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Hi!
>>If you want to have another discussion about rules not applying to everyone I watched a dog bite another dog in front of this same rep at NAC and no action happened because it was a finalist team>>That sounds pretty bad š but no more Facebook controversy for me (for now haha)
I can totally understand how you might be traumatized by the stuff you described – what a horrible, isolating incident. Bleh!!!
I does sound like he is maturing and doing much better!!! I think with planning and reinforcement, we can set him up for success without any repeats of traumatic incidents.
Next question: who is in you circle, that you would consider your crew that can help at trials? Team Fever! Let’s identify them and assign roles, to help plan š
TracyGood morning! This is so fun to see!! It sounds like there were plenty of people around too, almost trial-like!!! He seemed very pumped up. This is so cool, you can definitely start using more of the leash-as-toy games!!! Yay Cowboy!!!!
TracyGood morning! I’m glad you’re enjoying the class! I’m enjoying it too, I’ve learned learned whole lot!!! Dogs are the best teachers.
>>Iām saying ābiteā to take if from my hand. Iām going to use ātugā to mean Iām going to hold on and we play tug. I noticed a remembered maybe once to say āget itā. Should I be saying āget itā for this?>>
Does bite mean he can grab it and run through? And tug means, well, tugging haha š for get it – you can say get it but also I think the around cue is the cue for the whole thing: go around and catch the frisbee. So while you can say get it, you don’t need it.
>>Some questions. . . On the turn back, Skye has an awesome stay even at agility trials. >>
I think it might fall into the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” category LOL! Teach it separately without a stay, away from agility – it is good to have in your toolbox but you don’t want him to get confused. You can eventually add it back to agility if needed, or save it for other training needs.
>>Iām still having problems with āshhhhhhhā. I must use that verbal for something else because heās still confused. So, Iām running with a toy, heās looking at it almost chasing it, but not, then, I say āshhhhhhhā, and he stops following it almost liked a yelled ānoā (which he doesnāt know the meaning of anyway. . . ) Iām going to need to change the verbal. maybe āWeeeeeeā. Any ideas?:-)>>
I like wheeeeee! Yes, totally change the verbal, he says something about the shhhhh is weird LOL!! And you can be super encouraging to get the reward – wiggle it, drag a long toy, etc.
>> I need a concrete plan to work on him getting his thrown reward and then checking in with me instead of eating stuff (if thereās nothing to eat, like indoors, heāll pee on something.) I feel like Iām a big cheerleader to keep him from eating like in the frisbee video. Should I be?>>
In the fris video, I would set things up a little differently to help him check in and drive back faster:
– Shorten the session to 45-60 seconds. He got tired by 90 seconds and that is where behavior changes. 90 seconds of friz is hard!
– to get him to drive back faster, run away from him and throw the friz the other direction, like you are throwing to a different quad in updog. Standing still isn’t as compelling as running away! And you can keep talk to him – but urgently call him then throw the new direction. And mix in lots of the up close “bites” and not just throws.
– during transitions where you need to pick up the discs, have him go to a station. That way you can reset and he has a good thing to do, with no temptations. And since his stay is so strong, you can eventually just use a stay!Also use the frisbee bite in pattern games! Those games are designed for check ins, and since he knows them… frisbee will be easy to insert š I do Pattern games for fisbees or toys all the time š a little unorthodox, yes, but very effective!
>>So, my current plan is to start a thrown reward outdoors with me being very close and clicking for his head turn toward me. He does this with tossed food like in your video, but not with a toy. So, maybe similar to the āBiteā game I did with the frisbee?>>
Yes š you don’t need to click (not enough hands), you can mark it with a reinforcement marker like bite. You can start with a clicker to help make the game immediately recognizable (patterns!) Then fade it. Somewhere in the demos you’ll see me do it with Contraband. I have more video of that somewhere, I can dig it up!!
>> I need to get it with another toy so I can use it in Agility. He also is extremely hard to get to leave female pee.
I use friz in agility too! It is the highest value reward.
Let me know what you think! I love planning this stuff š
TracyGood morning! Definitely some tunnel fun for the bigger space! You can also transfer turn and burn to a wing (more space is good for that) as well as the handling combos. And, a new game about transferring the parallel path concept to a “jump” is posted (no real jumping. :))
Have fun!
TracyHi!
I totally agree with what you were saying about asking questions! That is how I like to approach things too, and how I approach trialing as well, especially in the early days. He was great!>>Itās always so hard when you are starting a baby dog. Especially if youāve had some really good dogs in the past and people have expectations of you. Iām sure youāve felt some of that>>
Yep – that old thing about “don’t worry, no one is watching?” Nope! People are watching. And that is ok! I want my baby dogs to feel successful and empowered in the ring, so my early trials are all set up to get that. I had some NFC runs this weekend and my young girl dog came out just bursting with empowerment – she had a grand time LOL! That carried over into today’s running dog walk session where she did the best RDWs she has ever done (I haven’t put them in the ring so we didn’t do any NFC with them yet) I agree with your sentiment about NO PRESSURE on baby dogs. We can get them running as fast as possible with full accuracy and thoughtfulness… and the key is no pressure as we teach full understanding.
On the video –
Your Lap turns look good! Handing him the cookie on the first few reps made things a little less smooth, because you didn’t have time to reset ot the position- by handing the cookie to him you are already late for the next rep because he is already at your hand LOL So you can toss it to reset the loop and have moment to reset.The stay worked a lot better! Little details to recommend here – you can delay the step back til he is 3 inches form your hand or less – that is the sweet spot for itming that we are finding thanks for obsessing on video – if you are earlier, he is wider because the hand and leg are moving too soon and the dogs don’t drive into us as well which changes the line. And be sure that you keep your feet together til he has reached the 3 inch sweet spot – your leg sets the turn so if you move too soon, he doesn’t get drawn back enough and he can’t bend as well. An example is when he was on your left hand and the prop was there, later in the video: you had your leg moving back as he was just begining to move to you, before the hand moved, so note how his butt kept whacking your other leg because he was not drawing straight back when he arrived – the early leg was crowding the turn.
He really liked it when you were quick! and he also really did a great job ignoring the prop on the way to you and then finding the prop after the turn. YAY!The rear crosses looked amazing! Really nice timing from you and and also really super commitment from him!!! This is going to transfer REALLY easily to jumps (the foundation for that starts tomorrow!!)
Bummer about all the rain you are having!!! The next couple of games coming tomorrow are stuff you can still do indoors. We really need the weather to be perfect though for week 6, if that can be arranged LOL!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>> He wasnāt getting a reward when he knocked the bar and we stopped which I think is the same as saying he was wrong. I donāt do it this way anymore. We just ignore dropped bars and fortunately they donāt happen too often. Mostly when I lose connection and he starts looking at me or if he is really excited and just tearing through the course.>>
Perfect, keep ignoring them, he will be more relaxed that way.
>> We have some fun runs coming up-different venue but I can put the manners minder in the ring by the exit gate and we have 90 sec.
That is perfect! Yay!!!
>> This is so the reward (marker) comes when he is moving away which is harder rather than moving towards it.
Yes – in short bursts at first then longer sequences over the course of as many weeks as they need it.
>>You cautioned that remote reward training isnāt a lifestyle change and doesnāt replace other methods. Would it be OK do do a 5 -10 min. session of this on the days I can train outside?
I don’t like 5-10 minute sessions of anything LOL š that is a long time! 2 minutes here and there – but if all you do is remote reinforcement, being on the course will lose value. Remote reinforcement is like weave poles: it is a challenging skill that must be taught – but it is only a skill, and you don’t want to do ONLY that one thing.
>> This could be up to 5 times a week until it really starts to snow.
Definitely not 5-10 mins a day, 5 days a week – that is too much emphasis on any one thing. Mix it in for one or two reps, take it to class – but it should not be the sole focus of training.
>>Also, no treats in my hands but should I make sure that my pockets are empty too?
Correct, no treats in hands or pockets as if it was a trial.
>>I will look for some UKI opportunities. We did enter one earlier this fall but they didnāt have the food box.
You might need to specifically ask them for the food box, and feel free to send them my way if they need help figuring it out! We do it all the time.
Tracy
Hi!
>>-For this do I carry a toy or pickup the toy from the remote reinforcement spot?
Carry one with you, it will be faster and easier.
>>Will work on moving it off to the side out of the ring is harder here because itās a long way out way longer than a trial lolā¦>>
Ah! You can move a chair over or be lazy like me and drape it on a jump wing LOL
>>I do have a new soft tug leash coming so maybe that will help with some of thisā¦ hopefully it will come before class is overā¦
Fun!!!
>>How do you decide when to carry your toy to reward vs. dead toy on a thing in practice?
It depends entirely on what I want to train, and what the best reward is for that. Sometimes I specifically want to train the remote reinforcement, so I will leave it outside my ring or draped over something. But if I want to train an agility skill, I will bring the reward with me.
T
Hi!
>>e hasnāt done many seminars as of late, but the last few that heās done, i feel like heās been very focused. Even at the seminar when he was charged, He recovered better than I anticipated but was just overly hyper-vigilant and reactive. It happened 3 months ago. He continues to be a bit more reactive and specifically in training at carries heās been prone to running off and sniffing even prior to work or if a mistake has been made. He will also if not swimming do the things I ask but not really be into his reward.>>
So doing well in seminars and not as well perhaps at Carrie’s with the pool present.
>>Heās still intact. I am so undecided on whether neutering is something I should pursue because itās permanent and we are in that devil you know situation. Maybe I can pick your brain about it more over oysters in January. I do think it contributes largely to the sniffing and he does have a good bit of dog-y behaviors.>>
Neutering will not make his behavior deteriorate (I believe there are some good studies about this out there) – it will either remain the same, or make help him a lot. I have always seen good things with neutered males, especially when they have been struggling (my Nacho is a GREAT example of that)
After swimming he did 100% of what I asked him. Although I may have lowered my plan to make things super easy and have him be successful.
OK then next time – gather data: swim first, then try the more challenging plan. Don’t worry about success – just experiment. I am not too concerned about success during data gathering because a) he is getting to have a swim party b) we are not training with punishment. It is a win-win for him and info for us.
>> Carrie is anti dogs swimming if itās super coldā¦ that doesnāt bother me much if he wants to swim but itās not my house
What is this “cold” of which you speak? LOL! Does he like hoses?
>I guess my other frustration is that the pool has to be first in the behavior chain right now. I havenāt been able to really get frizz, food games or agility first.>
Frustrating, yes, sure. But completely out of our control so we might as well embrace it.
It has been so terribly isolating.
Hugs! Call or message any time!
>>I am comfortable showing him nfc in Houston because the barriers are solid. I donāt think heās quite ready for gating that is see through because if heās not engaged or I make a mistake, he can easily see movement.>>
What happens at seminars when he sees movement? NFC has toys in the ring. And you can have helpers!
>>When we did Annetteās seminar at Melodyās, the ring was solid on three sides and open at the front with obedience fencing. He did very well and never once thought about leaving. >>
Good boy!!!
>>There was just one or two dogs as distractions. He made mistakes but stayed 100% engaged. I do think at some point Iāll have to trust him more but I personally need more positive reinforcement with him.>>
Flyball it: gather Team Fever and have helpers be near any place he might be distracted by other dogs or motion, so they can interrupt him and also they can kindly ask people to be a bit further away, invoking the Baby Dog rule. Flyball the sh*t out of it!!!
T
Hi!
>> When he is not overly aroused, I think he gets worried especially when he has to do a lot of jumps in a row.
Yes, arousal level is hard to balance – not enough arousal and a dog might worry. Too much arousal, and they cannot function as well. We need high arousal that is not TOO high.
>> He was jumping 18 inches and knocking bars a lot so his success rate was low and he would stop.
Do you mean he would hit a bar and get worried and stop? Or was he getting feedback that he was wrong for hitting it?
>> I wonder if our journey of low success with jumping might be contributing to this problem (I didnāt understand much about rate of reward then)
If the game stops because he has hit a bar then yes, it might be a contributing factor.
I think the underlying factor here is that he needs to be more comfortable in the ring and needs a better understanding of how to earn reinforcement (remote reinforcement).
>> The first video shows him stopping in the course this weekend on Sat.. This happens more in jumpers. he usually yawns when he stops. I had a plan if he stopped to get to the nearest tunnel and then jump our way to the exit. I couldnāt get him to move until I yelled tunnel and then it was like a curtain lifted and he started moving.
On the 1st run, it was hard to tell if he was injured or stressed, he was alittle stiff in his shoulders – but also looked like he froze when you wanted hom to turn away from the exit line (where reward would be) but picked up when you started running to the back door where courses often end in that facility (so perhaps he perceived it as heading to reward?)
>>The next day, I decided to give him a tunnel cue if he started to hesitate to see if I could get him to keep going. Even if we skipped jumps on the course on the way to the tunnel, he wouldnāt know and it would keep him moving. The second video shows that. he kind of glanced at the tunnel when I said it but kept moving on the path. I also cued the weaves before he took the jump before the weaves to let him know they were coming. After this run in the morning, he seemed more confident and was much faster. I didnāt adjust my handling very well from slow Buccleigh to fast Buccleigh so he was a frustrated on several occasions, but I was able to get the focus back and keep going.>>
On this 2nd run – he was moving better but I see the same questions about reinforcement: the further from any potential exit, the slower he goes (the off course was him heading to the exit). And then as you turned for the ending line, he got faster.
>>In terms of planning for Buccleigh, should I work on building value for jumping by increasing the number of jumps before a reward?
No, I think that would decrease the value because it is more work for the same reward. I think you can put in a lot of value for jumps by rewarding more, but the main thing is going to be remote reinforcement – he needs you to build things up with a lot of reinforcement so he can run full courses with people in the ring/outside of the ring… and no toys or cookies in the ring š Separately, I would enter a lot of classes where you can do short little training runs and run out for cookies – UKI has a ‘food box’ rule so you can ask the local UKI clubs to apply for it (it is SO EASY to do and helps the dogs so much!)
>>Could I use a tunnel of weaves as part of the reward? He likes them and they are available in the ring.>>
Maybe, but I would be concerned that they would lose their value and plus it is not always easy to use them as a reward.
>>We did tiny steps with the leash since we didnāt have time for much training, I just practiced slipping the leash handle over his head at the end of the run. It got us out and to the cookies faster so with more practice I think this will work.>>
Perfect!! He will like getting to the cookies faster š
>>. I think we have many things we could work on and I donāt know where to start.
Question – is she fast and happy when there is food in your hand? If no – that is where you start š Food in hand in training til she is fast and happy doing all the things.
If yes, or when she is fast and happy in training with food with you – start showing her the remote reinforcement. I can see changes in her speed here too – she is really uncomfortable at the start (because it moves away from the reinforcement) and also in the places where the course turns away from the reward, which indicates the need for her to understand how to run without reinforcement in your hands.
>>We have been working on using the remote reward (manners minder or food in a treat pouch stationed at the start) and increasing the number of obstacles. Itās promising because she consistently runs much faster at the end of the run.
Perfect! Remember to ping pong the number of obstacles. And also, be sure that you don’t just run down a line towards the remote reinforcement – be sure that you are using your marker for it and heading to it when she is moving away from the obvious entry and exit of the course (moving away from the reward). That way, she will be fast on all parts of the course and not just when she thinks she is heading to the reward.
>>o I have been removing it as soon as we get in the ring and allowing her to walk to the start line on her own.
Perfect! She can also start from a stand stay, so there is no pressure if she doesn’t sit.
>> I need to break them down into smaller components and work on them one at a time.
Agility is a really complex sport, there is SO MUCH to train. So yes, you can break things down to build up a ton of value. And also, the remote reinforcement understanding is key to both of your pups! And any training-in-the-ring opportunities are great too!
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning (somewhere it is still morning LOL!)
Let’s classify things right now as “cracking the code” to figure him out a bit more. I have questions for you, for data gathering purposes:
>> I feel like we have just had a major set back from our progress. I do think some of it relates to the off leash dog charging him at our last seminar. Whether or not itās causation or correlation or unrelated, I couldnāt tell you but Iāve been on the struggle bus since.>>
How does he normally do at seminars? And how did the off leash dog affect his behavior afterwards? Also, how long ago was it? It takes 10,0000000000 positive reinforcements to change behavior, but only 1 traumatic event.
>>I do think I need to remind myself that heās still very young and his focus is quite different than Callieās.>>
Yes! And also remind me – is he intact or neutered?
>> he squeezes through the fence and goes to the pool. He wonāt actually swim without me tossing a toy but does find staring longingly at the pool reinforcing.
I think one of the frustrations about working there might be that you are right next to the highest possible distraction in his world, especially if he can run off and have access to it. That makes things so much harder!!! I feel that pain!
>> He swims. Focus and arousal are great and heās in a prime working mind. Iām able to run him with minimal distractions.
So after he got his swim… he ran fine with your original plan and did his sequences? Did he run off for the pool again?
>>So for the next round, I brought him directly to the pool to swim. We then played strike and tug with the leash and he went back up. The third time, swim, tug, really straight agility sequence which he did screaming fast and all in.
So let me get this straight – pool then work is going pretty well?
>>He canāt always swim at her place, so I donāt feel like itās ideal but I also donāt want to fight or be a crutch.
Why can’t he always swim there? Just curious for planning purposes.
>>What I donāt know how to work through is this pool versus frisbee thing. I feel like his love for the frizz is so high in my yard. With the distraction of the pool, he really doesnāt pay much kind to the frizz unless heās swimming.>>
Simple hierarchy. Pool trumps friz!
>>Should I just use the pool in the loop in Carrieās yard and approach other places like my yard? He canāt always swim at her place, so I donāt feel like itās ideal but I also donāt want to fight or be a crutch.>>
I would say yes. But start with the pool and do pool-friz-pool as the framework. And then start to install other things:
pool-friz-sequence-pool
pool-friz-sequence-friz-pooland separately:
friz-pool
friz-behavior-pool-friz
friz-behavior-pool-behavior-frizand so on til it is
friz-behavior-behavior-behavior-friz and only pool if you feel like itAnd by “friz” I mean any reinforcement, eventually. Right now, I think kibble just won’t work LOL!
>>After I worked my dogs, Carrie and I instructed a few people in her yard. ALL of the dogs but the goldens were highly distracted and stimulated by the smells. I didnāt feel as bad watching them but Itās still not what I want.>>
Yes – but it gives you insight into “it is not just me!”. It is hard for everyone, in different ways.
>> I just want so bad to get him eventually to a trial.
That is why I asked how he does at seminars, which is closer to a trial environment than Carrie’s place. If he can play with reinforcement at a seminar, the next step is NFC at a trial.
>> I feel like weāve worked so hard and his skills are so good that my emotions just get high because I feel like Iām failing him. >>
You are not failing him at all, I am sure intellectually you know that. But the emotions of the sport do run high, so that is why I turn to data gathering: if we can’t get the behavior, let’s figure out why then we change what we are doing and BOOM! We get it š It isn’t exactly linear like that but it might help.
I personally approach agility more like flyball: it is a team sport, where everyone works together to help each dog and handler. Agility can be quite isolating, which is also very emotional. So let’s flyball the sh*t out of these issues and get him into the ring!
>>Hope your UKI trial went well with the youngsters!
It was good and I was able to get a little bit of NFC footage to share.
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>> I can also make the sets even shorter ā I thought 3 ā 5 was okay, but I can see where making them short and sweet, especially if we move toward the ācrowd,ā is important.>>
I think 3-5 is great when moving away or even longer sets! But when presented with weird things… one fast & fun thing and then reward š
>> sometimes her exit line goes toward them. I can certainly curve it so itās not a direct shot.
You can add in having the line goes towards the weirdness then run away to reward her, that relieves the pressure of being near the weird things š
>>Since we hadnāt done this game before, I didnāt know where the instructor was headed. We will absolutely play this at home and away from concerns for now.
I can see that this will be a useful game in the future!
>>Will she play frisbee or chase balls at all there? If so, I would definitely incorporate that in the āignore the peopleā sections š Or, save the the higher value food for that.
>>I have tried tug toys, her frisbee, tennis balls, squeakers and even a flirt stick. Her reactions vary. Sometimes, sheās happy, and sometimes it bombs. I seem to get a better response when we are farther away from the people section, but sometimes sheās just not interested (very different from home!) When that happens, I grab her lotus, the lotus with the flappy parts, or one of her nibble treats, and reconnect that way. Food does seem to be our most favorable reward and connector in the āoutside worldā.>>
I think for now you can stick with food of the highest possible value š Yum yum!!!!
>>Thanks for your encouragement. As you know from the videos, she has a great time with agility at home. In the āreal worldā sometimes she has a great day, other times itās a mixed bag. The good days are starting to outnumber the mixed ones, which is so great to see. She is so much fun and she HAS so much fun when sheās focused and happy. I want that for her and us.>>
I totally agree!!!! We are very close to unlocking the code to what she needs here!!!! And I am excited about that. Yay!!!
Tracy
Hi there!
>>I have no clue why youtube didnāt put a preview up
yeah, something has changed in the software update and I need to ask the tech person how to smooth it out.
>>And yes Iāve slipped into posting random behavior shapping lessonsā¦but good for me to film and look at the session š
Actually it is great because we can look at how the reinforcement procedures get installed into training! And yes, it is always good to film!
>>I liked that I had a plan and carried it out (get her on the board at beginning of session, do downs next to it to warm up behavior, and then try to intersperse a down on the board).
Yes! I think you can separate these elements more so she was more sure of what to offer in each step. Things really got rolling when you started working the downs. She had a little trouble with the down on the plank, but I think it might have just been that the plank was a little too narrow for her to offer the down comfortably. When she doing it on the flat, she rolls a little on her side – so the narrowness of the plank might have inhibited the down a little. You can try 2 planks pushed together so she has a wider playing field.
Looking at the markers/verbals:
>>I didnāt like my excess talking (good job, excellent).
I don’t mind this at all, but try to keep the markers for reinforcement he most salient element of it and clean – you can chat her up between reps or during cookie reloads š The catch markers were useful here too! You can also use cookie-in-hard markers to help get the down on the board:
when she gets on the board, you can mark that with with your cookie hand already on the board and the marker to get the treat from the hand (which might help elicit the down). Or, you can have your cookie at her nose level and when she gets on the board, use the follow-moving-cookie reward marker so she follows it downward into the down.I think offered downs will be easiest to reward, so the bigger planks will help get that, or you can even had a dog bed that she does the down on next to the plank, then move it onto the plank š
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! He did well here – it was really hard with the reinforcement right there facing him, but he was able to figure it out! Yay!
A couple of ideas for you:
Because having the reinforcement directly in front of him as he jumped towards it, you can also reinforce him for NOT going to it by marking the turn away from it with a reward marker that indicates a toy in your hand. That will build value for ignoring the intended remote reinforcement ahead until you mark that he can have it.
Then the next step is to move it gradually further and further away, til it is off to the side then out of the ring. He should still know where it is, but the further away it gets (eventually) the more like a trial it will be š He seems ready for you to be moving it further away now.Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! She is doing really well!
Toy races – driving ahead looks great! She is smoking you, yay!!! Take this game on the road, it is a fun way to get engagement in new places!
I see she is wearing her leash and on that first rep in particular, she doesn’t appear to love it when you reached for her collar. So for the purposes of this game, hold the leash closer to her so you can still get a restraint – but if she is on leash, be sure that it is far from you feet so you don’t get tangled up at all as you are running so you don’t fall or accidentally step on the leash as she reaches the end.
Separately, you can work on collar grabs so she learns to love them – I would use this game, with treats, for that: reach for her, drop a treat, she can get it. Touch the collar, drop a treat, she can get it. Finger under the collar, drop the treat, she can get it. Work up to being able to reach for and hold the collar – pretty soon she wil be putting it in your hand and you can fade the leash š
Any toy game – lucky pup, she has a lot of FUN toys! You can structure this with a hierachy – the toy pile can kind of be hidden behind you or in a bag or something. Then pull out a less interesting one, get engagement – then pull out one of the ones she REALLY likes to help build value of the ones that are less exciting (for now) because the exciting ones will reinforce playing with the less exciting ones. It might be hard to know which ones are favorites and which are not yet, but this game will totally help everything be equal in terms of balance. And I love that you did it in a small space. She had trouble with the other dogs barking – will she chase the toy if you throw it when they are barking? You can see if making the toy ‘fly’ when they are bakring helps her ignore the barking.
Wing wraps with the upright: Looking great too!
>>my fault I did not bring enough treats with me
ha! I am sure she would like a million treats LOL! I agree – she was totally getting the rhythm here! Yay! Next step (other than bring the whole bag of treats LOL!) is to delay the cookie drops til she is almost back to the bowl. Let her offer more behavior (look at how she offered when you were getting more treats out!). Then you can move the bowls a little closer to you. When she can do it with more delay between cookies/more offering, we will then get you sitting in a chair while she does it, then work our way to you standing.
The decel/handler focus game also looks really good. You can decel sooner so she can also decel sooner, to set up a tighter turn (on the early reps where you were moving), Later on you tossed the treat further (like :37) and were stationary, and that set up a good turn! So now do a little of both – keep throwing the treat further, but also add a little moving with early decel. The FCs at the end looked great!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>But Iām never quite sure when to move on to the next gameā¦still on Week One!!
You are actually past week 1, it all blends together LOL!! I know when to move on when I am at 90% or higher rate of success for 2 sessions in a row – you have that here. Plus I am happy to tell you when to move forward LOL! (Spoiler alert: you can move forward on both of these :))
Prop sends – she is doing well! The only thing I suggest is that you insert that little ready dance moment before each send. She starts in front of you, you do a bit of “ready, ready”… then send. That ready dance helps her be ready for the send so we get much crisper behavior, plus it builds in teaching the pups to go from handler focus to line focus. Doing it as more of a loop without the ready dance (she gets the cookie and then a send as she is heading back to you) tends to get sloppier behavior because the timing gets harder and the pups are not always prepared for the send.
Plus the ready dance is just fun, silly engagement that actually goes a long way to be able to get engagement without food or toys š
So for the sends to the props – you can now add in the countermotion – starting with the sideways sends, start to move away just before she arrives at the prop. You might need to toss the reward to the prop to keep the value high, and that is fine š
Adding height to the hydrant was clever!!!!!! Love it!!!! She was great and you are standing and as far from it as we need you to be (for offering) so onwards to Turn And Burn! Wheeee! Question: how stable if this setup? She might touch it during turn and burn, and we don’t want it to fall over or startle her. If the lower hydrant is more stable, that is perfect š
Great job here! Onwards to all of the next things š Let me know what you think!
Tracy
