[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

This is definitely NOT a goat rodeo!! There was a lot of good work here and even being tired, you still got some great lines!

The opening looked really good, and nice parallel line handling to the backside at :25 and at :30! When you are not rushing to get to the next line, you find great parallel lines and your arms are low with great connection. Super!

He has a little trouble with the dog walk with the 2 big tunnels under it, adding lots of strides on the up ramp, looking a little off balance. I saw it a little in yesterday’s video and definitely in this one – and I don’t remember him having that question on the dog walk in other contexts. He is probably just a little inexperienced with that huge visual distraction, so it just goes on the list of things to let him see more frequently.

The one spot you did not get on a parallel line was at :35. Yes, the jump cues were a little late but also he saw you pulling away – he needed to see the parallel line motion into the tunnel to stay on the line to the jump. And even when you were not running hard to the ending line, he was still finding the line because – great connection and parallel lines 🙂 This is good to know!!! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>The tunnel wasn’t behaving. Mine is 20ft and the course called for 15. It kept getting bunched up and Sprite got caught in it once. >>

Poor Sprite! Yes you can totally stretch it out and adjust the sequence accordingly, then run it based on the lines set there (might not be exact to the map and that is fine :))

>>We struggled with these. Plus, it was about 85 degrees and Sprite was getting tired. >>

I could tell it was hot! But I thought you both did well! Yes, a couple of spots to add more decel or earlier timing, but overall really really strong! And you had the same bloopers I had in sequence 3, so I feel affirmed hahaha

Looking at the specifics of what she is seeing in the different timing zones:

Warm up –
Go tunnel – perfect timing and handling!
You can be sooner on the left – it is a commitment cue, so you can start it at the same timing as the “go tunnel”, as she exits the wrap wing. The Left was a little late at :13 (she was almost at the 2nd jump, almost in the green zone without turn info)
You were still a little late starting it at :22 but the spin is effective there! More effective than the brake arm!

Full sequence – very nice first rep, the go tunnel was very timely and looked great!

2nd rep – nice decel into 3 before the threadle!! Nice collection! WOWZA!!! I know we are looking at other parts of the sequence for timing but definitely give yourself a high five for that!
The Go tunnel can be earlier at :51, it was later than previous reps.

Seq 1B
The 3-4 line a little too zig zaggy on the first run, too much pulling away from 4 but you adjusted that in the next run and it looked great.

Nice timely left cues at 1:06! The verbal was very timely at 1:25 but the physical cues came a stride later – try to start them at the same time (and play with the spin here, it might be more effective!)

Seq 2:
Nice threadle at 3!!! That is a hard angle and you nailed it with the tunnel exit turn cues before she went in, and the threadle cue. Yay!

For the RC at 5, you can decel more t set it up (because it is a wrap) and get more on the line to the center of the bar (:19 and :50) so give her the RC info. So you would be accelerating to the center of the bar at the beginning of the yellow zone, then decel as you get about halfway to the jump.

The threadle at 7 needed a tight turn on 6 to set it up, which means the exit of 5 needs a turn cue for 6 so she is prepped for the 7 threadle. LOL! The threadle cues actually begin at the exit of 5 so you can ask her to jump wit mild collection (a jump cue and name call should be fine) then the threadle cues before takeoff for 6.

The Right is a little late at :33 but she didn’t go in the tunnel! And it was also late at :55, it started as she was taking off for 8. So these cues come pretty rapidly there, it is good practice to spit them out as early as possible.

Seq 3 – Very nice opening!!
The 4-5 line has a lot of things that happen really fast 🙂
For the wrap on 4, you can run at the exit wing (while pulling her into the front side) so you can decel into the FC at 1:20, 1:40, 2:12, 2:30. At 1:54 you were more decelerated and got a better turn. Then as she is entering the green one (approaching the jump) you can be rotating, accelerating then as soon as she exits the wing of 4, you decelerate to start the turn at 5.

At 1:43, you had the same blooper I had (off course tunnel) for the same reason (no decel)! Yay! Merle dogs for the win! LOL! You turned sooner at 1:55 there but you can decelerate sooner as son as she exits the wing of the previous jump) and that will guarantee the turn.

You got my other blooper at 2:14 LOL!!! Great decel… but in the way so you got the backside. I am glad I am not the only one. 🙂

Gorgeous collection on the last wrap to the tunnel (no worries about 1:26 the rest looked good!)

So overall, great job here and great info from Sprite about what she finds helpful, and when she needs to see it.

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>> I did more RC than I’d like

RCs are great handling tools! Be sure to drive the RC lines aggressively and then will be very helpful. But also, drive the lines aggressively to get the blinds so you don’t end up too far behind her because you are waiting to set up RCs.

On the first one:
You can do a BC 2-3 but the RC works well too – you need to drive the RC diagonal more (towards the center of the bar on 3). At :17 and 1:09 you were on. The right turn wing so she took off jumping right then saw the RC after landing (which is why the bar of 4 came down on the first rep, she was in catch-up mode). The threadle to the tunnel went well! Ending line looked great!

2nd pop out – nice layer 1-2! I think you had plenty of time to get the BC 2-3, though – you went to a walk to wait to set up the RC there 🙂 The BC will get more speed on the 3-4-5-6-7 line too!

Last pop out (this is #4 on the sheet)
The 1-2-3 opening was great, super fast! Nice layering to 4. And you got a great collection at 5 but then you exited with a post turn and that sent her wide to the backside of 6, then sending to 7 to keep going put you too far behind for 8-9. But yay for staying in motion! You almost got it back on track and got a little in her way trying to set up a rear cross at 2:02. But yay for carrying on!

2nd run: another nice opening! The rotation to the post turn is confusing so she dropped the bar
Good job getting the front of 6 which set up the BC line 7-8- really nicely

I think you had 11 on the wrong side, you were pushing her to the backside which does make it super hard to get the blind there at 2:28. As a front side, it would be a matter of which wing to wrap.

Super job getting the 15 backside!!!!

So the only spot that needs more smoothing out is the 5-6 line, where you rotated towards her and then turned away again for a post turn. The rotation can (and should) always be followed by stepping forward out of it, either with a blind like a spin, or as a front cross. A spin would be perfect here to get 6 and keep you ahead. Opening up to a post turn after the rotation (facing the tunnel) counteracts the collection cue, so she had big questions 🙂

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>Today we are at a trial. Our first run had a backside that I thought would pretty easily land on his line that I expected would be out further from me so I gave his backside cue but not super strong. Apparently he says he runs closer now and tucked himself into the front side. I was like, ok then, did not expect that. Lol.>>

The unexpected is GREAT info!!! He definitely likes big drama in his cues, so the decision on a cue comes down to which drama rather than drama or no drama LOL!!

Looking at the RYG challenge video:
These went well overall, so we can focus on tighter lines.

Great job on the timing of the ‘right’ verbal before the tunnel – you were timely, he read it really well. Yay!

Threadling to the correct side of 5 was easy. Very nice!

He needs a bigger turn cue on. The exit of the 5 jump, so he puts in a collection before takeoff. At :16 you were forward sending, so he was wide. You had decel at :34, which helped we still need more 🙂 I suggest a spin! So as he is landing from 4 and looking at the correct side of 5, you can decelerate and rotate into the reverse spin to get a collection before he takes off. He is at that age of being young and super powerful, so a spin will help with the turns. You might not always need a spin but will work nicely for now! He reminds me of my Voodoo – at 3 or 4 years old, he needed the rotation of a spin to get the collection. Then when he got really experienced, I could do it on a decel.

He was wide on the exit of backside 6 on this sequence – it was because he was (correctly) jumping towards your line, and you were too far across the bar of 6. Decelerate into that FC and position yourself right where you want him to land on the tightest possible turn. Use the same timing, and then get outta there before he takes off 🙂

One last detail – You had really good verbals before the 9 tunnel at :23, but don’t get quiet til he has landed from the last jump. He head checked and lost a stride there, and that loses time. That didn’t happen again, but he might have learned the sequence 🙂

2nd sequence –
He is reading the lines well here too, so we can look at the spots that can be tighter. The line to the 5 backside can be tighter – he was one stride wide because you were too far from the line to the backside at :49. Then when you pushed him back to it, he ended up going wide. It would be nice to not use a spin there, so being right on the line you want him to run (but getting off it before he needs it) will tight then line, allowing you to decel and leave a lot earlier which will tight the turn to 6 too.

As with the previous sequence, you can be right on top of his line (for a moment :)) at 6 to tighten his turn up.

3rd sequence – On the first rep, you cued a turn then took off 4-5 (turned your back on him at 1:07) so he was not sure where to go and followed your line. You can reward him in those moments because he was doing the best he could with the information he had 🙂 Is the verbal cue you were using a soft right verbal? If so, carry on! But I think it was different than the right verbal you used on the tunnel, so. I’m not sure if you have different verbals for jumps and tunnels, or if you were asking for more collection on 4.

When you kept your arm lower at 1:35 and 2:00, he read the 4-5 line a lot better. When it was above your head, I blocked connection on the first rep. Plus you were staying closer to support the line, that definitely worked better. And on the blinds 6-7 Look at how well he turned with the gorgeous connection at 1:14 and 1:39 and 2:02!! So nice!!!

You were trying to do a FC 9-10 but the high arm at 1:18 might have looked like a ‘get out’ type cue plus your motion was a bit parallel to the bar so he went around 9. He did come in at 1:43 and 2:07 – arm was lower, rotation was clearer… but the FC was later and you were on his line when he needed to be on his line, so there big wide turns.

Easy answer to get it smoother and tighter: blind cross 😉 After the BC 6-7, send to the tunnel and get outta there, heading towards the 9-10 line. When you see the red blur exit the tunnel and look at 8, start the blind so you will be re-connected and decelerating before he takes off for 9, which give you time to decel and send for 10, or spin. Lots of trust required but you both have the skills for it 🙂

You had a big go go go go go for longer on. The last tunnel at 1:50 and he really accelerated! Nice!!

Jumping 1:
Nice blind (can be sooner) SUPER brake arm to get the turn to the tunnel at :04

Circle wrap after the tunnel – we can get a collection there too. Tuck into where the wing meets the bar and rotate so your left hip is closer to the bar (you’ll be sideways :)) and your feet point to the next jump. And decel so as soon as he passes you, you take off for the next line

The other option is to handle that as a threadle-wrap – blind or front cross the exit of the tunnel so he is on your left then do a threadle wrap – as soon as he turns his head to the jump, you can take off and that will be tighter AND get you further ahead.

You had a good threadle wrap at :35 but you can exit it with a blind, rather than turn towards the jump with him (which sends him wider on the line)

The line from :39 – :51 looked great and I swear he found a new gear of speed on the line to the weaves! And yet… still collected brilliantly for the weaves <3

When you put it all together:
The opening looked great 1-8!
The call for the tunnel exit was a little late and it looks like you were blocking the 9 wing at 1:09. So when you sent him forward, he took it as a cue to go to 10. Being sideways where the wing and bar meet will also help clarify that for him.

10-11-12 looked good! That line is hard! You don’t have time to praise him on course - you said good boy at 1:21 which caused him to drop the bar and then take the front of 13. No praise allowed, only cues LOL! You also gave a soft backside push cue then turned your shoulders before he looked at it, so he took the front. Maybe this is what happened at the trial?

No praise on the next rep, only info… gorgeous! The entire line from 13 - 21 looked great! Was he running past the last jump looking at something out there, or in expectation of the reinforcement? He was definitely looking for something and was not considering that jump…

Course 2:
On the opening line, you can do the BC 2-3 closer to 3 at :07 to get him turning before he takes off for 2. You were more between the uprights of 2 going straight, so he jumped straight.

4-5-6-7-8-threadle looked good! Super! I think you were in his way for the weaves that first time, much better when you resent him 🙂

Doing that section later in the video (1:20 - 1:26) as a BC between 8-9 and then a wrap followed by a RC on the weaves looked fabulous!

Nice independent weaves!!

Try to stay closer to the line at 12 so you don’t end up being late pushing him back to 13 (he dropped the bar at 1:34 because you were late stepping into the gap which made you late turning him to 14. (14 is a backside o the map, so it would be threadle slice handling if you wanted to do that :))

Looking at the 15-16 line:
15-16 first time - great line and connection at :48. Nice!
15-16 second time - you were on the front side line to 16 and not connected enough on the send to the backside at 1:37, so he took the front.
15-16 third time - still a bit too far off the line but much better connection so he got it 🙂 Ideally, you would have the position of the first time and the connection of the last time at 1:50

Backside cue to 17 was delivered as high arm, shoulders forward so he took the front: a common theme is that when your send hand gets above your head, he goes off course. I don’t think you needed the outside arm at :59, because he was already committing to the backside there with the lower dog side arm and connection.

You were very close to getting the tunnel-tunnel 20-21 at 1:05! You need to keep moving on a parallel line, don’t slow up or turn away. Great job getting it on the last line! Well done!!!!

So overall, 4 things pop out:

on the sends (front side and backside), you can use more connection and less high arm to get him to more consistently go where you want him to go.

When you get in for an aggressive blind, then add a turn cue to the exit if there is a tight turn exit? Gorgeous!

You can set up tight lines by being closer to the exact line you want him to run (as long as you are off it when he arrives to it 🙂

Deceleration into the tight turns on the front and back wraps will also help get more collection too.

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

Everything is looking great on these!

First video, Wingin’ It turn aways:

Really nice session! She looked great!

Great job breaking the skills down them building them up to the mini courses!

She is reading the lap turns really well. Try not to run backwards on the lap turns, because the element of decel when you are standing still will help her know exactly how tight to turn. The more you backed up, the wider she went because backwards motion reads the same as forward motion to the dogs LOL!!

She is also reading the tandems really well, and those are more subtle cues but I don’t think she had a single question. As with the lap turns, the more you decelerate, the tighter she will know to turn. For example, at 1:36, you had a nice decel into the tandem turn and she had a GORGEOUS tight turn there. The tandems will be more similar to those threadle-wraps that are all the rage right now and that tiny bit of decel will make a huge difference for her.

On both the lap and tandems, calling her before the tunnel was very effective because she came out looking for you, which made the cues very obvious to her. When you didn’t call or called late, she came out locked on the line (good girl!) so she saw the turn cues later, making for a wider turn. I think the name call was better than the right which you used here and there, because a right would be a tighter turn than needed on this setup. But calling her name one time before she entered certainly helped her out (she also did well when the name call was late and she was in the tunnel, but ideally it comes before she enters the tunnel).

Super nice job adding all the verbals when you went to the bigger sequence – and there are a lot of verbals LOL!!! If you can get all of the verbals out on something like this (left/right/various wraps, tunnel, etc) then doing it on a big course will be soooooo much easier. They all sound pretty distinct in terms of volume and pace of the verbals, which is really helpful to her!!!

Lead outs and big lines is going well too!

On the first video – she is so tiny, now that I see her in front of a 16” bar and in a stand stay! Pocket rocket!! I am liking the stand stay here… she is intense, she is ready and she is not moving until the release. She is wanting to lean forward into her front but it is hard to do in a stand because she will fall over if she leans too far forward, so she had to hold the stand LOL! And the 16” bar seemed to be just fine for her 🙂 Separately from agility, you can play around with the stand stay to help her keep her feet under herself more squarely so she knows what to do with her back feet in the stay (keep them back by her hips, rather than tuck them under her).

The 4-5 jumps on the straight line ending of the first sequence are not quite straight if you move away on the line, so be sure to run a parallel path so she picks up the line. You can see her little question on the first rep. She found it on the 2nd rep with you behind her – she is really looking for the line and that is great!

Adding the blind:
At :32 and :46, you were moving in towards 2 and late on the BC (she was taking off for 2 as you started it)

Lead out push looked great, smooth and fast. Nice timing!!!

The throwback also looked great! She has super quick feet (like a soccer star) so she can collect and turn and accelerate again brilliantly. That is very exciting! And the blind on the landing of the jump after the tunnel looked great.

3rd video
Because of her speed, the side change for whichever side you want to pick her up on should have a rotation to it before she gets into the tunnel.
So on the first rep, you were on the landing side of 3 – do the side change as a front cross to you left side, doing it before she enters the tunnel, then run like made to the landing of 3 looking over your left shoulder. Same with the 2nd rep when you were on takeoff side – hang back a little more and let her see the FC before she enters the tunnel, so you are already in position on takeoff side and looking over your left shoulder before she exits.

On both of those, you did a full post turn following the line of the tunnel then the side change – and she smoked you 🙂 So doing it before she enters the tunnel will give the cue and keep you ahead.

On the RC at :28 – your lower body indicated the wrap to the right. Placing the toy helps but at ::34 you also stepped across the rear cross line, which sealed the deal.
At :42 you didn’t step across the rear cross line, and she got the rear cross but for now, try to always show her RC pressure like you did at :53 so she doesn’t start to guess that some wrap cues are away from you when you decelerate to turn towards you. Eventually we do take that out and rely on verbals and some hand cues, but for now it will be smoother to keep the front wrap versus the RC line distinct.

Nice job adding the full sequence!!!

At the beginning you did the post turn with the tunnel before the cross so she got a little ahead of you, on the reps there, but you still did a great job with the timing of the FC wrap on 5! And on the ending line, your FC was much sooner so you were in position and connected before she exited.

The 2nd rep and also rep had a really great example of how you can show RC pressure at a distance at 1:22 and 1:44!

She is reading everything so well that it is super cool to be working on timing and position and doing the crosses before the tunnel (in the opening) to get you far ahead. And jumping full height seemed really easy for her, which is soooo nice!!!

If my math and memory are correct, she is almost 22 months old. Do you have any plans to take her to trials and start doing some NFC runs? I think she is ready for that, depending on how much experience she has in that environment. I start my dogs one jump height lower and in NFC, so the skills are easier as the environment gets harder.

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! Nice work here!!

Wingin it 1: getting the directionals out before he got into the tunnel was definitely harder in the smaller space, but you certainly had the energy in the verbal tunnel cue to let him go straight.

When he was going to the other side of the tunnel, it was because that was the one that was actually on his line (he had to cut in front of you to get the end closer to you, so the further away the wing was, the better. Plus, when you added the FC to the wing, that changed the line and put the tunnel entry near you on his line.

Nice job with the wraps on the wings before the tunnel on the 2nd video! For the smaller indoor space, the 2nd rep with all front crosses on the wings back to the tunnel looked great! It worked his commitment to the line and also worked your FCs. Plus it put the tunnel on his line each time, so he had no questions there.

Turn aways – VERY nice lap turns on the first video! Lovely! Great timing and connection of getting him to come to the correct side of the wing. There was one rep where you were a little early on your movement (:42) – he had not quite gotten to your hand, so when you moved it looked like you were indicating the other side of the wing. When you let him get really close to your hand (2 inches away seems to be the magic spot) he nailed it. Yay!
I think the hardest part was figuring out which hand to hold the toy, so the easy answer there is to put it in your pocket or was it band so you don’t have to switch hands at all 🙂

On the 2nd video, the first lap turn was perfect and he had a question on the 2nd one. Compare the two and we can clear it up for him:
On the first one, as he exited the tunnel at about :04 you were facing him with your hand low and extended towards him, with your feet together. When he got to your hand, you stepped back with the same side foot and moved your hand back to show the line.
On the 2nd lap turn, you were later getting into position (switching the toy around) and so you were not facing him – then stepped back a little too early (before he locked onto your hand) so you ended up sideways to the wing, which sent him around the other side.

At the start of the 3rd video and on the last lap turn, you nailed it! You were facing him nice and early but you didn’t do the lap turn til he got to your hand, so he was perfect and did not ask the same questions as the previous rep. Super!

The zig zag grid work is going really well. One thing to add is a toy placed out on the line so he jumps directly to it and does not look up at you. The first video’s grid was really easy for him, soI am glad you changed the angles on the 2nd video. That was little harder but he still did really well. You can continue to ‘flatten’ out the angle, inch by inch, to add challenge. And the toy on the ground about 6 feet past his landing spot will get him looking forward and add even more power to it.

Great job on these! Let me know what you think!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

>>It’s funny because I walked it the way you suggest for maple but it was suggested I do it the other way lol. >>

Ha! They owe you a beer. I told them all that they should serp LOL!

>>Shoulda just stuck to what I knew would work (the serp line). I cut off the video part where is say – “I’d never make her do that” lol.>>

Well, if your inner voice says you would never make her do it – then you can tell everyone to bug off and try it your way. And if it doesn’t work? Try the other way. But, it is entirely possible that you are the only one with the best answer to the question, so go with your gut!

>>My question – simpler handling for me often involves RC and I know that’s not always the right thing. How do I get more confidence staying ahead but still keeping things simple?>>

Good question!
A couple of ideas:

If you have to do a cross to set up the rear (like the blind to the rear) – then there is going to be a simpler way like a serp.

Or if you have to slow waaaay down toast up the rear? Do the blind pr front.

And ask yourself if you can get to the FC or BC *before* she takes off for the previous jump or exits the tunnel, if you hustle 🙂 If yes? DO IT! It not? Rear cross 🙂

Rear Crosses are a valid and underused handling tool!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>We seem to be having increased difficulty with a variety of skills at the moment. >>

Yes, that happens, no worries -the skills are getting harder, mechanics are changing (hers and yours), her hormones might be changing (but please keep her intact so she can Ramen or CB can make babies in a couple of years, OK?!?!), and she might also be feeling off if kennel cough is floating around.

Also, she has had some really super successful but high intensity things in her training world lately. It could also be that she needs some decompression and to complete the stress cycle to help return to baseline in terms of stress hormones (hello, HPA Axis!) So sleeping, hiking, sniffing, running…. All that jazz 🙂 No training for a few days, as that stimulates the HPA axis and we want it to chill out.

>>And my handling skills are definitely not ready for her!>>

Plus this! And if there are errors, reward her anyway for all the things, as you generally do. It takes a while to be able to clearly handle such fast baby dogs!! (Contraband is 3 and I am just now getting my act together on the really hard stuff LOL!!)

Big lines video: this is going really well! She has some questions that can be worked out with handling, I didn’t see anything adolescence-induced happening here. She was actually paying super close attention (that is the good new and bad news with wicked fast baby dogs LOL!!!)

At :09 she went to the tunnel behind you. In the category of “sighthounds see all the things” – you actually cued that with your position past the entry and turning your shoulders forward too soon. Good job rewarding her 🙂 The next rep was clearer, super nice- you held connection longer and were in a better position relative to the tunnel. So she could see it as a send to the tunnel (which is a good position to be in there so you don’t end up too far behind later in the sequence)

At :27 she did not take 1 and 2. You were way up the line and high arm blocking connection so she had a big and legit question. Reward her! Putting her closer to jump 1 helped but that assumes that it was her error and not your error 🙂 LOL!! So as you lead out, point your dog side arm down to her nose (you might need to dip your shoulder to to do this) and do your best to see her eyes (easier said than done!). Your arm at your shoulder height blocks the connection so she might only see your back or she might be asking questions and not see the line cue when there is no parallel motion to support it.

She read the throwback really nicely at :35 and then you didn’t ask for a turn on the exit of the tunnel, so you didn’t get one 🙂 Good reward 🙂 She BLASTS out of tunnels, which will serve you well on the bigger courses!

She got the line 1-2 at :44 but try to be more connected on the release – that will support the line better to get her to see it on the first rep, and also you can see the timing better so you can start the rotation when she is looking at 2, not when she is over 2.

You were cuing a turn on the tunnel exit at :49 and you got one – yay! She had a big question on 5 and went past it. It is a serp line in terms of lead changes for her, so yes- you need to wait longer as you told her during the party after it and also use your upper body to serp her in over 5.

Last rep was my favorite in terms of timing 2-3!!! And you had great timing of the turn cues before the 4 tunnel too Super!!

You ended up going too close to the 4 tunnel then went to your right side briefly as you tried to get between 5-6 – but the connection on your left was late (watch her ears stand straight up at 1:13 when she sees it LOL!!) but she was going too fast and found the line on the other side of you 🙂

So overall on the handling… try to watch the video in slow motion after each rep to see exactly what happened (I watch Muse’s videos at half speed). She is small and fast so half speed makes things easy to see that can’t be seen as well at full speed and are nearly impossible to see in real life in the moment 🙂 But, I would have it no other way! Love her speed and her drive on the lines and her ability to turn like a spaghetti noodle. ❤️🤩

Teeter games are going well! I liked the target position being closer to the teeter in the 2nd part of the video (she was a little too stretched when it was further away). With her speed, no need to add in releases to the tunnel or forward to a toy for now, you can see that is super high value and she was anticipating. So you can build up to running towards the tunnel, but for now keep all the releases as rewards thrown to her or behind her 🙂 Let’s make it a little boring for now haha because as soon as it all comes together it will be very fast and I want her to have sooooooo much value for holding position even in the face of extreme excitement 🙂

Great job here!!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
I agree, she is doing really well!!

The serp work is going well, and she is doing a really good job sorting our her striding!! In terms of timing, you can show her the serp arm sooner: as she exits the tunnel, so that she is getting the info for the next jump to come in and go back out.

So when she ran past the jump after the tunnel at :41 and dropped the bar on the next rep, it was because the serp info happened a bit late: remember to call her before she enters the tunnel, and have the serp arm up as she exits so she knows the next line.

When you change directions (like going towards the tunnel or being on the other side of the jumps) be sure to change the angle of the jumps. If you don’t change them

The blinds and spins are good well! The super good news is that she is moving fast and her commitment looks good! So now you need to do everything sooner 🙂 You were tending to start the cross as she arrived at the wing, which made it late (and she ended up looking at your toy a lot, because she was not sure what was next).

For example, at :22, the BC started as she was almost all the way around the wing, so she went to the toy afterwards. And at :26 and 1:06 you did a spin – and as she was exiting the wing, all she could see was your back so she went to your right side first then back to you left side. The rep at :35 was sooner (you started before she got to the wing) and it was much smoother 🙂 That rep had the best timing!
You were trying for earlier timing t :56 (yay!) but disconnected a little too soon and she didn’t go around the wing.

So to work the timing, be super connected at the tunnel exit as you move up the line, so as she exits you can start to decelerate and do the verbal, then as she is looking at the wing, you can start the spin or the blind. You can still be ahead of her (don’t go to the exit of the tunnel to meet her LOL!) but the info can come sooner. She is ready for that for sure!

Looking at the mat video:

>>Here is Liz’s mat work. Hoke’s looked very much like this. And I was clicking him for the trot across, too,>

I think what you were clicking and what she thought you were clicking were two different things. It looks like she thinks it is get on the mat and look at you (based on what her head was doing and the placement of reward from your hand) so even though you were trying to click back feet, she was offering looking at you on the mat.

So, a couple of ideas:
A bigger mat will totally help! This mat is too small for her length, and you should also elevate it so she steps up and you can see the 1-2-3-4 pattern very clearly (to click the last footstep of the rear feet, , #4 :)) I start my dogs with the 1-2-3-4 game (front feet are 1 and 2, back feet are 3 and 4, I mark for foot 4 and toss a treat.

You can see it here with 1-year-old Ramen:

The treat tossing is critical, to keep the dogs from looking at us. So no more rewards from your hands, all tossed rewards for now.

On the last part of the video, the “into the box” was GREAT! You should be standing still for now, and counting to 4 (for each foot) and don’t click til you get to 4. No 4? No click. LOL!!!!

The mat section with the food was better than with the toy – with the food tosses, she was working across the mat more. Your clicks were not as consistent, usually for foot 3, sometimes 4, sometimes 2. When the toy came out, it turned into “on the mat and look at the momma” so we don’t want that LOL!!

So for now, stick with the food rewards for into the box and over the plank thing (it is a Cato Plank) that my puppy is doing. When you get consistently into the 1-2-3-4 pattern, you would then put a nice big mat into the box and on top of the plank to bring the behavior to the mat.

Nice job with Lizzie here! And fingers cross for Hoke, hopefully he is just sore or has a soft tissue tweak. Dr. Leslie is THE BEST so I know you are in good hands. Keep me posted!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! I am glad you got a break in the weather! Really good session here!

You were connected really well all the way through and that was terrific!

She was VERY fast on the first few reps, making it harder to control the line. I imagine this is what her trial speed is 🙂 So you can warm up her brain with some pattern games and then no matter what: keep moving 🙂 The faster she goes, the more you want to keep moving.

On the first rep – when you stand still and only do verbals, she basically just zooms away, so the lack of info is frustrating to her. Compare to the 2nd rep where you had more movement and then the later reps (like for example starting at 1:50, 2:25 – 2:33 also on the last rep) – you were in motion and connected and she did a beautiful job finding lines. Super! So keep moving, all the time.

And with that in mind:
Try not to turn towards her to get her to come in to take a jump, keep turning your shoulders away. When you rotate towards her, yes, she might take the jump but then you are standing still and facing the wrong way, which is not helpful with such a fast dog 🙂

One hand in pocket a lot for example at 1:46 started like that but then at 1:50 you started moving more and using both hands and it was GREAT!!
Same at 2:25 – 2:33
And also on the last rep – you were in motion and connected and she did a beautiful job finding lines.

2 other things to consider:
It was great to have the treats with you, but try to secure them so you don’t run with one hand in your pocket -that inhibited your motion a lot.

And on the Fc at 1:52 and 2:33 and 3:04, connect with your eyes as you continue to move, pointing your arm back to her, rather than stopping and pointing down. She had trouble reading the FC because it was really the only spot where she needed more connection.

Nice job working through the circle wrap at the end! You started with a backjump at 1:57.
Compare to 2:05 where you kept moving forward and she was great!

You did a full 360 degree turn there on the next rep which worked but puts you behind on the line, but the blind cross you did at 3:08 was definitely the winner – really nice!!

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
The first pop out went well! No need to tighten it if it goes well – too tight is usually just slower.

You can add a bit of decel into the FC (as she is exiting the tunnel start slowing down) so she can collect sooner and so you can FC sooner. The middle section looked really good – fast and connected!
On the 9-10 line at :18, you rotated almost like you were about to do a front cross, so she jumped straight towards you. But then – surprise! LOL! – you rotated again and tried to get 10. She landed really wide and had to fix it on the flat. The 9-10 line is a serp relatively close to the 9 jump, with your feet pointing to 10 the whole time 🙂 Your connection was great so I am sure a serp will work there. Everyone made it harder than it needed to be LOL!

I will compare the first and second runs of the next pop out to each other 🙂 because based on how you named the videos and what you described above, I am not sure which one was first. And I think 2 of the videos were the same?

Your opening 1-2-3-4-5-6 looked best when you did *not* praise her. Praising her makes her look at you like, “what’s next, MOM!!” LOL!! So, just keep giving info and save the praise for the end 🙂

The switch cue can start when she is out of the tunnel to tighten up that turn. Then be sure to call her before she goes into the 6 tunnel so you have a nice tight exit.

The blind to the RC 7-8 (:18-:21 on the first rep video) works but it is a lot of handling and side changes when you can do it all dog on right as a serpentine 🙂 Just don’t get too close to the 7 jump for the serp and it should work nicely!

On the second run, you were definitely over-helping her so the blind at 7 was late (:19) – then you didn’t get the connection to get 8, so she had a really wonky angle and ended up on the front side. So the lesson learned is: do the simplest handling and don’t over-help. Tighter is generally not faster!

By simplest handling – if you find yourself doing 2 crosses basically on one jump (like the BC to the RC here) then you can just replace it as a serp which is easier for you both and also faster 🙂

Great job here! Let me know what you think!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
This course was intended to reflect a rapidly emerging trend of the “handle a hard thing in all the corners of the course” design approach. So let’s look at what worked on the second run first, then go back to the first run where things were harder.

The opening looked good on both runs. You had a spin on the second run at 3 – not sure he needed it and you can probably get the same line by moving away sooner (as he lands from 2, cue 3 and get outta there).

On the lovely 2nd run, you were basically doing a series of parallel lines to his line to support the handling challenge in each corner as well as a parallel line to support the layering.

What I mean by that is at 2:24, you started cuing the line to the 5 backside while Enzo was at about pole 7. You can see the connection and parallel line turn on like a spotlight there! And then you ran that parallel line supporting the backside with a lot of connection (and a tiny bit of pressure towards it, but not much) until you saw him commit top the backside. It was lovely!

Compare that to the first run where you gave the verbal backside cue at :29 and turned away from the line, pulling him to the FC.

I think by being more lateral the whole time you can get the backside 5 and the FC at 6 you did on the first run. But the RC on 8 before the frame on the 2nd run used a super strong skill (switch!) and he nailed it. The switch on the 2nd run was also better timed – the right verbal on the first run was late (over 8) so he landed wide. When he is on your left on the DW, you can use your jump verbal before he exits so the right verbal can start as soon as he is exiting.

After the frame, on the 2nd run, you used that parallel line to support the backside at 10 (2:35) – super nice!!! That set you up really nicely to get the slip backside to a German at 11, which based on the way this is set, is the best option (better than a threadle slice or a threadle wrap in this case). That German allowed you to show the one to 12 with parallel line motion, which set him up to go to 13 on the other side of the DW perfectly, then there was more parallel line motion to get the 14 backside from 3 miles away 😁 That set up a really gorgeous ending which basically took you across 3 corners of the course LOL!!

Comparing to the first run – at :53 you were trying to converge to the backside at 10 but didn’t get it in time so he read it as a rear cross on the front (and a toy cue LOL!) You were clearer at 1:28 but the line at 2:36 was the winner.

Also the first run, the threadle slice set you up to have to send back out to 12 the pull away, which almost pulled him off of 13 (he had to go back out to find it, which he did, good boy!!!)

So the takeaway here is the connected parallel lines – not need for big arm sends or big steps to the line. He reads the lines for backsides, layering, serping, etc brilliantly with connection and parallel lines with the info coming before he exits the previous obstacle (in the weaves, on the frame, before takeoff of the previous jump, before entering a tunnel).

Great job here!!! Let me know what you think! And if you still have video of the goat rodeo, post it up because I want to see if it was a parallel line issue!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! He definitely loves his serps! Yay!!!

Looking at the serps:

On videos 1 and 2, he needed you to look back at your hand and the landing spot as you moved past the serp jump (not at his cute face). When you were doing the serp and a little ahead of him – if you looked at him, that closed your shoulders forward which actually indicates layering so he did not take the jump (good boy!) As you move through and are ahead, shifting your connection from his eyes to your serp hand and the landing spot will rotate your shoulders more into serp position and he will come in every time 🙂

When he took the jump on the first 2 videos, it was when he was a little ahead of you (you didn’t lead out as much) so he didn’t need to read it as a serp.

On the 3rd video with 2 jumps – you got a little further ahead (yay!) and your shoulders were more open to the serp jump (also yay!) so he was able to correctly read the serp every time (SUPER yay!)

When training handling, it is really important to reward all bloopers because we have reached the point in training where his bloopers on jumps or sequences are created by handling errors. So, pay him for his effort and for his feedback! When he doesn’t get rewarded, he gets confused and frustrated (because he was responding to the cues correctly as best he could), which doesn’t help the handling and doesn’t help the stays. And on hard handling like this, keep the bars really low especially when he is starting right in front of the jump.

Speaking of stays…

>>but he can’t sit still even for a second lol. I don’t know what to do. I let the videos run so you could maybe come up with a plan for me?>>

Thanks for letting them run!! I think he is confused about what the release is. The release and the reconnection and the hand movement are basically simultaneous, so he is not sure if he should move on the connection? Or on the hand movement? Or when you get to the other side of the jump? It could be any of them because they are all happening at the same time. And then when he is toldhe is wrong (put back in the stay and no reward), you can see his confusion (offering the jump, moving more in the sit, etc).

And motion will always override verbals, so he is trying to figure out which part of the motion is the release.

So – really clarify what the release is. If it is the verbal only you need to have the connection and the serp hand already in place so that the release verbal happens a couple of seconds later. So on this game, you would start to move away with connection and with your hand out… and then after 2 or 3 steps, release him without moving your hand.

Because he has had too much failure with this already, you should take it away from the jumps and use a platform like a cato board. The platform helps define the boundaries for him (“stay on this thing while I move away”) and you can practice separating the release from the motion. then you can add it back to a jump, but still use the platform. And watch your videos after every couple of reps, to make sure you are not getting into the habit of releasing and moving all in the same heartbeat.

Nice work! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!!! These look great and I love how you broke things down and built them up, on both sides.

Moving blind cross video: Nice job back chaining this! You can lead out more so you are past 2 when you release. That will allow you to start the blind when she lands from 1 and looks at 2. She is reading the side change brilliantly so the further you lead out, the easier it is to time things correctly. You were passing 2 at 1:20 when you started do on right, an at 1:58 when she started on your left (tat was my favorite rep in terms of timing, you were done with the BC before she took off for 2).

Nice job rewarding all the stays and maintaining criteria – seems like she REALLY likes agility and when you walking into the lead out, she was solid in the stay. When you ran into the lead out, she leaned forward and her but came up – not quite a broken stay, but also too much movement for a sit stay. I think she was just getting into that sprinter’s stance to blast out of the starting blocks, she might not even realize she is doing it. So you can keep to walking or slow jogging for now so she stays more firmly in her position. And as you add more running into the lead outs, you can consider leaving her in a stand-stay. That way she can tense her muscles to be ready to go without leaving position, making it easier for you both to maintain criteria 🙂

The lead outs to the wrap on 3 looked great, she had no problem reading your position and lack of motion as a collection cue on both sides – and I think she never looked at the tasty tunnel behind her on the first side. SUPER!!! She was consistently brilliant 🙂 I love it! And since you were not running on the lead out, her stays were super solid.
You exited the throw back on a blind cross on each of these (indicate with right arm, exited with her on your left side) – you can totally work to exit it as a front cross (indicate the jump with your right arm, for example, and then pick her up on your right side).

Lead out push video – these also went really well! The further ahead you get, the more you can open up your arm and shoulders back to the bar behind you – it will feel super serpy and a little exaggerated, but that is great because it really indicates the bar. If you are lined up with your shoulders perpendicular to the bar of 2 like they were here, she might jump a little straight over 2 (towards you) and rotating your shoulders to face the bar (center of chest points to center of bar) will help get her turning even more over jump 2.

You can see some of the tensing in her body language when she is thinking about the release here (when she was on your right in the 2nd half). It is a hard thing – did she break the stay or move out of the sit? No….. is there potential for more movement than we want? Yes for sure. So that is where the stand stay comes in – might be easier to NOT move while also being ready to release, and then there won’t be any frustration or confusion if she leans forward but doesn’t break the stay.

I think she is ready to see these at a higher height! Were these 10″ bars? You can definitely go up another 2 inches, then another 2 inches after that if she has no questions.

Great job!!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!!

I am sorry to hear that the heat has just been outrageous this summer – seems hotter than ever!!! But I give credit to Annalise for running like a pro even though it must have been blazing hot!! And Prytania seemed happy to run in the heat too!

Annalise – I hear that school has started up again! Yay! You did a great job on these sequences, and you were connected beautifully on all of them. Super! A couple of ideas for you:

Seq 1 – this looked lovely! My oly suggestion is to angle her at jump 1 so she is facing the straight line to 2, rather than facing straight to 1 and having to turn to find 2. The straight line 1-2 is faster and easier! The rest was great and I am particularly excited about how well she drove ahead at the end!

Seq 2 – super nice blind here!! You can move even more towards 3 (staying connected like you did) and try to start the blind even sooner: when you see her land from 1 and look at 2, start the blind 🙂 That will challenge her commitment but I think she is ready for it.

Seq 3 – thi swas the throwback sequence.
I don’t think she was looking at the bumper too much, I think her question was more about countermotion. At :42, look at the landing spot as you do the throwback, not at her cute face – that will get commitment to the jump as you move forward. So look at her until she is almost arriving at you, then let her see you shift your connection to where you want her to go (landing spot) and use your right hand to point to the landing spot too. That should really help her commit with countermotion there.
The send to the tunnel threadle on the last rep worked beautifully too!

Video 2: Wow, the rear crosses went well!!! Nice!! You nailed it every time!! And when you asked for the “go on” at the very end, she read that perfectly too. You were both brilliant!!!

You can do the blind sooner on the landing of 3 – you don’t have to wait til she has exited the tunnel. When she exits the tunnel, she can see that you have already finished the blind and you are connected on your left side, which will help her not run past it like she did at :24 and :58 (the side change was late so she thought you wanted her to run past it)

>>Lots and lots of rewarding. I even cut out lots of the rewarding lol!!!>>

Good job rewarding her even if there was a blooper! No such thing as too much rewarding 🙂

Great job here! Stay cool!!

Tracy

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