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Hi!
>Maybe I should just run with no verbals for a bit?>
I think that might be too weird for her, for you to be suddenly silent? So happy verbals only!
>Yesterday, we did FEO runs at an AKC trial. She continued to visit. Not sure if it was an impulse control thing or stress thing or a combo of both. The regular AKC courses weren’t particularly hard.>
When you do FEO – does she play with a toy in the ring? Her struggles are stress, not impulse control. The visiting in a displacement for the stress, and it doesn’t matter if the course is hard or not – just being in the ring is hard.
>Do you suggest that I just do 2-4 obstacles at a trial then leave to PARTY?>
Nope – too much stress just going into the ring right now. You are skipping steps in the Get Luna Un-Stressed Progression 🙂 We want multiple happy, fast, engaged runs with the first FEO step, with a toy in your hand. And playing with the toy in the ring. That is what she needs right now: just playing in the ring. If she needs the toy to be thrown, stick to UKI NFC because you can’t throw the toy in AKC. And resist the temptation to do real runs – you are getting a lot of stress behavior and it gets harder to get the stress behavior to go away the more it happens. After you get lots of happy engaged stress-free runs with the toy visible, the next step is the toy in a pocket and pulled out to reward in the ring after a few obstacles. When she has done multiple happy fast engaged runs… then you can do the in-and-out where you do a couple of obstacles and leave. But she is not ready for that quite yet.
And what I would do on the FEO/NFC runs for her is NOT start at the start line. Start in the middle of the course somewhere, and do the middle to the end. Take the start line out of the picture entirely as you de-stress that transition.
If she doesn’t play with a toy in the ring, then we need to change how her transition into trials and FEO is approached: she needs to be really great at remote reinforcement with food, first in classes then at trials.
Also, be sure she has had a check with a sports vet for pain issues – she was sitting a bit hunched in her rear at the start on this video then took a few steps to engage her left hind when you started moving. If something hurts, that might be the cause of the stress!
Tracy
Good morning!
These went well:
PO 1:
The opening looked great! He was feeling very spicy an fast 🙂
He found the lines beautifully and the blind cross after the tunnel looked great. The small decel at 5 to get a nice turn to 6 worked really well too!You were actually a shade early on the blind at 6: as he exited the wrap wing of 5 at :10, you were already looking ahead/pointing ahead, so from his perspective the blind had started and he didn’t get a cue to take 6.
2nd run – he picked up the backside of 3 because the turn was late to get the front side – a :04 you turned a couple of strides before he took off for 2, so he landed looking at 3.
At :16, you did not turn as much or as early, so it looked like more of a serp to the backside of 3. At :16 you turned a lot earlier (like you did at :04) and he got the correct side of 3.
For the blind at 6 – this time it was late 🙂 at :29 – you waited until he took off, so the turn was wide. To get the ideal blind: keep your arm back to his nose and you eyes on his eyes as he exits the 5 jump wing. When you see him exit the wing and look at 6, that is when you can start the blind so he can adjust the line before takeoff.
Th 2nd pop out looks great! I bet you can do a blind while he is on the a-frame to do a push wrap on the backs at 6 – that might be faster because there will be more momentum off the a-frame for it.
The 3rd pop out also went really well! The opening looked smooth and fast 🙂
>feel my arms could be doing something better at 6 to 7. Probably tighter to my body?>
You got there easily because he had a lovely send to the 5 tunnel. The arms came up because you were sending, but that actually slowed him down because he had to check for connection. You can run in closer to 6 and 7 with low arms, which will maintain the speed and you’ll still easily get the blind 7-8. If you feel like he goes wide at 6, you can run in closer and use both arms (brake arms) low to get the turn tighter and keep the speed up.
>I have not only acquired new skills and knowledge, but a stronger bond with Rexx as now I understand what he needs from me in order for us to succeed!>
This summer went FAST! It has been really fun watching you and Rexx – you are doing a great job applying the skills to be able to drive him around the courses!
Nice work here 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
I am so glad Macklynn was able to work and ave fun in a new place! That is such a huge element of dog sports and it can be hard to find new places to go and train. You rock!
>She wanted to be aware of where he was but was super good and engaged during her turn even with him off in the distance.>
This is huge! Having the opportunity to work with another dog on the scene is so critical. Great job easing her into it and also I am sure Vibe got lots out of having a new dog as his house 🙂
Looking at the video: I think Vibe was TOTALLY pumped up to have a new dog at his house! It changed his arousal state for sure, in a good way. He worked this game with a speed and intensity that we don’t normally get at home 🙂 But along with the speed and intensity, it looks like you also got plenty of accuracy and his mechanics were great throughout the tight turns on the wraps.
I LOVE that he was able to maintain turn mechanics even in higher arousal, because we have been ‘installing’ that in his brain for a long time (state-dependent learning & memory etc etc LOL). And it is always fun to see it happen when needed! Yay!
When you were working the tight turns to blinds on the wing after the tunnel: on the wing-to-wing sections you were doing reverse spins 🙂 so you can throw in some true tight blinds to get the side changes and turns through the blind. The reverse spins when you did the tunnel-wing-tunnel (to get the other side of the tunnel) looked great!
They looked like happy, relaxed critters on the walk after the training. Lovely! This is just as valuable as the training (maybe more valuable) and I LOVE that they had the opportunity to do this. Having BFFs to go on decompression adventures with is incredibly valuable for dogs (and humans too :))
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>trying for better shoulder positioning.>
Shoulders looked great! He seemed to have no questions at all. YAY!
Yes, we want to use some type of placed target or reward to get the 2nd turn as part of the serp and so he is not looking at you. You can use a food bowl or something similar as a target – the food can be in it, or you can throw food into it, or toss the toy to it.
Since we are looking at toy engagement – he did really well on the first rep of the serp then the toy was ‘dead’ on the ground, then you wiggling it up and down on front of him (no response from him)
When the ball came out, he got more engaged because the ball indicates movement (the ball gets thrown a lot).
>that I thought he would drive to since it’s the toy we’ve been using for that sort of thing (rabbit bungee), but he was obviously looking for the ball on all of these. >
I think he will drive to it, if it moves away fast and crazy like a rabbit (or squirrel) will. If can be slightly longer so you can drag it to get him chasing it – keep it low and moving away fast should be very exciting for him! Moving it towards him or keeping it in front of him is less exciting, according to Keeper 🙂
The toy was moving more in the minny pinny at first- yo can edit the videos less so I can see if he really gets into the toy or not (the video cuts as soon as he engages a a little). But when it moved less, he was less engaged with it. One thing that will help is if you move your feet too 🙂 He gives great feedback about what is reinforcing 🙂
So when you present the toy, take off and run with it, dragging it a bit and offering it to him – you did this a bit towards the end of the video and he really got excited! On the last rep, you tried to play without your movement and he said ‘nope’ 🙂 You said to him something like ‘are you going to have to chase me’ and he said “YES” 🙂 So the toy presentation needs to involve your running and engaging too – when you added more movement at 2:21, we got more toy play 🙂
The reason I am focused on the toy play is that it brings the explosive movement to the games and adds an important reward to his toolbox 🙂 He did well moving through the minny pinny, but you will see even better mechanics and power from him when the set up indicates a fun, moving toy to drive to.
>is there anything I should hold off on in the weeks 2, 3 or 4 games based on things you’d still like to see first in the other games we’ve been playing so far?>
I don’t think you need to hold off on anything – do little blasts of everything 🙂 They all build on each other, so you can do 4 or 5 reps of a game and if it goes well… move on to the next game. He doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of repetition of the same thing, so variety will be super fun for him! And balance running games (like the tunnel exits and the wing-tunnel handling games like the diamond) with the more ‘cerebral’ games like the proofing games or jump work where there is not as much running around 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
He did well with the smiley face games! You might have noticed he was checking in a bit (looking at you) – that was because he was confirming the line you wanted. This was happening when your arm was high and pointing ahead to the line – the arm pointing blocks connection and turns your shoulders away from the line a bit, so he had to look at you to double check the motion line. And if you were walking (1:20-1:27 for example), he dialed back his speed.
>at about 1:13 he just came to inside of the second wing, but then tried to wrap to the left around it and that was probably about connection.>
Yes – when your arm is high and ahead, the line of your shoulders pulls him to the other side of the wing (good boy!). Doing that line without your arm ahead will help him stay out on the correct side of the wing.
So two things to keep him moving fast and not checking in:
Try to run the handling games with your arms pointing to his nose and not ahead, so you can make eye contact and so he can see that (and the line of your shoulders).Also, be sure you are running 🙂 both during the sequence and during the rewarding 🙂 The motion is part of the excitement for him 🙂
>I was confident that I was correct when I was saying “left” when it should have been “right.” I caught myself on the other side saying “right” when it should have been “left.”>
Most of us humans are not good about switching in the moment – so if you change sides, you can give him a break ad re-walk it with the new verbals if you hadn’t already done that. Or, do a few reps on one side only then end the session 🙂
He also did well with differentiating the obstacles in the wing versus tunnel game and the advanced game went well too. You can shelve this one and move on to the next ones, because we revisit this concept further down the road 🙂
>He seemed a little uninterested in tugging during this session, which is why I was rewarding with food or tossing the toy rather than tugging in most of these (I even tried switching toys to see if that would be more enticing), but it definitely slowed things down.>
That was because the toy was stationary and moving towards him 🙂 You will see a big difference when the toy is moving away – we are already seeing that when the toy ws thrown or dragged during the set point work.
>I immediately tossed the ball for him a couple of times before trying to line up. >
Perfect! Make it a ‘woohoo, I totally meant to do that, let’s party’ moment when something goes sideways 🙂
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
He was definitely excited to play in The Grown Up Agility Yard 🙂He was sending to the tunnel really well! Yay! Hooray for the tiny treat dispenser and the steak! He also did really well with the wing wrap – the tunnel was more exciting at first, I think, but then he figured out that good treats were available for both if he listened to the cues. He agreed to that contract LOL!! Super fun session 🙂 You can definitely do the advanced level that has the tunnel to wing combos!
>Do you think he’s ready to move on to some of the next games & we’ll keep practicing his moving target a bit more before adding it to the set point game?>
Yes, he is ready for other game – variety keeps things spicy! And that way there is a good balance between the control games like the stay stuff, with the run run run games. Doing super short blasts will keep him engaged and hopefully the temperatures will cooperate (spoiler alert: no cooperation from Mother Nature this week because our temperatures are going back to the mid-90s. Sigh.)
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Pop out 4 looked super! Having a straight line leadout for 1-2 was tight and fast. I agree – he had no questions at jump 4 and the turn on 8 was lovely! Yay!
PO5:
>much better when I did a slice on 5!>Yes! And that also kicked in a higher gear of speed that carried over into the entire next line.
PO 6:
> As I walk the course with the map, I am turning in many directions navigating and sometimes the map gets upside down!)>This one is particularly twisty, I can see why the map would end up upside down!
Comparing the new runs openings to the previous run: I think the rear cross stuff is more comfortable because the handling was more connected. It doesn’t necessarily mean it was faster, just more comfy for you.
The blinds in the openings on takeoff of 2 and landing of 2 might have felt uncomfortable because they were more disconnected than the rear was, and quieter. That was causing him to check his speed and look up at you more. So to get more speed, you can look at him more, keeping your arms in closer to you during the blinds. You can also use verbals, calling his name through the blinds and using jump verbals too.>AND correct way over 4!>
Yay! That was definitely easier than the threadle on 4! Be sure to stay super connect there after the blind too – when you were pointing ahead at 1:22 and 1:49, he slowed down to wait for more info, to be sure. So this pop out was a good reminder to connect more on the blinds, and point less 🙂
Excellent run on the jumping course!
The opening looked really good – you can tighten up the tunnel exit at 6 if you call him before he enters 6 and make sure he sees the wing of 7 when he exits at 2:27 (don’t block it) to push him out to the backside.
The flip away to the jump after the weaves looked fantastic!!!
> I meant for a threadle wrap on 16, but he sliced.>
This was one of those ‘do a hard thing at one end of the course then get to the other end of the course to do another hard thing’ moments 🙂 The way to get the wrap on 16 is to put a blind cross on the 13-14-15 line. You were way ahead after the flip away, so I think you can have easily done a blind between 13-14 or even 14-15! And he totally has the skills to stay on that line, plus it would let him do this favorite thing: chase you 🙂 That will get you ahead easily to decelerate and set the turn on 16. Rear crossing the 15 tunnel put you behind him and accelerating to get there, which cued the slice.
>Two places to note tunnel 18 to 19 jump. We do not have a flip away out of tunnel cue yet, so I handled it more with physical cues>
That went well! You can add a verbal cue to the physical cues here, but he really understands his flip away cues beautifully. To make it tighter, you can decelerate and almost hang out at the exit to 18 – then do the flip away to 19 and 20, layering the 18 tunnel (similar to what you did with the weave exit. He also has plenty of distance skills to send to 18, so you can do a blind on the exit of the 18 tunnel and get ahead for 19-20 too!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
She was a very good girl here on a challenging course – definitely less worried in a new location! Keep those rewards flowing so she keeps feeling happy in those places.Using this video, do 2 things:
First, play it with your eyes closed and listen to it (don’t watch, only listen). Can you hear the moments when your verbals change from information to yelling?
Then watch it again and watch her response when you yell – you can see it most clearly at around :14. Handling was cueing an off course line so you really changed the verbal. She slowed down a lot and pinned her ears: anxiety response. Since our number one goal is to eliminate anxiety, part of that is taking the off courses if the handling locks her onto the line. So if she is heading off course: go with it! It was cued behavior, she is not ever naughty, so she is doing what the handling asked her to do (and physical cues often override verbals). No yelling or stopping or fixing – just keep going. She was resilient to it here and able to keep going, but there is a cost to being resilient (it is actually depleting for their brains) and plus yelling gets paired into the environment.
That is the hardest thing in agility: to not fix and just take the off course. But I think it will be VERY helpful for her! And, even though she can do hard stuff: keep things to simple stuff for now, to reduce the risk of potential questions or off courses. That way she can enjoy the thrill of it without any potential questions or concerns.
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! This session went really well!
He is holding the stay really well and focusing on the toy when you release him. SUPER!!
Was there food in it on all the reps? When you stop moving, that is when he tends to focus up on your hands:
I think he wants you to run back and forth more, drag the toy more like a crazy rabbit on the run, squiggle it around, etc. He was really digging into it on the last rep, and you can keep dragging it away (like a rabbit trying to escape LOL!!) I think the wilder the toy gets after the release, the more engaging it will be 🙂If the weather is decent, try a bit of toy chasing outside (without the stay), just to ask him what he finds motivating and reinforcing 🙂 That will help when the other games go outside too.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Very fun that you got to play tunnel games at the field!!!
He did well with the smiley face – really strong commitment and he definitely thrived on the good connection after the wraps when you looked at him pretty directly rather than pointing at the line ahead of him.
>I was having a heck of a time remembering my verbals and handling plan! >
One thing you might find super useful for remembering the new verbals and handling is to give yourself a walk through before adding him to the game 🙂 Walk it without him with the verbals and handling so you can check if it is correct, then run it without him with the verbals and handling (usually it is when we run that the verbals go sideways :)) Then add him back to it.
One suggestion here: he was very engaged with the toy when you were engaged and kept moving (:17 is a good example of that). When you stopped and presented the toy without moving (possibly because you were planning the next rep), he didn’t engage with the toy (:37 for example). So when you present the toy – keep moving! Let him chase you with it a bit, keep the toy moving, keep it wild for a 10 seconds of fun play, then move on to the next rep.
He was trotting more by the end – I am not sure if he was hot/tired, or the toy being kind of stationary was not as motivating, or you were moving less, or all of the above 🙂 So to keep his speed going, do fewer reps if it is hot and keep lots of motion involved 🙂
On the wrap video:
We can see the same varying level of toy play when the toy was moving more (:36. ;54) versus when it was not, and the level of motivation will be linked to that too. Definitely prioritize the play over going into the next rep – go wild with the toy for about 10 seconds or more. And if doesn’t engage with the toy, get the toy moving more – that is part of what makes it a reward for him.He did really well with the little bit of motion help to get the correct obstacle here – good boy! One thing that will help get even more success is to hold his collar as you start saying the verbal, and only let him go after he has heard it 3 or 4 times. If he is hearing it and moving all at the same time, there is a higher likelihood of failure or delayed processing (like when it took a moment to process the tunnel cue and he went into the other end of it LOL! That is rewardable :))
> I was feeling good enough about our initial attempts to want try without motion, but I think I kept it going too long for today.>
You can always give the harder stuff a try when the easier stuff is going well, but live by the 2-failure rule: if you get 2 failures (total, not necessarily back to back) in the session, reduce the level of challenge or finish the session. Sometimes the pups just need to sleep on it to really encode the learning, then the next session is easy with the harder stuff!
His stays and movement through the set point looked lovely with the moving target: he calmly held the stay even as you started running, then exploded into the release. Yay! How was his toy engagement with the moving toy? You can take this game to the next step, which is the balance grid that was posted.
The zig zags are going well – fast & snappy! And very motivated because they were paired with a moving toy (ball). This is really great info from him about what he finds reinforcing and motivating – things that move!
> but 5 has been tougher on other attempts (on one try I knocked over the wing and Keeper clipped the barrel, so we didn’t keep going after that just in case that was a little scary).>
Doing 5 wings is definitely harder – everyone has to move faster! When you hit the wing and he clipped the barrel: How did he react when it happened? If something scary happens in training, you can do something else that is fast & fun, or try again making it also really fun. That way the last memory of the session is fun and not worrisome.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! Both dogs ran brilliantly here!
Rosie: she was on fire here with a lot of speed, especially on the first run!
1st run: The opening looked great! Super nice send to the tunnel for the layering! She got mad at :17 because you got too close to 5 so when you did the front cross, she was heading to the jump you showed her. But when it turned out to not be the actual 6 jump, she stood still and was very judgmental for a moment LOL before deciding to keep going. I bet you can be 4 or 5 feet (or more) away from the 5 jump and she will still take it! She didn’t mind the interesting handling 6-7 because you kept moving in the correct direction.
She did need helping coming over the bar at :30 on the backside jump so the little pull with motion at :42 and on the last run really helped.
On the 2nd run – you did a FC to BC between 5 and 6 and Rosie liked that a lot! There was a lot of motion that showed the correct line. You can still be a bit further away from 5 and see if she will hold the line.
I agree – really interesting that the RC on 7 at 1:17 sent her really far off course! You did take a few extra steps forward there and that is what she read as the cue. You can do a FC to exit the 6 jump which will make it easier to get the turn on 7
She needed you to take another step or two to the backside before the tunnel at 1:28. You sent and then stepped away – because it was a backside, she needed a little extra support
She was more tired on the last run – she still sent to the tunnel really well, but because she was not moving as fast you got past the 5 jump and very close to it, so she read it as a rear cross at 1:57 (due to the pressure towards her on the landing side).
The blind after 6 looked like it set a good line to 7 but she was convinced that the off course jump was in play at 2:09! It looks like you had one step through the gap between 7 and 8, and that is what she cued off of. That is some impressive distance! You can turn sooner and run to 8 more to convince her to avoid the off course jump.
The rest looked really strong!
Lily was also a speedster here too and her sends to the tunnel was great!
She found the line to 5 really well – look how far away from it you were at :12 & :52 & 1:23 – that set up a great turn there! She also really liked the FC to BC you did at :54 & 1:24 and was able to pick up a ton of speed through there.
Fancy handling 6-7 on the first run 🙂 but she also didn’t mind because you were in motion the whole time. On the 2nd run you did the rear cross, which worked perfectly. She never considered the off course jump, mainly because when she landed from 7 your feet were already turned to 8.
She slipped past you to the front side at :24 – if she is took quick to have time to step into the gap like you did at 1:05 & 1:36 you can use an outside arm there to push her out to the backside.
And I am very excited about how well she sent out to the tunnel at the end of the sequence each time, even after all the ‘handler focus’ moments on the twisty turny line before it. SUPER!!!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
He was such a good boy here (and the toy-carry through the grid was hilarious at the end too LOL!)
I think this was a really strong intro session for having to balance for 5 jumps. It was more about the concept and he was figuring out it nicely (and changed his thinking after taking 2 of the jumps as a double haha) and went back to the bounce.
I think the MM creates a bit of an upward hippity-hoppity form for most dogs when used in a grid, so before angled the jump: repeat the process using the moving target. There are 2 reasons behind this:
– the moving target engages the propulsion system (hind) better because the dogs aren’t planning on stopping, they are planning on powering through. And that is a good challenge: stay balanced when powering through, not when preparing to stop– the moving target works in a different arousal state than the MM because it is more exciting in general, and it indicates movement which elicits a higher arousal state. And based on what we know about learning & memory, we want to encode all of the learning in as close to a matching arousal state as we can get. In order words, we need to work on getting him really jazzed up and asking for good mechanics.
The first cohort of dogs who have been taught mechanics only in high arousal are finishing their first season in the competition ring in agility and flyball, and the results have been amazing. They are able to maintain absolutely fantastic mechanics even in the highest of arousal states. We shouldn’t be surprised, though, because it is exactly what the research has been telling us LOL! I still find their ability to nail the mechanics (jumping, weaves, contacts, flyball box turns, etc) this early in their careers and in different locations to be astonishing (then I wonder why I didn’t do this will earlier generations too, but I digress haha)
>Danielle and Macklynn are gonna head up to our place tomorrow to train together. >
This is so awesome! Yay!
A couple of things can be super fun in the bigger space:
Wind in your hair with more distance, doing the Go, Rear cross, and backside wraps.And you can do the layering game and the rear crosses/find the jump using th jump & tunnel setup. Yo can add more distance, another jump for the GO line, etc.
Macklynn might also be inexperienced working in new places and might have concerns about things ,so you can add in pattern games for example or toy chasing to get her in the game even with new distractions.
Great job here! Have fun tomorrow!
Tracy
Hi!
>I am wondering if Sunnie is putting together chasing birds is a fun thing we do together. For example, outside the fence, I’m running after her because I dropped the leash, so she is like Yee Haw mom’s following me & then when I turned around (or I intercept her path) I get a super high reward, the flying LB. Does chasing birds= me & mom and then a really cool reward?>
It is hard to fully answer the question without quantifying the bird chasing: is it increasing, staying the same, or decreasing? This would involve tracking the bird chasing.
I don’t think she thinks you are chasing birds with her 🙂 That is not a cognitive process for her, it is more impulsive and not something most dogs do in tandem with others. But there might be a pairing with the lotus ball (when she discovers the birds are not fully accessible) so there is an increase in coming back to you – not sure if this is always before of after the lotus ball appears in terms of is she making a cognitive choice or is it good timing on your part : )
The problem with quantifying the bird chasing (increase, decrease, stay the same) is that there is continued rehearsal of bird chasing. Looking at it from a learning perspective and having a geek moment: the brain solidifies behavior by creating neural pathways. And the stronger the neural pathways are, the better/easier the behavior is. So wing wrapping, or running through a tunnel: neural pathways because she certainly wasn’t born doing it 🙂 and thanks to lots of rehearsal, these might be very fat & easy and will be even faster & easier in 6 months with continued rehearsals.
The same goes for undesired behavior: rehearsal strengthens neural pathways, making the undesired behavior very accessible to the dog. So every.single.time she takes off and sprints after birds, the bird chasing neural pathways are getting stronger.
Here is a good visual to think of it as (not exactly ow neurons work but the visual is useful): the brain is a field of very tall grass. When rehearsing behaviors, we are mowing a path in the tall grass. The more we mow it, the easier it gets for us to run through that path (regardless of whether we like the behavior or not, the brain doesn’t know the difference, it is basically sending electrical impulses and neurotransmitters down these paths :)) This is especially important during adolescence, when the brain is highly ‘plastic’ and is doing a lot of this learning.
Now, flip it around: if you can *not* allow the rehearsal of unwanted behaviors, the neural pathways don’t get used so the mown grass gets grown over. The path is harder and harder to run through – the behavior is less and less accessible to the brain, making it less likely it happens.
There is a super cool process called synaptic pruning (nerd alert! Nerd alert!). Basically, young brains create more connections between neurons (synapses in the neural pathways) than the brain will ever actually need.
Then (especially during adolescence), the brain prunes unused connections (synapses) and those behaviors disappear as the dog going into adulthood. The brain tags the unused synapses and sends in little microglia cells to clear out the weak connections.
So – let’s make the bird chasing a really weak connection that her brain prunes out so the entire unwanted behavior can just go away. We would be happy with that LOL!!
Going back to the lotus ball throws – I think all of the lotus ball stuff and check ins are great and they are building neural pathways that we want. Keep doing it so they don’t get pruned away 🙂 And you can make the LB *not* contingent on birds at all. Make it fly and be exciting in random ways where suddenly you take off running and throw it (when she is *not* chasing birds, make it a surprising and fun game :))
>if the LB flys whenever she takes off and we know she enjoys the LB, then is she likely to take off or look like she’s going to more often because that’s what prompts me to throw the LB?>
Yes, there are 2 things that might be happening here:
– she might think the antecedent for getting the LB thrown is taking off for birds.
– when she does take off for birds, those neural pathways for bird chasing are getting stronger and stronger (the physiological cascade associated with it is very powerful too)Either way, you will get faster results by using the LB throws in a way that has nothing to do with birds, and simply not allowing the bird chasing (like the big sprints in the video).
>Here & there I have dropped the long line outside the fence because she was being so good with check ins, etc.. but it can change instantly , nose to the ground tracking their scent & she’s off before I have a chance to grab the lead. I know this is all common sense, just don’t let go of the lead (outside the fence) but she sucks me in thinking we are OK moving along with lead dragging on the ground! >
Her neurons are the ones causing it 🙂 so don’t get sucked in that she will continue to make good choices 🙂 Choices are out the window at this stage when birds are around, so hold the leash.
>I am committed and saying it out loud, no matter what, lead HAS to be in my hand outside of the fence!>
Keep chanting “Synaptic pruning! Synaptic pruning!” And hold the leash LOL Let’s let those happy little microglia clear out the bird chasing synapses.
Looking at the indoor bird videos: this is more neural pathway work! By using specific, small elements of the challenge, you were able to rehearse engagement and ignoring distractions, so the neural pathways for desired behaviors got a happy mowing to make the path very easy to run through. You can add some feather to the stuff blowing off the fan! Cat toys have good feathers 🙂 These little games allow us to really get the brain carving lovely synapses so the desired behavior (engagement) is far more accessible when she is in harder environments.
Thanks for nerding out with me! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi! This is off to a great start. He was really processing what the info meant to get the turn correct. Yay! The Go reps were good of course, those are easy for him now.
When you added the rear crosses: he was checking in a bit on the right turns but that is to be expected because he is not used to being ahead AND turning. You were giving him good RC info though: at :24 & :34 for example, you were in a good spot at the tunnel exit and drove to the center of the bar, so he read the RC info nicely. Yay! And your toy throws were spot on.He had some questions when you switched to left turns. It is possible that right turns are easier for him, but also it is possible that he had just done a bunch of right turns and was still in right turn mode 🙂 For the left turn RC (at 1:02 for example), the timing was not as good as it was for the right turns – you were later showing him the motion to the center of the bar, so he didn’t see it in time to adjust before takeoff there.
The rep at 1:09 is a good example of it being more on time.For the next session, you can do the left turns before you do the right turns and see if that makes a difference. You can also send to the start wing from further away, so you can be a little past the tunnel exit to more immediately show him the rear cross line.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>I wanted to know if you actually do private online coaching for the stuff I am going through with Luna >
I totally do! Here is the info:
https://forms.gle/KZz4apcS8KMqoQzP8>I swear when she is not stressed and she is happy, she has awesome skills, >
I have seen it! There are many impressive skills in your videos and she can be VERY fast! So now we have to sort out the anxiety. I am going to reply to your other post to give you more ideas!
Tracy
