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Good morning!
You two looked great in the live class!!!
The one step sends are going well – he seems to have no questions anywhere about going to the wing on one step, even when it was further. And adding the left/right was pretty easy for him too – the rights were all perfect. He had a question on the left at :56 but it looks like that was because you looked forward for too long, which acted like a disconnection so he came off the line. You supported it better on the next left reps – too a moment to get the timing of the FC but the last couple were great! Yay!
So 2 ideas on this:
Yes, keep working the left turns, those seem harder than the right turns and also see harder to him than the left wraps.
Also, he comes out of the tunnel looking for the line which is great – but to balance that, be sure to sometimes do a FC before he goes into the tunnel and call him (both happening early enough for him to see/hear it) so he comes out of the tunnel looking for you when cued.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
The super lazy pinwheel looked good – a nice shady stroll LOL! He was re-engaging with you after the cookie toss rather than staying on the line, but that is ok, because you can build this up to all 3 in a row. He might have just thought of the cookie toss as “rep over, time to reset”. And when you didn’t reward, he did all 3 jumps – no problems at all.He was looking at you the tiniest bit but that is mainly the lack of motion so you throw the reward super early. You can move on to the next games now (like the bonus game from yesterday) and we can revisit this if it is needed in the future.
Nice work :) TracyHi!
>>So to be clear, you teach a verbal for a wrap right and a wrap left regardless of where the handler is in relation to the dog?
Yes. Because my dogs are so much faster than I am, they were frustrated when the verbals were turn towards me and turn away from me, because they had to first figure out where my slow self was LOL! But with the left/right directionals, they were happier because they didn’t need to rely on my foot speed.
>>TIGHT, which means jump and wrap the wing toward me, and SWITCH TIGHT, which meant jump, turn away from me, and wrap the wing. >>
This is what I used to do.
>>However, it sounds like you teach the different wrap verbals always based on left and right for the dog, regardless of where the handler is?
Yes, because I am slow LOL!! I do have a ‘switch’ cue as well but I use the to ask the dog to turn away from me in a layering context.
Tracy
Hi!
The wraps are going really well!!! Good job with your very clear mechanics – you were connected and methodical and he was nailing it. Super!!!! He was going faster and faster too. So now you are ready to add your wrap verbals, and I think he is also ready for you to start using taller barrels (to her prepare him for when we start using wings).
The backside slice is also gong well – he had a lightbulb moment on the 3rd (aha! I go to the backside!) and that is when he started staying out on his path even as you got further away. Yay! So as you start moving u the line here, you can start saying your backside slice verbal to name the behavior. And you can very gradually start moving further away from the barrel too (and as with the wraps, you can move to a taller barrel to help the transition to using wings).
>>Having trouble moving beyond position #1.
By the end here, you were basically in position 2. So keep moving over gradually and he will keep building up the distance .
The backside slice to the left is going well too! It was a short video so you didn’t get quite as far away, bt that is fine: you can do each rep as one more inch further across and you will be in position 2 and 3 pretty quickly. As with the right side slices, you can start to add the backside slice verbal.
Head turns:
The mechanics are the hardest part of this for sure! You were definitely on the way to getting them smoothly: at :57-1:00 you used your left hand to send him then turn him away: that turn away was especially good here! 2:22 was also basically perfect.
You had the right idea by using the same hand (dog side hand) to send and turn him, so now move the hand more slowly: send then have the hand move slow to your opposite knee, then slowly flip him away (like at :59 and 2:22 When your hand was too far away, he was unsure, so I think having your hand on your opposite knee will help get his attention really well – then he can follow that hand through the turn. You are on the right track, and he got lots of good clicks for the head turn!Threadle 1:
He did a lot better coming in for the threadle when you exaggerated looking down at the target (if you were looking at him, he ended up on the front side of the jump. So you can exaggerate that even more: as he starts to move towards you, let him see you shift where you are looking from his eyes to the target – that should draw him right to it and then you will get the threadle behavior more reliably.>>I would like to introduce Manners Minder here. Any suggestions?
We can definitely add the MM! How does he feel about it in general? If he likes it, you can put in on the opposite side of the jump bar, just past where he would be landing if he was coming over the bar after coming in for the threadle.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I realize we are almost at the end of the course and I’ve not posted in weeks. I’ll just say it’s not been going well but Tina talked me off the ledge and told me to get you some videos! So here goes.>>
We still have a month or so – I’m glad you are back to posting! We all have crazy times with our pup at one point or another, so this is normal and we will get you through it!
>>I went away for a week and when I came back I seem to have lost all connection with Brisket (we had some issues before I went away but not this bad).>>
That is probably a result of the stress of you going away – she just needs a bit of time to settle back in. This same thing happened to a friend of mine with a 6 month old puppy: she was away for a week for work, and when she got back it was like the puppy didn’t even know her. It took about a week for things to return to normal. And this friend is a professional animal behaviorist, so she recognized it as a stress response (and tried not to get frustrated with her pup LOL!!)
>>Previously, I had used pattern games to get her out the door somewhat calmly and then tossing treats in the grass, but she is so distracted by the birds that she doesn’t even look at me for me to begin the game. >>
What types of treats are they? Mayne they need to be higher value? Or, does she like balls? Maybe tennis balls or something will work better when there are birds around? Birds are super distracting for a bird dog, so you can use the highest value reinforcement you can find. Feel free to experiment and see what works.
>>Tugging is a nightmare – she gets super over-excited (you’ll see in the one video) so I either avoid it or have to try to be really calm. >>
Looking at the video with the toy (tug/toy retrieve):
She definitely likes that toy and it is super high value. She is able to trade for food but then grabs the toy again immediately. This happened a couple of times and got a bit worse when you took her collar.I think there is a little tiny bit of resource guarding perhaps when the toy is involved (she wants to possess it) and then when you try to take it, she gets over-aroused and comes up at your face. You are NOT crazy to think this is TOO MUCH – you are correct! Eek!! So, thank you for getting this on film and a few ideas for you:
– you mentioned that you didn’t know what you did to cause it, and the answer is you didn’t do anything to cause it! She is just struggling with arousal and a little bit of guarding the toy (resource guarding it can manifest as leaping at you like she did here).
– there is no need to use tugging in her training games if she is doing the leaping thing! So, take the toy out of the training games and just use food and lotus ball/food carriers or a tennis ball for now – no tugging. We can add back the toy eventually when we sort it all out, and she has fabulous food drive so you can do all of your training with food! I think you will be happier that way 🙂
– separately from training anything else, do short little tiny sessions with the toy. Set a timer for 30 seconds. Get a little bit of tug, then trade for cookies. Instead of trading for one cookie that you hand to her, you can scatter 4 or 5 cookies on the ground. Do that maybe 3 times then be done with the session – that way she gets to practice regulating her arousal with the toy (which is a good life skill anyway!) and you won’t get climbed on or jump on or bitten!
>>I figure I need to get her to work with me before I can work on any of the handling games.>>
Does she leap up at you when you use food? If not, you can totally use food for the handling games 🙂 If she does leap at you like that for food, let me know and we will plan. Short fun sessions with super high value food might be the best plan for now.
>>These videos are simple words, patterns and also trying out the retrieve. Didn’t go well. >>>
The simple patterns and words went great! The first words video went well, and he pattern game went well too! She is a focused girl with good, especially when the food is moving. She also did well with the leg bumps! You had lots of fun little games here, ike the get it and the stays for the ‘catch’ cookie!
And on the 2nd video, she was great with the ‘snacks’ from your hand and the get it tossed treats. Both videos were really good! She had a little trouble sitting with you on the ground, and things worked best when you also gave her a hand cue.
The retrieve/toy video was not great but that is not your fault – that is a behavior thing we will be working through.
>>I know my mechanics are horrible and my energy is usually too high so I’m trying to work on that, >>
I thought your mechanics were good and your energy was good too! You were not being crazy or frantic LOL!
The ball pit is a great decompression thing for her! Do you have a snuffle mat? That can have the same effect and is easier to carry around 🙂 With a snuffle mat, you can do a bit of tugging then let her snuffle.
After the ball pit, she didn’t really want to tug so you did the right thing by starting with a food pattern then doing the clicker shaping with the toy retrieve. This was a good session – you had her attention and you got lots of great clicks/treats in! You can probably hold the toy to get more mouth on it for the retrieve in your net session!
And yes, I also would have TOTALLY clicked that adorable stretch thing that she did LOL! I think the session went a bit too long because she was not as focused after 2 minutes, so set a timer for 90 seconds and see how it goes. But the best part about it? You used a toy and she did not lunge for it or lunge at you. SUPER!!
So, let me know if this makes sense: All puppy class training can be done with food or food toys, or shaping the toy stuff like you did in the clicker video. No tugging as part of “work” because she is not able to regulate her arousal yet.
And separately, you can do a tiny bit of tugging then a treat scatter or snuffle mat – this will help her begin to regulate her arousal! And the short sessions will help make sure she doesn’t tip over and start lunging at you.Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyPS – I love the boat video!!! Yay!
Your google doc is gREAT!!
You can rephrase things to be more affirmative, such as the ;art where you say “we must be doing ok”. Change it to “we ARE doing ok” 🙂
>>Titles don’t necessarily equate to skill level.>>
THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS
Qs, titles, wins…. this has nothing to do with skill level!!!!!! Keep repeating it to yourself. I love that you wrote it!
TracyHi!
>>I did the self-talk activity. I found that the negative talk column was easier to come up with the other ones, not surprisingly!
So true! One thing you can do to help with the negative is remind yourself that our brains are wired for the negative bias… thanks, evolution LOL!!
>>I don’t do this nearly so instinctually with myself, though!>>
Aha! So can you. Talk to yourself like you would talk to a student? Instead of talking as yourself to yourself, you can go into instructor-student mode and see how it goes!
>>Now I just need to internalize this so it’s more natural than the negative talk!
Yes – practice builds plasticity, so you can build those new neural pathways!
Tracy
Hi!
These are great lists! You can also be on the lookout for more things you can control in the world – who you interact with, which voices you listen to, etc. By making that list longer, I think you will feel even more empowered and in control!
TracyHi!
>>FAST run that we “got” but the Send dOn the way out a friend said “Nice Send” and I almost said “it was a mess” but stopped myself and said thanks a lot, I was so happy that I was able to focus and get it done!>>
Yes! That is a big win! Great job changing that!
>>Reinforced what I already knew – when I get focused on I really want to run this clean, I usually don’t. >>
Yep! Running clean is an outcome goal – and without process goals it is really hard to run clean.
>>Especially if it’s near the end of the day and HART is coming into play!>>
Those are things you can plan to control better: plan on small meals even if you are not hungry so you don’t end up getting hungry. Stay away from negative people if you get angry and practice your self-talk. Rushed and tired will be better controlled with planning for when to do things and when to rest 🙂
>>Ran 3 days in a row this past weekend – which I almost never do but I would like to do some bigger events with Sly the next couple of years so figured that 3 days close to home would help me figure out some of the mental aspects that I need to improve. >>
Yes, there is a certain stamina that needs to be built up for those big events.
>>Learnings, even staying home and sleeping in my own bed by day 3, I was TIRED! I can control my schedule which goes a long way to helping with the rushed feelings>>
Yes – schedule things, especially sleep. When times are busy, my mantra is “Sleep like it is your job”.
>>but I can’t control other people (not sure how to deal with this)…….and this tends to make me angry. Hmmmmm.>>
Check out the stuff posted yesterday, especially the stuff in step 4 about empathy (down at the bottom of the article). Their behaviors are their issues, I can empathize but I can’t take on their issues or get caught up in them.
>>How do you deal with other people wanting to talk as you are mentally prepping for your run? Especially students? >>
I do mental prep for it! I try to be always available for students in particular – so I am ready to talk as needed and I can warm up the dog and get ready while having a conversation. Or, I will say “let’s talk about this after the run, so I can get Elektra in the zone” 🙂
If anyone wants to talk about negative stuff, I will smile and walk away. No room for that in the day! Negative is different than problem solving with a student, though.
>>And the other one that I struggled with was when the club needs help and it seems like no one is stepping up – volunteer to ring crew and then end up feeling rushed
TOTALLY relatable! If it will hurt my warm up and prep with my dog, I just don’t volunteer. I remind myself that I volunteer a LOT!!!! So I can overcome the guilt of not stepping in all the time.
>>not feeling guilty when a club is “begging for workers” and I don’t help so I usually jump in and then end up feeling rushed getting Sly ready.>>
Their problem of begging for workers is not your problem of having to work all the time 🙂 So you let it go and get you and your Sly ready 🙂
>>Apologies for the “rambling” but again I wanted to capture these thoughts.>>
No more apologies! These are excellent points and you are not rambling. We women need to not apologize for discussing how we feel 🙂 Your feelings and thoughts here are completely valid, deserve to be discussed, and no apologies are needed 🙂
>> How do you plan a training week?
I plan based on what is coming up – do I need to film demos, and if so, which dogs? Is there a trial or tournament coming up? Do any of the dogs have pressing needs or big questions? And are there skills I want to tackle? Then I try to find one or two days a week that. I can train.
>>I’m always feeling like I’m not doing enough but then I feel like I’m doing too much for what’s best for Sly. >>
That is an interesting guilt combo 🙂 Not enough but also too much 🙂 Both of these are things that are easy to feel especially the not enough! Agility is incredibly complex, it is easy to feel behind in your training. So maybe focus on doing what’s best for Sly, which is scheduling just a couple of days for training and a good balance of rest and conditioning. I also take the dogs for wellness care to massage people and PT vets so that they can help me be on the watch for any potential soreness from over-doing things.
It can seem overwhelming, but that’s the complexity of the sport – you can try prioritizing what skills need to be worked most: for example, the balance of conditioning and rest is the top! Then some sport skills get mixed in.
Let me know what you think! Enjoy your vacation!
TracyHi!
>>the course should look familiar to you
Ha! I was just typing that is looked familiar LOL!!! Very cool that you can work it!
He did well here! The entire opening line looked great. You did an accidental blind at :32 rather than serping to the frame – but since you did it – give him more eye contact/connection as you finish it.
The serp looked terrific when you did it, nice line from the DW to the frame!
The video didn’t show him taking the off course jump at :44, but I am guessing he did based on where you were positioned. Compare that to your position at :50, which was on the wing of the backside 10 jump – so he immediately went to the backside. You can even be one step further over, where the wing and the bar meet, to make the line even clearer.
The rest looked lovely! Great job! Let e know what you think!
TracyHi!
Great job here – you did a lovely job of supporting him as he learned this and letting him build confidence (he was going FAST but the end! but not letting him fall off or jump off. PERFECT!!
After another session or two at home, see if you can get him onto different teeters in different places to continue to build up confidence. When he is more experienced on different teeters with this game, we can start to add some tip to the board 🙂Nice work!
TracyHi!
Sorry to hear about the intense heat – ewwww! But she powered through it really well!!!
And happy 10 month birthday – they are doing so well!
On the first video – very smart to start her in the shade!!! And yes, she sometimes was a little over-eager to start but she committed beautifully with just the one step send. YAY! Great job with the verbals too – we want her to just drive away to the wing/jump with just a little info, just like she did here.
On the 2nd video:
>>But how ‘bout them sends, huhhuhhuh??!!!
Oh heck yeah!!!! So nice!!! The wings were significantly further away and she drove directly to them then set up her own collection to drive back to you. Perfect!
When you added the send from the tunnel, she had a little question on the first rep. I think she just needed a little more eye contact when she exited the tunnel. She was smooth and fast on the reps after that!
>>see looking at my video I did not keep same side arm back to pick up after after wrap
Yes, you will want to point your fingers back to her nose on the exit line – you did that perfectly on all the reps where you rewarded her but you closed your shoulders forward little too much on the other reps.
Great job here! Stay cool!!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I know that you use two different verbals for wraps from the self-study class that I took, but I didn’t have the class where you actually talk about teaching the different wrap verbals. We may have to work on that. Her verbal for wrap is TIGHT.>>
It is easy to teach the 2 verbals! You decide on what you want them to be, then you name the behavior 🙂 so if you want a new verbal for, say, a wrap-left, you would hold her collar, in front of a wing, start saying the verbal, then let her go and step the wing so she wraps it. Then we just get consistent about using the verbals and the dogs pick them up rally nicely!
>>I do have one request. As we go forward and add verbals, PLEASE let me know about my timing of the verbal.
Will do! We start talking about timing in the games added this week!
Tracy
