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Hi! He did really well here!
>I see all the failure as my inability to connect properly. >
Yes, at :08 and :59 all he could see was your back so he was following you rather than guessing an obstacle. He was not looking at the toy, even if he ended up there. Compare that to the reps where he took the jump – very clear connection. Super!
Nice progression building it up into the layering. He was able to stay on a parallel line really well even when you were on the other side of the tunnel. He had one miss of the jump and one little question – both when your hand was a little high. When you were more connected, even from far away, he had no questions.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
This second video gives us a good angle on the line of motion and how it changes his line to the wing:
On rep 1 (:05) watch your feet: they were going to the wing, so he went to the normal wrap side of the wing.Compare that to rep 2 at :17 where your feet were pointing to the back fence, on a line clearly parallel to his desired line. That pulls him in to the threadle side. PERFECT!
You can see that again at :54 and 2:09. Yay! A little more decel there before moving forward again will help him complete the wrap – you had a little of the decel on that last rep and he nailed it. You won’t always need it but it helps in these early learning stages.
The circle wrap to the other side of the wing looked great too!
Lovely work!
TracyHi!
He is doing really well with the threadle wraps here! The part of the session with the food looked good! I am glad you picked up the toy – he seemed to be looking for it because it was more fun than treats 🙂
When you added the toy, he had some trouble finding the correct side of the wing. I think the release was coming at the same time as the hands were moving into position, so he was locked onto the other side of the wing. You can clarify it for him by showing him your hands in position for a c couple of seconds… then releasing him. Then reward him for coming to your hands. You can also turn slightly away from the wing (pulling your shoulders, feet, and hands away from the wing) to show him more of the line you want him to take. And do that before the release, so he sees if before he moves.
The circle wraps at the end went really well! You can add the tunnel before those to see if he can get it with more speed 🙂
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
>chasing a chipmunk in the barn.>
OMG!! I know there are critters there but I have never actually seen one inside that barn! I am glad he got back to work.
He definitely found a new gear of speed on the sequence!
>Also, when I blind cross for Benni, I tell him to jump and then say his name. So I need to establish something like that for Brioche. But also, my connection wasn’t great.>
You can use the same jump-name cues, or any of his directionals (left, right, etc).
But the main thing will be timing and connection. For the timing: the blind cross jump here was jump 3. That means the blind starts as he is jumping jump 2! You were starting the BC at takeoff of 3 here, so it was a little late.You can start it at landing of 2 for now but when he is full height and going even faster, it will be before landing. To get it done on a sequence like this, sending him to 1 from further away will help get you up past the 3 jump sooner.
And yes, about the connection: as you finish the BC (and the FC later on the sequence) be sure to look back at him. Catch him with your eyes, not your hand, and that will set up nice turns! At :19 on the 2nd video and then :33, you showed much better connection and he nailed it! The connection at :33 was super!If he goes wide, assume it was your connection or timing (or both :)) and reward rather than stop. We don’t want him to think it is his fault 🙂
>It’s only our second group lesson with bigger spacing and course work so I am not expecting either of us to be perfect. I know it will get better. I am unsure of his commitment so I think that is part of why I am late with my cues.
>I honestly think it is pretty fantastic work for a young dog that is new to working in a barn, in a much bigger ring (with contacts over the tunnels) and you are adjusting to his speed and timing needs. There is a LOT to be happy about here!!!!!
Tracy
Welcome back! I hope you had a fabulous trip! The Colorado scenery looks amazing!
The runs here went great – he is happy to be back doing agility! The FCs to go back to the tunnel were really clear but then the connection to get him to go *past* the tunnel was SUPER clear. No questions from Copper! He never seemed to consider going into the tunnel when you didn’t want him to. Yay! You can move to the next games.
Well done!
Tracy
Hi!
Very cool that you got to work in the training facility! He did great even with all the different distractions!
For the lap turns: I gotta say that I am super impressed with how beautifully you are moving with fairly recent knee surgery! Well done to you for all the PT and strengthening – you were quick and nimble and I am loving how quickly you were able to get into position facing him for the lap turns! Wow!
The whole session went well – he was fast and stimulated but still paid fabulous attention to the cues. Your timing was spot on. My only suggestion is to call him sooner so he turns a little tighter on the tunnel exit. You can start calling him just before he enters the tunnel. The lap turns all went well. The tandem turn later in the video went better because your arm was lower. When your arm was higher early in the session, it was a little harder for him to respond to.
He did really well with the zig zags too! He was sitting so solidly that his head being up made getting into the first jump a little harder – if he was looking at you, he ticked the bar. No worries, he will work that out as we show him more of this.
Since this went so well, you can add challenge. The 2 things to do to up the challenge are:
– move the MM further away so he can power out of the setup… but he still has to stay balanced when jumping. That is a good young dog challenge!
– flatten the angle of the jumps so he has a bit more side-to-side to do. You might have to get creative with distances to keep the bounce and make sure he doesn’t add a stride. You can overlap the wings to keep the bounce distance, or use the shortest possible bars, or both! It looks like these were weave poles as bars, so that leaves overlapping as the the main option. If they were 4 foot bars, you can try weave as bars.Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
The go line at the beginning looked great!
He is one of the very, very few dogs that collected and turned really well on the first rep of the decel game! Most dogs (including all of mine) fling themselves over the bar then realize that it was a turn cue haha! But he turned beautifully! So proud of him!
And he carried his lovely turns into the rest of the game. Your timing was great of course, that really helps – and it is very cool to see him set up such nice turns with very little effort from you. And then he went right back to the straight line, no problem. SUPER!!!!
When revisit this, you can add n moving into the decel, so he sees the transition of you going from fast to slow.
>He thought that sitting in front of the tunnel instead of going into the tunnel at the beginning was a bit weird, lol.>
Ha but he did great and absolutely nailed the whole session. Well done to you both!
Tracy
Hi!
>tried start line stays in a new place, and they fell apart somewhat, so I’m trying to reinforce them more, as well as working on stays apart from agility to improve understanding. >
It is pretty normal to see a drop-off like that in a new place. The plan to reinforce them more plus working them in general is great! And asking for very short stays in new & harder places can work too.
>I should throw a wing in my car and practice some start line stays at hiking trailheads (they are my easy away-from-home locations to work on things).>
Yes! That would be great! And you can even ask for a stay in front of an empty food bowl or something mildly distracting 🙂
Speaking of a stay – getting that first white wingless jump on the layering setup will be easier if you use one step of a stay. That way you can more clearly show him the line by being ahead. Starting next to him was harder because he was moving before he really saw the cue (like at :49). When he was a shade behind you (like at :37 & :46) he got it really well! Yay!
Once he was on the line, he got the whole line though, and that is great!
>Getting him to turn after that jump was more than we could work out today; the tight setup doesn’t help us (though if it was farther apart, the layering would probably be more challenging :)).>
I agree that the tight setup made that harder. When you revisit it, you can try using 2 hands (like 2 hands on the steering wheel of a car :)) as he lands from 1: show him 2 hands and turn your shoulders away to get the jump. He might skip the 2nd jump at first as you sort out the timing but it should definitely get the turn!
Great job here 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
> For the stays with the cookies on the table. Do I do my stay then the remote reenforcement of cookies and run to them with him? Or I just pick cookie up off table? We have been working on some impluse control with cookies on the ground. Spins and hand touches. I pick up cookie from pile on floor and use that as reward. So should I try similar with the stay?
>That is great about the impulse control game! The answer is… yes and also yes 😂
What I mean is that you can work both because they teach slightly different skills Leaving the treats on a table or in a different room teach the skill of leaving the treats, going to do something, then returning to the treats. This is what he has to do at trials!
And having the treats on the ground builds up the skill of ignoring the food nearby – sometimes it means distractions such as food dropped on the ground, or also it can be a placed reward that he moves to on course. Also a terrific skill to have! So doing both is great.
The Minny Pinny went really well – he was very happy to zip around it in both directions, without needing much help from handling when it was just wings and also when the bars were added. And being outside was no problem too.
It was a little hard to hear but it does sound like you were using directionals (left/right). Super!Since this went great, you can add more :). After lining him up at your side, gently hold his collar and say the verbal cue 4 or 5 times while still holding the collar. Then let go and let him start doing the minny pinny. And while he moves forward to the first jump bar, you are going to do a FC and move away the other direction. It is kind of like turn and burn, but it is on the minny pinny setup instead of just a barrel or wing. This will add commitment challenge!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
For the mat targeting – he is hitting it well here and seems to be liking the game. You can elevate the mat so it is an inch or so higher – that will make his footwork even more accurate (as he rounds the line towards you, he is kinda swinging his hind end wide). So attaching the mat to a thick foam that lifts it will help define exactly where the feet should go.>Maybe I just have to keep the ground work going as well as on the DW? Maybe the slower pace and less enthusiasm is him just having to think more on the DW. >
If there is a significant different, it might be that it is too hard (is the dog walk high?) or it is not as exciting in terms of motion and reward. A toy on the ground and you moving might be the best reward – if he will bolt towards the toy regardless of whether he hits the mat or not, you can use a target on the ground that he runs to after he hits the mat. And if he had a good mat hit, yo throw the toy. If he didn’t hit the mat, just call him back and try again. That can also get you moving more which is super fun!
And make sure there is a high rate of success – that is where the speed comes from 🙂
The plankrobatics are an offshoot of the downhill track in the teeter class. He did a good job figuring out how to jump on it – super challenging for a small dog! Jumping off was harder – you can find a lower teeter or low dog walk and see if he jumps off more easily. I always teach confident jumping off because if they lose their balance, I want them to jump off rather than fall.
He was super happy walking back and forth across it. And even happier running across it for the treats! Super! So you can add a little more tip by lowering the tip it device a half inch.
He is really sorting out the weaves! Super! His rhythm and footwork are looking really good, and he is working hard to balance in the entry to stay in! Good boy 🙂
Before adding more: keep working the different angles of entry but you can also add more handling: drifting away laterally, rear crosses, having him drive ahead to the poles, serp the exit, blind the exit, etc. You can open the poles a little if any of these are hard but we want to make sure he sees the handling at every step.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
> Is “target” your word for see saw in competition? >
Yes – I saw ‘teeter’ to cue the line and ‘target’ just as they are getting on the board. The target cue helps most dogs really drive to the end.
>Do I need to put a verbal on the games when they are driving to the end of the board to get the reward?>
Almost all dogs propel into position faster and more accurately with the target cue, so I like to add it and see how the dog does.
>Can I start the downhill game while still training the mountain climber? I wouldn’t do it in the same session. >
Yes – you can work both tracks in different sessions.
>Feel like it’s going so slow but then I am only increasing tip in very small increments.>
Training great skills should go very slowly 🙂 May 1 is just a month – I take 6 months or more to train the teeter the way I want it 🙂
>can you tell me how long they are on your tip-it? >
I am on the road til mid-June, so I don’t have access to them. I am thinking they are half the length o the medium ones?
>Also, I am trialing at Level Up June 19-21, >
You are in my neck of the woods! And I am actually home that weekend, maybe I will stop by and by hello! Or you can swing by if you want a big field to let the dogs run run run (or a teeter to try).
Tracy
Hello!
This session went very well, especially if you were all tired from class!The push to backsides at the beginning – very nice with both dogs! They are committing to the bar really well, your connection was lovely.
The FC with Sammy was very strong – good timing and great connection!
Jazz also did well committing to the backside bar. The FC at 1:29 can be a step or two sooner but more importantly – you got a little too far across the bar, so he had to jump towards you facing him and went a little wide. You can stick a little closer to the wing of the jump and not travel across the bar, to set a slightly tighter turn.
The blind to threadle slice looked great with Sammy, he had no questions.
You can get to the BC before the tunnel sooner – at 1:52 you can send to the 5 jump and trust his commitment (your connection was strong!) so you are closer to 6 before he takes off for 5.
But connection is actually a bit more important than timing on blinds – at 1:56 you were a little late but your connection was really strong, so Sammy still made a tight, fast turn! You were earlier at 2:12 and he read it brilliantly.
With Jazz you were closer to the line 1-2-3-4 and he was fast! You got ahead at 2:30 on the way to 5, and that caused your arm to come up. That blocked connection and turned your shoulder away, so he slowed down. Nice job rewarding him!
Your hand stayed lower at 2:41 so he saw connection more as he exited the 4 jump, and he was definitely faster and committed better. He certainly loves clear connection 🙂 You can get even more speed by staying close to the bar on the backside threadle slice until he is landing… then you can be connected and move away to show the line to 5. That can help set the line with connection without getting you too far ahead or disconnected at all for Jazz.
And like with Sammy – the timing on the blind is less important than the connection. You had very strong connection on the blind to the tunnel so he was able to really drive through it. SUPER!!!
>The weather forecast is so bad for the next days, I am not sure whether we can try it again.>
Hopefully the weather will be good, even if you just try the part with staying closer to the threadle jump with Jazz til he lands then accelerating to the next line. I am interested to see what he thinks of that 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Remember how I said one of my girls is typically the “sacrificial penguin” for me making mistakes? Well, that was Kastella on Friday in jumpers. Except, in that case, I’m only taking about 90% of the credit – handler error. Kastella was really off and checked out due to some thunderstorms that happened earlier in the day. She HATES thunderstorms and fireworks. >
Poor Kastella! That is so hard – thunderstorms are really scary.
>I was hesitant because I really like to play it safe in trials but I tried anyway >
Good for you! And in these early stages of “do all the blinds” 😂 it is more important to go for it than it is if they all work 🙂
>but I didn’t like how it felt “risky” knowing Kashia would run the course faster >
Yes, they will feel riskier because they are newer and not fully in your comfort zone yet. But if you did one or two, it is still something to be proud of!! You will get more and more comfy and then doing all of them will feel less risky.
> I just wanted to mention the blinds because it was fun to see 4 places where they fit really well depending on the speed of the dog. And in a practice setting, I would have stayed with the blinds. >
Love this!! Yay!
>But I didn’t want to mess Kashia up so I changed one blind to a front cross and one to a rear. >
So you still did 2 blinds! That is super!!! And you were rewarded with a very successful day in the ring 🙂
>Kashia ended up getting all 3 Qs that day with a double Q and Kastella got 2 Qs.>
That is great! Congrats!
>However, in standard, I again went against my better judgment and decided to take a risk. >
Even though it didn’t work out and ended up with a missed a-frame, it was still a worthwhile risk! And something good to train – Kashia was probably surprised but when she sees it more regularly in training, it will be much easier to get in trials. So even though it was not a Q, it is still something to be super proud of!!
>All-in-all, it was a great trial and I was soooooo proud of my girls. I was also super happy to see some courses where I could practice my blinds, some with risk and some without. >
It sounds like a fantastic trial – a combination of big success and trying new things too! And the courses sounded like they had good challenges where you had to decide on which cross to use 🙂
>But in a trial setting, I tend to pick what’s safe and I’m slowly trying to get away from that.>
You can use T2B for that – take all the risks in T2B because that class is all about going fast fast fast 🙂 And it is fun to Q in T2B but there are no double Qs on the line or anything, so it is a fun class to try all the crazy handling too 🙂
Thank you for the update!!
Tracy
Good morning!
> I didn’t feel that in the moment but I appreciate you pointing it out so maybe I won’t get so discouraged next time. >
Yes, sometimes sessions are discouraging or frustrating, which is why it is good to always have video. That way we can look at it and see if there was actually something good? Or if it was really bad haha! Most of the time it was actually decent session even if it didn’t exactly meet our goals 🙂
>I don’t know why it didn’t even dawn on me to throw a treat or the treat toy over the jump. I’m such a dumb dumb. I get so caught up in rewards only being after completion of the exercise. >
First of all, you are NOT a dumb dumb!!!! You are a smart trainer and in this moment, we see afterwards something to tweak for the next session. No worries! When training, if the girls are missing something or asking questions or failing at something, you can switch gears and find ways to reward the spot they are struggling with.
> My girls actually get massages and chiropractor adjustments quite often! I’m a big believer in that stuff too!>
Fantastic!!! And warm up is important, along with cool down. The sports vet people tell me that cool down is actually more important than warm up.
>For summer camp, is it like these courses, where I can do both dogs under one working spot as long as I fit both of them into the allotted video time segment? >
Yes, 2 dogs can share a spot and a lot of the CAMPers do exactly that 🙂 And the pace of the class is different – a lot of content to choose from, but it is spread out very 2 weeks all summer so you won’t feel rushed to get it all in.
Tracy
