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Good morning!
Do you happen to know what iOs your phone is on? I want to take a look at iMovie today and figure out why it is giving you problems. I have different versions of iOS installed on different devices so might be able to figure it out.
Video is loading right now (YouTube is being weird with it!) so I will let it fully load up then be back with thoughts for you 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
The up and down game looked good! Plenty of distractions and she did really well, even when someone walked right behind you!
>>After this, we did a back and forth game away from the ring but with her back to the steps where people and dogs were going up and down. That was actually too much for her. I didn’t think this attempt (on video) was too bad!>>
It is possible that it was too hard for her to assess the environment when her back was too it. So if she struggles, you can turn her around to look at the distractions while she is playing the game. And, separately, practice this game at home with a novel (but easy) distraction behind her so she understands how to handle that challenge.
Looking at the trial runs – she does indeed seem pretty comfy in the ring when you start running! And we want to keep it that way, so don’t fix any errors in the runs 🙂 All of the errors were handling errors, even the weave errors (other than the altercation moment, but that was fine that she looked at it – it was loud and scary!!)
Stopping to fix errors in handling can be deflating or frustrating to the dog, and also dilute response to cues – as well as change arousal state which opens up the environment as a distraction. She was reading you correctly, so stopping her to try again can be confusing.
For example in TnG, after the tunnel under the frame, you were still moving forward so she did check in with you, saw your motion forward even though you were calling her, and went to the hoop straight ahead. We don’t want her to think that it is wrong (to correctly follow your handling) so if she goes off course or past something? Assume it was handler error and carry on.
Or in Jumpers, you were a little late with the turn 4-5 so she went around it. You gave a MUCH better cue in the second run so she got the jump (but pulled the bar, which means it was still a little late 🙂 plus the distance was short and you had a big “yes” over the bar, so she hit the wing)
With the weave errors – she is a baby dog and that angle of entry was not on a natural line, so she needed a bit more of a turn cue on the jump before it to help line her up. Without it, she had trouble getting organized for the weave entry. Eventually it won’t be a problem, but as a baby dog we want to help her out 🙂
>>she definitely is nervous in the building and around the other dogs when not in the ring. We did eat treats throughout the day, but I didn’t even attempt any tugging.
You can try some tugging and see how she feels! She will either enjoy it, or she will say “no thanks”. Either way is fine 🙂 And the food is pretty powerful, so you can increase the value of the food as you get closer to the ring and to the distractions.
She did better on the start line (in terms of not sniffing or looking around) in the runs where you were being a little more active, moving a little, etc.
So one thing to experiment with is going to the line, keeping her moving a bit (adding a trick or two) – then when they are ready for you, ask for the sit, take the leash off, and lead out. When she was not moving or in the sit for too long with you facing her and not moving, she started to look around a bit. We will work on ways to keep the engagement level high and the arousal level high (which is a good thing!) so the environment doesn’t become distracting. When is her next trial?
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! These are going well with Maisy! And I am glad that Sassy had no problem 🙂
>#1 proved harder than I thought because I was trying to do my FX rotation early. Too early is evidently a thing as is too late.>>
Yes, too early is a thing sometimes , especially coming out of a tunnel. We have to let them exit, let the see the jump, and then rotate. It is just one stride later than what you did when she came off the jump, and the same timing as the other reps.
Two other details on this sequence opening:
We want to cue her as far in advance about the turn to 4, and that includes your path of motion. You were moving to between the uprights/center of the bar of 3, which presents a straight line over 3. That is why she was going wide on 3, and then not turning til after landing. Ideally, you would be moving up the line towards 4 so she takes 3 laterally and sees you near 4 and starts turning that way.
The rest of the lines looked really good!
Also, try to do this with more running 🙂 I realize that the space is small, but you can lead out less or run closer to the lines on the simpler parts, so it is more like what you would do at trials. If she sees you walking in practice but running in trials, the timing will change as will her jumping.

>>#2 – she kept taking the less obvious wing at no.3. Why?>That was interesting! I think it was because the handling cue looked like a threadle wrap/rear cross cue. It was very subtle! Your lead out position was good but then you didn’t move forward to 3 – you cued the jump with your left hand kind of like cuing a threadle wrap, and your position (still nearer to 2) was on the RC line. So…. She did the rear cross.
So as she is approaching 2, you should be connected with your arm back like you were here, and also moving to jump 3 on the right turn wing, cuing the right turn wrap. You can then send and leave for the next line, or do a spin.
The rest looked good! Yay!

>>#3 – we love rears. Nothing gets between her and a tunnel on her line.>>
The rear cross looked great!! Yay! Her only question on this one was the fist jump – that slice was hard for her! You can try setting her up one more full stride further from the jump, so she has time to organize her takeoff better. You can also re-visit the zigzag grids (I believe she did them?) to help remind her of that hard jumping skill.
>>Would you indulge me and look at a trial video with one of those lead out pivot type openings and tell me what I did wrong?
Absolutely! I would love to look at it!
>>As an aside, I get quite scared when judges put maximum distance between jumps and then a tight turn. I’m always afraid she will jump long and take me out.>>
Most turns, you should not be in between the uprights so you should be safe :)) Like on sequence 1, always be heading towards the next jump and not between the uprights of the turn jump. And on the lead out push where you *do* have to be between the uprights, you will start moving away no later than landing of the previous jump (so she won’t run into you :))
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>>I always try and keep sessions short with her as I feel that when she starts to get tired the bars start to come down>>
I agree! There is no need to fatigue the dog or create questions by doing sessions that are too long.
>>These distances are a lot closer than what we usually get at trials- it differs very much from judge to judge but we’re starting to get more European style courses in the state where I live I love these, >>
The Euro courses were HUGE distances for a while but now they are coming back into the 7m range.
>>but there’s a bit of a teething stage where a lot of novice courses now have 9 and 10 metres in a straight line and a lot of straight tunnels which require tight turns after. >>
Yes, we see that happening here too in UKI, so feel free to adjust the distances to show her those 10m lines. They do make things spicy with all that speed!!!
Looking at the videos: she is FUN!!! YAY!!! A couple of suggestions for you:
>>I’ve been working on a look cue at the first jump so that I can lead out laterally and was really happy with how she did this here.>>
She nailed it!!! Yay! Try not to get into a rhythm of the look cue being immediately followed by the release – on the 2nd run, she was starting to move before the release. We don’t want to accidentally turn the look cue into the release 🙂
On both sequences, you have all sorts of great timing and connection! Super!!! My only suggestions are that we can fine tune your position on crosses, and figure out how to get more collection on wraps. Here are specifics:
Seq 1:
Excellent job with your focus forward on the jump, Sonnet!!!!!You might have noticed she went wide on the FC 3-4. You had good timing on the FC at :19 and :48 in terms of getting it finished before she took off for 3, but I think your positional cue of driving forward past 3 was what sent her wide, despite the rotation being well-timed. She was already in the air when she saw you heading to 4, so she adjusted after landing. So keep the same timing, but use more lateral distance so she sees you already near 4 as she exits the tunnel and you are cuing 3. That position on the line and your good timing should get the turn before takeoff.
Does she have a soft turn verbal, like “left”, to help for that turn? That can help get the turn a little tighter too! It sounds like you were calling her name, so a soft turn verbal should work nicely there.
For the wraps:
Good timing of starting the decel and easy verbal at :50 for jump 5. Is that her wrap verbal? The brake arm and forward facing cue didn’t get quite as much collection as she can do, I bet. So you can either do the cue and leave sooner (when she lands from 4, cue and leave so you are facing 6 before she takes off for 5). Or, add a spin there. I haven’t seen her work yet so I am not sure which is better for you both 🙂
I don’t love to do a to of those reverse spins, but this is a good spot for one for 2 reasons:
-It puts you up the next line sooner 🙂 That is a good thing with all of her speed!-And it teaches her to predict that your decel means you are going to turn and run the other way, so she will put in the collection stride to chase you down the next line 🙂
Sequence 2: This is also a good one for thinking about positioning yourself to get a clearer line on the turns, and therefore better turns.
Lead out push:
She is wide over 2 at 1:20 – partially because your position was off the line 2-3, and partially because you can leave sooner to draw the line to 3.
Positionally, you were far from both the 2 and 3 jumps, so she was jumping straight towards you. You can position yourself closer to jump 2, literally standing right where you would ideally want her to land & turn. That can really draw the line for the turn! And it won’t out you in her way, because as soon as she lands from 1, you can start moving towards 3 while maintaining the great connection and physical cue you had here. That way you will be long gone when she needs the landing spot, and in a good position to cue the tight wrap on 3.
Blind cross: This is a spot where you can basically be running towards 3 the whole time (connected to her and with the same timing you had here or maybe a shade earlier :)) You ran forward past 2, so even with good timing on the BC, the running line presented a straight line so she was surprised and turned after landing of 2 at 1:39.
The wrap at 3 can be tighter without bleeding off her speed –
On the lead out push rep, you had a little too much motion to 3 (sounds like a nice quiet wrap verbal with it there!) so she was wide. You had nice decel into 3 at 1:41 but still wide… she is turning after landing. So you can try a spin here too, because like with the previous sequence, it gets you down the next line sooner and also will get her adding a collection before takeoff to chase your line 🙂We can also do some deceleration games to get her to respond to decel so you don’t need to do rotations in spots where a send-and-go is easier.
>>I included a quick video of her startline at the end as I wanted you to see what she does with repositioning her front paws and for your input. Recently I’ve done seminars with a couple of different presenters and one had no problem with it but one did. My general feeling is that I’m fine with it – if she breaks we go back and reset. I tried to experiment with a down for a bit but found that while she then kept her front feet still, she broke the stay more often. I don’t want to be fighting her on the startline over something that doesn’t really bother me but if it’s likely to become an issue I’ll see if I can fix it.>>
I agree – no fighting over startles!!And also, it is possible that she doesn’t even realize she is moving her front feet so feedback to NOT move her front feet might be confusing and frustrating for her.
Based on the lead out here, I think you are adding too much pressure and tension on the lead out by leading out slooowwwwwlllllly and maintaining massive connection. The longer that goes on, the more she fidgets with her feet and she looks away at one point. It is like leaving a tea kettle on to boil for too long! So something to try is, as soon as she is in her sit, you jog to your lead out position. Get there fast so she doesn’t boil over or wonder why you are staring at her LOL!! Yes, be connected, but it can be softer and you can get the game going more quickly. That might get her to keep her feet still! I generally don’t mind the little fidget step here and there, but I do think she will appreciate it if you move to position as fast as possible.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracySuper!!! When is her next trial or seminar? It would be fun to bring some of these to that environment and see how she does!!
Tracy
I believe we ran against them (and won, sorry not sorry haha) but I would have to check. I think we also saw a little blue merle pointy dog that is related, and that we were trying to steal LOL!!! SUCH AMAZING DOGS!!!
FANTASTIC job on these! I think you have proven that you CAN run hard and get the handling done really well 🙂
Video 1: Very nice! You can TOTALLY get where you need to be! And when she is more experienced, the lead out will be even easier. Nice FC timing at :08! The only thing I would add is the connection across your body (showing the toy in the opposite arm, across your belly) instead of trying to connect with the dog-side arm (:09) which created less connection and a wider turn (you can see her adjust after landing). The rest looked fast and connected, and she found a new gear of speed 🙂
Video 2 – when you decelerated for 3, I thought you were setting up the rear cross but then you did the FC. So if you want to tighten the turnn (which is fine) do the decel as she is over 2 so you can send to 3 when she lands then get outta there to do the cross (I vote for a BC there because it will be sooooo much easier than a FC and get you to the next line sooner. Doing the decel and a post turn after she landed from 2 made it harder (more hustle needed) to get the cross 4-5.
LOVED the decel/small brake arm at 5 at :07!
Seq 2: Nailed it and you even had time to decel into the FC!! On the cross exits, revisit the reward-across-the-body exit line connection and you’ll get the most speed AND the tightest turns 🙂 The rest looked great too!
3rd video: I scared my dogs when I yelled RUN! Because you were standing still for too long 1-2 LOL!! As soon as you see her feet up at jump 1, start to move through the serp – stay connected like you did, but giddy up outta there. You stayed there til she had feet up at 2, and I don’t think she needs you there as long, provided you give the clear upper body and connection you had here.
Being a little too close to 2 for too long made it harder to get around the jump in the middle (you had to jockey around it). Nice attention to the timing on the FC before the tunnel but it was a little late (right after her head went into the tunnel). Not having to jockey around the jump will give you time to decel there, show the turn before she enters, and then it will be perfect. The rest looked great!
So overall – great job driving hard through these!!!!
Tracy
Hi!
She was a super good girl in the FEO run here! Especially in the icky rain!!One big rule of FEO is… don’t fix handler errors 🙂 She needed a turn cue at :05, did not get one (because you are human LOL!) so she stayed on her line: GOOD GIRLIE! Just go with it even if you are not sure what happened (the video will reveal all after the run) Stopping her and fixing it indicates error… which will send youngsters into over-arousal/frustration which we do not want. She stuck with you here but it is like a bank account – don’t overdraw her young dog resilience by stopping and starting a lot, because that is when you will see behavior shift. So if she runs by a jump or goes wide or something? No worries! Carry on and fix it later 🙂
When is her next FEO opportunity?
T
Hi!
I think the MM helps marginally but I liked your cone-box-cone session a whole lot more!
On this video, he is looking at you a lot as he comes past the apex and through the down ramp, which sometimes causes you to click misses. So he is not really targeting the box – he is shuffling down til he hears a click. So as you work the a-frame, put yourself ahead enough that you can be watching the yellow (don’t look at him at all, just stare at the yellow) and only click when you see his feet in the box 🙂 I definitely think this skill needs to spend some time on a lowered frame so you can get the striding and timing. You can also elevate the box a little bit so it is more obvious to him.Tracy
Hi!
The sequence work is going well! His line commitment is really good so I think you need to spread the obstacles out a bit more so you can have more time to start the crosses earlier.At 1:55 for the FC between 4-5, you were finishing it as he was taking off for 4 but you can start it when he takes off for 3 so it is fully finished before he takes off for 4
At 2:34 when you did the FC between 3 and 4, your timing was better and you were just about finished before he took off. NICE!At 1:01 the BC on jump 6 started when he was already over the bar so he didn’t see it til after landing – that would ideally start when he has landed from the previous jump, so it would be fully finished before takeoff for 6 and he can set up a line turn there.
And remember if you miscue something like at 2:37… just keep running 🙂 Stopping (even if he gets a cookie or toy) can be deflating to him and also make him a bit sticky and not get on the lines as well.
Nice work!
TracyHi! This is going well too! And you can spread this one out too (which will also make it roomy enough to start bringing the jump heights up a bit).
On the opening: You can help less at 2 by staying next to it (:51 and 1:53) because that extra help caused you to be really late for the BC 3-4 (he almost went off course on those reps). So send to 2 and get outta there so when he lands from 2 you are past 3 and doing the BC 🙂
Good job with the ending line of running hard and staying connected and giving the verbals! NICE!!!
I couldn’t see why he didn’t take the jump at 1:34, probably lined up a little sideways – so before the release, look at his position and if needed, give an extra step to 1 to super the line if he is a little sideways in the lineup.
Nice work!
Very nice pattern games in the new environment! He was VERY quick to re-engage! SUPER!! He didn’t even get distracted when people were applauding a dog in the ring or when a dog walked right by. How did he do overall in the new place? He looks beautifully engage!
The volume dial looked good too! Don’t be afraid to tug with him in new places too! It will be very useful for FEO runs and for general arousal regulation.
Great job here!
Hi!
I am liking his work here – it is MUCH more like the striding you will want on the a-frame. Only one suggestion: For the cone -box – cone, rather than throw the reward after the box, have him wrap the next cone then throw the reward. Or, you can use a tug toy from your hand after he wraps the cone – that will also get the behavior going in higher arousal. The goal is to get him to NOT look at you at all which will transfer nicely to the frame.
When he can do cone-box-cone, the next step would be cone-frame w/ box – cone but the a-frame will need to be low with nothing under it to really get what you want 🙂Great job!
Tracy!Hi! No worries about the all caps! I know you are not yelling LOL!!
>>HE’LL PLAY WITH TOYS OUTSIDE THE RING/BY HER CRATE- NO PROBLEM AT ALL.
Excellent!! So create a bit of a pattern: toy play – food – toy play – food. Let’s pump up the value of the toy play so we can bring it more places 🙂 Try it at home first (easy to do while you are recovering). And then we will get the toy play further and further from the food, with the goal to eventually have great toy play in the ring! When we add the remote reinforcement games next week, remind me that we need to do this with the food & toy pattern with her.
>>TOYS ARE NOT THAT POWERFUL ONCE IN THE RING AND OFF LEASH.>>
Is food still powerful in the ring and off leash? Will she play with toys in the ring and ON leash? Just trying to plan for the subtle details 🙂
>>I KNOW I CHANGE ONCE WE CROSS THAT THRESHHOLD OF THE GATE AS IM AFRID SHES JUST GOING TO RUN AROUND- SO IM SO NERVOUS! AND SHES A BIT SENSITIVE>>
All totally normal! The obstacles and the “work” are incredibly arousing, and as an adolescent, her arousal self-regulation is not fully in place (partially because she is just beginning to learn it, and partially because the part of the brain that controls it is not really developed in adolescent dogs). We have plenty of time until she is back in the ring, nothing to be nervous about 🙂
>>I DROVE 2 HOURS TO A CLASS WEEKLY JUST TO GET INTO A CLASS ON TURF- BUT INSTRUCTOR TOLD US NOT TO COME DUE TO TAKING LOCAL PRIVATE LESSONS OUTSIDE.>>
Wait what? They told you not to come because you took privates somewhere else? Huh? Maybe I am confused 🙂 Let’s find you a supportive group in your area, because we need to get her into that setting.
>>BEFORE SHE CAME IN SEASON
Was she very hormonal? Girl Bus can be very hormonal for a while after a season.

>>WE USED A BOX/MAT LIKE A TARGET FOR HER TO GO TO- AND SHE DID REALLY REALLY WELL.>>Fantastic!! We build on similar concepts here soon.
>>ONLY RAN OFF ONCE WHEN I TRIED TO GET HER TO DO HER WEAVES IN THE RING (SHE CAN WEAVE)-ASSUMING THE ENVIRONMENT WAS TOO HARD FOR THAT.>>
Exactly! The environment was too hard and her brain went into flight mode. Don’t ask for weaves in new places yet – but if you are able to train them at home, you can add some arousal and distraction that will help transfer them to new places!
>>SHE WAS “CAUGHT” THEN BECAUSE I HAD THE MAT THERE WHERE I COULD SEND HER AND SHE WOULD STAY AND I COULD LEASH HER UP.>>
One important thing is to NOT let her associate any one thing in particular with meaning the work/play is finished. So don’t make a habit of always getting her on the mat, leashing, exiting. You can make it more of a variable reinforcement schedule, using the work as the reinforcement: for now, about 75% of the time, you will call her to the mat, leash her… then take the leash off and go back to do more of the sequence or a few more obstacles. That will keep the mat and leashing up VERY motivating and she won’t avoid it. If leashing up means “you’re done” she will start avoiding the leash and then that association will transfer to the mat, and she will avoid that (eventually we will replace the mat with the leash itself!) And don’t put her back in a trial environment until all of that is squarely in place, to only rehearse what you want to rehearse in that environment.
>>THOSE ARE GOING GREAT! ONLY TRIED THEM AT HOME- SO GOTTA GET HER OUTSIDE A BIT THIS WEEK, EVEN IF ITS THE FRONT YARD AS FRONT YARD IS VERY DISTRACTING. IF SHE CANT FOCUS IN THE FRONT YARD- SO WE GO TO LIKE THE FRONT PORCH OR DO I WAIT UTNIL SHES “READY”>>
Is she returning her engagement to you really quickly in the house? If so, take it to the front porch first (not the yard yet) and use higher value reinforcement. And if that goes well, do the next session back in the house to keep the game easy and neutral. The following session can be started on the porch and then moved to the yard. If she can’t do it in the yard, go back to the porch or in the house. And keep me posted!
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Thanks for your patience! Finals went really well, even with having to run them at 9:40 pm!!
Looking at the pattern games clips –
The first one went really well. He did look at the environment a little but you were patient and he re-engaged quickly. And looking at the environment and processing it is exactly what we want him to do! Looks like the harder direction was towards the other campers.The up and down game was a little easier for him (it works differently on their bodies than the back and forth game) so that is good to know!!
2nd clip – not bad at all, considering the distractions were much harder! The latency was higher (meaning it took him longer to re-engage) but not that much longer. I am sure he could see and hear the other people but did really well!
>they spoke but an elderly couple had come up from behind me and wanted to say hi to my “Maltese” >
At least they didn’t go with something like Cocker Spaniel LOL!!!
In the 3rd video, had they people you were chatting with gone away? The latency was lower here (he was very quick to re-engage) which is great!
He was great with the up and down here too, because there were som very audible distractions! Yay!So what we can see in these videos:
– the back and forth is harder because it asks him to handle environmental distractions, so it takes him a little longer.
– The up and down game appears easier, perhaps because there are fewer distractions we are introducing, less moving back and forth, and the up and down head position sets his internal system jump really well.So these games can keep going on the road: try up and down in harder environments, and back and forth in easier ones, and see how he does! The more you rehearse these, the better he will get at it. And since you were working with distractions here, remember to balance these sessions with sessions with zero distractions (like inside the trailer :)) to keep the games neutralized 🙂
>>He behaved very well and didn’t seem to be disturbed by the noise and the dogs. He was able to lay by my side and be calm. He got measured and didn’t have any issues with the judge or the process. However, although I tried the simplest up and down game, he COULD NOT POSSIBLY eat any food in this environment. Also couldn’t play with a toy. That’s unfortunate >>
Not unfortunate at all! It is fantastic information and feedback from him. He was overaroused, per the science (being unable to eat or play is a sign of overarousal). But no worries, we love the feedback from him and can help!
3 things:
– distance is your friend. So if he can’t eat or play, you are too close to the distraction. Move back and away to see if he can eat or play somewhere else. You might be pretty far away!– What type of food were you using? He is not a total foodie, so not wanting to eat is not totally surprising. You might need to go to tiny bits of mind-blowing food, even just for a few seconds (so he doesn’t get GI upset).
– you can try moving away from the ring or distractions, and tie a fun toy to a line and have him chase it, like a flirt pole. Fun!
You can also try a buddy system – does he have any dog friends that are super confident and happy near the ring? You can walk them around together. This is social learning and it is pretty powerful! For example, at the flyball nationals, the young dog of a friend was a little freaked out at first. So, we walked her dog and my Ramen together because Ramen would model being super happy about all the things. So, by keeping the other dog moving and seeing a happy dog, he relaxed a whole lot.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
