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Tracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
>>Pattern games โ yes, we are working on building value for a couple of the CU games, getting them super strong at home before I take them on the road
Perfect! That is the best approach: teach them at home so they are very recognizable and easy to use on the road.
On the video:
He did well with the first backside! The real question was the 2nd backside…
>> I probably made this a bit hard as a teaching moment,
I think his questions were because you were blocking the line (you were moving on the line he needed to be on, which caused you to block his view of the backside wing) to the 2nd backside so he didn’t know where you wanted him to be. As he exited the first backside, you were saying the backside verbal at :07 and :31… all of the other info (motion, connection, etc) said to go to the tunnel. He even slowed down a bit to double check LOL He did get a reset cookie but it was pretty eventual… give it right away if there is *any* chance that it was a handler error (because as we all know, there is a 99% chance it was a handler error for all of us ๐ ) I personally used to think that sometimes the dogs were making bad choices and then I would watch the videos… it was always my error, so I go much faster with the reset cookies ๐
After a reset at :40, he could clearly see the backside wing so he took it immediately. That is the picture he would need to see as he exits the first backside: you far enough ahead that he can see the wing of the backside jump. ideally your line would be to where the wing and bar meet, or even further over to the center of the bar is possible.
At 1:02 and 1:27 , you put wiggled the lotus ball so he didn’t take the tunnel so he followed you until he could see the wing. If you get a chance to play with this again, try getting even further ahead on the first backside to see if you can show the wing of the 2nd backside sooner. Or, you can wrap the first backside – starting on the same wing, have him do a circle wrap to his right and you pick him up on your right to push to the 2nd backside. That will still have the challenging tunnel-jump discrimination, but you will be able to show the wing of the backside sooner.
Nice work here!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! This is going well too! The broom reward is so funny ๐ She did well with the wing wraps to the tunnel, and she really liked it when you started in the tunnel and ran to the wing wrap.
For now, plan on giving her a couple of extra steps to every commitment line as we add in the newer concepts. For example, she needed one more step to the tunnel backside at :29 and :48 – it was too far and not quite visible enough for her to realize she needed to go find the tunnel entry – but that extra rep at 1:05 was perfect!
As you mentioned, there was a tiny loss of connection at the end when you drove her past the tunnel entry – but you were strongly connected to get her past the tunnel, she just needed one more step to get around the wing. That is also lack of experience ๐ All of it is SUPER new to her, so you can give her the extra steps each time you start, then fade those steps out as she develops more and more independence on the lines. That will help her get it correctly on the first rep which is a big confidence booster too.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
Yes, short sessions that are fast & fun will keep her energized!I liked how you sandwiched the decel in between lots of run run running ๐ She definitely liked the running and was doing a great job finding her lines. Yay!!!! The decel looked just fine in terms of the turns/collection, but it looked like she thought it was a touch boring LOL!! So, throw in one decel every now and then, but for now do lots of the running stuff. She was driving into the deceleration a lot better at the end, probably because you threw it in among the more fun running lines ๐ Great job!!!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterGood morning!
Her commitment looks good on all of these decels, so definitely now do the turn and burn exit on all of them – the motion is a big part f the reward ๐ Stopping and dropping the toy was not as reinforcing and also you were doing a post turn to do it, which actually cued mor e of a soft turn than a wrap.
The turn and burn at :31 was great!So now, looking at timing: she needs to see the decel as she exits the tunnel, so she can organize the turn. On most of the reps, you were moving forward as she exited the tunnel (:36 & :44 & :53 & 1:10 & 1:19), which made the decel late so she was wide. The rep at :47 was my favorite of these: the decel was the most timely here so she was able to organize a great turn. Yay!!! I think on the late reps you needed to send to the tunnel from further away, so you could be at the wing AND decelerated when she exited the tunnel. You were still moving towards the wing as she exited, so she did not get the wrap info as well.
>>On the โgoโ I should have had the toy out as a target, but forgot.>>
yes, definitely make that a habit, she ran that line with her body forward but her eyeballs looking at you LOL!!!!
>>I have not specifically taught her that, but I have used treat tosses on occasion if she has had โa momentโ in the basement training area.
Definitely teach the framework specifically, separately from when she is struggling. Teach it as a fun game, because we cannot use it for resilience work until they understand it as a happy coping mechanism.
Then, when she is having a struggle, the resilience part is VERY easy.
>> Sometimes chasing the treats will get her up and running around again. Itโs harder with her since she does not share Didiโs love of cookies over everything else. But maybe I should try this in more of a pattern game when nothing is going on?>>
1000% yes, teach it without anything else going on. If you try to use it when there is something stressful happening, it will not be nearly as helpful for a variety of reasons.
And, since many dogs do NOT reliably love cookies, you can teach it with toys. You can see me use toys on these 2 videos:
I teach these games with food only, toys only, and mixture of food and toys – and they are all taught as foundation games so I have them in the toolbox in case the dog ever has a stressful event or I need to get more engagement.
>>I could certainly try the come to my side, throw toy too and work on a loop. Thatโs not too dissimilar from some of the toy work we have done.>>
Yep, work up a toolbox full of different reinforcement procedures so that nothing surprises her when you are trying to train something. This can include stuff like a cookie target to toy toss, or a toy toss to cookie reset, or any combination under the sun you can think of. These will become useful for training behavior, as well as excellent coping skills because she will recognize the framework in case something happens that causes a struggle.
Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! It sounds like California is ROASTING!! EEK!!!!!
We have until the 15th here, but we can go over by a few days, no worries ๐ I am planning some small space handling sessions for the teenagers ๐ Stay tuned, I hope to have all those dates sorted out by the end of next week ๐
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterGood morning!
Looking at the teeter: she started off with a little question then got SUPER confident by the end. Yay!
>>Do we just continue to drop the height?
yes, very slowly. I would keep her at the same height for 3 or 4 sessions, then drop it the tiniest bit, so she barely notices the difference.
>>Anything I should be aware of as points where she would be more likely to have an issue?>>
If you slice the behavior thin enough, there should be no issues. But bear in mind, that I train the end position and other elements of this all very separately, using the bang game, the teeter between tables you mentioned from your weekly class, the elevator game, etc – it all builds together really nicely.
>>And I assume I donโt label it until the entire picture is in place.
It depends on what you plan your verbals to be. I use an obstacle name and an end position cue: so any time the dog runs up the teeter, I can name it “teeter”. Then when I am working the end position, like on a plank or the bang game, I use the target cue. Eventually it all melds together.
Looking at the decel video:
>>hmm, while standing in place doing it it didnโt really feel like she was deceling on the wraps much at all, looks much better on the video โ LOL!
It is because she was not decelerating to set up the turn – but the turn still looked good. Here is what was happening:
After the first rep where she collected on each side, she went to v-setting her line – she was arcing out to then come back in for the wrap, so she could basically do it all in extension. Clever! That tells us she needs a higher bar to jump because the v-set is possible on the low bar but will not be possible on a full height bar in the future. If she was a small dog, we would LOVE the v-set to stay in extension, but alas it is not the best thing for a BC ๐ What height is she jumping in Kim’s class? I would try these at 14-16″ inches at this point to see what she does. A little v-set is fine but we would like her to rock back into her rear more too.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
He is doing well turning the new direction, and the ‘flip’ verbal sounds nice and different from the other verbals.
You were helping him by stepping in past the tunnel, which is perfect for now. As he gets more comfortable with this cue, you can keep yourself on the other side of the tunnel ๐
A suggestion about reward:
Because this builds to a layering element and NOT wrapping back to you, change your reward placement even on the wing:
Throw the reward the new direction as soon as he turns his head that way, rather than waiting for the wing commitment or wrapping back to you. He can run past the wing (not all wing cues need to be wraps :)). That will make it easier when you do eventually add a bar in to make it a full jump.One other suggestion:
When there is an error, give a reset cookie or tug, then try again. When he went around the tunnel at :09. it was a skill he didn’t know and by asking him “where is the tunnel” – he took it when you were stationary which is entirely different than when you were trying to move. So the reset cookie prevents frustration while also allowing you to set up the same question, rewarding the behavior he had trouble with on the previous rep.>> Also if youโre heading our way this fall (Oct14ish) let me know if there is a place/person to signup.>>
Suzie just posted the sign up info, it is here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEISdSEqVpdfOPcXZ8cRFa3ENzX0gzPqzXtoIvflS48D2P_w/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1jTIQO_om1E1ktYdbuR0SSYazqnG92-b6P50fUS24sHS2xlwpngGQHvXAGreat job! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHe did well here too, he is so fun!!! He was a little wide on the first wing for the first few reps, but then he was tightening the line up – but hitting the wing while he did that. Since we don’t want the wideness, and we don’t want him to hit the wing… split the difference LOL! Move the wing over a few feet so te line to the tunnel is more natural: not too wide, not too tight, all he has to do is come around the wing. Because this is exercise involves a LOT of handler motion, we need to make other elements easier for a puppy – so we can make the wrap line easier, as he learns to find the line as you run run run ๐
Great job!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! I hope Tulka is feeling better! Kotaulo is stepping in nicely ๐ Great job with the stay rewards!!
Looking at the threadle wraps:
He did well reading the differences between the physical cues for the wraps and the threadles! So now, add motion for both so he doesn’t think the threadle is a stationary cue: Use the same exactly speed for both of them (walking for now) so he can process the differences in the verbal, hands, and line of motion.Speaking of the verbal ๐
Your verbals are sounding pretty much the same, so now is a good time to differentiate them. You don’t need to change the exact words, but you can change the length and pitch. The in in verbal can be longer and slower, which will lower the pitch. The front side wrap can remain the same as it was here, so both of them will then sound entirely different.Nice work! Onwards to the next video:
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterGood morning!
Maisy seems to be in absolute heaven with all of these distance handling games and layering games! She looked great here. A couple of small details:
Remember to give your switch cue before she enters the tunnel and give it again before she exits, so she can turn before she exits the tunnel and doesn’t need to look at y y when she exits, You were a bit to quiet at :26, but you were were earlier at :40 & :51 – she will get used to the early cues and not look at you at all when she has more practice with these.
And, keep your hands lower so that the cue stays clear – your hands started off pretty low but then you were starting to get high so she was looking up more and more.
>>Clearly not my handling because Sass and co struggled with the jump behind the tunnel>>
Did you try Sassy turning to her left (mirroring the sequence)? That might be her easier side, to teach the skill. Also, because Sassy is so small, very low hands will really help ๐
One more detail: After the switch away, keep moving after so she sees you moving in the layering, and also so she keeps the bar up behind the tunnel (stopping and throwing was causing her to ask questions, so that bar behind the tunnel came down a few times.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
This went well! She had no wide turns here at all!
Really nice turn on the FC wrap at the beginning.
You were too soon on first spin – it wasn’t because you were looking at her, it was because you didn’t have the transition of acceleration, deceleration, then rotate. You were not really moving then you rotated, so she never got a commitment cue. The second spin was very nice!
When you added the sequences:
I think we are beginning to see how well she can turn! On the sequence with the FC wrap, you had a clearer transition so she committed and had a great turn.
On the first sequence with the spin, she didn’t take the jump. It was a transition issue more than a where-you-looked issue: you slammed on the brakes at 1:03 so she didnโt commit (you were facing her and moving back towards her when she landed from the previous jump). The last rep was clearer with acceleration then more decel before the rotation and she was lovely!So now I will bug you to add your directional verbals back in ๐ There was a lot of โBeka!โ and โtunnelโ but remember to use your wrap verbals and verbals for the tunnel exit too ๐
Great job here!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! August flew by!!
>>Been spending time working on his focus and reactivity. The boy want to meet every other dog in the world. No aggression at all, lots of tail wagging and play bowing, but he does loose the ability to think
That is pretty normal for an adolescent ๐ Have you ever done any pattern games with him? Those are pretty magical for getting focus!
He is doing well with the threadle wraps! One suggestion is to NOT say โbreakโ, as that almost always means โtake the front of the jumpโ which is what he did a couple of times. You can release him with his name then the threadle verbal, or just the threadle verbal as he gets more experienced with it.
When he gets to the backside, he is doing a great job with the turn! So I think the verbal cue as the release rather than the โbreakโ cue will make all the difference.Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi! The links worked, thanks! This looked great – this is exactly the type of challenge we are seeing a LOT of on course, so it is great that both dogs drove out to the weaves so well! Yes, you can get to the entry to help but the more they see this challenge, the less they will need you to get to the weave entry.
I think the only question from them was the same question from both dogs: decelerating and stopping early on the teeter. Ideally, they would drive all the way to the end even when you are behind them or peeling away, so feel free to put a target out there for them to help this. What I mean by that is a target taped to the end of the board (if they are both doing a 4on) so they are looking at it an driving to it, as you add the bigger challenges like moving away from it or not running past it. That will help maintain the speed to the end of the board while adding the other handling challenges to make the teeter completely independent.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
She did well with the lead outs here! You can make it clearer for her on 2 jumps by starting her on an angle at jump 1, so she is facing the backside wing and not the front of jump 2.
Your threadle and FFC were kind of a combo… if you want the FFC, you can have your feet pointing to the entry wing, but also use the hand closer to the wing. You had your feet pointing to the entry wing but your opposite hand. For the threadle, you would use the opposite hand but turn your feet to the exit line (more like what you did towards the end of the video, and it also is similar to the lead out push position you did here, except the push is between the uprights and the threadle is outside the wing). She is reading all of the cues very well, so the tweaks are just to clarify the different handling ๐
Looking at the grids:
>>Also is the spacing still good at 6 of my feet?
The spacing is good and she is reading the grids well, but the height is a little high for her on the last jump – she is jumping inverted, meaning her head is up and she is lifting herself, rather than lowering her head and rounding herself, pushing from the rear. So, start her closer to the first jump so she can power in, with maybe a 12″ bar and the reward further away, to remind her to get her head back down. Then when she gets her head down, you can start to raise the bars again.
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyTracy Sklenar
KeymasterHi!
I am glad you liked the setup ๐ I like to work a lot of ‘this or that’ type of stuff without having to change setups LOL!!
He did well here! Looking at some of his questions:
On the frame-tunnel discrimination, you can try adding a verbal like “out” for instances when you want the tunnel, and maybe a bit of upper body rotation towards him when you want the frame, so he gets it right away.
For the line after the frame, he was much better when you were earlier with the cues. The timing of exit cues on the running a-frame should be no later than the apex of the frame: At :12 you did it when he was exiting, too late, 3 bonus points for the off course tunnel ๐ You were m uch clearer at :50 and 1:05 but you can give more info than his name. His name is simply a “pay attention” cue and a right verbal there would be more specific (like at 2:07, when he was looking at you but not sure where to be exactly). You were very specific on the rep at 1:19 and 1:26 when you said “go tunnel” and he had no problem even with the layering there – early, repeated info. Yay!
For the jump after the frame: at :21, the handling looked like a threadle cue (upper body and position relative to the jump) but not a threadle based on your response when he threadled. He read you correctly, so be sure to stay connected if something goes wrong.
At :38, you were further across the bar and it was clearer that it was a serpentine LOL! You were using the cross arm for the serp here: do you use the cross arm for the threadle too? That might make them look to much the same – maybe only use the cross arm for the threadle and no cross arm (dog side arm only) for the serp.The line after the serp looked great each time, and so did the flip moments on the balance reps after the tunnel! Those were really strong!
The other thing to consider here is to repeat the verals more: flip flip flip and weave weave weave, for example. If you get too quiet, he might miss the processing moment. It is not likely to be an issue here in a quiet training session, but more likely to happen at a noisy trial.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy -
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