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Hi!
>>not sure if it’s possible to make 2 more fluid for her of if the collection is good and she’s being safe>>
The opening looks good! I think the threadle opening works well for her and easily get you to the blind 6-7-8 (that looked great on all 4 reps! Really brilliant!!) She was jumping 1-2-3 really well, just the right amount of collection, and totally safe.
One thing to note on the tunnels: Don’t be quiet when she is approaching tunnels, especially tunnel 8 – tell her to go take that jump with some verbals and motion.
On the first rep, you decelerated at :18 and got quiet before the tunnel so she pulled off the jump. Stay in motion there both to get the jump after the tunnel and to carry on if something went wrong – you stopped and didn’t reward and she went to barking at you. Eventually you sent her to the reward (15 seconds later) which rewards the barking more than anything else). You kept moving a lot better on the 2nd rep, which helped her pick up the line to 9 and that allowed you to get the BC 10-11.
On the 3rd and 4th reps, you had strong motion and clearer verbals for 9, which allowed you to get the BC even better 10-11! Yay! The best verbals were on the 3rd rep, so keep being loud and often with the verbals 🙂
To help with the line to the backside, as she is landing from 10, she needs a turn cue for 11 – so you can add a left verbal and start turning sooner which will also get you up the line faster for the 14 backside.
>> I tried to push on the first one but backside slices are super hard for her>>
Does she hit the bar or the wing? I have some things coming that can help this – the first one is sequence 2 from last night, which helps to get the dogs looking at the jump bar on the backside slices like 14.
On the first rep, you wanted to push to the slice, which can totally work! Looks like you used an outside arm for 13 but might be better to use that outside arm on the push to 14, plus really direct eye contact to propel her out to it. If she doesn’t get it, no worries: Keep going there too and fix it on the next rep with more drive and connection to the backside. Carrying on without marking anything as an error is great to get the speed and flow of the course and making sure she doesn’t get frustrated.
The threadle there is probably a better line than he push to the backside (threadle slice, not the threadle wrap) but hard to get from the position coming from the previous section – after the push on 12, you can add a turn cue on 13 (a name call will probably be all she needs) and then when she is turning towards you at 13, you can add the threadle cue for 14 (just before she takes off for 13) (reward that too when she didn’t know what you wanted, reward in the moment)
You got it as the threadle wrap at 3:22 but I think the slice there would be faster and easier for you both! Let me know what is happening on the slices and we will sort out how to help her.
On the ending line – it looks like the last tunnel was set slightly offset, so the entry was not a ‘go’ but more of an ‘out’ which is why she ended up in the other end of it at 3:26, because that was the entry on her go line, good girl! Good job carrying on, she was correct 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>first, I think I understand the break arm but have never used it. How do I train it?
It is really natural for most dogs, so we can just do i tand they respond. Take a look at this and let me know what you think:
>Second, your sesame street thought about jumps (O, C, L) makes sense but that about those jumps that are not clear, for example on skill set 4, on jump 4 rather than going to 5, what if I had been going to the unnumbered pin wheel jump. I need a decell over 4.but it is more of a C turn than an L turn.>>
For the in-between moments, it depends on the dog – I try to give them as much as needed but not too much because too much will dilute the cue. So if the C is the wrap verbal, and the turn is not a very clear wrap? I will use more of the L turn verbals. If the turn is soft but not really the L shape? I will just use a jump cue. So if you were going to the backside of the pinwheel jump like a traditional AKC 270, I would use a left verbal then my backside verbal – it is still not a wrap. If it was the front side of that pinwheel jump, for most dogs it would be a left then maybe a threadle verbal. For some dogs who do not collect well, it would potentially be the wrap verbal.
>>Finally on a pinwheel, what is the verbal?
Depends on the stride length of the dog – for bigger striding dogs or dogs that I need to get collection before takeoff on that middle jump, I would consider the left or right L shape verbals. For smaller striding dogs or dogs that don’t need collection? I just say “jump”.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
The video link is not working, I think it is the link to your youtube page and not the link to the video, so youtube won’t let me in. Can you repost it?>>Working on magnetic fingers and practicing talking to him not the obstsacles…except HEY…what happens when I am behind him (or should I always plan my path to be IN FRONT of him?)
When you are behind, you connect to his eyes but connecting to the back of his head 🙂 No need for magnet fingers when you are behind 🙂
>>(or should I always plan my path to be IN FRONT of him?)>>
Well, we are going to TRY to always be in front of him but he is fast with a giant stride – so I expect you’ll get behind on some lines too, so we will work on rear crosses as well and handling from behind 🙂
Tracy
Hello!
Yes, your internet started out misbehaving but then it got much better LOL! This sequence looked GREAT! I could hear a distinct difference in your verbals and could see a difference in your lines – and she nailed it! YESSSSS! Well done, member of Team Fake Chill! And she was great with that flip because we have trained it in other contexts and just tossed it in here 🙂
You and Promise were great last night, so much brilliance!!!
>>Also, friendly reminder for the GO proofing exercise for knocking the bars.
Take a look at his: basically, we proof it by adding the distractions (like the GO verbal) and reward heavily for not touching the bar:
Have fun!
TracyHi!
>>He’s on his 6th week of being therapeutic with Zoloft. I’m really liking what I’m seeing from him. He seems much happier also. >>
This is great! Yay! We want him to be happy 🙂 I am beginning to see it in your working sessions too, which is also great. So now we are going to take things to the next level in terms of the dog training aspect of it (the handling is MUCH easier when the dog training pieces are in place). And by dog training, I mean getting that relentless resilience and fight to work and the “want to” to be in the ring. With that in mind:
Yes, he did well here but I want to shift your focus in these sessions to get even more success! There were SO MANY triggers/distractions here: thunder, fireworks, pool, 3 dogs barking (including one growling/crate rushing), people, heat (he was HOT, note the little stagger at 2:52), all sorts of obstacles and such at the base of the tree… that the challenges you were going for on course were just too much and he failed way more than I want him too. I counted 19 failures where you communicated that it was a failure by marking or stopping in 5.5 minutes, not including jumps he went past or off course tunnels. Plus, he didn’t want the reinforcement you had available in the ring (which can be a stress response to the distractions and to the failures).
So since the distraction/trigger level was so high, higher than usual – dial back the challenges on the course. Short lead out, simple lines, fast lines, no tight turns or backsidey threadles or anything. Bearing in mind the 2 failure rule is in place for course work, you need to dial back the challenges in order to balance his needs with the distractions so you can get TONS of success in with almost zero failure.
That will bring him to a higher level of work – yes, we are framing it in terms of operant conditioning (reinforcement, success, failure) but the operant conditioning gives us the framework to change how he feels in the environment and with those triggers. And when he is very happy with far fewer distractions/triggers, then you can add back the harder handling (but that 2 failure rule is a lifetime rule!) Assess the environment before you make decisions about what you want to run. If the environment is challenging? Dial back the handling/couse wok challenges to pactically guarantee success. Looking at the line from the a-frame, for example: between the existing distractions and the visual distraction of all the stuff that is there, a challenging threadle to a challenging weave entry was too much and he failed a whole lot. He stayed with you generally, but that doesn’t do anything to help the underlying state of happy, relaxed focus we are trying to get. So in this case, you can do the a-frame to the front of the jump and skip the weaves, because that was all too hard. And the 2 failure rule provides a safety net if we miss the difficulties in the environment. If the dog fails twice… dial it back or stop asking for it so you can get success on the next rep and and on all the other reps.
You’re already doing a lovely job with these, and I think your handling will be really perfect when he is managing the distractions better! I think this should be the main focus this summer: happy-making getting him on these lines and the big “lemme at it!” attitude, no matter what the distractions or stresses. Setting up the session for that and the 2 failure rule will be your go-to guidelines 🙂 Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Great job on these! And the sheep seemed to be providing some music and the horses were totally moving along with you LOL! And the feedback from your husband totally cracked me up (he was correct, of course :))
>>I took a couple days last week to work on throwing the cookie on the line especially on tunnel exits. Whistle quickly figured that out and I think it showed on the jumpers runs.
1000% Agree! He looked great, no real head checking at all!
Opening:
On both reps, the threadle plan looked smooth but facing him produced a slower blast off the start line. You might be able to run into a blind on the takeoff side to get more speed, or push to the backside from your left and run into a blind on the landing side to get him on your right for 3-4-5. He seems to REALLY love chasing you into those blinds, and it does not matter to him at all if you are a shade late.Nice blind to 7! Keep moving after you send to the tunnel – standing still causes him to slow down, and causes you to lose your momentum, which makes it harder to get up the next line. You can also give him a go verbal before he enters the tunnel
He really liked the blind at :19 and 1:00 at 10-11! If you are moving more 7-8-9, you can get there even sooner – it was a little late, happening as he was jumping, but he loved the motion and powered through with a lot of speed
On the 14 backside section: On the first run at :25 – it almost looked like you forgot 14 was a backside? The cue was a little late, you can be moving to it almost as soon as he exits 12 (he will pick up 13 on his own). You moved into it much sooner on the second run at 1:06, but you were not as adamant about it – the connection on the 2nd run was softer, and you didn’t push the line as much, so you ended up turning your shoulders to the front side which is what he took. The strong verbals and more pressure on the line really helped him get it the first time
He got to the backside but didn’t take the bar without extra help, so check out Seq 2 of the games from the live classes to help him learn to take the jump after a backside as a default behavior
You totally had a blind on the ending line of the first run at :35! As soon as you cue him to go into the 15 tunnel, keep up the loud go go go verbals so he is more independent on the 16-17 line which puts you further ahead to get the blind more comfortably. You did more of this on the 2nd run and easily got the blind! Yay! You can trust him to take jumps on his path more – as you are running for the blind here, you can be saying “jump” and no need to make a big connection on your original side then do the blind: you can just run like mad and do the blind, connecting on the new side (the left side in this case)
>My blinds could be smoother but not sure how to achieve that. Also,, Can I run these without using my arms so much ?
I think the smoother blinds can be helped by using your arms less, and also yes – you can keep your arms down and just run for most of this, using only a low send arm here and there. I think what will help the most, though, is staying in motion the whole time. For example, after 7, you can be moving towards the tunnel and using verbals, rather than sending without a lot of motion. That way he will pick up the 9 jump more easily without you needing to send (which is a decelerated cue) and that will allow you to get to the BC 10-11 more easily and sooner. You don’t need to get there much sooner at all, because he likes it when you are running on the edge and barely getting it done – it seems to like his fire LOL!!
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
It was great seeing you auditing in the live class! Maisy did well here – The warm up reps looked good!>>I can see a couple of times I pointed her into the tunnel, oops.
Yes, that was at :21 and :24, and it was the same exact blooper that I left in the demo video of running forward too much and blocking the jump, which overrides the verbal cue. Oops!
You adjusted well and moved over, so she read the line to the backside really well at :36 and the reps after it.
>>Not sure why the jump before the tunnel kept falling. When I put it up to 14″, she did better – on the last rep.
I believe it was because there was a lot happening over the bar: you are moving into her landing spot AND turning her away – and she didn’t quite get it coordinated for the first several. Then, she caught on ot hte meaning of the cue and did much better at the end! The slightly taller bar might have helped too, or she might have figured out the cue, or both.
Great job here!!! Did you get to try any of the other sequences?
Tracy
Hi! I think both of your runs here were lovely! You had a ton of great connection, lots of excellent timing, aggressive handling choices, and her commitment and responses were just lovely 🙂
Nice BC 3-4 on both reps! You had a tighter turn on the first one, you let her stick in extension more on the 2nd one so I timed it – it appears the 2nd one was faster! That surprised me a little but that is why I timed it 🙂 She is like one of my dogs – as long as she knows where to go, the prettier looking collections are always slower. Good to know!
Rest of the opening looked great, both times. YAY!!! For that threadle section 10-11, the threadle verbal can start before liftoff for 10 at :22. You sent to it and moved away sooner (but a bit backwards) on the 2nd rep at 1:14 but the threadle still started on landing, so you got pretty much the same line but the bar on 11. I think the forward movement of the first rep plus adding earlier timing (giving the verbal just before liftoff) will make it perfect.
I don’t do or recommend a ton of spins, but I think the spin would be better for her at :27 and 1:22 – the decel then post turn was a bit too wide, partially because the post turns will be wider and partially because it did not tell her way was next (the post turn shoulder and foot motion shows a lot of things before it showed the line to the tunnel). The spin would be faster here because she can immediately see what is next and power to it, like she did on the BC at 3-4 here.
I bet you can get a BC before the tunnel at :34 – she read the decel and tunnel threadle but she slowed down a lot. You were not running hard so if you ran hard there, the BC will be easy and then you can even add a spin to the tunnel entry there to get the turn on the exit as you run to the ending line. You did use a verbal on the tunnel but it was right after she entered – use it sooner, 5 or 6 feet before she enters, and keep calling her, and you’ll get a great turn.
Almost got the backside wrap at 20 at :41! So close!!! One more heartbeat of decel, letting her take a stride to the jump, will help. And then as you move forward past it, look back behind you to the landing spot to support commitment. That is the only spot where I think she can use more commitment. You waited there longer but further back on the 2nd rep – you can split the difference by continuing to move forward like you did on run 1, but decelerating into it on run 2.
Great job here!!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! So much great stuff here on this run (and also on the jumping run below!)
Reinforcing the contacts was excellent, it will really help her put it all together!
Most of the run was really excellent! I have a few ideas for you – a main trend on this course and n the jumping course is to give her turn verbal (or go verbal) *before* she enters the tunnel, and repeat the verbal. You tend to get quiet and that causes her to look at you on the exits a lot.
Opening – Looking good! You can get a smoother line if you set her on more of a slice facing 2 – less handling for you to show her jump 2, and then you can get past the exit wing of 3 better to show the line to the teeter.
The teeter looked great!!
The tunnel-jump-tunnel line – the verbal info was late so she was looking at you. This is where you can give lots more info before and during tunnel moments: tell her to GO before she enters the tunnel at :18, then start your jump cue while she is in it, then tell her to get into the next tunnel when she is halfway between the first tunnel and the jump 🙂
She had a question about the RDW here – it is good to get on her on different one! I liked her general striding a little better on the first one – she lost her balance a bit on the 2nd one even though the hit was a little better.
At :39 to the 12 tunnel: this section cracked me up – the people on video were asking why they didn’t FC, I was asking why you didn’t blind cross LOL! The FC to the spin on the tunnel entry set up a turn on the tunnel exit (she was correct), and there were no verbals to tell her otherwise, so she missed the next jump.
I think the spin was a product of trying to get out of the FC and drive to the next line. The BC on the next one? Terrific! Looked easier and set up a better tunnel exit. Add some verbals to that: Give her a GO verbal before she enters and then start the jump verbal while she is in it (repeating the cue) so she doesn’t look for you.
Frame looked good too!
That soft sided weave entry is hard for every one (it was not the color of the poles, because most dogs have missed it on this course). For now, keep moving to it rather than decel and send (run to pole 2 to get it) You got it by converging almost past pole 1 but we want her to have better understanding so you can send & leave – stay tuned for a game coming on Monday!
Great job here – onwards to Jumping!
Tracy
Hi!
Good job elevating the plank and making him slow down 🙂
Ah, the elevated plank and slowing it down unveils the joys of adolescents LOL!!! He had a lot of legs going in different places, especially those pesky back legs LOL! He was really starting to think about foot placement rather than just go fast and hope for the best – strange as it might sound, slow games like this help future fast RDWs because the dogs know where their feet are at all times. He got better and better with each rep!He had the most trouble with balance when you rewarded with his head a little high. This is good to know and you can move the treats in slowly and feed with his head straight and yes, a little high to help him learn to balance. You can also have him do position changes on the plank: stand – sit- stand – down – stand. All very slowly 🙂 Feel free to start the position changes on the flat for now, with the goal being that he can do these position changes with very minimal foot movement 🙂 It is VERY challenging.
The hopping off was super easy (just to inform him that it is ok to safely dismount) and also going faster back and forth across the elevated plank was easy peasy for him!
Great job! Keep me posted on how he does, hopefully he will be back to running full steam ahead soon!
TracyHi!
I am glad you enjoyed it! I think you and Fusion looked AWESOME and I am very happy with how well our streaming internet connection worked – very, very clear video from the other side of the world!!!All of the instructional videos are up, and I will post the full video shortly.
T
Hi there! I am glad you are having fun with these! You ran them well!
There is a definite theme emerging for Charm – silence is NOT golden for the Golden (ahahaha I crack myself up :)) When you are too quiet and just running? We get errors because your motion supports lines you don’t necessarily want. She is SUPER responsive to verbals, so use more of them, use them early, use them often 🙂
Opening:
This went well! At 2-3 you can cue the push even sooner so you can get out of the way sooner for the blind to the teeter. She took off early for the jump between the 2 tunnels at :18 (dropping the bar) so that might be a strategy moment of not getting too far ahead, because she can’t see you and rushes the takeoff.
On the dog walk – you can release with the push cue rather than break, so she doesn’t look at you when released.Then you were quiet and running forward 9-10-11 and then as she landed at :28, you did a big loud cue which she clearly read as a forward cue and went to the tunnel in front of her. Good girl!
You were earlier at :38 with the verbal (as she was lifting off for 11) and also decelerated, and that really helped! Especially the decel!
As she enters the tunnel, give her a forward cue so she knows to carry forward and not look back at you (a bit too quiet here)/
You and Christine had the same question from your dogs on the jump after the a-frame the first time – too much running forward, not enough showing the wing, so Charm and Josie both pushed off it and spun (:48 and :58). Your running line to the backside wrap should be where the wing meets the bar, so she can see the full wing. If you are ahead, you will need to wait in that position til she passes you – moving forward too soon will potentially push her off the jump like you did here.
(also, slicing this jump is a better/faster line, bringing her in from the wing closer to the DW and exiting on the teeter side – the backside wrap is almost always harder and slower).
That soft side weave entry is hard for sure – you got it the 2nd time by converging to it, so you can work on running to pole 2 (rather than pole 1) to see if she will get i twihtout the convergence. I have a game coming to help that for all the dogs who find it challenging!
She definitely needed a turn cue on the jump after the weaves, the line you were running put her right on the DW – go with her if that happens, she was not wrong 🙂 and we don’t want her to consider jumping off. I don’t think she needs a big turn cue, just a verbal turn cue there that you did on the next rep. It is definitely a silence is NOT Golden moment for her, so use lots more verbals, she is very responsive to them!
The RC at the end worked REALLY nicely!!!
Course 2:
On this opening, be sure to show her the wing for the wrap at 3 – you were blocking it here (same as with the jump after the a-frame in the other course) so she had questions and slowed down.Same thing goes for the wrap on the jump after the teeter – yo uwere blocking the wing and trying to show the takeoff spot, so she pushed the wing (the bar stayed up, but the wing was a-shaking!)
Nice timing of the blind while she was weaving at :27 and the verbal! To seal the deal of the tight turn, you need to move away from it sooner and through FC – you were moving forward as she took off with the FC happening when she landed, so she had to turn on landing. Compare that to the send-and-go on the jump before the DW at :32 where you were leaving before she took off – great turn!
At :39, the whoa happened when she exited the tunnel so you had to wait for her which put you behind for the push at :44. If you get behind on a push, intensify your connection to her eyes and keep your dog-side arm back: that will show the line to the backside. When you look forward or use an arm send, that turns your shoulders to the front of the bar which is what she saw at :43
You were much earlier on the whoa (she heard it before the tunnel on the next rep, yay!) so the turn was better, and you got up the line to the backside better too! I bet a BC instead of a FC will make it even easier to get there.
Doing the full post turn at 1:07 at the end made her turn info a little delayed – I think a spin would work better there because you can leave sooner for the correct direction.
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>Definitely will focus on practicing without Forrest for Sequence 4 and retrain myself to do magnetic fingers, use my eyes and keep my shoulders and feet going where they need to be (without tripping on something or hitting the obstacle itself – klutz that I can be).
You are NOT a klutz at all! It is hard to connect back to the dog and still see where you are going. To open up your field of vision to see him AND the obstacles, try connecting lower, looking downwards rather than up high past your shoulder. That totally helps!
>>It’s very hot here…interrupted by pretty violent thunderstorms.
Yes, so hot!! I am in SW VA, and yesterday at 5pm when I got in the car to go to the internet space the live class streaming… it was 100 degrees out. HOLY HOT!!!! So short practices in any cool times of day are the way to go.
>>I looked at what came after these sequences and I’m thinking I will likely only get the STANDARD course set up and practiced before out next set of challenges is uploaded. My dog walk doesn’t move, so I have to flip what you have on your version of the course, with dog walk on the right not the left. I can move the other stuff.>>
Sounds good! Totally tweak it however you need to make it fit, then ignore the printed suggestions and walk & run what you have set in front of you.
Have fun! Fingers crossed for cool weather!
Good morning! He was definitely more engaged! And with more engagement, you will see more and more speed.
>>tying a toy to the lotus ball (felt kind of weird and I am not sure actually added a lot of value).>>
I think it added engagement value – easier to throw far then he really liked it when you were dragging it around. And remember to not just drop it: throw it far and let him chase it, then go grab it and snake it around for him to chase. It will be sweaty times! But totally worth it 🙂
>>First off, my commands were a bit mixed up sometimes
Yes – plus, there is a lot of other chatter in there which clouds the directionals, so you can take that out too. I think we are going to add a new puppy class game for everyone which is to run the sequence correctly with connections, verbals etc…. and only then can we add the puppy 🙂 The pups are too inexperienced to save us if something goes wrong, and if we humans are trying to run the sequence with the verbals and connections for the first time, we are gonna screw it up (guilty as charged here!) So that is what I recommend: while he is still in the cool A/C, you go outside and run it a few times: start by walking it with correct verbals and connections, then go faster til you can run with it being correct (yes, video this too LOL!). Then after you run it? Bring him out and try it. Just like the toy play – it will be sweaty but worth it 🙂 And when something goes wrong – just keep going like you meant it to happen so there are no stops, just get right back on the line to the tunnel or something.
The best reps where when you were running closer to the line and not too far ahead, so he could easily pick up the middle jump. Connection looked good! When you were too early, or too far ahead, he didn’t get that middle jump. I think starting and ending on the tunnel will help a lot, because it sets up the line with more speed excitement than just the wraps to the outside do.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
On those BCs, you were DEFINITELY better with the timing (each rep got better and better too!) and that really helps! The only thing to add now is: WINGS IN! Having your arms out and elongated, made the connection on the new side late – so even with starting earlier, she was not always responding as well as she could because the high arms made the exit connection late. So, after the send – pull your wings in by bending your elbows and keep your arms very tight to you, emphasizing the quickness of the new connection.
Speaking of the sends – you were still running the rounded line a bit more than needed because for the send, you would need to decelerate – that sets up the big send step & arm, then immediately being able to turn and move the other way. You were in motion the whole time, so the physics of the mechanics kept pulling you around the line. So to get the send – as she is exiting the tunnel, you are slowing down a bit to wind up for the big swoosh forward – then you can push off the send leg to go the new direction.
Only one little blooper section here –
You were a little too early and quiet at :35 so she didn’t take the BC jump (starting the BC when she landed without a verbal to support the next jump). No worries! One more step and a jump verbal will help. You were late on the next rep (maybe a bit of over-helping 🙂 ) at :47 and she pulled the bar and then you were moving sideways/not really connected so she got the correct tunnel entry but from the other side of you.The rest looked strong!
Rear cross video: This type of rear cross line also needs to use decel to set them. As she exits the tunnel, you can be up near the jump before the RC, deceleating and turning to the center of the bar of the RC jump. Then as she is approaching the jump, you can start accelerating towards the center of the rear cross bar (don’t worry about the wrap exit, let’s just get her turning correctly before takeoff). When you came in with motion from the tunne, you didn’t decel to set it and ended up turning to the post turn wing – so she didn’t gt it at first, but then ended up getting it over the bar/on landing. That becomes a bit of a pull-and-flick RC which is not as strong as the RC diagonal cues. When coming in without motion from a stay – voila, there was the decel! So she read it 🙂 So add in the decel to set the RC line then accelerate to the center of the bar to cue it. On simpler RC lines like the next set of games, you won’t have to decelerate to set the RC as long as you ar not miles ahead 🙂
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
