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YEs, the weather has been a pain lately! Hopefully you get a stretch of good weather so you can have some fun in classes.
A fun evening makes everything so much better š Today will be about finding ways to help Promise be comfortable at the trial š Keep me posted!
Hi! He was on fire, so fast!!! I think the weaves might have been an unfamiliar color but also they were right up against the ring gating, which might have been distracting.
He definitely enjoyed checking out the ring crew and judge! Do you have folks who can come to class or ring rental to act a as ring crew, so you can reward him for ignoring them? I think that was the hardest part for him š Everything else looked really good and he was so fast! Nice work!!
TracyHi!
The tunnel threadles are going well! After the first rep, you got your feet moving forward to the threadle end of the tunnel and she did well! You can move even more directly to that tunnel entry: your feet will go right towards it and your upper body will do the threadle cue with the arm. Overall, she seems to be reading the cue and listening to the verbals. YAY! And the Front cross threadle cue was funny LOL! You can add more motion on these, building up to being able to run run run the whole time.>> I think that I really want to walk backwards which of course wonāt work when runningā¦lol
Correct! She is too fast for you to be walking backwards LOL!
Backsides are generally going well too! She did best when you had really strong connection (like video 1 at :47) and when you were moving faster (like the first video a :58 – that motion plus that connection looked great!
>> When looking at the video I see Fritzi gets confused when I switch up my shoulder rotation to throw toy as she comes over the bar after the backside. I really need to be conscious of my turn from now on. She gets it, but in the next few reps I see sheās uncertain about coming over the bar. What do you think?>>
I think what was happening on both backside videos was that she was watching your hands for the toy to move and for you to cue the bar. Since we want her to do the bar on her own, we can change the timing and placement of the reinforcement to help her out: Have the toy in your dog side hand and as soon as you think she is going to go to the backside, drop the toy behind you and closer to the entry wing as you move away. That way the toy gets in earlier and she learns to look for the bar and not at you.
Also, you can use a āshiftingā connection to help her out on both the regular backsides and on the Countermotion exits: as you pass the landing side, shift your eyes from looking at her eyes to looking at the landing spot. And on the countermotion, you can use your dog-size hand to point to the landing as you look at it.
Good motion at :58FC on landing side looked great
So for example, on the 2nd video as you were working the countermotion exits: Keep moving while she is in the stay, to get past the wing then release while you are on takeoff side, When you release, shift your connection to the landing spot and point behind you. That will help her move ot the jumps and not towards you. Then toss the reward to the landing spot too!
Nice work here! Let me know if that makes sense š
Tracy215 on video 2 needed more connection
Hi!
I know there were some rough moments today, but the good news is that the FEO run looked GREAT! You handled that big delay at the start line like a pro, no problem! Did a couple of hand touches, made sure you had her engagement at the start line, and great run even with the toy dangling. Yay!
The rest of the day just gets filed away as āinformationā. Good information learned and we can make adjustments!
>> Tomorrow my plan is to crate out of car. I plan to get to site earlier so I can give her more time to acclimate.>>
Yes, and donāt offer her food for a while – give her time to settle after the ride. When she appears settled, try offering a toy first and see how she does, building to food later on when she is feeling relaxed.
>>Also, I have an appointment with a vet behaviorist on may 19th. On the trip to Texas, I realized separation anxiety in the crate is huge part of her car anxiety. She did largely very well with the trip. No sickness. Minimal foaming when put in. When I left her in car to go to bathroom, she had foamed a 6 inch drool and her chest was soaked. I had only been gone 3-4 minutesššš.
Today was the same. She was great on trip over. Annalise left car one second before I got her out and that was when her foam started š.>>Wow, that is a GREAT discovery because you can focus your training there! And that might be playing into why she was soooo upset in the crate today (and in other places) – separation anxiety! The visit with the behaviorist is just around the corner, I think it will really help!
Onwards to tomorrow, building on the success in the ring that you had today š
Tracy
Whatās interesting is she can only ride in middle seat where she can see me, but canāt be left in middle seat crated. She can be crated in rear of car with one of the boys by her, but canāt ride in the rear of the car! She freaks! She canāt see me. š©š©š©š©!!!!
Holy cow, you had a 5 mile lead out when you took off and ran! She was great! Lots of great stuff here for sure š
She did a better job of lining up and she does GREAT when you just run away LOL! Love it!
I think she also does better when she is moving to the line and NOT jumping all over in front of you and barking. And that was affirmed in the 2nd run, where she had a to wait a little longer so she was more settled. So – will she come into the ring doing little tricks like hand touches or spins, so she is not just jumping jump and barking at you? That might be a helpful piece of the puzzle!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
He was on fire coming off the start line! Yay!>> I think the jump was my placement but also checking out the judge?>>
I think it was your running line – he saw a lot of forward motion and no turn, so he was go go going š Good boy! How much more of a lead out do you think you can get? A little more lead out will put you in a better position to show the turn cue.
>> This ring ran so fast that I didnāt have food waiting for me. He tugged on the way out and the wouldnāt again once he stopped. >>
That is pretty normal – the adrenaline from the run, the expectation of getting cookies when finished. All good!
>>He still comes off much higher than he went- but this can come with reactivity. For my next run, Iāll try to place a station or food on a person, unfortunately where the chairs are, itās super congested with people waiting.>>
Yes, have a reward station pre-planted so you donāt have to rely on anyone because they might get busy! And getting to the reward fast can help him with reactivity too. I am surprised you can wear the cookie pockets into the ring! You can leave those (with cookies in them) as your reward station.
>>Happy with what he was giving me.>>
Yes! It was a great in-and-out run! Are you trialing tomorrow?
Tracy
Hi! Looks like you are in Utah with Bill Pinder? Great judge.
Bearing in mind that almost all (or perhaps all?) of her recent agility has been indoors, an outdoor trial is a big leap in distraction type. I donāt know if she has enough NFC runs in steps 1 and 2 under her belt to be in the In and Out mode, so definitely try to get her cranked up with the volume dial more outside the ring – higher value food to fight against whatever smells or stress there might be. And before her class even runs, do pattern games near the ring to help her deal with the smells outside the ring.
She had good speed on course when she got started, but stay away from the table because, ewwwww table. Too much stopping when we want run run run š
She was able to offer engagement when you put her back down in the standard course – you did a reset by picking her up again, talking to her, then back down. That might have helped the start in JWW too. If she is struggling, donāt do a lead out – just release and run. If she is engaged, do a short cartoon lead out and she what she does! But I think it will be super helpful to get her near the rings, long before your class, and play some of the pattern games and volume dial and a little instant focus without the pressure of trying to be ready to run.
Let me know how it goes!
TracyGood morning!
>> Iām wondering if there is an element of āDepletionā of self control going on.
Posh has 4 classes/lessons/week. We Rarely, if ever, make all 4 events. My thinking is to get her to as many places as possible, experience different people, places, equipment. There are other reasons as well, but they donāt apply here. Then we might have a trial or something else on the weekend. Perhaps itās too much.>>If you are ending up at 4 of 7 days or 5 of 7 days doing agility in a week, then yes, I think it is too much for mind and body š There is not enough time for training to solidify and for the mind & body to rest when there is more coming very soon. If there is a trial on the weekend, doing less during the week is helpful. And if there is no trial during the weekend, 4 times a week is a lot.
Now, you can train stuff like concepts pretty often or do cross training, fitness, body work pretty frequently – but running agility a lot is not recommended.>>Looks like I need to do what you said with her around this person before class or we take our turn. Sometimes thatās hard. People coming in late etc.>>
Yes it can be hard because we cannot control the environment or other peoplesā behavior. But, knowing that environment overrides agility for her, you can take the same approach. If the environment is fine, no surprises? Do the agility š If something has changed in the environment, change your plan and work on the pattern game or other games during your turn, and donāt do the agility. If you have an instructor who is NOT on board with that? That is a good class to skip for now š
>>When Iām walking the course planning possible reward, I donāt know where the people will be. They often run out to reset bars then pick a spot to be as Iām lining Posh up, or even going out while Iām running to take a spot. It can be hard to micromanage that activity. I donāt want to be disruptive or disrespectful to the instructor or other students.>>
You canāt really manage what they do, but since the alarm barking is s a sign of discomfort, then it is important to ask people to move slowly and explain to them why (and bribe them with food). And if you have a reinforcement plan and you notice the environment has changed? Change your reinforcement plan. So say your plan was to do a short sequence and reward a dog walk, but suddenly the new guy with the golden shows up? New plan!
As an instructor, I donāt find it to be disrespectful or disruptive when someone wants help getting their dogs happy š And as a student… if the instructor doesnāt want to help get my dog happy, then I am less likely to go to those classes. If your turn needs to be working on environment stuff, that should be fine – you donāt need to run the course, if you spend your two minutes working on handling the environment. Instructors donāt like it if people spend their turns working on environment stuff and THEN want a turn on the course LOL
>>So letās say she runs by someone and does a slight woof as she runs by, reward her then for keep coming with me or after the next obstacle. If I reward right away is that rewarding her for barking?>>
Two thoughts on this: generally when working with anxiety, the food does not reward the barking because it is a different ārealmā of learning (classical rather than operant, although there are always elements of both happening)
First, if someone is close enough that she *might* woof – change you plan so she is not that close. And do your best to reward before she woofs at them. If she woofs at them, she is too close. That is hard to control in agility.
Which bring us to the second point: That woof is not a fully operant behavior, it is more reflexive because she is anxious. So if you can get cookies or toys to her in the proximity of a trigger, she is going to generally feel better about the person and woof at them less. And because there might be an operant element: yes, reward her for continuing on course with you. The other option is to NOT reward, which might cause her to leave you to go bark at the person. So even if you reward for her passing the person even if there is a little woof, you are building value for passing the trigger and continuing on, rather than leaving you and getting more explosive in the reaction.
>>You can do short bursts of sequences with no reinforcement on you ā but that is less important and lower on the priority list than training the skills of engagement and getting her less anxious about the people nearby.ā
This statement is SO meaningful to me! Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with so much to do work on with Posh that I donāt know what to do next and get bogged down.>>You can make a list, in priority order! Focus and engagement games? Top of the list! Weave poles or Threadles? Bottom of the list LOL!
>> Heās a guy whoās unaware of whatās going on around him what his dog is doing etc, and he has a Golden R. At first I was anxious, with him coming in late I didnāt have much time to pattern game Posh around him. She didnāt even want to play, respond with anything at first. But we worked through it as best we could. I made sure I went 3rd, so I could warm her up while previous dog ran. He happened to hang behind everyone with his dog on leash while we were at the start line. I went full guns with treats and balls and although she was definitely aware he was there we worked through that too. The only thing she did was a slight āwoofā as she passed by Kodie on our first sequence.
Sometimes the hardest thing is pulling out the toolbox, seeing what in that toolbox is working right then, when thereās limited time, or the environment changes on us.>>Those environmental changes are cues for us humans to change our plan in the moment. You were focused on the agility, but you donāt need to do the agility – she is already very good at the agility! When something like that happens, you can 100% shift your focus to comfort in the environment. That means playing games near and in the ring, and not running the course. The woof at Kodie is a sign of her discomfort, because Kodie is not exactly new or unknown to her š Kodie is an excellent dog trainer and I am sure she will understand and support the priority shift, so you can ask if you can use your turn on course to just work the environment and not the sequence. Your sequence work will be much easier and improved when you have worked the environment stuff first š
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I didnāt see it, those donāt pop up as new at the bottom. I will scroll through and find it š
T
Hi! Vimeo wonāt let me see the video- maybe it is private? And yes, if the weaves were solid in color and the dogs are not used to that, they dogs might indeed think they are hexed!
T
Good morning!
Have a great day today! And yes, according to my husband, kryptonite and Dr. Strange do not go together hahahaha but they are all the same to me šShe did reallg well here, she was kind of on the lower end if the arousal curve (she was relatively calm, but that is good!) but still a little challenged by the environment. I would never have known that the water sends her into crazy mode!!!!!
You can add in more challenge – taking the leash off and letting her offer engagement, doing higher arousal tricks, instant focus, etc. What would she do if there was someone IN the pool? Or spraying hose?
Have fun today and keep me posted!
TracyGood morning!
>> I have a tendency to get stuck in training and not make things harder, so here was the one time I moved too fast. >
It is fine to make things harder, but then the dogs guide us as to whether it was correct to do it or if we need to dial it back. I count the # of errors in the session: 1 error? Ok, noted, change nothing, try again. 2 errors in the session (not just in a row)? Too hard, dial it back. Most of the time we make it harder and it is fine – but counting errors keeps us on track if we make it too hard.
She did really well on the serp session here! One of the top priorities is that you can run run run on the serps, and it looks like you were really hustling here. So now I get to bug you a little about mechanics š I think on most of the reps, the serp arm was late. Having the arm extended back in serp position gives her the whole picture – I think you had it back relatively on time at :04, :17 and :34 where your serp arm was back when she was halfway between the wing and jump. I think it can be even a stride earlier.
But on some of the other reps, like a :10, :13, :20, :24, you were pointing to the center of the bar then as she approached the bar, you moved the arm back to the serp position. The serp position cues the 2nd turn, so on those reps she had to adjust last minute on those and was not always successful. Part of it was that you were switching the toy to the other hand, which made the arm later and toy later, so she hit the wing on those reps (:10 and :24).
So as you revisit this to inch the jump back to being straight, keep reminding yourself to have your serp arm back nice and early to cue the double turn. Those reps looked great!!
The get out reps looked great too! There was one rep where yo stopped moving (at the beginning) which causes your feet to turn and cues a rear cross – but the rest had movement and looked great! And she seemed to have no trouble with the non-get-out reps other than judging you for running directly towards nothing hahaha! So on the next revisit of this one, add in the Advanced level blind or front: as soon as her head turns to the get out jump, begin the cross. She looks ready for that challenge.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I think her a-frame is a good one too. There are a couple of European handlers who also teach good running a-frame classes: Katarina Podlipnik comes to mind!T
Hi! It looks like she stayed behind you on the first rep of the line up, then leg weaved for the 2nd one? Either way – doing it as FEO is great because it helps transfer the behavior to the ring! Yay! A few more FEO runs like this will help solidify it and then you can use whichever is easier (the leg weave or the line up from behind you :))
Tracy
