[Tracy Sklenar]

I got the video to work – yay! Everything here looked really strong: FFC, throwback, threadle, LOP (plan those verbals before you release LOL!), and stays. Super!!!

So now… get moving sooner 🙂 On the FFC and threadle, you can move as soon as she hits the commitment plane which is the invisible 45 degree line that intersects the right angle created by the wing and the foot of the jump (high school geometry is finally useful haha). You started that at 2:22 (last rep) and she was very happy with it!) Bear in mind that when yo add movement, your upper body much stay super connected or she might end up on the wrong side.

You can also move sooner on the lead out push – after she lands from 1, stay connected and start to move! You started the moving at 2:10 and she was great 🙂

Great job here! Let me know how it goes with more movement :)
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! Nice work here!

Seq 1:
That threadle RC is hard especially for the small dogs!
Try to get the decel and hands to his eyes all before he takes off for 2. Since it is a relatively new skill, you can slow it down a lot so he figures out what it is 🙂 Since we can’t really slow him down, we can have you move more slowly through it to get his attention 🙂
As you begin to cue the threadle, think of it as 2 separate sections: threadle… then cue the jump. Once you have to threadle, cuingthe jump will be easy 🙂 So to cue the threadle, turn awa from the jump more so he dosn’t htink you can the jump. On this setup, it will almost feel like you are turning towards the tunnel or towards the camera. Then when he comes through gap, you can flip him back to the jump.

He is finding the 4-5-6-7 line like a pro and your blind cross 6-7 at :30 was AMAZING!!! When you tried it with a RC on the 4 tunne lat :37, it was not as clear to him, it definitely worked much better when he was on your left at :26.

The ending line looked good, I think the layering was a better choice because it got you ahead and kept him from going past the jumps behind the tunnel.

Seq 2:
SUPER nice job going from all the speed on the opening line, into the decel and getting his attention for the threadle wrap so nicely at :07. Yay! He needed a little more connection to show 4 on the 2nd run, so remember to connect as you decel into the line.

Getting him to get into the last tunnel was challenging – I think a little touch of decel and turning your shoulders earlier will help: so decel and rotate with connection as he exits 5 and starts to make a decision about the 6 jump, which should and him facing the tunnel: then use your left directional or his name before he enters the tunnel so he turns. He is very forward out of tunnels, and that is great, so he needs a strong turn cue to pick up the turn at the exit here 🙂

Looking at Levy’s video from the jumping perspective: he is just like CB at that age. I don’t think it is a jump height issue, I think it is a young dog plus handler connection issue. He is really inexperienced and learning to find the lines, and if your connection breaks? He doesn’t take the jump (normal young dog thing LOL!) When your connection is clear? He is great with the jumps. So as the jumps get higher, do very very simple sequences with ultra big connection, to get him finding the jumps. Then you can add in the more technical handling skills 🙂
I don’t think Levy will be a 24” jumping dog, because he is smaller than CB, right? CB is a full inch and a half below the 24” cutoff for AKC and UKI, and a half inch below the 24” cutoff for USDAA. When I see Levy next week, we can get a more accurate measurement 🙂

Great job here!! Both boys look terrific. Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning! Great job on these, lots of fun places to look at the tiny details 🙂

Looking at Kaladin’s runs:
The threadle wrap versus the BC/FC on the 2-3-4 line: both are effective and he reads the well! For now, the BC/FC was faster by a couple of strides (I timed it, couldn’t help myself LOL!) mainly because of the acceleration into it and also because on the exit of the FC, you were right at the wing and set a great line to the tunnel. You were the tiniest bit on his line when he needed it 2-3 on the blind, so leading out maybe 2 more steps will get the same line and he can power through it more because he won’t need to shorten up to let you get off the line.

The threadle wrap had more decel at 2 so that contributed to it being a little slower. Plus, you were a couple of steps away from the wing at 3 so he was a little wider there. As the threadle wrap gets more comfy, you can get it as faster of faster as the BC/FC by leading out less, to drive into it, and getting closer to the wing of 3 to set the line to the tunnel.

Looking at the middle line 5-6-7: the BC is very effective there! If you are going to layer (also very fast and effective) you were correctly NOT doing the BC 6-7 from way ahead. My suggestion there is to be a little more on the line you want (then get of it when he needs it) rather than move further across the bar of 7. Your line there should start at about where the wing meets the bar, and it should get him super straight to 7 (being a little further across added an extra stride or two).

On Min’s runs:
It was great to see the threadle wrap work nicely here! You might not need it when the BC-FC is available as an option, but it is great to have it when the threadle-wrap is the only option 🙂 I am convinced we will be seeing it as the only option more and more. As with Kaladin: the BC-FC is faster both because of the decel into the wrap and the exit line. On the threadle wrap exit line, you took a wider path and had to push her back to the tunnel, versus the FC on 3 where you were right on the wing to get a perfect line to the tunnel. I isolated and timed that section alone, taking out the threadle or the BC – and that better line from 3-4 was more than 2/10th faster! So, on the threadle wrap exits, drive the straight line to the tunnel and they will be almost equally as fast 🙂

On the FC versus BC at the 5-6-7 line: I agree that she was more hesitant on the FC and that it was probably because you were finishing the rotation as she was jumping. The blind as great and she seemed to LOVE the layering 🙂

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning and thanks for the update! Sounds like all the boys are doing really well!!!

Yes, the box sequences are harder for the bigger striding dogs that like to work at a distance – so good job working on the arm position, layering and connection that Mookie needed!

>> Buddy is slower and more thoughtful so we nailed all 4 seq first runs >>

Question: which dog do you run first? If you run Buddy first, great – next time try running Mookie first. Or vice versa- run Buddy before Mookie if you normally run Mookie first. This will challenge you to get it right the first time for whichever dog you run first. Dog #2 will benefit from you having already worked the course with the other dogs but since they are both pretty difference, switching the order a lot will ultimately benefit you as a handler, at trials, where you cannot decide who runs first 🙂

And congrats on your QQ!!! That is terrific! I am so excited to hear that he is running so well, and that you are able to use the tools we have been working on. SUPER!!!!

Thank you for the update and keep me posted!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

The walk through is looking good – nice pace, good lines!!! And since there were modifications, I can see where the course was 🙂 I think you can add even more connection, especially where he might be behind you. This will become second nature if I keep bugging everyone about it 🙂 Always try to look for the invisible dog in the walk through 🙂

I like how you tried different things on the runs – it helped to sharpen up different hand;Int tools as well as give you an idea of what worked best! Here are some thoughts for you:

Run 1 – he turned right on jump 3 but I think you wanted a left turn? The walk through seemed like a left turn wrap but maybe I am reading that wrong. You pushed in too much there so it turned him away like a RC

Good line after the weaves! You can layer that jump in front of the tunnel so you don’t have to run in as much to get the RC at 1:02

Ending looked good!

Trial 2: Different opening – you definitely wanted a right turn here on #3 🙂 It went well! You can consider turning left here because it is a better line to the weaves: he wanted to naturally land to the left and the line to the weaves is straighter on that side too.

I like the challenge of getting the blind after the straight tunnel! You got it but he had a big question at 1:34 (jumped up at your arm). At 1:33, you were about 3/4s of the way down the tunnel when he entered it, so he was not expecting a blind. He caught it when he exited – you can add more connection to his eyes there and less arm, so it is easier for him to see. The other option,, since he has such independent weaves, is to let him weave more independently while you hand back and let him pass you – to can then send him to the next jump from a position parallel to the tunnel entry, then cue the tunnel while you layer the jump and more easily get to the blind.

On the line after the blind, remember too decel into the wrap at 1:39 to tighten it. That will also help you set the line back too the tunnel, looked like he missed the jump before it at 1:44. The Threadle wrap at 1;51 is not quite as fluent as the other moves yet but definitely worthwhile to keep working on!!

3rd run: RC 3 to the left: LOVED it ! Boom! He was fast and happy too. On this run you were adding the more independent weaves! At2:22, you were t the tunnel entry while he was at pole 4: perfect. Try to stay there, send him to the 5 jump after the weaves, then you are easily ahead for the blind. At 2:23 you moved forward to 5 which made getting to the blind a little harder, so at 2L28 you were in roughly the same position as you were at 1:33.

RC wrap at 2:34 had more decel and looked strong!!

2:42 – a lot of pull, and he flicked away thinking he was done, maybe? The connection at 1:51 set that line better
The threadle wrap looked really good on the re-start t 2:52 and helped set up a good ending line.

4th run: another strong RC to the left on 3 followed by the independent poles. At 3:19 you didn’t go quite as close to 5, so you were the furthest ahead for the BC after the tunnel. I think you can keep playing with not going near 5 and staying nearer to the tunnel to get the easiest BC there.

RC to the left at 3:28 was SUPER NICE! And puts you ahead of him for the next line 🙂 which ran really well!
He came with you on the threadle RC moment at 3:36 but did not quite get the threadle cue – so your eye contact was strong there and you can add in making your hands more visible to him, to draw him in for the threadle. You can reward that even if it is an oopsie then try it again, he seems to get mad when there are re-starts 🙂

5th run: I really think this RC to the left is the winner choice in the opening, as well as the RC wrap to the left at 4:38 – SO NICE! At 4:48 you did a push to the backside instead of the threadle wrap: easy peasy! You cued it well and he read it perfectly. And that seemed to put you ahead for the entire ending. Super!!! So for now, the pushes are a better option than the threadle wraps, but keep training the threadle wraps so they are easier for him and you.

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

I am having trouble getting the video to play – I think it is an internet issue on end, so I will try again in a couple of hours. Here are some answers to your questions, though:

>No issues o the lead out, because the positional cue is very clear. And I also like training both physical cues, so that I can both – there is a time and place for each!<< OK, would be a lot easier also. Same verbal is ok?>>

Same verbal is great – we are naming the dog’s behavior, so the same verbal is great 🙂 Kind of like saying “sit” when w are standing, walking, or sitting and the dog should sit 🙂

>>OK, will try to remember to do that but will not be easy going to say – LOL. Initial thought is keep the li and ri as the elongated and the in as rapid fire.

It is not easy at first but it is super motivating when it makes handling so much easier – I practiced a whole lot without the dog to get it into my blood LOL

>>Had another q as was trying the tunnel threadle work and had big issues adding in the wing before – have to redo to show you. Wondering, I don’t have a collection cue as you mentioned in the video – how necessary do you think one is and what does it actually mean?>>

You already have the collection cue: the left/right or wrap cues. The general ‘collection cue’ was mentioned because which cue you choose depends specifically on how tight of a turn you need on the jump before it Might be a left/right, or in those flatter & harder threadles, might be a wrap!

>>I think my main issue adding in the wing before the tunnel threadle was I wasn’t getting my feet/body turned onto the threadle line early enough (was basically facing the wrong tunnel entry), but she is going so fast to the wing I don’t have time to do the before she is there already after releasing her. I ws using my wrap cues, but maybe the left/right would be better?>>

Might just be that the verbal was late and the easy tunnel entry was more obvious to her. Start her in a stay further away so you are closer to the wing, and have more time to set the turn and change her line. If that is still too hard, turn the “obvious” tunnel entry to a less obvious line, where she would have to move away from you to get it and can’t just lock onto it as easily. The wing would be more in the center of the tunnel.

Let me know how it goes! Be back soon with the video!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hello, happy Saturday!

>>So walk thrus should concentrate on connection and verbals. I am also finding I am a bit challenged by the spacial awareness, so that is also something else I concentrate on the walk thru, so it is a lot of stuff for 7 mins. And at the UKI trials when it is tall to small I am usually the first dog or very close to it and it does not give me enough time to rehearse the run>>

You’re correct, it is a lot for 7 minutes!
Let’s prioritize. Number 1 is connected. Number 2 is spatial awareness. #3 is verbals. So for the next courses and trials, concentrate only on connection. When that is comfy, we will add spatial awareness. Then last? Verbals! That will help you get good at each one!
Let me know what you think 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Just a quick Saturday night summary –
You didn’t blow the handling! You had some bloopers on some evil courses with an inexperienced dogs. The great stuff outweighs the bloopers! My only suggestion is to not stop and fix anything – just keep going after a fault, run run run 🙂 that’ll keep her happy and driven. She was high, but not too high – she is looking good and so are you!
This is her first experience on courses like those and in an event like this: you’re doing great! Stay connected and run your pants off on Sunday!

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Yes, it is weird LOL! But very very effective. I’m sure my friends at trials and neighbors at home think I’m nuts, but it really helps my handing 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

That Cosmo looked YUMMY!

The serping is going well! She had the miss on the first one, no worries – the rest all looked good. You can use the first rep as a bit of a ‘warm up’ by angling the serp jump so she sees it a little better, then after a success you can ‘flatten’ it what it was here. Since I am always obsessing on handler mechanics – to get the serp shoulders of being open to the jump (shoulders facing the bar more for serps) – would it be easer to show serp shoulder position if your arm was higher, at shoulder height? There are two spots where a high arm is useful: Serps and threadle slices. The high arm in those 2 spots make things easier for both you (easier to rotate the upper body) and her (the connection is clear with the high arm in those 2 instances, because the upper body is rotated back to the dog). Keeping the arm low might be losing the connection a bit, making it harder for you to show the serp position while running. Play around with it and let me know if it is more comfy – and yes, you can totally have a cosmo in your serp up when it is a little higher too 🙂

RC video – wow those first 2 runs were great! Those are HARD RC angles and getting the backside on 3 is hard too: nailed it! She stumbled a little on the exit of the first tunnel but I think it was because she is getting really powerful and needs more tunnel bags. The water bottle rep looked good too – you were later getting to the backside because you were switching the water bottle but even being a little late: Connection was SUPER clear and she got it. Yay! I think the connection on all 3 runs looked great – extra click/treat/cosmo for you for the connection as you exited the FC after the backside: super duper clear and she had no questions. That is an easy spot to lose the dogs to the wrong end of the tunnel if we are not connected, and she had zero questions.

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

I am so glad the suggestions made sense, the video looked great! The name call and line both totally helped, no trouble on any of the these – only one wide turn when you were late calling her. Super! You can quiet the name calls (more of a whispered ‘Beka beka’ and less of a yelled “BEKABEKABEKABEKA” because the whispering will draw her in even more 🙂

FFC – great job rewarding the stay after your hand has gone into position! We don’t want the hand movement to be the release. She read the FFCs really well! The next thing to add is releasing her on her threadle/slice cues. “OK” is generally a front side indicator, and threadle/slice is a great way to indicate the FFC cue. The lead out push also looked great here!

Forced threadle:
She is reading these well too! You were good about not twitching too soon most of them 🙂 One thing to consider here is changing the delivery of the verbals so they are more different from each other: in in in and le le le (and ri ri ri) are almost identical except for the letters. Pitch, rhythm, speed are basically the same, which makes it harder for her to differentiate (especially when you add motion). So you can keep one of them as a ‘rapidfire’ cue, and the other can be softer and more elongated, to make them different.
About the foot position – I think using the dog-side arm and not the cross arm will help the foot position feel a lot better. With the cross arm, you have to twist a lot which makes the proper foot position very hard. That ended up morphing into a FFC in the 2nd half of the video 🙂

>> Question – I opted not to do the Forced Threadle using the ‘serp’ arm as wanted to ask you a question. You don’t see any issues doing that re it’s the same arm as for serps or if planning on using the cross arm for jump threadle’s mid course?

No issues o the lead out, because the positional cue is very clear. And I also like training both physical cues, so that I can both – there is a time and place for each!

>> On the teeter work a question – if she is totally comfortable I assume it is ok to drop the teeter after 2 sessions at same amount of drop?

Yes, if she is totally comfy, drop it another notch but each time you do that, add back something to dampen the sound and stabilize the board a bit, just to help guarantee she will be happy with it.

>> Also, when can we post until?

We have until September 15th :)

Great job here!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

The physical cues in the walk through all looked good – very clear connection!

You can work this in the walk through too 🙂 You were very quiet, so the next step now is to do the walk through like you did here and add in the verbal cues, both in terms of which ones to use and when to use them. That will immediately help you get them out sooner, because your brain won’t need to ‘reach’ for them in the moment of running the dogs, the verbals will be prepped and ready to go without active thought. It might not feel like you are actively thinking about them, but the slight delay means you are actively thinking about them in the moment.

The run looked really strong! Yay! Keiko and I both loved the extra tunnel at the ending 🙂 Looking at the run – the big thing I see here is another vote to work your verbals in the walk through too, and work them at the same volume and intensity as you would use them in the run. The reason for this is not just to get them out sooner, but also to match the physical cues to them. In the run, the big loud verbal change your physical cues with both RCs:
On the first RC, the verbal got more motion from you and also caused your arm to go up higher. That worked in your favor here, as you got more acceleration and maintained connection so she nailed it.,
On the 2nd RC, the verbal also got more motion from you…. but that did not work as well because the 2nd RC needed a tight wrap which needed decel. So the verbal needed to be quieter and match the decel you used in the walk through to get the tight turn. She was a little wider here, reading the motion and the urgency of the verbal.

Since everything is going so well, I think this is the perfect next step: verbals in the walk through 🙂 Big loud ones on the extension lines, and softer ones when you need the tight turns.

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

[Tracy Sklenar]

This is good info!!! It seems that the resilience factor is more about changes in reinforcement (internal environment) than changes in external environment. Track it – each time it happens, try to jot down a note about what changed. Then we find the pattern and help her out.

I’m glad she got back on the teeter 🙂 I didn’t think you’d see any big issues getting her back on, but I’m glad to hear the session went well. The cone is a great tool (change in external environment, no problem, leads to a chance to move more, all good!!)

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

Great job working through the threadle wraps!

>> Threadle Wrap but the angle between jumps 2 and 3 “messed with my head”. Got it eventually but I’m not really comfortable with the Threadle, Sly on the other hand nailed the wrap >>

It is a really hard angle, a true threadle. On the first couple of reps you needed a bit More turn cue on 2 (so that starts on landing of 1) then the threadle wrap with one more step from you to help him take the jump in the context of a sequence. Looking at 1:24, for example, you used handling to get collection before takeoff of 2, then the threadle wrap was much easier. NICE!!!

>> Easily able to get to where I needed to be to front between 2 and 3 to do the wrap with Sly on my right. Tried this with me on both the landing and takeoff side of the jump.

Doing the FC to the backside wrap on the rep that started at 1:43 was easier for him to read for sure! However, it was not necessarily faster than the threadle wrap – when I timed it, it was at best equal to the threadle wrap. Interesting!!! So if we can get the threadle wrap more comfy for you both, that will ultimately be faster 🙂 The 2nd rep of the FC to the backside wrap was slower by a stride because you were late on the FC and a step too far off the line on landing of 2, so he landed wider.

>>I liked going in for 7, 8, 9 better than layering the tunnel.

The rest was easy and looked really good! Running with him on the other side of the tunnel was a stride faster than the layering (yes, I timed it LOL!) but I think that you can give more connection and verbals support in the layering, and that will end up faster. It looked like he slowed down a little as you got quiet and looked ahead at the last jump. And the choice to layer or not will depend on what is next on course, so it is good to have both tools in your pocket 🙂

>> My 5 and 6 are a little closer than yours and when I walked it a front felt better than a blind there. Tried both, not sure I have a preference, need to figure out how to time the 2. >>

I think it depends on if you are running into it or planning the layering:
To set up the laying, do the FC because as you exit the rotation, you won’t be as far ahead of him and can send him away into the line without you needing to decelerate. To set up running ahead of him – do the blind like at 2:13 because it gets you ahead, faster, which speeds him up too! The blind into the layering is likely to feel more awkward, because you can really accelerate through the blind which puts you way ahead… but for the layering you would then need to decelerate or even back pedal, which is counterproductive. Let me know if that makes sense!

Great job here!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

I am glad you had fun with these sequences – the rear crosses are an important tool for us and our dogs 🙂 He looked great – he was indeed vocal but in a good way!

>> After watching them, I wonder why my arms are so high on the walk throughs with my invisible dog.

I don’t know why you had your hand so high either LOL! Maybe as a way of connecting to the dog? You were looking forward so the arm up might be a way to connecting, but you can switch that to looking at his eyes more. Or maybe your body was subconsciously planning a send? Your arm did went up when you sent to the backside, but it worked well there because you were connected before it.

>> Also, I’m thinking about changing my verbal for backside wrap to push instead of “ah nanana” (too hard to say).

I like the push words, and I agree that ah nana nana is harder to stay (plus if you use lalala too, it sounds too much alike.

Seq A:
The runs looked consistently great! I think you can put that converging pressure on him even sooner: you were being a little polite and waited for him at 2 – because he is so fast, I bet you can take off up the line and head directly to the wing of 3 – then if he is still behind you, you can decel at 3 to set the line for the RC or get right on it if he has caught up to you.
The backside and blind to the tunnel looked awesome 🙂
On the sends to the tunnel, you can send more with verbals and connection while your feet move away, to see if you can get ahead and layer the jump
And not he last rep when you did NOT want the rear cross? Your handling was SUPER clear and he nailed it.

One small suggestion on the RC itself: I notice that as you start the RC line, he looked at your for a step at :47, 1:08, and 1:35. He got the RC right on all of them, so I think he is looking at you either because you are closing your dog-side shoulder forward (so he is not sure if it is a post turn or a RC), or he is not totally comfortable with RCs (or both :)) So try to keep your dog-side arm back more and make a little more eye contact connection with him as he is passing you (sounds counterintuitive but works really well). And throw lots of rewards to the landing of the RC. Those 2 things should help him stop looking at you.

Seq B:
On the walk through, you are going to close to 3 – see if you can RC 2 and send away to 3 while not going much past 2 at all. THe first run went well because you ran your pants off! Your tried leaving sooner at 3 on the 2nd run, but that caused a disconnection so he dropped the bar at 3 (the wing at 5 was just him chasing the reward :)) The 3rd run went well because of your hustle 🙂 So if you try this one again or see something similar, try to do the big send to 3, support the line to the 4 tunnel rom miles away (you will be between 1 and 2, ideally, when he gets into the tunnel) and then you can meet him at 5 with lots of speed from him and very little effort on your part 🙂

Seq C – looks like this tight wrap away skill is strong, because you got him doing it right away and your were using clear verbals – and you didn’t not need to run all the way to the jump and show rear cross. Yay!

When you added it to the bigger sequences: you definitely get the need to NOT go all the way down to the #3 jump 🙂 and at :37 and 1:02 you were already much further from 3 and 4. That definitely helped you get back up the line to deal with the tight RC at the end!

The blooper at 1:09 was great – not enough connection as you set up the tight rear cross and you turned your shoulders a lot… so he read it as a threadle wrap. That is good to know, for when you want to use a threadle wrap: rotate more, connect less, and he will nail it! You fixed it for. The next rep: a little more connect and less shoulder turn at 1:32, and he was back to doing the RC perfectly.

The walk through for the other sequence as next, and it was interesting: you walk it very differently than you actually run it! When you run it, you have lower arms, a lot more connection, more speed, more verbals. The walk through is probably muscle memory from doing walk throughs: quiet, slower, arms high. The more you can convince your arms to stay down, worth the connections, the verbals, etc – the better your runs will be because your brain will do less multi-tasking during the runs, devoting more bandwidth to the harder stuff and the easier stuff (like connection) will be automatic)

On the last sequence: I agree, he might have been getting a little tired, but he was still running well! There were two tiny details:

On the first run, you didn’t quite get connection after the first tunnel at 2:20 so he didn’t layer, then you were much clearer on the last rep so he was perfect again.
And on the last RC – it probably felt more pressured to you because there was so much more speed, and so at 2:23 and on the last rep you gave him more of a shoulder pull than he needs to set up the last RC. Compare it to the Seq A runs where he didn’t really need the help, he found it really well without the shoulder pull. So when you are in the high speed situation, you can keep moving forward on the diagonal like you did when there was less speed, and I am confident he will be great 🙂
Lovely work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

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