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Good morning! Thank you for the updates!
>Navigating the vet medical system is just as challenging as the human medical system! >
For real!!! Treatment is the easy part – the actual diagnosis is the hard part.
>Had our monthly chiro visit on Tuesday – she strongly believes that this is not a soas issue, but in the hip area. Demonstrated where one would see soas issues and definitely no soreness there, and clearly in the hip area.>
It is entirely possible that the Chiro is correct of course! The psoas is a ‘popular’ culprit and maybe it was indeed a bit sore or tight that day – but especially with young dog, it can be more of a symptom and less of a cause to whatever the ouch is.
>I decided to follow up directly with Dr. Canapp, rather than continuing with the specialist here in Sacto. Was able to get an appointment with him this Tuesday so hopefully we’ll have some clarity on what is going on. >
That was fast!!!!! Yay!!! Bring all of your imaging, of course, write out a history of as much as you can remember. Can you get your Chiro to send notes? Do you want me to grab the videos where we were first considering a potential pain issue? I have time to look for them and notate them this weekend.
>Continuing to do the plank and bang games, and if you have any suggestions for modifications to this weeks exercises we’re all ears!>
You can play the handling games with wings instead of jump bars. Because you have an appointment on Tuesday, I think it is OK to ‘work’ her a bit so he can feel something on the exam.
>there aren’t any additional masses, >
This is very good news, right?
> Hopefully we’ll have a better idea of treatment plan. >
Yes. I am sure you are ready to know what is coming next.
>Seattle also has a proton treatment facility so I’m exploring that as an option. I lived in Bellingham for a number of years and PNW definitely feels more like “home” than San Diego. >
Ooh! Seattle has great dog sport people too, and Dr. Leslie Eide is nearby (and fantastic) for sports vet stuff. Fingers crossed for Seattle!
Keep me posted and I will go start finding the videos.
T
Good morning!
This went well!
>I realized just now (re-read your previous feedback) that I didn’t focus on deceleration when he came to my hand. >
You were doing it naturally on most of the reps!
The reps that went best did have the subtle bit of decel, which is why he was able to turn so smoothly on those reps. A good example of that is at 1:18 – you planted your dog-side foot and didn’t really move forward until he did the spin. Super! Compare that to 1:27 for example where your dog-side leg kept moving forward (no decel) so the spin cue was harder for him to read.
When we add more to it in a couple of weeks, the decel becomes more obvious but also easier to do because we get the barrel involved 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
He definitely thought this was a little more challenging, with you moving forward the whole time! The only thing to add is a bit of deceleration: move away from him at a regular pace then just before he gets to you, slow down. The decel locks him onto your hand and tells him something is coming.
A great example of the decel was at 1:27 – you can see a definite shortening of your stride and he got the turn beautifully!
On the reps where he didn’t get things as smoothly, it was because you were in a steady pace the whole time (no transition from fast to slow) so he hadn’t locked onto your hand or prepared to turn.
If the weather cooperates, you can take this outside because it will add in more room to show the transition into decel.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Thank you for the suggestions with the cars. The struggle is real lol. We are keeping him away and incorporating more to keep him focused on us and will keep working on it.>
Perfect! And yes the struggle is real – the dogs are genetically wired to be really interested in movement! So ‘don’t chase cars’ is something we need to teach them. I have found toys might be the more effective than treats for a lot of dogs (even something like a frisbee or a tennis ball) so definitely try those and see how he does.
I agree, he is doing awesome with the barrel wraps!! Yay! You can add in giving him a cue to start the wrap: he is offering it but he doesn’t seem convinced that it is ok to start without you 🙂
So you can line him up at your side, make eye contact, then step to the barrel with the dog side leg and give a little swoosh with the dog side arm. You did that at 1:35 and he really drove to the barrel. Yay! The toy can be tucked away in the opposite arm so he doesn’t watch it too much.
>I have a week off of work now so I am holding my self accountable to get as much done as possible. >Since this went really well, you can check out the rocking horses in week 6! That adds a 2nd barrel and I think you will both like it 🙂
Great job!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Our only true exercise not finished type marker is “nice” for more duration stuff.>
Perfect!
Remote reinforcement went really well! I love watching the facial expressions on the pups when they begin this game. He was like definitely processing it: “humans have weird games” hahaha But he was perfect 🙂 and responding to everything and then going back to the treats with you. I imagine the work will be just as rewarding as the toys or treats for him, so this game is more about showing him a different context than it is about fading treats out of the picture. You can add in the treats being lower down (one a table or the bench for example).
And I love to add the leash at this stage: cookies go down on the table, we walk away on leash, leash comes off, we get engagement or ask for a behavior: then the remote reinforcement marker and back to the treats. This helps solidify the leash off, engagement on element of start line stuff at trials.
>We were just being silly at the end but it cracked me up that he was retrieving the toy and wanting to put it on my mouth. >
Ha! Sharing is caring, you know hahahahaha he is too cute!!
>I know you’ve mentioned avoiding ball chasing so we’ll have to find a toy he likes to retrieve for now that isn’t a squeaky ball. >
Yes, I live in fear of dogs splatting themselves and slamming shoulders or blowing cruciates when chasing balls in an agility reward context. That being said… I use a ton of balls in agility training 🙂 because they are easy to throw for distance work and my dogs love them so much: so there is a way to use them that is as safe as a thrown tug toy.
You had short chases here, indoors on carpet: those looked good because the ball is not bouncing wildly and he doesn’t have the room to build the speed to slam himself.
Since he loves balls an retrieves them:
Other ball games include putting a tenny or a squeaky ball inside a big hollee roller: it is still throwable and tons of fun, but it bounces more predictably AND it is easy for the dog to scoop up without slamming shoulders.
I also do low bounces instead of throws – where I throw the ball downwards so it then bounces up at about 2 feet off the ground – the dog catches it without having to jump up (and land on back legs, ewwww). They basically run through it and catch it on the fly. It is something to practice a bit but I am sure he will be a happy participant in that type of practice LOL
I also use low compression tennis balls because they bounce is not as wild and they are easier to catch (yes, figuring out how to use balls as rewards is a whole obsession hahaha)
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
He was great about backing up onto the tippy board! Super confident and delivering a good slam LOL! He was also relatively straight, which can be hard – good job rewarding from both hands! It looks like he was getting his front feet on too, but it was hard to see with all of his floof 🙂
Next time you are at the barn, try it on the teeter (you can bring a little chair or inflatable or something to sit on so you are not in the cold dirt 🙂
For the plank – it is possible that the travel plank is just a little too tall for him to feel comfy lifting his front feet onto it. That means there is a moment of a 3-legged stand he would have to do, with his other front leg and back legs having to manage more of the weight shift. I am sure it feels weird! Two ideas for you:
– you can of course use a lower plank, maybe even with one end touching the ground so it is ore of a ramp and easier to step onto.
– separately from the plank, teach him a 3-legged stand. If he is comfortable with you touching and lifting his foot, you can gently raise a foot while he is in a stand. Start with a front foot, alternating sides. Then eventually you can do it with a rear foot. It is a good way to get him happy to balance in weird situations (and the teeter is a weird situation LOL!) and it is a fabulous conditioning tool.
If he doesn’t want you to pick up a foot, you can teach him a ‘give paw’ cue so he places his foot in your hand. He might prefer that over you picking up a foot because it gives him the agency to solve the puzzle his way 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>In an earlier agility class, the instructor said don’t be an 80’s disco dancer (with your arm movement in agility). It’s always stuck with me – something my brain goes to when I need to stop flailing my arms around.>
Ha! Yes, we don’t need big dance moves LOL! Our arms like to be involved, so we can either point to the dog’s nose or we can bend arms and just run run run 🙂
>Less is more. Also – if in doubt, point at the dog.>
Exactly! Motion and eye contact while using motion cues are the top 2 universal cues for the dogs. And connection is even more important (and harder) for small dogs because it is hard to see our connection from being so low to the ground.
We played the baby Looking Ahead Game. I cut out a couple reps – but no big errors. This seemed to go great. We avoid a few problems because of the small space, but I was still tickled by his forward focus to the jump. And it definitely seems like he knows what some of the verbals mean! Upon review, I’m mostly cuing him super late (though I did say “over” before the tunnel once!). Am I even supposed to be using verbals for this exercise (?) I did measure out the 15 feet from tunnel exit to jump…tried to used the long part of the yard. Next setup, I’ll back the tunnel more, go the other way (I think we only went his preferred direction today), and play with the distance of the more advanced version.
He did a great job finding the jump here! And I love the wings you’ve added – is that a mountain and a speedskater? So cool!
He had a lightbulb moment after the first rep or two and then it was smooth sailing: he drove to the jump and added even MORE speed. I am also happy to see that his jumping form stays lovely even when he is going super fast. Many young dogs lose coordination when they add speed but he remained balanced and powerful in his form. YAY!!
>And it definitely seems like he knows what some of the verbals mean! Upon review, I’m mostly cuing him super late (though I did say “over” before the tunnel once!). Am I even supposed to be using verbals for this exercise (?)>
Yes, you can totally use verbals 🙂 And also yes – he seems to be understanding them which is great 🙂 Keep trying to use them sooner plus you can say the several times to be sure he processes them.
This setup worked really well – so yes to going the other way to get both sides . And before changing the setup, you can add the challenge of you being ahead of him. Send to the tunnel and try to get up the line so you are passing the jump as he exits the tunnel. That is a pretty big challenge for youngsters: can they find the jump without chasing you or skipping it, and maintain the good jumping form when distracted by more human motion?
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
She is doing a great job with her lines here! Yay!
You were late on the FC wrap cues at :12 (you felt it in the moment). BIG click/treat to you for the adjustment in your timing at :33. What worked so well there was as she was landing from the middle pinwheel jump, you started to decelerate (which is a hugely important part of the cue) then started the wrap verbals. Super!!!
At :50 on the other side: late on that cue – the decel and verbals started as she was gathering for liftoff, so she landed long and had a big slip on the landing. Since they pups might slip and tweak a shoulder if you are late, you can spray her feet with any sticky spray you use (I am pretty sure Tina has some) or I can show you how to wrap part of the foot to add grip 🙂
You asked if you were late there: the way to tell in the moment is to note where she took off or landed (you were connected so I know you saw it :)) If she takes off really close to the jump and looks like she is crunching up before takeoff: collection! You were on time.
If she takes off relatively straight and then has to take a stride or two to get back to the wing: that means you were late and accidentally cued extension.
The wrap at 1:14 was better because your cues were earlier. My favorite rep was at :33 – that is where the good timing was really helpful!
There was a bar blooper at 1:06 – you disconnected and turned away so she was surprised, tried to adjust, landed on the bar, looked at you. Compare to 1:18 where you were connected and running straight to the tunnel: no questions from her!
Nice work here!
Tracy
Good morning!
Thanks for putting all this in the video: he seems to completely understand the concept of finding the lines but I see what you are saying about the bars!
>I really do not like the way he jumps. >
What I am seeing is that he is completely engaged and motivated to work! But what he is doing is holding his hind end together: back feet very close together almost like bunny hopping.
So that changes his form and he is trying to pull from the front rather than push from the rear. We can see it clearly like at :31 but we can also see it when he is running over bars on the ground.
>I have worked on the Linda M. Jump foundations but he just gets so ramped up and focused on me. He is not as able to bark and still work as all my other guys.>
The Linda jump stuff really requires hind end engagement. It is entirely possible that the arousal and barking at you is a result of frustration because he is not able to use his hind end in a way the jumping work requires him to. We are not seeing the barking at you in the lazy game here because it is doesn’t require a much hind end.
So 3 ideas for you:
– for the handling, keep the ‘easy’ bars low for now (more on why below). The easy bars are the ones after the tunnel. Take out the hard bars entirely – this is the middle jump of the pinwheel and the wrap jumps when you move to the wrap sequences. Let him work this skills without a bar for now. And if he does drop a bar, keep going and reward the next thing he does correctly.
You can move into the sequences where you get to run with him, which will support his lines better which also supports jumping 🙂
– to see if we can get more hind end engagement, take the set point and the accordion grid outside on grass, with the moving target. And get video from the side so we can see what he is doing in slow motion. All of his jump stuff was done inside in the winter, so let’s look at how he does outside on grass and we can give him bigger distances to look at.
– and this is what I recommend as a higher priority over the handling for now: let’s find out why he is bunny hopping in the rear! I know you probably have your hands on him all the time, but you can get a 2nd opinion on if he has any pain/tightness/soreness/ROM restrictions in the hind end. Has he had his preliminary hip/spine radiographs? And a patella exam when he is laying on his side and not standing up? Let’s see what’s restricting the movement and get lots and lots of video on it 🙂
You can also video cavalettis and trots on the flat to see if we see anything when we slow it way down to watch.
He understands the skills for the handling, so now we just need to sort out the movement. We will figure it out!
Tracy
Good morning!
3 of these reps were spot on perfect in term of making connection at the tunnel exit and staying connected through the send. On those, your eyes and leg did most of the work, and your hand followed her nose (and the verbals were strong too!). So definitely keep doing that 🙂
On the ‘tooth hug’ rep – the connection and arm actually moved forward ahead of her, which blocked her view of it and turned your shoulder away from the line. It was subtle! She was not entirely sure of where to be and the chomp moment was a bit of frustration.
Two thoughts on that:
– be as connected all the time as you were on the other three reps 🙂
– but since we humans are not perfect and sometimes we are a shade early or sometimes disconnected, you can revisit the ‘find my face’ game from MaxPup 1. Now that she is doing more grown up stuff, you can play find my face during the actual session and reward her for self-regulation when you are not entirely perfect. Find my face is in week 10 if MaxPup 1.Nice work here!
Tracy
Wow! He did great! Those are fun sequences too – what a good boy!!!!
Have a great weekend at the trial!
Tracy
Hi!
>>Do you think it would be helpful to move that middle jump out farther so there is more time to show the transition or do I just need to do a better job?>>
Yes. And also yes 🙂 you can spread out the distances and also be ready to cue sooner 🙂
T
Good morning!
>It’s starting to feel like someday we’ll play agility for real >
You totally will! You two are coming together brilliantly as a team!
>We could both benefit if I would take a minute to practice what I’m going to do without the dog first…but I’m a little inpatient and running up against the end of daylight…but I’ve said it, so maybe I’ll try it now and again >
I approve this message LOL! The walk through is the magic that makes the runs work. In the advanced handling classes, I make everyone record the walk throughs because I am a pain in the butt like that haha but it really helps!
>All to say, I feel a bit discombobulated some of the time…like “oh, I’m in the wrong spot” – throw toy! Also having trouble cue word-finding in the moment – so a few random “go”s where directional cues are what my brain thinks I should be saying.>
The walk throughs do fix this! So adding them will make things feel very comfy as you get more rehearsals under your belt.
The session on the video went really well! Your connection was strong – overall, you can keep moving more. Think of it as slowing down rather than stopping. When you stop, he has questions (like one the first rep and at :50) he is not sure if he should continue past you. At :50, your dog-side leg got stuck back behind you so he was not sure if that meant to carry on or not. He did go the wing at :50 (yay!) but compare to the rep at 1;21 where you kept moving: he had no questions there! Yay!
On these handling games, you can challenge yourself to keep moving and keep the big connection… but don’t use your arms 🙂 Your hand can follow his nose but you don’t need to point at the obstacles or lines at all. This is especially important because arms can block connection.
Speaking of not needing hands that much: the first bunch of sends on the 2nd video had minimal hand movement and lots of connection and a clear step to the middle (blue) jump – and he did great! These were from the beginning to :17
At :21 you used a pointing arm to show the blue jump but that ended up turning your feet/shoulders and connection away from it… so he turns to the yellow. Good boy!
>makes me wonder if there’s something about the grass there (like it’s dirty where poop was) that he doesn’t like…>
It was more of a connection issue and probably his harder turn direction. When he as missing the yellow jump after the tunnel (:38, 1:17, 1:30) I think it was a moment of ‘you could see him but he couldn’t see the connection’ so he came off the line. What I mean by that is your arm was parallel to your body so from his height level, he couldn’t see your eyes and your shoulders were pulling him past the jump.
Compare to 1:36 where he was exiting the tunnel and your arm was back, pointing to his nose, and you made a clear eye contact. That set him directly on the line because he could see the connection, and he got the yellow jump. Yay!
So making the connection with your arm back to his nose and pretty direct eye contact makes a really big difference for him!
Great job here! The sequences are coming together really well!
Tracy
Good morning!
The timing and connection went really well! Timing was really good! Connection was 99% good 🙂 On the last rep, you used a high arm which blocked connection when you sent to the middle jump and she ended up hitting the bar there.
Setting up for the middle jump was hard for her on all the reps here and on the wrap video too (she ticks the bar a lot in both directions) – soft turns are hard! It might be that it is hard to get the hind end push in the dirt? We can give her a slightly taller bar to jump (2 inches higher) and you can add your opposite arm as a brake arm to help cue the collection to make the turn there. When you cue the middle jump, you will basically cue it with 2 hands up as a bit of a ‘whoa!’ That is a pretty natural cue to help with soft turns.
Wraps: Lovely connection throughout here!! The best reps in terms of timing were at :07 and :49 – the decel started when she was about halfway to the jump so she had really nice turns!!
The other reps (:23, :37, 1:00) and on the full runs at the end (1:18 and 1:40), the wrap cues can come sooner! She did most of the turning on the landing side of the jump, which meant the wrap info came after her takeoff decision was made.
So to get the earlier timing: When she lands from the middle jump, you can begin the decel and then when she is closer to takeoff of the wrap, do the FC. That might mean you don’t get all the way to the wrap wing but that is perfectly fine because she can do it independently 🙂 And that will help when she gets to full height, because the info being earlier gives her move time to adjust.
Yum, yogurt!!! And good for the gut too 🙂 It helped her want to do the wobble board for sure! She was not too comfy yet keeping her hind end on the board – she would go over it then hop her bum off on most of the reps. To help her get more comfy, you can stuff things under it to minimize the tip – a bunch of towels or dogs beds can help! Then we gradually fade them out to get lots more slam.
Great job here!
Tracy
