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Hi –
>>So, a question about the teeter work – is this going where the video I found on the website selling the teach it is going? using it for the entire training process? I think it’s pretty cool actually.
I do use it for the entire training process but it is not the only thing I use – I use a ton of other games too and only pulled out the teach it games for the video.
>> Wonder if they might sell just the metal pieces….
They might!
>>Do you think a fully pvc one would work for a while? Todd could make me one out of pvc that we mostly have on hand already.>>
Yes, as long as it is very solid and easily adjustable. You can put tunnel bags on the base to help keep it stable.
>>EEEK! Forgot all about the strike a pose work! It seems so long ago since I played with any of that. Will pull that out again!>>
Yes, all of that target value for my youngsters came from the strike a pose games 🙂
T
Hi!
>>Good point about ending training before we are all exhausted and hot. This is a lesson for me and it is being reinforced in the head space course. I am really driven to do everything and get it perfect. It’s hard to back off a little and enjoy the small moments.>>
Well, you can run it more by yourself without the dogs LOL!! I have found that less is more when it come to adding the dogs to the equation 🙂 and I can do plenty of handling practice with just me and the video camera, no dogs needed 🙂
>>Buccleigh came up limping after his last run on Monday. It seems to have resolved after about two hours but I want to get it evaluated by my vet before we do anything too strenuous so for now we are just working on flat work, primarily behind the back starts
Ouch, poor Buccleigh! Definitely rest him, even if the vet finds nothing. Where was the lameness? You might want to skip the behind the back starts for a few days, because there is a lot of turning and explosive movement involved with those – and we don’t want him to do that if something hurts.
>>A question on the behind the back start. We have reached the point where he will circle behind me and then go forward to a wing. Do you have any videos of how you set the dog up for a run? Should I have him sit facing me and then signal the start? Currently I don’t usually let him go until we start so I am not sure that he won’t take off as soon as I let him go. He has a pretty strong drive to look for the first obstacle so when I try to start this in front of a jump he really wants to go to the jump and it takes a lot to convince him that he should go behind me.>>
I have the dog standing in front of me (not sitting), and I do a little bit of ‘ready… ready…’ then I cue it and run. The demos with my medium sized black dog have these behind the back starts for most of them. To help convince him, start further from the jump so it is easier for him to know which you want: the jump or the behind the back.
On the video:
If Keltie doesn’t like the heat or wet grass (I can relate, I don’t like those either), then you can jump her at 4 or 8 inches to make it easier and more fun!
I jump my dogs lower all the time. Also, break the course into pieces – thirds, maybe – so she can get more reward out there – and bring the reinforcement with you. That is a LOT of course running with rewards only at the end, and we want to keep building up the value of being out there on course.Opening – she got it but I think you can do the blind between 2-3 so she can chase your line there rather than stopping for the rear cross.
She did well on the line around the back of the course to the dog walk!
>>For the second run, I decided to start at the tunnel 7, since the start was OK and I want to not stress the dog (my new #1 objective!).>>
Yay! Perfect!
>>I think I need to explore the 9,10, 11 line and figure out why she is stopping there.>>
She might anticipate reinforcement at the DW so stopped waiting for it, or maybe she saw the reward placed out there and had a hard time continuing? She had that same hesitation on the 2nd rep. It was hard to tell a lot about the handling here because she definitely thought she should eb stopping at 10.
>> The threadle was much better>>
Yes! The threadle cue at :51 after the frame was really late, she was a stride from takeoff – it was so much better at 1:53!!! Much earlier and with a better physical cue as well. Nice!
On the ending line, you had a little bit of pressure into her line at 19 at 1:07 caused the backside – all it takes is that one little step. The 2nd rep didn’t have the pressure, you ran more directly to the wrap wing, so she go it nicely 🙂
>> And for weave training, it looks like she knows where to go in but she needs a little help with bending enough to get the second pole.>>
How was she originally trained? If you used 2×2 or channels, you can revisit that and use slightly open poles on course, to help help her weave the whole line better.
>> I know I lost connection at the end so she missed the last jump. >>
You said something to her about going to get her cookies, which is an ‘all finished’ marker so she was fine to not take the jumps 🙂
Nice work! Let me know how Buccleigh feels!
Tracy
Hi!
Good start here on the weave entries! On these, you were rotated towards the entry (with your back to the exit) and then you started to move. Since she did really well, you can now add the wing wrap before the weave setup so you are facing the weaves and moving the whole time 🙂 she is ready for that next challenge.On the course video:
Good work here! Yes, it has been crazy hot!!!You can move through the blind at 2 sooner, you held her on your right til takeoff at :10 but you can do the blind as soon as she sees the jump after the tunnel exit.
You can try the layer of that #2 too! You can send her to 4 and then layer it to get past the dog walk.
>>Not sure if my “right” helped keep her out of the tunnel there, but we’ll go with it.
Probably! You had a good shoulder turn and good right verbals at :26 and she got it!
This is a good weave entry to put the wing on, even though it is in the middle of the course – she wants you to converge in and help her find it, which is impossible when you are behind her at :28. The wing will help her get it the first time. She got it the 2nd time at :53 really well!
To set the line after the weaves you can send and rotate sooner on the jump after the weaves at :57, so you are fully rotated and moving up the line before she takes off. Nice tunnel send and layering!
>>The hard stare got it done though.>>
Only when you are ahead 🙂 When you are parallel to her or behind like you were here, especially when layering: be sure to use an exit cue on the tunnel, telling her what you want before she goes in – this is particularly important when layering. This tunnel exit doesn’t point straight to the a-frame, so a get out cue will help smooth out that line at 1:03 and 1:30.
On the attempted layer at 1:14, she needs you to keep your shoulders and motion more towards the tunnel for now, so she can get used to the layering concepts of when we want the jump versus when we want the tunnel. You were really clear with it at 1:48!
Also be sure to use an exit cue on the tunnel at 1:49, you were saying something – ‘jo jo jo jo jo’ I think? But it started after she was in the tunnel so she didn’t hear it til she exited.
I think that is the top thing to remember her: tell her how you want her to exit the tunnel (with verbals and motion) before she enters the tunnel, at least 6 feet before. And the more sees practices the layering skills, the easier it will be to get the lines just with verbals and you won’t have to handle as much.
Great job here! Stay cool 🙂
TracyHi!
>> I’ll definitely add motion. I thought it was harder for her when I didn’t move. We’ll find out!>>
I think it is harder to stay in when you are not moving… but harder to GET in when you are moving 🙂 It is hard either way 🙂
I love chair training LOL! She did well here – I agree that the hardest part is to find the obstacle no matter which side of you she was on. It definitely steams up the brain!!
She is sorting it all out nicely. I think the biggest help to her will be more than just saying the word, it will be how you say the word. Try to make the words sound different from each other and consistently the same for each verbal. I think your verbals were changing sounds and sometimes sounding the same, which is harder. What I mean by that is that the tunnel verbal, for example, can always be TUUNNNELLLL TUUNNELLLLL (very loud and very long) which the over verbal can be higher in pitch, quieter, and shorter: “over! over!” That way she has more info to figure out what you want, rather than just trying to understand English haha!
When she got in the chair at the end? HILARIOUS! Thanks for putting that in LOL!!!
Great job 🙂 Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Yes, it is a little more complex than it looks on paper 🙂 You and mazi did well, just a couple of little spots to smooth out!!Nice opening, GORGEOUS teeter!
The 2nd time you were not as clear at 3 so the bar came down, it looks like you closed your shoulders forward so her did not see the line as clearly. The other reps looked great though, and you set a lovely line around the back to the DW!After the dog was on the push to the backside at 9 – You can try a left verbal or name call here so she turns more at :22, her length of body & stride sent her to the off course. You used a decel on the 2nd and 3rd times time but then she smoked you up the line. I liked how you kept moving at 2:10 and used an earlier verbal, you were further ahead on that line an she got the turn. You can add a brake arm (outside arm coming up as a soft turn cue) but definitely keep moving and use your verbals like you did there at 2:10.
The tunnel dscrimination at 12 is hard! On the first rep, the left was good at :56 on 11 but she needed more motion info too, which you gave her on the other reps like at 1:21 when you were moving more towards 12. She lifted her head over bar 10, probably processing the verbals, and dropped the bar. She was perfect the next times through there, the verbals were even earlier and she had no questions.
The forced front cross after the a-frame worked well and she got the weave entry nicely!
She was looking straight after the weaves at 1:37 even though you were still in motion and said jump – perhaps she was anticipating being sent tothe toy, if that is where the toy was placed 🙂
She had trouble finding the front of 19 – at 2:29 your running line was towards the middle of th ebar, which is a backside cue. So you can either turn your shoulders to face the wrap wing more, or you can layer the #2 jump to get to a better position. As she is weaving, start to had to the layer and jump #18 and then cue her to go straight out of the weaves – it is a little tricky but canbe a very effective use of layering!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>Unfortunately the two instructors only have access to it on Mondays, so everything has to come in in the AM and go out in the PM>>
Yikes, I remember having to do that, it is a lot of work! Good for them for working that hard to provide a great place to train!
>>then again, he’s only been with me for 6 months.
When keeping this in mind, his progress is truly amazing!!!! You two are an impressive team already after just 6 months.
>>Did not go as well as the 1st sequence, the distraction level was amped way up. In hindsight, I should have turned around and set him away from the other ring for starters here>>
Yes, running towards that fast dog in the other ring was DIFFICULT! You can move him awa yfrom the distraction for sure, but I like how you and your instructor broke it down and helped him learn to handle the massive distractions (especially the 2nd dog and handler, I was distracted by that too LOL!!)
>>Need to do some work with my timing on the BC’s and on his reading of them,>>
Your blind can be more connected and a step sooner…. but he was not watching you anyway at first LOL! Smart reward drops by the instructor to help get his eyes on you 🙂 She was basically shaping him to ignore the other dog while getting you to do the blind on time, with fast loud dogs inthe other ring. Click/treat for her 🙂 Coal did really well! The stays were the best part even if the blinds were hard.
Coal got better and better as the session went along – the loud barking dog and handler and teeter and tunnels were almost irresistible but you and the instructor got a lot of reward into him and then at the end, you got a tight turn away from the excitement in the other ring: hooray! The good news is that Coal’s food drive is high enough to overcome the distraction, and he was not reacting aggressively to the other dog. He was just bouncing along, very interested. All good and I am excited with how well he was able to return his focus to you.
So while you might not have gotten a lot of handling done in this session, you got a lot of dog training done and that is ultimately more valuable 🙂 Your handling doesn’t need to be perfect if he is focused on you and not on distractions, so working through the distractions was terrific!
Great job 🙂
TracyHi!
She is definitely getting better with her discriminations! When you had movement into it at the beginning of the video, she was doing well in general. When using the left verbal on the first obstacle, it was better to save it for the tighter turn to the tunnel and use your go up cues o get the layered jump.
Using your line up position definitely helps her be successful when you are working on just the tunnel or jump. When she is facing you but not lined up, she struggled to get the jump versus the tunnel but was more successful when you had her line up. Just be sure she can see both obstacles and you are not blocking the line. When you are on the ground, try to get her to line up at your side, using a cookie lure if needed, so she can be generally pointing towards the obstacles and not looking at you.
The layering on the sequence is looking good! She does best when you keep the verbals going and don’t get too quiet. Remember to throw the reward out on the line as she is jumping rather than turn her to the tunnel, and stay connected when you want her to continue past the tunnel otherwise she is correct to think it is a blind into the tunnel.
Yes, you were late with the lalala at 1:35 but she was a good girl and went back out to get the jump! I think the ‘out’ is a better verbal for that situation (this is what you did a bit late on a couple of reps but then perfectly on the last rep!), because she has to leave your line to get back on the layering line.
Great job here!!! We have more small space games coming tonight that use the layering skill, plus you can use the jumping courses and pop outs for more practice on this.
Tracy
Hi!
Hi!
On that first rep, I think you had a little too much happening all at once and not enouh info for her LOL! The next 2 reps were much clearer 🙂
The 2nd rep was much clearer in terms of movement and connection. The wraps look good and the race tracks look good too! Try to use the verbals more on the wraps (I couldn’t hear them consistently). On the race tracks, use the left or right verbals rather than go, because these are turns more than they are straight lines.The 3rd rep looked really good too! The wrap verbals were much clearer and her commitment looked really good on those too. She seemed to have a question on the race track to her left – it might be that left is a harder side for her, so you need to move more slowly and with more connection. The race tracks to her right all look good!
I think you can spread your wings out a little more too, to give her more running room and that way you can have more room to move in and out of the wraps in the middle 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi!
>.Does this exercise eventually add to a full set of 12?
Yes, eventually, but I recommend starting on open poles (channels or 2x2s) so that it is easier on the dog’s body.
>> you picked up on when there was a little bit of pressure on his way to the poles he flicked away and went to the tunnel. We have this same thing happen on our Reverse Wraps….my timing of when I can leave is pretty critical…if I put a little pressure on the line “too early” for him he’ll flick off just like he did here. Sort of like he thinks it was a rear cross? Is this something we’ll be doing anything with in Camp?>>
We have them scattered throughout the courses – in isolation, you can see a reverse wrap on sequence 1 B of the first live class. They are also in the jumping courses. The tmiing should be as soon as he is past the commitment plane of the backside jump and turns his head to the bar. You might be leaving too early and pushing him off the line, or he might need more reinforcement tossed on the landing side as you leave to maintain commitment and not chase you… or both 🙂 I am sure we will see it on one of the courses.
On the video –
the first option looked good!Layering is a good option – on this rep, when you tried for the layering, the physical cue drew him right to the jump and the tunnel verbal does not (yet) override it. To set up layering, you can handle from the landing side of jump #3 like you did so you can show parallel motion from #4 back to the tunnel.
But I think teaching the layering skill is the most important part here, like you did at :57 to show him that it is indeed and option to go directly to the tunnel (he picked it up quickly). The reps form this morning all looked good, so he definitely retained the info!
>>so I timed a bunch of the reps and except for the very last rep of the layer this morning, which was like .3 faster than any other rep, both of the handling choices ended up being essentially the same time.>>
I love that you timed it! The last rep being fastest by a good margin was no fluke: handling without the layer caused a longer path to the tunnel and he look at the door tht was right there. Handling with the layer at the end was the best rep where you got off his line – the blind on that jump should be moreof a German turn, where you get past the wing of the jump so he has less yardage – the other reps with the layering were a strie slower beause you did that blind as more of a normal landing side blind, which sent him a little wide because you were on his line.
Great job here!
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>> I still have a question on that wrap at 13 on course one. What should my person be doing? Should feet be going forward and chest facing her? Or should I stop motion til she comes into me or everything facing forward?>>
Do you mean course 2, black numbers, where it is tunnel – wrap – tunnel? In that case it is decel, rotate and be running the other direction before she takes off.
Or, if you mean course 1 with the threadle wrap at 14 – then yes, your feet should be going forward and your upper body cues the turn, while you are in motion the whole time. I use 2 hands on that cue to help the dogs know the difference between threadle wrap and threadle slice. I have more specifics on it coming on Monday in the next set of games 🙂
On the video – this is going well!! Definitely train this on lowered bars partially to make it easier for her to do and partially because jumping 24 is just so hard on the dogs that we don’t want to do a lot of it.
I think the key for her will be getting the momentum into the line: Stick closer to the first jump til she comes around, then move and use the verbals – that was when she had the most success! When you got ahead like at :26, you had to peel away and move back to get the layer, so she did not take the jumps. Compare that to :59 where you stuck closer and she got it easily! On the last rep, you were not as close but not as far ahead, so ended up sending and that is what caused her to drop the bar there. So, to set up the layering, you can strategically be staying close to her and the jumps before it, to get lots of momentum into the layer – that way you don’t have to stop and send, then move away.
The layering is off to a good start! Hopefully you can get a break in the heat to do more 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi –
On the mountain climber video:
>> Had a little issue with the supporting jump moving on the first one that we had to work through
Yes, you have to be 1000% certain that the support will not move. Do you have something other than the light wing jump? Those wings are very light and more likely to move. A more solid wing can work, but I prefer something that is more solid like the teach it I was using, or a saw horse of some sort. We don’t want to to move from under her.
>>before really getting into tossing the treat – the grass is making that a pain, takes forever for her to find the treat>
You can try it from a stay, or you can use the MM or a food bowl if the grass makes it too hard to find the treat.
try going with her on the first several reps if she is showing signs of concern, more like what you did at :56.That really helped her!
Was the food already on the target before she got on there – it was hard to tel if you were putting it there beforehand or after she started moving. I prefer to have it there beforehand so she can trust it will be there as she moves up the board.Love the slam –
She was getting the hang of hitting it with her front feet for sure! To help with back feet, you can move your position so you are more off to the side, more like the bang game. That way she can get on the side a bit more, then you present the reward towards the bottom which can encourage the back feet to follow through. Do this with less tip though – even 2 inches can be a lot! You can start it with no tip at all to get her trusting the board and putting her back feet on, then over the course of several sessions add tip in tiny increments.Separately, on a wider plank that doesn’t move, revisit the backing up games onto the plank so she remembers that back feet can get involved too 🙂
>>Just read and watched this one and confused a bit as I think I missed a contact game somewhere? Is there a game introducing the end behaviour for the contacts? Did I miss it? There have been plank games (mving across the plank) but I don’t recall anything re end behaviour?
In this game, we are either shaping a 2o2o or 4on with the board and a target and the rewards, or most people have already chosen the position they want and have started adding a target. They have some value for the target based on the strike a pose games, and they have value for 4 on the board – so even if they don’t fully know 2o2o, you can begin to shape it when they offer getting on the end of the board. The presence of the target is part of the reinforcement process.
>>rom the video I can’t really tell what you are doing end behaviour for HS as the text is going over it a lot and the vid quality seems lower but maybe not a nose touch as there seems to be more pawing of the target?
The target was going in when she offering being relatively still on the plank. I was not reward for a nose touch, I was rewarding for not looking at me and just being in that position. The target promotes the low head and I don’t mind the foot touch at this stage.
>>With Contraband is it a nose touch? I think so, but not the ‘traditional’ repeated NT?>>
The nose to target builds off the strike a pose nose to target, but my hand starts low then I put the target on the ground. The target was going on the ground when his back feet got on the board. I was rewarding for touching the target while staying in position, but I really don’t care about the traditional nose touch. The nose touching here is basically to get a lowered head and it becomes a superstitious behavior that remains while keeping the head low as they run into position. The lowered head helps for speed and balance.
>>I am using a transparent target taped on the end of the teeter for the teeter work so I am not putting PB ans sardines right on the teeter to keep the mess down. Maybe use the with a foot target???>>
I prefer easily seen targets to get started – with 2 of the dogs I was using an index car and plastic lid with HS.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>We do an around for frizz toss which looks very similar, however he kicks way out anticipating the throw. Should I switch to food and put it on a new word? Try a different toy?>>
No worries about kicking way out to anticipate the throw, that indicates super high value 🙂 He looks great here!
He did well here turning to his left, that is clearly the strong side for this game. He thought your were a little NUTS when you asked for it to his right, but he did it. YAY!!!
A couple of things to try on this: have the “send” hand empty, and the reward in the other hand – that can help make it look more like what he would see in training or in the ring. The frizz can be in the other hand for now, and you can also play with a different toy or a treat to throw, to begin transferring the value. I use treats or balls a lot, because they are small and easy to have in my hand as I am fading the giant visual of the frizzer.
And I think to help him understand it in the agility context – skip ahead to sending him around and then to a jump in front of you, so in the agility context he drives to the jump you are moving towards (rather than expecting the friz toss). How well he figures that out will tell us if he needs a different word or not (because it would be so nice to NOT have another word LOL!):
If he is happy with it and drives to the jump? Cool beans, use the same word. If he is confused and thinks we are insane? New word. Fingers crossed that he likes the concept and drives to the jump (I think he will :))
>>So for live camp tomorrow, the heat index will be 105. We will try our best to hang in. I also realized when I tried to film today that I left my tripod in GA… which I guess is better than leaving my heart in San Fransisco, but I have to see if I can get a replacement. The stars aren’t feeling in my alignment>>
LORDY 105!!!!! We will do very short blasts, the structure of it tonight is short sweet blasts bcause it is going to be hot everywhere. And you can maybe let him plop in a baby pool as a reward 🙂
Darn it about the tripod! You can tape the camera to something LOL!!!
See you later 🙂
TracyHi! She is doing well here, you tackled all of the hardest stuff from the live class 🙂
On the first video:
>>Spins in general confuse me. My body just doesn’t want to turn like that but I think I got it done,>>
You totally did! This session was really strong!
The FCs look good but I think the wings are a little too close – she is past you and at the wing before you have time to think 🙂 The spins are looking good too! But more distance will actually make them easier because you will have more time to move in and out of them. You can put the wings about 18 feet away or more.
The tight blinds look strong too!! Especially at 1:28 – great timing and great attention to reward placement.
Remember to bring your arms in closer to your sides (wings in!) so that you can be super quick on the blinds.
Adding the the FC and the spins looked great too, her commitment looks great, your timing is solid and you connection was spot on.
2nd video, double blinds:
I agree, double blinds are hard but you gave her cookies whenever something went wrong so she was happy to keep trying 🙂
You got them really well in terms of timing at :24 and :40! The trick is to do the first blind before she arrives at the first wing, then the 2nd blind as soon as you see her nose come around the first wing. That is pretty much what you did on those 2 reps. You did a great job staying in motion; that is really hard too but it really helped her. As with the single tight blinds: wings in! You will be even quicker if you can just change where you are looking, rather than have to also change your arm position.
3rd video: wrap ladder
1st rep was pretty strong til the wrap when she was facing the tunnel at :19. It is possible that your position was blocking the wing a little so she went right past you into the tunnel (which is a big distraction for sure). Be sure your position lines up to the jump cups, so she can fully see the wing.
She was definitely better on the 2nd rep – it looks like you showed the wing more and you had your verbal going too!On the other side, I think you moved a little too fast on the right turn wing after the tunnel so the countermotion was definitely harder for her – also, she might be a lefty, not a righty, so that can contribute to why that side was harder. Good job rewarding the commitment there! You can slow down your motion, so you stay in motion but basically a slow jog or fast walk. You can also drop the reward sooner, as soon as she turns to the wing. That can help make going around it more automatic because she will learn to look for the reward back there more and look at you less.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
This is off to a good start!!! Looking at getting her to move past you more and more:The main goal now for the next step is to throw the reward before she looks at you. It will be really early-feeling, because you will want to throw it as soon as you accelerate and say Go, and as soon as she looks forward. You can move in even closer to the tunnel to help get this so she drives ahead more, and also add the rest of the jump back to the wing (I think it will be a bigger/better visual for he to drive to now.
She was looking at you during the throw here, which means she is not yet ready for you to wait til she chooses to pass you… because she will look at you then you will throw, which rewards looking at you 🙂
And then when you add the wrap on the wing – throw for the next jump, driving ahead of you to the jump and tunnel after it.Remember to decelerate into the FC on the wrap – you were hitting the brakes on the turn without decelerating, which was pulling her off.
Also, I think the foundation of this has gotten a little diluted so you can re-visit toy races, or start them if you never played them. Toy races are the foundation for driving ahead: first to a toy on the flat, then to a jump. I play them pretty systematically to help get the driving ahead.
On the flat:
Then basically you repeat the process with a jump and a low bar, starting with the toy thrown out past the jump before you let go of the dog, then when she is driving ahead nicely, you can start running to the jump and when she is looking forward, you throw the toy (or someone else throws the toy). And same with a short, straight tunnel!
These are fast & fun (also good for your puppy on the flat!). Let me know how they go!
Tracy
