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Hi! This is also looking good!
I think the target is at the right level now! And he is driving up nicely! No need to say go on the teeter because you really don’t want him to go, you want him to stop 🙂 You can add the teeter verbal now because he is definitely locking onto it as an distinct obstacle, and it is moving (so it is different from the dog walk).
I think there is a little bit too much tip right now – he is slowing down where the blue meets the yellow. To keep him confidently driving to the end of the board, you can maybe cut the amount of tip in half so he drives all the way to the end of the yellow before slowing down. Then you can start to inch it back down gradually provided he still drives all the way to the end.Great job!
TracyHi!
The backing up looks good! The only thing to add is to be sure to start nice and close so that he offers backing up with his front feet right away too. I think you were a tiny bit too far from the board here, so he was not stepping all the way back onto the board.>> I moved the treat holder to the top as you requested and he’s kind of sliding on it at first but trying to back up with all four.
If the target is taped on, you can remove it for the backing up and put it back on for the mountain climber game. This can also help if it was getting in the way of the backing up. I’d prefer not to go to the travel plank because it doesn’t move or sound like the teeter 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi!
>.We had a trial this weekend and had fun.
Yay! Such a fun weekend!
>>I still have handling mistakes lol. Dreamer did awesome. He loves the game so much.>>
We ALL have handling mistakes, that is one of the joys of agility LOL!!! As long as Dreamer is happy and you are happy, that is all that matters! He is FAST so it takes a little longer to lock into the handling needs of such a speedy dog 🙂
>>I actually do not have a threadle arm. I wonder if he would really pay attention to it if he’s committed to a tunnel entrance. I do want to train a threadle arm on him for sure and I’d love help!>>
Yes, we can TOTALLY get threadle training started!!
here are a couple of videos to watch:
Jumps:
Tunnels:
>>I have to admit I have a lot of anxiety and should reply here more but sometimes I get overwhelmed!
Jump in any time even if it is just to ask a question! If you are feeling overwhelmed, pick the small set ups and let’s get those smooth – even without doing the bigger courses at first, you can make a lot of progress getting the connection and timing going on the smaller games 🙂
have fun!
TracyHi! Nice work here!!!
>>Jumps at 16″, food and a toy in my pocked/palm to keep it less visually stimulating. I left more video in so you could see how it’s working.
I think it went well, and she was only distracted by it when you were reaching for it when she was on the dog walk (see below).
>>For the send at 1, I gave her verbal wrap, but she felt wide. I reacted by adding her name (not planned/helpful :). I figure I should change something.
Yes, she was wide there but the send angle set that up – it was very forward with a lot of motion, so she didn’t time to accelerate to it then decelerate and process the wrap cue and set up the turn entirely in the other direction. To get a good wrap from that angle, you would have to send her back behind you like a throwback, with you already rotated. It is doable, but not the best line for her.
She has a good stay, right? So a smoother opening will be to put her in a stay on a slice on the takeoff side of 1, so she can be facing 1-2 on a relatively straight line. That way all you need to do is release her on your left and move up the line.
Rewarding at 3 – having the toy in your hand there did not seem to cause any distraction issue, she just didn’t see you throw it 🙂 so throw it a little more on the center of the landing line and you can use a ‘get it’ marker too. You can also have someone else throw it, when you train in a group! Yes, she would prefer to just keep running… but therein lies the problem! She would prefer to run past the backside so you need to handle it to get her to take the jump by decelerating and using arm rotation to help her see it at 1:00. The training with the toy play will help build the skill and balance the value of it.
The 4-5-6-7-8 line looked strong, well done using verbals and motion to support the line so you could layer and get to where you needed to be!
>>She had a question out of tunnel 2 but redirected. >>
That second tunnel is a bit offset from the line and is not entirely straight – a ‘get out’ verbal to shift her away to it as she is approaching the jump before it will probably smooth that out and answer her question.
>>I have a question about the dog walk reward. I messed up with a late cue. Should I have put her back on the dog walk to reward with the toy? I wanted to reward since I messed up, but also not encourage self-releasing. Should I reward off the dog walk or on or ??????>>
I don’t know enough about her training history on the DW to give you a definitive answer here, but a couple of thoughts:
Keep driving past the end of the dog walk and make sure she hits & holds position before you decel or reach for a reward – she saw the decel and toy hand, so she turn and looked at you at the bottom. This is another place you can have someone else deliver it, and you can use a target if she has trouble hitting & holding position when you are behind her.
You can also have someone else reward here, so she is not looking at you in anticipation of getting the reward. I would have given her some type of reward there particularly if there is a handler error element – if it is highly unusual that she didn’t stop fully, then no worries. If it is not unusual? Then I would add a target or something to help her out with these high speed dog walks when you are behind her.
>>I tried later to get the blind but didn’t get there, so I’m wondering about treadle timing vs the “frantic” approach. LOL>>
Do you mean the 9-10-11-12 section to the tunnel? I don’t think the BC is at all a possibility with her speed, unless she will do the dog walk and get the backside with you hanging out by 11. I thought you did well here – it was not frantic, it was lots of HUSTLE and forceful cues! She seemed to have no questions on that line. You had a great send to the backside followed by LOTS of verbals because there is not a lot of handling help to give there (besides running fast, which you were doing :))
Because this is a rear cross on that 12 tunnel, start your go go go jump cues before she even enters it – you got quiet and didn’t say anything til after she exited, so she was looking at you. I don’t think that had anything to do with the toy in your hand, it was all about the cue timing and position. The video ended there, let me know if there was more.
Great job!
TracyHi! These games are quite a workout! You two looked great.
Countermotion step 3
This is going well! And it is helpful to begin sorting out what cues she needs to see. More transition into the decel before you rotate helps her, you can see it in the difference between the first and 2nd reps. If you slam on the brakes or run forward too soon, she doesn’t know where to go (same on the start at :37) but with a little bit of decel into the rotation? Perfect! And grea job maintaining connection and spitting out all the verbals!!Step 4: Also going really well! Great connection and you got all the words out! Sure, you might be holding onto the words for too long, but I am not going to worry about this right now at all – you have all the other pieces in place (connection, transition, verbals, quickness, toy marker,commitment) and she is reading it all super well! YAY! So don’t worry about fine tuning the length of the verbals, that will come with the bigger courses.
Steps 5 and 6 – I think she likes the race tracks haha! Very nice! And the wraps also looked great (and so did the connection and commitment). Only one thing to remember: As you go from the wraps to the race tracks. remember to make the verbals sound different – the wrap verbals can be choppy like you had them, but then make the left/right verbals more elongated like they were at the very beginning – rii riii riii and leeeleeee leeee. Yes, take a breath in there sometimes, but the differences in how ou deliver the verbals will be helpful on bigger courses.
>>Question about Week 3 Concept Transfer Straight Lines Four Ways. For the Rear Cross wrap the verbal would be the wrap command but I don’t recall any game in MP2 where we did those verbals with the dog on the ‘wrong’ side of us for the verbal. EG/ DOL and do the wrap turn to the left. >>
We did early on with the turn away games on wings/cones, so the pups will be fine. Make sure your physical cue is clear first, then add the verbal back on.
>>Oh, one other q – are there no pdfs for Week 4??
Yes – they are all posted. There was a glitch in the original publishing but should be all good now!
Have fun! Nice work here!
TracyHi!
This is looking really strong with the wing for the wraps and backside!! She is better able to commit to it while you work out the cue timing – nicely done! You can add in having her chase you out of the wrap or backside, by driving back down the line to the tunnel rather than rewarding there. Give this another session or two, then you can add the rest of the jump back to the wing 🙂At the beginning (when she is most stimulated), she is a little confused about the start procedure – a little mouthy, a little jumping at your reward pouches. You mentioned she was frustrated – were there failures before this, or was this the start of the session? Either way, let’s help her out: line her up at your side (use a cookie to help get her into position), then connect with her and send her to the first obstacle. That can smooth things out and get rid of the mouthy behavior.
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I went to that regional for many years when I lived in the Northeast, it was one of my favorite events! And you are correct, it is a busy, electric environment. Nutpse might have been mentally tired after 3 runs. Amd i tis a hard environment for puppies too, I can see why Changtse would struggle. Sounds like you worked through it and she did well!! Super!
The motion override is going well!!! I think the transitions from the toy play to the movement to the sit cue were clearer, so she was more succesful. The only spot where the transition was too fast was at 1:41 – you had just tossed the treat, praised her, and then walked away and said sit pretty quickly – she was like, ‘wait, what?’ LOL! She did it but she was not fully ready, so the resonse was delayed.
Using this same clean transition of making sure she is moving with you for several steps then cueing the sit – you can add a little duration to the sit, taking another step or two before throwing the reward back to her. Remember the 2 failure rule, and don’t take toooo many steps before rewarding her 🙂>>Will you be posting the Zoom Seminar? If yes, where?
The recording and games are posted on the course syllabus page in games package 4:
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
This is such great news!!! You did well to choose a good location and to wait to be sure she had the skills to handle it. I am thrilled for you both! A new chapter has begin and the best is yet to come. Congrats!!!T
>>Riot’s not a shoe biter! LOL. Not sure what he was doing there.
Ha! I was wracking my brain trying to remember if he was a shoe biter and trying to see if that was what he did there LOL!!!
Hi!
>> So many down ramps, so little time😂😂.
Story of my life. I feel your pain 🙂
>>The weaves-her entry was great, but she consistently popped out at 10. I think I gave this 3 goes. Ideas for a last pole skipper.>>
When working moving away from poles, I might place the reward for her to focus on, or throw it to the opposite side of the weave so she doesn’t try to pop out to chase my next line. You can also open up the last couple of poles so they are easier to stay in, if you have channels or 2x2s!
This video is the same link as the previous video, can you repost the standard1 video?
Thanks!
TracyHi there!
Good timing of the left and right at the beginning! Try not to serp the jump before the dog walk – the flip away doesn’t show her a good line to the dog walk… and also it puts you miles behind your speedy elf on a running dog walk :). So, two options to consider there:
you can play with a BC from the poles to the jump, then another BC to get her on your left on the takeoff side for the next jump to send and leave, so you are ahead of her for the running dog walk.
or, you can serp to a blind on the landing side of the jump before the RDW – but that is more running yardage for you and I am not sure if puts you far enough ahead like the 2 blinds would. (you did this at the end of the video, it was hard for you to set a good line to the DW, so I vote for the 2 blinds :))
It was a little hard to see, but I think she missed the jump at :23 and :36 (I think you said go after she exited the tunnel) – and you wee trying to get the BC on the landing side of the next jump –
>>. I realize now after watching video I needed a right command!
Yes, or a name call, before she enters the tunnel 🙂
You an also do the blind cross between the jumps after the tunnel so she sees the line more clearly because you are closer to it.
At the end, you handled the last backside as more of a threadle, without the blind… that worked well! She got the jumps coming down the line and also got the backside. It puts you a little further behind for the next jump but in a better position for the threadle at the end – she was a little surprised by the in in threadle at :28, it was a little late, but you were earlier and she got it nicely on the next rep
>.My dogwalk is still a work in progress(I have a leaper😂) so started on down ramp, (except the time I could not resist and yeah she missed the target😂😊)>>
Ah, the RDW…. the ups and downs or training it are crazy LOL!
Nice work here 🙂
TracyGood morning!
I feel the pain about the heat! It has been hot and humid, and we have had 3 days of rain here – ewwww
It was hard to see the angle of the wing (or whatever you sent her to :)) but it looks like 1 was not on her line from the start so you would need a serp arm and connection at :03 to get her to take it. She got it the 2nd and 3rd times nicely, so something might have been different in her line there.
Then, make sure she can see the wing of 3 – when you wanted the wrap on the 1st rep, you were blocking it at :04 so she was not sure if she should take it. The ideal position is where the wing and the bar meet, so she can see the whole wing.
Nice line 4-5-6!! Her teeter looks FABULOUS.On the 2nd rep, very nice blind to get her to see the slice entry!! Good rewarding there! And the connection to the backside was REALLY clear on the 3rd rep, so she didn’t bark at you 🙂
She is still learning the default to take the jump after the backside – so totally drop the reward in as soon as she gets to the entry wing as you move through, each and every time for now, especially in these big courses. That will really help build up her understanding.
The refusal on the jump after the teeter is a training thing, same as the backside slice at 3 – dropping the reward on the landing side will help as you move away so she doesn’t chase your motion on the backside wrap. She got it the 2nd time through at 1:01, but you decelerated to help her. The handling on the first rep was correct – she was past you and looking t the jump, so you were correct to want to move forward to the weaves. The training will help her fully understand that move.
Nice weave entry! All 3 times!! A blind cross when she is finishing the poles will help you get a better line over the next jump – she dropped the bar at 1:15 because you were late finishing the front and getting out of her way 🙂
>>Question on serpentine going to dog walk after weaves … is that a left-right command. I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around what words to use in that situation.
For her, yes – because those are not very tight turns for her.
Great job here! Onwards to part 2!
Tracy
Good morning!
The FCs on the wing look great – your timing and connection is strong, and her commitment is really strong too!
I think the only challenge here is that the tunnel is really long, so you have no place to go and end up standing still or rotating too soon – that was part of what was happening on the left turns where she was not committing (the decel and rotation was too early for her left turns, which are not as strong as the right turns at the moment). So two ideas for you –
extend the tunnel more so there is less bend in it, and she can faster through it. And you can move the wings away even more, so there is more momentum for you both.
Also you can face forward for long on the left turns, to help her commit – then throw the reward out past the wing as you rotate and move away. You did more of that on the spins at 1:17 and after that, and her commitment got so much better on the left turns.The circle wraps are definitely harder for both human and canine! Rather than try to do a lot of handling with these, let’s do a lot of training so she gets the idea of finishing the wrap as you move past it. Have the toy in the opposite arm from where she is and walk through – as she is beginning to go around the wing – throw the toy (can be a lotus ball) behind you while you keep moving forward. That will help build up the countermotion here and then you won’t need to help ger with a lot of upper body movement.
Also, be sure that she is pushing to the other side of the wing for these, not pulling in between you and the wing. You did it perfectly when she exited the tunnel on your right but when she exited on your left, you pulled her in between you and the wing and flicked her away. For these, send her to the other side of the wing 🙂>>She doesn’t know the sit while moving but I’m starting my motion while she does 2o2o. Can I just video that? I’m still struggling to train contacts and keep up so that’s why I haven’t worked on the sit.
I think the sit in motion is one of the most important pieces of contact foundation, so I prefer to get it solid before training the 2o2o. If she can do a sit or down while you are moving, then is it MUCH easier to get her to do a 2o2o when you are moving. You can start the sit in motion with you just shuffling your feet, moving soooo slowly 🙂 That will jump start the process and then you will also see big improvements in 2o2o training.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Great to see you here!!! I am glad your mom is going better, that myst be a relief for you all!!
Yes, he was curling into you when you were standing still, but it was also probably that he was watching your treat hand as you reloaded from the pouch, so I am glad you went to having the treats already in your hand when you were moving and not in the pouch. The movement and the treats ready in your hand totally helped.
I think the board on the ground was not clear enough t him that we wanted all of his feets on it LOL!! So, easy fix: elevate it a bit. Do you have several bricks or cato boards or something you can put under it? That can help define that we would like him o be on it and not near it LOL!! He seems totally confident so the next step would be to elevate it anyway, so let’s just move to that step.
>> I felt like adding a few inches of height to see if that would help, but decided to wait for your feedback first.
Yes, great minds think alike hahaha The plank on the ground was just too simple for him – if we make it a little harder by raising it, I think it will work better.
>> very much looking forward to the Argus seminars in a few days, I think you will luck out and experience how nice our summers can be here
I am so excited that you will be there! I have been watching the weather like a hawk LOL!!! It will be fun!!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I’m late and think I’m connected back, but I’m not getting my head turned fast enough>>
Timing and commitment look good (for example, 1:22 was great and most of the reps were very much the same). And her questions were not about how quickly you were turning your head, but how you were using your arms to show the next connection: too much dog-side arm forward (dogs just don’t cue off of that at all) and not enough connect-across-the-body.
I think the connecting across the body will make a massive difference on the blind cross exits, here is what I mean:
You can see the dog-side arm as part of the cue at :04, :32, 1:13, 1:47 and 1:57 – you used the dog-side hand low and forward and then looked forward so she never saw the side change. The reps at :16 1:37and 2:55 were also using the dog-side hand, but it was further back and you decelerated which helped pull her in. At :54, you had your arm furthest back but I think that was harder than connecting across the body would be.
The crosses on the middle looked good, so no worries about those at all!
>>Sprite was getting tired towards the end here.
I don’t think she was tired, I’d say this was a little too many reps of the same thing – she might have been slowing down because it was a lot of reps of the same thing and even when she gets rewarded, I think the dogs have a send of when it was not correct based on if we stop, or how we act or sound. So since this is all handling cues – act like she was AMAZING and read it perfectly (because she did LOL!)
The commitment to the wing on the 2nd video looked fabulous, which made your timing easier too – really nice!!!!
I think you should connect-across-your-body on the exit of the crosses here too, especially the FCs – she was wide on the cross exits, because for a moment she could only see your back and had to wait for more info. As soon as she heard the tunnel cue and saw your line of motion, she accelerated to it. She seemed to be hesitating a tiny bit on the spin exits too, so that amped up connection there will help too!At :52 though, you had a moment closest to connecting across your body – as she is rounding the wing, your right shoulder is all the way back and your left arm is visible to her: that was her tightest turn! No questions as all!
This is more of what we want, so practice doing it very deliberately. Yes, it will be SUPER weird feeling at first but with consistent use, it will become muscle memory and then you won’t even need to plan for it.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
