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Good morning!
The title card is back! Yay! So cute đ
The turn aways looked great! You were precise with your lineup at your side, which really helped her (she might have needed a release word on the 2nd side, she might have thought she was in a stay!). And you were super clear with your turn away cues: she knew exactly where to go đ Super!!!! Since this went so well, you can add more distance between the barrels to add challenge! And you can also add in the advanced level, where your feet keep facing the barrel (tandem turn).
The get outs also went really well! I am very impressed by the reps where you did NOT want her to take the jump so she didnât even though the jump was right there. SUPER!! And of course she went to the jump really well on cue too.
She is ready for next steps here too! The main one is to add distance – you can move the barrel away from the jump by a couple of feet. And to avoid you getting to close to the jump, you can draw a line in the dirt from the barrel and parallel to the bar. That is your line of motion – and you can cue the get out without crossing the line towards the jump. Definitely a good challenge! You might find using the opposite arm is easier for the get out when you are further away, but it is something to play with and see what feels best.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Once again, his decel game looked fabulous! It is unusual for a young dog to do so well with this!
I am tickled by how well he is reading the decel cues and turning, without losing speed on the line into the turn. You were actually a tiny bit early on some of the decel cues by starting a before he was really out of the tunnel⌠but it didnât matter, he still blasted into the collection and turned really well. And he easily went back to the extension lines when cued. SUPER! The right turns seemed a little harder but I think it was just the angle of the tunnel setting up the line a little differently – he was still quite brilliant. Happy dance!!!!
The targeting on the end of the teeter is going well too! I think the target might have actually been a shade too close to the teeter – there was no place for him to put his front feet in the grass, which is why he was either keeping them on the teeter or putting them on the target. You can move the target away from the end of the board, probably the length of a finger, and that would be perfect. He will let you know based on where he puts his front feet.
If that seems comfortable, you can move into the more formal bang gqme, where you are holding him right next tot the end of the board, give a target cue, and let him leap into position (minimal board movement at first). I bet he picks it up really quickly!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
This went really well and the threadle wrap concept is really locking into place! And all of the normal wraps are very easy for him at this point đAt the beginning, he was leaving the stay at the same time the hands moved into position, which made it harder to get the first couple of responses. You ight have been releasing at the same time too, it was hard to hear it. It looks like he was seeing the first bit of hand movement as the wrap cue, so you needed to really exaggerate to body line to get the threadle wrap. Getting him to hold the stay until he sees the full cue will eliminate those bloopers.
You can add in stay rewards for letting you put your hands in position without the release, and also be sure to separate the release from the hand movement by several seconds after the hands are put in position. That way he wonât think the hands are the release, which might be what he was thinking here. He might break several times in a row if you show the hands but donât say the verbal, which means he definitely thinks the release in this context is the hand cue.
Outside of that, he was finding the line really well and reading the motion! He would sometimes want to go with you up the line rather than finish the wrap, but we can help that with a tweak to the placement of reward:
The rewards here were thrown forward after the wrap, which is very exciting đ and probably why he was very ready to run forward. To make finishing the wrap as exciting, you can mix in lots of throwing the rewards back to the landing spot of the wrap. That will help him be even more independent
To add the tunnel exit: with his speed, the turn on the tunnel exit will become key to getting the threadle side of the wing. Using his setup you can move the wing further away (towards the trees, not towards the camera here) so you can cue the turn before he enters the tunnel and have enough room for him to make the turn when he exits to get to the correct side of the wing.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
These runs went really well!
On Jazzâs runs at the beginning – you were sticking close to the jump (like at :07 and :11), and he seemed to like having you near the line. It is definitely something to keep playing with: on lines with turns, staying close but staying in motion. That might mean that you run close to the wings of the jumps for now but it will help support his lines.
One other thing noticed here: when you were giving him the next info and verbal cues, he got faster. And he really liked the layering (on the 2nd run, for example). When you were praising him as you ran, he slowed down. It was as if he was not sure what to do when you were praising him so he slowed down.
Sammy also did really well. The blind cross to threadle wrap looked strong! You were really trusting his commitment, so the timing on the your blinds looked good – very nice timing at 1:02 &1:55 & 3:29 & 3:53. You started the blind when he exited the tunnel and he committed to the jump really well. Jazz also committed really well with his commitment when you trusted him (like at 1:33). SUPER!!!! They have really built their commitment up!
The full sequence looked really good too. Very nice timing of the BC after the tunnel to get to the backside! And Sammy also liked the layering a lot, which set you up for really good timing for the BC to the threadle wrap at 2:32.
The rear crosses on the last tunnel were harder for the boys to read. You would need to be very close to them to show a lot of rear cross pressure on the line. But with the tunnel curving the other way, even a perfect rear cross would be very hard to read.
The blind cross is the ideal cue before the last tunnel – and I believe you can get there! After the threadle wrap, keep moving as you cue the net jump with connection and a verbal. And even if you are not in perfect position, you can still start the blind when he is at the jump after the threadle wrap đ Your motion will support the line and he will see where to be pretty easily for the last tunnel.
Great job on these! It was so fun to watch you can the boys get more and more confident on the blind crosses and connection. Now even these hard blinds looked smooth and confident!!
Lovely work đ â¨â¨
TracyGood morning!
He was such a good boy here! Excellent session!
The toy in your hand is very exciting for him but he did a GREAT job of turning away from it! Yay! The questions he had were not about the toy, they were about your motion: Be sure to decelerate until he gets a step or turn into that turn away – if you are moving in a steady motion, he would go with that motion like at 2:48 & 3:16 & 3:54. Adding decel is good, though, because we do use decel with this cue on full courses as well.
To help get the commitment even with motion, you can throw the reward back behind you to the where he would be landing from the jump, rather than deliver it from your hand. That will build value for finishing the wrap more than coming with you đ
He did go to the other side of the wing when you wanted the threadle wrap at 1:51 but that was a bit of a handler blooper đ – you were facing the regular wrap wide and no as connected. Compare to the next rep where you were more connected and turned slightly away from the wing. That makes a big difference!
And he had no questions about the first balance reps on the ânormalâ side of the wing đ Now that he is learning 2 cues for the wrap, the connection becomes more important for both cues. When you were connected, he was pretty perfect on the balance reps. When you were looking at the wing more than looking at him (like at 2:24) he was not as sure where to be.
Great job here! You can try adding the tunnel by backchaining from a sit at the tunnel exit. And you can exaggerate your line of motion pulling away from the wing for the threadle wraps and see how he does.
Tracy
Good morning!
>I like the MM for the beep so they know they got it (or didnât)>
A verbal marker is better because the MM malfunctions a LOT!
> but Brioche is not excited with the MM. Maybe I could use the MM for the beep reinforcement but put a toy just behind it or next to it. Maybe he wouldnât grab the toy and run with that set up?>
For my big dog, I put his frisbee on top of the MM đ And you can put a toy in the dispenser dish where the treats come out.
>What food do you put in the MM? >
I do a trail mix of random stinky dried treats, including freeze dried salmon. I also mix in a little cheese, mainly for the smell even if they don’t actually come out of the MM.
> because I finally have GI balance in the household and donât want to mess that up!>
That is the most important thing!!! We definitely don’t want to mess that up!!
Have fun this weekend!
Tracy
Hello!
>How do you handle the excitment overarousal. Ziv is starting to get super excited at agility now. Teenage hormones plus the starting to do things that look similar.>
Great question! The answer is generally in making sure we have good mechanics, a super high rate of success (and good reinforcement). And limiting errors/frustration. Plus pattern games and decompression! It might have something to do with adolescence for sure, but in general we can structure the sessions and reinforcement so it is not an issue. If the pup is running off or getting over-excited or bitey, look at the structure of the session and the reinforcement – make the session easier and the reinforcement better!
Remote reinforcement – he did well with toy placed away. Hard to ee his responses (it was off camera) but sounds like he did well. Were there treats in your pocket? You had your hand in your pocket as if there were, so he might have been thinking there were treats. For the next session, try with no treats and no hand in pocket đ
Find My Face – yes, those were very big distractions! He did well at the beginning but the environment was very distracting so he investigated it a little. In this instance, you can use higher value food reinforcement – recognizing that the environment is hard both with the builders and with the stuff all over, you can use the best food not the usual cookies.
Wing transfer – very easy! Yay! He looked really good here. You can use a toy for this game as well – using toys in training can definitely help with focus in other environments.
Minny Pinny – this is a good game to work on session structure and mechanics. You can start him right next to you and hold his collar until you are ready. No need for a sit here, because he was releasing on your motion and not on the verbal cue.
Then say the left or right verbal then let go of his collar. That will help you be ready and also add the verbals – you were saying âgoâ here at the beginning which is a straight line cue and we want turn cues. The left and right came in during the second session.
â¨I notice he was interested in the food but it was not that exciting and he was getting jumpy. This is a great game for a toy! That will also help him regulate his arousal by tugging, then working, then tugging, then working.Toy on the ground: yes, the toy that they are working for is the one that is most interesting đ He did well here! When you picked up the leash to tug after he got to the toy, he really engaged!
You can incorporate food rewards in the transition between the toy and the wrap – he was starting without you. You can tug then use a food reward to line him up again so you can cue him to start. That will make the mechanics cleaner and smoother!
For the threadles – he was understanding the threadle cue but you can make this session cleaner too in terms of mechanics. He struggled to leave the treat in the bowl so rather than hold his collar to get the sit, try walking away and rewarding him for moving away with you.
â¨And since you are asking for a sit⌠what is the release? He released on the hand cue each time here, so if you want the hand as the release then it worked well. But if you want a verbal as the release (this is what I recommend!) then you will want to reward the stay while you put your hand in position, then add the verbal release.Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
He was so funny with the Minny Pinny, I donât think I have ever seen a dog have so much fun with it LOL!!! Good boy! He turned really well in bth directions, which is great!
When adding the verbals, the next step is to make it more independent by fading out the hand cue. I normally suggest that we hold the dog by the collar, say the verbal 4 or 5 times, then let go so he can zip around the Minny Pinny by himself. But with Lew being so small, it seems rude to ask you to bend down to hold him đ so you can either sit on the floor (or something low) to start it, or start saying the verbal without moving your arm and see if he goes around by himself.
>Did you mean to try & find something that isnât very high for him to jump over or short so they fit in my tiny room?>
Both! We want something low that fits easily, plus we want to be able to move them in close enough so that he can bounce jump when we add them. I think the cavaletti dowels might do the trick!!
The volume dial game went well! The spins were something he liked! He thought hand touches were fun too. He thought chasing the cookie hand was weird and stopped chasing it hahahaha
The toy is stimulating too – you can ask for the spins, for example, then reward with a toy. I think with the treats also in your hand, he was not sure which to focus on so for now you can try the toy without treats present.
>We need more tricks!>
More tricks are always fun! The spins are great for this game. You can try teaching him to bark on cue – that is always a winner (apologies in advance for the extra barking in your world). I also teach my small dogs to walk on their hind legs (monkey dance) and weave between my feet. Backing up on cue is all a good one!
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
So sorry I missed this! Eek!!!
She was definitely having a hard time in the environment at the beginning. The toy play was not able to overcome the distractions at first. Having her do one wrap then play got her going so you were able to get her to do some wraps and a race track at the end, but she was still partially engaged in the environment.
The challenge was getting the engagement with the huge distraction challenges, not the rocking horse elements. One of the things you can do is establish a ritual before you start the training, partially to get her more engaged and partially to test drive the reinforcement (and switch if she is not that into reinforcement).
So a good ritual to try is to bring her out on leash and start with a pattern game with food. The leash helps keep her close enough that it is easy to get the game going and reinforcement started. If she gets engaged, you can go from holding the leash to letting her drag the leash to taking it off in pretty rapid succession. Then you can switch to the volume dial game (which its more focus for work) – tricks to treats or toys! If she canât get engaged at any state, we can switch up rewards or move further away from a distraction (if possible, this is hard to do outdoors đ )
Then you can move to the training like the rocking horses. The ritual can take less than a minute, but will set up a good session! And if something goes sideways along the way (like she doesnât want the toy, or struggles to ignore something in the environment) you can make quick adjustments – different toy, or use treats, or different tricks, etc.
Establishing this ritual is something that carries us all the way through the pupâs trial career because it helps us get them into a good focus state and also allows us to tell if he reinforcement is something that will overcome any challenges in the environment. Switching to a higher value reinforcement might make all the difference!
You were able to get her working with the toy and wing wraps because it is a bit like the volume dial game and changed her arousal state. I think the pattern games beforehand can help and also switch to either a crazier toy (fur toy or maybe something with feathers đ) or great treats! Environment is hard so figuring out what helps her will make it easier to train.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
Since all of these reps looked good and you timed them, I took a deep dive into why certain runs were slower or faster. Short answer: too much decel = slower times. Let him rip as long as he knows where to go? Fastest times!Looking at the landing of German turn at :08 – you were there to long on the landing side, so he stumbled.
He did not stumble at :25 because you moved through the exit. I timed the difference on those 2 moments: the non-stumble was definitely faster đThe BC at the end was good but FC might have been better in terms of speed (to my eye) so I timed just that section (landing of the jump before the FC/BC to landing of the jump after the tunnel). They were identical! That was good to know.
Looking at the takeoff side reps:
I timed the 2 different threadle moments – you had more decel on the last rep after the threadle, and that cost time which is why that was the slowest rep.
The FC versus BC on the ending line were virtually the same again, with the only different was probably because I was hand timing it đ
This is great info!! With a lot of big dogs, we need to add more decel to be able to get decent lines. With our smaller 16â dogs, we need to let them rip! They might not look super tight but that is because they are finding the fastest lines đ Pretty turns are nice but faster times are nicer đ
â¨Great job here! Sly gave us lots of useful info. See you in CAMP!!!!Tracy
Good morning!
Good job getting out to train before it got hot! The video looked good!
>what dog doesnât enjoy going into the tunnel if they can? lol >
Ha!!! So true!!!
>For Kastellaâs rep, youâll see or hear me call her off the tunnel. The first rep, not included, she went into the tunnel instead of the jump. >
Do you mean she took the tunnel after she landed from the backside jump? At :23 she was looking at it! It was because of the placement of the blind: At :22, you did the blind on the landing side of the backside so the line that presents is into the tunnel. For this kind of backside (with the wrap exit) the blind starts when you have passed the exit wing and are on the takeoff side of the jump. It might feel a little late when you are supporting the line to the entry of the backside, but it will take the tunnel out of the picture and show the next jump nicely.
To get more independence on the backside pushes, you can start y running a line to where the wing and bar meet⌠then gradually move over to running a line to the center of the bar. You might have to inch your way over, using several sessions. And using big connection really helps (and not using an arm to point). The big connection turns your shoulders to the line and the pointing arm can actually turn your shoulders to the wrong side of the bar.
>My girls just want to suck into the jump. I tried to run really wide to pull their mind and sight from the jump so we could get the backside but it failed miserably.>
It was trying to help by running a bit wide that pushes them to the jump.
The girls read the blind to threadle slice really well – you were really far from the threadle jump, so when you pushed back to get it you got a wider turn or the wrong side of the jump (at :40 and later on at 1:59).To tighten that up, donât go past the jump after the tunnel – you can be heading to the backside jump. Then after the blind, you will be in a good position to show the threadle by pulling your threadle arm back to open up your shoulder. That big pull with your arm will rotate your shoulders and pul them in. If needed, you can rotate your feet a bit too but we would look to fade that out when thy have more experience.
>I think I got Kastella to do the landing side âcorrectlyâ but super awkwardly, maybe once or twice.>
Looking at the push to the blind after the tunnel – because the tunnel supports the line to the backside, you can try being further across the bar when they exit the tunnel. That will help you get further past the exit wing to tighten the turn on the exit. Try to stick close to the exit wing so you donât draw too much yardage for them. And then to help them commit to the bar, you can look back and point to the landing spot (instead of looking at them). It is one of the few times in agility where we donât look at the dogs đ
The FC looked good!
>Finally, I just said âscrew this, it ainât working for my girlsâ, and I did the blind on the take off side, not knowing that was your next segment in the video. lol It worked so much more smoothly for them! >
Ha! It did work rally well đ
For the last sequence – you can do the blind to the threadle slide after the tunnel but closer to the wing. That will tighten up that line a bit too.
â¨The blind cross at the end of the sequence (2:20) was perfect! SUPER!!!! So while yes, the backside stuff was really hard, the blind cross elements looked fantastic!
â¨Great job here!Tracy
Good morning!
Layering is indeed hard! It is more of a dog training game than a handling game.
He is finding the line to the tunnel really well!
The 2 hands approach worked really well – the tunnel is really close to the line so when you went close to the yellow jump (like at :36) it did still appear like you wanted the tunnel. When you were further away, he was able to turn so it was just a matter of working out the timing. It will be a lot easier with things are spread apart more.
Yes, layering after a tunnel an be harder for sure! The trick is to accelerate on a parallel line to the line yo want him to take. He was staying on the line until you stopped moving (like at 1:30) so he had questions.
On the reps where you did continue to move – he got the line easily đ Those reps didnât have the layering but the concept is the same with the layering. So when you are working the layering, stay connected but keep moving until after he takes the last jump. You can also use a placed reward (toy on the ground, or a food bowl) to give him a focal point on the line to be moving to.
The wing-tunnel game went great! He is a pro with the wing-to-tunnel element so it was GREAT to see him also be able to go past the tunnel when you cued it. Nice clear connection from you made it easy – yay!
And I agree – it was great to see him find the far end of the tunnel. The dogs have to make a big collection to get into it, and he had no trouble. Super!!!
He is definitely ready for the advanced level đNice work here!
Tracy
Good morning
He is looking at you too much because the toy is in your hand so the reward is really about coming around the cone and not for the DW work. You can see him looking up at you as you cue the cone and slowing down if you are not ahead of him. We want him looking ahead and driving forward without thinking about where you are.I like to create a chain of behavior so the dog goes through the mat then to something else then to the reward with one of the top priorities that they do not look at me đ There are several ways to do this – it can be mat to a wing or cone with the reward tucked behind it (MM or toy). In this video, I am using a little flyball jump to the MM (although for my big dog, I left his frisbee on top of the MM).
You can see the youngest dog learning it: hit the mat then go over the little jump (can be a wing instead) to the MM. Then I back chain it from the down ramp and you can see the independence and speed developing. I donât want the handler to be near the end or cueing the next line (just close enough to see if the dog hits the mat properly or not :))
Driving ahead on the seesaw was hard so you can try it with less tip of the board.
>Unfortunately on one rep, his hind foot slipped off and he opted to jump off. He was no worse for the wear and willing to get back on it. He chose to jump which I guess is a good thing but not great at that height perhaps.>
Yes, he lost his balance – my guess is the cookie was moving because there is a lot of bounce on the board (you can see it fall off shortly afterwards) so having a treat that sticks better will help. And this is why we play all of the proprioception games – so he can jump off rather than fall, and not be freaked out about it đ
>And what is your opinion of wires on the weave poles?>
I personally donât use them but that doesnât mean they are a bad idea. They are a prop that needs to be introduced so the dogs know what they are, then faded out so the dogs donât dependent on them. Iâm sure Jess and Perry do exactly that!
I wonât put a prop in if I donât need to but also I leave the channels open for a decent enough amount of time (including in sequences) so the dogs learn all the crazy weave stuff.
>Benni was already trained in the poles and when she tried to use them at a lesson, he jumped over themâŚ>
If he didnât know what they were, then he wouldnât know how to to weave with them on đ
> I was trying a FC after the poles tonight and it was too much for Brioche right now. So I did sends, rear crosses and jogging by.>
If he was popping out on the FCs, you can open the poles up more so it is easy to weave while you do crazy things.
Have fun this weekend!
Tracy
Hi!
On the first video, it is possible that the presence of the ball was stimulating enough that she was expecting it to be thrown and didnât really âseeâ the connection as she exited the wing. But she also had that same questionvwith the food too and at :27 had a lot of trouble finding the correct side, so it might have been a subtle connection question.
At :26 it looked like you were looking back at her but your left arm was forward to she didnât see which side to be on front behind you as she exited the wing. Compare to :34 & :45 where your left arm stayed behind you until she found the new side, so she knew where to go.
I am sure you saw her exit the wing on all of those reps so it is more of a matter of what she saw. And because she is young, exaggerating the eye contact for the connection is a great way to start the skill. You wonât always need to do it that much – an experienced dog would have had no questions here so it was just young dog moments đ
On the 2nd video: she was GREAT about finding the jump, even with The Precious (ball đ) in your hand.
I see what you mean about the bar and yes, you can raise it a bit. But I think the main thing was that she was looking at you (ok, at the ball) the whole time. That was why she was stepping on it đ So our first order of business is to get her looking ahead even when the ball is in play.
We can do that 2 ways:
– rather than wait until she is definitely at the jump then throw, you can move up the timing of the throw: as soon as she exits the tunnel and looks towards the jump, you can throw it.– you can also have a target or placed reward to help her look ahead. For example, you can have the Treat n Train out there 15 feet from the jump, and the ball is placed in the tray. Or, you can throw the ball at the TnT. I would mix it up so she learns to look ahead even when you are holding the ball (you can have one ball placed in the TnT and one in your hand).
I prefer the ball placed on something obvious so she slows down to get it – I worry that if it is just on the grass that she might splat herself and hurt her shoulders trying to grab it on the run.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
Adding the bars was no trouble for him – super!! And he turned really well in both directions (plenty of dogs canât do that!). Your turn and burn went really well too, he had no questions about the countermotion at all. The sound on the video was very quiet for some reason but I think you were saying your verbals. Yay! My only suggestion is to hold his collar while you start the verbals. Then when he hears them 3 or 4 times, you can let go. That is his cue to start moving and will help create more independence because you wonât have to set to the jump and we can add other handling. It might be hard to hold him with the left hand and that is fine holding him can wait until your hand feels better! And if the right hand is still not 100% healed up yet, no worries, we can wait on holding him too.
>I did lose his focus towards the end. Not sure if I over did it or if something just caught his attention.>
It was not that long of a session, so maybe he saw something or maybe he needed more parties in between reps? It is possible that it was so easy for him that he got bored LOL!!
Great job here!
Tracy
