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Good morning and sorry for the delay! I had to drive home from Minneapolis and my RV was doing its best to break itself – slide, jacks, brakes… At the final gas stop 90 minutes from home last night, the battery decided to croak and it would not start LOL! But I outsmarted it and made it home 😆 only 24 hours late. I see you Bazinga email and will head to it next!
>I really think they should be birthday-months.>
Totally agree, as long as it is good weather. No snow, heat, or hurricanes allowed 😆
The minny pinny went pretty perfectly to the left turns – the little dude is a lefty! The right turns started off but he really told us that they are the harder turns for him to process.
It was really interesting that he had to walk away, do a full body shake at 1:02… then came back he could do the right turns. He just needed to reset himself to the harder side. Very cool to see!!!
Let him sleep on this for a few days to let latent learning work its magic 🙂 Then I bet he can do the right turns as well as the left turns.
Great job!
Tracy
Hello!! I think we should all just join you in the Azores!!! Your Facebook posts look spectacular!!!!!!! Enjoy the rest of your adventure and safe travels home!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! We missed you at OTR this past weekend but it looks like you had a great weekend!
Thanks for the update about Kaladin and Lift! I am happy to bug you to finish her contacts this summer 🙂
> but still trying to work through her extended teenager hyper-arousal tendencies around motion (worse in everyday life than while training).>
Fill me in on the latest scoop: I know she has boing-up at you and had trouble recovering if your connection was not perfect especially on a send. Let me know if this is still the case or if there are different things happening. My plan for the summer is to work on training/behavior as well as just handling 🙂
Tracy
Hello and welcome back!!! It will be fun to see your dogs work through these challenges. A lot of the games directly look at the impulse control and arousal regulation – that is important. And we will be looking at a lot of handling from a distance and staying on lines versus getting turns.
Have fun!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! I am looking forward to getting started!! Thank you for the list of challenges, that will be useful!
>Current challenges: teeter inconsistency, bailing at the end of weaves, >
We will use the skill challenge games for this!
>running past slices and threadle-slices, coming off a big curved line (at distance) and running past a jump, >
We will definitely work on all of this.
>not committing to obstacles if there is any break in connection (dog walk is a major culprit here).>
Do you mean she will run past it if connection is less than perfect? I am percolating ideas for you to get commitment on these even if connection is not perfect 🙂
Have fun!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! We definitely missed you in IA and MN but we will catch up here 🙂 Have fun!
Tracy
Hi!
>I wasn’t sure about my body position for the threadle. Thought maybe my feet and lower body not pointing forward enough.>
Adding movement made it more natural for your lower body to show the right info. He seemed to have no questions.
>Yes go is my release word. I think we talked about it on part one thread.>
I had a memory of that discussion but was thinking that maybe I had imagined it when I couldn’t find it 😂
> If I want extensions I will repeat it.go go go. Or at least that is what I have done with the other dogs.>
Sounds good! The different context and the different energies of the verbal (quieter go for the release, high energy louder GOGOGO for the lines) will also help him read the difference.
Tracy
Hi!
This went really well. For this session with a stationary reward, the 130 cm distance worked well. He is ready for the next step, where you are using the moving target reward – that might mean we expand the distance a little bit, maybe 1 or 2 more of your steps? But try it at this distance – lead out to where you were but have the toy on a line. Then release and drag it forward so he can power through then run to the moving toy. That adds the distraction of handler motion and challenges him to maintain control over his mechanics even when he is more excited and moving faster 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
Hello!
>This was a terrible session. My mechanics were terrible and i didn’t always reward the baby for my nonsense. But this is why you’re here… to make me better.>
Based on your comment about your mechanics and wanting to reward more, it seems you don’t really need me 🙂 Your reflections will make yourself better! But I will bug you to note that in the moment and not after the session 🙂
After watching the video, though, this is definitely NOT a terrible session!! It was a ‘working things out’ session and he had a lot of rewards. Baby Barry will give you feedback if the rate of reward gets too low… he will probably leave the session or get sniffy. I didn’t see any of that here and I also saw you really working to make adjustments to help him out.
As you are working things out in the heat of the moment – sometimes things go wrong and I keep a mental list of what to change for the next rep:
– Pup ends up on the wrong side of me? That’s a handler connection error, so bigger clearer connection will fix the issue. He ended up on the wrong side side a couple of times, and you immediately gave BIG connection on the next reps. SUPER!
– Pup goes wide when I am wanting a tight turn? It is possible that I am late with my cues hahaha ok more than possible that I am late. That is why he went wide on the reps where he was wide… and you were actively working to make the timing earlier. The earlier timing definitely got the better turns, especially to the right. He was working out the coordination to the left and did a good job!
For this game you can also send to the start wing from further away, which will help you show the decel and turn cues from ahead of him which will make it easier for him to read. Ideally, the decel begins when he hs exited the start wing. When you did that, the turns were really good! If you took an extra step or two, he went a little wider because he read it as extension cues.
You did a lovely job adding a lot of connection and working the timing. In the next session, getting a couple of steps ahead of him should make that even easier.
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
The thumbnail for the video here spotlights an absolutely gorgeous serp moment: position, connection, movement… and he is nailing it. Very cool to see YouTube capture that moment!
Super nice session on the video! Zillions of excellent things happening!!!!!
Excellent transition from the toy on the ground to the lineup position! He really likes that toy 🙂 but you made it clean and clear for him – no fighting about ignoring the toy. Click/treat to you!
He was an absolute star about holding the stay til released as you were moving and getting your arm in position. That is NOT easy especially with the toy on the ground. Super!
Serps and threadles both looked good – your position relative to the jump was very clear (and different for each one, plus your upper body (arm, connection, verbal) looked clear for both too. The serp cues and the threadle cues looked distinctly different so he really had no questions.
Question: is ‘go’ your regular release word that gives permission to leave the stay, or is it also your ‘run straight in extension’ cue. I scrolled back but couldn’t find it.
If it is your release word- perfect, keep on using it here 🙂 If it is your ‘go straight in extension’ word, the serp release can be a ‘break’ or ‘ok’ or even a left/right (depending on the setup) so he drives to you and we maintain the go straight element of the go verbal.
>The session was a little longer since I was trying to do both sides and we had the play in it.>
Yes, a little longer than usual but because of how you set it up, he seemed to maintain his engagement all the way through – no distractions, no getting tired. That is because of how you used a lot of toy play (his favorite, I think!) and also those smooooooth transitions from the toy back to the start of the next rep (cookies!). And your cues were super clear so he was super successful. Basically, it was an ideal session which is why he went the whole time, both sides, no problem at all. YAY!!!!!
Great job 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
Super nice session here. Straight line reps at the beginning looked good! And I really like how you did a LOT of straight line reps – this actually really helps the rear crosses because it keeps him looking ahead. You said “jump” on most of the straight line reps but you can totally use your GO verbal as well.
The first RC to the right was spot on – great job getting on the rear cross line to make it clear!
When you did the RC to the left – you did say Go Jump and threw the toy straight so he went straight (I think that was an accidental RC there). On the 2nd & 3rd RCs, you had a good RC line on both but the verbals said ‘jump’ and ‘go jump’ so he went straight – I think using your swing verbal there (like at :27) will make it perfect.
And I agree that his focus was terrific! He is really growing up and you’ve done a lovely job helping him find working with you more exciting than all the access to the environment there! Yay!
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
Dog on left at the beginning – super nice! You said it was dog on right, so maybe the video is mirrored? Either way, on the first part of the video: You were clearly turned to the new line as she rounded the barrel so she knew exactly where to go. And had no trouble turning away.On the other side – first rep you were running backwards which is harder but also very impressive because I would have fallen on my butt haha!
You were running forward nicely on the other reps and turning really well too – she knew where to go in terms of which end of the tunnel, but I think her question at the tunnel was about turning turning away from you to her right. I recall that we thought she was a lefty? So that might be why it was easy to get her to turn away to her left on the first side but harder on the second side. (Or vice versa if the video is mirrored LOL!)
So on her harder turn away side, you can put the reward(the toy) right inside the entry of the tunnel, so she turns away and gets the immediate reward. Then as she gets more comfy, you can move the reward to the end of the tunnel so she turns away and then complete the tunnel.
That will also get the toy ut of your hand for now – I think part of the challenge was the toy in your hand was VERY exciting. She turned away nicely when you had food as the reward , so putting the toy right inside the tunnel entry will help her turn away from it and then it will be a great reward too 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! I agree that this went really well, in both directions! Very high success rate and very few bloopers.
I think he was 100% accurate (and fast :)) when you asked him to go straight and not take the jump. Super!
He was almost perfect with the outs and you did a great job keeping yourself accountable for moving straight and not towards the jump.
When it went well, your connection was very clear and you used your arm to point towards the exit wing of the jump – and you kept it up until he locked onto the jump.
In the blooper moments like at 1:03, 3:18, 3:40 – the arm cue was a little hidden so I don’t think he really saw it.
My favorite rep was at 3:54 – great use of arm & connection & verbal, and your line of motion was perfect 🙂 Super!!!!
The only other thing to remember: when sending to the start wing, he did much better when you also stepped towards it with your dog-side leg. He had questions/refusals when you did not step to it, so definitely remember to use your leg.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Let’s start with me signing up for Max 2 as a working spot.>
Sounds good! I will send something when I am back in the office so you can have the reduced price.
She is doing well with her jump grid! Because she is being held to start, she is pulling a little which sets her a little forward on her shoulders but still maintaining her balance through it and driving with strong forward focus. Super!!
She is ready for the more advanced grids, but we really want a stay for that – now that is hot out, you can add in stay training inside to sty cool 🙂 If it helps her hold position, you can use a low cato board or something similar (anything stable that won’t slip out from under her when she releases).
On the RC video:
She is driving ahead really well to allow you to change sides behind her. The next step is to change the placement of the reward on the ground to help her turn the new direction after the RC. She was going straight when you changed sides so moving the reward target over to where the turn should be will help show her the turn.If that is easy for her, the next step is to take out the reward target and use a thrown reward instead, so she gives you feedback on if the RC info is on time or not. If she turns the ‘wrong’ way, reward anyway because it means you were late with the RC info 🙂
>Rou and I are really struggling to work with toys out. Instead of improving, the issue seems to be getting worse, so I think I need to take a step back and address it properly. >
She is definitely very driven for her toys, which I love!! So we will definitely clarify this for her – my bet is that she is will have a lightbulb moment with minimal adjustments then it will be easy peasy to use toys in your hands.
>She’s driving nicely to tunnels, but if I have a toy out, I can’t get a wrap. >
There are a couple of reasons why this could be happening:
– she might need clarification on toy markers, so she knows when the toy is available for grabbing and when it is not (this also includes human mechanics of delivery)
– She might need to have more connection from you (pretty direct eye contact at this stage) to cue the wrap, rather than arm pointing. The cue is the connection (because of how it uses your shoulders to show the line) and pointing might actually turn her towards you and away from the line.
– She might need to learn to offer the wing even in the presence of fabulous toys 🙂 so a bit of shaping is something we can do 🙂
– We might need to adjust the placement of reward on wing wraps – if it all comes from your hands, it might be building too much focus on your hands and not enough focus on the wing. No worries, that is an easy adjustment!
– Or it could be something completely different 😂
If you have time, take out a favorite toy and try a session of tunnel to the wing – let’s get it on video so we can see what she is doing and why. That will direct us to make the adjustments she needs, then it will be clear sailing 🙂
>The overarousal has been slowly building for a while, and I realize I’ve been managing it with band-aid solutions rather than addressing the root cause.>
Lots of reasons that it could be building up in this context too (adolescence, frustration because things are not clear, toys being very stimulating, all of the above, none of the above haha).So grab the video when you have a moment or send one where it all goes wrong 😂 😆 and we will see what’s happening. It is a great skill to focus on at this stage!
Great job on the videos and I am looking forward to the toy plus wrap video!
Tracy
