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Good morning!
Distance and layering is definitely harder for the small dogs! They have to take so many more strides than a much bigger dog. He was confident working at the big distance to a certain point… then he starting asking questions.
You did some smart things that helped him:
At :39, you added a bit of convergence towards the tunnel entry, which totally helped.At :54 you moved the jumps in closer and that was the exactly right thing to do, and really helped. You can also move the tunnel in closer and make the entry to it super obvious so the entry I facing him as he is taking off for the jump.
Placement of reward will really help too: rather than rewarding at the exit of the tunnel, you can get the reward out on the line where he is working at his biggest distance away from you. This would be between the jump and the tunnel.
Since he loves that little ball: As he is committing to the jump and heading straight (before he starts to second guess), you can throw the ball out on the line towards the tunnel entry. That will give him a big “Yes, you are totally allowed to be out there!” And he will get more comfortable working miles away 🙂
And bear in mind that latent learning will help here. You did get some big successes especially on that last run – so now let him sleep on it for a few days 🙂 It is possible that he will come into the next session knowing it with no questions 🙂 That happens with my young dogs a lot, especially the sighthounds LOL!
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>Are you purposely bringing up your threadle, non dog side arm for the NO TUNNEL? Or would you suggest just connection and verbal?>
Do you mean at 1:43, for example, of this game:
If so, then I have my outside hand on my dog-side hip to show the dog exit line connection and make it very very clear where he is supposed to be. The arm used like this in exit line connection is too low and too flat to me to be considered a threadle arm by my dogs, but it is great for opening up very clear connection. And that clear connection helps with the NO TUNNEL moment 🙂 If you turn your shoulders or use too much dog-side arm, it will look like a tunnel cue!
Here is an explanation:
Tracy
Hi!
I am doing 2 things to indicate the rear cross to the left:– motion to the center of the bar on the rear cross jump (as compared to the last rep where I did a wrap to the right, so I turned towards the right wrap wing)
– >Are you using any verbals?>
Yes, in this case I am using my left wrap verbal. I don’t think it is audible on the video because it is a very quiet verbal (a tststs noise) and my back is to the camera.
Tracy
Hi! He did really well! And having other people training as well is perfect, because he will learn how to get this behavior even when he is really excited and stimulated.
Jumping on from the side went well! I think the target is a tiny bit far from the end of the board, so he is reaching for it which is pulling him off the board on some of these reps. You can move it so it is about 3 inches from the end of the board, which will help him balance on the board better.
Now to solidify staying in position… add your motion of slowly (oh so slowly 🙂 ) walking past the end of the board while he stays in position. Then throw a reward back to him or run back to give it to him – but if he might one when you are heading back to him, throwing it back to him (with a ‘catch’ marker) will be cleaner and clearer.
Great job here!
TracyHi!
Well done to you for getting these done even with school starting! I am sure it is a busy time!
The other side of the DW game is great for Nox! She got good rewards for gong straight even if she didn’t get the jump on the first couple of reps – she got the rest of them really well!
Weaves are definitely harder! Be sure to have the reward way out past the last weave, nowhere near you – it was on the line halfway between the we’ve exit and you. You can throw it almost to the other side of the poles, to really exaggerate the whole “go do the thing out there and don’t look at me” 🙂
>She struggled to get the weaves when they were to the left of the tunnel, so I ended up changing the angle of the entry to make it easier.>
Changing the angle was great! You can also simplify it and put out a base of only 2 poles there, rewarding pretty much any interaction with the 2 poles to build value for going to them and not turning back to yell at you 🙂 Then you can go to 4 poles, then 6 poles, and so on. You can use 2x2s for that, or you can use stick in the ground poles.
She did really well with the switch aways! Yes, they are a rear cross-ish move which makes them harder for sure.
You did a great job with VERY clear arm cues and good line of motion with your feets at :27, for example!
You weren’t as clear at 1:19 – your arms were smaller and you pulled to your right more, almost pulling her off the jump . You pulled a lot to the right at 1:45 but kept moving forward as you did it, so she got the switch – but I think you can keep moving forward and not pull the other way as much with your feet/line of motion.She had a question about the right turn jump before the tunnel on some of these reps: At :40 and 1:02 there was not a lot of motion towards the jump (feet were turning t the tunnel) or connection, so even with the verbals she was not sure of what to do. You changed the position of the jump before it, but you also used more motion and connection – and I think it was the clearer handling that got the line there at 1:10 and 1:35 and 1:40 for example.
On the last sequence: at 1:57 – the switch info started as she was taking off for the switch jump The other reps were sooner but something to try is to not pull away as much. For the switch aways, you can run directly to the exit wing or even a little bit of pressure into the RC line. On these, you were running away from the exit wing which can almost be the same line as a threadle wrap.
So I think the main thing here is that your arms can do a pull-then-switch move but your running line does not need to 🙂
>I was disappointed I wasn’t able to do more with Katniss. I’m not sure if she is on the mend or not. She looks much better, but her gait still looks off to me. >
Ugh, I know that feeling all too well! If your regular vet can’t find anything, and the bloodwork/rads are clear, then next step is to go to a rehab vet who specializes in the soft tissue stuff. An elbow issue might not be an elbow issue, it might be the opposite shoulder, for example. Trust your gut and keep looking to see what it is! I have used Dr. Ballengee in Burlington, NC (she is brilliant) and also Skylos in Maryland. There might be some folks closer to you, I will ask around!
Great job this summer!!! Keep me posted on how Katniss is doing!
Tracy
Good morning!
OK, why is River in a cone? Asking for her friend, Ramen, who is also in a cone (from being poor whippet life choices).
>We made it! Last Jumpers courses.>
Yay! And it might have added a bit of pressure to get them done, which is good for training the human brain!
I think the videos are mis-labeled, so the ones labeled Jumper 1 are actually jumper 2, and the walk versus run labels are backwards but I am over-caffeinated so I figured it out LOL!!!
Looking at the Jumper 2 course which is posted first:
Since you are planning your winter training with an eye on IFCS, one thing to do is take this course and work sections and time them to see which is faster. These include:
– Slice to 3-4 (towards 6) rather than wrap towards the tunnel)
– Threadle wrap at 7 rather than FC then push wrap 6-7
– send to the other side of 7 (where the 9/19 numbers are) so she slices toward the poles
– 9-10-11, wrapping the 10 backside versus sending her to the entry closer to 6 and slicing towards 11 (you walked/ran 10 as a front but it is a backside)The reason I suggest this is because it can be surprising to see which is fastest! And often the slices turn out to be faster, even if they are a bit weirder looking in terms of the line. But with the smaller dogs, wraps sometimes are faster. More extension almost always wins the day and the only way to know for sure with each dog is to time things.
Overall, I thought your walk through plan was clear (which is why it was easy to figure out that it was course 2 and not 1 :))
Other than 10 being walked/run as a front, there were 2 other spots to think about which can clarify things even more for her:– you can give a clearer tunnel discrimination at 15. Do you have a specific verbal for the other end of the tunnel?
– The turn at 18-19-20 looked a little ambiguous, she might end up in the tunnel. A brake arm and a left verbal will help, beginning at landing from 18.On the run:
The opening ran really well! Yay!
The 11-12-13 line got a bit zig zaggy, – partially because you ran 10 a as front side, and partially because you gave her a big ‘out jump’ for 11 – so she added more extension. For 11, you can add a turn cue like a right and a brake arm (look for places to use that magic collection-adding brake arm!)
For the tunnel discrimination 14-15 – Super nice arm movement to get the other side of the tunnel – do you have a verbal for it? Using tunnel for both is potentially going to cause confusion if you are not in perfect position like you were here.
Your running line had a little too much convergence in towards 17, she almost turned right at takeoff (:45). You did get your left verbal out and pulled to the left so she got it. You can run straight with connection and I think she will commit with no extra convergence needed.
She was jumping straight over 19 based on motion and verbal (turn info was late) and ticked the bar (:48) and that contributed to running past 20. That is a good spot for a left verbal and yes – a visible brake arm. I think you had your left arm up but it was hidden in front of you as your turned. So as she is at 18, you can be saying your left verbal and showing her both hands, which should get a collection to land her facing the front of the 20 jump.
Course 1 (2nd set of videos) –
Walk through:
Looks like you added an extra jump between 2 and 3?
I think the walk through handling indicated a right turn on 4 (jump after the tunnel). You used a verbal, but the left on 4 needs more than just verbal: switch away arms and/or RC line of motion.I like the layering plan to get to 7!
Don’t be as close to entry of the 10 backside, so you can be ahead on the exit of it to get a nice line to 11.
Also it will be easier NOT to do a cross between 14 and 15 then try to outrun her to the 17 backside – sending ahead to 14-15 from the tunnel exit, or doing a massive layer and switch away to the 16 tunnel can help you show a ton of convergence to 17.
You can run the ending line on your right and RC 20 like you did, or run it on your left!On the run:
Yes, you did add an extra jump after 2 🙂 It went well but when under time pressure, make sure you double check your maps to not add or delete anything 🙂
She turned right on 4 – good save and you still got 7! On the 2nd run, you had a bigger arm cue and rear cross pressure onto the line (1:48 and 2:06) and you got a lovely left turn. You might have cut into the turn too severely because she did not take 5, so one more step to commit her to it will help, and maybe a GO verbal to override the RC turn. Getting her back on the line to 6 made the turn cues late (1:51) and pushed her into the off course tunnel.
You took the extra step to 5 at 2:07 and he found the line really well! At 7 there (2:10) you were took early leaving the circle wrap – she had not passed you yet, so moving into her path put her into the tunnel, good girl!
Ended up further across 10 so the 10-11 section looked good on the first run! On the second time through there, you were still calling her when she was halfway between the tunnel exit and backside (plus not very connected/moving away) so she read it correctly as a ‘take the front’ cue (2:20). It looked great again at 2:27! She has gotten a lot better at understanding to take the jump on those backside slices when you are moving through with some countermotion. Yay!
Looking at the 13-18 line:
On the first run, you needed to be a bigger ‘presence’ as she exited the 16 tunnel to get her attention and show 17 – the motion before entering 16 and as she exited, plus late zip verbal all locked her onto the off course tunnel. You basically would need to serp across the tunnel exit with big connection to get the TW.
On the retry at :53 – keep pushing into her line to get it. She considered the turn to the jump but the positional cue overrode the arm and verbal.
You changed the plan and did the FC on the exit of the 13 tunnel and sent to 14-15, which put you miles ahead on. The exit of 16 (yay!). That easily got you the blind to the push wrap, and you would also have been able to get the serp to the TW there too. And you did run the ending on your left, but you went in too deep towards 18 – so she saw you moving to your right as she was entering 19, which pulled her off 20-21. You can hang out at 17, send to 18 without going past the tunnel exit – then you will be ahead of her as she enters 19 so you can show the exit very easily.
On the last run, you did the FC 14-15 but sent to 15 more so you were easily able to get the blind to the push wrap. And you sent to the 18 tunnel even more, so you were ahead 19-20! She still wanted to curl on 20-21 (bar down at 20, refusal on 21) so fro the handling perspective: you can send t 18 from as close to the 17 wing as possible, then get way ahead on the 20-21 section. And you can use your outside arm to support the line to 21.
From the training perspective – set up these giant lines across the ring and throw (or sometimes place) a reward for her to drive ahead to, to sharpen up the skill of driving ahead on an ‘easy’ line (because it is not so easy when we get behind!)
And you can try seeing if going a bit deeper to 18 then running that section on your right (19-20-21) can be more effective because the RC option might support 20 and 21 even more.
Great job on these!!!!! It is fun to see how well the walk throughs match with the runs!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
I agree – this was a really successful session and there is definite progress!!!!! Yay!
>With where the sun was, I also couldn’t really see so it made my body language that much more ambiguous! >
Ha! Mother Nature was helping with the session LOL!!!
On the video:
He jump reps at the beginning were really strong. On the first tunnel rep – he seemed to know it was NOT the front of the jump (yay! Good boy!) but was looking at you like “it is really legal to go into the tunnel without you moving to it?” so he ended up between the jump and tunnel (backside). But then he got it on the other reps!
>on another my toy throw was far less than ideal reward placement lol. >
He was not concerned about the one rep where the toy flew somewhere unexpected LOL the marker still told him he was correct and then he nailed all of the tunnel reps after that.
When you changed sides – he was heading to the ‘hup’ side of the jump til you reached for the toy to throw and that pulled him off at 1:02. He was great when you did not reach for the toy on other reps or moved it to the throwing hand after he was well-committed to the obstacle.
At 1:29, when you witched back to the original side – the toy was swinging more visibly than other reps so he came off the line looking at the toy.
So the next great adventure is a jump-tunnel – moving toy discrimination 🙂 In his defense, when he was young 9 years ago, there was really zero or very limited emphasis on toy markers so he probably thinks the toy swinging or switching to the other hand is part of the marker.
>Overall, I was very pleased with how he did, even with moving the obstacles pretty close together. It only took us the entire course to get him to figure out this ONE exercise, and I haven’t varied the setup at all or brought in weaves/a third obstacle. >
It is actually tremendous progress on a skill that he had super limited experience with (verbals discriminations) and I think that is bubbling over nicely into your course running too – the hardest parts of your recent courses running were choosing exactly which of the subtle handling points worked best for him. Bringing in weaves might be easier because the weave verbal is probably something he has heard a LOT but jump verbals are much newer.
>Who knows if he will still be able to do it when the obstacle positions are switched>
It is something to revisit very couple of weeks!
> when there’s more movement/in a sequence, >
I am figuring that when you support the verbals with handling, he is going to nail it. Maybe someday he can learn to nail it on verbals when the handling is doing something opposite (which is what Beat is going to learn :))
>We taught the 9 year old dog at least one new trick! >
Heck yeah! And it might be his hardest trick (verbals) so I am super pumped up for you two!!
>I think the biggest change I’ve been able to make from all this was your advice to treat myself like a student and it’s helped me stay more objective during a training session. >
This is awesome!!! That type self-talk is so important – we don’t want to sugar-coat things for ourselves but being able to look at things objectively is HUGE. That smacks down the intrusive “I suck!” thoughts and builds up the “this is what I will do” focus and goal setting. When training alone, I remind myself all the time that video is the best instructor/interpreter so that keeps my brain out of the ‘I suck’ spirals 🙂
Great job here!!!! And fantastic work all summer!
Tracy
Good morning! Great question, because we are always so nervous about bringing dogs back from even small injuries!
I always follow the return-to-sport stuff given by my rehab vet, but in general this is the plan:
I slowly add pieces of it, starting with low impact obstacles then gradually adding in higher impact obstacles. And I am very careful about surface, to avoid slipping – good grass (not soaking wet, not dry/dead) and well-groomed dirt are best! Long-blade turf (with infill, usually) that gets groomed is generally good. The shorter blade turf and the stuff without infill is usually slippery.
So the lower impact obstacles are low height jumps on relatively straight lines and gentle turns, and – surprisingly – the dog walk especially if it is a stopped contact. Over the course of multiple weeks as prescribed by the rehab vet, the bars can come up for the ‘easy’ stuff, and the harder stuff (wraps and backsides etc) can be brought in on lower bar.
I also add in straight-ish tunnels that are dry inside so there to avoid slipping. No severe bends in the tunnels, and no severe tunnel entries/exits.
The weaves, a-frame, and teeter are the highest impact so I save them for several weeks into return to sport (or longer, depending on what the rehab vet says).
And cross-training is always best, so I really only do agility once or twice a week at most. The rest of the time is spent mixing in conditioning, rest, regular life activity, and other sports like flyball 🙂
For example, Hot Sauce and CB had a very busy weekend of competing and then a long drive on Monday. They rested for the remainder of Monday and all of Tuesday, just doing regular life runabouts in the yard. Nothing structured. So I might do a few minutes of agility with them today – easy stuff on low jumps. Then the next day or two, regular life plus some conditioning. Then maybe agility on the weekend.
Hope that helps!!
Tracy
Hi!
>Max is a little distracted lately, so trying to keep it short. >
What type of things is he distracted by lately?
This sequence went well too! The forced front cross and lead out pushes looked great!
>We had trouble on jump 3. I am trying to keep my arms quiet, I think Max expects a little arm for a backside, even when I felt I was going deep into the jump.>
On the reps where he did not go to 3, he pulled into the gap because you turned too soon and he was following the line of your shoulders.
When you were more connected and ran toward it until he was more locked onto it, he got it really well! The two best reps of that were at 1:06 and 1:37. The rep at 1:37 was perfect!!! Clear connection and clear motion to 3. Lovely!
And the last run was great too – that was a FFC to the tight wrap to 3 and the GO on the ending line. Super nice!!!!!
Great job :) Tracy
Hi!
Well done with the FFCs here! You got to position, made sure you were connected and hand visible… and only after that did you release or reward. That helps him know exactly what the release is, so keep being precise like this. He also had time to process the line, so he found the correct side of 2. Nice!!!
T
Hi! This went really well!!
He had a question on the 2 jump for a couple of reps, based on where your feet were facing:
Your feet faced the slice line at :07, so he sliced. Compare to :23 and :48 where your feet faced the wrap line and he got it perfectly 🙂For when you want the slice on 2 (like at 1:07), you can handle like a RC (no spin needed when starting on your left) or a send starting on your right. I think adding the spin move at 1:35 is what send him to the last jump: as you were rotating, you faced the last jump as he was landing so that is where he went. Good boy! You did it as a rear cross without a spin at 1:49 and it was gorgeous!
Adding the cross on 4:
At :54 you got a little too far ahead on the RC, which caused you to cut in sharply behind him. He read it as a rear cross but it pulled him off the line to the last jump. If you stick closer to the 4 jump while he is in the tunnel and start moving up the RC line after he exits, the RC will feel smoother and will set up the last jump.The blind worked great at 1:10! Stay connected so the bar stays up at 1:12 (looking back at him and emphasizing eye contact).
When you did stay connected and didn’t use your arms at 1:25 and 1:54, it looked fantastic!Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi! This went well!
Go lines are going well – the further ahead you get, the more you will want to connect back to her (she hit the bar at :16 when you were looking a bit ahead and getting ready to throw the toy). When you were connected, she had no questions.
Super good timing on the wraps at :28 and :34!! She turned really well – we don’t want her to be tighter because for a dog her size, tighter can be slower 🙂
On the first RC at :47 – you got a little too far ahead, which made the RC line late because you didn’t have room to cut in and show her the line.
You were not as far ahead at :51 and 1:00, so you were able to show her the RC line for longer and she got it beautifully!>just couldn’t manage the backsides! I am clearly doing something wrong.>
On the first couple, your running line looked like the RC and your connection was not as visible, so she thought it was a RC.
You almost had it at 1:19 because you ran a really good line, pretty directly to where the bar meets the backside wing! But the connection was not as clear so she took the front. The last rep was similar – good line, but needed more connection. So run the line to where the wing and bar meet, but look her directly in the eyes until she is locked onto the backside wing. That is not easy with a tiny dog, so you might find yourself bending back towards her. The big eye contact will open up your dog-side shoulder too, so she can see where to be on the line.Great job here!
TracyHi! Totally agree, he did really well! Since this went great, time for the next steps –
– rather than facing him or even being sideways, you can be facing fully forward as he is leaping into positionAnd when that goes well… you can start adding movement! When he is jumping into position, you can be walking forward soooo slowly for now 🙂 and don’t stop until he has stopped (then run back and give him treats).
Great job!
TracyHi!
>Between obedience and conformation, I have a mostly-unconscious bias for having my dog on my left. >
Same here – partially because I am left-handed and partially because my earliest dog training experiences all had the dogs on my left, even though it was not formal obedience. But I do force myself to work the dogs on my right LOL
>I was wondering if I was “doing something” to cause the difference between dog-on-left and dog-on-right; that’s why I put the camera straight behind the start. And I also couldn’t see anything. >
I mean, it is possible that he did see something subtle that we humans didn’t notice. But I didn’t see anything major that would have caused the questions.
> I think as I become more capable (and can move better) that will go away. If it doesn’t then I’ll worry about it then.
> Exactly! Sometimes just leaving it alone is the best thing to do.
Pop out 1:
This is looking good! You can give him a left verbal and even a brake arm on the 2/6 jump (especially at 6) to get a better line to 3/7. And 8 s a backside to add some challenge for ya!
Pop out 2:
>On #2, my first plan was to do 3 & 6 as threadle slices – should have warmed them up.
> Better to have not warmed them up so we can look at the cues required! At :35, he needed a stronger turn cue on 2 starting from when he exited the #1 tunnel. You were giving the turn cues as he was taking off for 2, so he could not respond until after he landed.
For the threadle at 6, you pulled away too much so he locked onto the tunnel at :54 but you moved more towards 6 at :57 and he read it really well! You stepped to it at 1:09 too but turned your feet to the tunnel too much, so he wrapped there.
Also, the threadle on 3 takes him off the natural line to the backside of 3, so you can try pushing him to the outside there rather than threading.
>Then I realized that I could just lead out to a spot between 2 and 3 and the whole thing gets lots easier.>
Yes, that did make it easier! There was still a wide turn 2-3, so that is where letting him rip to the other side of 3 might be the fastest line. And sending him to the other side of 6 looked great!
Casper did really well on the opening of pop out 3! He had a legit question about which end of the poles at 1:43 – the high arm pointing to the entry actually caused the rest of your body to turn to the pole 12, so he thought it was a fancy entry. The ‘out weave’ and opposite arm pointing your feet and shoulders to the correct entry and he got it really well at 1:55 and 2:16!
For the dig dig on 8 at 1:59 – since you were walking it was hard for him to see the transition into decel. So, as he is exiting the weaves you can be jogging up the line. And when he is approaching takeoff for 7, you can show a big decel to tighten up the turn there.
Pop out 4 looked great!!! My only suggestion on that one is to give him a brake arm as he exits the 7 tunnel, to get a collection stride on 8. He jumped it in big extension, which set up a zig zag to 9. The brake arm will add the collection while you turn your shoulder to 9.
Great job here!
Tracy
