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Hi!
Glad you are back! Sorry to hear that booster 2 flattened you but it is good to have it on board!Looking at both videos – there is a lot of good work here and I think with a couple of small tweaks, you can use the APDB in training and at trials!
While I am thinking of it… you might consider buying a second or 3rd APDB so you can have one on her reward station (definitely in a jar for now) and one hidden in your pocket for the Training In The Ring step 2 (empty hands) games. And, if you throw the APDB as a reward, you can reward her with the 2nd one for bringing the first one back š The APDB seems to be her highest value reinforcement so we need to use it š
>>But for our purposes at home, and maybe class and most trials, I can get better RR results with different/lessor toys.
>>I feel like Iām in a difficult situationā¦..I need a high value toy to curb her anxieties, yet getting them off me for RR, or delayed reinforcement is extremely hard.Totally agree that it is an incredibly high value, convenient, and helpful reinforcement. That is another reason why I think having more than one of the same toy will be helpful. One can live at the reward station (in a jar for now, it is not ready to be jar-less) and you can have another one in a pocket. That, plus super high value food as reinforcement for leaving the reward station? That might be the winning combo!
Speaking of high value food – goldfish are good but not good enough to compete with the APDB, which also means they are not high enough in value to compete with a stressful environment. She is happy to ignore the open bag, and the gives us a lot of insight LOL! You can use higher value food rewards to reward her for leaving the reward station, as well as when she is in challenging situations. For example, I use meatballs and cheddar cheese when my dogs are in high arousal, challenging situations (and kibble or dry treats at home).
>> But she also stole it and took off, hence the fence>>
The party of one with the APDB is a good lesson in the importance of controlling the environment š The APDB was naked and free for the taking… so she did. And then you were concerned about it, so you were changing your behavior to block or help her. She is not quite at the point of being able to *not* steal it yet, so the jar is the perfect way to control the environment.
Or, if the APDB is naked and available, you can have her on leash. But jar-less APDB and off leash Posh are a difficult combo for you LOL!
>>Iām blocking her a bit wanting her to get the idea.
This puts you in management mode, and that makes it harder to for training. I want you to be able to simply walk away and allow her to offer moving with you, and eventually doing the volume dial tricks, without you managing her path or asking for her attention. So the jar or the leash will help.
>>. I donāt feel I need to block her because I know she canāt help herself, but it also slows our reps down.
Overall, it is more important that she can’t steal it than it is to get in a lot of fast reps. She seems perfectly happy to let you open the jar before giving it to her.
>>. I can see my sessions are still too long, and belaboring time at the jump is unnecessary to what weāre trying to achieve.>>
I don’t think they were too long in terms of # of minutes, but yes – you don’t need to do as many reps on the jump.
>.She doesnāt try to steal it when Iām near the chair and retrieving is more successful when Iām lower to the ground.>>
That is because she is brilliant and knows she can steal it successfully when you are further from it, and she can’t steal it when you are right there LOL!
So using the magical APDB as part of your remote reinforcement combos:
– yes to the jar š
– get a 2nd or 3rd one, so you can reward her (surprise!) in the ring even when there is one at the reward station – that can also help build impulse control, because she won’t be hyper-focused on just one toy.
– use higher value food in challenging environments: soft stinky stuff that is really hard for her to ignore!And I think you should control the environment a bit more (jar :)) and not get too worried about complete impulse control on the APDB – let’s get it involved right away! It will be helpful for her!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHoly wow I think he looked better than he does at class – he was PUMPED UP but in the best way! And all this with it being a million degrees out… fast and focused! And you were very connected in your handling!
You made excellent choices for him – short leads outs, visible clam, tossed rewards, asking for the tricks… it set up a super successful day for him. YAY!!!
>>He even got in a nap (1st time). He stayed fresh.>>
This is so helpful!!!
>>After his last run, someone commented he looked happy. For his last run he was under the tent with four dogs and ignored them. I was more distracted and he was just offering his tricks to get my focus.>>
And this is great too – exactly what we want him to do!!! YAY!!!!
>>This trial was much quieter setting in the country but heās never ran that well, especially the first time. He was a totally different dog ā non-reactive, focused and fast.
A quiet setting is perfect for easing him into fast/focused competition!
>>We had a great time, much easier to walk and run your own course but I had to avoid running into the rest of the group. And my watch showed all 3 rings closed including 30 mins of exercise trying to keep up.>>
YAY! And all 3 rings closing is a big bonus too LOL!
So to debrief – what do you think were your most useful and successful tools at the trial? And what did not work as well (such as instant focus on Saturday). We can track this so you know what to use and what to skip next time.
I think you can at class be doing some Step 2 (empty hands) runs (already doing those) along with the steps 3 and 4 we will be adding tonight – so the next trial and be a combination of Step 1 and Step 2 training in the ring. If the NADAC at the end of May is his next competition, then we have plenty of time for planning and training.
Great job! I am doing a happy dance for you!
TracyGood morning!
Thanks for reposting all the videos – they were incredibly informative!! I think almost all of the pieces are in place – his engagement at the start looks great, most of the course running looks great (well done to you for lovely connection!) and there is one big Kryptonite pattern that I can see emerging after watching a bunch of his runs now:
This one is marked as no longer available:
https://youtu.be/OO2AwXolZ7asAnd this one is the lovely run from Saturday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvq8rdOO_ds
Looking at Sunday’s runs, I think we see where he is doing amazingly well (start line engagement, most of the course work is fast and focused) and where we have some kryptonite games to play – really only one Kryptonite concept and everything else looks great!!
Saturday JWW looks GREAT! WOW!
He was very successful and we do see the first bit of Kryptonite: He totally thought he was finished on the 2nd jump after the weaves – jumping away from the course AND there were timing lights on the jump, so I can’t say I blame him for thinking he was done! More on that below šT2B on Sunday has so much lovely work!! He is finding his lines, he is getting faster and faster, ignoring the ring crew and the judge. I think he was struggling with the stopping but not really playing with the toy – in a class setting, will he play with the toy and chase it in the ring 9still in your hand)? It is possible that you didn’t give him quite enough time to grab it in the run here, or that he wasn’t interested in grabbing it. So it will be good to figure out if he *will* play with it at a trial, so we can plan more using it.
More importantly, though – I think we see more of the Kryptonite here (and having the weaves there right by the front of the ring did not help) – the visual of the perceived end of the course, along with the exit gate and the people).
Same thing with the Sunday JWW run – so fabulous! Even with something causing him to shake his head like that, he still got the jumps and got the weaves! Good boy! And then when it was time to ignore the exit and the people at the front of the ring, he just couldn’t (hello, Kryptonite!) and then he got worried about something (maybe someone tried to shoo him away? Or another dog was there? It was not visible on camera. )
So that is great info and we can really isolate that scenario with the Kryptonite games š And, in agility classes/training, we can set it up to reward him for carrying on andNOT heading for the exit.
Running past the front of the ring and back into the course (and not to the exit) is a common scenario on AKC courses. The reason this scenario of having to run past the exit/front of ring is so hard for so many dogs is that the area is incredibly distracting, plus the timing lights and ring exit have been paired with reinforcement (because all the runs end there!), which provides an additional layer of distraction. Definitely perfect for Kryptonite games! Having the weaves right there makes it harder because they are less stimulating than, say, a straight tunnel or jumps so he is more likely to ‘notice’ the outside-the-ring distractions. He was GREAT with his weaves on Saturday in JWW and they were closer to the middle of the ring.
A question for you: do you think he is distracted by the dogs or the people or the food items or… all of the above in this situation?
So let’s move the Kryptonite games into a high priority spot in training because everything else looks so good:
– set up a pretty realistic outside-of-ring situation. Food stuff on tables, people watching, other dogs moving/barking/tugging – do you have training partners and classmates who can help with this?
– using his favorite games (probably pattern games, volume dial tricks and off leash offered engagement), play some of these simple games in front of this high level distraction set up
– when that is easy for him, install this Kryptonite into your remote reinforcement game, so he has to move with you, doing tricks and maybe a jump, past the distractions and to your reward station.And since dogs are so good at recognizing things like timing lights on the jump, can you ask one of your instructors to put timers on random jumps, near the edges of the ring, so you can reward him for continuing past them and so he doesn’t think he is finished? They don’t have to be turned on or anything, they just need to be visible š
Great job on these runs! I really think the Kryptonite games will be the last piece of the puzzle š
Tracy
Hi!
>>The weather has been a huge impediment this term.
For real! Winter is not ending for you!!
Tunnel threadles – this is a hard one for baby dogs! I think part of what she is having questions about is the motion. She is used t seeing high speed motion as part of the regular tunnel cue and then canāt override that when you go fast on the tunnel threadle cue.
But if you do a decel for just the tunnel threadles (or a rotation) then she waits for the decel and it makes it harder to add the speed.So for the next session, make one of the goals to be that you have no change of pace – you can just be walking the whole time, whether it is the ātunnelā or the āhereā cue. And you can change your line of motion and your verbals coming into it – but no transitions in and out of acceleration or decel. That way she can process the verbals without the motion – at which point when the rate of success is higher, you can go faster and faster š
You an ever so slightly change the set up so the tunnel end is not was testing and the here end is a little more visible. And, when she is getting itā¦ use a reward marker rather than a big āYES!ā Because yes stops her (I learned this the hard way with one of my youngsters :))
Nice work! Let me know if that makes sense! I bet it clicks into place in the next session or two.
Tracy
Hi!
These looked lovely! I think the 4 jump grids actually looked better than the 3 jumps grids: more power, perhaps with the visual of the 4th jump? Better striding for sure, and the angled jumps were no problem either. YAY!! And there was really no difference with the dragging toy – he kept the striding together, nice form, good bouncing. Super!
So, with that in mind – do 4 straight and 4 angled again at some point… but try 5.5 inches. It will add a little challenge in terms of balance and power but I think he is totally ready for that!Great job š
TracyHi!
She is doing well here and giving you great feedback about what she needs to see š
One big thing is more connection as she exits the wing wrap – when you were connected, she was great fir the wrap reps (it was not as important on the go reps). When you were looking forward, she looked at you more on the wrap reps and that is when she had questions.
By connected more, you will be able to support her line and time things better. On some of the wider wrap turns like at :37, you were decelerating late (when you got the jump).
When she was not taking the jump, like at :59, it was because you didn’t have a lot of connection and you were decelerating/turning and lifting your outside arm early – which pulled her off the jump. Compare that to her lovely commitment and turn at 1:28, for example – you deceled *then* rotated, no outside arm – perfect! So keep the decel and rotation as separate, distinct pieces and she will commit and wrap easily š
Well done here!
TracyHi!
I agree, this is an important skill is she is sorting it out nicely! Yes, she is reading your motion but that is a really good start.
For the tunnel threadle/kiss kiss cue, she was getting it when you were not moving that fast for now, which is good! So you can be moving pretty slowly for now (we will add more speed later on down the road) but also keep moving all the way towards the tunnel entry you want, while still saying kiss kiss rather than pulling away from out and trying to send her back to it. That motion towards as the cue should mean āget in that end of the tunnelā without you also needing to flip her back out to it and say tunnel. She will figure it out if you keep moving to it.
Her other question was when you switched from the threadle arm to the dog side arm – that changes the line of your shoulders so she was not entirely sure if she should continue to the tunnel on some of the reps. You can keep the threadle/kiss kiss arm up until she puts herself into the tunnel – so the dog die arm will only be sued for the ātunnel āin front of you verbal :))>>ām curious,I see people doing right or left for the tunnel they want. Is this more for when the wrong is right on thier face?
Do you mean for the wing before the tunnel? I like to cue a turn on the obstacle before the threadle, so left or right on the wing would set the dog up for the tunnel entry on their line, and a wrap verbal would set them up for the other end/tunnel threadle.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>So he could not do the instant focus. He was headed for the shade under my vehicle as soon as we arrived. He was fine with pattern but no offering on the fitbone.
He looked so hot!! But he was a good boy and offered immediate engagement. So he could engage with you, ignore your friend, and play pattern games, he just couldnāt do the instant focus. No problem! He does love his pattern games, so definitely use those.
>>I worked further away in a shady spot under a tree as he was so hot. No shade near the ring but he could hear the handler. He was able to do his action tricks. The only toy he would engage was the clam. >>
Good boy! Definitely keep him in the shade tomorrow as you wait for his turn – it is the first really hot weekend of the year. And pattern. Games, tricks, and the clam are you friends here LOL!!
>>He may only last 1 run since that is first in the AM when it will be cooler.>>
Yes – play it by ear and make the decision in the moment, We want him to enjoy his time in the ring and we donāt want him feeling it is too hot to be fun.
>>They have a tent for the line up entrance area so heāll be huddled up with other dogs in small space.
You can carry him or do tricks, or wait to enter the tent til the very last minute if it feels too crowded. UKI is very āchillā, no real rules about having to wait on line or anything. As long as the gate steward knows you are there and will be in the ring on time, it is all good š
Thanks for the interview link, now I remember doing it LOL!!!!!
Have a great day! Stay cool :)āØTracy
Good morning!
Using the crate to add the treat smell distraction was a brilliant way to control the environment! He was definitely distracted!
Yes, you did the right thing with treats in your hands – this was significantly challenging enough that he had trouble even with treats in your hands! We have found the kryptonite!
For now – don’t drop the leash, as he seems to leave for the treats on the ground as soon as there is a tiny break in the action or he thinks he is ‘released’. He was doing really well with the engagement when you were asking for tricks and line up by the end of the video, so keep rewarding that for now!
>>Ok ā¦ I think we went really well and I think I need to practice this each day. How to I change the level of difficulty for this .. not that heās ready atm? >>
A short practice each day is a good thing, in as many different environments as you can do it. Keep your sessions REALLY short (take a break, go in the house, come back out) so we can focus on that immediate first blast of focus.
And you can basically work on each of the games here: the tricks/volume dial and line ups went well, keep working those.
And definitely add in the leash off offered engagement so eventually you can walk in, take the leash off, and he will not look away from you. For now, though, do it with 2 leashes so when you take one off, he cannot leave for the kryptonite šAnd instant focus is a good on here too! Can he touch his instant focus prop while the caged cookies are around?
And yes you can totally mix crate games into these too – he is really good at those so you can bring them into this game too as part of the rotating set of games š
Great job, let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
The first video link says the video is not available and the next 3 videos are the same link. But I liked what I saw on that video!!!
Wow, it is tight there, dogs and people literally inches away!
Pattern games with treats on your shoes is perfect for that environment so he can practice looking at them, then choosing to look back at you. You can place the cookie on your shoelaces so it wonāt roll away or attract other dogs. And the volume dial tricks you did worked beautifully! Maybe in class have folks stand really close during his warm up – he is a little distracted because it is, well, super distracting!I knew it was going to be a successful run when he offered engagement at the start line before the leash even came off. YES! My only suggestion is to lead out less and get him into the run quicker – he was in the stay a little too long and started to look around.
He was a good focused boy on the run! Fast and smooth! Nice course you chose for him! And he gets a big gold star for ignoring the people up front, to find the triple at the end with you way behind. YAY!
>>Master JWW Q>>
Hooray! Congrats! Canāt wait to see the run, the video here is the standard run.
Great job! More runs today?
TracyGood morning! Thanks for the update!
It sounds like a good vacation from the universe. Youāve had a crazy time of it lately!!!!
>> So started it off on Saturday by crashing a jump at the jumpers workshop and hitting her leg hard enough she was limping a little. Good news is she has been fine since (and has a chiro appt Tues to be absolutely positively sure :)). She did run after the crash after I was sure she was okay (but toy in hand and struggling with environment). Each run got better after.>>
Ouch! Poor girl!! I am glad she is ok!
āØ>>Also this week weather changes = terrible headache then I got bit by a patient on Thurs (while I was doing oral surgery ā turns out the patient wasnāt as asleep as I thought).>>OUCH!!!! That must have really sucked. I hope the bite is healing easily and not too much pain.
āØ>>1. We did the walk around on loose leash while my students walked the course rewarding check in very well ā both treat in hand and treat in pocket. I feel it is ready for a small increase in difficulty. ā do I work this dragging leash, off leash, or work toy on chair surprise toy in pocket?>Good!!!! I think you can do two things, in separate sessions:
– start with leash walking and then at some point, take the leash off so she keeps moving with you and getting rewarded while moving off leash
– separately, have a big yummy reward station visible and do it on leash, nothing in your hand my a surprise reward in a pocket.And it they go well separately, combine them so she ends up off leash with the reward station there (more on that below).
āØ>>2. Her willingness to play with toy is better at barn every week.>>Awesome! That seems to indicate she is getting more relaxed and happy among all the smells and distractions.
āØ>>3. Our on walk engaged chill and pattern game has become more fluent (and she is frothing less on walks>>Fluency on these is great and will really help in the trial environment!
āØ>>4. She came to the AKC agility trial I am working for our flyball club. We worked the pattern game and engaged chill.>>Terrific! I wish you lived closer and we could do flyball together too!
āØ>>1. The reward with non food reward for engagement exercise was a big struggle.
Do you mean the cookie-free pattern games? If so, leave that at the bottom of the priority list for now. She still needs the primary reinforcement so we can wait to go to a bridge or secondary.
āØ>>2. Reward on chair with second toy in pocket in class at Leslieās => take first jump then run to stash as soon as as the collar comes off. Couldnāt even do a trick till rewarded from toy in pocket. Weāll back this behavior up to rewarding with toy in pocket as soon as looks at me after removing collar.>>Alrighty then! Have you tried the 2 leash version of it? Leash off offered engagement with the big yummy stash available in clear viewā¦ but only one leash comes off so if she tries to head to the stash, she cannot get to it. That makes it easier to get the ball rolling on the reinforcement in that situation. You canāt do this over a jump but it is a good start!
āØ>>3. Barn was less successful this week. All dogs were more distracted this week. Itās a barn, who knows what smells are there.Yep! We never really know what they smell or hear. If ALL dogs were struggling, then we wonāt worry about it.
āØ>>4. I feel she does better with some volume dial and not just removing leash.This is good to know and I agree based on what we have seen. We will be exploring this more specifically starting on Monday. In easy environments, keep doing the off leash offered engagement just to condition her to look at you when the leash comes off. And in harder environments, definitely do the volume dial too!
āØ>>5. I didnāt get to try 2 balls at jumpers workshop because she crashed the jump during her first turnWhat a bummer that must have been! What is on her calendar coming up?
Tracy
Good morning! Hooray for agreat weather!
He is doing well with the lap turns! I think the whole session looked great and he got faster and faster throughout it. And it is extra awesome that he is ignoring the toy til cued: the toy was in the lap turn hand and he was perfect!!!
He didnāt have many real questions – when you did the single lap turns at the beginning, you had a little too much distance away from the wing on the right turns (second side) so he was not totally certain if he should go to the wing. He was a little hesitant at 1:1 because that cue to the wing didnāt have quite as much connection as the others.
And my only suggestion is a detail on the wing sends: keep using your directionals and wrap cues, but try not to use āgoā – we want to protect āgoā as the full on extension line when there is a jump.
And great job with the sends – one of the joys of the smaller working area is that you had to send him from further and ended up not running backwards at all: excellent!!!!
The tandem turns also look lovely! On the first several where you were doing the single lap turns, you can give him a little more room away fro the wing so he has room to drive in and turn – the first few were too close but then the last several had the perfect distance away from the wing for him. And then when you added the movement – wow! Lovely!! He is so balanced on the sends, the wraps, and the turning away that he doesnāt seem to have any questions here at all. And also ignoring the toy in your hand – remember when he was a baby pup and used to jump up for it? He looks great now.
>>it resulted in me showing some bad lines to Leo, especially for the rocking horse parts.>>
A little bit here and there, perhaps, for blocking the line a bit – but overall, your lines were good! To help him see the line more, you can rotate the wings 90 degrees so he sees the full wing – that can help give him perfect lines in a smaller space.
Great job on these! Fingers crossed for continued great weather!
Tracy
Hi!
>>I think I need to move to NC! I know Kama will find me a place to live, but from Hannahās posts I see you have big bugs and spiders and ticks ā¦. I donāt know if I can handle that ā¦
Ha! No killer critters where I am in southwest Virginia!
>> In the mean time I will look around for another place to take classes that will let me do front sides of jumps and extension lines.
Perfect! Go fast! Feel the wind in your hair!
>> Altho that doesnāt help much with the ring crew Kryptonite. But maybe I can set up some group practices with friends to work on that in smaller pieces.
Yes! Group practices, and getting classmates to help and reward reward reward for going past people.
>>Flyball class?!?! Well, you havenāt been wrong about anything else, so maybe Iāll try it.>>
It is so fun and it would be amazing to see her do it!
>>I have often thought that Zippie visiting ring crew was as much about avoiding pressure from me.>>
That’s not what I see! Didn’t seem to be pressure related.
>[ Because she doesnāt really like people very much. But perhaps it doesnāt matter āwhy.ā >>
It is possible she doesn’t know why either LOL!!
>>Do you think it would be useful to put other āweirdā things in chairs? Big stuffed animal toys?
Yes, to begin the kryptonite games with easy weird stuff and we work up to weird people.
>>No new Kryptonite today because we didnāt run after all. Stuff happened as I was warming her up and I decided to scratch for the weekend. Zippie is fine, but people are really inconsiderate (had nothing to do with her or with FEO plans or anything like that).>>
GAH!!! What a bummer. I was looking forward to seeing her videos! Hopefully no one made it gross for you. Feel free to PM to vent it out.
Tracy
Hi!
>> Will NADAC allow a mat or cot in the 10 feet from the ring?
They allow crating on the dirt area near the ring so I was thinking of taking his bed there as a 2nd spot. This club is very friendly so not sure they say anything as Iām pretty sure the table I left my treats on was closer than 10 feet. >>That’s great!!!
>>They allow food in container in your pocket for runs but never figured how that was useful š¤£.>>
Ha!!! Do they allow you to whip out after you exit the ring and get 10 feet away? You can use it for Step 2 of the FEO ste0s, if so. If not… I dunno what it is for lol
>> Is there enough time to reward him, and āreheatā him?
It was 8 mins between his last two NADAC Intro runs. I did take his water and treats to ring area to give between the two runs. I mainly try to cool him down. Usually his first run is better but I like being able to repeat and adjust. There would be more time with novice since more dogs.>>And a little volume dial game right before that 2nd run might help get him into the right state too!
>> I love how he was offering a paw shake when you went to take the leash off.
That was me asking for the left one when I take off his leash as heās a little uncomfortable and seems to help keep him engaged. He added the other paw.>>Perfect! It was adorable!!!
>> They also had the interview with you in there. Like Hot Sauce, my toy Eskimo at age 2 had grade 2 luxating patella so after surgery I took her to rehab. They had under water treadmill and used some fitness for conditioning so I did a fitness class. During that class, I realized Lauren Langmanās amazing dog Blink had surgery for it too.>>
I have zero recollection of that interview LOL!!!! But that luxating patella fix was a real miracle for her š
>>The UKI trial is using the agility gate app so that will be helpful. The number of dogs in his classes looks like only 10-13 and mainly tall. I only saw one 8 inch so glad Sunday is tall to small or he might have been 1st on the line. I did recognize one dog who trained in his class previously.>>
Keep me posted on how tomorrow’s fact-finding mission goes! I’ll be thinking about you two!
Tracy
Good morning!
This went well – it is a really hard skill and he is definitely sorting it all out! Yay! And the wings were set relatively close to the tunnel, which definitely adds challenge!He is much better turning to his right on the wing before the tunnel threadle (coming towards the camera) and I think he was perfect on all of those reps.
You also had really good handler one to support the threadles on that side: not how you turned and were moving very directly towards the tunnel entry you wanted.
Turning to his left (away from the camera) on the wing before the tunnel was MUCH harder – you were a little late at :17 and not as clear with the motionā¦ but even the choo choo was hard with the tunnel there on that side!
But then he got it and was making that turn really well!!!! Good job breaking it down for him while also making sure you supported with the handling by turning towards the tunnel entry you wanted. Y toucan see the lightbulb on at 1:12 there – it is not as smooth as turning towards the camera, but still lovely!And he gets a DOUBLE GOLD STAR on the last 2 reps but doing the big race tracks into the tunnel in front of himā¦ but them getting the tunnel threadle cue. YESSS! And it is even more impressive because he got it for both of you, which requires processing different movement styles. SUPER!
Well done here! On the next session, add more space between the tunnel and the wings, so he can have even more speed (but also more time to process handling).
Tracy
