[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Yes, a name call will help 🙂 He was doing well driving back to you and following the pivot! One tweak: you can pivot more slowly. As he is coming to you, decelerate and then turn slowly as he gets to you – quick turns made it harder for him to follow so the deceleration into your low hand will allow him to set up the turn at your side.

A good example of the slower movement from you was at :54, where you were decelerated and slower in your turn, so he was nice and tight! Compare to 1:18, where you whipped around really fast so he was not able to turn tight.

Take this game into different places, so he has longer distances and can add more speed followed by collection. Plus. It is good to take all of the games to different locations to help generalize the learning and to help get engagement and play in all sorts of different places.

Nice work!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
Putting it on carpet with a pad helped… but I think the wobble board needs to be propped up more so he is super comfy getting all four feet on it confidently (he was still not entirely sure about putting him back end on it). Put so many towels under it on all sides, so it barely moves – and so he happily hops on it with all 4 feet 🙂

And to help with that, you can get him engaged with the toy by dragging it around fast and crazily on the ground, before putting it on the wobble board 🙂 Then on the wobble board, keep it moving a bit so he stays engaged. He is not that into ‘dead’ toys, so keeping the toy moving will help him get on and stay on the wobble board.
Nice work!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

Looking at the video:

>.First question is am I still talking too much? >>

Yes, a little LOL! A general rule of thumb is to be very quiet when he is offering, limiting your verbals to just reward markers (like ‘get it’) and no extra chatter or praise (because that draws his focus up to your face). And then during tug breaks, lots of chatter and talk and praise 🙂 You can do more tug breaks on all of these food sessions – see below on that because you might be (understandably) avoiding it a bit.

Two other general things for shaping:
– try to stand still more while he is offering. Yo can use your position to help but moving around can draw his focus to you more than needed.

– try to deliver the food with his head lower, generally with his chin parallel to the ground or pointed slightly down – that will help him keep his balance. The rewards were a little high on these sessions, so he was reaching up and ending up in a sit a lot to maintain balance.

He is great about getting on random things with the goat games! You can use a ‘get it’ marker to reset him when you want him to get off the stuff 🙂

Yes, you can brace the wobble board like you mentioned so he is not surprised by it 🙂 You can also brace the donut with your feet/legs on either side so he can find his balance on it (it is a hard one!)

You can move the 2 discs closer together (or add more discs if you have more) so that he can add the next step of getting all 4 feet on various objects, at the same time 🙂

Backing up – he is definitely getting the idea of this! Yay!

>>for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how to throw a treat between his legs when he was so close. >>

A couple of ideas for you:
You don’t need to use the clicker at this stage, because it stops the movement and causes him to lift his head up, making it hard to get more steps.

Also, to get the treats between his feet and keep his head lower so he back up more, you can remain a little bent over and keep your hands down low by your knees so you can just toss it as he starts to back up. I like to rest my elbows on my thighs to do that. And then after every 3 or 4 treats, you can break it off and tug so your back doesn’t get angry 🙂

Standing up each time was causing him to back up only enough to look up at you and the cookies 🙂

>>Also, not surprisingly, he often backs up at an angle.

Backing up to a destination will help! To start backing up to a destination like the mat you had here, you can tart him on the mat with all 4 feet (perfectly fine to lure him into position on it :)) Then lure his front feet off a bit then let him offering backing up. That can help straighten out his backing up as we gradually get him to step more and more forward off the mat, then immediately back on it.

Plank – he seems very confident here too! Super!!!

>>he thinks he is enormous and can’t possible fit on smaller things.>>

I think this was about reward placement being a little high, which can get him a bit off balance. So delivering with his chin pointing slightly downward will totally help him remain balanced. You can also get him on as many different planks as possible. And if you have one that can be elevated a bit more, go for it! That way you can add turning around, jumping on and off, etc.

>>I thought I was filming a session of tugging, but apparently I didn’t so I’ll just have to explain.>>

I hate when that happens! Darn cameras! Definitely try to get as many sessions on video so we can figure it out.

>>even when (and I almost think especially when) the toy is really long he keeps jumping in the air to grab the handle/my hand. Like, leaping. He got me good a couple of times today. >>

This can be a combination of mechanics (yours) and overarousal (his).

A couple of ideas for you to help out, because it is good to work through this now rather than avoid it.

>>When that happens, I feel like I shouldn’t give him a correction because I don’t want to discourage the tugging, but damn>>

I am not that concerned about discouraging tugging, but it is possible that a correction will create MORE overarousal which doesn’t help. I am perfectly fine with stopping play if he disengages from the toy to grab your clothes or hands. Not in a nasty way, just in a “game over” way. But, that is a last resort after doing the ideas below.

For mechanics:
Low hand holding the toy and that hand doesn’t move a lot. The hand can be moving back and forth a bit but resist temptation to lift your hand or lift the toy as those will both draw him upwards for now. If he is leaping, the toy is too high before a transition out of tug has been made. The other hand can be softly tapping him on the side because that encourages pulling back (no need for heavy smacking or anything)

For his arousal: lets look at arousal regulation and transitions out of tugging:

>>And at the end of play when I told him “all done” and took the toy, he jumped at my back, mouthed me and then started humping my fucking leg! Is this typical adolescent behavior?>>

It isn’t really typical adolescent behavior, but it is definitely overarousal and frustration behavior. Rather than an “all done” (which can actually be punishing as it indicates withdrawal of reinforcement opportunities, plus he doesn’t seem to understand what it means) – work on transition out of tugging and helping arousal regulation.

>>I did get a few good seconds of actual tugging, where I wasn’t moving the toy and he was pulling backwards strongly. In these cases I always let him win. >>

Rather than let him win (which may or may not help), try making transitioning out of the arousal and into a more centered state for the end of the session:

End each session with tugging then olfaction of some sort, because the olfaction will help his brain self-regulate the arousal.

For the olfaction, the options include a snuffle mat, or a pattern game (back and forth). You’ve done both with Robie, so before your next training session of any sort, be sure to introduce both to Yuzu so he recognizes both when you use them.

Here is an example with a snuffle mat:

And when you end the session with olfaction, stay with him (too many people throw treats around and walk away) so you are part of the arousal regulation picture.

Another thing to add are the reinforcement strategies and markers found in the week 2 package. Here are the strategies:

Reinforcement Strategies 1: Getting Started

These can all be enormously clarifying for the pups, which helps with overarousal.

It is great that he is asking these questions NOW so we can get them all sorted out before we get into more active training!

So before anything else, let’s get the arousal regulation stuff going and then the rest will be easy! And definitely get it all on video 🙂

Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Bumping up – I will be offline on Monday driving home from the US Open. I will be back in the Forum either on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Thanks!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

She is looking good in the set point! The hardest part is the moving target and the stay 🙂 You can try dragging a toy or a lotus ball attached to a leash – anything that she can use as a focal point will work. She was holding the stay pretty well and had trouble when you were bending over to pick up the MM’s leash 🙂 It looks like she was predicting the release as soon as you stood up, so a toy or something might be easier because you won’t have to bend down.

>>I did not give her a reset cookie for the breaks on her waits. I’m hoping that is the right way to handle it when it does happen. I’ll be adding in more “catches” to help her with this too.>>

Yes, that was good (just tell her she is cute and reset when she breaks, no cookies). But if she fails too much (more than twice), then you will want to make it easier so she can still have a high rate of success.

>>Adding a question: For the Accordion, If she is doing 30 inches for the set point, for the last jump in the accordion, I would add 15 inches (45 inches total) for rep #2 and add 30 inches (60 inches total) for rep #3. Is that right?>>

Yes, theoretically. But because she is so small, we also have the option of showing her striding distances as well – so you can put jump 3 at 6 feet away (probably at least a one-stride distance for her, maybe 2 strides) then move it out to 9 feet, etc. That way we can build up to competition distances.

>>I think my body language & connection is better here?

Totally yes! She was very successful! You can gradually start spreading out the jumps so she can see more distance.

>>start out throwing the toy in front of the first jump at first. That helped her.>>

You can now start to toss the toy on a slight curve towards you, so it ands somewhere on the line she will be turning on so we can get that tight turn going too.

>>Again, the “wait” was very hard for her.

She is probably predicting that when you are arriving in position, the release will be happening so she is probably anticipating and releasing when you are settled into position. So keep going with your ‘catch’ rewards. And also, take your time before the release or catch – get to position, make eye contact, praise her, move your hand… and reward for not moving or release to the jump. You can totally practice this away from the jumps so she gets used to holding position even after you are in our position at the wing

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Bumping up: reminder that I am offline tomorrow (Monday) to drive home from the US Open. I will be back in the Forum Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Bumping up: reminder that I will be offline tomorrow, driving home from the US Open.

I will be back in the forum either on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

Prop sends are looking good! She is getting better and better at NOT looking at your hands 🙂 The last rep on this clip was particularly strong! Be sure to work both sides and you can add a little bit more distance away fro the prop now.

The wing wrapping is going nicely too! You are standing and the upright is in position, and she is fine with both. Super! Great job oh-so-gradually adding distance (while she was not looking LOL!) and she was super successful with that too. You can keep adding distance, but I think a more important next step is to play this with a barrel or big cone, to set her up for what we are adding this week 🙂

>>Rolling the treat under her seemed to confuse her. It was like I’d done a magic trick and made the treat disappear every time. >>

That is hilarious! A classic example of different dogs needing different approaches to this behavior, so the foot target was definitely the right choice.

You might need a bigger foot target so she can get all of her body on it easily – this was a little small so it might have been a little harder for her. And a slightly more elevated target can be super salient too, making it easier.

>>The last rep she was off the target but she did back up, which I thought was cool! I think she was catching on.>>

Yes! That was great!!! And we can always use things to help her back up straight (like broad jump boards) but it is great to just get backing up in general at this point with the foot target.

>>I did a little more experimenting with her sitting and laying on the plank. It seems to be a surface preference…I put blanket on it and she was happy to sit and down.>>

HA! Whippets… LOL! You can put a mat or blanket on it and see if you can get her to do tucked sits! The down is not important, so the turning around and sits are fun to play with.

Separately from those, you can also keep elevating the plank a tiny bit, to add more challenge.

Great job here!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi –

This went really well! Staying closer helped him be more successful.
When you were very quiet, he was pretty precise with moving to the prop and touching it on most reps. When you added a little ready ready excitement at the end – he lost some of the precision (from :55 to the end). He had a little more looking at your hand and then on the last rep, he turned away from you rather than towards you. This is good to know, because we want to get him stimulated and still get the precision. So definitely use the ready ready excitement before the sends on the next session so he gets used to working in higher arousal.

And if he is happy with. That and very successful, you can move to the sideways and backwards sending.

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

It was great that he got right on with his front feet, and I like the ‘get it’ marker for the cookie – it adds clarity like you mentioned, and it resets him so he can get back on again 🙂

He was able to get on with all 4 feet when he got on from the end (not the middle). So you can totally start him at one end and see if he will get on with his back feet too. If not, do you have a 2nd plank that you can put alongside this one, to give him a wider playing field? That will for sure help him get on the plank and will also make it easier for him to turn around when he is on it.

Nice work!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
He offered a lot of good wrapping here!

I think at this point, if he starts to sit or down, we can move away from throwing treats to get him out of the position. Just wait him out and see if he can get himself out of the position – there is a lot more value on the bowls and wrapping now, so hopefully he can get himself moving again without you throwing cookies 🙂

>>I set the area up and once he saw the bowls, I was unable to get him to tug before we started.>>

No worries – I am sure once the bowls are faded that we can get the tugging back (and we do start fading the bowls soon :))

Next step: everything the same as you did here, but now you are standing up 🙂 If he is happy to keep offering while you are standing, then you can start moving the garbage can a little further away.

Nice work!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

She is doing well here, you are definitely getting the backing up! Happy dance! She is backing up pretty straight, but you can also start the next session with the broad jump already in place to help keep her straight. It is normal that they are a little angled at first.

And as strange as it sounds… training this less will actually produce more learning LOL!!

This skill requires new neural pathways in the brain (in terms of mechanics and motion, because backing up is just not something any of us are naturally wired to do 🙂 ) and also is depleting to their puppy brain and muscles… so you will see that it is better to do short blasts of 30 seconds then give the behavior a rest for a day (a good deep sleep overnight between the training sessions is when the behavior is actually “learned” and cemented.)

The first 30 seconds of each session here is when you got the best behavior, and then at around 1 minute, she started to change the behavior and turn around rather than back up. The turning around could be a sign of the depletion because it is easier on the brain and body 🙂 So to get the backing up without defaulting to turning around , do 30 seconds or 5 reps, then give her a break and do something entirely different for a while. And then you can come back later for another 30 seconds, and then let her sleep on it. Latent learning is magic for this stuff!

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>I can totally have a reward station that I take with me. Would a small cooler work that has the treats, toys either on top of it or inside of it?

Yes, that would be great! And the cookies can be inside it, or the toy on top of it.

She did a great job with the lines and jumps here! Her only question was on the last jump of the long line.

For the big straight lines, rather than throwing the toy – for now, place the toy 15 feet past the last jump and lower that last bar – seeing the toy get thrown AND having to organize takeoff for a 16 inch bar at the speed was too hard and we don’t want her using Brad as the target 🙂 She did get a bunch of really good reps but getting her to look forward on the line and trust the reward will be there will really help 🙂

>>did have a glitch with the backside. After looking at the video I wonder if I should stop putting my arm forward as that rotates my shoulders? I>>

On the 2 misses she had at :36 and :51, she was wide exiting the tunnel (just how the tunnel was angled here, no big deal :)) but then as she was coming back to you: pointing forward did indeed turn your shoulders to the front side and stopped your motion up the line – so she curled in.

At :43, you had more parallel line motion and didn’t point as much, so she got it.

So to get the backsides more consistently, keep moving on the parallel line and yes, use less of an arm cue – keep the arm back til she is passing you.

>>Would this be a back side wrap verbal?>>

Yes, on the first backside where she is jumping tight to the entry wing – that is a backside wrap verbal. On the 2nd sequence with the backside, I would use the backside slice verbal because she is entering on one wing and exiting near the other wing.

Great job here!!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

I agree with your thoughts on the RR video – Really good progress here! Nice job with the clear marker and quick reinforcement!

>>Or any distraction except the surrounding traffic noise which doesn’t bother her a lick. But right in front of the house? I can see her struggle with engagement when there’s so much to look at.>>

Yes, it is a distraction level similar to the level at a trial – different distractions, but still very distracting. Plus, in the front of the house, she has a history of running off to chase squirrels (hello neural pathways!) and that is a probably a huge dopamine release for her… which makes it very motivating for her to do it again. So you are creating new neural pathways which takes a bit longer, but it will happen! And in the meantime, be sure there is no more front-of-house taking off to chase squirrels, so that behavior doesn’t continue to build.

>>Next week I’m going to add a simple behavior. A sit or down or twist or spin. Just a little something very close to the station. Or do you think I should just try to increase the distance from the station before adding a behavior?>>

Yes to adding a simple fun behavior – what is her most favorite simple trick to do?
And you can add in distance too – think of it as ping-ponging the amount of challenge you add: sometimes easy, sometimes hard, then easy, then hard, and so on.

The pattern games are looking good! The back and forth is really easy for her. Adding the delay and engaged chill was harder for her – she started to look around more. So keep working the engaged chill, but work it in the house in a less distracting environment so she gets the idea of just hanging out – then you can take it outside again 🙂

>>I really don’t need the leash when I have food in my hands. But I left it dropped because I’m getting ready to take the game show on the road. >>

Actually, holding the leash is really important because when you take this game to different places (like outside the ring at a trial), you will be holding the leash. So it is super important that both of you are used to the mechanics of the leash. And also, if there is any chance she might take off after a squirrel or something if the leash is dragging, you will want to hold the leash to prevent that rehearsal of taking off. Stepping on the leash will result in a leash correction to her neck if she tries to take off, which we want to avoid.

It is easier to loop the leash on your wrist, and for the back and forth cookie tosses you can toss it only a couple of feet away.

Great job here! Let me know how she does with her field trips!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>>Yes, I was thinking that a K Turn/Spin on the first jump may have tightened her turn a little. I’m not a huge fan of throwing these in on course just to tighten turns but for her I think maybe that is something worth exploring in some scenarios?>>

Yes – I agree that I don’t want to just do spins everywhere! Some young dogs find them helpful and then we can fade them out in favor of sending. My general rule (for myself LOL!) is that a spin on a significant turn is fine if it turns me to face the next line sooner than a send or post turn would.

>>There was a big emphasis on straight tunnels followed by tight wrap away/rear cross and she was actually adding strides which hasn’t been a thing for her before so very happy.>>

Wow, that is fantastic that she was adding collection after the straight tunnel extensions! YAY!!! And yes, we are seeing a lot of straight tunnel to a turn or tunnel-tunnel-turn as well.

Looking at the video:

>>she loves this as she really knows the joy of driving forward with no turns.>>

Yes! She did really well and it is an excellent skill to have. We have our big national event this weekend and MANY of the courses end with full on straight Iines that are 100 feet long. EEK!

You can cue her to get on the straight line for her ‘go on’ even earlier: as soon as she exits the tunnel and looks at the next jump, you can start the cues. You were saying it when she landed from the jump after the tunnel but you can definitely name that line sooner.

The next 2 sequences has backsides on jump 3 – you can get a better turn on the backside at :28 if you are tighter to the wing she is approaching the backside on. You can literally be on her landing line there as she goes to around the wing… then before she takes off, get outta there LOL!! But keep moving forward on her line until she has landed and looked at the tunnel entry. You were further across the bar, so she jumped longer and then had to adjust after landing.

On the 3rd sequence, the spin and positional cue you did for the backside on 3 was great! That set up a perfect line to the tunnel.

>>I probably needed to call her while she was in the tunnel on the last sequence to try and get a tighter turn out of the tunnel but she was a good girl.>>

Part of the design challenge of that sequence was that the dogs were definitely going to turn wide on the tunnel exit so we handlers could not get that far ahead because we had to set the line. But we can definitely get it tighter! At :47 you did a name call before she entered (it was after she entered at 1:06) and it was a little late – try calling her name or giving a ‘right’ verbal plus showing the FC rotation when she is about 2 meters before entering the tunnel. And then yes, keep calling her as she is in the tunnel – the cues should come early and often there because it is such a hard turn.

Good job getting the last line anyway – the sequence deliberately puts the handler behind in a weird position, and she still drove ahead brilliantly. Super!!!!!

>>I’m interested to really up the game for the remote reinforcement out on the field so we might try that next.>>

Perfect! Let me know how she does!

Tracy

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