[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

She did well with the plankrobatics! No problem jumping on, balancing, and going back and forth. She was less comfortable going to the end without you on the plankrobatics setup, so feel free to go all the way to the end with her, back-and-forth for both of you 🙂 the new teach it is going to be helpful!! Would go back to the start with it on the mountain climbers, do a session where it really doesn’t move at all til she is running to the end. Then you can start adding tip – that will help her work through the hesitation and go directly to the end of the board.

The zig zags looked great! The jumps were set up perfectly – just hard enough that she had to jump properly, not too hard and not too easy. Yay! Having the MM out there helped with a good focal point. For the next session, warm up with a rep or two like this then make it a tiny bit harder by flattening the line of jumps by maybe an inch.

The wingin’ it looked great!!! I agree, she was fast AND accurate, Fun! The lap turns were spot on, lovely!
The tandem turns were kind of a lap turn /tandem turn combo 🙂 you were rotating a little towards her to get her to turn – that is more lao turn-ish. The tandem should have you facing forward the whole time, like what you did at :32 without the speed. You can work it without a lot of speed to get it going – be moving forward, but you can pull away and give her more room to get between you and the wing, kind of like a threadle, then flip her back to the wing.

>>How long will we have to submit videos?

We will go til September 15th, I think that gives folks time to catch up and have fun 🙂

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>>>I do think it would be easier if you had more distance between the 2 jumps, they look very close together LOL!! That means she makes a very early decision.<< I think it was about 17′ for the spacing, so put is more to 20-21′ I am thinking. Yes, 21 feet will be better for sure. >>OK, more intense connection and arm back farther but doesn’t arm back farther to some extent mean farther across the path too before she is taking off for the jump before?

Do you mean your position being further across? I thought you were pretty far across! No need to be further.

<>So, you know that once I try to add in the jump before the tunnel she is going to smoke me to the jump after the tunnel, right?

She is not, because you are going to be laterally away from her when you release her to take jump 1 🙂 You will easily be there ahead of her 🙂

>>One other question – when I am trying to teach the wrappy RC’s I will use my dog side hand like I was. Should I just drop that? I am starting to wonder it that isn’t making it look too much like I am possibly going to start the pivot for a wrap which might be why it is confusing for her at times.>>

I use hand cues on RCs when it is a weird RC that is almost a turn on the flat. But if you want to use the hands as ‘brake’ hands for the tight RCs, that can work too! It should not looks like the FC wraps because the rest of the cues are so different.

On the video
The FC reps were good! When you go to the spin, you can use less arm across your body on the FC element, because taking that out will make the spin faster. You didn’t really use a lot of dog-side arm across the body on the FCs, so it should be easy to take out for the spins.

And also, reconnecting with that dog-side arm back further will get rid of her thinking about coming in to the wrong side because she will see the new connection more clearly. At :38, you were on time but your left arm was forward and used in the connection so she didn’t really see your eyes – keep that left arm behind you. The arm was behind you at :48 and she did much better reading the line!

On the 2nd video:
>>I think I was later starting the blind on that side also.

Yes, the BCs are a little late and too much dog side arm on the sending – takes a long time to bring that arm back in. When you kept your arms in tight like on the spins on the line wing, she was quick to see the new side and the turns.

>>Only significant issue was when she started cutting inside the first wing on the right turn side when I went to repeat the spin on that side.>>

That was handling that was a bit too early and disconnected at :54 and the rep after it. So keep your arms in and stay connected (your arms got really high. Those are rewardable reps, she was not being naughty, she just wasn’t sure of where to be.
:

>>She was wider turning on the left turn side. I think I was later starting the blind on that side also.

Yes, on the other side the first couple were really late like at 1:19 when you reconnected when she was halfway between the 2 wings so she was pretty wide 🙂 But then your timing got earlier and that really helped!! One other thing on that side was that you were really lateral so that doesn’t really get tight turns – try to be closer to the wings to show the tightness of the turns.

Nice work here!!! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Since we don’t want him jumping off, don’t move as far past the board – then go back and give him another cookie for waiting for you 🙂 And then another and another! Then he can turn around with permission and come down and then you can have him come off the side (or pick him up, unless he doesn’t like that). Giving him extra treats for staying there will also help him with his end position 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi there!
These are also going well! I only have little details to suggest:
On the 2 jump serps, be sure to walk through the line as if you are coming from a previous jump (the serp would be jump 2), more like what you did at 1:14. And be moving the whole time, so it is a true serp in motion 🙂

He read the 3 jumps really well! You did them 2 different ways, both were really good 🙂 Only one suggestion – you don’t need to swing your arm in out and: you can send him to the first jump, then just leave your arm in serp position, locked back. It is not the arm swing that cues the line (it is maintaining shoulder position) so swinging the arm can muddy the waters.

I think he is ready to see the serp games with the tunnel – the jumps are angled on those, because there is so much more speed. Great job here!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

One jump serps are looking really good on both sides! He was reading them well! You can add in looking at the landing side when you add more motion, which is definitely the next step:
Try to keep moving the whole time, releasing when you get to the serp spot but without stopping.

On the 2nd side, remember to pay attention to mechanics – be sure to walk all the way through the serp line as if coming for a previous jump, rather than go around to the other side of the jump. And yes, don’t do the spin LOL! But he said well. Onwards to the 2 and 3 jump games!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Very nice session here!!

>>At 0:54 & 0:59, thought wwere her JP hits.

Totally agree – I jotted those 2 down in my notes and then saw you mentioned them already LOL! Those were great!

>> As usual, it will take my muscle memory time to settle in on clicking at the moment, she puts down the 2nd rf into the mat off the edge.

yes – that last hit right n the edge is harder to see for sure! You can try elevating the mat. I had it elevated a lot when I started – I used an aerobic step for a while, so I could easily see it and the dogs could think about lifting up and putting their back feet on it, very specifically 🙂
Great job here!! With RDW work, we repeat these sessions a lot so nothing new to add, just keep looking for the 2 back feels 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
For UKI at a normal trial, the NFC time is usually whatever standard course time is… but for some reason UKI will be changing that to 45 seconds. For Games, we usually get whatever course time is for those too, so ti would be the opening plus closing in Gamblers (something like 25 plus 14 seconds) and whatever the snooker max time is.

>>1 of which is a “Cup” – West Coast Cup and the other is an “Open” – West Coast Open.>>

Yes, the classes at those are sometimes all one level (sometimes there are titling classes too) but these 2 events appear to NOT have titling classes. There is a movement towards NOT allowing NFC at the Cups and Classics, and it is not allowed at the US Open so I checked the NFC info for these events. The Cup (this weekend) *does* allow NFC but it will take you out of the running for the overall top dog (pretty sure you are not going for that this weekend anyway :)) And it looks like NFC is NOT allowed in any class at the West Coast Open, so you might want to reconsider the entry fee (it is expensive!).

Let me know if this makes sense 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! For the Pack 3 standard courses, here are some straight line giddy up moments to reward:

Course 1:

Do 4-5-6-7-unnumbered side of 14 to get a big fast line

7-8-9-10-11 reward

15-16-17 reward

Course 2
2-3-4-5-6 reward

12-13-14 reward

14-15-16 reward

17-18-19 reward

And of course all of the twisty stuff in between 🙂
Have fun!!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

I think all of the dogs in the live classes did a great job this week!! I will be posted the recordings and sequences tonight. It is a really important skill!

I am glad you braved the heat and tried this again – I think it is a great idea to watch for your pool next time LOL!
She definitely thinks going straight after the RC is NUTS!! Your line was good – running with a lot of connection from behind like at :27 and 1:50 was great plus all the rewards out ahead on the line.
Compare it to when you were trying to cue the line after the RC with your left arm up like at :58… it turns the line of your shoulders so she came off the line. So definitely keep your wings in and look at her fluffy tail 🙂
By about 2:00, she had a lightbulb moment and realized how the GO verbal applied to it all and got on the line really well.

On almost all of the reps, you ran a great line and did not get too deep behind the wing of the RC jump. You can see that you had a clear line to the next jump. -nice!!!
At 2:30, you had the only rep where you got behind the wing of the RC jump so you ended up having to run to your right… which pulled her off the line. So keep going with the great lines in the earlier reps, where you basically sent her past you into the RC and you ran straight up the line.

Great job! You both deserve a day off now 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

Plenty of lovely work on this course – it is a HARD course!!!

>>1. Turn at jump 5 to tunnel – Missed it first time; corrected by moving, instead of facing him.

Yes – excellent adjustment! Sending and leaving for that jump made a world of difference. Very nice!! Then the 6-7-8-9-10 section looked really strong.


>>2. Turn at Jump 11 to tunnel – I never said tunnel any of the turns…just said left.

11-12 is a hard turn. Have you ever tried a brake arm? As you are saying left, you can bring our your opposite arm (left arm, in this case) as kind of a ‘stop sign’ or a ‘whoa!’ It would happen after he lands from 10 and as you cue 11, so he approaches 11 in more collection.

The other thing you can do with him here and in general – more layering 🙂 You did some of it on this course, but you can do more 🙂 In this section, you send send to 10-11 and layer the 8/16 jump, which will more naturally draw him to you for 11-12.

>>3. Threadle at 15 – I am not ready for the threadle wrap or the backside from where I was on course, so I did the threadle slice and went to jump 10 (instead of 16). He was trying so hard, I didn’t want to make the course any harder for us.

That is an excellent choice! I thought the 12-13-14-15 section looked fabulous! That threadle slice on 15 is NOT easy, and he nailed it. Very nice!!!! So doing 10 instead of 16 worked well and rewarded him with a fast line after a good threadle 🙂


>>4. Tunnel 18 to tunnel 19 – gave up. Help.

2 ideas for you to get it:

While he is doing the 15-16-17 line, you can layer that 8/16 jump to get way ahead and then, before he enters the 18 tunnel, do a tunnel “brake” verbal and physical cue. The verbal would be a left verbal or something similar that creates a 90 degree line for him. And the physical cue would be a decel (and even a break arm (left arm).
All of that happens when he is still 6 feet before the entry of 18, so he sees and hears it all: then he should turn and exit facing 19 🙂


>>Major theme here – I need alot of work on turns…..I think I have been relying too heavily on spins and I am trying not to use them unless really needed…>>

Spins are hard with such a fast dog – we do use them sometimes, but Timber is SO FAST that you can add layering, send & go, and a brake arm to your toolbox 🙂

Here is what I mean by a brake arm:

>>Question: Your threadle wrap cue looks a lot like my collection cue, so I haven’t used it. My threadle slice cue is the opposite arm. I am using the same physical cue for the threadle wrap, with a different verbal. Is it okay to use the same physical cue, but different verbal?>>

I think it makes things harder to use the same physical cue with different verbals… you will have to be far more perfect with the cue and timing than I would ever want you to have to be LOL!! So you can change the physical cue a little – if your threadle slice arm is high, like at your shoulders, maybe try it lower, at your hips? That will be different enough! I use two low hands to make ti look different 🙂

>>In a previous post you provided me with instructions on the German turn. Although I don’t have it with much distance, I used it in class on Monday night and nailed it. In a class full of speedy BCs, I was the only one got it. Timber and I got alot of applause and whoops! What a confidence builder.

YES! Well, that didn’t take you long to learn it at all!!! Well done! I am doing a happy dance for you 🙂

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>Is it OK to try some of the sequences from the Live classes and video them?

Definitely! I will be posting both recordings and the sequences tonight.

>>I went to the Monday session and I thought it was great.

The Monday teams were a little more experienced and did a great job on the bigger sequences! The Tuesday teams also did a great job – they were a lot less experienced, so you will be able to get some ideas to break things down if needed.

Have fun! It is a great way to add even more commitment and distance 🙂
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
I am glad he is back in action, and it is great that *maybe* the summer heat has broken a bit,

This session went well!!
Because he has so much value on the front of the jump, this is a whole new ballgame LOL! Taking it really slowly so he could lock onto your hands was the right choice because even one tiny twitch towards the jump sent him to the front of it LOL! A

fter about 2 minutes, he had a lightbulb moment and the last few reps were much easier to get him to come to the threadle side and turn away. Super!!!!

On the next session, start with the same “remember to come to my hands” but try it on the other side – he will be on your left, and turn to his left. I think maybe he his a lefty so that turning away will be easier to the left. If so – you can then start to add a little more motion to it. If not, you can go back to the dog-on-right side and add more motion there 🙂 The goal is that we add motion on the easier side as soon as we figure out which it is 🙂

Great job!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

Watching the rears, I think this will be super useful in your handling with her.She likes to work at a distance and we need to get you way ahead of her… this accomplished both!

On the first sequence – it was easy to set the rear and send her away, so you were easily ahead of her at the end. Perfect!

On the RC reps from :07 – :24, you were starting on the blue wing jump so it was not really a RC – if you start on the black wingless jump with her on your left, then set the RC to her left on the ink jump. -that will be a great RC challenge! I will be posted all of the maps and videos shortly.

Great job on the diagonal RC from :30 to the end. You were consistently super on the RC diagonal and she nailed it every time. YAY!! I could not really see the backside jump after it, but you were in great position to handle it.

Overall – I think this us a great addition to her handling toolbox! I think there were zero bars down and great turns throughout. YES! Stay tuned for the rest of it to be posted tonight, I am looking forward to seeing how she does with these!!

Great job 🙂 
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!
I am glad to hear about Casper. Many dogs have had perfect outcomes with that surgery and have competed successfully at the highest levels.

So nice to see that you are back outdoors and not being broiled!! It has been a hot summer. Great work on the video, you and Enzo are looking fabulous.

>>(you could stop at that point and see if you can guess where Enzo went off course).

Challenge accepted!

After watching the walk through, I would have guessed that he went off course to the aframe after the RDW at :25 – the cue to turn was late based on where you were looking (the invisible dog was already over the jump when you started the cues). I was not correct – he was wide but didn’t go off course.

But when I rewatched the walk through, I can see it in the walk through now too – at :36, you said tunnel but looked forward and did not connect or show the line, so. I can definitely see the invisible dog to come off the line to the tunnel.

The run looked great – beautiful opening! He was moving faster than your invisible dog was in the walk through, and I think that caught you a little off balance on the line to the weaves on the first run. You were definitely more prepared for it on the 2nd run and sent him sooner. Nice!

You changed a handling decision on the jump after weaves. In the walk through at :19 you did a serp versus the throwback/backy uppy at 1:09 in the run. I liked the throwback choice better with him as it got a great turn without you having to do a big decel and change position after it: you were able to set up the decel before he even exited the weaves, so you sent to the tunnel and left for the next position beautifully. My only suggestion is to not actually back up on the backy uppy 🙂 You started the cues in great position but then stepped backwards to the landing side, so he ended up going wide – you can stay in position on the takeoff side. You did a spin here on the 2nd run – I think a FC like on the first run but without backing up will end up being the best turn.

Looking at getting the turn line after this turn off the DW: layering and timing produced excellent strategic position after the RDW at 1:15 and at 2:10!!!! You can start the FC cues sooner – he read the turn off the RDW easily but was wide because the FC cues (rotation and verbals) were late. Trust that he will be very forward after the RDW so that jump barely needs to be cued, giving you more time to FC as soon as he exits the RDW.

And you probably don’t even need to be as close to the 2nd jump after the RDW, because that path blocks the line to the backside a bit. You can position yourself on the line to the backside wrap (3rd jump after the RDW) to get even better turns and lines.

Coming into the last jump-tunnel discrimin:

On the first run at 1:21 you did a RC into it, coming out of the backside wrap on your right. At 2:18 on the 2nd run, you did a blind to get him on your left – I love blinds and all, but the blind set the line to the off course tunnel and the RC set the line to the correct jump much better. Yay RC!!

2nd course (aka course 1 :))

The slice on 2 to the tunnel w=loked great! For the sake of science 😂 If you feel like running it again: I would be interested to see what the time difference would be on the slice (great line, massive distance) versus the wrap to the left on 2 (more collection, less distance).

>>there was a bar but I didn’t see how to improve my handling to prevent it. Loss of connection, maybe.>>

I think it was a combination of an ‘organization’ error after the RDW to the a-frame, he just didn’t quite get his striding organized – plus you turned your shoulder forward at that exact moment. So yes, in the handling, try to keep your shoulder open to him and eyes on him. But in training: let him see this line again a few more times as you turn your shoulder, run, yell… and reward for him not touching the bar. The distance is a distance he will see a lot coming off the RDW so he needs to practice organizing the striding sooner.

You can use your threadle verbal on 8 at 2:56 (backside after tunnel) – I really like that choice of handling there!

On the 11-12 line, you can begin the Come here at 3:00 sooner – you can start it as soon as he lands from 10 so he is turning over 11. Running forward even being lateral might present the tunnel (that is where he was looking) so the earlier verbal should tighten up that turn.

After the weaves: on the 13-14-15-16 line – really good handling choice! Because he has super independent weave skills, you can leave him in the weaves so you can get closer to the threadle jump (15). That way you can cue the line like you did and get the FC after it without backing up into it (which caused him to turn wide)

Nice ending line – it is tricky and you got the backside push to the RC to set it up really well!!! Yay!

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

The water bottle walk throughs looked great! It is an easy way to practice connection AND stay hydrated 🙂

>>I think my hand is sort of pointing at the dog rather than staying down and behind me.>>

Since your dogs are low to the ground, I think it is fine to point it at the dog, wherever the dog is on course.

>>I am really struggling with the connection especially when the sequence gets a little complicated. It is easier with Keltie, I think because she is a little slower and I have time to think.>>

Connection is HARD!!! It gets easier as you keep rehearsing it. And ideally you din’t think about it, which is why I ask people to rehearse the walk throughs at relatively high speed- no time to think, just gotta do 🙂

>>. Do you think it would be better if I use Keltie for the videos for your feedback? I feel like I am making so many mistakes with Buccleigh that he is getting really confused and frustrated. Would it make sense to focus on the more simple sequences with Buccleigh and then do the more complicated ones with Keltie? Or maybe I should just work with Keltie? >>

I think you can do a combination: run Keltie on the harder stuff, smooth it out (but don’t do too many reps with her either, just 2 or 3 reps of th sequence or course) – then do 1 rep with Buccleigh. Run him after you are comfortable with Keltie. And if it goes right or wrong… reward as if it was perfect and then don’t try again til the next session with him.

>> just need to figure out what is best to work on now and what I should save for later.

Definitely the connection work – I am bugging everyone about t because it it is the make-or-break on the run for all of us 🙂 When the connection is fully into your muscle memory, everything else is soooo much easier 🙂

Let me know what you think!
Tracy

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