[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>So for the go I think I’m bending because I don’t feel like she’s going full throttle. I may be just used to heavier driven dogs like Ella. Maybe add more space so I can relax and run- also why I think I’m over connected. Or with that make it harder for her to commit?

Bending and not accelerating tells her to not go (extreme connection like that is a collectioncue)…. so yes, definitely add more space so she can run more, and you need to support it by running more too LOL! She only needs enough connection to know which side of you to be on so you can reduce connection in favor of more motion.
Do TONS of go reps with early thrown rewards so she turns on the burners and leaves you in the dust. Viszlas are generally faster on the flat than BCs, so you’ll feel her power kick in soon 🙂
T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>Are you saying after I carry Posh into the ring and she gets distracted by something while on the way to start or set up in the ring, put her down, have her do a few tricks, get her engaged, then pick her back up and start again?

Or are you suggesting this for before we enter the ring?>>

Yes. And yes 🙂 be prepared for whenever it might happen. If it happens outside the ring and she is already in your arms? You can put her down, do some tricks or pattern games (for treats). If she is inside the ring, put her down and do some tricks – you won’t have treats but you might have a toy. Also, does she tug on her leash? That is very useful!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

I think it is more of a case study of men versus women! In my experience (going on almost 24 years now, LORDY!): women in agility do really well with deceleration. Men do not naturally do as well (and you’ll find that men fall more when running full out in agility, because they try to sprint and turn without decelerating into the turn). So, I tell men to stand up to create the decel, and that tends to help 🙂

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

The zig zags are looking lovely! She is *almost* bouncing here and that is great, we want the bounce! So moving them closer might get the bounce – she is loking really confident with her lead changes in both directions! I think the next step in the progression for her is to move it all closer together – the end of the jump bump 31 can be touching wing #2, and the end of jump bump 2 and be touching wing 3.

Lap turns:
She did really well on these!! You were freestyling a little bit of the handling but that is great LOL!! It gets you to be quick on your feet and she was happy with it all!
Her only questions on the lap turns were when you cue hand was not extended enough (your elbow was too bent so your cue hand got a little too tucked into you and was not obvious enough) so she didn’t read it as a cue to come in towards you and ended up on the wrong side of the wing. She did best on the lap turns when you had your hand fully extended towards her, like at :20 – you had an extended hand aka “magic cookie hand” to attract her focus, and makes it really clear for her!
Because she has such lovely commitment to the wings, you can make things easier by sending her to the other wing from further away, so you don’t really have to back up into the lap turns – the send will allow you to basically be waiting for her in the right spot, with the magic cookie hand extended to her nose 🙂

Tandem turns – she is responding to these turn aways so nicely!!!
I think the main thing to remember on the tandem turns is that you are facing forward the whole time until after you turn her away – you were backing up int the lap turn for part of it and I think that was messing you up. You had great forward-facing tandem turns at :07 and then again at :58 and 1:03. Those were lovely!

Great job! Let me know what you think1
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>Aka sea star or bat star>>

I need to research my various sea creatures 🙂 We don’t see many of them here in the Blue ridge Mountains and it is possible I am naming these games after creatures that don’t exist LOL!

Good work on these! There are two details that will help smooth out the lines where he had questions.

>> We noticed Ronan had a much higher accuracy rate doing the threadle with me than with Mike. I took some snapshots of the videos and it seems that Mike is either a step further out or a step further back than I am when Ronan comes out of the tunnel. Feet are usually pointing forward and we are both moving forward towards the wing… In that first rep or 2

Looking at all the reps – Ronan definitely did better for both of you with a more obvious outside arm that got his focus then turned him away. At first, Mike’s hands were not as clear but then he got MUCH clearer at :33 and :42!!! So keep going with the super clear outside arm, that really helps.

>> I also think the huge holee roller was distracting! What do you think??

Only when he didn’t read the turn away on Mike’s first rep, otherwise he was great about following the cues.

The other thing I see with the turn aways/threadles was that Karena had decel happening as she was using the outside arm to set up the threadle/turn away, and Mike did not. Mike, you were tending to run fast then stop while trying to turn hm away, and so Ronan didn’t see the turn away cue as well – the decel really prepares him for it. Karena, you were doing a deceleration naturally, which got his focus on your more so he read the turn away better. Mike – try decelerating as you say in in and show the outside arm, then keep decelerating as you turn him away. Let me know what you think!

The other thing he had trouble with was the left/right ‘race track’ moments for both of you. It was a connection issue. At 1:16 (for Karena) and 2:16 (for Mike) you both had your arms pretty high and ahead of him, pointing forward to the wing. He was behind you, so from his perspective, he saw your back turning away from the line and lateral motion away from it (so he didn’t go to the wing).

Compare that to 1:28 (Karena) and 2:24 (Mike) where you both kept your arms back longer and used more eye contact, and Ronan was perfect.
So as he exits the tunnel, be sure your arm is back pointing down to his nose, and let him get past you before you point it forward.

Great job! Let me know how the in in goes with the decel added in!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Thanks for the update!!

Run 1 – either my computer is losing its mind, or there is no sound on this video LOL! He di really well here – I notice the biggest differences when you have an oopsie or you are talkin to the instructor. The little dude stays engaged and gets right back to work with very little effort from you. YESSSS!

>>He didn’t have much activity before his start so he was a bit more distracted to start and ran over to his reward station which reminded me I forgot his clam.

This was good to see, as it helps us know how much the tricks and games help him get his head in the right place before each run. Note the difference n the next lead outwhen you were sillywith the cartoon game 🙂 – total focus!

>>I did try the cartoon lead out and my instructor tried to tell me he skipped the tire but I just kept going.

I think he probably needs more understanding of the tire in general. Do you have one you can borrow to clicker training him to go through it? and in class, you can try putting big jump wings between the frame and the tire to guide his eyes to the center of the tire to help him find it.

2nd run: Having more warm up time makes a big difference: I love love love the engagement he offered when the leash came off! The miss on th jump after the tunnel at :30 was a connection oopsie (he only saw your back and you were moving laterally) but I love how he handled the resets. And this course in general was quite complicated as you mentioned but he did really well! You can use reset cookeis – likle for htbackside after the tunnel, that is a handling error, so a reset cookie before sneindg him back in will help him stay in the game.

And BRILLIANT reinforcement for the tire! That was smart to reward it rather than continue.

>>It felt like the best run so I was curious to see the video but I stopped it 4 secs into the start.>

GAH! Of course the best run doesn’t make it onto the video LOL!

>>For this run I did probably step 4 instead of 3 as it was 17 obstacles and he added the tire on his own at the end and actually took it. I just kept running to his reward and came back to leash him.>>

So basically a full course without obvious reinforcement? SUPER!

>> I did cartoon lead out walking backwards facing him and was able to get in front of tire so he took it this time. >>

Yay!! Well done!

>>There was a long stretch the instructor said he did well following me as it was the blue jumps in the middle all the way to the white jump near the woods past the tunnel and AFrame. I didn’t stop anywhere or retry but didn’t seem like he had any issues. It took 2 mins since I accidentally started the recording during his reward session. He was fine with the Sheltie coming out when I was leashing him so he was better than last week.>>

So overall, he was a rockstar. I am excited to hear it!!!!

>>After his 1st run, they had the inside open so took him inside. I practiced disconnect on tunnel and he found my face, not middle. The channel weaves were open so he ran thru those and hopped on a table. Between runs, he was checking out the chairs which had his rewards and someone else’s treats. They had watered the ground so it was a tight area to navigate to start his run.>>

This is all good! He is already doing well staying engaged when there is an error or stop in the action, so the Find My Face will furthre solidify that. And the channel weaves are great for solidifying his weaves too.

>>On jump sequences he runs in toward me frequently but he’s better about going back out and taking it.

I think the next step will be increasing connection to help him stay on his line more. Less arm to show the line, and more eye contact. I know it sounds weird and counterintuitive, but works really well!

>>He seems to do better on lead outs if I face him and walk backwards. Opposite of how we were trained to walk away.>>

It is further proof that different dogs need different things 🙂 If it works for him, and he is happy and fast, and it is easy enough for you to do… let’s do it!

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

You’re doing a great job! And brilliant to practice with the Borders, because everything happens so much faster with them 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! All of this looks great!

On the ‘find the jump’ –
She did really well here! Very confidently finding the jump and FAST FAST FAST. YAY!!!

Now… for your next session, you need to move more. Start with jogging then build up to run run run! Add in more motion as you move up the line close to the jump – you can be way ahead, laterally away from her, and also run closer to the tunnel so she drives ahead.

For the reinforcement:
Remember to use your ‘get it’ marker before you throw the reward (rather than ‘yes’, which I don’t think indicates a thrown reinforcement) so she knows where to look. And, you can throw a bit sooner so she doesn’t look back at you: I think when she is a full stride before the jump, the reward can already be moving so it is landing before she takes off.

The rear cross session looked great too, I am glad you tackled it!
For the Go reps – bend over less, run more 🙂 Yes to being connected but don’t be a helicopter mom (no hovering LOL!!) Hovering/over-connecting adds rotation and also puts pressure in towards the bar which can get confused with rear crosses. So yes, have your arm back and look for her eyes, but stand up and run 🙂 You can connect less – a more casual connection and not as much very direct eye contact.

Rear crosses looked fabulous!

Start closer to the start wing on the RCs so you don’t have to wait as long – waiting is hard LOL!! I was very happy with all the RCs to the right but will bug you about one thing: at 1:20, I think you said GO RIGHT GO RIGHT… don’t mix verbals LOL! Go means straight, right means turn right… “Go Right” is confusing. It was probably just a verbal twitch because you didn’t want to wait at the wing with the beast coming at you 🙂

Left turn RCs – she is reading these really well too! The first two were a little delayed getting on the RC diagonal pressure, I think you were mainly too far from the start wing by a step or two – you can wait at the wing (which is admittedly SO HARD) or you can add more distance between the wing and the jump 🙂

Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! I love that you are posting!! Hopefully it is easier to not have to edit, and just slap the whole video online 🙂

The barn videos are looking really good!!! That nose bop bounce looks great, SO FUN! I like how you are starting with a bit of pattern games then into the bop bouncing 🙂 She did super well ignoring the toy station and her agility looks marvelous. 2 suggestions for the next barn time especially with Aunt Shelly 🙂

You can do flyball-style recalls (but using agility scenarios :)) past the people waiting area (that people waiting area is a true kryptonite for her!) – send her into the tunnel in this scenario then run and let her chase you past the crowd, then eventually through the crowd with the toy obvious at first, then hidden later on 🙂 I think directly tackling that Kryptonite is something she is ready for.

Also – tjhe sniffing is greatly reduced and her pattern games look good here and in the Find My Face game, so we can up the ante: will she eat a cookie out of the dirt? I think tossing the cookie into the dirt for the pattern game can help her lift her nose from the scent on the ground in this situations, which is a good skill to have!

Find My Face – very nice start with the pattern game and pivots! She did really well!
When you added the jumps, she also did well – at 1:44 and after it, she was correct to not take the jumps because you had stopped moving and you turned. She did well finding you! If you want her to take jumps in the next ssssion, keep moving past them (but not a big deal if she doesn’t take them because there is no real cue for them – we are trying to teach her to save yer butt haha)

>>. I did notice a bit of angry Smurf when I added jumps

The barking was an indication of frustration, so reward sooner – the instant she makes the decision to stay engaged and even kinda sorta finds your face? Reward for now 🙂 Don’t do another pivot away at this stage 🙂

Remote reinforcement videos:

>>I do think the picture of leaving stash on leash without visible toy has some negative feelings and/or just some stuff I don’t want built in.

Yes, it might have some icky emotions paired with it so you can totally keep the sessions where she has to leave the stash SUPER rewarding and short in distance and duration. Your plan on lots of rewards for tiny pieces is great. Remind me – will she tug on a leash? Or, a leash that she thinks is a toy? Yes, she would still have to learn to ignore it but it is a good bridge to get from outside the ring to the start line.

I would take 2 separate approaches for this:

– there is a lot of physical and mental energy that goes into this game, so do one rep of it (leaving the stash, doing the tricks, running back to it) and then give her a break. You can work with the puppy in between 🙂 Then Lanna can do another rep. The rest in between will help solidfy the behavior and keep it strong for the whole session. On the first video, you lost her at about the 3 minute mark because she was a little mentally tired at that point. On the 2nd video, I would have stopped after 1:03 ish where she got her reward, then give her a break 🙂 That also helps her rehearse it as one complete sequence of events, with a finish to it.

– The backing-up-nose-bop looked great! She seems to really love it! Use it as part of this, but also work on moving away from the stash with just moving, no high energy tricks, just walking to a start line. Start with just one or two steps of just moving, then you can gradually extend the duration. The reason for this is that you can move from the rin entry to the line without relying on the tricks the whole way, saving the tricks for when you arrive at the line – it will be a nice balance for her!

I noticed at the end of the 2nd video here was the cartoony lead out… she seemed to really like it! YAY!!!! It will either help get her attention if there are distractions – or if she turns out to be more of an ‘all business’ girl, the cartoon games are great to raising her level of stimulation to ‘proof’ focus.

>>Her kryptonite (if I ever get to that part of the homework) is really fast dog running and barking so I can’t walk her in off leash (at least currently).>>

You can control the environment by having a gate between her and the running dog – and she can be dragging the leash, etc, but no access to chase the dog. Also, pattern games are probably the best first step when you tackle that Kryptonite. And I have personally found flyball classes and practices to be PERFECT for this 🙂 I really wish this country was smaller, it would be SO FUN to be close enough to do agiltiy and flyball together!!!

>.Monica Bush seminar Friday and WAG UKI Sun.>>

Fabulous! I hear lovely things about Monica’s seminars. And UKI allows for a zillion NFC opportunities! You can start with level 1 (just like home) and see how level 2 goes (empty hands) and then if that goes well and there are easy runs – a level 3 in and out!

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
I agree, this went well! And I didn’t see much difference between the runs where the toys were obvious, versus the runs where it looked more “for real”. Excellent!

Looking at the videos: I also agree that carrying in her in is helpful – you can also work on putting her down and letting her offer engagement, and then asking for some tricks, especially for when there are distractions.

1st run – very nice! Yes to the little glance at the ring crew on the way to the teeter, I can see it too but she was otherwise fully engaged and did a great job!

2nd run – a handling idea to help her see all the jumps on her line: when you are ahead here at :17 (and on the previous video after the first tunnel) – keep your arm back for more connection (so you can see her eyes and she can see your eyes a bit) to help support her line. When your arm was high and parallel to your shoulders like it was there, it changes the line of your shoulders, breaking connection and pulled her off the jump.

In this run, with DP in your pocket, you can whip it out at the end to reward in the ring before she jumps in your arms.

3rd run –
>>. Going to the line and popping off Posh’s leash, I noticed Posh kept turning to look at Sharon.

There was also some type of alarm barking happening that I am sure she heard, which could have been distracting. I don’t think it was Posh barking, right?

If you see her being caught by a distraction, take an extra moment to keep her leash on, ask for a trick or two, get her engagement – then pick her up and restart the sequence that brings you to the line and into the run. It only takes a few seconds but can make a big difference!

>> I don’t believe Posh as ever seen someone Sign, let alone the leash runner. But it went well, even with NO treats or a toy. >>

Excellent! I score it a win in a new situation!

last run – yes, she was looking at the judge at first but the funky dance really changed things!

>>But I decided give it a go, whisper singing early and funky dance. It kept her attention on me and it worked. Go figure?

Oh yeah! Totally worked! FUN!!!!! And she looked solid in the stay too, then focused on the run. SUPER!!!!

Great job here! I agree, she is making real progress and also you are using the tools that help her. SO FUN!!!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

Lots of fun stuff here!!!

>> Since he’s trialing this weekend, I always like to practice line ups at RR (always- this will be our third AKC trial 🤣)>>

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! That is always a good thing 🙂

>>So I may have found a small gap in our training here. I’m not sure heeling has context when the leash came off and he was released. He kept offering a down… like why would we do anything but agility, frizz, swim, or lie down?>>

Totally see that! He was recognizing the context differently when there was no food involved – on leash, heeling. Off leash – other tricks and down. Thanks for the info, Fever! So, two tracks for this:
– for now, use the heeling on leash as part of any on-leash portions of pre-run prep (outside the ring in the final moments, as you get him to the line and lined up). Be sure he is cool with it without food in view.
– start to play it with cookies in your hand and off leash. Start a few sessions in a very easy environment to be sure he can do it, before you add it to any challenging environments.

>>>I’m happy with what he’s offering but need to brush up on the heeling. You mentioned doing the heeling with RR games but I feel like I missed a step. Was the release too much?>>

I think he is letting you know the context in which he understands the heeling – on leash, and possibly with visible rewards (or rewards in pockets). So split that as you make sure you’ve covered all your bases: RR with heeling on leash, cookies in pockets but the marker to go back to the reward station.
If that goes well for a session? Go to RR with heeling on leash, nothing in pockets.

Then eventually, start it on leash then add in the off leash and see how he does (this will be after the off leash practice, separately, with visible and available reinforcement.

He totally loved that leash! If shoving the leash in a pocket during a run is a ‘thing’ now in AKC, be sure to practice that too 🙂 And be sure to mix it in as the reinforcement rather than use it as sole reinforcement. The leash might end up being a bridge – a lower value reinforcement in the ring that indicates exiting to the higher value reinforcement. So you can practice that too – mouth on leash then run to bumper.

And, for the lead outs – definitely silly and fun! And very frolicky 🙂 The only thing to add is more eye contact and connection so he sees your eyes, and so you see what he is doing. It looks like you were looking ahead the whole time but it is hard to see clearly on the video. Adding in the eye contact will let you know when he is ready to go, based on the closed mouth, tighter muscles, etc. And you can play with seeing if the bigger movements are more interesting to him, versus smaller, tighter movements like creeping away, which can also work really well. He will let us know.

Great job! Let me kno what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>What do I do if the pairing doesn’t work? If I toss her the ball and she ignores it because of how she feels? It has been known to happen when her tank is on the empty side at a show. Have I created a new issue if this happens?>>

The good news/bad news is that it seems that positive pairings take longer and almost never happen immediately. So one time of throwing a ball and she thinks it is ‘meh’? No new issue created. (The bad news is it takes a lot of reps to get the positive conditioned response – while if something bad happened, it could take one rep to get the negative conditioned response. Sigh.)

>> Some of what I see doesn’t make sense to me, even from the scientific/behavioral stand point, but it does in her little brittany, so I am just trying to help her.

The stuff that doesn’t make sense is the stuff we can’t see or measure – like why the serotonin/dopamine/cortisol balance is not the way it ‘should’ be. That is probably the underlying reason why some of the operant conditioning stuff that should work, just doesn’t seem to work. Neuroscientists are actually working on all of this for the dogs, so hopefully more answers will be available soon. And when she was a youngster, I think we didn’t take any of this into account, bu we are all evolving 🙂

>> So thankful that you are taking the journey with me. 🙂

I am grateful you joined! It has been great watching you train and geeking out on the training with you – and amazing to see her progress!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
It is great to be ouside!

>>She was AMAZE BALLS! We did the course you put in the notes in both directions.>>

Totally agree, she looked great. Happy dance!!!

The baby level looked lovely. Wing-to-tunnel was easy for her. My only suggestions are to give her a little more direct connection on the tunnel exits (like you did in the advanced level), and to use your ‘tug it’ marker when you wanted her to get the toy – you used her name sometimes, a get it sometimes, and tug it sometimes so she wasn’t driving to you entirely there.

And the more you do this, the more youwill be comfortable staying in motion – a couple of spots got a little off kilter (1:03 and 1:27) because you were watching her too long so she didn’t know where to go. Trust her, connect, and run for your life LOL!

Advanced Game – really good connection! Any suggestions I had about connection in the baby level got sorted out in the advanced game here.

>>You will notice I don’t use words on one wing – still not sure what command (if any really) that turn needs to be. I think it might not need to be anything.>>

Do you mean the wing before the tunnel? It migh tend up being a soft turn cue – envision a bar there and see what works best – I would use a left or right for my big dogs (and maybe just a genreal jump verbal or nothing for the littles who don’t need to collect on a bar in that scenario).

>> I am way too slow on the last wrap to the other tunnel entrance, she either cuts behind me or at least looks at doing that.

You are not too slow… just a little late 🙂 There is a difference!
You needed to start the spin sooner so you are done sooner for the connection – at :34, for example, you started when she arrived at the wing so you didn’t get connection and then at :35 you said go tunnel… so sh ewent to the tunnel she was looking at – good girl! She was correct, that is exactly what ‘go tunnel’ means 🙂

Note the difference a :47 – you started so much earlier, as she was passing you but still a stride or two from the wing – so when she exited the wing at :48 you already had your eyes on her on the new side. Perfect! It was great!

>>I am in big trouble as usual – LOL!

You are in GOOD trouble! She is going to be FUN FUN FUN and we also have 10,000 verbals now in her foundation, so you will always have a ‘tool’ to cue her on course 🙂

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! Monday night class night! Yay!

>>I will see how it goes in class tonight. Last week I ended last run with the clam in hand since he was having a harder time.

You can do it if you think he is ready. Maybe first run with the toy in your hand – second run empty hands? Then see how he does and decide what you want to do for his 3rd run. You will still have reinforcement in your pockets, but not in your hand.

>>the Find My Face is next up on the list of games for him and it will be fun to put it in action!
I may need to call it Find My Legs. About half the time he ends up in middle even when my legs are together he shoves his head between them. I did get him to wrap a column and take jump a couple of times.>>

OMG that is hilarious but it also can be dangerous for when you truly disconnect on course – he could trip you LOL! You can try to reward before he gets to your feet – it can be more like “Find My Face From A Few Feet Away” lol

>>I tried the cartoon and calm lead outs but couldn’t tell much difference at home. At first he looked at me a little puzzled like what are you doing? I’ve played the crazy lady game which is talking to nobody and using other words before release on proofing boundaries. Three times he did not release during cartoon and once he broke the stay on calm. It will be easier to tell in class as he does not have much patience and will start on his own.>>

Part of the entertaining of the cartoon game is when the dogs look at us like we are nuts LOL!!!! Yes, try them in class and see how it goes!

Have fun! I am excited to hear about how it goes!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
I totally saw it and answered it… in my mind. Oops! Here ya go, sorry for the delay!

>>Toy selection has been a challenge for us for sure. I chose the frizz because it was a new location and we’d be there for a bit. That being said, he really likes his bumpers too. I need to try bumper versus frizz on the string.>>

Yes – I think we are at the stage where we narrow the reinforcement choices to things that can be conveniently used on the road and in a trial setting: bumper, friz biting or on a string, food, tug leash, etc.

>> I could tell he wanted to play, because he kept picking the frizz up- idk if it was because there was food too or just because we had been going on for a bit.

I think he wanted the long throws. He loves those – but so hard to use in a trial setting.

>> I did let him take a quick nap between our second to last and last sessions- he was out cold in the car.

Poor tired dude! And there is some science now that says that sleeping is important to learning, so I am glad he had a sleep!

>>Remote reinforcement started off well, he was great on that first rep with the frisbee behind him! And I think the first rep is the most important. Yay! So now add in things like walking with you and tricks with you, rather than wing wraps – think of it as moving from the entry gate to the start line and all you have is yourself

>>Should I start incorporating leash play into this also?

Yes, great idea. You should start rehearsing the scenarios you would use outside the ring – partially, we are developing a routine, but also we are developing tools so you don’t get locked into a routine and can switch gears at any moment. So yes, use the leash play in the remote reinforcement because you will need the leash as part of it and I think he likes it as a reinforcemen too!!

Let me know what you think!
Tracy

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