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Good morning!
>>I was going to do the Tunnel Exit Turns exercise from Week 1 and/or the Find the Jump, but my husband is using the cart that I need to haul tunnel bags and tunnel.
Totally makes sense! The tunnel stuff can be done on the same day or two days in a row, to minimize tunnel carrying.
Looking at the videos:
>>Yesterday we tried the L/R Minny Pinny proofing and it didn’t go very well. Did a mini version of it last night in the house which was great so we tried again outside this morning. That went much better,>>
Definitely post up any videos where things did not go well 🙂 Those are the most informative!
Minny pinny looked great on this video – my only big suggestion is that you can mix up left and right more, to prevent fatigue from all the reps in the same direction for a bunch of reps. This is a bit of a gym workout for the dogs too, so doing 10 of the sane reps in a row will result in subtle form changes as her muscles begin to ‘feel the burn” lol! So you do maybe 3 or 4 to one side, then switch to the other side, then switch back.
>>in watching my videos it looks like I’m inadvertently cueing with my body which way she should go. >>
When she was between your feet, you were leaning a little to indicate the left or right, which is fine because it is a good way to start with the concept that it could be either left or right from that position. It was minimal body cue and it can be faded out more as she gets more experience.
>>Same thing happened with the Sends & Serps yesterday. That didn’t go well so we quit after only a few tries. We tried again with the send/right to serp this morning. It was just ok, I had to jazz things up a bit because she seemed kind of ho-hum about it and she doesn’t come in on the serp jump if I’m moving. >>>
Two suggestions for you to help her understand the serps:
– angle the jump so she can see the bar directly in front of her a she exits the wrap by taking the wing closer to the MM and pushing it towards the camera. Because this was so hard for her, you can angle it a lot (almost 90 degrees) so it is obvious for her to see and so you can keep moving.– replace the MM with something less visually stimulating, like an empty bowl and you can then toss the treat into it.
These suggestions will help you not have to go fast then decelerate, because that adds a handling cue that we don’t want to rely on (decelerating or stopping in the serp). So the angling of the jump will get her started and then over the course of a few sessions, we can angle it back to where it is here.
>>We stopped after she started sniffing the jump. I think the session was too long (more on that below).
It wasn’t too long… it was too many failures and she knew that things were not quite right but didn’t know how to fix it. So angling the jump will really help!
>>I angled the jump after a few reps and she still wouldn’t come in. We didn’t spend much time on this and finally stopped.>>
On the next session, start with the jump angled a full 90 degrees and see how she does 🙂 Your line will be the same, it is the jump that moves.
The set point is looks good. Form is good, stay is good (nice job telling her why you went back towards her when you wanted to reward :)) She looks powerful but also organized. Yay! You can try stretching it a few more inches, but overall lets leave it here for a little while (this gets built up in coming weeks, so we don’t need to obsess now that you have found the sweet spot). You can put it into the training rotation of once per week.
>>So, what I wanted to bring up is that poor Hola is not only in adolescence (15 months old on Wednesday this week), but she came in heat on Sunday (her 2nd one) and that is definitely affecting her concentration, mood, etc. She was so fussy the first 2 days I couldn’t get her to move!
Poor girl! I think she did well on these videos. Maybe the blooper sessions were hormone related? No worries, it is all normal.
>I’m thinking fewer exercises with very few reps for the next few weeks might be in order. Or mix in something that she really likes where she can run or chase a toy.
Yes! Do the favorite ones that are fast and silly, and maybe mix in a couple of reps of the more intellectual ones LOL!!
Great job here!
TracyNice work with the Minny Pinny Proofing!
The right turns in the A, B, and C positions with you standing still looked great when he was turning towards you. Position A turning away was not too hard… position B was definitely hard to turn away!Turning left towards you in position A. B, and C also looked great, especially when you were in position C and he could have easily turned to his right.
As with the turning away to the right, turning away to the left was hard in positions B & C! Position A turning away to the left was a little hard for him too, he definitely seems like a righty.
So to build up the turning away, you can start in that Position A, and then inch your way over to position B turning away 🙂 We also helped some of the dogs by placing the toy out between jumps 2 and 3 on the turn aways when the handler was in position B or C, to help clarify for the dog what we wanted.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHe did well with these 3 wing lead change zig zags too!
You can try giving him the cues quicker by only moving your arms and not moving your feet at all. When you were doing the big rotations, he got the info but it made you a little late showing him the next thing. So, just use your arms and don’t move your feet at all (your feet can be facing him) and see how he does. I am confident he will be great 🙂Wowza, the find the jump game looked great – he exited that tunnel looking totally straight – GOOD BOY! Nice throws of the toy! You can add the GO verbal for the tunnel exit then keep saying it, to help name the line. You can also add more and more of your speed – run run run! Your connection was great, so keep the good connection. And you can use your arm like. Sprinter (pumping your arms) rather than having your dog side arm back. Pumping arms like a sprinter makes it easier to run, as long as you don’t lose connection 🙂
Hi!
First rep had a little blooper – you didn’t pull him when you released so he stayed out on the line past the 2nd wing but the next reps were very strong! And it was good that you mixed up his start position so he could work on do all of the different lead changes – they looked really easy for him.He is definitely ready to do the 3 wing game, which I see you posted below.
Hi!
This is the serpentine but the camera was a little off-center so we can only really see the start wing and a little bit of the jump. I think he went past the first one – remember to look back at the landing spot as you move past the bar. Then it looks like he was doing his serps nicely on all the rest – super!
So, you can add a little more motion to these and try jogging 🙂 If he has trouble with the added motion, try angling the jump towards him so it is easier for him to see the bar.Great job!
Hi! Glad to see you here!!! She is doing really well 🙂
On the set point – she is clearing the 20″ bar, but not quite the form we want yet. She is looking at you and landing on her shoulders a bit (instead of driving her hind end under her to power out of the next stride. So before leaving the bar at 20”, show her the moving target set point game starting on a low bar (8″) so we can get her looking straight and engaging the power of her hind end more. Y
Driving ahead to the jump looked great! She really liked the thrown toy and accelerated beautifully to it! You can add in the Advanced version, where the toy is placed past the jump and she has to ignore it and do the wrap first 🙂
2nd video – she did really well with the handling here and was great with the tunnel exits! I couldn’t hear if you were using a wrap verbal or not on the wrap wings (I did hear some “around” but not consistently – so keep adding those wrap verbals). The left and right were great! She had a little bit of a hard time finding the wing all the way past the tunnel exit after the Go, so you can move it in closer so it is easier for her to find as she learns to get comfy driving ahead of you.
>I am unsure how to proceed with her toy play. She was engaged with this game so when she played with the toy by herself I called her back to ‘get ready’ & she came back & spit the toy out.
When you edit the video, leave more of the toy play in so I can see what is happening – the video cuts off each rep basically as soon as her mouth gets on the toy LOL!! It looked like she was tugging. Is she not bringing it back/retrieving it? Let me know and I can give you ideas.
Pill bug game –
>>Another day we did pill bug & struggled with keeping her interest.I think she wants a little more action 🙂 in the form of running and rewards. On the first rep, you had her start next to you so it was a little like heeling and she looked a little confused. When you added more excitement, she looked more interested! So add more movement and running and tugging.
>>But she gradually lost interest in playing.
How long was the session, and what was the value of the treats you were using? She likely needs very short, very exciting sessions with the toy and either a super low value treat or no treats, for now 🙂 You can trade for another toy, and also keep it in your hand if you are planning another rep. I do a lot of letting go of the toy then running the other direction with the other toy (better toy, hopefully :))
>>The nature of the game mainly? Is this how I should handle her with toys right now?>>
I think it is a matter of figuring out how she likes to play, and massaging it into a form that is useful for training. If she only has 4 or 5 reps of great training with a toy… stick to 3 reps and be done 🙂 If she is losing interest, the sessions are probably too long. You can do 2 or 3 reps, then go do something else with Hoke, then come back later for another couple of reps, etc.
On the last video with food, she was more engaged because she might like food a little better at the moment 🙂 But either with food or toys, she will like the pill bugs a whole lot better if you run 🙂 That makes them a bit death-defying because you will be trying not to trip over the tunnel LOL! But she will like the energy and action of running, and will probably like the toys for that too!
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyWow, the set point went well!!! Was this the first time he has seen this game with the moving target? He did really well!! This is a good distance and set up. His stay looked GREAT (because you had worked on it already :)) And he did super well with the striding. The only thing I would add for now is to lead out another 5 feet past jump 2 the release. That will help him start to extend even more, in preparation for adding the bar to jump 2 (which we won’t do yet, because he is still so young).
Great job!
TracyHi! I am so glad it was a great session!!!!
>>Many times I would be frustrated with trying to hard and getting nowhere!>>
Yes- puppy training can be frustrating!! That is why I encourage people to post the stuff that didn’t go well, because we can sort it out and get things on track! And there is no judgement, only support: we all have ups and downs when trying to train our new pups 🙂
That what he does when he is confused – he sits and trying to understand whats happening. I have seen this many times- something new and little scary – Charlie sits and wait. >>
Yes! He is thoughtful and smart, he is processing information when he does that. It is better than if he was biting you or running away!! I like that he is thoughtful and fast 🙂
The session looked great! He was SUPER engaged, tugging hard, and didn’t need to stop and think about anything. Super! And he was all by himself, no Archie, which is also good!
Almost everything was easy for him – the tunnel turns, the wing wraps, etc, all looked great! You were VERY connected and that really helped!!!
The only thing that was hard was him finding the jump all the way past the tunnel (on the side away from the camera). I think it was a long distance away so he just was not sure if he should go all the way out there without you. So, a couple of ideas to try as he learns to find that jump:
– move that wing past the tunnel over, so it is more obvious which side you want him to take when he exits (when he is on your right side). When he was on your left side, it was on a great line and he did well!
You can also move it closer to the tunnel exit, so he doesn’t have to drive as far ahead to find it.
Or, to help him see it, you can put yourself at the middle of the tunnel, send to the tunnel entry, and run so you can be way ahead at the exit to show him the wing.
Everything else looked great! And he LOVED the frisbee!
Great job!
TracyThank you for the update!!! I love it! Yes, looking at the landing spot on serps really helps (and also angling the jump to help the dog realize we want them to jump the bar and not run past it LOL!!)
Happy to be part of your adolescent support group. Speaking of recalls… for the first time, Ramen (8 months now) wanted to live feral under a tree in my field rather than come in the house. Teenager! So, I went in the house and came out 30 seconds later and he ran right in LOL!!!
T
OMG you are just getting slammed with snow this winter!!!! Eek!!! That gorgeous yard is just waiting for some agility. Fingers crossed for warm weather SOON!
Good morning!
Happy birthday, Bazinga!! I hope she got lots of gifts and snacks 🙂
>>It was VERY dependent on my mechanics. If I got my timing right & looked at my hand and had good body language, she got it!
Yes, it is a lot harder than it looks because the handler mechanics are hard, and the dog’s mechanics of the in-and-out are also hard! My demo dogs on the video make it look easier than it was because they were not trying to go fast at that point. All of the dogs in this class want to go fast fast fast, so they all need the angled jump 🙂 And that is fine, I like that they want to go fast fast fast!
Since it is hard, there will be human and canine errors – so don’t mark anything as wrong, just using a BIG party for when she serps (with the reward target) or a reset cookie at your side if she doesn’t serp (because it might have been handler error LOL!!). You were saying reset but you can say it as soon as she passes the jump, no need for an oops marker.
The other thing with this game (and all the games) is to count the failures… and as soon as you get to 2 failures (in a row, or in the session not in a row) – change something to make it easier to get success.
The most important part of the handler mechanics is that you will be twisting at the waist, so your arm is all the way back and your heart is pointing to the center of the bar. Even when you are way ahead, you will want to twist your upper body back to the bar. I think of it as each shoulder lining up to a wing, and my heart pointing to the center of the bar. That way the line of my chest is parallel to the bar, facing it.
And your feet should keep going forward – it is a LOT of mechanics LOL!
What was happening here was that your upper body was rotating forward, so looking at :07 and :15 for example: the line of your chest was perpendicular to the jump, so your heart was facing the fence. That is more of a layering cue for the dogs, and that is what she did.
Compare your shoulders on the reps where she missed to the rep where she got it at 1:56 – you opened your shoulders back towards the jump and she nailed it! Yay!
Angling the jump totally helps! Angle it a lot more like you did at 1:27 helped – you can angle it a little more too, make it very obvious to her. So far, I think 90% of the pups here needed the angled jump to get this started and maintain the speed 🙂 So you can angle it even more and also open up your shoulders/heart to the bar, and then it will be much easier 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
The one jump practice at the beginning of the serp video looked good – the bowl was really close and you were not using it, so she was looking at you a little more but you did end up using the bowl in the later part of the video. You can also replace the bowl with a toy (when the jump is angled).
>>We probably should have angled the jump. She really tries.>>
Yes, totally angle it. We worked 8 puppies through this game in the various live classes this week…. And at least 6 of them needed the angled jump (and one more who was playing along at home in the moment needed the angled jump too :))
Remember to count failures… literally count to 2 then change something. And it it doesn’t have to be 2 in a row… it is 2 totally for the session. She as starting to get frustrated (a bit of woofing, a bit of slowing down). By keeping the jump in the original position, she had a lot of failures so by angling it, you can set up a lot of success. You did get success but you had to slow down in serp position and be pretty much perfect 🙂 So rather than slowing down, let’s just angle the jump so you can both go fast while she learns the serps 🙂
The FC balance wraps looked good – you were able to do the cross, connect, and leave and she was great!!
The zig zags are looking great! She is really getting the groove of the back and forth motion (as long as you gave exaggerated motion – if you were too gentle about it, she didn’t read it as a cue to get into the gap – she was really paying attention!) And great job with the extra balance of keeping her out on the line, it adds a little flavor of layering which the dogs all need to learn.
For the next zig zag session, you can move the wings closer. If they were about 8 feet apart here, move them to 6 feet – then eventually we can get them to 5 feet apart then 4 feet apart 🙂Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>In a very short time you figure out the BIGGEST issue I have as a Handler. >
This is good to know! It is a small issue and we can definitely change it to help the dogs. And I am very thankful that you were willing to post the video when things were not perfect, because it really helps us figure out what Charlie needs. Each new pup teaches us how to get better and better – and you are doing AWESOME!!
>>My biggest issue is I am running the course and not a dog. I do not see the dog I am running.
This is my biggest issue with my handling too: disconnection. So I do two things to help myself connect all the time:
– I work on looking at the dog’s eyes, all the time. Not staring at the dog, but looking at the dog while I move. I try not to point at the obstacles at all with the baby dogs, because it breaks the connection.
– And I try to get my fingers always pointing to the dog’s nose. So the connection will be clear and my hand travels with the dog and never gets way ahead of the dog. I call it “magnet fingers” and made a video of it LOL
>>More experienced, obstacle focused dog may survive with me as a handler. The puppy? He was lost and went sniffing. >>
This is true for all of us: our adult dogs understand the game really well and they save us all the time 🙂
And the puppies can’t save us, so we help them out and reward a lot 🙂 And if I mess us, I just keep going (this is something I do in trials too with young dogs – pretend I didn’t mess us and just keep going like it was perfect LOL!!)
So for the next session, don’t worry about the verbals – just think about looking for his eyes and using your magnet fingers, doing 4 or 5 things in a row (wing-tunnel-wing-tunnel-wing, for example). Then big rewards 🙂 And if something goes wrong – don’t try to fix it, just keep going back to the tunnel as if it was completely correct 🙂 That will help keep him driving and then on the next rep, you can connect more.
I also try not to run too fast with baby dogs, because that is when I disconnect the most. OOPS! LOL!
And for now, you can still have Archie as your helper 🙂 That helps keep things fun!
>> I HAVE TO LEARN how to run a dog not a course! And I will!!!
You totally will!!! You are doing great!
TracyGood morning!
He looked great in class on Wednesday!!! He is really turning into a fierce agility beast! Love it!The serps are looking strong here. The right turn serps were pretty perfect, with the minimal angle to start and then you flattened the line out about halfway through – no problem, says Baxter, he was FLYING.
So on the right turns into the serp… you can start moving faster. Add a fast jog, then build up to a run, but also maintain the connection you had here, it was great.
Other side – you can open your shoulder back to him, there is a definite ‘twist’ of the waist. You were closing your shoulder forward, which supports the line of not coming in over the jump. So your feet should keep going forward but then you can open lip your serp arm way back behind you.
You were starting to open up at 1:35 but you can exaggerate it more. The goal is that the center of your chest faces the center of the bar (while your feet face the manners minder :)) This becomes especially important as you add more speed and get further ahead, like at 3:49 when he passes the jump – the center of your chest was facing the garage door, and ideally it would be facing the center of the bar.
You were looking at the landing spot and that really helped (like at 2:36) and also keeping your arm/shoulder a bit downward towards the ground which totally helped! Add in a little more upper body rotation to face the center of the bar and it will be perfect.
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
