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Hi!
>>I was trying my best to look into puppy not the toy, but failed a few times.This is my weakness, I have a hard time watching the dog when I run. Good reminder and practice for me.
This is why we start the connection at the very beginning… to train us humans hahaha!
The first video here is marked private but. I can see the other 2:
First video: he was great! And yi were connected 🙂 And I agree, he didn’t love that toy all that much.
Second video: he definitely loved that toy! You can also tie together several toys, especially if he likes fur or fleece toys. That will make it even more fun to chase the toy. His focus forward was perfect, and you were great with your fast transitions into the game and you connection. YAY!!
My only suggestion is that as soon as he reaches the toy… you can start running the other way so he chases you. He wanted to take of with the toy, so running the other way will help get him coming back to you. Now, because he is so young, he might not bring the toy with him LOL! So you can have a second toy with you in your pocket, to reward him when he comes back to you (with or without the original toy). We will fine tune the retrieve as he gets more experienced 🙂
Great job here!
TracyHi! Definitely have coffee before trying to win the race LOL!!!
>>Where did the gal with the cute golden boy find that AMAZING big toy with the long handle! Sid would love 💕 it.
That toy is from Floramicato and Clean Run sells them. They are actually pretty durable: my dogs use them in flyball and they hold up really well!
This is the toy she was using:
https://www.cleanrun.com/product/floramicato_fluffy_squid_tugs/index.cfmAnd these are the other toys Clean Run sells, they are all great:
https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.searchResults
Tracy
Hi! It works!
>>PIVOT!
(do you hear Ross from Friends now?)100% yes. I hear it every time I say the word pivot. LOL!
Also, if this is the full session, it is not really too long (4.5 minutes approx) for his age. You know I would tell you if it was too long LOL! And nice focus in a busy environment.
It is possible the line was inhibiting his movement, he was tending to stop when he was touching it. Next time: naked Papillon!
One idea for the shaping the help things progress more:
Throwing the reward off to the side was getting more pivoting because he can get on from the side and pivot back to center (and past center, heading to where the next throw will be)) – so if you are standing at 6 o’clock , throw to 5 and 7 so he leaves the perch then approaches sideways and pivots around on it. When you tossed to 12 o’clock, you didn’t get quite as much pivoting (some hind end tap dancing LOL but not as much pivoting).
He was offering it in both directions, but more frequently to his right – so changing the cookie tosses to the 7 o’clock side should encourage more pivoting to the leftMaybe you should be in a low chair to get his head into a slightly lower position, chin only slightly raised (we don’t want it too low, but when his head is way up his weight is shifted back which makes pivoting harder.
One other thing to make the session really smooth: During tugging, pick up the perch so he knows to get back to it when you put it back down, otherwise he was unsure what to do after you take the toy back, because the little perch has kind of faded into the background.
Great job! Keep me updated!
TracyBaby Ramen’s first session of Focus Forward and Driving Ahead:
I am confident that he will win all the toy races LOL!
Hi!
Good questions here:
>> re: tugging
She is strong. And when she tugs it hurts my neck and shoulders. Also, she gets a bit amped.Is it important that she tug?>
We use toy play in training to help with arousal management: it is a great way to get the dogs stimulated enough to ignore distractions, and it is a great way to get them as stimulated as they would be in a trial environment (and teach them to control that stimulation and keep arousal levels centered). So, it is good for the pups to learn to get amped and work in that state… without getting over-amped 🙂
Plus, some of the games are easier to play with toys because the toys are bigger visuals and easier to use as targets or thrown rewards.
But with that in mind… we don’t want powerful tugging to hurt your neck and shoulder! So toy play does not have to be tugging 🙂 You can use toys that she can shake and chomp while you cheer her on (then trade for a cookie), or large toys like hollee rollers that are easy for us to throw and dogs love them, and we don’t need to tug on them. I also have a lot of toys on bungees, which provides protection for shoulders/neck/back because the bungee absorbs plenty of the energy. And with my more powerful tuggers, I will leave toy on the ground and stand on the bungee part of it: so the dog is tugging happily and I am not getting wrenched or pulled too much.
let me know if that makes sense! What type of toys does Mai like to play with? We can see what she likes and use them, while also protecting your shoulders and neck.
Tracy
Good morning! You are doing a great job with the tech!!!!
The focus forward game looks fabulous! Sid is focused, driving straight (no curling out or flanking out even as you added your movement), was turning the correct direction back to you, and bringing the toy back! YAY!!! You structured the session really well to gradually add more distance, while maintaining your connection. Click/treat for you 😃
Session 2 had even more movement from you and he was still fabulous. He is leaving you in the dust but also decelerating to set up the turn back to you with the toy. You asked if he was running straight but your videographer was too task focused LOL so yes, he is running straight and not flanking out. SUPER! (And the videographer did a great job of getting both of you in the video).
So since this went beautifully – add in right side reps. These were all on your left side, he was lovely, so now let’s get the game going with him starting on your right side as well. I am confident he will be fine with that too!
And, since you added movement with no problem, you can go fully to the advanced level and try to win the race haha! So after throwing the toy, try to get there before him (feel free to cheat if needed, gently pushing him back so you can get ahead). If you get there first, you win! You can have a big party with the toy, then do the next rep and I bet his wins the toy race by a mile haha!!!! If you can’t win the toy race, he wins every time? Perfect! LOL!
>> Think I need a longer handle toy or a leash on it……
He was doing a great job about not running off with the toy, but a bigger toy will make it easier for you to grab without as much bending. You can try a large Hollee Roller which sits higher off the ground, so it is easier for him to grab and also easier for you.
Great job here!! Onwards to the next games!
TracyThanks! I agree. And your Muso is INSANELY CUTE!!!! I saw her littermate at US Open… such a cool litter! Looks like Muso is really amazing!!!
I am in my new sighthound obsession! On the demo videos, there is sighthound in the 2 main demo dogs: the blue Merle, Contraband, is 50% Whippet (and 50% Border Collie) and the little black & white girl is 25% whippet (and 25% BC and 50% Papillon). So these 2 have given me sighthound experience to prepare me for full-on sighthound Whippeting! I love the way these dogs think and really enjoy training them!
Hello and welcome!
We had enough interested puppies to do 2 live classes! All of the recordings will be posted in the Games Package for the week we do the class. So this week’s Wednesday class is here:The Thursday class will be posted shortly (the recording just came through). You can find all of the recordings and the games/demo videos on the Course Syllabus page:
[AU-051] MaxPup Performance Puppy Foundations: Puppy Camp (Supersized Edition)!
Click on the white text (such as Week 1 Games Package) to get a drop down list of gold-colored links for each game.
Let me know if you have any trouble finding it!
Thanks,
TracyGood morning!
He did a great job on the circle wraps with the MM!! It was hard indeed but he never really tried to just run to it – the hard part was remembering the sit instead of just powering through the circle. But he got it really well, with only a few wistful looks at the MM hahaha!!!
So for this skill – I think one more session just like this would be great. And if it goes well, you can begin the fading process on this one too. That basically means giving your backside wrap cue and letting him set up on the plank and do the wrap, without the sit (which is what he wanted to do anyway LOL!)
The zig zags looked great! 3 jumps, no problem!!! SUPER!!!! You can flatten out these angles a tiny bit, maybe 2 inches. That’ll make it harder to see the straight line for him, and the zig zags will be more pronounced as he jumps them. He did really well here so you can definitely move forward with this!
>> Can you remind me what the last posting date is for the class?
November 30th! We extended to the end of November so folks can work through things, and then give the dogs a break for the holiday season 🙂
Great job!!!!!
Tracy
Hi! You can fade the plank at the lower height. And, when raising the height, you can use the sit-on-the-flat to help keep the skill fresh. I use it especially with the backside circle wraps!
Tracy
Woke up thinking of Ripley! Have you done the Find My Face game with him on course? I believe he has played them but maybe not in course work. That game has been key to help my dogs be more chill and less aroused/not bitey when there is a ‘break’ in the action on course. This can include my screw ups as well as at the end where they are less sure about what to do. That might help too!
T
