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Hi!
Sorry to hear about more hot weather coming! Ewwwww!!!These sequences went well! And he gave good feedback about what is most effective!
>>apparently I can turn too early when sending to a tunnel. I thought he was looking at the tunnel but he turned off it when I did.>>
Yes – the parallel path is very helpful to him. You pulled off it on the first rep, but you stayed parallel to his path longer so he committed better at :16.
Watching him set up the layering, 2 ideas for you to be able to ge the layering without getting too far ahead and past the jump you want to layer:
– To set up layering, you can get in closer to the jump at the start of the line so you an accelerate for longer on the parallel line to set the line without getting too far ahead.– And… don’t run as fast 🙂 You can show acceleration by dropping your shoulders and pumping arms, but not running that fast 🙂 That will help you not get too fat ahead in smaller spaces when he has a lot of yardage but you don’t.
1A – really good timing of starting all the cues! This is a spot where you can stay closer to 4 and let him finish the wrap, so you don’t end up going past the jump you want to layer.
1B : This also looked good! The left cues were a bit late at 1:01, especially compared to the go tunnel cues for the previous sequence. You can start the left cues (physical and verbal cues) as soon as he exits the wrap which will get you further ahead for the next line too.
Seq 2: On that opening line, a turn cue for the exit of the tunnel (probably just a name call) will help set up the threadle. Call him when he is a few feet away from entering then he will exit turned and ready for the threadle rather than looking at the backside line (and you won’t need to pull your line away from the jump to get him to come into the threadle side).
After the 3 jump, you can play with locking into the timing and doing all of the cues sooner 🙂 so as he exits the 3 threadle, you can be starting the backside cue for 4, which will allow you to start the wrap cues for 5 as soon as he lands from 4, and the wrap cues for 7 as soon as he exits 6 🙂 You were tending to start those cues when he was past the halfway point between the jumps, and ideally he is already seeing/hearing the cues. He turned well, but I bet you can get more explosiveness out of the turns because he can prepare for it sooner, ad because you are driving to the next line sooner :) Great job! Let me know what you think and stay cool!
Tracy
Hi!
This is a really good insight into your mental state over the weekend!
>>Is it because it mattered more? Because I knew for us to be competitive at all that I had to lay it all out there?>>
Maybe you should run to win All.The.Time. As long as you don’t get caught up in whether you win or lose (because you will experience both), running to win can really sharpen your mental state! Running to Q can make us tentative…
>>How do I funnel that focus into our “routine” runs? In the past, I’ve mainly looked at competition as a “test” of our training. Q’s were great, QQ’s were awesome but not the end all be all. That’s not to say that I wouldnt be disappointed to not Q but overall, I would take joy and satisfaction in the things we did well. >>
So maybe change the outlook now… it is not a test. It is a competition, let’s give the crowd something to cheer about! And yes, sometimes we crash and burn but running to win is where you can develop that extra edge 🙂
>>After I started getting close to our MACH (#19) and repeatedly would Q once but not the QQ, I did start feeling frustration. The harder I tried to grasp, etc….I got to the point where I just wanted to get it over with so I could focus on USDAA and UKI. I’ve decided to enter whatever trial I want to regardless of event or if we have completed our MACH.>>
This is because running to Q is BLEH! It makes us tense, and tentative. Running to go as fast as possible because it is the only way to potentially win? That might be what makes you laser-focused! Yes, no one wins all the time and sometimes the crash and burns are pretty impressive 🙂 But they are always those laser-focused runs!
Let me know what you think about shifting into run to win focus! No one else needs to know LOL!
>>Competing in USDAA this past weekend was a good reset for me- We do have lots of skills. We are a good team. I think it will help me when we compete in Akc in a couple of weeks (if Roulez doesn’t come in season)>>
Heck yeah! You kicked booty in a deep, talented field of fast dogs!!! Run AKC like it is USDAA!
>>And let me tell you the crowd screaming and clapping was a rush for both me and Roulez!!!>>
I bet! Sooooo fun!!!!!!!
>>>I have been so fortunate over the years to have you as a mentor and instructor. Who knew that the 11 hour trip for the puppy seminar in the hot, dust filled barn 13 years ago would lead here?
Thank you again so much for all of your help!! Love you!>>Awwww thanks! Love ya back! And thank you for all the years of letting me learn from you and your dogs, and for trying different things even when I am sure they sounded crazy 🙂
Tracy
Hi! You can still get Power Patterns 2, the link is open for anyone who wants the recording. It is here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScZxo-_A9KdGCSWq7SHvqKAc_N5suI64pCs3UxLdcFet2HCtQ/viewformIt sounds like he did great this weekend, being a good boy around the ring! Bummer about the corneal abrasion – be careful running with that! Feel better soon 🙂
TracyHi!
The heat sounds miserable!!! Bleh!!! I think the bloopers on the sequences here were probably because you were a little rusty. Most of it looked really great! The bars were her asking valid questions (and being a little rusty too, perhaps :))Seq 1: She did well on the opening! On the threadle wrap, she needs a bit of a “look at me” before jump 4 at :09 so she is expecting the turn cues for the threadle wrap. You started the threadle wrap cue as she was lifting off and she was surprised, so dropped the bar.
After the threadle wrap (and this comes into play again in the 3rd sequence) – when you rotated and turned your back on the 5 jump and did a blind exit at :17, she went to the tunnel perfectly with a nice tight turn. When you did a post turn and faced the jump, she stayed wider (correctly) at :25, :35 and :50, and took the layer jump. That is rewardable because she is correct 🙂 That post turn is what you would do to send her on the line to the jump, so the ‘spin’ exit works a lot better there.
Seq 2: She had a little question on the turn away at the tunnel exit:
She needs to see you on the exit of 3 so the physical cue supports the verbal to turn to 4 (like at :31) And take your time with those cues – if your movements were too high, she didn’t see them. But when you slowed down and she saw your hands, she got it nicely (:48, for example).
The bar down on 4 at 1:31 was a moment of her not being sure which jump you meant – you were saying jump but turning so she was not sure if it was straight or not. She went straight but was questioning if she was correct.The Backside at 6 worked well with extra connection on the send. You had your arm above your head on the first rep and also at 1:16 so she went to the front, plus you pulled away before she committed to going to the backside wing. That is a rusty moment – you almost never have your arm above your head LOL!!!
After the backside, the bar at 7 came down a couple of times (at :59 and 1:36). That looked like it was because of was lack of decel , so she didn’t collect and tried to adjust in the air. So, you can add more decel as she exits 6, which means sending from further away, which actually is helpful so you have an easier time getting the BC 8-9 🙂
Seq 3:
At the beginning, you were a bit too decelerated into 4 at :06, so she did not go past you to the jump. The more you moved towards 4, the better she committed – just be sure to let her be past you before you cross behind her (sometimes you were trying to cut behind her before she was past you and before she looked at the jump). Your rep at 1:13 was perfect!For the layering, I think that was a bit of rusty too – your Out arm was very high at :11 and :35 , so she had a question. When you arm was lower, she got it really well! My rule of thumb on those opposite arms get out cues is to look at the dog’s eyes and point my arm to the obstacle I want the dog to get out to, so my arm is pretty low (never above shoulder height).
If you are floating around on Facebook – my cover photo is me giving a get out cue to Contraband. He is on my right side and my left arm is showing the get out, so you can see how lot it is and he is looking where it is pointing.
You might have notice that she was wide on 8, heading to the 5 jump. That jump needs a spin to tighten it up (rather than a post turn) – this is similar to the 5 jump on Seq 1, where the post turn sent her back into the layering. She doesn’t need a lot of spins but this is a great place for it plus it gets your feet turned and moving to the new line really early!
To be able to get the correct side of #12 at the end you can try to send to the RC on 10 from further away, so you can get ahead of her on the exit of 11. But the main thing is to make eye contact on the exit of the tunnel, which will help her push out to the correct side of 12.
Great job here! Fingers crossed for some cooler weather!
Tracy
Hi!
Looking at Rosie’s video – I agree, her lines and layering look great on the first run! You can go clsoer to the entry of the tunnnel #3 so that you don’t end up waiting for her at the exit, but the rest was pretty perfect!!!
>>On the second run, not sure why she turned in the opposite direction on the first jump.
It was subtle – you were moving to the center of the bar (which can indicate rear cross) at then stepped back on your right leg at :51, which looked like you were cutting across the rear cross line. Her question at 1:09 was similar – your right leg stepped back so she read it as a rear cross. At 1:35 and on the first rep, your right leg did not step behind her to the rear cross line so she wrapped to the right. She sees everything!
Her only other question was sometimes she did not go out to the layering jump – that was when you were looking forward. When you are more connected, she went out really well so remember to give her big eye contact to get her into the layering., more like on the first rep and at 2:07.
>>also liked it when she went out to the far jump after 5 even though this was not the right course.>>
Right! Even though you were saying ’tunnel’, she saw you running forward so she stayed on her line. Yay! You got the turn nicely on the last rep by calling her and turning instead of running forward.
Looking at Lily’s video:
She did really well on the lines when you were staying close with a lot of motion. As you mentioned, the sends were harder for sure!
>>I think because Rosie has more distance skills, I am expecting this from Lily and I am not giving her enough support.>>
Yes, she needed one or two more steps into the big sends. You can look down to her and watch her head: when she is definitely looking at the jump and within a couple of feet of it, then you can move to your next spot (and throw lots of rewards :)) She was definitely looking at it in a couple of places (like on jumps 5 and 8) but she was still 6 or 8 feet away, so she pulled off when you tried to move to the next line.
She also needed your leg to step forward into the turn away umps at 3 and 10, like at 1:02 and 1:20 she came off the line when you didn’t fully stet t the jump with your dog side leg
Throwing the rewards really helped! And so did running closer to the lines, so she had more motion and more support.
You can do a lot of one-step sends with 2 jumps: when she lands from the first jump, take one step to the second jump and as she starts to move to it, throw the reward. Start the 2 jumps close together then you can gradually move them further and further apart so she gets more and more distance built up with lots of reward 🙂
>>I’m starting a course with Lily today with Toni Osojnicki (you may know her; she is one of the top trainers at our training facility at Animal Inn). The course is called “The Power of the Send”. This should be good for Lily.>>
Wow! This sounds like a great class! Toni is wonderful!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>we have been doing very well in trials with several QQs in both Masters and Premier.>>
Wow! That is awesome! Well done 🙂
Video 1 and 2: Great connection on these!!!!
One thing that makes a difference in her turns is if you can show her you transitioning from acceleration to deceleration. So at the beginning of the first rep, you can be moving fast towards the wrap jump at :02 then as she exits the tunnel, decelerate before you rotate. That way she can collect before takeoff. Without the decel here, she jumped long and turned after landing.
That is what you did on the 2nd run (decelerated sooner) and look at the difference in her collection before the jump! NICE!!
Good job getting the push to the backside at the end! Nice timing with the ‘whoa’ for the tunnel exit. You can be even closer to it and try not to rotate your feet towards her (:13) on the first video. You did get closer and kept your feet straighter on the 2nd video (:17) and she looked great!!
Videos 3 and 4: Also great connection here!!
Nice opening 1-2-3-4!!
On the first video, she knew there was a switch at 5 (:15) but she didn’t know how tight it was – so you can decelerate into it to tighten her line there. You had a little more decel on the 2nd run and she turned better, so definitely add in decel to all of your wraps.On the 6-7-8 line: remember to call her before she goes into the tunnel. And I think doing a BC to a wrap overcomplicated this line 🙂 The BC was a little late at :18 on the first video ant :16 on the 2nd video (she was taking off) which made the wrap late (:21) so she turned after landing.
You did the RC on the 2nd video to the slice line, which set up a really nice line! But you can simplify the handling and do that 6-7-8 section all dog on right as a serp, nothing fancy needed 🙂 and the timing is much easier.Great job here!! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! These are looking really good!
Big lines video:
On the 2nd and 3rd rep – you were on your left side waiting for her and connected when she exited the tunnel: perfect! The first rep was not as early so she definitely reads the difference.At :34 – you wanted a rear cross, but she said it was a wrap (looked like a wrap to me too :)) because the position and motion went to the wrap wing. Compare to the next reps when you moved across the line to the center of the bar at :49 – totally helped her read the RC! Nice! But then you don’t have time to praise her 🙂 It made your verbal and position late at :51 so she correctly read it as a layering cue.
The left verbal before the tunnel on the next rep set up the line nicely and you were more connected (open shoulder, eye contact) at 1:02 so she took 3 with no questions. Yay! So, the next cue is the praise because telling her she is good delays the next info she needs 🙂
The RC on 4 worked better at 1:13 and on the last rep when you stayed a little closer to 3 so you could show her the RC line. So that pressure to the center of the bar is an important cue for her, and that means not getting too far ahead because then you will end up on the other side of the jump.
The forced fronts looked good! The main thing to remember is to get into position, put your hand in position, wait for a second or two, then release her. That way she can process the cue and not end up on the front of the jump like on the 2nd rep, and also so she doesn’t think the hand cue is the release (she was starting to release when your hand moved, because it was coming simultaneously with the verbal release).
On the other side, the bigger step back helped her get to the correct side, when it was small she did a lap turn.You can definitely replace the ‘normal’ forced fronts with the threadle openings now (you’ll see that more nowadays) and also the throwback is something we see on course.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
She did well with the zig zag grid! You can start to flatten out the jumps a little, an inch or two every time you do this so she gets more and more of the zig zag feel. The only other suggestion is to have the MM further away – with it being in that spot, she is really excited and tends to get pouncy over the 2nd jump LOL! One of my dogs used to do that too 🙂 So, by moving it so it is 20 feet away, she will jump that 2nd jump same as she jumps the first jump, then she can run to the MM and ounce on it 🙂
The lap turns are also looking good – nice timing of drawing her back around the wing with your arm and leg! You lean towards her more so your hand is more at her nose level, as if offering her a cookie: that will draw her right into the hand every time.
The lap turns are also looking really good! Because she has such a strong tunnel send, you were ending up a little past the wing so the tandem turns were a little wider. You can go to the tunnel a little more with her so you are maybe halfway between the tunnel and the wing when she exits – that will let you decelerate into the tandem more, which will be a little tighter and also it is a great prep for the threadle-wraps that she will see on course a lot!
>>Question: Should I be leaving a bit earlier after I release her? They both worked but I felt like we were just a tad off.>>
Yes, I agree with your assessment that you should leave sooner, and you can do a lead out push closer to the obstacle, and basically serp the #2 in jumps and the tire start in gamblers. That way your lower body is already indicating the next line. They might have felt a little off because she was jumping straight to your stationary position and had to turn on the ground after getting to you. But if you are facing the next obstacle and leave sooner, she will turn before takeoff.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>That scenario tends to get me a bar at 1 or 2. How can I help her with that?>>
I think lining her up on a slice at 1 will help. You had her facing straight so she had to organize the takeoff without a lot of info of what was next, so you will see bars when she has to do all of the organizing at the last minute.
On the first rep, the BC 2-3 was actually early – you sent her straight to 1 then started the blind as she was taking off, it almost looked like you want it after 1 so she dropped the bar trying to sort out the line. A slice position at 1 plus a lead out will help you show her the line sooner.
The rest looked really great on the first run!
On the 2nd run, she had figured out the opening 🙂 so the bars were not an issue. That first run is the real info 🙂 and you did not drive the tunnel threadle as well as you did previously, so your motion presented the off course jump
The spin worked GREAT on the 2nd sequence! Yay! She had no questions!
She needed one more step from you to commit to the pinwheel at 1:37 – you were saying go but turning and decelerating – even with that, you had plenty of time for the blind 🙂 And the ending looked good, just remember to keep moving til she lands then present the reward.Great job!!
Tracy
Hi! I am glad he rests well, all the science supports real sleep and Non-Sleep Deep Rest as being critical to support the brain and learning and memory and recovery 🙂 YAY!!
And I love your setup LOL!!! As he gets more experienced, you will have an even better grasp of what he needs outside the ring – the stay behavior change as the day goes on might mean midday decompressions get scheduled, or even something simple like a midday meal to fuel the brain (my dogs all eat a lot on competition weekend – breakfast, lunch, and dinner LOL!!)
Tracy
Good morning!
>>Is there a good guideline for what to do with your arms, lol?>>
In general, during regular connection, it is fingers to the dog’s nose:
This is particularly critical when she is behind you or parallel to you.
And your arms can be pointing to the landing spot on any countermotion things (like backsides) or you can be using to them to run when she is ahead of you.
This can vary by dog, of course, but she has a lot more struggles when you are pointing ahead and a lot more success when your arm is pointing to her nose 🙂
>>you were kinda mad and you looked at her like “TAKE THE FREAKIN’ JUMP” (TTFJ) which is actually perfect connection…>>
That’s exactly what I was feeling, haha!!>>I always remind people that it is OK to use connection like you are mad! That is a more intense connection and really helps the dog.
On the video –
One overall note is that she has a lot more trouble on the mats in terms of being able to move, you will have to handle closer to the lines on mats than you would on grass.>> so she gets more aroused than at home. There was a lot of barking in places that I don’t think>>
I think a lot of that came from the footing being frustrating to her – she had to work a lot harder to keep her feet under her, especially on the bigger distance sends and the tighter turns.Seq 1a:
You can name the line from the exit of 4 so as soon as she exits the wing wrap there, she knows where to go. You can cue the entire line as she exits the 4 jump with a GO TUNNEL (which mean straight over 5 – the jump cue doesn’t necessarily indicate going straight). That made the tunnel cue late (:08 and :27 as she was taking off) and you are decelerating so she turned on both reps – came off the tunnel entirely on the first rep because verbal and motion were conflicting.At :47 – you sent her with an out jump verbal but then pulled away laterally so she came with you.
Staying closer to the wing of 4 and then accelerating with a GO TUNNEL cue as she comes around it can really help!
1B – It was easy to get her to turn here! Yay! The spin can be sooner – you were doing it as she was lifting offer the turn jump. So as she exits the 4 wing, you can start decelerating and as she passes you, the rotation should be underway.
The Switch went well as a tandem turn! Nice!Seq 2:
The threadle at 3 worked better when you were closer to it – being too far and looking forward made her unsure about what the line was. ally far from 3 Good job with the BC 4-5!!! You can then decelerate into the spin, so it is just about finished before she takes off (it was happening over the bar here).
Looking at 2:45 – this is where the arm would be back to her, more like 3:08, so she can see the connection to the line. That is what you did at 3:08 and she did well!
Seq 3 also looked really good – nice layering! Great connection! And you stayed closer to the lines. The send on 5 and backside on 6 can both have earlier decel and rotation on the backside (this is where you would look at the landing spot as you rotate – you were trying to rotate earlier at 4:04 but looked at her and not the landing spot at 6)).
The spin on 5 worked well to get the tighter turn!I am sure it will feel entirely different to run these on grass and you can probably be further from the lines, but on mats the dogs need extra support so it means you want to be closer to the lines.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Poor Sprite! I hope her blister heals quickly!!
The last day is the 19th. Fingers crossed for good weather and happy feet!Tracy
Good morning! She is a clever and FAST baby!!
This is a really exciting video, because we don’t need to look at it in terms of ‘baby dog training’, we can look at it in terms of subtle handling details, more like what we do in the CAMP class. Yay!
Yes, when she is more experienced some of it will be easier but right now she is giving fabulous feedback on what she sees in the handling. Much of it was gorgeous, so if I don’t mention it, you can just assume it looked great 🙂
Let’s look at her questions:
She had some questions when you were on the landing side of 3. You were doing it as a serp at the beginning.
At :17 – as she exits the tunnel you are fully past the wing and looking at her, so it doesn’t really indicate the jump behind you. Being past the wing is fine, but you would have to look back to the landing spot to cue it so she knows to take it (kind of like a throwback with the countermotion there).
That is a spot that I would reward the dog anyway and then go watch the video to see what I did to pull her past it (because the video always tells me LOL!)
You were in a better position at :26 & :43(more clearly between the uprights when she exited the tunnel) so she saw the jump better. Either way, remind yourself to look at the landing spot as you move through for now. She might not always need that but it certainly will help.
When adding the full sequence – the #3 jump is actually not a serp jump, because it is a relatively straight line to 4. Doing the serp to get 3 should cause a more severe right turn on 3 and makes you late for the blind, which can have a domino effect on the other cues as well. So, as soon as she is about to enter the #2 tunnel, you can do a FC or BC (whichever is more comfy) so she already sees your left side connection as she exits the tunnel.
That domino effect is what happened at 1:08 – she exited the tunnel looking at your right side blind to your left happened as she was landing from 3 – which made the RC cue at 1:09 late so she wrapped to her right. Good girl, good reward! The next rep was a little earlier but still late – you can see her flex over the 5 bar to pick up the RC (and you had to do some serious hustle to get the RC :))
Handling on the takeoff side of 3 looked great each time!!
Getting the next line to the wrap had a little bit of a Goldilocks feel 🙂 You can stay in motion a little more – at 1:22 you stopped, accelerated, then decelerated as she was jumping 4 so she was surprised and dropped the bar. You can totally decelerate while she is over the bar (and should decelerate in this instance) but it was the quick start after 3 then sudden brakes that surprised her.
You were a little late at 1:32 – the decel was after she had taken a stride to 5, so her takeoff decision was made and she turned on landing. The next rep was just right in terms of timing so the collection looked great!
On this type of line, it is beneficial for you to be closer to the wing of 5 (which means leaving 3 earlier) so you can really push her into the gap at 6. Yo were closer to 6, so she exits the wrap towards you which is slightly wide than if you were closer to the wing of 5. Subtle handling detail 🙂 You can see on the last rep at 1:55 you were a little closer to 5 and the turn was already tighter.
The full sequence is looking good too! You might consider the early FC on the landing side of 3 to get up the line to show the RC – at 1:47 you did it on takeoff side and held position, so showing the RC was late. You were earlier on the RC on the last rep, but being further ahead will allow you to set the RC line with more better so she doesn’t mix it up with backside pushes at all.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
I am excited to hear that she did so well in her Speedstakes runs! Those are fun courses to start baby dogs on!Looking at the videos –
Her collection looks great on jump 2 on the big lines 3 opening! You can leave for the tunnel sooner on these: if you are sending, as she lands from 1 you can take a step and sent to 2. Then when she is looking at it, move away to the tunnel before she takes off. If you are doing the send, you can send and as she is passing you to the jump you can rotate through the spin. Doing both of these before she takes off will show the next line info before she lands. You were tending to wait for her to takeoff then show the next part of the cue, so she had a little hesitation on landing.
When you did the FC to the right turn wrap, you definitely rotated sooner and that got the tight turn and a better exit line! When she land from the wing in either direction, you can be very connected and already calling the next obstacle. She wants the info that early 🙂 And when you are quiet, she is looking at you. It is very subtle but that is good to know – so as she is lifting off, you can be calling her to complete the turn then cuing the tunnel as her front feet hit the ground (as long as she is looking the correct direction when she lands :))The full sequence looked great! Yay!!!
The forced fronts are also looking really good!! I think the hardest part for her was remaining stationary while you put you hand into position. You were SUPER about not releasing at the same time as the hand ,moving into position, and that really helps her hold the stay.
The full front crosses and the throwbacks all looked great, and so did the threadle openings (these are incredibly popular nowadays!). She did really well when you worked it up to 2 jumps in the opening, and had no questions when you mixed it up and did different ones throughout the session, and changed sides. Super!!!!! The threadle opening and the throwback are the two you will use the most – but the plain ol’ forced front cross is a great way to get her started on this.
She had no questions when you switched to the front of the jump – you can be clpser to the jump on those, to serp her on a tight line and also to challenge her: your proximity to the jump is identical to the other lead outs, can she read the difference in verbal and upper body (and subtle foot position). I bet she can!
At 4:01 and the rep after it, you were relatively far away from 2 so she was not really sure how to set up her striding – that is where being closer will help a lot! And the challenge there is that the lead out push position (between the uprights) is similar to the lead out threadle position (arm outside the uprights) so she really has to look at the finer details of it all 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! Sorry I missed this!
Thanks for the kind words about the webinars – we are having a blast seeing the massive improvements with the dogs who are playing the games! And I love that your pattern game with Sly has such a relaxing impact. Patterns can be made from anything and we totally encourage making up your own pattern 🙂
T
