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Hi! I am so glad you enjoyed it!!
>>You have no doubt explained it many times before, but I just got the part about determining the point where your dog is committed being part of the walk thru.>>
I am approaching it differently this year, trying to make it even more specific and black-and-white for the humans 🙂
>> I put tape on the floor where I thought those spots would be. That helped me focus on the dog & check if I was right. I was surprised to find I was right about where that spot was. The one line to a back side where I was wrong, I saw he was committed a good 10’ earlier.>>
Clever!! I love it! It gives you a real-time feedback and also easy to see on video.
>>I won’t say so publicly, but some akc judges have a happy knack for it, some not so much. I will be picking parts of courses! 🙈🤣>>
Yeah, that is SO TRUE!! Fingers crossed for good course designs at the trial!
Tracy
Hi!
I am definitely a fan of going for it!!! I think EOTT will be a blast and it is totally worth it to try out for WAO. Fun times ahead!!!T
Good morning!
This went well!
Looking at the opening: a bit of motion helped with both of your handling choices on the 1-4 line.At the beginning, when you were all the way at jump 3: your position was just a bit too far away and the #4 tunnel blocked his view, so he came to you. Facing him more to step to the tunnel totally helps, but it also turns you to fac eopposite of where you want to move to next, making it harder to get the blind at 1:25 and the conneciton. So, a less-is-more approach can help: lead out so you are more visible and you can release while showing parallel motion to 2 – then it will be really easy to get to the blind for 3-4.
He did well with the line to the weaves, and also in the weaves! It was a little harder letting him get ahead of you in the weaves, he was not as comfy with that – great job throwing the reward!
Looking at the different handling for the opening at the end – on the first rep, you were a bit too stationary before he entered and I don’t think there was a go verbal, so he turned towards you at the exit (based on the position and decel). You can get him to send to 3 there with more connection, but leading out less and using more parallel line motion there on the last rep worked perfectly! And you still got to the BC at the exit of tunnel 4 really nicely, no problem at all 🙂
Great job! How did it go when you put it all together?Tracy
Hi!
I think she liked this game LOL!!! She immediately came back and got into position: GIVE ME THE TARGET, MOM!!!!! Good girl!You can make it a little crazier with a tug toy, using it both as a reward and a distraction: start tugging with her next to the plank. Then stop tugging, let her offer getting into 2o2o, then put the target in: when she boops the target, you can tug with her in position, then release her to run around with the toy (and tug to reset the next rep).
This eventually turns into the “I’m going to pull you off” variation where we are tugging with the dog in a 2o2o, and gently trying to pull the dog off the position while tugging – the dog should shift weight back and fight to stay in position:
Nice work here! Have fun!
TracyWow! Baby girl is growing up!! She did really well here!!! She was a little careful running for Kyla and Kyla gets a gold star for remembering all the verbals and having great connection! Very cool! I think the little blooper at the end is just a scenario Muso has not seen yet (the left verbal meaning to also ignore the jump you see out there that is not on the line :))
Great job! The future is very exciting!!! You can start bringing her heights up and maybe look for NFC opportunities in August and September?
Tracy
Good morning!
>.Tried a lick mat tonight- worked better than intermittent treats.>>
Yep! When I spoke to a rehab vet/conditioning person a few years back about it, she reminded me that we were NOT trying to shape behavior that would go into the competition ring, we were trying to give the dogs a workout and that it was TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE to do whatever it takes to get the dog stationary or moving with the correct form… lure lure lure! Lickimat for the win!
The Go lines look good here! You can definitely place the toy out past the jump on those so you can connect better (which supports the line more) and still be comfy that he will get the reward without looking at you.
Looking at the RCs: the key is to be showing the RC diagonal, which is basically pressure towards the center of the bar as you move up the line, then when he passes you, you can cut in behind him. I think you were trying to create the RC with the arm cue and a toy throw with the outside arm, but it is a motion cue on this type of RC. To show it to him, you can start closer to the tunnel exit so you can get on the RC line sooner (center of the bar is your destination). No need for the verbal for now, and don’t try to throw the toy before he jumps – your left hand coming up to throw the toy also caught his attention and turned him towards you rather than away. So you can let him jump and then throw the toy, even if he lands turning the wrong way (that would just mean more pressure towards the center of the bar needed, and also lots of connection :))
Working it on the flat by walking behind him didn’t quite make sense to him plus he was breaking the stay, but it brings us to this:
>>>>Something I realized this weekend, actually noted before but was driven home this weekend– when we have too many failures or repetition or he’s getting too hot- he starts grabbing grass or sticks when we finish a sequence.>>>>
Yes, he is not subtle with his stress behaviors! And if you are seeing *any* stress behaviors, you need to re-design your training sessions. You can see his stress behaviors here on the RC section (he was jumping up at your hands) and also on the backside proofing session (more jumping at your arm/hand and a little at your face too).
So in order to make sure he is not getting any stress or frustration built into his training:– set a timer for every single session. 60 seconds, ready set go! And when the timer says 60 seconds are finished? Throw a toy, game over for now, doesn’t matter if he ended on a success or not (don’t get caught in the “just one more” or “he seems fine” or “end on success” trap because that is the road to failure LOL!!)
– live and die by the 2 failure rule: 2 failures, total, in a session? No more failures allowed – make it easier. And if you are not sure how to help him, stop the session and watch the video. Still not sure? Move onto something else and post the video 🙂 If you are seeing stress behavior from too many failures, then you are ignoring the 2 failure rule!
– note the behaviors that are stress behaviors, even if he is successful, and change something to help him out.
With that in mind, looking at the backside proofing session: note how much he was jumping up at your arm/hand and even a little at yur face. That is Audie-speak for “this is unclear! I am frustrated!”. Even though he did generally go to the correct side of the jump, he was frustrated because you were looking ahead of him and pointing forward, so he didn’t see the connection which tells him exactly where to be. So definitely add in more connection, with your hand pointing back to his nose, and eyes on his cute eyes 🙂 so when you say the backside verbal, he will go directly to it and not have any BIG MAD moments of frustration 🙂
Note how when things are clear, like on the Go reps at the beginning, he does not leap at you at all! It is only when things are unclear – so if he gets leapy, take it as communication of frustration and add more connection or more help so he can get it right 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Yes, I definitely see what you mean about her not liking the teeter board! So, we need to approach this with a lot less pressure, more clarity in what you are asking her for, and a lot more value in the food or toys.
What I mean by less pressure is much shorter sessions (one or two reps, tops) and no body or wing pressure to try to get her to interact with it. The body pressure is when you were leaning into her or tossing treats towards her feet to try to get her to move backwards, or insisting she get on by going around the wings to come down the board. BCs in particular will move away from pressure, plus the pressure doesn’t build the value so we want to eliminate it.Using treats is a little low in value for her here, especially when there is a single delivery (one a a time). So, use her highest value toy, or a hugely valuable food reinforcement (like a bowl of breakfast). One rep gets the entire bowl or the toy to run around with – that will go a long way to getting her happy, as compared to the more traditional training of one treat at a time, with multiple reps.
A clicker can help, but be super consistent about what the click was for – in this session, the clicks were coming for all sorts of things like backing up, standing still, etc so I don’t think she was making the association of what you wanted.
On the 2nd video, when you were working the sound of the teeter – she definitely flinches when she hears it, which means it is too loud for now. You can do a one-rep session where you gently tap it to the ground (ideally she does not flinch) and then you throw her favorite toy or give her a giant portion of food or treats. And be sure that the toy thrown or food delivery happens after the sound, to really maximize the association.
>> She is comfortable on the solid board between tables & with a 6” tip on the tables but we stayed away from the end & then just put it away.>>
This is good! If she is comfortable with the teeter between 2 tables, keep working that progression, very gradually adding tip.
Separately, you can work a 2on 2off with a target on the plank that doesn’t move, so she really loves the target. Then when she loves loves loves that, you can put the target on the end of the teeter board and ask for 2o2o there – without the teeter moving. If she is happy with that, you can very gradually add movement – it will take a while, because it is a very gradual progression, but it will be worth it when she loves the teeter!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>I think what is confusing me a bit, as I was working the stay today, is it seems like if I move when I release, will I be releasing with motion? Instead of releasing in motion. So if I release AND move at the same time, will he think that when I move it’s the release, not my verbal?>>
Yes, the release is the key to training the stay, but also making sure that motion is *not* associated with the release. It is all about handler mechanics and making sure that the movement and the marker and the reinforcement are not all happening at the same time or in the wrong order.
What was happening on the video here is that the release and movement and reward presentation are happening simultaneously (or the reward is actually moving first, if you watch carefully: you were facing him, standing still, then leaned in, moved your hand… then said the marker) , so the movement is what he is perceiving as the antecedent to the reward which means the movement will become the release.. Even reaching to him to feed him in position is getting him to move a bit, so I don’t recommend you do that as you build the stay.
Think of the stay training differently: when he offers the sit or down, your response is to move away and then while you are moving, mark then reward. Nothing happens all at the same time, so the individual elements stand out and one does not get prioritized over the other (because motion will always get prioritized :)) Motion will not become the release for two reasons:
– your motion of slowly moving away is happening the whole time and does not predict that you are going to present the reward, unlike standing still then rewarding.
– the release marker will happen after you are already moving and away, and before the reinforcement moves (this is the key!!) and so the release marker will come to predict the reinforcement, so he will learn to wait for the release marker even when you are moving away.
So he sits (or downs, either is fine if you are waiting for him to offer). Then you slowly move away and while you are slowly moving away, you say “catch” and then you throw the treat. Remember to *not* move the treat until after you say catch – otherwise he will just watch the hand move.
You can replace the ‘catch’ with a clicker, and also you can use your forward release word so he leaves position to come forward to the treat. As with the ‘catch’, everything happens separately: you are moving the whole time, you mark the behavior, and only after the marker does the reward hand move.
>>I’ve been trying to teach Dreamer Left and Right since we have some downtime, and he is just not getting it at all. Maybe I should ask in camp. My verbals suck. >>
I use the minny pinny for this: holding the dog’s collar, start the verbal 3 or 4 times, then let go – that makes left/right much easier to train. If you start moving and then start the verbals at about the same time, he will not really learn the verbals because the brain is prioritizing motion.
He did really well with the teeter here! A short, baby-steps session was perfect. He probably needs you to be one step ahead of him as he goes up the ramp, so he drives straight for the end without stopping to see if you are there. You can start with the treat toss like you did, and move to the teeter before he turns around – waiting at the bottom of the blue so as he gets on, you are a little ahead and can get him moving up the ramp at the same speed the whole time.
The lazy game looked great! Yay! He definitely figured it out. I think going from the lazy game directly to the toy with you running might have been too big of a leap – he got some of the jumps really well, but struggled to find the jump after the tunnel. So dial up one variable at a time – the toy dials up the arousal variable, so you can continue walking rather than running. Keeping your motion at a walk while he is more stimulated will help him find the line better without you needing to help too much on the jump after the tunnel. And when he can find it consistently, then you can add more and more of your motion in as well.
>> I was happy he was able to switch from treats to the toy. :).
That was awesome!! He has come along really well with that!!!
>>At the end of the video I considered resetting the jump and going again, then decided nope, that was enough, especially when it was already so hot>>
Smart! No need to do a lot of reps especially in the heat – I don’t think it was a resetting of the jump question, it was more of a too-much-handler-motion question. So if something was not quite right and you want to change something and do more – always look at the video first before you do more, so you can see what was actually happening there, and what is needed to help him out.
The tire shaping looked great! The lazy game really helped him here, and you can definitely add the tire into the lazy game with the 3 jumps and the tunnel by replacing a jump with the tire (but still walking for now).
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
I totally agree that breaks are great! And hopefully the vaccines didn’t take too much out of you and you had an enjoyable time sitting 🙂
She really quickly figured out th elazy contacts game – good girl!!! Targeting is fun and easy, so offring the 2o2o to get it going was easy for her. She was sitting during this game, so if you prefer her to be standing during the 2o2o (I prefer standing over sitting), then we can make subtle adjustments – a lower plank might do the trick, something that is just 2 inches off the ground approximately. Or, moving you further back by amaybe 6 inches might help her stand. My guess is the lower plank will be easier to get her to stand, she was probably sitting because it was more comfy for balance wile targeting.
Great job here!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHave you ever taught him the Super Bowls pattern game? It is the foundation for the weaves game.
I don’t think I have a good video of it, but here is Leslie McDevitt teaching it:
T
Hi!
Sequence 2 looked great !>>irst rep I needed to continue saying Jump, I have no idea why I stopped, well maybe I do…I did a quick, refresher type walk through of this because I had really walked it so thoroughly the day before. Clearly, needed to be a bit more focused.>>
On run 1, you were definitely a bit too decelerated and quiet at the beginning and on the ending line. Big difference with the verbals and acceleration on the 2nd run! Nice!
Nice FC 5-6! Nice BC 8-9-10!!! You were a little in his way on the send to 10 at :17 and :46, he considered the backside of the 10 jump on both runs there when he had o go around you. Try to get closer to where the wing and bar meet on the right turn side of the jump.
>.Interesting mental learning….kinda similar to what can happen when I walk a couple of courses first thing in the AM and then don’t run until several hours later. Hmmmmmmm……>>
Yes! Interesting you should mention that, we talk about it tonight in the mental prep class 🙂
The opening of the second course went really well!
>>Then played around with adding Round at Jump 6. Almost got trapped in the “why isn’t this working, it should work” mindset but I was able to “recover” and try a few things to help Sly understand. Not sure what I think about all this info yet…need to think about it and watch some slo mo. >>
When something goes wrong and I am not 100% sure why, or I think it was a dog error… I always stop what I am doing and watch the video. Turns out that it is almost always handler error LOL!!
The bar coming down on 6 here was handler error – At :40, :54, :59 you were using a new verbal and moving to the center of the bar, so he set up his jumping on the line you set like a slice – then you moved back in towards the 7 jump so he tried to turn and couldn’t do it over the bar and hit the rail trying to adjust. The line for the turn there would be right where the wing and bar meet, on the jump cups, so he can collect more before takeoff.
Having him do it from the platform is fine and always a good exercise to revisit but also be sure that your handling cue supports the line so he doesn’t have to sort it out over the bar.
>>Definitely might need a new word…. Again…hmmm…. Interesting>>
I don’t think this was a word thing – if you watch it in slow motion, you will see it was a line of motion thing: he saw slice then convergence, so tried to adjust over the bar.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
The lateral sends to the barrel went really well! She was a very good girl to hold the stay and go to the barrel when released ad sent. And rewarding a lot of stays is PERFECT!!>.Plus, then she needs to leave the leash tug alone and transfer to the toy I’ve got.>>
A tug leash is a great thing! Definitely lots of trading for treat for it, so she gets used to letting go of it and having you take it off.
And when using it in a game like this, try not to put it right next to her – it is too soon for that LOL! She got a cookie at :27 then turned to her leash and you reacted like it was wrong… but the cookie delivery plus the leash right there was a little too much for now. She was also a little confused at :44 on the 2nd video, with the leash right there.
So, part of the transition is to play with it, take it off/ get her to release it, toss it away to the side (like you would at a trial) *then* start the line up to the barrel. That takes the leash out of the picture at that point, so it will be easier for her to engage with your toy (she did really well with that). You can have your toy in your pocket to get things started and have a free hand to take the leash off, that is fine 🙂 And you don’t need to give her a treat when she moves into the sit – that can also free up a hand 🙂Great job here! Let me know what you think and stay cool!
TracyHi!
I think the carpets worked great here! And it is definitely too hot to be outside at any time of day in your area for now.For the stays – the excitement of the toy plus the new rugs might have been a little distracting and made the stay harder, but overall I thought she did well!
>>Sometimes the higher value the toy the harder it is for her to stay. And if I’m accidentally waving it, it’s even harder.>>
Yes, all true LOL And be sure that you use your “catch” cue before you move your hand to throw it back to her, otherwise she is going to start moving when you move your toy hand.
A couple of ideas for the sit:
– most pups do better when you don’t feed them for the sit before you walk away – that is confusnig about when the behavior is finished or not. So try cuing th esit, letting her get into it, then moving away and either throw the reward back or release her forward.Also, you don’t need to move that fast on the lead out, but try not to move away very slowly or with any tension… it actually builds anticipation in the release and might get her breaking the stays more
She did really well with the jumping game here! The only thing I would add is to tell her to GO after the release when you want her to go straight. You got to your stationary position in time that she easily read the wrap cues. Super!
>.Since I can’t get far away with her stay yet, and she seems to be getting the idea of the going straight vs the decel in this room, ok to stay inside for now?>>
OMG yes, definitely stay inside! Way too hot to do any of this outdoors for now.
Great job!
Tracy
