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Good morning!
>> Levy did do much better with jumps at 18 inches I shorten the seq. and rewarded with better connection. Funny how that connection thing works LOL He is getting it. I am glad it doesn’t look like he will be 24 that’s just too high I think.>
Super! Connection is magic LOL!! And yes, I would be SHOCKED if he measures into 24. And even if he does, you can jump him at 20 in a different division.
>>I am super excited about this last session with Watson. We did the seq. granted I missed the 1st blind and resorted to a kinda rear cross thing and watson fell on his head but he kept going… bless him and for giggles I tried the rear cross out of the tunnel and he nailed it. Progress is sweet!!!!>>
Totally agree, this session looked fabulous! he read the opening threadle and layering perfectly! You were in good position for the blind but probably not quite used to being that far ahead, so ended up with the RC which was a little late. Great job continuing on, the rest of it was lovely!
And holy cow those rear crosses at the end were AMAZING! You nailed the line and so he read them perfectly. Click/treat to you both!!!Great job!!!!
TracyHi!
First up, Min’s video:
This was really fun to see you set the layering with the RC on the first rep! She was almost perfect, just needed more convincing of the layering to get the 2nd jump on the opening line but then was very happy to do it in the closing!The BC at :10 can be sooner (she was waiting for you to move off her line) – you can start it as soon as you see that she has landed from 4 and looked at 5.
The threadle slice opening worked well but I think getting closer to 2 will help set it too: You got close to the tunnel entry and then had to pull away from the tunnel entry (to avoid falling over, which is a good thing to avoid :)) but she saw it and almost pulled off the 4 jump. The threadle/RC at :33 looked great! She is getting the hang of those. I timed that section – the late BC and the strong threadle/wrap/RC are just about equal! So you might find that as her understanding continues to improve, you can do more with the threadley stuff because it will be as fast or faster 🙂
Seq 2 – less arm on the layer seemed to help! Plus, she is learning the skill and also we can try the go go go and see if it helps.
The BC at :48 was a little late so she had to go around you, so it is another spot where the threadle moves might end up working better 🙂Kaladin: he is also doing really well!
On the opening of the first rep, I think he had the same questions as Min about your line of motion: You got closer to the tunnel entry then pulled away, so he almost came off the line on the first rep and had a big head check at :24 on rep 2 and also at :51 of rep 3. That is a spot to run more to 2 (center of the bar) then move away on a parallel line, so you don’t get caught by the tunnel entry and so he doesn’t see you pulling away from the line.
The ending line has a lot more extension and speed as he comes into it, so he had no questions there even when you were pulling away a bit.On the threadle rear: at :26 this was definitely slower than the BC at the end, but I think it is because he is soooo responsive to decels that you ended up too far ahead – so the big decel put him into big collection. You can set the threadle RC up differently, but going closer to the #4 jump and then accelerating into it (decelerating later to set up the turn). That should get it to be as fast as the blind, especially in these situations where the blind cross line is hard to get on without blocking the dog by accident 🙂
Great job! I hope you have recovered from the food and mead LOL!!!
Tracy
Hi!
He did well on the layering in the opening! It might be even easier to get him on the line by getting super close to jump 1, so when he lands you can really accelerate rather than already be lateral. And, you can try more GO to see if he doesn’t look at you at all on the 2-3 section (same as with Min). With both of them, it is possible that ‘jump’ means to take it and be ready to turn, which is why they were glancing at you. But GO means do not turn, please LOL! So it might be a better option.
The threadle/wrap/rear looked great and put you miles ahead, and he loved the cheer there!And I totally see what you mean about him turning a bit too tight on the tunnel exit, it made the next jump into a harder backside. So you can try no left verbal, and just a name call while he is in it to let him exit a little wider (to set up the straight line ending).
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
The break out looked great!!! He found the backside nicely with the double whammy of the frame & tunnel as part of the discrimination! The handling cues to get the frame instead of the tunnel worked really well too – verbal alone was not enough 🙂 But that is a good future “sitting down” project: tunnel versus a-frame like we did when sitting down with the jump & tunnel!
The layering for 3 required parallel motion which seems to be the big trend nowadays: the distance elements are not sends, they are parallel lines. So the send on the first rep did not work (because the decel as you were setting up to send him pulled him off the line), but the added parallel motion on the 2nd rep sure did, and also alter on at 1:30!
You handed the 4-5 line as a lap turn at :16 and :32, with some running backwards – it worked well on the first one, but you can also try staying in motion and being more forward, so it is more of the threadle wrap/rear, and that will eliminate the running backwards which could inadvertently set the wrong line (or pull him off the line like at :33 & :44). When you pulled him off the line, you had not really told him to take the jump (physically or verbally) – you were quiet and had started drifting into the lap turn. Compare to :52 and 1:02 when every part of the cue told him to take the jump so he did 🙂
The lap turn at 1:05 was actually a little early, better timing at 1:18 to set it up.The blind to the spin worked well there, the spin gets you moving in the correct direction sooner so I think it is a good choice and set a nice line! In fact, when you did it with the post turn, he had a long look at the off course jump before turning to the tunnel. The lap turn was a little slower compared to the blind, but moving forward into the threadle/wrap might be more equivalent to the blind. And the blind to the spin might be the fastest of them all!
Only one more suggestion: Remember to use a verbal before the tunnel at the end of the sequence, so he doesn’t default to turning tight on the exit, You said “left” on the last rep, but the others were a bit too quiet LOL!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
I am glad they found the tight psoas issue! Hope the stretching/strengthening will have him feeling great!
On the video:
Walk through: the shape of the handling is looking really good! The next thing to add is to focus on where exactly the dog will be on course. For example, after a FC, he is behind you, so keep looking behind you. You were looking behind you for a heartbeat on the BC 2-3, FC at jump 3 and the FC 6-7, but then immediately looked ahead. Practicing that will help your brain have an easier time remembering all the things while also running him 🙂 You started practicing it on the FC 6-7 a :28, where you had a really clear connection to where he would be. SUPER!!And, by adding the connection to where he is, the timing gets easier. The BC 2-3 starts after he has landed from 1, so looking back more will help it be earlier. It was a bit late on the run at :41 (you started it as he was taking off for 2, which is when it should be finished – he found the correct side but that threw off your timing at :43 for the FC. He got BIG MAD when that happened LOL! He was frustrated and barking – so that moment falls into the category of “keep going, never stop and fix”. When he had the refusal on the jump, skip the jump and cue the tunnel and carry on – that is great for reducing frustration. Giving him a cookie was good but overall staying ni motion will be better 🙂 like you did at 5-6 at :55. He ended up on the wrong side of 6 because you lost connection and pulled your shoulder forward to the wing, so your entire physical cue said front side. That messed up the ending line, but you kept going and he was FAR happier with that.
The focus break is fine… but the errors here were of the human variety not the canine variety 🙂 He was not over-aroused to start and arousal didn’t cause the errors. So, while I am sure the focus break was good, the real key is to keep going and not try to stop and fix something mid-run.
The 2nd run went a lot better not because of his lowered arousal… but because of your earlier blind in the opening and your improved connection. Same with the 5-6 section – clearer cues! So the whole thing ran much better. The challenge now, since you can’t do more than 1 or 2 runs with him, is to get the handling clear like that while he is in normal arousal which means he is faster than after you lower the arousal. We want the speed! But remember that the key is to NOT stop and fix, as that makes him really frustrated.
Looking at the 2 rear cross sequences at the end – he is reading them well! You can put a little more pressure to the center of the bar on the RC lines, so you don’t have to pull as much. And the cross to the last tunnel definitely works better than the post turn, to show him that good line to the last tunnel.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
I am glad the rain stopped for a bit! Onwards to dry, cooler weather 🙂Nice work on these! You are definitely getting the connection points and how to tweak them as needed if she says they are not enough.
Looking at these for connection:Seq 1
Walk through:On the walk through, you can add more very direction connection on the exit of the wing wrap to send to the first jump and also after the FC – you had it for a moment then you immediately looked forward, when she would still be behind you.The runs reflected that those 2 connections were a little softer than she needs:
she was wide on the wing wrap (bar down on jump 1 as she came back for it) and although you did try for connection on the exit of the FC, it affected your line and she ran past 4 on the first rep and pulled the rail on the 2nd rep. More on that below!On seq 2: Yes, this is a hard one with all the lead changes! You can connect more extremely (BIG eye contact :)) to the push at 3 and after the FC.
The post turn 5-6 on the walk through shows the off course that you got on the run, so either a spin there or a faster shoulder turn to 6 (staying cloer to the line)
On the Runs: You looked forward early to 3 and she pulled the bar at 2 on the 1st and 3rd reps. Much better connection on the 2nd rep, the connection was very clear before she took off for 2 and you maintained it all the way through 3. Yay!
she hd a ar down at 4 – I think we can do a little jumping proofing with her (see below :)) because you had some movement/verbals over the bar but that is something she can get used to seeing and still keep the bar up. With her speed, she needs to see that stuff happening over the bar 🙂
You had a little refusal at 6 at 1:08 – cue said both slice AND wrap (lowr body versus upper body). I think a bit more decel before you start the rotation will help her commit there.
Your last run was the best, really good connection 2-3 and getting closer to the 4-5 line totally set you up to be able to turn faster 5-6. That set up a nice line all the way to the end 🙂Seq 3 walk through: I think you need to be a little further ahead to set the line 2-3, because the lead change happens after 2 to set it up nicely. Sending her to the wing from further away will help, and to tighten her exit of the wing you can ue big connection and big convergence towards 2 and 3. You got the on the first rep but she was wide after the wrap which bought you some time to get up there 🙂 On the 2nd rep, she was not wide heading to 1, and you were converging in as she was taking 1 so she was surpsied about the convergence and dropped the bar. But that is something we can show her in the jumping proofing.
Now, look a the ending line: you had better connection 4-5 at :52 when you looked right down at her head to get her to take 6 without you running to it. This is the stronger connection you can also use in sequence 1 in the similar ending line.
seq 4: walk through: This is looking good! The RC was clear, just needed a little decel, but it was a really nice line RC line. The rest also looked clear!
On the run – yes, there was a little drifting on the 4-5 line and the RC line. You got it done nicely but it was more of the tadem turn style to set up the switch away & wrap. That is fine, as long as you use the tandem turn cues (like your hads) to help set it up). The rest looked good! Yay!So for the jump proofing: you can make a list of thigns that might cause her to drop a bar (disconnection, verbals over the bar, handling happening over the bar) and starting on one jump, ask hr to jump a low jump then show her on the distractions: and BIG reward for not touchign the bar. Then you can add more and more speed, and eventually more height, while still rewarding her for keeping the bar up while you present the distraction 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyOoh the Renaissance Fair sounds FUN!!!
Min’s run was SUPER lovely! She did the layering like a pro, as long as you don’t try to breath LOL! When you stopped saying jump jump jump, she looking at you and started coming off the line, so you had to give her an ‘out’ to get back on it. Maybe a GO GO GO verbal would work better? And I wonder if, at this stage, she can do that layering all on verbals and a little bit of parallel motion from you, fading out the arm cues. That would allow you to easily get a blind 4-5 then a spin, which is a little faster for her at the moment. She is reading the threadle wrap nicely, so definitely keep working on that! And yes, nice turn on the tunnel exit there; excellent timing of your left verbal!
The 2nd video is Min as well 🙂 Can you repost the Kaladin video?
Nice work!
TracyHi!
Congrats on a successful weekend, and I hope your knee treatment went well!!!>>Looked at map to understand course, determine connection points, verbals and potential handling.
– 1st walk thru, look at dog’s line
– 2nd walk thru: connection points, general handling options, some verbals
– 3rd walk thru: verbals, connection
– 4th walk thru: try to run around people with connection and verbals.I think with only 7 minutes, you need to look at the dog’s ine before the walk through and only spot-check it during the walk through. It takes too long to do the dog’s line then the rest of the walk through. That way, you are jumping right in with handling and connection, then maybe add verbals later on.
I am looking forward to the trial videos!!
TracyHi! This looks really strong!
Walk through: yes, the clearer verbals totally helped because you also were more naturally connected. The only 2 spots in the walk through that needs more connection is the 1-2-3 line at :05 and:25, and at the 6 jump at :11 and :33. In both of those spots, your connection was ahead of where she would be (before she would have been taking off for 2, you were already looking ahead past 3), and before she exited the 5 tunnel, you were already looking ahead at 6 (plus your arm was a little high).
She did get 1-2-3 each time, but you had to change the pace of the handling, which changed the pace of the next session so that might’ve contributed to not connecting at 6. You were much clearer on the 2nd run with the connection at 6. So that is the next thing to add to the walk throughs: looking a your invisible dog for longer when she is behind you (you are doing it really well when she is ahead of you).
Looking at the invisible dog behind you for longer will also help one little question she had, which was at 1:00 when she almost cut behind you after the FC 10-11, so remember to keep your shoulders open back to her after the FC til she is past you.
>> So run #2 I focused on that piece, and then didn’t give her the handling and cuing she needed on #9 so her turn was wide
Yes, that is the brain multi-tasking all the things LOL! The more you practice the connection, the less your brain will need to devote energy to it so you can work the RC lines too.
And yes, it does feel odd to work the loud verbals without the dog, but it is totally worth it because it gets things into our muscle memory so nicely 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
These are looking good! I think the hardest part of the backside serps is to trust your dog more 😉 she got it right every time, so you can help less, and keep running through it more.Seq 1:
1st rep: the verbal push was a little late, and you rotated your feet so she did not quite get the exit.
2nd rep was really good! The earlier push verbal totally helped, and you did not rotate the feet or over-help the bar commitment on the backside. This set a smooth line for here, and also you were further ahead. You were past 5 at :34 when she was jumping it. Yay!3rd run had a nice timely push verbal and physical cue to get her to the backside, then some over-helping of running backwards and a little cross arm to get her to take the jump. That delays you from getting up the line, so she was already jumping 5 as you were passing it at 1:00. I vote for helping less like you did in the 2nd run 🙂
Seq 2: also really nice!!
At 1:10 you did a threadle 3-4 and that caused you to run backwards a bit, so she was looking at you and not at the line. The spin totally worked better there Int the 2nd rep, you probably didn’t even need to add the threadle arm after it because she reading it so well (and the extra threadle caused her to look at you).
The backside push at 6 was great, she knew to go directly to the backside at 1:15. Then we had some overhelping of the bar commitment, so at 1:16 you were decelerated and looking over your right shoulder til she was descending from the jump. Then you started the blind so she tried to adjust and dropped the bar. She also ended up on your right side, because the new connection was not yet visible when she had to make a decision, so she chose the last thing she saw. She did eventually get to your left, but ideally the blind was happen before liftoff of 6.
The 2nd rep there at 1:36 was definitely better! Rather than use a cross arm, you’ll be able to move through to the blind more quickly if you use the dog side arm (right arm here) and look at the landing spot as you move through. You started the blind as she lifted off here, so the bar stayed up and she went to your left side (nice connection!) but she had a striding question (changing her leads approaching 7). Starting the blind the instant she comes around the entry wing of the backside jump will get it finished sooner, clearing up all the questions.Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning and happy Monday!
>> In general I’m not liking my lead outs (dog is fine)… I’m thinking about my sequence plan and turning my back on Fritzi… Should I be looking at her with arm back on the way out? Or is that too much pressure?
This will totally depend on the dog. Some dogs prefer when you watch them the whole way, some dogs prefer when you don’t watch them 🙂 if you don’t watch her, be sure that you reconnect and then release, rather than reconnect and release at the same time because that will cause the reconnection to become the release.
On the video, she seemed perfectly fine with you not watching her. But you were reconnecting and releasing very close together, so try to reconnect, take a breath or two, then release.
Positionally, she is reading all the cues really well. For the Threadles, you can tuck in behind the wing more and for the lead out push, be further across the bar (a little closer to the exit wing) to set up earlier turn info. Your FFC position was good! For the throwbacks, that extra step back (without the early twitch haha) and looking at the landing spot really helped her see the line at the end of this session. Nice!!
Decel video:
I’m super happy with how she set herself up to turn with just the decel here! She was a little stronger to the left than to the right but that will even out with practice (she was already improving by the end! Nice job rewarding with the turn and burn chasing, she really liked that too and it helped convince her to turn tighter on the right turns too 🙂
It was definitely harder when you added more speed! The turns were good but not quite as good as when you were standing still. So definitely revisit this with the tunnel to add speed: give her a warm up rep without the tunnel on each side, then add the tunnel in so you can do several reps and get her sorting it out.Zig zag grid is also going well! The toy placement on the first couple of reps was harder for her to see, so she had questions. At :13 you adjusted the toy placement so it was in a straighter line for her, then it was easy for her to jump the line. So keep that you placement but also now you can flatten the angle an inch or two each time by pulling the outer wings away from each other so the straight line over the bars is harder to see, to add some challenge.
Teeter:
Straight lines looked good!
The angled entries were harder when you were moving fast, so using less handler motion on the harder angles (for now) will help her sort herself out.
The RCs are. going well on the easier angles too!>> Near the end Fritzi seemed distracted (or maybe it was me) by the ground boards when I tried the RC in one direction so I tried without the guides and that was better. Might need to revisit this ?>>
I think that was when you combined the rear cross with the more dramatic angles, and she was a little confused about how to handle both challenges. So for now, separate the challenges: rears on easier angles, and angled entries without rears and also with less motion, so she can think about lining her hind end up.
Great job on these! Let me know what you think!Tracy
Good morning, happy Monday!
Soft turns video:
She is doing well here! This is about the correct speed that the pups use for this tiny setup 🙂 she is looking at the bars, trying to sort out her footwork, and that is good for future jumping efforts! Playing with the ball helped keep her jazzed up.
One suggestion for the verbals: make them sound different from the other verbals by elongating them and having them at a lower volume. That can really help differentiate these soft turns from the chattered wrap verbals and the long, loud GO verbals. I use my soft turns in a more conversational way: riight? Lehft? Rather than rightrightrightright, for example.The broom play is so funny! You need to find a small, easily carried version and take it on the road so that she can get used to playing in other places too, considering it is such a high value reward.
The motion override was hard with the broom moving, so you can start it with some broom chasing like you did here, then have the broom stationary for 2 or 3 seconds, then cue the sit. Then you can eventually build up to the broom being in motion the entire time: it is a great distraction AND reinforcement 🤪Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! Happy Monday!
The first video is looking really good! Just a couple of little ideas, 2 of which you already noted:
Yes, stop and set up the lead out on the LOP, and hold still til she is over bar 1. That will produce better turns over jump 2 because she will set up better collection based on your position and decelerated motion.Also yes, as you noted, the first couple of throwbacks looked like lap turns – partially because of the way you cued the jump and partially because you accelerated away and that motion looked like RC pressure. Good girl Beka for reading her first forced threadle wraps! Fancy!
You fixed things and by 1:23, they looked really good: you were correct yo throw her back by stepping back and looking at the correct landing, no need to rush away. That was great!The forced FC and threadles were lovely. My only other suggestion is to start setting her up further and further from jump 1 now, to help prepare for her eventually set up position of 12 to 15 feet away when the bar is full height.
2nd video also looks great. The handling is going really well, and her stays looks FABULOUS. Nice aim on your start line reward toy throws!
Lead out blinds:
Yes, as you noted, be running closer to 3. And also if the distance is short, you can be starting the BC as she is over 1, like you did at :46
She is responding to the first part of the BC cue (shoulder motion) and that is great!
I think you can gradually expand the distances on the lead outs too… add 3 feet each time you try them, to build up to the big competition distances.She is reading the throwback openings nicely – good wraps with that yummy tunnel behind you that she sees as she is jumping 3! One detail:
Do them one-handed, with the hand next to the jump bar (right hand, in this case). Using the hand across the body (left hand here) is too much motion to the bar and she jumps wider when you do that (2:05, for example). If you just drop your right hand in on the takeoff side, you’ll get a better collection.Great job here!
TracyI got the video to work – yay! Everything here looked really strong: FFC, throwback, threadle, LOP (plan those verbals before you release LOL!), and stays. Super!!!
So now… get moving sooner 🙂 On the FFC and threadle, you can move as soon as she hits the commitment plane which is the invisible 45 degree line that intersects the right angle created by the wing and the foot of the jump (high school geometry is finally useful haha). You started that at 2:22 (last rep) and she was very happy with it!) Bear in mind that when yo add movement, your upper body much stay super connected or she might end up on the wrong side.
You can also move sooner on the lead out push – after she lands from 1, stay connected and start to move! You started the moving at 2:10 and she was great 🙂
Great job here! Let me know how it goes with more movement :) Tracy
Good morning! Nice work here!
Seq 1:
That threadle RC is hard especially for the small dogs!
Try to get the decel and hands to his eyes all before he takes off for 2. Since it is a relatively new skill, you can slow it down a lot so he figures out what it is 🙂 Since we can’t really slow him down, we can have you move more slowly through it to get his attention 🙂
As you begin to cue the threadle, think of it as 2 separate sections: threadle… then cue the jump. Once you have to threadle, cuingthe jump will be easy 🙂 So to cue the threadle, turn awa from the jump more so he dosn’t htink you can the jump. On this setup, it will almost feel like you are turning towards the tunnel or towards the camera. Then when he comes through gap, you can flip him back to the jump.He is finding the 4-5-6-7 line like a pro and your blind cross 6-7 at :30 was AMAZING!!! When you tried it with a RC on the 4 tunne lat :37, it was not as clear to him, it definitely worked much better when he was on your left at :26.
The ending line looked good, I think the layering was a better choice because it got you ahead and kept him from going past the jumps behind the tunnel.
Seq 2:
SUPER nice job going from all the speed on the opening line, into the decel and getting his attention for the threadle wrap so nicely at :07. Yay! He needed a little more connection to show 4 on the 2nd run, so remember to connect as you decel into the line.Getting him to get into the last tunnel was challenging – I think a little touch of decel and turning your shoulders earlier will help: so decel and rotate with connection as he exits 5 and starts to make a decision about the 6 jump, which should and him facing the tunnel: then use your left directional or his name before he enters the tunnel so he turns. He is very forward out of tunnels, and that is great, so he needs a strong turn cue to pick up the turn at the exit here 🙂
Looking at Levy’s video from the jumping perspective: he is just like CB at that age. I don’t think it is a jump height issue, I think it is a young dog plus handler connection issue. He is really inexperienced and learning to find the lines, and if your connection breaks? He doesn’t take the jump (normal young dog thing LOL!) When your connection is clear? He is great with the jumps. So as the jumps get higher, do very very simple sequences with ultra big connection, to get him finding the jumps. Then you can add in the more technical handling skills 🙂
I don’t think Levy will be a 24” jumping dog, because he is smaller than CB, right? CB is a full inch and a half below the 24” cutoff for AKC and UKI, and a half inch below the 24” cutoff for USDAA. When I see Levy next week, we can get a more accurate measurement 🙂Great job here!! Both boys look terrific. Let me know what you think!
Tracy
