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Good morning!
The Find A Jump game went GREAT! She seemed to have no questions about finding the jump even with some variations in your position relative to it (a little ahead of the jump, parallel to it, not quite past it). And the added lateral distance was easy and fun too.
She definitely liked the GO verbal getting added – she seemed to kick into a new gear of speed!
One thing to add to this for the next session is you running all the way down to the tunnel exit then running forward, so she drives ahead of you (sorry about the extra running LOL)
Her stay looked good on the zig zags! You did get all the motions to help her out so she was able to find the lines> I think she was also figuring it out and didn’t need as much help at the end, so you can fade some of the bigger movements to see if she can still do it.
The send and serp reps on the video looked really strong too!
>Again, looking back at it I need to be faster to be more ahead.>
You were moving pretty fast here! So to get more ahead of her, you can move the start wing further away. And your start position will still be next to the wing of the jump – the longer send to the start jump will give you more time to be ahead of her on the serpentine.
One thing to add here is your position being closer to the jump – ideally you are an arm’s length away from it and not further away. That will help her learn to jump in towards handler pressure which is HARD for Border Collies! When getting closer to the jump, you can dial back your motion so you are walking at first, in order to help her run towards the handler pressure.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
She did great finding the jump here! Easy peasy!!!You can add more challenge by staying on a parallel line and not moving towards the jump more. You might have to lay a line on the ground to keep yourself from moving towards the jump 🙂
You can add more distance on the parallel line by sending to the start wing from a little further away, then wherever you are when she exits the wing: stay on that line and move forward rather than towards the jump.You can also throw the reward sooner – as soon as you see her looking at the jump when she exits the tunnel, you can throw it. That will help keep her looking ahead and not at you 🙂
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
>I never did any threadle work (that is when you are saying “close” right?). I have a word for it with Benni “in-in” but I haven’t done any games to introduce this for Brioche.>
Yes, that is my ‘close’ and many folks use ‘in in’.
The good news is that you have actually done the foundation for this. It is here:
Strike A Pose Part 3: Concept Transfer For Threadles (Slices)
and then here:
I don’t think you did a TON of these (they were a lower priority) but you did do the serpentine work which makes for an easy transfer to the threadle slice.
> I think the game for this week trying to do that may be too complicated for him. He can probably get the serp and the tunnel part of it.
Yes, the serp versus tunnel is definitely the way to start. Separately, you can show him threadle position on one jump (near the gap at the entry wing) and see what he remembers. I bet he will be able to do the threadle with the tunnel there too!
Keep me posted!
Tracy
Welcome back! I bet it was a BLAST!!!
Bokeh did really well with these games! The Minny Pinny game was a good refresher of getting her into the groove with the left & right soft turns. Easy peasy!
I think the distances here with the large bumps might have been had for here – they were kind of an awkward in-between distance. To get the bouncing, you can move the outer bumps about 6 inches closer to the middle bumps to see if that is a more comfortable distance.
For the next session, you can add in the turn away elements too! To do this, be sure to hold her collar so you can start the verbal – letting her hear the verbal 4 or 5 times before letting her move will help her process and be able to get it right.
Your handling position on the Sends’n’Serps game was SPOT ON on your left side so she was easily able to nail the serps. You were clearly visible in serp position between the uprights and had your serp arm back/shoulders rotated to the line (strike a pose!) Yay!!!
She had a harder time at the beginning of the serps on your right side, but that might have been mainly because it is her harder side. You helped her out by giving bigger and more obvious cues, then she got it.
Since this went well, you can move the start wing further away (but your send position should still be at the middle wing/first wing of the jump). This will add more motion from you! If she struggles with more motion from you, you can angle the jump to face her a bit so it is easier to see. You can also add in the FC wraps on the start wing to show her the balance of when you don’t want the serp.
Great job!!
Tracy
Hi!
>Worked on lining up between my feet with collar touches. Took her a bit to feel comfortable with this. >
The lineups are going well! She seemed happy to lineup and be held! I was excited to see that she held her position as you stepped off to do a bit of a stay – that will be a helpful skill for sure. She actually got comfortable pretty quickly here.
>I don’t think it helped that I had treats in both hands. >
I always have treats in both hands to start this, because it helps the dogs follow my hands. She was definitely getting the hang of it.
>Am I rushing things too much? >
Nope! I think you are on the right track.
>We will be doing a puppy workshop with Loretta Muller tomorrow. >
Fun! Loretta is a gem! I think Ginger with her pup Dot will be there too.
>It will be interesting to see how she does working around other pups. >
It will be madness of course, puppy seminars always are LOL!! But she will be good! Bring your best treats and toys, and make breaking things down and getting success be your highest priorities. Loretta is great at setting up success and keeping it fun.
>Any input as to how best to manage? >
Great treats, great toys, maybe have a line for the toy in case you need to throw it, break things down, and communicate with Loretta if you have any questions or concerns.
>Also, JFYI I’m entered in a UKI Festival Friday through Sunday so videos may be limited. Thank you!>
Fun! Keep me posted on how everything goes!
Tracy
Good morning!
I am sure you saw the Dobe that won Westminster! Congrats to the Dobe folks! I don’t know a lot about Dobes but I thought that dog’s head and expression were simply gorgeous 🤩
>Our verbals for the stay game: Ok – release and GO. Free – treat/toy thrown behind them Tug – break to a toy I am holding Get it – go to a tossed piece of food X – come get the food.>
Lovely! She did well here!
Yes, the platform was a little too narrow but she did a great job organizing a super tight sit and holding it. You might not even need a platform – if she might offer a stack instead of a sit, it is perfectly fine to cue the sit to avoid any confusion.
For the next steps:
You don’t need the clicker anymore, you can use your markers. And you can start adding more of you moving away, facing the direction you want her to go when you release her.>I kept forgetting my word for throwing behind me. Human C+, dog A.>
Ha! But she had a grand time, so she raises your grade to an A as well.
On the 2nd video:
>Since I had a baggie of chicken with me I took her inside after doing back up work against the Kennel behind me. It took her a bit to figure out which game we were playing.>
She was totally thinking about more backing up LOL!! You can start the game sooner and also reward sooner at first: as soon as she looks towards you. You were near the magical backing up spot and waiting a bit long, so she was being an A++ Honors Student and offering more backing up. Clever!! But once she realized what the game was, she was spot on. This game can go on the road and you can also add in more distraction challenges at home. Can she be with you on one side of a fence while your other dogs are on the other side? Also, add in wearing a leash while playing, because she will be on leash a lot of the time when you play this game.
Great job here!
Tracy
Good morning!
>I have been able to get her to pee on the neighbors lawn twice in the past few days and my front lawn once! I’m calling that a win.>
HUGE WINS!!!! Yay!!!
Strike a pose is looking strong! Your mechanics were generally lovely across the whole game.
>she’s definitely not ready for toy on the ground just yet.
She is almost ready! One thing to remember is to keep your target hand stationary (you can even shake it).
There was a rep (:36-:39) where she looked like she was bypassing the target to go to the toy, but when you watch it in slow motion – the target hand was moving towards the toy just as you released her (maybe just before the release?)She might have been looking at the toy in that moment which caused you to move the hand, but let her make a decision after the release otherwise the target hand movement muddies the waters.
To prep her for the toy being in the ground you can have it dangling more and more out away from you (it is a nice long toy) until eventually you are placing it on the ground. By the end here, you were dangling it next to you and she did great! So you can dangle it more obviously with a little more visible each time.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
Strike A Pose is off to a strong start here! He was a little careful but the mechanics (yours and his) were correct and that is what we want 🙂 I think he was being careful because there is a lot of handler pressure wen we are facing them, so he was sorting it out to be sure he was correct. Good boy!You can work the other side too. I think adding the food bowl on the ground will add more excitement to the game: he was careful about driving directly at your hand, but the value of the food bowl will make it worthwhile (then you can plop the treat into the bowl).
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
At the start of the video, letting him see you put the prop down got him more focused on it, so that is also a good way to get more drive ahead to it – he was super fast driving to it on the first rep.You can see him looking at hands in pockets here too, so I think having your hands out of your pockets will help (and having the temperatures return to normal will DEFINITELY help!!! Brrrr!). So adding more of your motion and more driving ahead will get the RCs to be easy here too.
Nice work!
Tracy
Good morning!
He is doing well sorting out the cues for the rear cross! We can add more value for driving ahead like you mentioned at the end of the video:
It will be easier to get the RCs if he drives ahead to the prop more and looks at you less. So start each rear cross session with several reps of him going straight and driving ahead, with you throwing the reward straight ahead.
And try not to have your hands in your pockets (even though it is insanely COLD out :)) because hands-in-pockets are an accidental cue for “cookie is coming out soon” 🙂 That might be why he was watching you a bit extra.
You can add more motion on the parallel path game on the prop so he is running more. When you were walking, he was not sure if he should stick with you pr drive to the prop but when you added more speed, he was also happier to drive more.
I think once he is blasting ahead, the RCs will be easy peasy to throw in because your line and timing were really good!
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning!
Wow, he did great on the send and serp game! You had a lot of motion and you were ahead, and he found the serp jump beautifully. Yay! You can start to add in the advanced version where it is a backside by moving the start wing, and remember to mix in the FC on the wing balance reps.
Yes, the zig zag requires quickness for dogs and humans when the wings are really close. He did great here! They were so close that it is almost a weave-like pattern of movement.
Getting up to 5 wings was a bit harder with getting him to do wing 1-2 but he was great when yo were out at the 4th wing! You can revisit it eventually (no rush, we have other stuff coming up to play with) and you can try backchaining with you at wing 5 but he starts at wing 4 then 3 then 2 then 1.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Good morning!
>On the backside wraps, are you using a verbal?>
On the first one on the demo video, I did not because I wanted to see if he could do it. Then on the others, I added it quietly. It is ‘dig dig dig dig’.
> Is that verbal different than the backside/slice verbal? >
Yes – ‘back’ is for backside slices and ‘dig’ is for backside wraps. They are entirely different behaviors so need different cues. I used to use back then a wrap verbal but it was way too late for fast dogs and that caused bar issues. No issues with 2 separate verbals!
>And then does there have to be a different verbal for right vs left backside wrap?>
That is trending lately but I don’t yet see a reason why we need it. If the dog knows it is a backside (and not a front and not a threadle) then the visual of the bar provides the info on whether it is left or right once they arrive on the backside. If anyone gives you a reason why we might need to add more verbals to it, let me know 😂
>Also, I know you are using right and left for the rear crosses.>
Yes – all soft turns are dog’s left or right, regardless of handler position.
> I have forever used “switch” as my rear cross verbal. >
I have found switch to be a little too vague for today’s course design, because it does’t really tell the dog anything about what happens next (how much to turn or where to go).
I do use ‘switch’ to me turn away and layer, but that is a separate context from a regular rear cross.
>I have a separate verbal for a turn on the flat “turn” >
That is a good use for it!
>And I am anticipating I will need a RC wrap verbal….which I currently have no verbal for that but I do see a need for it but then am I going to give a separate word for right vs left RC wrap? >
Yes – there is a need for it. And that is why I use the dog’s left or right on the soft turns versus the wraps. A left wrap verbal cue is always wrap-to-your-left, dog 🙂 no matter where I am (turn towards, turn away) and it saves me from having to train and remember additional sets of verbal cues.
So on my rear cross wraps, I use the left-wrap or right-wrap cue. My handling attempts to support that but the verbal helps the dog even when my handling is, um, not good LOL
>My head is spinning…too many words!>
TOTALLY agree! But it gets easier when we raise the pups using the words. It becomes second nature for dog and human 🙂
>Not sure I have the space to do the RC exercise in my basement but I can try. I hate skipping games because I can’t do them outside right now.>
This winter has been GROSS! Fingers crossed for better weather ahead!
Tracy
Good morning!
She was flying here! Wow!!! And she was locked on the line brilliantly.
I think part of it was your clear cues: motion and connection. And part was latent learning – she was like I GOT THIS after a good sleep. FUN!! She was also bringing the toy back really well and ignoring the FOMO barking of the other dog.
>We did some more Find the Jump this evening. I tried to keep my arm back, make eye contact, and stay turned to help with connection. >
Mission accomplished! It is hard at that speed but she also is building a lot of value for the jump which makes it easier too!
>One time I didn’t as she came out of the tunnel and then she missed the jump. I was also trying to stay further away from the jump and run parallel to it rather than angling in.>
The was at 2:49 – I think you might have been feeling the pressure of her speed 🙂 and threw too early – the toy was in flight just as she exited the tunnel so she was looking at you and not at the jump. That was the anomaly though, the rest were strong!
> I still think maybe I threw the toy too late and then didn’t keep running after I threw it. >
On all of the reps where she got the jump – your throw timing was great and you definitely kept running.
You can add a GO verbal or a jump verbal to help supper the line now too~
>I did short session before this one and at first she was running a lot with the toy so I ran away and when she came I gave her treats. So in this session she did better.>
Aha! That explains why her retrieve looked really good – well done making it fun for her!
>I have trouble cueing deceleration which is not good given the size of my dogs. I was thinking about doing your opposite arm course. Do you think it would help with deceleration cues? >
Yes – there is an entire section devoted to getting better turns 🙂 And we will work on decel in this class too. It is possible that given her huge stride and intense speed that you are doing it right but it needs to come sooner. Stay tuned for more decel stuff coming up!
>I see what you mean about maybe jumping 20 inches for AKC. I’m a little frustrated right now with a lot of the courses I’ve run in AKC. But UKI courses are pretty hard for me too.>
UKI courses are hard for everyone LOL!! But the lower levels (Beginner/Novice) and the Speedstakes classes and their new DASH program will be lovely and flowing and not as hard because you won’t see the crazy international challenges.
My whippet is eligible for AKC courses but I feel his stride is too big and the footing at facilities around me is not safe for his speed (plus I don’t want to ask him to run in collection… BORING 🥱 😂) so I stick to UKI and some USDAA. He would jump 16 Preferred in AKC but that is too low and it will be more like speed bumps and not jumps, so it might make it even worse.
Now, looking at Carmen who is bigger and faster than Ramen the whippet – 24” might land her too far out from the jump to have time to sort a stride for the next one. 20” is more appropriate because she will still have to jump but won’t land as far, giving her more room to get the next stride in without having to run the whole course in extreme collection (because… BORING 😆🤣).
I like for these sighthounds to get the chance to open up and run in agility – it is breathtaking and super fun for dog, handler, and spectators. There is nothing more amazing than watching a sighthound run, but maybe I am a little biased haha!!!!
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
Good morning! She is doing really well here with her commitment and staying on the lines!!
There was only one blooper: At 1:17, you had disconnected when she exited the tunnel and were not looking at her (you were looking at the wing) and your hand was swinging a toy around, so she came to the toy. Compare to the next rep at 1:36 where you were looking at her and she was great (didn’t look at the toy at all!
>OMG I don’t know left from right lol! Poor Torch.>
Yes, you will want to give yourself a quick walk through to plan the verbals before bringing her out 🙂
More importantly, though, you will want to give her the turn or go info earlier – you were saying it as she was getting into the tunnel, so it was harder for her to hear. You will want to say when she is still a stride away before getting into the tunnel, so she is about 6 feet away from the entry. That way she will easily hear the verbal and see the handling.
Looking at the set point:
>I’m feeling like she’s leaving a bit early. I think it’s the moving toy. Should I practice more without the jump?>
Her form with the moving toy is really nice! She is not leaving a bit early in terms of jumping form (she is not taking off too soon).
Was she leaving the stay early? Yes, possibly 🙂 so the thrown reward for the stay should happen while the toy is moving. And yes, you can practice it without the jumps – we don’t need to do a lot of actual jumping here because she is so young. The 2nd bar here doesn’t even need to be at 8 inches, it can be 2 bumps or 4 inches. But based on her form, we definitely want to keep the moving target as part of it.
Here is what I see on the video:
When you are using the stationary set point, keep your position next to or parallel to the reward so she doesn’t accelerate past deceleration (that could dilute deceleration cues in the future).
But the stationary target was all front end use and her hind end was not pushing off (because she was getting ready to stop at the reward target).
When you did the moving toy – she was in the correct jumping form: lovely rounded form and lots of hind end power. As she develops, this distance might be a bit too short for her and her power!
Great job here!
Tracy
