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Hi! This is an interesting session!
She is pretty good with setting up her entries and weaving when she is on your right, because wrapping pole 1 requires collection.When she is on your left, though… she just tries to go fast and hopes for the best š She doesn’t want to collect. Part of it is that she can push the poles out of the way very easily, so she doesn’t have to collect (and she pushed the wing out of the way too). Do the poles at trials move like that, or are they solid? Either way, training her on solid poles will help because she will learn to collect and not push. I think solid channels will be the best best if you have access to them, because they will not move š 2x2s or weave-o-matics all move, so she pushes them out of the way.
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>. āAt. :39 you did 2 blind crosses on the jumps before the tunnel. I donāt think you need those, you can just run up the line dog on right after the FC and push her to the tunnel.ā So hereās what I was thinking after the first blind. āOh *****, I wasnāt supposed to do that, did I really get the front in? now Iām on the wrong side. Iām not supposed to stop. Tracy said do not stop. Blind! Tunnel!ā I didnāt stop! lol!>>
Perfect! The plan is always to keep going and make it seem like you wanted it that way LOL!!!! Excellent LOL!!! Great job thinking on your feet š
>>But, the question I have is, is it oK to go in a little past the tunnel while she is learning and work my way out or should I be making sure the threadle skill is stronger before I attempt the layering.>>
Yes to both! You can train the threadley stuff more without the layering, and you can reduce the challenge on the layering by going a little past the tunnel for now as she is learning it.
She did really well on the video! She was very happy to do the layering!!! Yes, the FC was the hardest part – to get her back out on the line, that would require either stepping in like you did, or a āget outā type of cue because a āgoā would indicate a straight lineā¦ which is the tunnel. For now, though, reward the big lines more so she gets really confident driving away – the golden rule of layering practice is all rewards should be as far from the handler as possible so keep throwing the reward on the line.
Sounds like Buccleighās session went well. Keep me posted about how things turn out today!
Tracy
Good morning!
This did go well!! And the supportive giggling of friends when things awry is heartwarming LOL!
On the opening – you can get further ahead if you send to the tunnel after 3 and layer 2, rather than run to the tunnel and then get inside 2 and run alongside the DW.
The teeter to weaves line is tricky!!
If you decel at all while she is on the teeter, you will show a bit of acceleration on the next lineā¦ which is what happened when she went off course at :18. So to override the acceleration, you can use a brake arm (outside arm) to get the collection. Ideally, you keep moving the whole time so she sees no acceleration into the off course line. You did give her a right verbalā¦ but the motion overrode it.
Also, the weave cue (āget āemā) is a forward cue which accelerates the dogsā¦ so donāt use it til you know she is facing the correct line otherwise you will get acceleration to the off course š
You had less acceleration and more of her name at :46, but then as you said āget emā at :46 you also said get out AND you put up your outside armā¦ and she flipped away to the tunnel (correctly, good girl :))
She almost did the same at 1:09 but you saved it by clapping LOL!! And she still missed the entry. She got the entry on the next rep but dropped the bar before it.
This trouble spot is a weave entry question more than a handling question. The question is that you were trying to over-help the entry and that outside arm is a powerful tool to urn the dogs away, especially when you push into her line. So – just run to pole 2 and donāt push in, to see if she understands the entry. The convergence is not going to be that useful because the judges are often putting tunnels or jumps near the weave entry like you see here, and convergence to help the entry gets the off course. The independent entry work with the wires will help (or the wing) – and you can definitely use the wires or wings to help transfer the understanding to the bigger courses too.
>>Only other thing I saw was I needed more go verbals on the end line.>>
Yes – you can give her an exit cue before she enters the last tunnel (like Go Frame) so she exits straight, looking for the frame. You got quiet so she curled into you. And after you finish the FC, hoy can send to the tunnel with the cue a lot sooner – before she is taking off for the jump before the tunnel, you can be cuing the tunnel.
And yes- more go go go for the last line, especially running into the wall – stay super connected and keep yelling it As she gets ahead, you canāt connect to her eyes but you can connect to her tail, which will read the same way to her š
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
I am glad the heat wave broke! I woke up to a lovely 60 degrees hereā¦ so nice but sadly no agility equipment around to go play on.
First course:
He had a little trouble with the turn on the #1 tunnel – he was expecting to blast to the poles even though your left verbal seemed timely and your motion was definitely pulling away, Since it is the start of the course, I bet you could lead out further, either to a stationary spot on the landing side of 2 or even on the takeoff side of 2 (either way, youāll still be able to get the layering nicely and also the layering down the line to the DW exit too.
Speaking of the layering and the RDW – you layering the #2 jump to get to the dog walk exit, but I think that converging pressure actually pushed him to the backside line on the jump after the DW (he lot his footing there at the exit too) – I bet you can layer the pink jump too, running between the pink jump and the teeter and he will have a sweet line to the 6 jump and you will be in great position very easily.
He jumped a little long on the jump after the teeter on both runs (longer on the 2nd run than the 1st run) – I donāt think he was scoping the tunnel, I think that when you decelerated as he stopped then accelerated on the release, he correctly made an extension decision. I think he will let you keep moving while he is dong the teeter, so try to stay in motion so he doesnāt see any transition into acceleration there – that plus your verbals and running line will keep him turning even better. The other option is a brake arm which can override the acceleration for spots where acceleration into a tight turn is the only option.
Yes – the weaves the first time were hard for him. I donāt think you were wrong to hold your position and cue the weaves as that is something we are seeing on course and often there is a dog walk in your way ā¦ it is a really hard entry and everyone is struggling with it here and in the live seminars Iāve taught recently (which might be why it is here again in this course LOL!!) On the 2nd rep, you had a little outside arm magic that helped a whole lot! So if you sees these on course – use that outside arm magic! And keep training him to look for the entry even without it
The rest looked lovely because you kept moving, trusted your connection and verbals, and did all the layering š The big trend I am seeing is that course Iines for the dog are easy and lovelyā¦ if we can layer , if they commit independently, and have some verbals to toss out š This course will get poopy very fast if you canāt layer LOL!
Course 2 – the opening looked great because you went all in on the layering! And he has independent tunnel sends, weaves, and RDW. That is the trend of the future so I am doing a happy dance that Enzo has these in place already.
>>Except Enzo was sure the course went #8 then teeter. It took a bit to convince him otherwise. >>
Yes, that teeter is conveniently paced to foster technical handling after the RDW š Basically, if you handle from the takeoff side of the jump 9, then you need to be fully rotated and connected before ehe takes off for 8 (jump after DW.) At :28 the rotation started as he was taking off, so you were finishing it and backing up, so he took the DW (I think it was Linda Mecklenburg who said that backwards motion still counts as forward motion to the dog š ) Even on the resets, there was bit of backwards motion (even one step) rather than forward across the bar, so he had some questions.
You got him to come in at 1:38, but the cue was a still a little late and he had hearts in his eyes for the teeter for sure there too. Your FC on the last run was the earliest at 2:25, but it can be even sooner to get the best line. The acceleration off the RDW allows you to begin the rotation for the FC basically as soon as he gets off the DW.
So to get it really smoothly, the options are:
– earlier front cross so you are finished and moving away before he takes off for 8 (with big connection back to him so he reads the line and not just motion).
– replace the FC with a BC because you can finish it faster and move away a whole lot sooner – it still requires the same connection as the FC exit. I understand you are not likely to choose this one LOL!
– stay on landing side of 9: send to 8 and serp to 9 then a BC, like a German turn. You will be pretty far ahead and that should also take the teeter out of the picture. And I think it will also tight the exit of the 9 jump, because the FC and the BC both would need a turn cue to tighten up the exit and a German would not.
>>I wanted to handle #12 as an āINā. I thought I could get there and I thought it would be safer than a backside in the face of the tunnel entry. FAIL! Turns out the āPUSHā backside worked just fine.
I agree that in theory and on paper, a threadle to the slice backside looks good! But getting the turn on 11 to set up the threadle slice backside is soooo hard and will ultimately slow the dogs down. The lead change to pick up 11 basically negates the option of the slice on 12. The push circle looked good! You can start your push cue sooner, before he takes off for the 11 jump, so he lands looking for the backside wing. You said Enzo Push as he was landing, so he didnāt hear the push cue til a stride after landing so he had a look at the tunnel.
Flipping him away to the tunnel and layering to the end looks great! So much fabulous obstacle independence!
Great job here š Let me know what you think!
TracyEek! I hope it is on video, it is probably pretty funny š
You can use a different cue. If the dog-side hand is the line up cue, try using the other hand behind your back to cue it (show the reward with that hand to help him out). And feet together versus feet apart will help – many dogs that have the middle line up position have a similar question at first but they very quickly figure out the feet together means to go behind, and feet apart is the middle line up š
Let me know how it goes!
TracyGood morning!
Course 2 looks really good!!!! Much better motion, verbals, etc. And the new ending was good – he found the tunnel entry better when you trusted your verbals and moved into the tunnel rather than hang back where he thought you wanted the jump.
There are a couple of spots that I think he can use his hind end better , he doesnāt always gather it underneath him. This is a not a handling thing, it is more of a coordination thing – are you doing any plyometric exercises with him? I have some that I will post soon – he is having some trouble on the backside circle with his to get his rear end under him when he has a lot os speed coming into the line, so he swings his butt out wide. That is also probably why his a-frames look different each time too.
Course 1 (2nd on the video) also looks good, lots of independent layering!! Yay!
>>sill over handling WP
Yes, over-helping. You can fade yourself out by moving on a parallel line to the entry, but moving more and more laterally away rather than towards the entry. And you can leave the wing on it to help him as you show him that you will not be there to help.
He had a little trouble with the ending line, hitting the first bar after the tunnel – I think it wa sa combination of the speed and you pulling away, with the corre corre to support the straight line happening over the bar. Try to give that verbal before the tunnel, again when he exits, and a few more times as you pull away to support his straight line even when you are layering.
>>I am going to start working on refining verbals in the coming weeks ā¦
Perfect! The walk through work that we are starting in package 3 will help that too. I notice that you get into a rhythm with your verbals, saying things in the same pitch and rhythm (twice each š ) such as corre corre, tunnel tunnel, frame frame, etc. There are a couple that sound different (like seesaw and iz which is stretched out a bit) but I think you are matching your verbals to the rhythm of your running. Ideally, the verbals sound a lot more different so in the walk through planning – pay close attention to making them sound different. It is important because at 20 or 24 inches, he has limited time to make adjustments and different pitch and rhythm to the words will help him process it all faster.
Great job here!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
The left side thing might be the a lot of dog training is done on the handler’s left, a spillover from the obedience days even for those of us that never did obedience LOL!!
Have fun š
TracyGood morning!
This went really well – it is probably the hardest commitment game we’ve done so far! Bummer about the camera – did he have any questions on the reps that didn’t make it to the video? He was just about perfect with his commitment here, even with the blinds at the end. YAY!!! It will be easier for you t get past him when there is a bar, because that will give you bit of hang time LOL! On just a wing, you had to move pretty quickly and he was fine with it.
His only question was on the very first one on the very first rep, even though it was to his easier side (the right turn). It might have been that he needed to get the hang of the game. Also, his question might have been because you were stationary at the wing then moved forward fast. So two ideas on that:
– you can move closer to the tunnel so you are in motion when he exits
– you can go to that stationary position and then drop the reward behind you as you move forward.Both of those (moving into it and being stationary) are things he will see on course, so we can show him both š
Great job!
TracyHi again!
I am glad you are enjoying CAMP š
>>Itās sometimes hard to prioritize what to work on first!
Yep, I feel that pain! I prioritize based on hat my dogs will need to see in the ring soonest: so connection and timing and commitment on lines, crosses, sends, etc are top priorities. Backsides/threadles/etc are much lower priorities for my younger dogs.
On the jumpers course:
You ran this course really well! There are only two spots that can be smoothed out:The opening provides a great layering opportunity to get you right up to the jump/tunnel discrimination. Yo can get closer to the first tunnel and then send her into the big line 3-4-5 so you can basically meet her at the jump tunnel discrimination – that makes it much easier to be on time.
The other spot was the wrap, as you noted: it was a connection issue, mostly, and a little bit of a commitment issue.
The main thing that was causing her to have a question was that you were rotating forward in your send to the wrap, closing your shoulder and pointing ahead of her – that breaks connection and breaks the commitment cue, so young dogs often do not commit in that moment.
>>I also saw that my decel right before the jump was a big problem.
It was not the decel itself, it was the pointing forward while she was a bit behind you. That changes the line of you shoulders, so ideally you would look back to her and let your arm stay back as you send her forward – a small arm cue can follow her nose as she passes you, but the connection is key here. I know it sounds totally counterintuitive but it works really well š
>>Do you expect your veteran dogs to take a jump even if you stop like that, or do you expect them turn back and look at you like Nox?
I have a TTFJ rule (Take The F&$%ing Jump): if my handling gets the dg within 6 feet or so of a jump, I want the dog to take the jump. And veteran dogs will totally take it, even if my handling is disconnected. And I teach the younger dogs to take it by doing one jump games where I show disconnected handling on one jump and reward them for taking the jump – but in course running, try to be fully connected as much as I can.
>>In other words, is this a training commitment issue that I need to work on, or is this just bad handling?
In this contextā¦ it is more like disconnected handing and a young dog wonāt cover for you š So if it happens onceā¦ ramp up the connection and help her out. If it happens twice – look at the video to see where you arm is relative to her position š
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I went back to my training facility this weekend and found out that the course had been numbered wrong, lol. The owner of the place was nice enough to set it for me, and someone else numbered it.
Maybe they came up with a better sequence LOL!
>>Goals for tomorrow night (when I go to the facility again):āØStandard course 1: try correct opening, pull to the tunnel, jump after a-frame, try correct closingāØStandard course 2: run it once (no fixing unless itās a complete mess), choose 2-3 pieces to work on, run it one more timeāØJumpers course 1: (starting at #7 tunnel) try blind and German on 10-12 section, try a throwback after the weaves, run it 1 time all togetherāØJumpers course 2: I donāt know yet!
This should give us plenty to work on with only running 4 full courses. >>That is probably way too much for one night š I tend to count the approximate number of jumps per sessionā¦ running a full course 3 times is about 60 jumps, which is a whole lot. Planning to work on 4 courses will put you somewhere over 100 jumps, which will be too fatiguing for you both š Try to walk the courses and sequences so you only need to run her once, because you have rehearsed it all so well š No need to try to run and work all 4 of them.
>> really need to work on planning my sessions better and not just looking at success as a full perfect run.
This is true! Agility is not about perfect – agility is about rehearsing the pieces so you can try to put them all together.
>>I think writing down the specific things ahead of time will help. I always get to the facility to train my dogs (Nox plus a friendās dogs) a couple hours before the class I teach.
Also, check out the new ESC sequences that focus on the walk throughā¦ the walk through skills will get you closer to the perfect run goals more than any other skill will!
Onwards to the video!
Tracy
Hi!
I totally agree, this weather is GROSS! Fingers crossed for cooler weather ahead.He did well with the weave challenge, only one miss! You can now add your motion to it: as soon as you let him go, you start walking down the line of poles. I donāt know if he is ready for more than walking yet – if he is struggling, stay at a walk. If he is doing really well? You can add in more motion in the form of jogging then running š
He also did really well with the jump-tunnel discrimination, it is one of the harder games we play! He definitely had trouble āfindingā the tunnel after the jump reps, then āfindingā the jump after the tunnel reps. One thing you can do is make the jump versus tunnel cues sound really different – the tunnel verbals can be high energy like you have them here, and the jump verbal can be quieter, and more conversational and less stimulating š I think the dogs discriminate our tone/pitch, not just the actual word š
>>QUESTION ā is this a good method to āteachā the word jump (although I do use it, I havenāt spent much time using it).>>
Yes! You can totally teach the word jump like this – try it first without the tunnel there, just sitting in a chair with a jump and a toy. That will be the easiest game ever LOL but will put the verbal to the behavior. Then you can add it back to the jump-tunnel discrimination.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>I think we are moving in the right direction but I am still slow in getting my verbals out.
One thing we will be working on in the next set of sequences is practicing the verbals, at speed, during the runā¦ without the dog š That way you can work the timing and repetition of the verbals as a rehearsal so you are ready for her run.
I also think you are tending to wait for her to land from the previous jump or get into the tunnel before starting the next verbal. You can totally start the next verbal before takeoff from the previous jump and before she goes into the tunnel – early and often in that WOO window of opportunity š
The whole opening went nicely! Yes, the verbals can come sooner but the physical cues all looked good.
On the jumps after the DW, with the teeter discrimination right there – you and a clear connection the first time and she read it really well! On the 2nd rep at :47, you looked forward and didnāt connect so she almost took the teeter.
She had some questions about the backside circle at :33 – I think you might have been blocking the wing a bit there so she kinda knew it was the backside but was also trying to read the pressure towards the tunnel. You also had 3 different verbals happening LOL! So that is a good place to rehearse the verbal at speed before running her.
She went to the backside better at :55 on the 2nd run but didnāt commit to the bar – this is a good one to practice and drop the reward for her on the landing side as you move through, so she commits as you keep moving.
>>Artie really seems to be asking a lot of questions on the aframe. I was thinking about setting up two tunnels with an aframe in the middle in my back yard to try to get her comfortable with just running straight and not looking backā¦.plus I thought this might help my tunnels a bit. What do you think?>>
Yes, totally agree, she wants to look at you and curl in. You can do the tunnel game, she will like it – the key is going to be early reinforcement so it arrives before she even has a chance to look back at youā¦ so throw it really early or just place it there so you donāt have to worry about throw timing š
She also did it on the 2nd curse when you were further behind, so I like the placed reward as a good way to keep her looking forward (and on the ending line too).The 2nd run went well, juts a couple of little details to consider:
– she just needed one more step to the wrap jump after the weaves on the first rep – it was almost perfect, butt I think one more step will make it even smoother there. And if she feels sticky about it, you can throw a toy to the landing side as you turn and go the other way šOn the 2nd rep, you decelerated on the jump after the teeter but I donāt think you have time to excel then try to stay ahead – you can get a tighter turn there with a soft turn verbal and maybe a break arm (opposite arm) without slowing or stopping your motion.
And I think the placed rewards for the a-frame and the ending line will help – if you wait to throw them til she is lifting off for the last jump or exiting the frame, she will already be looking back at you. So either have them already on the line or throw them when she is landing from the previous jump (or before she gets on the frame).
>>how does one change the picture for my profile?
The website pulls profile images from a popular profile image service calledĀ Gravatar. In order to change your profile image displayed on our site, you can create an account atĀ Gravatar.com using the same email address that you use onĀ agility-u.com. Then follow these instructions to upload your profile photo over onĀ Gravatar:Ā https://en.gravatar.com/support/activating-your-account/
Great job here!!
TracyHi!
I am. glad to hear it all went well – the best sessions are the ones that never make it onto the video LOL!!!
I use balls with a couple of my dogs, so I feel the pain of convincing them to retrieve LOL!! I have found tat bringing out 3 or 4 balls plus treats helps get it started: they drop the first ball, I bring them back by showing them the 2nd ball š and also lots of cookie rewards for the balls making it back near me š
Stay cool! Have fun!
TracyHi! Nice shirt!!
She is doing that threadle rear nicely when you are next to her, it is harder with the layer but she will sort it out in a session or two – we have threadle wrap stuff as a skill this week anyway š
For the weaves – yes, the handling is correct and you are leaving at the right timeā¦ but if you leave fast she canāt quite hold onto the poles. On the last few reps you left early and slowed down a bit – perfect! So for now, the challenge can either be leaving early from crazy angles, or going fast from easier anglesā¦ and then when she is happy with bot, we will begin to merge them.
Great job!!!
TracyHi!
She is getting the idea here! This will be fun for her!
2 things to do for the next steps:
– Always start with her in front of you, standing and waiting (she can sit too, whatever she likes is fine :)) We want her to learn that she will need to engage with you and wait for the cue, she wonāt be doing it from a moving position.
– as she is going around your back, you can start running forward into a sequence š That is when it gets REALLY fun! Be sure to angle yourself so that she can see the first jump and so that you will only have to run forward and not get stuck behind a jump when you want to run forward.Nice job here!
Tracy
