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Hi! These look really strong!!!!
First wrap was great, so tight and fast!!
Then you di a bunch of left turns – she was terrific. You were cuing and leaving earlier than needed and she was GREAT about staying on the jump and making a lovely left turn. Be sure to show her the jump after the left, keep your shoulder open and keep moving like Jamie said 🙂 When you stopped moving and/or closing your shoulder forward, she was coming off the line. The last wrap away from you looked good too! Yay! All of the pieces are coming together so nicely in time for NAC 🙂 The only thing I would add to this is to do some big GO GO GO lines after the tunnel: you can do the wrap, then drive back into the tunnel and GO GO GO up the line back to where you started, to keep a lot of value of the Go line.Great job!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I totally agree that he was really uncomfortable with the pressure of running towards a dog that was barking at him, even a dog he knows pretty well. He was going wide, yes, but giving other classic stress and avoidance signs (glancing away, running past jumps, leaving to sniff, peeing on the tunnel, full body shake). So it is hard to assess response to the verbals because the environment was so hard. He did a lot better when the pressure was removed, but also it changes his conditioned response to the environment: the pressure plus the failures produce a negative conditioned response, which is partially why you have to work really hard to get him engaged and aroused.
Moving the other dog made things easier for sure but we also need to get him to be able to do things with barking dogs around 🙂 You can download videos from YouTube or Facebook of dogs barking and doing agility, and have them playing while you train simple things at home. Then incorporate the hardest stuff! This is actually on the To The Line agenda 🙂 because he needs to stay engaged when he hears a barking dog. It is entirely possible he will need to be moving to the line while the dog before him is barking its head off on course, so we need to build the distraction in, in a happy way!
So the verbals are fine… for your next verbal session, have some barky YouTube videos in the background and see how he does!Let me know what you think!
TracyOoh, I like that! Notice how EVERYONE in the room chilled out, it got really quiet! Can you do that standing, or down on one knee? Or bring a chair ringside? Try it without food or toys around, so she doesn’t try to offer anything other than this 🙂 Great job!
TracyHi!
>>One other thing…I would describe him as impulsive, a shoot first, aim later kinda guy. Jim says his theme song should be “I want it all, and I want it NOW!”
Ha! Relatable. Are you sure he is not a terrier or Papillon? Those breeds would embrace that theme song too LOL!
>>The Pattern Game has been our go to game for awhile now. >>
Sounds like you have done an amazing job and he has come a very long way already!!!
>>Our hard part is through the gate, to the line – I’m assuming because that’s the part where I don’t have a primary reinforcer immediately available.
Yep! Everything changes in that moment: the primary is gone, the obstacles appear, new distractions, leash off, maybe momma gets nervous… 🙂
>>He/we struggle with comfort at the start and ability to setup quickly and maintain a stay but the really good part is once we start the course he is ALL business and all GO!!!
If he is all business and his runs are successful… then when we get to the actual line up routines it is possible that you will choose the all business routine. All of the arousal state and mental warm up is doing outside the wing. Then you walk in to the start, take the leash off , tell him to stay (no line up trick, just a stay cue) then you lead out. Bing bang boom – all business then off you go 🙂 I have a couple of all business dogs who just want to go to the line and get on with the run 🙂
>>Instant focus game……Is it OK that he offers the down? Or would it be better if I used something larger that he is more likely to do a paw touch? >>
You are going to want the simplest, easiest behaviors so a nose touch/sniff or paw touch are usually the easiest. When the game gets harder, you are not going want to maintain a down position.
>>A couple of times he sort of nose touched the keys and that was the behavior I was thinking about trying to shape. What do you think?>>
Nose touch is good! The keys are small so you might want a bigger object or put them on something bigger.
On the line up game video – adding the action into it can make the control behavior of the stay really fun too! Plus it is a goofy game and can be a great warm up and “volume dial” game too 🙂 The big hand cue helped him find the position between your feet a little better.
Because he might be an all business dog on the line, you can also play with the line up at your side especially the element where you line him up, cue the stay and lead out without any extra fanfare.
He is doing well with the RR but I think we can break ti down even more to target the engagement areas we want to build up. Remote reinforcement where the dog offers engagement is much harder than being cued for engagement! Don’t wait as long to go back; be sure to reinforce the first offer. He didn’t really know what to do so he was offering the jump or going past it, which is not an option on a start line (we don’t want him to go offer jump 1 without you LOL! So you can use this game to isolate the very first step away from the reinforcement – which was MUCH harder when the stuff was on the ground. Try to mark and reward that first step or two to really build it up – he was offering stuff but not really moving with you with engagement, it was more like he was scoping out into the environment to see how to earn the reinforcement, if that makes sense. So by reinforcing that first step or two of engagement with you, you can make it about that first step or two into the ring, rather than what happens on the jumps or tunnels. Let me know if that makes sense!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
He looked good on all of these!Engaged chill outside… you can have him on a leash for this so he can’t stroll off in search of something more stimulating LOL!! All we need is 10 seconds of his time 🙂 Because he already has the history of loving the massage, I bet as soon as he figures out that it can happen outside too, he will LOVE it! And then he will learn he does’t have to be so busy in stimulating environments.
Pattern outside – perfect! You were boring in all of the best ways LOL!!! He was able to modulate himself without needing help from you and that is fabulous!!! At home, add the leash in so it is not a royal pain when you are on the road somewhere to have the leash attached 🙂 And definitely add this in to your next class, getting as close to the other dogs, people and ring as possible.
Remote reinforcement outside- also looked great. Was the reward in a bowl on the ledge? You can pick up the bowl, reward, then to start the next rep you can put it down and start moving away. The scan help him know exactly when the rep has begun so he can move away with you.
>>I didn’t realize he started the weaves until I saw the video.
That was hilarious and also maybe an indicator that he is beginning to understand that good things happen (work, training) when you do NOT have the food in your hands or pockets! YES!
Volume dial – he looked great! So now, for him, all volume dial games should have cookies in pockets and not in hands. That will help form the habit of responding to the cues with the passion he had here without needing to see the cookies first.
>>I don’t think I dropped anything on the ground but he thought so.
There might have been a runaway crumb haha! But you can also feed the cookie less precisely in position – rather than feed with a low hand after the trick (like circle, for example) you can have him put his front feet up on you and then feed the treat. That will help get rid of the “no crumb left behind” moment of looking for a treat, and also standing on you is stimulating!
More games coming on Monday with this! Do you have his in-person class on Monday night?
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>Left turn which is her weaker side is a turn toward me so easier. Right turn which is stronger side is a turn away. Am I understanding that correctly?
Yes – the harder side (left turns) should be easier, set up so it is very easy for her to see the line to the left turns. And the right turns are stronger, so you can make those harder 🙂
Serps –
>>Major foundation hole with serps.
Not a major hole! Just a body position we can easily fix 🙂 For serp cues, you need to rotate your upper body to open your shoulder to face the jump, so your belly button is facing the bar. When you were moving, you were closing your shoulder so your belly button was facing the bowl.
That closed shoulder means “layer, don’t come in” and since layering is now a massive trend in course design, we don’t want to change that 🙂 In fact, I took the young dogs to a seminar yesterday we we had t odd a serp versus a don’t-serp (layer) sequence and since I have good belly button awareness, they were perfect 🙂
So as you are moving through the serp jump, keep close to the jump and your feet pointing to the bowl (don’t pull away) and rotate at the waist to get your dog-side shoulder back, big connection to her eyes, and belly button to the bar 🙂 For now, use whichever arm position produces the upper body position best: you can do dog-side arm back, or you can use a cross arm if that helps you rotate better without turning your feet.
>>>>When I went back to sitting her she understood. But, add the wing and she just kept going to the reward.
So when you broke it down to a sit stay, at :52 and those reps you had GREAT upper body ‘strike a pose’ position with your belly button pointing to the bar and she nailed it.
But when you added back your motion, you closed your shoulders forward – if you pull away like a post turn, she came in )or threaded) but when you stayed near the jump, the closed shoulders looked like a layer cue so she correctly layered the jump.
So keep moving along the serp line with her moving, but exaggerate the open shoulders/belly button to the bar position and see how she does, first with you walking then we add more speed. We need to find the sweet spot of upper body rotation without foot rotation.
Because layering is SO popular, I want her to continue to layer when your shoulders are closed forward – trust me, you are going to need her to do that LOL!
The FCs looked great! You were super connected and she was fabulous!
Great job – let me know what you think about the upper body position for the serps :)
TracyHi!
That first rep was funny! You asked if he was ready and he said YES LOL! Behold the power of the word “ready” hahahaThe rest looked terrific. Try not to do an ‘oh my’ if he is not immediately correct – let him work it through so you can reward the correct behavior. Turning away is REALLY hard but he caught himself each time he started to go the incorrect direction and then he was GREAT!
I think he is a righty both because he gets the right turns correct more frequently (especially at 1:29 and on the last rep where it would have been easier to go to the left!) but also because he is a lot more organized with his movement going to the right than to the left. So, you can keep making the right turns harder like you did here, but keep the left turns in simpler position for now (start him more center of the bar so he doesn’t have as much of a discrimination to make).
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
That first rep was funny! You asked if he was ready and he said YES LOL! Behold the power of the word “ready” hahahaThe rest looked terrific. Try not to do an ‘oh my’ if he is not immediately correct – let him work it through so you can reward the correct behavior. Turning away is REALLY hard but he caught himself each time he started to go the incorrect direction and then he was GREAT!
I think he is a righty both because he gets the right turns correct more frequently (especially at 1:29 and on the last rep where it would have been easier to go to the left!) but also because he is a lot more organized with his movement going to the right than to the left. So, you can keep making the right turns harder like you did here, but keep the left turns in simpler position for now (start him more center of the bar so he doesn’t have as much of a discrimination to make).
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I think the hardest part of the zig zag for him was the stay! He did well with that too, holding his stay til you got to wing 3 – SUPER! And the lead changes look GREAT!
At :41 he had a little blooper but he just needed more connection and a lower arm, he pushes away best when your arm is a little lower for now so he can see the connection.How did the adult dogs do?
How far apart were these wings? I think you can get them closer now, to 5 feet apart – that makes it harder because he has to do the lead changes quicker 🙂
>>As far as all of these different drills go, I’m wondering if anybody has ever made a list of them so that you could go back easily and revisit certain ones. Wondering how much we should go back to some of the initial drills in Max Pup 1? Just trying to keep up with re-visiting The drills that we should continue to work on.>>
Excellent question! To be honest, you probably don’t need to go back and look at the MaxPup 1 stuff because all of the MaxPup 2 stuff builds directly from it (stealthily hahahaha so you don’t realize you are doing the foundations over and over :)) For example, the wing and the jump have replaced the ‘prop’. And the prop games are all built up to rocking horses and smiley face games and the handling games. Strike a pose is now the threadle and serp stuff. You can totally revisit the body awareness stuff, but I am guessing you do that a lot already because of your expertise in fitness.
Pre-Covid, we did have a list of all the MaxPup games but everything got totally revamped during covid. You can use the games titles in the Course Syllabus page to see if there is anything missing – and if I see anything that needs to be revisited, I will point it out. So far… you are doing an awesome job!
Nice work 🙂
TracyHi!
>>Overall I’m super happy with her effort. Seems like her ability to concentrate with her little puppy brain is increasing with these exercises.>>
Totally yes! She looks great – especially terrific considering it is hot and you are in a new location on the farm. Super!!!
On the videos:
The minny pinny looks good! You can spread the bumps out a bit more so she can more easily bounce between them – maybe 3 feet between them, center to center?Before the next session of the turn aways, make sure she can do the minny pinny without you moving at all, and with you standing in the center where all 3 wings meet (more like the reps at 1:30) That will make the turn aways easier because she will have a really strong understanding of the little grid and you won’t have to indicate the turns as much, which will help you be able to fade out the arm cue.
Sends’n’Serps video: you had really nice mechanics and that totally helps! Yay!! Everything looked strong, there is only one detail to add in (which will also answer her questions from the 2nd video)-
On the serp position, rotate your upper body more (you want your belly button facing the bar) so that she sees more serp indication. And do this without turning your feet at all (you’ll feel the twist at your waist!) When you were walking, it didn’t matter as much but it made a difference when you aded speed (2nd video) and will make an even bigger difference when eventually we ask her to layer and NOT come in. You can see the closed shoulder (belly button pointing to the Manners Minder) at 1:37 and 1:47 so be sure to drop the dog side shoulder back so you can point your belly button to the bar 🙂
The added distance between the wing and jump was easy for her as was the added speed – but as you added speed, you closed your shoulders more so she had a couple of questions. At
2:38 she was correct to layer and you can see the difference between that rep (closed shoulder) and the last rep on the clip where you opened up more and turned your belly button to the bar, and she came right in for the serp.On the 2nd video – more lovely work! At :17 you have more connection and upper body rotation but you can add even more 🙂 At 1:02 and 1:10, you were moving fast which caused your shoulders to close forward (belly button pointing to the MM) so she didn’t come in – since layering is now VERY trendy in course design, this ‘closed shoulder’ cue is a cue to layer and the rotation of eye contact and belly button to the bar is the serp cue. At 1:19 and the reps after it you definitely have more rotation and she came in – keep your feet running forward, so you don’t end up slowing down, rotating or doing a little grapevine step. If you need to use your opposite arm across your body, that is fine too as it helps establish the rotation. On serps, I like to swing my dog side arm pretty far back (locking the elbow) and making a very direct eye contact with the dog (all while running of course :))
When you added the FCs – she had no trouble reading the difference (great job with your verbals on both videos!!!). So to add challenge with the FCs, do a FC and run to the TreatNTrain, so you are moving along a similar path to the serp except she will be on your other side and connection tells her to NOT take the jump. That should be more challenging for sure.Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi there!
Ah, so nice to be outside finally! I think the main thing at this point will be to get engagement outside – she is really inexperienced working outdoors, so I think the engagement was the hardest part of it all.On the first video:
After throwing the ball, you can go engage with her so she does not develop a party of one habit 🙂 And you can attach it to a long toy so you can toss it and stay attached to it, moving it around, to help engage with her. I think she goes away with it because after you tossed it, you watched from a distance and you didn’t engage with her, so perhaps he didn’t realize there was an expectation to continue to engage and she goes about her day with it LOL
You did some parallel path work with the ball, and I think that the ball is great for that! You can carry it with your opposite arm so she looks forward more and not at you until you throw it, and you can totally throw it sooner.
She did well with the tug toy also! The proofing game went well – having her turn on the wing away from the tunnel was a good start because it set up a lot of success (remember to use your verbal, I couldn’t hear if you were using it or not), and she was happy to run through the tunnel as well. You can do super short outdoor blasts with moving rewards from your hands, and I think she will get more and ore engaged and focused outdoors. Sending her to the toy worked for the initial reward, but then go and engage with her. If she might move away before you engage with her, you can carry the rewards in your hands – that is a great discmrination as well! (Tunnel versus toy in hand :))
For the parallel path game – I think more engagement before each rep will help her know when each rep definitively begins, which is a cue to offer behavior (versus look at you). So you can engage before each rep with t he tug toy, then toss the treat as the reward for finding the path to the jump (lotus ball or treat hugger will work so the treat is more visible) or toy, then engage again to reset for the next rep. That will help her look forward sooner, so she knows it is time to move up the line and look for the jump (and the reward throws can happen as soon as she looks at the jump 🙂 If she doesn’t look at it and only looks at you, feel free to place the reward out on the line to jump start the behavior of looking ahead).
Nice work!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>> I would have never realized my feet were going in all sorts of different directions but obviously you and Josie did!!
Yes, the dogs totally see all the things 🙂 LOL!
>>Just to be clear, my feet shouldn’t rotate in either one?
Ideally, correct, feet should be moving forward and the upper body does the work.
You can choose which upper body you want:
For me, I use a cross arm for the threadles, and a dog-side arm for the serps. Either way, whichever you choose, the upper body should rotate towards the threadle entry (the wing and the gap between the wings) or the center of the bar on the serps). I have found my dogs have an easier time when I use two different upper body cues for the 2 different verbals 🙂>>Are my body cues different at all between the 2? or will it end up just being verbal that tells her which?>>
The verbal does help and also the upper body cues help differentiate. In the more advanced stages of training, we try to strip out the upper body for the proofing element. But in the earlier stages, you can use the verbal AND upper body to help teach the skills.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>> So that would be the get it cookie toss and snacks but on leash mixed in with a loose leash walking, right?
Yes and no – treat them as separate games so that he can easily predict where/how to get the reinforcement. So you can either be doing loose leash walking, or the pattern game with the tossing, or the pattern game to your hands/shoes. But try not to mix them all together as that can get confusing.
>>PS did you get my email for the working spot?
I saw it come through – I will be able to get into the emails later this afternoon. You can start posting videos before you get the official email on that though, life has been crazy LOL
Good morning!
>> Before I work on an Engaged Chill, I have a question: do you cue Elektra or Hot Sauce to paws up in your thigh? I have a lean back stance that is meant to be a paws up invitation but I also sometimes pat my leg. I know that Engaged Chill is not to be work, so maybe cues not appropriate?>>
Yes, I invite them up. It is a cue for that specific interaction, probably very much like your lean back stance. And the cue is reinforced with the petting or whatever they like in that moment – yes, we can have the dog lick a stick of string cheese if we need to jump start it, but we don’t want them offering behaviors as that is not chill LOL!
>>>My observations: when just chilling at home Zippie interacts with me by either leaning her back up against me or resting her chin on my knee. She likes scratching below the ear and strokes along her stop / between her eyes.
I use a “3 pets and stop” to see if she asks for more which is really funny to watch her ask for more please.>>>Awwww perfect! Such sweet interactions!!!! I like that you ask if she wants more with your 3 pets and stop rule 🙂 Does she start the interaction or can you can her into it? Another question: can you do this standing up? Ideally you are standing (thinking ahead to outside a dirt ring LOL) but you can also do it down on one knee.
Keep me posted on how she does!
TracyHi!
I invite them up – a little tap on my hip is the invitation. That is the cue to assume the position of chilling. But there is no real cue because then it becomes too stimulating and an argument:
“Chill. I said CHILL. C’mon, you gotta CHILL.” Hahahahaha 🙂
So a little “come on up here” and quiet stance is the way t get it started.T
