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Good morning!
This video is a trial run – a really fabulous run, especially the ending line after the dog walk – that is a really bad dog walk entry (illegal in UKI!) so good job to you for getting her on it and getting the ending line too!!
Can you repost the training video 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
This was definitely a more aggressive, proactive approach to this course 🙂 YAY!!!
The opening looked good, no problem getting the blind 3-4. You you drove her harder to the weaves and also to the 7-8-9 line that all looked really strong!!
Check out the send and leave at 10 at :22!! You were earlier wiht all the cues, she committed really well. And by leaving early and not managing things there, she did not look at the off courses at all. And hat put you in a great position for the next section!
Great job trying for the 12-13-14 blind – on these blinds when the distance is short, you probably don’t have time to complete the spin, look over your left side to cue 13, then do the blind to your right side. You can do directly to the right side after the spin so it will feel like one gigantic front cross, trusting that she will take 13 because of your motion.
But even though you didn’t quite get the blind, note how that running line still set up a great turn to the 15 tunnel at :29! Good job going with the flow there, and the switch at the end looked great!
>>Dancer sometimes still checks in with me even when I give her an on time cue.>>
A couple of ideas for you:
In some spots, it is likely that you were late or showing conflicting motion. For example, at :06 for tunnel #4, you said go after she exited, which was late so she was looking at you. The Go verbal for the straight exit should start before she enters, and say it a few times. Then after she exits, you can switch to the next cue.
The other spot she looked at you was at :09 when you said ‘get your weaves’ – the verbal was good but you turned early which was near a jump, so she looked at you because verbal said one thing and body said another. So keep running straight at the weaves til she looks at the weaves, then you can peel away.
In other instances, you might be getting looking at you if the placement of reward is near you a lot. So be sure to do a lot of throwing rewards (or having someone else throw) rather than reward from your hand or dropping a toy near you.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
She did so well here! Baby dog kickin’ butt! And it was a great session for figuring out what she needs in terms of handling support and what she does not need (she does not need clapping, more below on that 🤣🤣🤣😂)
Overall – her questions had to do with needing more connection in the handling. One of the things that we will be working on in the next set of courses is learning how to let the dogs “cue” us to move to the next step on course. And the main way to do it is to watch her head – deliver all cues to her eyes and when she looks at the line… then you can do the next thing.
So applying this to the opening:
When she exits the #2 tunnel, look at her eyes and cue the jump when she exits the tunnel, and keep watching her. You can be moving forward and decelerating into the cross as you do this, but you can’t do the cross til she looks at 3.
The cues were not connected to her eyes on the first rep, so you rotated too soon at :07 and she came off the jump. When that happens, reward her like it was perfectly correct or keep going – she got frustrated and barked at you (her response was correct, and we don’t want her to get frustrated)
The get out works on the next rep because your connection was too her eyeballs 🙂 at :44 so now the next step is to keep that connection and accelerate into it more 🙂 instead of decelerating to meet her at the tunnel exit.
At timing thing to add: after the cross at 3, give her the go or get out cue before she enters the tunnel (and say it several times) so she exits straight and doesn’t look at you. When you get quiet, she curls in a bit which makes the next jump harder (no time for you to breathe there, sorry LOL! )
Good job continuing after the weaves on the first run, she got them nicely on the 2nd run because you affirmed her effort on the first run 🙂
Nice line to the Tunnel (7-8 -9) – you might have been a little closer to 7 on the 2nd run so it was not quite as clear to her, so you can be saying your tunnel cue sooner.The wrap on 10 was another connection question, where she will cue you when you can leave the jump:
>>I tried to do the wrap at 10 and I could not get my feet around and bought the orange tunnel, Or if I left too early I bought the jump.>>
On the wrap at 10 at :31 – look directly at her, not ahead of her. And don’t start the rotation til she is looking at the jump. She will cue you when it is time to rotate and turn 🙂 You were looking ahead of her, so she was looking at you and never committed. I know a lot of people say to look at the takeoff spot but I disagree and so does Chata hahaha!
She was correct to end up in the tunnel at :35 based on your position, good rewarding there 🙂
>>The blind was the only thing that worked.
I love tight blind crosses, you won’t hear complaining from me about it LOL!
You had better motion and connection at 10 at 1:02, so she committed better and the blind worked really well! She needs a bit more connection after the blind (eye contact as you leave, fingers pointed back to her nose) to tighten it a little more. But you can see how well it worked to create that line.
I like the blind here because it commits her, turns her, and lets you get way ahead of the line.
OK let’s talk about the clapping…. Stop with the clapping 😂🤣😂🤣 I don’t want you to think that it is the clapping that is getting things done, because the clapping is a band aid for late cues. She did not need the clapping after the blind here, she had the line. And, while clapping, you are giving no info about what it next so she was looking at you like “with, mom” (and so was I LOL!!!). I prefer that the dogs go off course and get rewarded for driving lines, than we pull them off things by clapping 🙂
Great job with the blind on the 12-13-14 line! I love that blind there too! After the blind, she needs more info in the form of decel and a left verbal of some sort. You were a little lat on the decel, and super loud with the verbal which propelled her a little further away – get quieter with your verbals cues and slow down your motion. And don’t clap LOL! She does not need it at all.
The other thing she didn’t need: She didn’t need waiting or helping at the tunnel entry at 1:13 – she totally had it! Good to know! And safer for your knees to cue it and be able to leave. Your connection was lovely there.
On the ending line, 2nd to last jump: slice it! The wrap is the harder/slower turn, which is why she was wider and hand opinions. You had plenty of time to get up there and do a blind on the takeoff side there to get a lovely slice.
Overall, great job! She is looking fast and happy with a TON of skills!!
TracyGood morning!
Great seeing you in class last night 🙂>>Adding the tunnel proved to be very distracting. Sprite doesn’t like to put in collection strides.
Because it is really hard 🙂 I don’t think it is a like or dislike issue, I think it is a processing thing: SO much happening that her brain needs to process during these learning stages. And remember that the front of her brain is relatively new in terms of development, so she is getting used to it LOL!
I think she did REALLY well – be sure to resist temptation to use any markers of things going wrong or using any verbal corrections. That can be confusing and stressful for her, because either she was correct based on the handling or the processing has a bit of high latency (new skills, young dog). High latency is not incorrect, so we want to keep frustration out of it and let her process. You will see her sort it out, then latent learning kicks in and she will own the skill 🙂
>>Sequence one proved most challenging. Either the tunnel OR more often the off course after 4. >>
Yes, it is really hard – the line is not as simple as it looks!!! I think she did a great job, actually!!!
She ended up in the tunnel at :06 – you were a little in the way on the landing o 3 so she picked up the line to the tunnel (because you were on the line she needed). You were a step further up the line after that and she was correct each time. Super!!!
Second rep – NOT taking the off course jump is really hard, you can move it a little further away so it is not quite as visible but also – she needs more info 🙂 In particular, I would use more verbals with her, even if the verbal is her name. The reason I suggest this is that with just the handling, she has to process a relatively small movement (upper body connection change) against the motion up the line which looks similar enough to the cue to take the jump. So if you add more verbal cues (either more “left left left” or her name repeated) then that will help her process this a lot more easily. You said one left and then got really quiet – too quiet at :19 – so more verbals will really help her!
When she went off course, don’t let on that you are frustrated and keep going as if it didn’t happen (because the video will almost always show a handling error of some sort – in this case, not enough information to support the physical cue). You used a
mild marker then a bigger verbal correction after you were heading back to start again (she was still offering behaviors, trying to figure out what had happened, she was not being naughty). A reward would have been fine there, because she was doing the best she can with her understanding and the info.Breaking it down totally helped her with that line, she could see it more easily for sure!
>>Timing of the spin was late.
Actually, the fist two were early which is why she turned left (rear cross) not right. At :33 and :48 you had the sudden decel as she landed and at the same time, turned your feet to the left, so she correctly picked it up as a rear cross.
Spins need the same transition (fast, slow, rotate) as a wrap FC. At 1:02, you had more of that transition for sure, so she got it really nicely! So as she is jumping 5, you can be decelerating/standing up and then as she has landed and is looking at 6, you can start the FC element of the spin, then do the BC element. It step should feel pretty distinct which is why it might feel late – but it was not and she did put in a collection! Super!
Sequence 2:
I think 1-2-3 looked great, very nice backside send and understanding on her part! No worries about starting on that side of 1, it is actually a shade harder LOL!On the 3-4 line, you were over-helping by giving a big shoulder pull, which is why she was convinced that it was the tunnel or something (maybe a pull to a backside threadle) and not the front of the jump on. The first 2 reps.
At :06 you can see that as she exits the wrap on 3, you have turned your shoulders to the tunnel entry. :17 was similar but looked more like a threadle to the backside wrap? Her decision got made when she saw those cues, so you didn’t get the front of the jump.:35 and :55 – you NAILED it (no shoulder pulls) so she of course nailed it to 🙂 The other thing that was super nice about that one was that you had decel as an important element of it so she put in a nice collection and was super tight around the wing even with the tunnel right there (nice connection from you too, that totally helped!)
So, the difference in handling on the reps 1, 2 and 3/4 is what made the difference in the line you wanted. That is why it is soooo important to NOT use verbal markers/corrections when things go wrong… because it is entirely possible the dog is correct 🙂 And on those reps at :06 and :17, she was 100% reading your handling correctly, then was confused about why you were telling her that she was wrong. So when in doubt: reward, then go watch the video before the next rep – I bet you will see the handling you need to switch up. And if, in the super rare moment that the dog actually made a mistake? Well, one reward doesn’t actually build a behavior LOL so rewarding is still fine because it maintains the balanced arousal state and keeps frustration down.
Seq 3:
She did really well here!
>>But, pretty wide turns.
Not really – one was a style question that we can change, one was a timing question that you fixed during the session.
First up, the style question: by style, I mean style of handling the wrap at 2 🙂 Jump 2 should be a backside here and I think it will set a better line to the tunnel, but we can look at helping get a tighter wrap!
You were rotated sideways and indicating the takeoff spot at :03, :22, and :42 and remaining pretty stationary til she got there. The turns were decent but I think we can get more collection with a different style: be more fully rotated towards her, feet facing the tunnel more and not the jump, with you looking at her eyes (not at the takeoff point). Your hands can be pointing at her eyes too. And then as she is approaching you, you should be moving away to the tunnel. So that is a different physical cue which can cue the collection sooner.
At 1:02, you had the most foot rotation of the reps here, and you started moving away sooner – and had the best turn so far. Yay!! So keep playing with that rotation facing her more and moving away sooner. We might have to adjust it as we go but I think it will really help.
The timing question was on the FC at :09 and :28 – you slowed down at 4 then had a big acceleration into the FC 5-6 and a little late starting the FC, so she was making her takeoff decisions based on that.
:48 was much better and earlier! She might have been a bit tired at this point – you don’t have to run all of this at full height (this was the 11th or 12th run or something) , you will still get great info at 16”. So staying in motion through 4, so you don’t have a burst of speed to get ti 5-6 will help the timing of the FC, and don’t be quiet 🙂 Calling her or giving her a right verbal will give her one more layer of info to help. There will always be a ‘round’ shape to this turn because of the line here but her last 2 reps were looking early strong!
Nice turn on 7 and nice ending line! 3 of the 4 reps looked terrific (reps 1, 2, 4). The one rep at :52 was a little late and you stepped more towards the slice so she ha more trouble there, but the last rep’s handling looked more like the first 2, where you had a good send and a really nice line in and out of it (not going past where the wing and bar meet).
Great job on these! Now, let latent learning kick in, give her body a day or two or rest, then try the other sequences 🙂
Tracy
Ya know, I think I like it too! HALT is more of the widely accepted thing but I don’t really have the same reaction to being alone/lonely – I love people but I am also happy to have alone time.
Now, being rushed? YEP! I feel that too as a source of anxiety! So I am going to use HART now too, as a way to help control my responses to whatever is happening.
TWow, that a most excellent day!!! And you can add to it: your boys doing AWESOME in class because you were connected, smooth, and FAST! Super!
The yoga practice is a double whammy of goodness because it is so good for the mind AND body. I need to get myself back into yoga!!
T
Now that I have watched that, TikTok algorithms are sending all sorts of fun stuff! I will share some links – hilarious!
This is good info! Especially with higher arousal and higher value reinforcement, the clarity of what is about to happen is really important to help her return to baseline (this will be especially true during adolescence, when the science tells us it takes twice as long to return to baseline). So, for now, keep things super clear. And you can also start teaching her the new Remote Reinforcement game (posted yesterday) so that she begins to understand that sometimes the reward will be behind her.
Tracy
Hi!
>>>>I’m so glad you explained this because I really thought the issue was because the toy was visible vs. a connection problem but you were so right (of course!) when I looked at it again and I absolutely don’t want to do anything to get him discouraged. Whenever imperfect things happen, I will reward. That’s so much more fun anyway.>>
I used to think it was an impulse control issue with the toy… but then after watching 10,000,000,000,000 hours of videos during The Covid Times, this issue only ever happened when the handling was unclear especially in terms of connection. And the dogs were not really jumping for the toy, they were trying to look at the handler. And when the handling was clear? The toy could be out there dangling around and there was no issue LOL! And that was the same for puppies, adults, food, toys, etc. So it is an information-seeking issue, not a self-control issue. And great info from the pup!
>>
I will DEFINITELY check out that show! I love a funny and offensive show. Letter Kenny is one that also comes to mind, but may only be funny if you grew up in Canada or very close to the border like I did. LOL!>>We totally watched Letterkenny LOL! And you will either LOVE Curb Your Enthusiasm, or you will think it is terrible. Or maybe both at the same time 🙂
On the “get out” video: this session went really well!! Nice!!!!!
>>What’s super embarrassing on this one is that I didn’t say “Get It!” to get the treat even once! What is wrong with me!? >>
No worries – you were focused on your mechanics and I think you did say the ‘get it’ for the treat here and there. He had no questions, all is good 🙂 Just remember to keep moving forward on both the out and the come-with-me reps, you were sometimes stopping on the ‘out’ reps.
<>> I guess I needed a moment and to complete the stress cycle but I didn’t. LOL!!
Ha!! That is hilarious!!! You need some treats scattered about too LOL
>>In this session I debated having him do a sit/stay vs. the treat toss so just kind of experimented with both a bit. Not clear if one way was better or not this time around, but I’m sure with more motion it will need to be cookie toss in the future anyway.>>
Both were good here! And you can totally add more distance away from the prop, he did really well. Distance is probably more important than motion at this point.
Great job!
TracyHi!
>>The RC was a fail
I think for the RC, you would have to lead out even less and get onto the RC line sooner…. probably not worth all that extra effort in order to try to make it easier LOL!
I really liked the blind – big powerful strides from Enzo and he knew exactly where he was going. And since you did the lead out push after it… I had to time the difference (this should surprise no one LOL!!)
The blind was definitely faster! Not by a ton, but by about a stride and that is the difference between a placement and a too-bad-so-sad in the big 20″ class 🙂And, an added bonus that I could not time because the video was edited: on the blind opening, you were passing the 11 jum pas he entered the tunnel. On the lead out push opening, you were not yet past the blue tunnel and not near 11 when he entered the tunnel. It is always a benefit to be ahead with a RDW!
So that goes into the toolbox as: he has the skill, it is faster, definitely choose it in this scenario 🙂 The 5-6-7-8-9 section looked great, including the layering of the 12-17-2 jump. He was curling in off the frame a bit on the way to the 10 backside so you went in to help him – can you start saying the around cue when he is at the apex of the frame? And as soon as he looks at the backside, you can leave again for the 11-12 line – watching his head o the way to the backside will let you know when he gives you permission to leave for the next line.
The other thing to consider there is using an outside arm to cue the backside, so you don’t have to use convergence. The outside arm is a convergence cue without motion, so the dog gets on the line but we humans don’t have to run to it 🙂 I use the outside arm to get backsides at a distance, because if I have to run in to support the line, then I end up out of position for the next line. It is a handling move totally stolen from the Europeans LOL!
>.. I had to redo the end because of laziness.
>> Ha! Yes, but the redo was lovely 🙂
Great job!
TracyHello!
>> I love the idea of turning jump 2 while we develop the backside skill. I also think the double front cross will work and he will be able to do that I think pretty easily.
Perfect! And training the skill will make it easier for later on when we need it too 🙂
>>The air quality in my area is code purple. I hope it will be a bit better by this evening. Also Quantico is bombing today which is really hard on Watson. I wanted to give you a heads up as he will not be at his best tonight. I plan on keeping inside until it’s our turn and if it is ok keeping the session short. I wanted to give you a heads up if you need to adjust anything.>>
Poor Watson!!! Keep me posted – we can always try to move you to a different class if the weather and the bombing just makes today too hard!
TracyHi!
Nice work on these!!
>>Rep 1 – she read the blind well! Not sure if my timing was great there though. At 6 I used our still pretty new threadle verbal “close” and she got confused & spun.
Yes! The blind was great! And the blinds will definitely keep you ahead on most courses. You can start it even sooner, when you see her land from 2.
I am not sure you need a threadle cue on the 5-6-7 line – as she landed from 5, you had turned your shoulders forward but 5 is a serp, so you will want to rotate your shoulders towards the jump to cue the serp (like Bazinga’s strike a pose game :)) and then keep moving to 6. 6 is a wrap, so a wrap cue and running away to 7 should work like a charm 🙂>>Rep 2 – I clicked into auto-pilot and did rear crosses. I left it in so you could see the difference. I know I’m supposed to run it the same way for the exercise! GAH! I’ll stick to the blind.
The RC looked great! And it is definitely a comfy move for you, so yes, keep working on those blinds so they get comfy too 🙂 You did more of a serp on 5 and a wrap on 6, and she read it really well!!!
>.Rep 3 – back to the blind. I kept quiet at the threadle and she read the body language.
The blind went really well here too! And yes, not using the threadle helps her (because I think she and I agree that it is a serp, not a threadle LOL!!) So on the serp line at 5, you can lock your left arm back and turn your shoulders to the bar more but definitely keep your feet running forward like you did – that was great!!!
She is definitely ready for you to add the extra jump, and then if that goes well, add the tunnel too!
Great job 🙂
TracyHi!
>.The angle of the video from Monday is not great since I was alone.
Actually, this angle was perfect because we could see what she saw when she exited the tunnel!!!
At :07, first rep, you were just really early on the blind. If you wanted her to go tunnel to tunnel and not even consider the jump… that would be the timing 🙂
She had a wonky line up on the next rep, so missed jump 1, good job fixing her position on the other reps.
At :48 you were less early… but still early LOL! She never saw a commitment cue to 3 when she exited the tunnel, only your back and arm at your side, as you migrated to the red tunnel. So she started to commit but then you were over-managing and did the FC early, so she didn’t take the jump.
It is a champagne problem to be early LOL!!!
At :57, you went into over-helping mode with a big decel so she took the jump and collected but no other info (you were facing forward til liftoff) so she dropped the bar.
So 2 suggestions for you:
– watch the video after each and every rep if something has gone wrong. Don’t do another run until you have watched it in slow motion, looking at you connection and timing. Yes, it is a little bit of a pain in the butt but it will be a HUGE game changer! So at :07 you will see that she is just barely out of the tunnel and you are already finished with the blind cross over by the tunnel entry at 4. And you never gave a jump verbal, you were silent. So, she was correct.
– to reduce the rushing that happens with such a fast (and opinionated) dog, think of things a little differently: let her cue you when she is ready for you to go to the next line. So what I mean by that is:
when she is exiting the tunnel here, you should be moving up the line towards 3, arm bac to her, looking at her face, giving a jump verbal. And when you see her exit the tunnel and look at the jump: that is her cue for you to do the blind and move on. On this video, she never cued you to do the blind (or front) because she never had a chance to look at the #3 jump.Let me know if that makes sense! You won’t have to do it on every single line, but any cross or commitment cue will really be much easer if you watch for the moment she cues you to do the next thing 🙂
TracyHi!
>>I’m going to try really hard to stop stopping! I’ve been doing it for a VERY long time, so I know I will make mistakes with that.>>
You will get used to it with some practice – and it is also very useful for thinking on your feet at trials if something unexpected happens!
Seq 2:
I think turning her to her left over jump 1 so she lands facing the backside will be a better line than turning right on that first rep. And, not taking the jump bar on the backside is a training question, not a handling question. You handled it more by standing still at :19 but that made you late getting the line and connection for the wrap at 4. So on those hard angles of entry, you can run past and drop a reinforcement on the landing side so she looks for the bar and not at you 🙂When you added the tunnel, you turned her to the left and it worked a lot better AND she took the bar on the backside without extra help – so maybe getting the coordination from the harder angle of entry was what made it harder to take the jump?
She had a little question at :40 – in that spot, you can turn to the exit wing of 4, looks like you ran straight to the center of the bar then rotated to your right so she read RC. She sees everything!
Also in the category of “Nox Sees Everything” 🙂 watch the section from :55 to :57 in slow motion: she started to turn to her left when your right leg stepped forward. Then your left leg stepped back *before she took off* and your right leg stepped back, so she adjusted to the RC into and turned right.
Compare to :34 where you kept your right leg forward until she took off and then you stepped back, so she read the left turn. You kept your right leg forward a little longer too at 1:00, so she turned left. So to get that turn, hold the cue until you see her committing to the left turn – and since it is jump 1, it is probably going to be at takeoff!Remember to ramp up the eye contact to keep strong connection, especially when the tunnel is in the way like at 3-4-5:
Your connection got really soft over 3 at 1:04 and you were looking forward at 1:07 so she took te tunnel. Compare to 1:18 for 3 and 1:21 for the FC at 4, both of which had great connection and she got it really well!Sequence 3 – the opening looked great 1-2-3 but then connection softened (looking forward, arm parallel to your side) and you were pretty far from the 4 jump so didn’t take it, Ideally, your fingers are pointed at her nose and eyes on her eyes – that will help set the lines. Also, try to run with empty hands (the lotus ball can be in your pocket or something). I don’t think she is looking at it, but not holding it will help you improve your connection by using your hand to point to her rather than hold something, and also it will help you keep going! If things come off the rails, keep going to get her back on a line, any line, even if it is the tunnel – then throw the lotus ball. I want to keep frustration down with staying in motion and lots of rewards, but also if she is running at your side and barking at you and you throw it… we could create other unwanted behavior. So at 1:35, for example, you can keep running to the tunnel then throw the lotus ball after getting it out of your pocket.
The next rep had much better connection on the 3-4-5 section! Yay!
Freeze the video at 1:56 and you will see she is pretty wide to the tunnel – that happened for a few reasons: the Fc was a little late (started as she was lifting off for 5 and ideally you would be pretty much finished at that point) and also as she is finishing the turn, she can only really see your back: your shoulders are closed forward so even though your head is turned, she can’t see the connection which indicates the line. So, she drifts a bit to wait for you to move, which gives her line info (and then she drives to you). Note your hand position, pointing to the takeoff spot. If you can change that and point to her nose as you make connection, she will see an entirely different picture and be able to make the turns soonerAt 2:22 and 2:43 you had the same timing and arm position but you were moving forward sooner, so the turn was better! The earlier timing and pointing to her nose will really help 🙂
>>You said to keep moving my feet to the next line, but as you have seen, we have a lot of issues when I start moving to the next line before she’s completed everything on the current one. I’m not sure how to keep my feet pointing at the next line while still giving her the support she needs to prevent those arguments we sometimes have.>>
I think the section at jump 7 at 1:58 and 2:24 will help answer this question:
watching her head will let you know when she cues you to go to the next line.
So to make that work and let her cue you:
– keep moving to the current line while watching her head.
– when her head is looking at the correct line, that is her cue for you to move forward to the next line.So looking at 1:58 and 2:24, you decelerated and stopped moving forward when she landed from 6, and started to rotate (your arm got high, your feet curled away from the line towards the front of 7, and you started to step back into the FC). But, she had never looked at 7, so she came off the line and barked.
Ideally, you would keep moving forward, looking at her head until she looks onto the 7 jump. Yes, you can be decelerating but you can’t start stepping back until she cues you to do so, by looking at the line you want there. So she doesn’t have to have completed it – she just needs to see it and give you permission to leave by looking at it 🙂
Note the difference at 2:45 when you kept moving forward on the line to the backside til she was passing you and looking at the entry wing, and then you started the FC. Nice!!
Let me know if this makes sense: keep moving forward and she will cue you as to when you can leave, and don’t leave any sooner than that 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
