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Hi!
Which parts didn’t go as you wanted them to? I think this went well – the warm up games looked good (she did start barking a lot when the tug came out, but she didn’t lose her head over it. If she barks and can still respond to cues? Ok then, she can bark 🙂
For the stays – it is hard to get a lot of reps in when doing start line work, you had her really excited AND doing good stays! I think it was harder getting her lined up sometimes – I liked what you did on the very first stay in FASt, where you left her in a stay, went to your position, called her into the line up. That was nice! You didn’t do that on the others so the line up was a little more awkward. And she gets a gold star for holding the stay on the 2nd rep in FAST where you ran to the jump and indicated it… but didn’t give the verbal release, so she didn’t break. Good girl! And the stay in T2B was good too – I think a cleaner line up will be easier but she help her stay like a pro!I am happy with how she did! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>She’s taking more strides. I guess she’s supposed to hop it. I just wonder if it was closer she might not. The 1st part was 5′ the last was 6′.In the early stages of teaching this, it is fine that she is striding between the jumps – it is all about sorting out her lead changes in that side-to-side pattern. She will be able to bounce it when we ask her too, by shortening the distance. But for now – she doesn’t always go over the bar, so leave the distance the same (I think the 5 foot was a bit better than the 6 foot). She was 100% successful when you switched arms: cued the first jump with your left, for example, and then cued the 2nd jump with your right. So definitely switch arms like that in the next session. She had a lower success rate when you used the same arm – sometimes she got it, sometimes she ran past it. I think if you can get closer to 100% success with the switching arms, we can then move the jumps a bit closer to get the bouncing 🙂
Nice work! Have fun!
TracyHi!
The zig zags are challenging and fun! They are good for him to learn to be quick with the lead changes, which makes it harder for you because you have to cue them all.
A couple of ideas: This distance is good, but you can angle each one a bit so he can see the bars more – so looking at he first rep here: the first and 3rd bars would be angled to point slightly to the tunnel on the right of the screen, the 2nd and 4th bars would be angled a bit to point to the trees on the left side of the screen. And you can start at wing 2 for a couple of reps, then go to wing 3, for a couple of reps, and if he is successful, go to wing 4.
The other thing that I think will help is keeping your feet together, so you can use your feet to step to the line you want a little more – that will allow you to have smaller/lower arm motions. Without using your feet, your upper body had to make really big motions 🙂 Adding a bit of foot stepping in (like small semi front crosses) should make it feel less crazy LOL!!
Nice work! As soon as Ronan recognizes the game, it all gets much easier 🙂 He is doing really well here and will be able to see this with smaller distances soon too. Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>We added speed.
I think he really really really REALLY liked that hahaha He was able to go faster, see you go faster… and not lose his head at all. Next session, you get to run. YAY!!!
>> Interestingly he kept missing the tunnel entrance when having to switch from left to right lead.>
Yes! It is pretty normal to see that with young dogs: that lead change is hard and it is easier/faster to do it while also running around the tunnel (or running on top of it).
So before the next session, isolate that skill: have him on your right side facing an easy line to the threadle side of the tunnel, doing your in in like you did here: start by holding him, saying in in, then letting go and moving, with you going pretty fast. Then you can change the angles gradually, so he has to work more on that lead change at speed to find the tunnel entry, getting to the hardest angle where he is starting near the tunnel exit and has to threadle to the correct entry. That should make the sequence here much easier for him while you run.
(The zig zag grids will also help this lead change stuff – it is a lot of coordination for baby dogs :))
he did SUPER well here in terms of responding to the different cues! he was a little wide on the wing wrap before the in in, but I think that is because you were using your soft turn verbal on the wing for both the tunnel send and the in in. So for example on the left turns: you can use the soft turn verbal (liii liii) for the go tunnel reps and your dig dig (wrap) for the reps of the threadle, to set up a tighter turn on the wing before the tunnel threadle cue.
You had one tiny disconnection at 1:32 as you were pulling away from the wing, but you fixed it instantly and the rest looked great!
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>. I came out with 2 leashes and dropped both of them >>
I think we humans all need 3 hands for trainng dogs LOL!! You only need 2 leashes if you are doig nth eoff leash offered engagement game, where you are taking on leash off but want to make sure he doesn’t leave for the distraction.
This was a good session! I have a couple of ideas about reinforcement for you, especially at the beginning of the session to get him into focus-mode:
I think the disc at the beginning was for instant focus – you can reinforce successive approximations, like when he interacted with it, even if he was not perfect: reward that initial interaction, because it was right next to the cookie smells and he got right to work with the disc. Was it perfect? No… but it was instant focus on work rather than cookie smells, so it should definitely rewardable.
The other thing to think about is the ratio of tricks/behaviors to reinforcement, especially at the beginning of a session when you want o get him engaged:
With the touches and spins, you started with a low ratio – 8 cues before a reinforcement, then 7 cues before a reinforcement. So that was actually a low success rate, and that was when he was leaving for the smells (I don’t think it was because you dropped the leashes, it was more because the sucess rate had dropped. Then after that, you changed the ratio: more like 2:1, or 1:1, or 3:1… and BOOM! He got very engaged and focused. That allowed you to, by the end of the session, get lots of tricks before the cookie, and he didn’t leave for the smells.So for the next session, start off with a ratio of trick:treat that is more like 1:1 (one trick to one treat) or 2:1 (2 tricks to 1 treat) to get him really engaged… and then you can start to ask for more behavior after he is engaged.
>> i’m afraid I can’t get to the chat tomorrow … very disappointed>>
We will be sad to miss you!!! Do you have any questions or anything you want us to discuss?
Great job 🙂
TracyHi!
Glad you are back! Sorry to hear that booster 2 flattened you but it is good to have it on board!Looking at both videos – there is a lot of good work here and I think with a couple of small tweaks, you can use the APDB in training and at trials!
While I am thinking of it… you might consider buying a second or 3rd APDB so you can have one on her reward station (definitely in a jar for now) and one hidden in your pocket for the Training In The Ring step 2 (empty hands) games. And, if you throw the APDB as a reward, you can reward her with the 2nd one for bringing the first one back 🙂 The APDB seems to be her highest value reinforcement so we need to use it 🙂
>>But for our purposes at home, and maybe class and most trials, I can get better RR results with different/lessor toys.
>>I feel like I’m in a difficult situation…..I need a high value toy to curb her anxieties, yet getting them off me for RR, or delayed reinforcement is extremely hard.Totally agree that it is an incredibly high value, convenient, and helpful reinforcement. That is another reason why I think having more than one of the same toy will be helpful. One can live at the reward station (in a jar for now, it is not ready to be jar-less) and you can have another one in a pocket. That, plus super high value food as reinforcement for leaving the reward station? That might be the winning combo!
Speaking of high value food – goldfish are good but not good enough to compete with the APDB, which also means they are not high enough in value to compete with a stressful environment. She is happy to ignore the open bag, and the gives us a lot of insight LOL! You can use higher value food rewards to reward her for leaving the reward station, as well as when she is in challenging situations. For example, I use meatballs and cheddar cheese when my dogs are in high arousal, challenging situations (and kibble or dry treats at home).
>> But she also stole it and took off, hence the fence>>
The party of one with the APDB is a good lesson in the importance of controlling the environment 🙂 The APDB was naked and free for the taking… so she did. And then you were concerned about it, so you were changing your behavior to block or help her. She is not quite at the point of being able to *not* steal it yet, so the jar is the perfect way to control the environment.
Or, if the APDB is naked and available, you can have her on leash. But jar-less APDB and off leash Posh are a difficult combo for you LOL!
>>I’m blocking her a bit wanting her to get the idea.
This puts you in management mode, and that makes it harder to for training. I want you to be able to simply walk away and allow her to offer moving with you, and eventually doing the volume dial tricks, without you managing her path or asking for her attention. So the jar or the leash will help.
>>. I don’t feel I need to block her because I know she can’t help herself, but it also slows our reps down.
Overall, it is more important that she can’t steal it than it is to get in a lot of fast reps. She seems perfectly happy to let you open the jar before giving it to her.
>>. I can see my sessions are still too long, and belaboring time at the jump is unnecessary to what we’re trying to achieve.>>
I don’t think they were too long in terms of # of minutes, but yes – you don’t need to do as many reps on the jump.
>.She doesn’t try to steal it when I’m near the chair and retrieving is more successful when I’m lower to the ground.>>
That is because she is brilliant and knows she can steal it successfully when you are further from it, and she can’t steal it when you are right there LOL!
So using the magical APDB as part of your remote reinforcement combos:
– yes to the jar 🙂
– get a 2nd or 3rd one, so you can reward her (surprise!) in the ring even when there is one at the reward station – that can also help build impulse control, because she won’t be hyper-focused on just one toy.
– use higher value food in challenging environments: soft stinky stuff that is really hard for her to ignore!And I think you should control the environment a bit more (jar :)) and not get too worried about complete impulse control on the APDB – let’s get it involved right away! It will be helpful for her!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHoly wow I think he looked better than he does at class – he was PUMPED UP but in the best way! And all this with it being a million degrees out… fast and focused! And you were very connected in your handling!
You made excellent choices for him – short leads outs, visible clam, tossed rewards, asking for the tricks… it set up a super successful day for him. YAY!!!
>>He even got in a nap (1st time). He stayed fresh.>>
This is so helpful!!!
>>After his last run, someone commented he looked happy. For his last run he was under the tent with four dogs and ignored them. I was more distracted and he was just offering his tricks to get my focus.>>
And this is great too – exactly what we want him to do!!! YAY!!!!
>>This trial was much quieter setting in the country but he’s never ran that well, especially the first time. He was a totally different dog – non-reactive, focused and fast.
A quiet setting is perfect for easing him into fast/focused competition!
>>We had a great time, much easier to walk and run your own course but I had to avoid running into the rest of the group. And my watch showed all 3 rings closed including 30 mins of exercise trying to keep up.>>
YAY! And all 3 rings closing is a big bonus too LOL!
So to debrief – what do you think were your most useful and successful tools at the trial? And what did not work as well (such as instant focus on Saturday). We can track this so you know what to use and what to skip next time.
I think you can at class be doing some Step 2 (empty hands) runs (already doing those) along with the steps 3 and 4 we will be adding tonight – so the next trial and be a combination of Step 1 and Step 2 training in the ring. If the NADAC at the end of May is his next competition, then we have plenty of time for planning and training.
Great job! I am doing a happy dance for you!
TracyGood morning!
Thanks for reposting all the videos – they were incredibly informative!! I think almost all of the pieces are in place – his engagement at the start looks great, most of the course running looks great (well done to you for lovely connection!) and there is one big Kryptonite pattern that I can see emerging after watching a bunch of his runs now:
This one is marked as no longer available:
https://youtu.be/OO2AwXolZ7asAnd this one is the lovely run from Saturday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvq8rdOO_ds
Looking at Sunday’s runs, I think we see where he is doing amazingly well (start line engagement, most of the course work is fast and focused) and where we have some kryptonite games to play – really only one Kryptonite concept and everything else looks great!!
Saturday JWW looks GREAT! WOW!
He was very successful and we do see the first bit of Kryptonite: He totally thought he was finished on the 2nd jump after the weaves – jumping away from the course AND there were timing lights on the jump, so I can’t say I blame him for thinking he was done! More on that below 🙂T2B on Sunday has so much lovely work!! He is finding his lines, he is getting faster and faster, ignoring the ring crew and the judge. I think he was struggling with the stopping but not really playing with the toy – in a class setting, will he play with the toy and chase it in the ring 9still in your hand)? It is possible that you didn’t give him quite enough time to grab it in the run here, or that he wasn’t interested in grabbing it. So it will be good to figure out if he *will* play with it at a trial, so we can plan more using it.
More importantly, though – I think we see more of the Kryptonite here (and having the weaves there right by the front of the ring did not help) – the visual of the perceived end of the course, along with the exit gate and the people).
Same thing with the Sunday JWW run – so fabulous! Even with something causing him to shake his head like that, he still got the jumps and got the weaves! Good boy! And then when it was time to ignore the exit and the people at the front of the ring, he just couldn’t (hello, Kryptonite!) and then he got worried about something (maybe someone tried to shoo him away? Or another dog was there? It was not visible on camera. )
So that is great info and we can really isolate that scenario with the Kryptonite games 🙂 And, in agility classes/training, we can set it up to reward him for carrying on andNOT heading for the exit.
Running past the front of the ring and back into the course (and not to the exit) is a common scenario on AKC courses. The reason this scenario of having to run past the exit/front of ring is so hard for so many dogs is that the area is incredibly distracting, plus the timing lights and ring exit have been paired with reinforcement (because all the runs end there!), which provides an additional layer of distraction. Definitely perfect for Kryptonite games! Having the weaves right there makes it harder because they are less stimulating than, say, a straight tunnel or jumps so he is more likely to ‘notice’ the outside-the-ring distractions. He was GREAT with his weaves on Saturday in JWW and they were closer to the middle of the ring.
A question for you: do you think he is distracted by the dogs or the people or the food items or… all of the above in this situation?
So let’s move the Kryptonite games into a high priority spot in training because everything else looks so good:
– set up a pretty realistic outside-of-ring situation. Food stuff on tables, people watching, other dogs moving/barking/tugging – do you have training partners and classmates who can help with this?
– using his favorite games (probably pattern games, volume dial tricks and off leash offered engagement), play some of these simple games in front of this high level distraction set up
– when that is easy for him, install this Kryptonite into your remote reinforcement game, so he has to move with you, doing tricks and maybe a jump, past the distractions and to your reward station.And since dogs are so good at recognizing things like timing lights on the jump, can you ask one of your instructors to put timers on random jumps, near the edges of the ring, so you can reward him for continuing past them and so he doesn’t think he is finished? They don’t have to be turned on or anything, they just need to be visible 🙂
Great job on these runs! I really think the Kryptonite games will be the last piece of the puzzle 🙂
Tracy
Hi!
>>The weather has been a huge impediment this term.
For real! Winter is not ending for you!!
Tunnel threadles – this is a hard one for baby dogs! I think part of what she is having questions about is the motion. She is used t seeing high speed motion as part of the regular tunnel cue and then can’t override that when you go fast on the tunnel threadle cue.
But if you do a decel for just the tunnel threadles (or a rotation) then she waits for the decel and it makes it harder to add the speed.So for the next session, make one of the goals to be that you have no change of pace – you can just be walking the whole time, whether it is the ‘tunnel’ or the ‘here’ cue. And you can change your line of motion and your verbals coming into it – but no transitions in and out of acceleration or decel. That way she can process the verbals without the motion – at which point when the rate of success is higher, you can go faster and faster 🙂
You an ever so slightly change the set up so the tunnel end is not was testing and the here end is a little more visible. And, when she is getting it… use a reward marker rather than a big “YES!” Because yes stops her (I learned this the hard way with one of my youngsters :))
Nice work! Let me know if that makes sense! I bet it clicks into place in the next session or two.
Tracy
Hi!
These looked lovely! I think the 4 jump grids actually looked better than the 3 jumps grids: more power, perhaps with the visual of the 4th jump? Better striding for sure, and the angled jumps were no problem either. YAY!! And there was really no difference with the dragging toy – he kept the striding together, nice form, good bouncing. Super!
So, with that in mind – do 4 straight and 4 angled again at some point… but try 5.5 inches. It will add a little challenge in terms of balance and power but I think he is totally ready for that!Great job 🙂
TracyHi!
She is doing well here and giving you great feedback about what she needs to see 🙂
One big thing is more connection as she exits the wing wrap – when you were connected, she was great fir the wrap reps (it was not as important on the go reps). When you were looking forward, she looked at you more on the wrap reps and that is when she had questions.
By connected more, you will be able to support her line and time things better. On some of the wider wrap turns like at :37, you were decelerating late (when you got the jump).
When she was not taking the jump, like at :59, it was because you didn’t have a lot of connection and you were decelerating/turning and lifting your outside arm early – which pulled her off the jump. Compare that to her lovely commitment and turn at 1:28, for example – you deceled *then* rotated, no outside arm – perfect! So keep the decel and rotation as separate, distinct pieces and she will commit and wrap easily 🙂
Well done here!
TracyHi!
I agree, this is an important skill is she is sorting it out nicely! Yes, she is reading your motion but that is a really good start.
For the tunnel threadle/kiss kiss cue, she was getting it when you were not moving that fast for now, which is good! So you can be moving pretty slowly for now (we will add more speed later on down the road) but also keep moving all the way towards the tunnel entry you want, while still saying kiss kiss rather than pulling away from out and trying to send her back to it. That motion towards as the cue should mean “get in that end of the tunnel” without you also needing to flip her back out to it and say tunnel. She will figure it out if you keep moving to it.
Her other question was when you switched from the threadle arm to the dog side arm – that changes the line of your shoulders so she was not entirely sure if she should continue to the tunnel on some of the reps. You can keep the threadle/kiss kiss arm up until she puts herself into the tunnel – so the dog die arm will only be sued for the ‘tunnel “in front of you verbal :))>>’m curious,I see people doing right or left for the tunnel they want. Is this more for when the wrong is right on thier face?
Do you mean for the wing before the tunnel? I like to cue a turn on the obstacle before the threadle, so left or right on the wing would set the dog up for the tunnel entry on their line, and a wrap verbal would set them up for the other end/tunnel threadle.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>>So he could not do the instant focus. He was headed for the shade under my vehicle as soon as we arrived. He was fine with pattern but no offering on the fitbone.
He looked so hot!! But he was a good boy and offered immediate engagement. So he could engage with you, ignore your friend, and play pattern games, he just couldn’t do the instant focus. No problem! He does love his pattern games, so definitely use those.
>>I worked further away in a shady spot under a tree as he was so hot. No shade near the ring but he could hear the handler. He was able to do his action tricks. The only toy he would engage was the clam. >>
Good boy! Definitely keep him in the shade tomorrow as you wait for his turn – it is the first really hot weekend of the year. And pattern. Games, tricks, and the clam are you friends here LOL!!
>>He may only last 1 run since that is first in the AM when it will be cooler.>>
Yes – play it by ear and make the decision in the moment, We want him to enjoy his time in the ring and we don’t want him feeling it is too hot to be fun.
>>They have a tent for the line up entrance area so he’ll be huddled up with other dogs in small space.
You can carry him or do tricks, or wait to enter the tent til the very last minute if it feels too crowded. UKI is very “chill”, no real rules about having to wait on line or anything. As long as the gate steward knows you are there and will be in the ring on time, it is all good 🙂
Thanks for the interview link, now I remember doing it LOL!!!!!
Have a great day! Stay cool :) Tracy
Good morning!
Using the crate to add the treat smell distraction was a brilliant way to control the environment! He was definitely distracted!
Yes, you did the right thing with treats in your hands – this was significantly challenging enough that he had trouble even with treats in your hands! We have found the kryptonite!
For now – don’t drop the leash, as he seems to leave for the treats on the ground as soon as there is a tiny break in the action or he thinks he is ‘released’. He was doing really well with the engagement when you were asking for tricks and line up by the end of the video, so keep rewarding that for now!
>>Ok … I think we went really well and I think I need to practice this each day. How to I change the level of difficulty for this .. not that he’s ready atm? >>
A short practice each day is a good thing, in as many different environments as you can do it. Keep your sessions REALLY short (take a break, go in the house, come back out) so we can focus on that immediate first blast of focus.
And you can basically work on each of the games here: the tricks/volume dial and line ups went well, keep working those.
And definitely add in the leash off offered engagement so eventually you can walk in, take the leash off, and he will not look away from you. For now, though, do it with 2 leashes so when you take one off, he cannot leave for the kryptonite 🙂And instant focus is a good on here too! Can he touch his instant focus prop while the caged cookies are around?
And yes you can totally mix crate games into these too – he is really good at those so you can bring them into this game too as part of the rotating set of games 🙂
Great job, let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
The first video link says the video is not available and the next 3 videos are the same link. But I liked what I saw on that video!!!
Wow, it is tight there, dogs and people literally inches away!
Pattern games with treats on your shoes is perfect for that environment so he can practice looking at them, then choosing to look back at you. You can place the cookie on your shoelaces so it won’t roll away or attract other dogs. And the volume dial tricks you did worked beautifully! Maybe in class have folks stand really close during his warm up – he is a little distracted because it is, well, super distracting!I knew it was going to be a successful run when he offered engagement at the start line before the leash even came off. YES! My only suggestion is to lead out less and get him into the run quicker – he was in the stay a little too long and started to look around.
He was a good focused boy on the run! Fast and smooth! Nice course you chose for him! And he gets a big gold star for ignoring the people up front, to find the triple at the end with you way behind. YAY!
>>Master JWW Q>>
Hooray! Congrats! Can’t wait to see the run, the video here is the standard run.
Great job! More runs today?
Tracy
