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Good morning!
The kryptonite runs from 2020 and late 2021 were good to see the original Sprite, before he had se much more in his toolbox with you. He still struggle with his big kryptonite but he is already so much improved!!
>>I did map out his reward hierarchy so I had his highest value. How I deliver the reward is a factor with the reward value. He often won’t take from hand but will chase a tossed item.
Ah, this is great to know – for him, it is not simply the good cookie, it is the good cookie moving in the lotus ball. Definitely a good one to remember!
>>>I was able to practice his tricks, start line at home in mock set up with gate while she was nearby with the other dog. He was more interested in the toy with food than her. That same toy has no value in class. He did take glances over but returned focus quickly. I tried to send him to her for his reward but he preferred his toy.
This is great! He is doing so much better with such a challenging distraction. He is so interesting with the reinforcement shifts when the kyptonite get added. Some of it comes down to simply having more than one high value reinforcement available: if you whip out the reinforcement you think is what he will like, but he doesn’t want it at that moment, you can switch to the other one. It is hard to predict what he wants in that moment (like wanting the toy here) but if you have more than one, you can shift gears instantly and still get high value reward to him. The level of distraction makes it harder but he is making big progress!!!
On the video:
>>it seems they let the grass turn to weeds and I finally realized it was hurting his paws.
Ouch, poor buddy! I see him lifting his little feet! That adds a whole extra layer of challenge but he was mentally engaged! Lots of distractions in the environment and below his feet. He couldn’t do the jumps but the cartoon lead out definitely got him interested! You can do ti moving away from him and not facing him, I think that will help the engagement as long as you stay connected with your eyes 🙂 He did an impressively good job, considering the ouch feet!
>>got the lineup order for his 5/21. It’s a small trial and he’s first in both runs. And the judge from his last UKI run is 2nd.
Perfect! It will be fun! After class on Monday, we can start planning for it 🙂
Great job!
TracyGood morning! I am so glad to hear your mom is doing well!!!!
>>Even with only 2 dogs before me in a JWW run it could turn into 3-4 minutes or longer because you know, shit happens🤣 but we now have tools for re-engagement!
This is SO TRUE!!!! It happens all the time and there is a Murphy’s law of it: it happens all the time to the dogs/handlers that don’t have the tools to cope with it… and it almost never happens to dogs/handlers that have good tools. So since you have good tools now, I expect those ‘shit happens’ moments will stop happening LOL!
Lots of great stuff on these videos! overall, I am really excited by what he did at the trial!
Video 1 – pre-run and FAST: Yes, you ended up waiting for a long time before the run – this is where you can do an extended ‘engaged chill’ so he doesn’t do high level engagement for a long time. You can switch to engaged chill or maybe a bit of pattern game (which is pretty chill) until the dog before you goes into the ring, then you can go back to volume dial for the lead up to your run.
Video 2: He a happy in his pot-run too! I don’t think the video of the run is here though?
Video 3: This also has a lot of time in the ‘volume dial’ state before the run – he was responding really well and was very engaged, but dogs lose steam if they stay highly engaged for too long so you can mix in more engaged chill 🙂
His run looked great – and yes, the judge was really in your way on the line to the weaves and Grady was fabulous! When you say ‘pretend it was FEO” do you mean that you went in with the attitude of making it fast and fun, in and out? Mission accomplished! Nice! And he looked very happy with his post-run cookie celebration 🙂JWW video: I am really liking his focus and responses outside the ring, with the high energy tricks! This was approx 90 seconds of volume dial before he went into the ring, I think that is a good amount of time for him. Nice line up. REALLY fat and focused on the release! He thought about having a sniffed at 2:04 but then reset himself and kept going (GOOD BOY)
>>we had some extra time due to the float toward the judge.>>I am not sure if that was judge-foot or if you gave a massive “OVER” and point and motion to the jump after the weaves.. and didn’t tell him he was turning til after he landed (I think it was more of a late-cue issue and not a “hello, judge!” issue 🙂 Grady came right back as soon as you called him – I think the big cue to the jump and extra motion, plus facing the finish line, he legit thought you wanted him to go straight. The rest looked great, congrats on a lovely run for the Q!! And he was happy to eat all his treats afterwards 🙂
>>on this run he took the first jump to DW and then straight to the table instead of a curve to the right…it was an, “I’ve got it mom and I’m sure that I am right” moment>>
It is possible he was correct and the turn info was late 🙂 Dogs don’t often go to the table as an off course LOL!
T2B: more lovely engagement outside the ring -he really likes the tricks and barking and jumping around 🙂 This was also about 90 seconds of engagement before the run, a good length of time for hi warm up indeed!
I really liked this run! He was a little confused about the release on the start line, your arms were swinging a bit so he was not sure if you released him.>>he spent about 6-7 seconds on a float>>
Yes, about 4 seconds of floating (I timed it because I am a nut haha) however – still a big win! In the past, he would struggle to be able to resist the distraction and continue with amazing focus. But in this run, he brought himself back from the distraction pretty quickly and then was amazing for the rest of the run (very speedy – which is why you ended up rear crossing, but your connection was lovely and you were able to shift gears without hesitation!). I was very happy with how well he flew by the judge and then at the end, flew past the sniff spot from early to continue to the teeter. Lovely run! And nice post-run celebration too.Jww 5/8:
I think he has the volume dial game pretty solid now – only 45 seconds of tricks before the run and he was very engaged. You might need more in the beginning of the weekend but as he gets comfy, these 45 second – 90 second lengths work really well!
There was not enough connection (eye contact from you) on the release and opening line and that caused him to not be sure about the opening line, but the fix and go allowed you to re-establish the connection and practice running off the line. Nice!Standard:
I am also happy with this run, SO FAST AND ENGAGED!>>I was quite a bit ahead on the dog walk and didn’t indicate the slight right turn early enough or Grady thought it was the end of the run.
I think he had a big case of the “I AM GOING FAST” and couldn’t quite get himself turned for the jump. And you were feeling his speed and also going fast, so you were late on the cue. No worries, still a great run.
>One of the individuals that I occasionally take lessons from said that the dog walk was awesome, but we actually missed the contact zone…judge also missed the call>>
I zoomed in and slowed down to see if it was a tight call… nope, he missed LOL!!! But the agility gods giveth (no call), and the agility gods taketh away (off course after it) LOL! But still a really strong run!
On the training videos:
Cartoon versus all business? The cartoon definitely gets him pumped up. And on the 2nd rep, where you reconnected and gave him that sly look and crouching posture, he broke the stay which is a sign of more stimulation. The all business lead out was perfect but that is in training mode – it is possible that at a trial he will do better with the cartoon lead out, because you want more stimulation (but do shorter lead outs so he doesn’t break). The running release is also really fun and he did well in the JWW run with it! Definitely play with that just be sure to add in connection so he is able to know what the opening line is.I just loved this kryptonite round Robin that you, Carol and Kaia’s hander did! Such a a great way to embrace distractions and make it fun to train through! I already saw Chuck’s videos, it is fun to see it from Grady’s perspective. You seemed like the ringmaster here, thank you for doing it! You were so funny and helpful!!!! It was hilarious to see Grady’s flying ears pop into the video here and there as he as jumping around before his run LOL!
On his first line up, there was noise behind him but not growling so he did well – he was able to speak on cue, line up, hold his stay on the running lead out… perfect! I would just add a little more connection of looking over your shoulder but I agree that the running lead outs are great!
>>Grady absolutely froze on the start line when Chuck was growling when playing😳>>
I don’t remember seeing this on Carol’s videos? When he froze, was he looking at you or at Chuck? And what helped him move off the start line: running or cartoon silliness, or all business release?
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>> I agree she is taking off a lot faster,
MASSIVE difference. She is head up, running hard off the start line.
>>and without a leadout we get disconnected almost immediately.
For now, you can plan easier lines in the opening and also have her set up on angles that are simpler for her to be facing the line you want when she explodes forward even if you don’t have a longer lead out.
>>She also doesn’t have nearly the “obedience / commitment” to verbals as I thought she did – or at least not in the presence of so many people.
It is the people/Kryptonite. The brain can’t multi-task the reflexive response to the people and prioritize the operant response to the verbals. Reflexive always wins out (DAMMIT, PAVLOV!!!) which is why we work so hard on changing the reflexive response (as you can see on the start line)
>>and there was so much ring crew / spectators against the exit wall.
Yes – that was a whole lot of weird looking distraction!
>>Our reward station was required to be in another part of the arena).
So you couldn’t have your little pile of stuff in the ring area? Why do agility organizations/venues gotta have such silly rules? Sigh.
>>I decided to not run today — I want to be able to work on all of the above when I can actually control the setting / distractions / rewards and have a plan. We went to the trial but I couldn’t come up with a course plan for the first 2 games that could avoid running straight into ring crew.>>
You’re smart! You are making good progress so it is important to be able to keep that going. If there is no way to keep it going? No need to run.
>>First up – Find My Face in a bigger space and with equipment. You’re right, I haven’t really begun to stretch that game beyond the first step.
She is really good at the first part of it, so the 2nd part will help in those moments of disconnection.
>>The good news is that at the trial this morning she drug me over to the practice jump and was super with our silly walk lead outs. I’m glad to have stopped for the day on that positive note.
Perfect 🙂 I am really liking what I am seeing! The final frontier is the people Kryptonite! Then it will all click into place 🙂
Tracy
Good morning!
Great job setting up the Kryptonite games and distractions to practice trial-like behavior! I love how you all worked together to help the dogs, it was really wonderful!Going in order of the videos:
1st video (titled Warm up at PK):
He was very close to the action and had trouble responding or tugging – you can move further away and to get responses to tricks, and also in that close proximity, you can be doing pattern games to help him Handel the environment.He liked the silly lead out 🙂 there was some big crash noise behind him and he was able to return to engagement after it!
2nd video (titled run 4): Kryptonite with leash runner
The leash runner made me laugh out loud, that was brilliantly obnoxious LOL!!!!
He was like WHAT THE HECK hahaha You can release sooner, he was being good til she started hopping lol3rd video (titled Warm up 2):
He was better able to engage here on the tug toy! Yay! So you might need to be further and do pattern games on the first run or two of the day, if this was later in the day and he was more relaxed.Excellent distractions happening behind him! Lead out looked great, release looked great, sequence looked great. He doesn’t want to tug on that toy, so you can open it and feed him from it.
4th video (Titled run 3) Kryptonite leash runner
This is hard for him! Stay closer on the lead out with people that close, great suggestion to reward him then start over. The other thing you can do is pattern games near people, so he learns how to handle being close to them and staying engaged with you.
You can release nice and early with the leash runner distraction, so he maintains engagement. He did well here!5th video (titled run 5):
He did MUCH better with the hopping leash runner here! Good boy! And good job getting back to the reinforcement right away. Really nice!5th video (marked run 6):
This didn’t have any dog training on it, it had the humans figuring out if the video was on or not LOL!6th video (titled Grady):
Grady was a most awesome distraction with that silly lead out – fast and focused! Chuck did well too – one thing to consider is that you can release sooner, while he is looking at you. When you get further and further away, he has more time to think about distractions behind him. So if there are things happening which might be difficult or distracting, you can release him while he is still looking at you so he is more successful.7th video (titled Kia and Chuck): You three humans were amazing here, I wish I lived closer so my dogs and I could come train with you too!! It was a trial-rehearsal round robin: brilliant!
Awww, Kia is such a cool whippet! She was totally like “WHY ARE THERE CRAZY DOGS AND PEOPLE BEHIND ME 🙂 but she did well!
Chuck did well here too – as with the other reps, my only suggestion is that you release sooner, while he is still looking at you. There was crazy stuff happening behind you and he did well (so did Grady :))8th video (also titled Kia and Chuck) is the same as the 7th video – let me know if it was supposed to be different.
Overall:
You were all brilliant to embrace the trial stresses/distractions and work through them with games and reinforcement. The dogs were AMAZING! While waiting outside the ring with Chuck, if he looks super distracted or if it is early in the day or session: add more pattern games and if he still is having trouble – move him further away from the distractions. And the other suggestion to remember is to release earlier when there are big distractions behind him – you were brilliantly connected on those lead outs, so you can seize the moment of engagement and release, even if it is not in perfect lead out position.Great job! Are you three able to re-create this in a barn setting, where you have lots of trials?
TracyGood morning!
I see a big difference here: Her head is lower, she is definitely more extended and using her hind end with more power! I marked the striding of this session and compared it to the striding of the previous video in parentheses (wet grass and stationary toy):
Bounce (short bounce)
1 stride (1 stride)
Big 1 stride (2 strides)
Power bounce! (1 stride)
Bounce (bounce)And even the bouncing on the first and last rep here looked more powerful and forward than the more ‘dainty’ bounce on the first and last rep of the previous video. I like how she was able to do a one stride then a bigger one stride then a power bounce on reps 2, 3, and 4! Hooray!
So definitely keep the dragging toy going. And you can revisit this grid with that 3rd jump moving gradually further and further away, a little at a time, to help her stretch our her striding.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
On thing about the verbals – in order to keep us under 10,000 different verbals 🙂 we have to have a ‘roughly right’ approach to applying them. So for the left/ right versus wraps, visualize a jump bar there (the dog would be approaching the jump bar straight as they are heading to the wing: what type of collection does the dog need for a jump bar there, where does the dog need to look, and how immediately does the dog need to come back around the wing? Moderate collection, looking to the left/right, not needing to come back around the wing right away? Soft turn verbals – even if the dog comes back across the plane of the wing eventually. Massive collection, head turning a lot, needing to come back around the wing immediately? Wrap verbals. Agility has a lot of ‘grey area’ so I make the verbal decision based on how much collection and where the turn goes.
This goes for the tunnel exits too: if the dog needs to turn soooo tight that she would immediately come back out and cross the plane of the tunnel exit? Wrap. If it is an approximately L-shaped turn? Left or right. If it is a wider, gentle turn, needing very little collection? Just a name call is good.
And one more idea to add to it all 🙂 – make your verbals sound different, beyond being different words. This includes volume, pitch, length of word. Your wraps/ soft turns/tunnel cues are all very similar in pitch/length/style of delivery so that makes them harder to differentiate. The ‘forward’ verbals like Go and tunnels should be louder and longer: GOOOOO GOOOOOOO and TUNNEL TUNNNNNNELLLLL. The wraps should be very short and very quiet, almost whispered 🙂 And the soft turn verbals should be medium volume and medium length (which is why I make mine sound like questions, so I can’t yell them LOL!)
On the first video – I think the timing of the blinds is going much better! And I think the soft turn verbals are correct here – a wrap would be if she is going back to the tunnel like you did at 1:24. One thing to make the blinds even easier is to keep your wings (arms :)) in tight like you did at :57. When you were letting your arms come up and out (like at :29), it takes longer to get all the way around for the blinds. So keep your arms in tight to your body (elbows to ribs). But also keep your shoulder open to her to make connection: If you close your shoulder like at :43, she will not see the cue to the wing and just come to you.
Looking at the verbal for the middle jump (the one with the bump on it) – it becomes more dog-specific (and having a full height jump bar will change things too, eventually). For my little dogs and my 15” tall Elektra dog – no soft turn cue needed there as it asks for too much collection in a spot where they actually need to extend. That is what happened at 1:48 with Beka – a little too much collection (also because you were not moving a whole lot). You moved more at 2:05 and 2:38 and she got it!
Now, picture the middle jump having a 20” bar eventually… she will probably need the collection cue for the soft turns (my 20” jumping dog sure does) but it remains to be seen how see will move when she is jumping full height (my guess is she will power through lines and will need the collection cue there :))
2nd video: Her commitment looks really strong on these! I’d say she loves the race tracks LOL!
First couple of reps she was looking at the tunnel a lot, partially a bit of patterning, partially you hadn’t quite decided what you wanted to do so you were not moving a lot. For the patterning and tunneling even when you rotated like at 1:13 and 1:21, I would revisit the wing/tunnel proofing game now that everything is outside AND more exciting 🙂
Picturing bars where the jump cups are: on the red wing on the right side of the screen, I would use a left verbal there to get her to the red wing on the other side of the screen and a wrap verbal to get her to the red/blunt jump with the bump (coming immediately back across the plane of the jump)She had a bit of a question at 1:32 – doing the soft right while accelerating into the bind was hard for her to read (we want the verbals and physical cues to match at this stage) so she was a bit wide – a decel and even a FC would work better for a tighter tunnel exit there.
Nice job getting the blinds in to change sides before the jump bump! She was hustling which makes it harder, but you got the connections to her and she was both able to pick up the new side AND get committed to the jump after it as you turned and left – this is VERY EXCITING!!! Super cool! It will be easier when bars come into the picture because you will have more time, and she will have an easier time applying jumping skills to all of this because she has a lot of understanding of the handling already. Hooray!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I think these are some of the most engaged runs I’ve seen! Yay!
Yes… put the lotus ball on a rope or bring 2 in the ring with you: one for throwing, one for getting the first one back haha!
She is the calmest and happiest I’ve seen her on the start line. The pre-run video before gamblers looked good- she was pretty relaxed and pumped up!
Not asking for a sit definitely helps.
One thing I’d like to add is that when you have engagement at the line and it is a stressful spot (like the start area on run 3) you can just get a quick trick and run run run. 🙂 that way she won’t have time to even briefly disengage! She likes the running a whole lot, so responding to a trick cue then immediately running? I think that will continue to build engagement (and make it easier to add a stay back in because the stay will just be another “trick” 🙂My only other suggestion is to plan your courses better 🙂 some of your lines were a bit exotic haha! And we want to keep her moving – so keep choosing simple easy lines for now… and if something goes wrong, just get her back onto a simple fun line 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi!
Lots of good things on these runs!!
The main thing I see on all of them is that you really didn’t have to fight for engagement at the start line and release – she was offering engagement when you put her down and the leash came off. That’s HUGE!!!I also thought she was pretty darned fast on the releases into the course. That is also huge!!!
Super happy with both of those developments 🙂She showed us the next things to work on:
More Find My Face game on course, so if there is a little error or disconnect or lateness, she will still be engaged. I know you have played the game, but i don’t think you’ve had a lot of time to do it on course recently. That will really help!And, more reinforcement for running past people- that is a kryptonite for her, indeed! Running past the white gate lining one side of the ring was really hard, plus she also had a harder when the course turned towards the exit and reward (she was heading to the reward/exit). So keep playing the cookie kryptonite games with people, and also with your remote reinforcement work on course – set up short sequences heading away from the reinforcement. And, the further away from the reward station/exit gate she gets, the more you will be you cue going to it. That will help her love moving away from it, and not want to drive to it when you turn that direction.
Great job! How did today go?
TracyYikes! The Border Collie lunging at the end was scary! Poor Skipper!!
It was very clever of you to hand the leash off early -that gets rid of the leash runner guy with the bucket (what is up with buckets in PA trials? LOL!)
I think she was SUPER engaged when you put her down (win!), she immediately turned to you, no sniffing (win!) , she could do her tricks (win!!!). – but could not sit. To be honest, I think your sit cue is poisoned and just should be eliminated. She was engaged, she put herself in a stay, lined up, ready to go… then you said ‘sit’ and the pressure turned on and she checked out.
So… no more sit! You don’t need the word and you don’t need the position 🙂 If she is engaged, does her tricks? Just ask for a stay and lead out, releasing quickly! I am happy with everything that happened til you said ‘sit’. No more sit word or position, just use a stand stay 🙂 Maybe the sit will come back eventually? Or not. The sit is not important, the engagement is important 🙂She had some trouble running past the wall of people, so yo can start the run moving away from them to establish confidence then eventually swing back around to run past them.
The handling came off the rails a bit near the weaves, but I think that was more of a handling error (it was not that clear) and not an engagement issue.Let me know how tomorrow goes!! Remember: NO SIT!! 🙂 Stand stay and go go go 🙂
T
Hi!
I am sorry to hear about Katy! That is a bummer 🙁
Whistle sounds VERY fun!!! Doing both MaxPup 3 and CAMP is a lot of running (for you LOL!) you can do both if you feel like all that running 🙂 The other option is to sign up to audit CAMP and then if you think you can work both, you can bump up to working! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Yes, she was totally turned off by the wet grass LOL! She was making good striding choices but was a little “hoppy” because she didn’t like the wet LOL!!
Two ideas for you-
I think she was a little too close to the first jump on reps 1 and 2 – the setup a tiny but further from it on reps 3, 4, and 5 looked more comfortable for her.
Also, try the dragging toy now (I think the reward was stationary on these). You can attach the lotus ball to a line or something so it can be pulled along the ground – start with it where you had it here, then starting moving it, release her, and keep moving it til she gets to it 🙂 That can help her keep her head down and power forward more to drive the grid.Great job! Fingers crossed for dry weather ahead 🙂
TracyHi!
She looks so good there (the starfish is really hard and she really had np problems). YAY! Your feedback is very boring on this one, it is all about how well you and Fritzi did 🙂I was going to ask you if you had a verbal for those turn away moments after the tunnel, but you aded your “here’ verbal and it worked really well!
You had lovely connection and clear handling throughout this session – low hands, eye contact while remaining in motion, patience on the lines, and getting the verbals out. So nice!!! Fritzi is really blossoming!I was going to say you could start to flip her away sooner on the turn away moments… but then you started flipping her away sooner and she was great. LOL!! I guess you were reading my mind, in advance 🙂
>>There was a missed communication at 1:10 that was totally my fault. I gave her soft turn verbal (late) and she went to tunnel. I let her come around again with a wrap verbal and the tunnel threadle verbal that were more timely and she did great.>>
Yes – the soft turn verbal should mean the tunnel entry she took, and you handled the moment really well by keeping her in motion, changing the verbal to the wrap, and then rewarding the correct tunnel entry Click/treat to you! And then you nailed it on the last rep going the other direction!
>>My running isn’t the best here (I broke a couple ribs a month ago that are taking forever to heal and I’m limping from other old injuries….getting old is a bitch) but…. it seems I need to run better lines too as Fritzi gets more confident. >>
Holy WHAT, you’ve been doing all of this running with broken ribs?!?!?! Well done, that is impressive!
>>Signed up for the next maxpup 3 class with Fritzi yay ! Wondering if the line running would be helped by taking the Learn Your Dog camp class ? Was thinking of taking it with my 4 year old that you haven’t seen yet.>>
MaxPup 3 is going be a hoot, that is where we really get the youngsters running the real stuff 🙂 Yes, we will be working on line running. We will do lots of masters-level line running and cause work in CAMP too – are you thinking of Katy for camp? If my memory serves me, I got to meet her in the Verbals On The Run class 🙂
Fabulous job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>Ugh! I wrote a long post yesterday and apparently it didn’t stick? waaaaaaa!!!!Ugh! So annoying! What type of device are you using? On some of the mobile Apple devices, Apple sometimes bumps out any high content WordPress that also has a lot of YouTube links. You can start a new thread and the issue will go away until Apple fixes it in their next update. If it is on a different device, it might be an internet connection issue?
>>I shared that when we got to our home turf for classes on Wed she was super comfortable, pattern games -shmatern games, let’s start tugging (tugging! she jumped up to grab the fluffy leash handle!) so that was really good data for me of what comfortable looks like.>>
Awesome!! TUGGING!!! Love it 🙂
I>> wanted to ask if you want the Pattern Games and the Volume Dial separated by a total break – like put her away between. I know that if she wasn’t getting comfy then I wouldn’t continue and if it has been a few minutes then yes we’d take a break. But if she is comfortable quickly then may I move into Volume Dial aka Cued behaviors in the same session?>>
The wind up to the ring doesn’t need all of the games, and some of the games are specific to what happens in the ring or at the end (rather than trying to get all of the games going before the run). We practice them a lot outside the ring at this stage but you don’t need to try to get them all in – here are a few ideas on where they each might go:
Thinking of it as the windup to going into the ring: if she is engaged with the pattern games, you can go right into the volume dial as you get closer to your turn un the ring. If she is struggling, you can move her away to see if she can find a comfortable spot and then try the volume dial games.>>I also asked about other games — over the last week / the trial in Utah I’d been showing video of PG VD and RR and you gave me a clear 1, 2, 3 order to those, but there’s also Engaged Chill, Leash Off/ Offered Engagement, and Find My Face, and Zipp’s version of FMF is to give 1 pull on the leash (like ringing a bell to be brought tea by her servant).>>
In the context of the wind up to going into the ring: The 1-2-3 order is the way I would start getting the dog ready to run. The engaged chill can go between the pattern game and the volume dial, as those as all outside the ring games to help prep for the run. Volume dial happens within a minute or so of the run, because it is not an arousal state that can be maintained for a long time. And if it looks like you are about to go in, and your do your volume dial – then there is a delay! Then you can go back to the engaged chill or the pattern game, then back to the volume dial, for example. The leash off/offered engagement is for the line in the ring, so it does not need to be practiced in the wind up to the run (it is taught separately and used in the ‘this is what happens in front of the jump’ moment. Find My Face is a fun warm up/volume dial game if you pivot fast, but it is also mainly a separate game to help the dogs understand how to remain engaged when connection breaks. The Remote Reinforcement is also not something that needs to be used in the wind up to the run – it is a concept to be trained so she knows where the reward is and how to earn it, and I do show the reward station to the dog so she knows where it it… but the main outside the ring stuff before your run doesn’t require it. I suggested doing it at the Utah trial because it was a good opportunity to work it in a new environment even if you didn’t run the courses.
>>My understanding is that when arriving at a class / trial: Pattern Games is priority. Once she’s comfy then I can do some “temperature checks” with Find My Face and Leash Off / Offered Engagement, or should I do some Volume Dial things to bring her up and THEN do FMF etc? Followed by more VD closer to our turn in the ring including a Reinforcement Station check in?>>
Think of it like this:
Pattern games are basically the “let’s check it out and let you settle in”. Then, before a run, the volume dial tricks get her ‘up’. Those are the various tricks – off leash offered engagement is not necessarily a trick, and FMF can be a trick if you do it fast. But the off leash offered engagement is really later in the procedure, when you are at the line.> know we don’t want a fixed ritual / routine, but I want to be sure I understand your suggestion of the 3 games in Step By Step fashion, and my take that Find My Face and Leash Off are both CUED behaviors, so they come after pattern games, but they are not energy rising games like spins, pop, “ready” etc.
FMF (in the calmer non-trick state :)) and the off Leah offered engagement are not particularly pre-run prep games for when you outside the ring and are getting run to run, they are part of the run after the get ready part: off leash offered engagement is cued by context (in front of the jump) and the leash coming off 🙂 And Find My Face is cued by a disconnection on course 🙂 But I do sometimes use fast pivots as part of the volume dial game.
>>the other thing I mentioned is that her stays seem broken now with the silly walk lead outs (in class), but she holds them with an All Business lead out. My thought is to work on strengthening the stay in an easier environment but keep investing in silly walk, vs switching to all business.>>
Yes, totally 🙂 Strengthen the Monty Python lead outs with lots of reinforcement, then you can choose the all business or silly lead outs baed on how well she does after you release the stay.
Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
OMG so windy there!!!!
Sprite did well here! Great job with the turn aways/tandem turns at the beginning – deceleration on these really helps her lock onto the hand cue to turn away (like at :24 and :53) – you were moving too fast on the first 2 reps on each side. While the cues were technically correct, the acceleration through them propelled her long past the wing. The deceleration as she was arriving at you helped set up the tight turns.The transition on these is similar to the transition on those tight FC wraps: accelerate, decelerate when she is exiting the tunnel and getting closer to you, then turn her away.
On the bigger starfish reps at the end – she did well here with her commitments!! On the tunnel exit where you needed the soft turn to her right, you can call her sooner – you were giving the verbal right as her head got into the tunnel, and ideally she will be hearing it while she is still a full stride away from the entry.
She did well finding the single wing after the turn away and the tunnel entry too! Lots of independent commitment happening there, YAY!!!
>>I’m still trying to figure out the tunnel discrimination one. Gemma couldn’t do it and she’s pretty good with that cue usually.
The tunnel discrimination on this game is HARD!! Try a wrap cue on the wing before it and a deceleration? And send some video so we can figure it out 🙂
Great job!!
TracyGood morning!
Yes, this went really well!!! She did well with all of the soft turns and was getting better and better with the Go go go after you added more connection and more repeated verbals (and early toy throws).
When trying to get her to the wing after the Go tunnel exit, use a big connection to her on the tunnel exit (you were looking straight at :30 and :46) so she knows where to be) – you got there faster at :59 and 1:34 but more connection will help when you can’t get as far ahead.
You had the connection going at 1:55 when she exited the tunnel sooner and it worked well! You also had it at 2:23 but you stopped moving too soon, so she didn’t get a chance to finish committing. You had great connection oand motion on the rep after that and she got it nicely!
You can still move laterally away from the tunnel sooner, I think. She is showing great tunnel commitment, so you can already be moving away to the soft turn wing when she is just past the halfway point between the wing and the tunnel, while staying connected and saying the verbal.
Speaking of verbals…
>>My verbals, especially left (OMG!), were a mess today >>
Yes, there were a lot of right cues on left turns LOL!!! When adding all of these words with a new pup, do a 1:1 ratio of run it without the dog (with the correct verbals) then run it with the dog (with correct verbals). The errors happen when we run it with the dog each time and don’t practice the verbals.
She is very very responsive to the blinds you did at the end at 3:16 and 3:31. But, do them a lot sooner 🙂 You started them after she reached the wing and ideally the blind would be finished by them. So, when you see her approx halfway between the tunnel and the wing, start the blind – it provides her a picture of what the timing will be and also challenges her to maintain commitment. And keeping your arms in tight to your ribs will help you be really quick with the connection on the new side of the blind, which really helps keep it nice and tight too.
>>For a while the trucks and construction vehicles were moving around in the hydro yard next door and she was quite distracted by that – I held her collar for her setups then.
I could hear it in the background a little! She worked through it nicely.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
