cues to baby dogs and then fade them out as they get more experienced.

>>Haha…I forgot the verbal look, look, look on that one rep and said to myself threadle cue. Threadle just came out of my mouth.>>

I loved it! And honestly, maybe we should all use that as our threadle cue LOL!!!

>>What are the fall plans for classes??

Stay tuned for a Transition To Trials class which will have sequences, how to get the dogs super successful in trials, and stuff that builds on the mental prep stuff we did in this class. I hope to get it posted in the next week or so 🙂

Great job this summer, it has been SO FUN to watch Sprite develop into such a terrific agility partner!!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>If she was your dog, would you avoid running on these kind of mats (they are Great Mats brand)?

She was not really slipped but she was really working hard NOT to slip 🙂 So the great mats would require you to change your handling to stay closer to the lines, because it takes longer for her to organize the jumping. It might be good for some straight line stuff and sends, but I don’t think it is a great option for the technical stuff or distance stuff.

>>You said to focus on where she would be, not necessarily where I would like her to be when I’m doing my handling.>>

Yes, there is a definite difference and most of the runs looked lovely!!!

Looking at the video:

Walkthrough 1 – mostly looking clear and strong!! The places that looked like questions in the walk through were the rear crosses on 11 and 15 (both looked a bit more like wrap cues) and the switch away to the tunnel after 16. That was kind of how it played out too – the rest looked really good!

Very nice opening, each and every time!! Yay!

She had trouble finding the 7 tunnel: Definitely keep driving to the tunnel until you see her looking at it – might mean you don’t layer but that is fine 🙂
At :54 you were puling way and she never looked at it. The rep at 1:54 was better but she needs a parallel line of motion to support commitment, more like what you did at 2:28 – that worked well!

Looking at the RC on jump 11

You asked in the video if it is a switch or a right – that depends on what switch means. I would use a right because it is not setting up layering
But either way, more connection will make the RCs work a lot better. It is counterintuitive to look at her more to get her to drive ahead, but it works really well! So for example on the rep at about 2:34, you were coming down the line after the poles, nicely connected so she read the 9-10 really well! Then you looked forward (and you were still ahead of her) which changed the line of your shoulders so she was no longer sure of the line If you keep your arm back and make more connection there, she will drive past you and you can run to the center of the bar on 11 to set up the RC. Then definitely throw rewards out on the line for the RC so she cn get lots more value for driving ahead of you.

That added connection will also work well on the RC at 15, where she did not drive ahead when you looked ahead. But overall, more thrown rewards out ahead to help her get more value for driving ahead will work REALLY well to set up the RCs.

To help solidify the flip away to the tunnel 16-17, you can bring up your arm sooner and see if she will turn over the bar rather than at landing – then step forward to the tunnel for as long as needed, until she is locked onto it.

Nice FC on 18 and really nice ending line!

Course 2: The walk through also looked good – your backside cue for 2 in the walk through was not all the=at clear but you nailed it in the runs. The other 2 spots that might have been questions were the wrap at 8 – it was harder to see if she would turn her head away or not. And it looks like you left out the 11 jump.

On the run:

Very nice opening line and weaves! I thought you supported the tunnel well so we will ignore the bug-behind-the-tunnel moment LOL! It was beautiful the 2nd time through there and after that as well.

For the threadle wrap after the tunnel on 8, make it more of a slow motion move so you can turn her head away. Most of the reps you did it as a lap turn, which involves locking her onto your hand, stepping back, turning her away, then showing the jump, all pretty slowly to she can set up the turn. Remember that the window you are looking for is for her to turn her head to her right and take a step to her right… then you can move to the next line You were moving too fast and it looked like a slice cue.

Doing it as a threadle wrap instead of a lap turn worked so much better towards the end!

At 6:13 you did a slice to a blind – maybe that is what you meant on the other reps? The blind makes the exit turn wider, so a throwback to a FC so she exits on your left will be nice and tight there. I think the threadle wrap sets up a better line, though

I the middle section, you did leave out 11 which is which the line didn’t make any sense to her (because it was wonky to got 9-10-12 LOL!)

She drove ahead on the RC at 13 at 5:31! Yay! Didn’t quite turn to the tunnel but I am happy she drove ahead! Look at the RC at 7:26 – connected and you drove to the center of the bar, so she got it beautifully!

On the backside cue at 4:41 and 5:45 on 13 – you were late starting (she was already getting ready to take off for the front) then you needed to look at the landing spot as you move through.
You got very stop-and-go there and so she was frustrated – stay in motion, keep going even if it goes sideways. You told her to stop there and other places, so she stopped barking but that doesn’t reduce the overall frustration so during the other stops, her barking response was bigger.

You were right on time at 7:34 but let go of the cue too soon, so she came off it. On the last rep, you held the cue til she locked onto the backside wing then helped her commit to the bar, so she nailed it. Yay!

>>On another note, I was wondering if you were still planning to send me the extra pup tent you had?>>

I have it with me on the road, and just need to get it to a post office! Hopefully this week!!!

Great job with everything this summer – you and Nox are looking sooooo much smoother!!!! Yay! The rear crosses are the next big thing to tackle, but I am sure those will be smooth soon too. Great job here and hope to see you soon in person!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! VERY nice session here!!!! She was able to commit beautifully, no running past jumps!

That first run looked great! Great connection on the takeoff side of 3 and found it perfectly.
Her head was up a little at the ending line – she might need an earlier toy throw perhaps, or maybe it was 14” bars. Or both 🙂 She will sort it out and then you will see her head get lower again.

She had the #1 bar down at :20 – she was set up too close to be able to have a full stride into the jump. Much better starting point at :27, good adjustment! So always be sure to start her a solid 12 to 15 feet away from jump 1 so she can stride into it properly.

The cross on the landing side of 3 was harder here because it was harder to clear her line so she could see 4 and still get commitment to 3. You were a little in her way on the first rep on landing of 3, so she really had to think about jumping 4.
You were further up the line on the 2nd rep, not as connected and calling urgently (running a bit sideways to 4) so she came to you at :45. Note the different at :59 when you made eye contact – great connection and she got 3 really nicely! But on this setup, the takeoff side of 3 is the winner because it is far easier for you to connect and show the line 2-3-4.

>>I was late cueing that darned RC at the end but she read it and turned the correct way. Yay!>>

Yes – a little late but she read it – GOOD GIRL!! That is why we keep rewarding them so they never get mad at us 🙂 If they are relaxed and happy to read our cues, they start to save us when we are late LOL!! Yay!

>>I also had the bars at 14″ which I think is the highest I have had. I think I will try raising them to 16″ next time.>>

Based on her head position here, you can leave them at 14” for a few more sessions – she was definitely thinking about the bars (which is good!). When she lowers her head again, you can go to 16”. No rush, we have plenty of time to get her there.

Great job here!! She is doing brilliantly!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>I need to learn a balance of when to start them, you’re right, with his commitment I should be able to start them earlier than I am.

The timing will all get easier as you get onto bigger sequences – when everything is close together, we have to be sooooo quick to show all the cues. So hard!!!

>>Watching his commitment is hard for me sometimes, I tend to pull too soon and Bless his little heart. He does with me! Sure love 💕 our dawgs>>

This will get easier too – the more we practice watching their heads, the easier it is to know when we can move away to the next line. They give us “permission” by looking at the line we want or starting the turn 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! I am really liking what I see here – there is a ton of great work so the suggestions below are pretty minor details to sharpen up certain spots. She has really come a long way in learning her coursework – this is very exciting!!! I am very happy to se all of the independent commitment so all we need to discuss is the timing or where to put a hand or what line to be on. Very cool!

>>Also, if I was too far lateral Sprite wouldn’t take the first jump. More homework.>>

You can train it at home with a toy on the ground or a MM, to replace the jump (getting really lateral then releasing her to the MM or toy in front of her). Then put a jump in between her and the toy/MM, and release to take it laterally. Then, fade out the placed reward and go to throwing a reward for taking the jump laterally. She will figure it out really fast.

Pop Out 1: Looking really good so we can sort out some subtle details:

You did a decel 2-3 but she was still a bit long on 3 at :07 and :26, so two things to try:
– Earlier decel (when she is over the bar of 2 so she sees it when she lands, rather than starting it when she lands)
– Brake arm as she lands and you decel into 3
We don’t need a lot more collection there, just maybe one stride, so those should help.

Nice collection on the 6 backside at :14 and :32! Nice turn!!!

The serpy line 7 to 8 might need an outside arm to get her to 8 because you are behind her at that point. The 2nd run was smoother because you were converging to 8 more. You can also try leaving 6 sooner, I bet her commitment is strong enough for you to send her past you as you rotate and you can get even further ahead!

Pop out 2:
Her turn on 2 was really good but it can be super gooder if you put your right hand down on the takeoff side of the jump at :48 and 1:15 and 1:42. What Imean by that is as you release her, indicate the takeoff side of 2 with your right arm near the takeoff spot and a bit of eye contact – that can get one more collection stride. But I am really pleased with how she is collected and independently bending over the bar as you takeoff for 3 🙂 NICE!

>>On the second sequence she was falling on landing of 3>>

About jump 3 at :51 and 1:18 and 1:45, I think she needed to see/hear the cues sooner:
– as soon as she exits the wrap wing of 2, you can begin the decel then the rest of the cues. It was a bit late and she was falling because you were doing it as she was approaching takeoff, so she didn’t really adjust her stride til after landing. Start the decel as she exits the wrap wing will feel early but gives her the info sooner – just be sure not to move away until she is passing you and looking at the jump.

The timing of the FC at :56 and 1:22 and 1:49 (jumps 4-5) tells me that yes, you can leave sooner on the FC in the previous pop out because you were fully rotated before she took off here. Yay!

A shade more decel into it will get an even better turn – the decel should start as she is over the bar of 4 so she sees it in progress when she lands. You had this bit more decel at 1:49 and she added a lovely collection stride!!

You are going to see ‘rounder’ lines on this type of dog path partially because the angle the dog jumps on, and partially because that rounder line is slightly faster than a really tight turn (NASCAR style!)

The rhythm of that decel is: as she is taking off for 4 – a long stretch of decel followed by the rotation as she is passing you. Starting the decel as she is over the previous bar or exiting a wrap wing should give her nice early info to adjust the striding.

Nice threadle 6-7! I think you said “threadle” as the verbal cue at 1:25 which is actually a great verbal cue LOL!!!

I like the BC 8-9 (1:01 and 1:29 and 1:55) but it looks like you were a little too far across the line so she jumped wide (correctly following your line). So on that BC, figure out what you want her ideal path to be, and run the BC right on it (you won’t be in her way because you will be long gone form the spot when she lands). So in this case, you will be closer to the inside wing and not past the center of the bar to set up the line.

The closing looks great including the last RC! WOW!

>>I could not get the BC in between 7-8 and had to rear with both dogs.>>

That RC, though, was fast and tight and you were ahead again after it (even though there was no place to go LOL!) so that is likely to be as fast or faster than a BC there!!!

Great job on these and fabulous work all summer!! Sprite is really coming into her own and in just the last couple of months has developed into a serious agility dog! YAY!!! I definitely hope to see you both in person soon (and Gemma too of course :))

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Apologies in advance for this relatively boring feedback where I ell you how great you did and how great she looked 🙂

On both of these videos you did fabulous job of getting her to be independent on the tunnel threadles – you showed the handling but then moved towards the tunnel entry you wanted without going much pulling or pushing on her line. She was finding the tunnels brilliantly!

First video:

On the warm up reps, you can add more motion by meeting her at the exit of the first tunnel and moving forward to the threadle tunnel entry, to see if she can drive ahead of it to you.

The Wing-tunnel threadle is going really well! She is especially brilliant when she turns to her right on the wing before the tunnel threadle, but she also nailed it each time when she turned to her left on the wing before the tunnel (she was a little wider on those because they seem to be harder for her).

Great job with ALL the verbals! Ad great timing with the threadle arm and other handling!

The 2nd video started where you left off from the first, with really lovely drive around the wings and then a great job turning her for the tunnel threadle. But the star of this video were your tandem turns (threadle wraps, really) on the wings – WOW!! Those were so great! You did a lovely timing the turn cue for the middle wing, so she was already turning – then the threadle wrap was easy peasy, and also quite independent! Very impressive for a baby dog!!!!

Well done on both of these! You can add challenge by adding more speed… but spreading the wings out even more 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Unfortunately, after tomorrow I start a cross country drive to teach in Seattle and some other places along the way, so I won’t have computer access to be able to watch videos 🙁 Too many hours driving coming up!

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

First video looks really nice! He is definitely driving across the mat really well! You can add two things this:
Rather than use a “yes” marker before the reward, say “get it” and throw the reward (so he looks at you less!) And, you can give the marker when he back feet him the mat (not the front feet).

On the 2nd video: The banana line looked good too! You were sometimes using a get it marker on this one and that will totally help him look forward – so keep using it consistently rather than the “yes” marker where turns back to you.

Since he is touching his mat so nicely, the next step is for you to move faster 🙂 Try this game with you jogging and see how he does :)

Great job !
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
This is going well too! He is getting more and more confident about jumping o it and going bak and forth. I am not sure he loves it yet, but he is definitely on the road to loving it! Great job having him jump on and off and go back ad forth. Adding more peed at the end with placed reward was great because it also added more tip! And he didn’t seem to mind at all.
You can very gradually start adding a little more tip. Stay at each new level of tip for as many sessions as it takes for him to get happy with that new tip. Then when he is happy, you can add a tiny bit more tip 🙂

Great job!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! These all looked really good!

Seq 1: This went well!!

Fo the tandem turn, you can start it sooner (after he passes the pole) to pull him in then turn him away on the line.

Same with the 2nd video – starting that tandem turn when he is exiting the middle wing will help pull him in past the next wing so you can turn him away sooner.

3rd video – for the FCs on this one, you can have the toy in your pocket so that way you can be one step sooner with t he FCs. With the toy in your hand, you were switching it to the other hand then doing the FC, which made you a step late.
Tunnel threadle at the end of this one looked GREAT! Very clear cue and you moved directly yo the tunnel entry you wanted.

4th video – Really nice line around the wings and into the tunnel! You can show the FC on the tunnel sooner by starting before he enters the tunnel, so he is turning when he exits and so you can already be facing the other way.

He also has really good commitment, so you can start the FC on the wings just before he reaches the wings – you were tending to do it when he was halfway around the wings, but he is definitely ready for you to do it earlier.

5th video – this is the mirror image of video 4 – also really nice lines around the wings an into the tunnel! As with the previous video, you can start the FC on the tunnel right before he goes into the tunnel, and the FC on the wings right before he arrives at the wing. The tunnel threadle at the end here looks great too! 🙂

6ht video – at :21, you pulled away from the tunnel so he had a question on the tunnel threadle. On the previous videos, you ran directly towards the tunnel entry you wanted and he was very clear about where to go

7th video – at :12 here on the FC, you started it just before e arrived t the wing. NICE! Then you moved directly to the tunnel entry on the tunnel threadle (you didn’t pull away at all) so he was perfect in finding the correct tunnel entry. YAY!

8th video – this one was super connected and you really drove him through the lines. Super!!! He is definitely ready for you to do this in a bigger space so you can add more motion and speed.

Nice job on these!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

I don’t think you need a treat on the target, it depends what she remembers about the target? You can start with a treat if needed but fade it and the reward can come from the RT out ahead. And yes, start with a bigger target (4″ x 4″ approx) then fade it smaller and smaller. In UKI, you are allowed to run NFC and put the target on the ground!

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
The pop out looked great, super connected and timely!!! She needed you to take one more step to the 6 jump before peeling away, but the rest was pretty perfect 🥰

About the contacts – I think she knows it is *something* about stopping when the RT is there but I don’t think she knows it is a 2o2o (as you can see when she was stopping progressively further and further up the board). A target for the 2o2o might be more helpful, to create the behavior chain of 2o2o then release forward. The target can be as small as a piece of duct tape on the floor, which also makes it easy to fade 🙂
The RT can still be out there to reward, but a target might clarify things better. Then you can progressively move yourself further and further back- but rather than stand still when you are behind, work on staying in motion and running past her so she doesn’t get into the habit of curling back to you, because she will also see you run past the end. Let me know if that makes sense!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>>I had ups and downs with staying positive. I know that every run counts with Mookie because he is getting older. >>

It is hard when they age for sure – but the runs count towards the bigger picture of your life with him, not towards titles or anything 🙂 If you think about a clock ticking on titles, you will add anxiety so you want to redirect your brain away from that.

>>I have learned that if I keep a low banter with him saying come come come instead of “COME” he actually follows me better.
I learned that if he hears me repeating commands in a lower tone we move as one>>

That is great insight!!! And it probably leads to earlier info too!

>>We were the only ones in the 24 inch height to Q in both runs and did it with insanely fast times both runs. It felt magical. I know this won’t happen every day every run but it felt so good that it could happen >>

Yes! That is totally the joy of agility 🙂 It is hard to get those clear round with fast dogs but it is so magical when we do!

>>we nailed every course easily because he has a balance of obstacle and handler focus. Once he is on a line and I let him go he is gone like the wind and is wonderful. Yes, we have tons of stuff to work on to move up to the nastier AKC courses but for now what a joy >>

Yay! That is so fun! And it is challenging to run 2 very different dogs but you are doing a great job figuring them out and helping them!

>> Thank you again for doing this mental mangement section. I will try to stay true as I can. I can still be disappointed easily but have a plan with Mookie to try now.>>

The mental game is definitely up and down – no one is positive all the time 🙂 The key is to keep practicing it as a skill in your toolbox. Over time, it will be easier and easier, like flexing a muscle!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

The raised plank is looking good! The clicks were all hind end, but they tended to be the 3rd foot and so you can wait for foot #4 🙂 You can take the clicker out of it because she looks at you more and more even when you click the 3rd or 4th back foot. Rather than click, you can mark the behavior with get it and toss the treat. That should get less looking at you. And a Manners Minder on one side would also help her stop looking at you – she can go towards it in one direction and get a treat in the other direction.

When she is looking at you less, the next steps are to add more of your motion going back and forth, and the banana line game that is posted in the last week.

The box is going well too, and same suggestions for it as with the plank – no more clicker (so she stops looking at you) and use the ‘get it for foot #4 in the box. And the Manners Minder will help too! I think a lower lip to the box will help too as you add more of your motion so she can get her feet in faster.

The blinds are going really well! She was looking at you a bit on the exit of the blind and the wraps, because you were not quite finished with them and showing the new connection. To get the new connection sooner, you can start the blinds sooner – as she is halfway between the tunnel and the wing, you can be start the rotation into the blind so the blind is finished before she arrives at the wing. Keep your motion directly towards it so the motion supports the commitment.

On the wrap after it, two things will help her maintain commitment: using your dog side leg to step to the wing, and look at the ‘landing spot’ as you move away (rather than at her or ahead of her). When you took the big step o the wing, she committed nicely! Her only questions came when your dog side leg did not step to the wing to cue the send.

>now she is not keen to play with a tug toy. She is looking for her ball and pretty much stops playing with me while she hunts around for it. >>

I am glad the teeter is going well! But yes, we would like her to play with the toy. You might want to start any training with the tug toy early in the session before any ball play, and with a high value tug. And, you can try doing the weaves and the teeter for high value toys instead of the ball. Ball-obsession can tend to override other things, which can make it harder to train other things without the ball. Other options include toys that have a ball on them, she might like that too!

>>Hoke’s chiropractor is finally back from vacation and we see her tomorrow. She knows him better than anyone.>>

Fingers crossed that he feels better ASAP!!! I am glad he is already improved!!

Nice work here, let me know what ui think!

Tracy

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