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Hi!
He totally thought the Minny Pinny was the easiest thing ever. Yay! He was SO FUNNY starting without you when you were trying to reload the cookies LOL!! Ok, since it was so easy… onwards to little bumps on each wing for him to go over, and then adding the verbals you want to use for your soft left/right turns.
On the rocking horse video: I am glad he is not having the ICK about tugging in the dirt anymore!
>He was jumping at me rather a lot on transitions though. >
Th jumping up happened when your hand was blocking his view of your connection. Behavior is communication 😂 so he was communicating that he couldn’t see the connection by ‘tagging’ the arm that was blocking it. If you play those reps in slow motion, you can see that your hand was down at your side when he exited the barrel then moved forward ahead of him – that closed your shoulders to the line and he couldn’t see connection, so he told you about it.
In the spots where you did not block connection – like at :13 and 1:17 – he had no question and zipped directly to the barrel. So to get more of that, you can keep your hand all the way back to his nose as he exits the barrel, and make a big eye contact – and leave your hand back at his nose as you step to the barrel.
And, since we humans are not always perfect with connection, you can throw some of the rewards out past the barrel so there is a lot of value for going to it, even when the hand position is not perfect 🙂
He did great with the recalls! It was a good way to get him liking the dragging cookie ball because the excitement overcame any potential grit ick 🙂 He really was great about running back to his auntie/holder! You can mix up the game a bit by sometimes running around her in a circle then taking off for the recall – that makes things very exciting!!!
The pattern game was a really good choice when the other person came in – it helped him reset and finish with a great recall!
Nice work here 🙂
TracyHi!
She was totally bringing the toy to you!!! This is great! You didn’t really have to do much to get the toy besides reach for it, so it counts as binging it to you (and no sprinting past you LOL!!). It was very cute how she had to shake it dead first then bring it 🙂 Do you think you have enough room to do the reverse retrieve in the house? She will love those.
The perch work is also going well! I think she did best on the rep at :15ish – you tossed the treat to the side, then she got back on and pivoted to face you, and you rewarded with her head slightly turned to get even more steps! The other reps were too good (with you moving towards her) that rep at approximately:15 was the best one in terms of her using her hind end without you needing to also move.
>This block is double the length of the original one but I think I still need a larger and square perch – looking for a 6x6x2 block.>
Yes – I think the height ia perfect! But square is probably best.
>Definitely see the adolescent brain/behaviors kicking in. She seems to have the “you can’t make me” attitude… I have to work more at getting her engaged, but once she’s into it she’s all in.>
I often wonder if adolescence in puppies is starting earlier, in the same way (for the same reasons) that adolescence in humans is starting earlier? We would usually have a little more time with her and her cohorts, but we are for sure seeing adolescent behavior. I think the ‘you can’t make me’ that you are seeing is the adolescent brain thing of processing delays and also the part of the brain that is wanting to take risks (and the good decision making part of the brain is not really developed yet LOL!). Think of it as a brain struggle more than anything else – she is really a good girlie so any independence or delayed responses are just her brain doing its teenage brain thing 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>Unfortunately I was practising running without my treat pouch at the time she came out of the tunnel and got the surprise in that course… wish I could have rewarded when she came back!!>
Ah! Bummer! You can also use your remote reinforcement word there (like “let’s go!”) and run out to get the treats!
I am excited to hear she is doing well with Find My Face! It is a useful game!
She did really well with the tunnel threadles!! I bet you can use you ‘here’ verbal to mean tunnel, so you don’t have to say here-tunnel. Just say ‘here’ and drive to the tunnel entry you want, so she turns herself away to it.
And she had no questions when you cued the left and NOT the tunnel – SUPER!!! Her last reps were GREAT – responding to all the different cues with heavy machinery beeping in the background. You were a little late with the tunnel threadle cue at the end but she saved you and got it (extra cookies for Grace!)
She only had one little question and it was when she didn’t take the jump at :33. I think you were a little further away and disconnected – it was not problem when you were further away AND connected. Lovely!!
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>Probably wrong use on the softer wing—it’s always tricky for me to decide when I have tight wrap, softer turn and one that can just be an over.>
You can make the decision based on how much collection you want: BIG collection to right back around the wing? Wrap verbal. Medium collection to set a good turn but not wrap the wing? Soft turn verbal. I think these were more about the soft turns on the jump (and wraps on the wing).
> this was a cue on 2 for collection to set up the threadle—I wish I could take credit for figuring it out myself but picked up from a couple different unrelated instructions and it’s proved very logical and useful for me.>
Yes – threadles always go better if we use a turn cue to set up the line we want!! The turn cue fits the context but I definitely agree with the philosophy of using a turn cue before the threadle.
>It may not have been apparent, but the reason I reworked Challenge 4 / Sequence 4 at home was exactly for the reason you mention—not continuing with the forward motion and open approach. I got only minimal improvement on correcting all that extra help. That is absolutely a priority for me to fix. I can’t afford to hold back and help there.>
Aha! You can try it at a steady walk the whole time – that way you can get accuracy and stay in motion. And if he is fine with you walking? Then you can go to jogging… eventually working up to running as long as your feet are forward and there is no decel or rotation 🙂
>I honestly was surprised I did that—it just happened in the moment. I’m still puzzled what possessed me at the moment unless I saw something that I can’t see in the video or zoned out.>
It was probably a weight shift thing: as you cued the jump, your brain knew you wanted to drive away so you pushed off into the rotation.
>Thanks so much and safe travels. Asssume you are Open-bound.>
Thanks! Yes, Open-bound where I lead the crew that builds ALL the courses in all the rings. I am only running the dogs a little so I can recover for all the 5am course builds LOL!!!
Tracy
Hi!
Threadle wraps are going really well! They were at their best when you started him from the sit at the beginning, super tight!
On the left turn threadle wraps – When you add motion, be sure to decelerate at the barrel until he turns his head away then you can
When he was having trouble getting the right turn threads wraps, check out your feet – they were pointing to the other side of the barrel. But when you pointed them straight, he got it. Yay!
When you wanted the right turn TWs with motion: he gave us good insight into how early he makes his decisions! If you did not have the cue going when he finished eating the start cookie, he went to the normal wrap side. So having the cues started just after you throw the start cookie (or start him from a stay) will help deliver the info sooner.
When you added it to the rocking horse game: he did better turning to his left but he also did well getting it to the right after a few reps! Super!
When you were cueing the threadle to take him off the natural line (starting at 5:31) he needed to see more shoulder rotation to pull hm away from the line (turning to your right when he was on your left). When you didn’t do that, you ended up pushing him to the non-threadle side. But when you did do it, he was able to get the threadle so be sure to really exaggerate that ‘pull’ off the line – that is what you did on the last 2 reps and he got it in both directions! Yay!
Great job!
Tracy
He did really well with his retrieves here! Good boy! He was s cute when he dropped it and then caught himself and went back to get it. It seemed like he wasn’t bring the toy all the way to your hand, so you can reward when he gets close enough (like you were doing here) or even when he gets close, whip out another toy to tug on – that can really get him bringing it as close as possible.
One thing you can add to this game is to have him sitting facing you, while you dangle the toy. Then 3 things happen at the same time: release him (with a get it), drop the toy or throw it behind you, and you run forward towards where he was sitting before he passes you to the toy. You were starting to do this at the end of the session and he did great, is yo can ramp it up with even more countermotion.
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
>When you say mix in praise. I had stopped praising him as I was leading out upon your advice. >
Yes – that was because he didn’t need praise the whole time because we didn’t want him to think of it as an additional stay cue.
>Do you mean when I lead out and stop and connect, I should praise
first and then say catch or break? >yes, sometimes: lead out, stop, connect, lift your hand…. then 3 options are available: praise then release, or just release, or throw the toy back. We will add a 4th option soon where we ask him to focus on the first jump.
>Or do I stop, praise and move again and then catch or break?
That might confuse him and cause him to break – if I lead out, stop, praise, then decide I need to move again (sometimes I am in the wrong place haha) then I will cue a stay again before moving so the dog doesn’t wonder what the heck I am doing.
>Also, I feel like I’m walking out so slowly that I might be lending to the anticipation? Should I walk more normal speed? I’m trying not to increase excitement with my motion.>
You can totally be more normal – but as you add more speed, do shorter stays so he can be successful. Our goal is that you can eventually run to your lead out position.
>And if he breaks, how should I address that. It’s bound to happen.>
The very instant he moves too soon (before the release), tell him he is very cute (truth), it was a nice try (truth) but you aren’t going to reward that (all truth). Then go back and reset – all of it is very cheerful but absolutely not cookies or toys or running the sequence. Then if you think the stay was to hard? Make it a shade easier for the next rep. Or if you think it was not toooooo hard? Try it again – but if he fails again (2 failure rule) then you definitely want to make it easier.
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
>Question: is a tunnel threadle different from a tunnel pass or are they the same? >
I think it is just different names for the same behavior – every region has a different name for it! My tunnel threadle is basically “don’t go to the obvious side of the tunnel, come in towards me to the non-obvious side between me and the tunnel, then turn away to get into it”
>I’m a little confused on the double whammy. It looks different from a pass, is is a cue simply to turn away from the handler into the tunnel?>
It is just an ultra-simplified pass or tunnel threadle. The ‘obvious’ side here is either going back into the tunnel hole they just exited, or going to the wrong side (outside) of the handler to the other entry. It is highly unlikely but not impossible 🙂
The non-obvious side in the game asks the dog to come in between the tunnel and the handler, then turn away into the tunnel.Let me know if that makes sense!
Tracy
Hi!
She is doing great with her Minny Pinny!! She seems to understand it well enough that you actually can handle *less* 🙂 Send her into it, keep saying the verbals – but I don’t think you need to show any motion to the 2nd and 3rd wing. You can be still ,ro y can do a Fc and run the other way. When you had more handling than needed on some of the reps by going to the 3rd bar, she thought she was going straight so didn’t get the left or right turn (and rolled one of the bars on the 2nd rep.So try it with less motion and see how independent she can be! And since we don’t want her rolling her wrists and if you don’t have 3 bumps, you can lock the bars into the jump cups by the jump cup into the bar – that way they won’t move if she touches them.
>Threadle wraps- turning right with distance was harder for her so I went closer.>
Both videos were the Minny Pinny, can you resend the threadles? Thanks 🙂
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
I 💯 see what you are saying about the jumping up! It was a lot with the toy but still there with the food. This is exactly why we noodle around with cones etc for so long – to smooth out the details like this!
>He jumped up and grabbed my whole arm>
OMG! He wants to be a police dog LOL!!
>He was worse this time about the jumping than on the live. I swear… even though I was frozen lol!>
I believe you! It is happens whenever your send arm gets ahead of his nose: he ‘tags’ it with his mouth as he goes past (or doesn’t go past it to the cone).
So 2 things to add:
– Take the pointing ahead out entirely. Use huge connection and keep your arm locked down and back even as he passes you so it is not part of the cue at all (for now). It will feel weird, yes, but it will help for now.
– Along with that, let’s change the placement of reinforcement. Rather than throw the reward (cookie or toy) when he gets back to you after a wrap, let’s have you throw it to the other side of the cone so the reward is far, far from your flesh. Basically: he has to leave the reward to get the reward. That can help clear up some of his confusion about it and also shift the value of the game out to the cones and away from your hands.Tunnel threadle:
Speaking of reward placement: note how as he was figuring out the tunnel threadle, he never jumped at your hands… because all of the reward is out away from you *after* the obstacle. I think the cones need that too 🙂He did well here! He had a little trouble turning away, but that is normal – you can be even closer to the tunnel to start with for now so it is even easier to turn away.
He also did really well with his stay! Yes, staying connected will help him hold the stay and not look around. it can bea soft connection, not staring needed LOL! You can definitely add the toy into this game, even if it is a little tugging at the beginning then food rewards. The toy helps teach him to do hi stays even when he is aroused, so adding the toy in and doing short stays will help with that.
Plus you can move to the next game, where we put the stay and lead out in front of the prop (as a jump replacer :))
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Training in the dark with wind and leaves? That is brave! LOL! But he did great. He even overcame the temptation to take off with the toy!! One thing about your stays sessions is that there has always been a lot ore play than “work” and that is GREAT!!!
>Also the one time I was about to release him he looked away. I released him anyway and he did his job. I was afraid if I waited for him to look back, he might have made a different choice if whatever he was looking at became more stimulating.>
That was a good choice: get him moving to you before other choices could be made. He was really great!
>He flinched once before I said break. In retrospect perhaps I should have thrown the toy back to reward him for not breaking…note to self for next time. In the moment the cue was about to come out of my mouth>
He might have been anticipating that the release was coming, so mix in more praise so he doesn’t think that you stopping and connecting will always be followed by the release or toy throw.
He was so funny on the minny pinny: when you said the verbal a few times, he started to pull as if he was saying “I GOT THIS, LET ME GO!” Haha. Great job adding the verbal. He did well with both distances – he ticked the bars a bit on the first rep of the new distance probably because he was surprised (no problem after that).
I think he was balanced with both distances, so there is no clear favorite: you can mix them up a bit to get him reading different distances. He was a little more extended on the 2nd distance, of course, so that was good to see him still be balanced even with the extra room.For the rocking horses:
>t. I’m not sure the difference between the spin and just a blind?>
A regular blind is a full side change that begins with you turning away from him then reconnecting on the new side (starting on your left, then going to your right, for example). A spin in a FC-BC combo: you start by rotating towards him like a FC, then after that do a BC. So you will start on your left, for example… and end with him on your left 🙂 It is like sending with your left, doing a (brief) FC to your right, then an immediate blind to put him back on your left. Let me know if that makes more sense.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
It is entirely possible that the issue is she doesn’t want to go in 🙂 My Contraband was like that for a while: he would have happily lived under a tree with his frisbee haha!! So I did a lot of being sure that getting him back in or getting his leash on was not always associated with being finished. That meant sometimes going back in then right back out, and almost always going in and getting cookies and some free time in the house – not directly into the crate or xpen.T
Hi!
Oh wow, it is rare that bad weather opens up good opportunities! Yay! And it sounds like he did have a bit of distraction with other people there and he was pretty perfect!
I think everything here went really well!!
On the first video: the tunnel sends, the cross to the threadle, and the backside slices all looked great! The physical cue overrode the verbal for the wrap when you accidentally used it.
Question:
what does ‘wrap wrap’ mean at :41 & :46 & :54 & 1:02 etc for the jump before the threadle? You were using it for both the wrap on the wing and the soft turn/non-wrap on the jump. You might not need it for both?He did read the threadle slice really well! One thing you can do on these threadle slices is to keep moving forward with your upper body opening up to cue the threadle. You were doing that when you did the blind to the threadle on the other side. On this side, you were decelerating and rotating a bit, but I think you will have more of a positional advantage if you can stay in motion on the threadles.
The threadle wrap is totally on the right track! You were started to fade out the extra handling, and that it great. The next step is to see if he will send himself back out to the jump rather than need or wait for a hand/foot cue to do it. When you were turning your feet back to the jump, it widened the turn more than needed. But if you can dcecel, turn your feet to the next line, and hold position until he turns himself to the jump: that will get the best turn and also allow you to move to your next line as early as possible. – that adds extra foot movement which changes the line (like at 1:30)
At the very end, you can the tunnel to threadle on the jump – to tighten up the tunnel exit, you can call him before he goes into the tunnel (6 feet or so before he goes in) so he turns on the exit.
Video 2 – this also looked really good! The end to the tunnel looked great, as did the blind and the FC to threadle slice. Super!!! He is very comfy with the discriminations!
When you did the tunnel to the threadle -you did call him but it was a little late. Try to call him or give a directional when he is still approximately 6-8 feet away from entering the tunnel.
After the threadle – as soon as you see him look at the correct side of the jump, you can peel away and head to the next jump. You did a spin there and I don’t think you need to do one.Great job here!!
TracyHi!
Yes, you can totally have it in a covered/closed container so he can’t just grab it. It can be on a chair or table, and sealed so you can deliver it after the marker.Keep me posted!
Tracy
