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Good morning!
>Yes with her set up mat she is 100%. I can tell her from a distance to go line up and she will go to the mat, carpet, scarf, jacket and go sit on it. >
You can use the mat sometimes when you are working sequences and need a long lead out – think of it as protecting the stay you are building.
>I think I’ll try the stand. I would rather not try the down. >
The other option is to let her choose her position. With a couple of my dogs, I just say ‘stay’ and let them pick a position (sit or stand or down). Once they have picked, that is the one the have to hold as I lead out. It works GREAT because they have agency and have to think about things on the start line. They have great stays!
The stand is a little harder to maintain criteria as you get further away, because you can’t see all the feet all the time.
The down can be very ‘grounded’ and it is actually a good thing if she is stimulated by the down. She will be stimulated by the start line! So we can use that arousal in training.
Also, you can mix up the game a bit so she anticipates the release less by sometimes cueing a position change. If she is in a stand, cue a sit when you arrive at your lead out position. Or cue a down. Then release.
There are all sorts of ways we can play with the stay and keep it fun without building up self-releasing.
>The stand should work well for her. She understands that from obedience exercises.>
That is a good starting point – but definitely add in arousal and stuff like a toy on the ground in front of her, etc. The obedience stand is in a different arousal state than the agility start line stay 🙂
>I obviously progressed too fast and too soon for any distance in a lead out. It does need to be fixed before we go much further. >
At 15 months, she is squarely in adolescence and our role at this stage is to keep things happy and fun without building in any frustration or stress – adolescents don’t have good tolerance for that or for punishment.
>I’ve really benefitted from these games.>
Yay! I am glad!!!
> Everything seems to be coming to an end as far as online foundations. I’m wondering what next, >
Next up is MaxPup 4, which is a combination of higher level sequencing, surviving adolescence, trouble shooting if needed, and transitioning the dogs into the trial ring (I have specific steps that make it very very easy to:)) I will be picking a start date for it soon – just trying to make sure the timeline fits in with all the big events in October and November.
Then the next step is the timing MasterClass (different website and about a year’s worth of material, from foundation drills all the way through international courses). And then next June is the annual CAMP class – that is where our MaxPup grads go after MaxPup 4 🙂
The goal is to give pups and their parents a comprehensive plan and a ton of support to go from puppyhood, through adolescence, and successfully into the trial ring 🙂
>other than me getting myself into shape, taking some classes at the gym to help with my balance and coordination and biting the bullet and trying to run with her. >
Well, yes, being fit is always good but that is not required to be super successful in agility 🙂 You won’t need to run with her because you will be able to put so many distance skills on her and verbals! You are well on your way with that.
>Up until now it’s all pretty stationary and controlled. >
That is because of her age – I know you see people with 15 month old dogs running courses but I think that taking your time and building up the skills, and letting her grow up a bit is a GREAT thing!!! You will see significant brain changes and maturity between now and 18 months and 2 years old, so take your time and set the foundations for a great career!
Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Hi!
This went great! She did really well with the tunnel as a distraction – the toy being thrown early was more of a distraction 🙂
>Our rear crosses need more work to come up to scratch.>
Yes – you can work it on 6 poles at first without a lot of motion, then add more and more motion (then add the rest of the poles).You can also use the tunnel to get her ramped up like at a trial! You can her through it a bunch of times… then ask for the weaves and see how she does!
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
>The pkg 5 JWW 2 Course was wonderful. I loved the tunnel bypass challenges. >
I am so glad you liked it! I wanted it to be fun 🙂 And I am glad your boys did great on it too!
> I can’t believe Sept is around the corner. >
This summer was way too hot and went by too fast!
>I hope to have a whippet puppy but it is up in the air. >
Fun! I hope so! Let me know if it works out or if you all still be looking for a puppy.
>But if I do get a puppy, are your previous MAX Pup 1 2 3 and Super Max versions from 2021 okay to follow or do I need to get updated ones. >
MaxPup 1 has a lot of additional information material added since you took it in 2022 – MaxPup alums can upgrade to join the new edition for $25!
Great job with your boys this summer!
Tracy
Good morning!
Poor Katniss! Did something happen that you saw, or did the lameness just appear?
Yes, rest and NSAIDs will help. Also, pull some bloodwork for a tick panel because tick stuff can manifest as lameness that appears intermittently and no one can really pinpoint the cause. Let me know if you need any recommendations for soft tissue specialists – they can find things that our regular vets cannot 🙂
Looking at Nox’s backsides:
At the beginning, she gave good instant feedback when you rewarded the first rep – whatever you dropped was not a reward, so she left to yell at the other dog 🙂
You went to big treats after that – she definitely preferred that 🙂 and a lotus ball might be easier for her to see when you throw it to the landing spot while moving forward
She had a bar down at :43 and she took the front of the backside jump – I think you were probably a bit too far and not enough motion to match the forwardness of the backside cue – plus you can run more to the center of the bar of the backside jump to help propel her to the backside.
At :56 and 1:12 you gave her one tiny step and were more on the line to the center of the bar and she got it really well!
>I started to look a bit like an awkward penguin when we got to the wraps>
Ha! Looking like a penguin is perfect for this! I tell myself to run like a penguin to keep my hands down. You did a great job here!
The wraps were overall going really well. She was starting to drop bars (not enough motion perhaps so she was collecting more than needed?) so you got in closer at 2:09 and 2:23 which helped because there was more motion and more extension being cued over the jump after the tunnel.
Be sure to let her get past you when you are ahead of her by decelerating where the wing and bar meet. You were ahead at 2:10 and pushed her off the line because she was not quite past you when you moved forward. You let her get past you at 2:23 and she was perfect!
Great job! Keep me posted about Katniss!
Tracy
Good morning!
>We’ve had so much else to fix that the dog walk misses haven’t been a big deal (though he missed 2 agility Q’s last weekend in RI to missed dog walks, so maybe we’re at a place that it’s worth fixing that up).>
It might be that is just needs regular maintenance – training with his mat or aid in there somewhat regularly between shows, to help maintain the mechanics when the aid is not there. I’ve don’t recommend a full re-train on a 9 year old dog (too much on their bodies) but we can definitely work on maintenance in training to keep the mechanics solid.
Tracy
Good morning!
>he said no problem I’ll make you some new weaves bases with the legs wherever you want. >
Yay! Thanks, Rich!!!!
Looking at the weaves in the first video:
>I’m just showing a few reps here, but we did a few more with 1 other failure but wow you could tell he was REALLY thinking hard in the middle of the poles especially.>
Yes! There are a lot of factors – the missed entry was coming from an approximate 90 degree angle at :20, then the correct entry at straighter at :25 and the rep after it was a little less straight, but still easier than the original angle.
Also – it looks like solid color poles and of course, the footing is different. He reminds me of my dog Elektra on mats: mats are hard to dig into and go fast, so she dials it back and just kind of hippity hops along at a medium speed (I don’t run her on mats at all anymore). He is also doing that – rather than risk a slip, he dials it back to stay balanced on the footing.
>But also in this class, we once again struggled with the threadle. I tried so hard to throw my arm way back and it feels like I am but video shows I’m just not. Maybe I need an much more different visual cue for that besides the verbal. Or, what else do you think I should do to work on this?>
This was definitely an American-style threadle! You would see it in Premier classes for sure. The first rep at 1:03 and a little disconnection which changed his line. On the connected rep after it, you can help with a different style of cues:
As he is approaching the blue jump, you can be giving him a turn cue so he is collecting on takeoff and ready to come into the gap. I would use a wra cue for it, because the dogs really do need to wrap that jump to come into the gap for the threadle.
Then you can give your threadle cue with a bigger arm thrown back, and staying parallel to the bar of the threadle jump – don’t move towards it as that might push him to the backside. In most of these types of threadles, the turn cue on the jump before it is actually more important than the actual threadle!
And for some of the ‘flat’ American threadles, many people do rotate their feet, and I think that is perfectly fine! The European-style threadles are better for the arm swinging back because the lines fit that better.
Looking at the Speedy Jumpers video:
>he was doing great but missed a jump after the A-frame on the first course. It didn’t seem like I made that big of a disconnection, but what do you think caused that?>
It was a small disconnection on a line that actually required a lead change away to get the jump. As he was exiting the a-frame at :44, he was on a right lead towards you, and your shoulders were turning away to the next line. The jump after the frame was ever-so-slightly offset that he would have needed to go to a left lead to get it – more connection and a little more motion closer to the line would get it. A larger dog would with a running frame would pick up that line with no problem, because their stride fills the gap. By small dogs are slippery 🤣😂 and need that line supported – that is what you did at 1:13 and he found it perfectly!
>He didn’t miss a single weave pole and he did them so fast! But they had out the white bases that had a leg every single pole.>
Yes! The weaves looked so good! Fun to see stuff you’ve practiced showing up on course! Looking at the factors – straight line entry even on the turn away at the end. What were the other angles? And footing he was very comfy with – he was digging in more and not dialing it back at all. Plus the bases might be ones he is very comfy with. I think the weaves were solid colored but I couldn’t really tell 🙂
>So I think once we get this base/legs issue solved he’ll be a weaving maniac>
Totally agree!!!! And also, I know I am a pain about footing – but be careful to keep him on fast footing so he doesn’t dial it back or have trouble in the weaves because the footing is hard.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>Will gradually move to 20” then remove the sit, then remove the plank.
In the class you will see another way to work the fading process – taking the plank out and cueing the sit on the flat. I work both approaches for fading, they work nicely together 🙂
>
I am proud of my slightly evil approach hahahaha! Yes, then need to know the tunnel is in play and not just tucked away. Plus the tunnel tends to raise the arousal level, and the dogs need this skill when they are in higher arousal running a course!
Looking at the video:
I give Casper a lot of credit for trying to get weaves at :10 after the tunnel reps!! Was his it most fluid, graceful attempt at weaving? Nope LOL but was it far better than grabbing the until again? Heck yeah! Good boy!!
He was excellent after that, really getting his collection for the entries – only one other blooper that he immediately fixed.
>He struggles a bit with the off-side entry and with passing motion.>
He did really well! You were showing the pressure of the motion behind him without it being too much pressure (in terms of how fast you were moving) – that set up a lot of success. So now you can add more and more motion, getting right up behind him when you are passing behind him. Most courses nowadays allow you to be ‘gentle’ with motion until the dog has locked onto the entry, then run – he did well with that! But I still like to show a ton of speed behind the dog so they can ignore motion and get into the weaves.
And be sure to mix in lots of tunnel reps, sending him past the weaves to go to the tunnel 🙂
And since your boys are doing so well with their weaving, you can flip the start wings to the other side of the tunnel: wrap the wing and send him past the tunnel to find the weaves (and yes, do the countermotion :)) You can put the jump on the other side of the weaves, so it is a weave sandwich: tunnel-weaves-jump.
Enzo’s rep was great 🙂 I am not surprised – you have done such a great job of teaching him to weave anytime, anywhere.
>At the end is a section of a course map of the fanciest weave thing I ever did IRL. >
That is so cool!!!! And it is exactly why we need such independent weaves – to get to the next line (and to make the crowd gasp :))
Great job here!
TracyHi!
>I’ve never known weather like this before, it’s been a few weeks since he even saw a jump, poor Grin, so we’re definitely playing catch up.>
Ugh! We have had a CRAZY summer here – intense heat and wild storms. I hope our winter is calm and your summer is calm too!
The session went really well! Nice job mixing in rewards for the stay, he is doing a great job letting you take long lead outs.
He is reading the blinds really well – I think you can start them even sooner (which means finishing them sooner too!)
Comparing to the FCs – you were starting them when he landed from 1 at :48 and 1:05 (he read them great!) so you can start the BCs at that same timing: when you see him landing from 1 and looking at 2, do the BC so you are re-connected in time to see him take off for 2. The blinds were starting as he was approaching takeoff of 2 (like at :33) so starting them earlier will get the turns tighter which is effective when there are obstacles out ahead, like a tunnel 🙂
>The only one he wasn’t sure of was the last one (push) and to be honest this is not something that I do much with any of my dogs. I broke it down to just one jump and he was fine so we will work more on this to put it in the toolbox. >
The lead out push was definitely the hardest one for him. You can place yourself more between the uprights of jump 2 to set the line, kind of like a serpentine (then move to the next line as he lands from 1).
>What scenarios would you use this one in compared to running into the blind which would be my normal default? Tighter turn? More control?>
A couple of places where this would show up:
– yes to the tighter turn/more control, especially for dogs that come off the start line with rocket blasters on their feet 🙂
– also, this would be more effective than a BC if the course had a tight turn on 3 and then you had to move to the right side of the screen, where you had your dog walk set up.
– we are seeing a variation of this on the most international-style openings and on the actual international courses too 🙂 The first 3 jumps would be more of an offset crazy serpentine line, with us in the lead out push position on jump 2.Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>She is a speedy little demon. >
Yes! It is o fun to watch her!!!!
> can see myself doing more blinds than fronts. >
Agree! I figure most of the front crosses will be on tight wraps. And most of the rest will be blinds (or rear crosses :))
>Most of the barking is courtesy of the neighbour dogs. I figure it is good practice for the trial environment.
Perfect! She didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all.
Her understanding of the lines is great and your connection was great – the session is looking really good! I only have one suggestion: start the crosses sooner 🙂
She might be small but she definitely needs the FC and BC info at the same time as the big dogs 🙂 You were tending to start the FC and BC side change as she took off for the middle jump, which set up a wider turn and made it harder to show her the next wrap.
For example, on the FC at 1:07 – you started it when she was in the air over the middle jump so she landed wide. Then it was hard to show her the connection needed for the wrap jump after the FC. You can also see it at 1:37 with the blind cross – she was already in the air when you started it, so she was wide on landing then had a little trouble finding the next jump because your connection was delayed (finishing the blind).
You can start the FC and BC sooner by seeing her land from the jump after the tunnel then starting the cross. Your motion will help support the middle jump and that way you can get the side change sooner for a tighter turn and showing her the next jump.
Plus, since she seems to know her lines really well 🙂 you don’t need to be as close to the jump after the tunnel – you can be an arm’s length away running towards the middle jump, so that makes the crosses even easier!
I bet that starting the crosses sooner will make you like the blind crosses even more 🙂
Great job here!!!
TracyHi!
Really nice session here!! Most of the reps were really excellent and you made good adjustments when there was a small blooper.
The GO reps at the beginning were really strong, connecting to him on the wing exits was really helpful! And you had great timing of the toy throws.
Left turns – I thought your timing was good. He might have been a bit wide at first because he was slipping falling in the tunnel the first couple of times. He got a little more careful after that so it was easier for him to turn on the exit.
Speaking of slipping: You can see him have a big slip and fall at 2:10 on a GO rep – I am not sure if the tunnel was wet or if it was just a little slippery. To help him stay upright 🙂 you can soften the angles of entry so he doesn’t slip.
The left at 2:31 was a little late – he was already entering the tunnel when you did the verbal and shoulder turn so he exited straight then turned after he exited. So definitely keep the timing earlier like you did on the left turn cues earlier in the video, so he can see and hear the cues when he is still 4 or 5 feet before entering.
Rear crosses: the first rep to the right at 1:07 was late so he turned left – the last thing he saw before he entered the tunnel was you facing the left turn side. Good job rewarding on the correct side anyway!
But your cues were MUCH better at 1:27 and 1:43 – he definitely saw the RC info before he entered because you can see him change directions right at the entry. You did a left turn RC at the end and he saw enough of the pressure on the line that he could easily get it. Super!
When he was pushing away to the wing near the camera when you were trying to set the RC (like at 1:33), it was because you were blocking his line tot he tunnel. He had no questions when you gave him room to see the line.
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!
>Tandem turns and lap turns we hadn’t done these in a while you needed a little refresher and then he was good as gold.>
The turn aways with these are not natural for the dogs, so the refresher was perfect!
The lap turns were hard for him when you did it just on one wing but they were PERFECT when you did them in sequence! Yay! Great job facing him and showing him the arm cues and step back with the leg to set the turn.
>I think on my tandem turns I get turned towards him too much sometimes because I’m using my offside arm, and I think my little armies are short>
For the tandems (and threadle wraps in the future), let the upper body do all the work 🙂 Keep your feet going straight (parallel to his running line) until after he turns away from you.
For example, at :54 you turned your feet to the wing (as part of the cue to come around the wing) before he had passed you and committed to it, so he went to the other side. Compare to 1:01 and 1:56 where you kept your feet straight til after he has passed you and committed to the correct side of the wing – those went great! And you can really see great feet on the line at 2:22 (the last rep) – perfect!
Now, at 2:05 you accidentally set the threadle wrap/tandem turn line by turning your feet away and shoulders from the line to the correct side of the wing (‘front’ side) so he did a pretty perfect threadle wrap 🙂
And your arms – I also have short little arms LOL!! You might find it easier to exaggerate the opposite arm by also moving the dog side arm back to him, so the dog side arm is not blocking the cue arm 🙂
Great job here!
TracyGood morning!!
This is a GREAT question about a common challenge especially in Border Collies!
>So now I’m worried she thinks that is the game.>
She probably doesn’t think it is super fun as a game – she probably loves agility a LOT so is a bit unsure of exactly what the stay is and perhaps the stand then sit is part of it, in her mind. Plus, bear in mind that her adolescent brain might not even realize that her butt has come up at first because she is very excited to play agility 🙂
And we don’t want a lot of failure or pressure on the start line, because that can build in stress and more arousal, then the entire start line stay will go sideways. We want to make it easy and fun for you both, while maintaining criteria of course – because you both want to release and run the sequence! I am sure neither of you really want to spend the whole time re-setting the sit stay 🙂
So what to do? Some ideas for you 🙂
– Change the position! To be honest, the sit is the hardest position for BCs because of this butt-rising issue 🙂 I have found that a stand stay or a down stay are better positions for BCs because they are more natural for them when they are aroused. That stand stay is harder to maintain because you can’t always see the foot movement. But the down stay is easy for you both to maintain.
Plus, changing the position takes out any possible ‘poisoning’ of the sit (added stress, accidental releases when she was standing, the back-and-forth of sit-stand-sit-stand etc)
– Add more arousal in the stay from the start in training, but less distance away from her for now. So if you choose to work from a down-stay, for example… get her really ramped up with some tugging then do a SHORT lead out with her in a stay. Your role is to release before she moves out of the position.
The reason I recommend adding in more arousal is because when she is on the start line, she will be very aroused! So she needs to learn how to stay even when she is crazy stimulated. She probably has a great stay when she is calm, but the jumps/tunnels/etc are going to be very stimulating. And since we can’t simply calm her nor do we want her calm for course running… it is much easier to teach her to stay in high arousal.
The reason I recommend doing very short stays in high arousal for now is because success is the gateway to the best stays – the failure of being asked to sit again will potentially create frustration (for you both :)) which can create over-arousal, which creates stress on the start line (for you both).
So for now, dial back the length of the lead out and only go as far as you can to ensure success in the new position. Then gradually ping-pong your way to longer lead outs, alternating short and longer lead outs t build it up. And live by the 2-failure rule: if she fails once (standing up, for example) then you need to make the next one easier so she can be successful. And if she fails twice? Definitely make it easier.
And be unpredictable about where you are when you release: it is possible she knows that you consistently release when you are one step past the 2nd jump so she is anticipating and getting more aroused. Dogs are brilliant at predicting our patterns LOL!!! So the ping-pong approach will keep you unpredictable in a good way 🙂
Building it up like this in high arousal will take you a bit longer to get to those 3 or 4 jump lead outs… but they will be *solid* and that is what we want of course 🙂
>(had my husband watch because I had to look where I was going)<
This is good and helpful for criteria maintenance! And with young dogs, I prefer to watch them as I lead out the whole time (no change to look at where I am going because the stay is more important :))
You can also do high arousal stays as part of daily home life – for example, when I am letting all of my dogs out first thing in the morning, they are all NUTS 😂🤣. So I ask the young dogs for stays while the older dogs go outside and run around (then the youngsters are released to go outside). Where in life do you have really exciting situations that you can use stays for?
We can also add in a mat or platform or something to help with the stay if we need to: a sit platform, for example. But those might not be that helpful (she can still move) and they are pretty difficult to fade out so I prefer to train the stay on the flat without it.
Let me know what you think and keep me posted on how it goes!
Tracy
Good morning!
This went really well!
I thought your connection and timing was super strong on the first part (starting dog-on-right). The timing was a stride later on the dog-on-left side to start but then you moved it up a bit and ended up really strong too! The gaol is to start the BC earlier enough before he arrive at the wing so you are finished and reconnected before he exits the wing.
Connection was particularly strong on the exits of the middle wing (FC and spins) – he was super tight and had no questions! Yay!
If you want more challenge… add more distance between the tunnel and the wings so everything happens faster because he is faster – or shorten the distances so everything happens faster because there is less time & room to do it all 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I took the weekend off from trialing (the FOMO of missing out on the Cup in Barto 2 years in a row is REALLY tough,>
Yeah, it is hard to miss that event… but even the folks I know from North Carolina are complaining about the heat and humidity there. That is impressive, because NC is basically all heat and humidity, all year LOL!!! It just gets really hot there in the summer.
>but I picked up my new to me van this weekend so there’s that!)>
I saw the photo on Facebook!!! It looks great! Are you going to make it into one of those super cool mini-RV sleeper vans? Looks big enough for you, terriers, and a Bippet to have a grand time. A friend of mine just did that and it is impressive (with much jealousy from me LOL)
>So we did another course training. I had my comfy chair in the shade, a big bottle of ice cold lemon water, all ready to do mid training session video analysis!>
Sounds so nice!!
Nice job with this course, it is a beast!
On the walk through, your handling choices were very clear, which is great! And it looks like the pace of the walk through was fast too.
The only spot I have a question about was the twisty spot after the weaves. It was hard to see where the invisible dog was because you were connecting down at your side when he would be behind you. So that is a spot to keep looking back to him.
Runs: He was on fire! Going fast! Finding lines!
>This one felt really tight after I built it, especially the opening.>
Having it a little crunchy there was good practice for some of the tighter UKI courses and also the courses from international designers set at AKC distances (ewwwww). I have seen that happening and it is definitely challenging! Plus, he was really feeling good and fast and looking for lines, which make the tight opening more challenging for sure.
On the first run, you had a really big step to 2 at 1:02 with sent him past it (I thought he was going to find the weave entry! Yeeeehaw!)
Much better on the 2nd run, really nice!>Then the jump-dog walk, I had to really hang back and hold him, which made the push off the dog walk hard. I couldn’t figure out a way to run the other side of the dog walk to rear the jump after it. >
I don’t think there is a good way to get to the other side of the DW without setting a poopy entry and getting too far behind with the teeter, so I liked that you were working out how to keep him on your left on the DW.
The threadle option you did on the second run and 3rd run was great for getting up the line for the DW – he was feeling support spicy and flew by it when you opened your arm back, so you can drop your arm in and be SUPER compelling with a big verbal and eye contact. You can even shake your threadle hand as if saying “right here, buddy!” It looks like you did that more at 2:30 and at 2:59 and he was great.
Sending to 4 with 2 hands and the exploding up the line to the dog walk work well here at 2:32 and 3:02, but he did look at the off course jump (your send and go was brilliantly executed, so the motion of it might has caused him to consider the bigger line).
The other option would be to send to 4 on a spin – it would still get you up the line and should guarantee a tight turn to the DW.
>He missed a bunch of dog walks, but pushes are a weak spot for him, as is anything where I’m racing him, he’s much better if I just sort of jog.>
The line went well at 2:35 and even better at 3:05 – did he miss the DW on those? You ran a great line and got the nice turn (on the first run, you over-turned towards him so he read it like a tandem turn).
>And if he really doesn’t know where he’s going after the dog walk, he will also miss, and this was sort of a hope and pray scenario. >
Did you originally teach it with a mat or something? You can do some back chaining with your original teaching aid, to show him the ‘new fancy stuff’ that we surely didn’t teach this generation of dogs when they were young 🙂 That way he can hopefully have more success getting the contact and finding the new line.
>He got the weave entry on the first attempt, but on subsequent attempts I had to stay dog on left and not rear cross until he was out of the tunnel under the dog walk. >
Yes, that was interesting! He absolutely nailed it the first run. Mayne he was anticipating the new line on the other runs, causing the miss? I didn’t see anything in the handling that would cause it. Waiting for him to get the entry like you did at 3:16 is fine of course, because you can easily run to the next spot while he is weaving.
You can also hang back with him at the teeter and send ahead to the jump-tunnel, so you can get a blind between the 2 tunnels to set up the weave entry.
The line from the teeter to the weave exit looked AWESOME on the first run!
Super nice job with the handling and connection on the 11-16 section! You were much more connected and clearer (and quicker!) than the walk through. The 2nd time through there was even better, more connected! He was a little sticky at 3:29 because your hand was at your side and you were not looking back at him, so he was less sure of where to be heading to 15.
>I was surprised how much support he needed to take the jump after the a frame too.>
I think the rear cross on the tunnel before it is what makes it harder… but also the RC is the best/only option for a fast dog, so it was good practice to be able to get him to accelerate straight after a RC! You can add a little decel as you are supporting it, to tighten up the turn. And the cue to 20 that you added on the last run was very effective – on the first run, you were parallel to it so he layered it.
Great job here!
Tracy
