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Hi!
I think the first run, best run is great for us who might like to ‘too much trainer and not enough competitor’ as you mentioned: it will actually require us to “up” our training game and be better prepared, which checks the boxes for being a trainer AND competitor 🙂
The first sequence looks great. Placing the toy on the middle rep helped – it is hard to go into extension into a wall. Your connection, timing of verbals, and motion all looked great!
Loved the 2nd sequence! Timing of the verbal ‘right’ cue on the tunnel was terrific both times. On the 2nd time, you kept moving and he was perfect: got the turn AND allowed you to layer the line, which will be very useful! Nice!
Sequence 3: You were more “chill” on the release for the opening line here, so he was more chill which translates to looking at you more and more strides. You were quieter with the release and tunnel verbal, so you can keep the energy higher and give a louder verbal to maintain the speed up the line on that first rep. For example, look at how fast he is on the ending go go go line with the energy and acceleration 🙂 Wheeeee!
On both reps here, you were beautifully connected on that center pinwheel, you moved with him, and he read it well. So an extra challenge: don’t go into the pinwheel with him, sending him to it instead 🙂 So, you can go a little deeper to the #3 tunnel and when he is approaching 4 – decelerate and send him past you to 5, so you can take off and support 6-7 from a distance to get way ahead. You can even try for a BC at the exit of the 7 tunnel! He will like chasing your line like that, and with his speed, any opportunity to get miles ahead is helpful.Great job on these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! He is looking really good! The lazy game totally helps 🙂 And I agree – his need for the earlier cues in the WOO makes me believe that he is feeling a lot more confident 🙂
One thing about bloopers: as we work to put together the big pieces of coursework, if something goes wrong, don’t fix it: either keep going to the next line, or reward and start over. I think when you stop and bring him back to fix a piece (like a missed jump), it just interrupts the flow and gets you out of position for the next thing, which could mean more bloopers.
A couple of ideas for you:
Run 1 –>> well. He is still wide out of the tunnel which makes getting the jumps or turns after difficult. >>
He is very forward coming out of tunnels (which is good!) and your tunnel exit fo 2 here doesn’t exactly point straight to 3… use your left verbal for 3 but use it a lot sooner. You said it as he was exiting at :02 so he went past 3. Ideally, you are saying your left cue before he even enters the tunnel (6 feet before he enters it) and he will hear it and see you turning. At :04 is a moment where you can keep going rather than reset him to jump 4.
The left verbal will also get a good turn on the exit of 7 at :14!Run 2 – your left was earlier on the tunnel #2 and he was better with his turn! It can be even earlier, starting as he is about 6 feet before the tunnel entry.
Looking at the wrap:
As you deliver digdigdig at :16 and :31 for the wrap at 9, make a really strong connection to his eyes with your arm back. You were looking forward and ahead of him to the jump so he read it as a blind cross and ended up on the other side of you. Your connection was better at :41, he could see your face more, so he correctly got the wrap. Super! I think a more ramped up and direct eye contact will really help there: by looking very directly at his eyes (with your arm back), he will see where your shoulders and chest are pointing, and have no questions about the line.
>> My plan was to set up the jumpers course for next week. do you think I should hold off on it?
You can totally move to the jumping courses! Remember the early tunnel exit timing, and the direct eye contact to set up the turns 🙂 Have fun! Great job here!
Tracy
Hi! Great to see you here!
>> fun. My goal for camp is for him to have fun and for me to get some handling feedback. I am hoping that agility fun will translate to agility focus, but if not, that’s okay, too.
I think fun will translate to agility focus, because of all the happy feelings associated with the fun 🙂
>>I am doing some of the pattern games with him still, but also not putting a boatload of structure on him. I am trying to read what he needs and respond accordingly.>>
Perfect! The most happy-making thing for dogs is to understand how to earn reinforcement and how to feel good in any situation, so reading his needs and helping him will make a big difference.
>>As for his agility, I wasn’t repeating sequences unless there was a handling error or something I wanted to improve. We definitely did the Hamilton “walk more, run less” version of agility tonight. It kept him fresh and enthusiastic.>>
Yes! I see no need to repeat things if you and he got it right.
>>Looking ahead to the jumping courses, there is some wicked hard stuff in there. I can only set full courses up at Bad Ass, but I may set up smaller portions of them in my tiny yard and post that first, if that’s okay.>>
Yes! You can totally pull out the interesting looking pieces and work those rather than the full course.
Sequence 1: he did really well with Clover cheerleading nearby!! Good boy!!!
1-2-3 was great! He had a question about driving forward to the last jump after the tunnel, so you can help him by either throwing a toy or lotus ball as soon as he looks at the jump after the tunnel, or planting it there so he can drive to it without it being thrown.Seq 2: excellent job with the swing cue! When you say it and leave (that was great timing and connection), give him a few more verbal ‘pings’ (like a name call or say swing 2 or 3 more times), so he can located you faster when he exits the tunnel. He turned perfectly but then was like “where did she go?” So hesitated a bit there.
I liked how you went back to sequence 1 after you did seq 2 here, it is great dog training to keep him balanced (and throw the reward sooner for the go to the last jump, so he doesn’t veer towards you at all).
Sequence 3 went well! With you closer to the tunnel exit after the swing, he had no questions.
At :44, your shoulder was turned forward which broke connection as you turned, so he didn’t take 5. That is exactly what happened with my demo dog, Elektra! You were right to keep going, it was a handling blooper so continuing was correct so he wouldn’t think about it as his fault. Compare your upper body position there to when you did it again at 1:26, where you had your arm back more and more connection, and he was perfect. YAY!He had a little visit at :58, not sure if he had done enough repetition or there was a really good distraction? Either way, good boy, came right back. Training with another dog around is really important, so he is overall doing really well. And when you re-started at 1:21, you used a short lead out and that really made his line look GREAT!
Seq 4:
He is getting really independent on his verbals! At 1:37 on 1-2, he wasn’t really lined up straight to the tunnel and you cued and ran away: and Super Poodle went and got the tunnel. YES! Good boy! Same at 1:57 on run 2 and 2:39 on run 3 – good boy!You said go go go go for the tunnel, and looking at how it is set up: he was correct at 1:41. The tunnel was not facing the 3 jump, so he ran the straight line exit correctly. Again, it was smart to just keep going. It woul be fair to give him a left verbal which is what you did on the 2nd rep and he was lovely.
When he was approaching 5 at 1:47, you were turning away too early, so he came off the tunnel entry you wanted. You have a longer WOO there to cue and leave 🙂 Watching his head, you will want to keep moving forward and saying GO TUNNEL til he lands from 6 and is looking at/heading towards the 7 tunnel, then you can leave for 8-9. Same thing happened at 2:07- then he checked out and visited. I don’t think it was a distraction issue, more of a “calling an Uber” issue because he had failed twice. So if he fails once, you can over-exaggerate the next rep to help him out. You made sure he got it at 2:49 and that was great! And you still had plenty of time for the wrap cues – you started the verbal and decel right on time, but you can trust his commitment more and rotate sooner (you were facing forward when he jumped when ideally you should be rotated and gone): he committed and turned brilliantly there!
Great job 🤩 Let me know what you think!
TracyYes! Keep trusting her, and using your distance skills. Repeating the important cues will really help (like turn cues, or Go cues for when she is way ahead). I think she is doing really well!
T
Hi! This is looking great!
>> Maisy is fast, lol, I am sure you hear that a lot. I am often not where I need to be in time…>>
Yes, I hear that a lot, but also – she is FAST!
You don’t need to try to get to positions on course – the goal is going to be to be able to give her info from *anywhere*, no matter where you are: she will get the info when she needs it 🙂
Seq 1 – even though this was a super easy one for her, it is great for practicing timing and connection. You nailed it, both times! Yay!
Seq 2 is actually hard for a very fast & confident dog like Maisy, because we need to make sure she turns on the tunnel exit. And you got it ! Super! She seemed to know exactly where to go on the tunnel exit. The bar came down at 4 because you stopped so she stopped, then you dropped the toy.
On the 2rd rep, you started the right verbal really early (:25) so she actually did not take the tunnel, and turned right on the jump. This was VERY cool to see, and will help with the timing when we do NOT want the tunnel on other courses. You did say tunnel, I think, but it was really a quiet cue right at jump 1. So you fixed that on the other reps, by saying it a few more times and you don’t need to say your right verbal til she has landed from 2 and is looking at the tunnel. You were perfect at :33! And again at :42 – lovely!
So definitely move on to sequences 3 and 4, she looks great. The other thing you can do on these 2 sequences is add more speed: maybe start her from a wing wrap 5 meters away from jump 1, so you are both running faster into the sequence.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Yes, it is totally good to give Keltie a turn here 🙂 And overall, it was a very successful session for her! Your connection was great throughout, well done with such an important element of handling!!!
>> think I am seeing a trend in that I often find myself moving faster than I think on the first run. >>
I think that for most of it, you were NOT too fast or too far ahead- and she likes it when you are ahead and running! On runs 3 and 4 when you didn’t run as fast, she decelerated too so was not as fast. So feel free to run fast fast fast as you maintain this connection. We can time a couple of spots differently and that will help with the bars!
She had a little trouble with the bar on jump 4. At :09, you ran forward fast then turned as she was lifting off, so she dropped the bar. On the 2nd run at :30, yo were a shade sooner but not soon enough (bar down). You were a little earlier there at 1:00 and 1:30 for runs 3 and 4, but she had learned the sequence so didn’t touch the bar.
So to be able to run fast AND keep the bar up, it is a timing thing: when she is, at the latest, halfway between jumps 3 and 4, you can call her quietly and start to turn (without breaking connection :)). It will be a matter of keeping your arm back, maintaining connection and turning your feet & shoulders as you continue to move forward towards 4 and 5. That way she should have time to process the cue and made the adjustment before takeoff.
For the wrap at jump 9 – she is doing REALLY well with this, so it is all a matter of decelerating sooner: when you she has is landed from 8, decelerate and send her into the wrap. When she has passed you, turn and go go go! You were good at :40 and 1:12 on the wrap cues but you were GREAT at 1:42!! Look how early you did it, and she nailed it. Super!!!!
I agree with you being happy with her speed and enthusiasm! Your connection and staying in motion really helped this. Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHello!
Well done playing with your sorcery arm 🙂
The first 2 reps were about sorting out shoulders: you turned away too much so he read it as a threadle wrap on the 1st rep, then almost a rear cross on the 2nd rep. More connection to his eyes was needed as you used the arm, and that is what you gave him on rep 3, very nice! Positional, you were a little far from jump 5 so he didn’t take it, but you fixed that on rep 4 with the good brake arm and the connection/jump verbal for 5. Yay!!!This will be a good tool in your toolbox to help get collection after extension lines!
If you try this again, everything looked strong,, my only suggestion is to start the decel for the wrap even sooner, so you are already decelerated and cueing the wrap when he lands from 8, rather than right after he lands. I think we can get more collection on takeoff of 9!
Great job 🙂
TracyGood morning! Hopefully you get a break from the heat this weekend!
On the blooper runs – I notice he looks away as you lead out, and I remember him doing that on your sequence 1 runs too. Is that something you see from him normally? If so, we can help him look at you as you lead out, because that will get rid of the broken stay blooper (and I think he took off after that because he realized there was an error).
The successful run looked really good!! The timing of your physical cues were all strong. Because he is so fast, you probably don’t need to have your dog-side arm out as you run – to slows you down and isn’t something he needs. Instead, you can have the dog side arm down and pointing back to him (rather than to the side and pointing to the jumps) because the arm back will maintain as you run (which helps him see the line better) and makes us all faster runners. :))
The verbal cues sounded go – the only thing I suggest doing earlier is calling him on the tunnel exit. You can start to call him right before he goes in, then again when he is in it, so he knows exactly where to turn to on the exit.Great job here! Onwards to sequence 3 and 4 🙂
TracyGood morning!
This looks (and sounds:)) great! I think your timing was spot in throughout – you might have been a little earlier on the right turns than on the left turns but both were good. And her commitment looks good too! Her only question was at :59, where you turned your shoulders too abruptly at the tunnel so she was not sure if she should go in it.
So now… repeat this game at a run 🙂 can you be on time while running to? And you can add the other sequences too 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
This is going well, his commitment is looking really strong, especially to that 2nd jump. Nice!
So with this game, you can add challenge by making it more of a one-step send and moving away, rather than rounding the line with him. Line up and lead out like you did, and as he lands from one, give the big step. As he is heading to 2, step away straight back down the line, as if heading to where the tunnel will be in the next games. That will get even more commitment and independence on the middle jump and on the 3rd jump!And you can also move on to the next games, they all roll together here 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi! Plank work is looking good! She seemed perfectly happy when you were standing still (toss the treat before she looks back at you) and even happier when you were moving. We are looking for her to be balanced and confident as she was moving across, even when getting on from the side: mission accomplished 🙂
Add in having her stand still in the center and turn around – that’s also good for coordination.
What do you have that can elevate the prop while keeping it stable? Ideally, you can elevate the board a few inches and repeat the process.
Great job!
TracyHi! It is great to see him back in action, I’m glad he enjoys it so much!!!
One step sends are going well, even as that middle jump got further away. You can add in moving away to the 3rd jump now as soon as he is passing you.
He was definitely happy with the thrown treats more than the toy out there! So treats for tossing interspersed with toy play is great.
And yes, you can go to the next lazy games and sequences for sure, he is ready!He looked very confident on the plank work, so we can ramp it up a bit!
>>we were brainstorming some ideas for not having to toss the treat on the sand. Would it work if I toss to a towel or something?>>
For the plank work, if my memory is correct, you have a MM – you can use that on one end, and treats to a towel or sheet (for more angles) on the other end
You can add your motion to it more now, walking back and forth as well as adding the turning around on the plank too 🙂
We will be able to elevate the plank soon too, do you have any bricks or Cato planks to put under it, to lift it a few inches?I am very glad he is a fan of squeeze cheese LOL!! It certainly made a great first impression on his, about the teeter LOL!
I love his confidence here – you’ll have to block off access to the teeter for when you don’t want him running up it 🙂
I liked your stealthy mechanics of turning him around with a cookie in one hand and putting more squeeze cheese on the board with the other: brilliant!
If the start of the next session of this game goes as well as this session went, you can add a wing wrap before it – send him around the wing and up the board (to the squeeze 🧀 :)) that will get you adding more of your motion too. Just be sure that he has a straight line from the wing to the teeter, for safety as he adds more speedGreat job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHappy fun experiences are definitely the way to go! I think I have a video of it, let me look 🙂 if not, I’ll make one when I get back to the dogs on Tuesday (working out of town without them 🙁 til then).
THi! The little brake arm happens just before the shoulder turn and you can keep it up while you turn your shoulder too – if you’re connected, he will see it 🙂 I use both hands on that, kind of pushing down (palms down) as if saying “calm it down, brother” LOL!
Let me know if that makes better sense.
T
