Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi!
I am glad the initial love-the-weaves-project worked so nicely!! Over the years since then, he might have lost some value for them. He was really good with the double Manners Minders out there, but I think he is in it for the payoff 🙂 And that is fine: for now, on the independence games, leave a MM out there about 10 feet away and reward lots. Then we can fade it back and out of the picture – basically incorporating it into the transition to trial game where you put it on cue and that is the end of run reward (or weaves reward!) My Papillon runs for it at trials: the MM sits outside the ring and the Pap knows where it is. He goes and runs the course, then I give the cue and we run to it at the end 🙂 That way we will be hitting on both things: refreshing the value of the weaves, and getting him happy to do them in trials again too!
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>tried it with Hero and I was like a novice all over again
Not at all! It took you a moment to get really aggressive on course but then it went really nicely 🙂
Looking at it in sections:
Opening 1-2-3-4 to tunnel:
I think you chose a good option! You had a good push to the backside at 2 but then you can get outta there faster, no need to cue him to come in or hold your arm out for that long over the bar – he ticked the bar at :02 because you stayed there. He also dropped the bar at :09 because you were there for too long (also he sometimes doesn’t ‘lift’ with his hind end hen he is distracted if you are in the way or late or something, so you can working some jumping plyometrics with him and see if he will push off his rear even if you are disconnected).
he FC late 4to 5 at :12 on the first rep, he was lifting off for 4 already. The FC works well there! Or you can do a spin then get him into the tunnel on your left, but that makes it a lot harder to get the line from the tunnel to the weaves.
Leaving sooner at 2 will get you past 3 sooner to let you set a nice line to 4 – so you can also do a forced blind on the takeoff side of 2 to see how far ahead you can get!On the next attempt starting at 1:43:
One tiny detail that can make the difference between a win (or not a win) is how you line him up at jump 1. On this rep, he was facing the center of jump 1, so he had to land and turn to find the backside of 2. That costs you a couple of tenths on the clock. You can line him up on a slice for 1, so he is facing the backside of 2 and doesn’t have to add an extra turn there.This rep was great – you left 2 really early which let you set 3-4 really well AND the timing of the FC at 147 was much earlier too! Yay!
>>When I practiced with Ruse I actually did a threadle wrap on the left wing of 2 with a blind to 3.>>
Interesting! I would bet the slice like you did here was faster, but we will be timing these things to compare in a couple of weeks.
Weaves:
He definitely found the weave entry line to be difficult from the tunnel! You probably needed to set the line from the exit of the tunnel and take one or two more steps to the weave entry to help him see it: he exits the tunnel turning slightly to his left and a lead change away will set up a nicer line to the entry.When resending to the weaves, you can reset the line from the tunnel to help him learn to find the weave entry from the tunnel.
Opening the last couple of poles definitely helps and one other thing to help will be placement of reward – either have it in your hand and throw it early (use a ‘get it’ so he doesn’t look at you) or leave your MM out there so he doesn’t look at you (and yes, it is a nice challenge for him to ignore it the rest of the time LOL!) When he was successful at :40 and :59 you praised a lot which drew his attention up to you then rewarded next to you – which will make it harder for him to ignore you when you run away laterally to the next line.
8-9-10-11-12 looks good! You might be able to tighten up the lines with more decel or a brake arm or the other ideas you mentioned but that might *not* be faster – he was turning but in extension so that might be the fastest way to do it.
When you came through there again on the second rep, I think you were a little in his way on the FC at 1:29 so he added a stride. The BC there at 2:15 allowed you to get out of his way (but the threadle worked really well too!).
You had a spin on 10 at 2:04 and he collected. Later in this class, we are going to time all of those options and compare which is faster! That will help you select what to do in trial runs. Stay tuned for that!At 2:05 you said “go on” as he was approaching 11… so he went on indeed, to the off course tunnel. And the threadle cue was a bit late which didn’t help your cause there LOL! Good boy.
Closing line –
>>13-14-15-16 worked as a double backside with a blind on 14 to get 15 with a fc to 16, but I had to move quickly.>>YES! And you did 🙂
Very nice double backsides 13-14! It looks like he sliced the long way on 15 at 115 and that threw you off for the turn at 1:17 to get the correct #17 tunnel entry
I loved how you got in for the BC before 15 on the 2nd time through there – it set up a MUCH nicer turn at 15 and allowed you to get the correct entry at 17 too.
On the next rep at 2:17, you were MUCH more aggressive in the handling choices: blind to 15 then a FC to takeoff ide of 16: LOVED it! So fast!!!
You did a threadle on takeoff side of 14 on the last 2 reps – it worked well, but he had to collect more. So I am not sure it was faster. That all goes on the list to compare when we get into the timing.
Great job here!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Yes, she was a little wild here! Ha! The presence of the HH food plus being hungry (hangry?) might have stimulated her into more of a trial mode? That is great, it gives you the opportunity to play with skills when she is higher, like she might be at a trial.
She is GREAT about going to the end but still getting great about staying balanced and staying there til released. She almost fell off the side on the first rep but then fixed her balance on the others. She self-released on some “good girl” and “yes” verbals that coincided with the board hitting the ground, so she might be anticipating where the release usually would be? You can use a good or yes verbal, but be less exciting so she is less likely to release: yesssss rather than YES! And she might do even better if you are quiet and don’t use the praise: staying quiet til the release word or the reward word.
The only little handing tweak is to see if you can line yourself up more exactly onto her line on jump 3 for the FC back to wing #4. You were across the line, more on center of the bar, so she jumped wide towards you then pushed back to the wing. If you stay closer to where the wing meets the bar for the FC, she will have a wicked tight turn.Great job here! You can definitely add the other sequences here too!
Tracy
Hi!
Nice work on these- they are both really challenging!He was definitely thinking hard in the weaves while you moved away laterally, but he was a good boy and finished them! He let you move away on the hard line and also weaved without you moving – good boy! You can totally have your PT or something out ahead as a focal point for more confidence as you continue to add challenges.
> I ran with him on the last one to end on an easier one.>
That was smart. You can mix it in more because he is so young – if you do 6 reps, for example, reps 1, 3, and 5 can be running with him like “normal” and reps 2, 4, 6 and be the harder challenges. And for now, that can all have the reward target and then we can fade it out pretty easily.
Teeter session – good warm ups! And he did well on the full teeter too.
About the HH cue: Yes, ideally you would say HH and then move but the reality in the ring is that you will be moving and saying it 🙂
Also, Happy Hour can be the release cue. And you can add the game in to this training as long as he still gets a TON of reward in position at the teeter, like you did here.>>how he sent ahead but he is stalling out a bit as he rides it down so I decided not to send him on ahead without me. He started this the last session about a week earlier so I added the target back in to to see if that moved him into 2o2o faster. I think it did but he still looks a bit sticky to me.>>
Yes, I see what you mean and it was smart to get the target involved again. I do think the higher value reward (toppl) needs to come onto the field with you for the teeter rather than be off to the side. It is too much of a distraction (along with the jumps) and we want him to think less and be a crazed lunatic more LOL! He is still percolating the behavior so the highest value reward should be in relation to it for now. The cookies-in-hand were likely to be lower value. Eventually the remote reward cue will be added to the teeter when he is blasting across it consistently (he was stopping a little short here).
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Nice work here – yes, there were some really lovely parts and some parts that were tricky 🙂 Tweaking it to fit the yard worked nicely, I think you maintained the challenges really well!
Your connection is looking really solid, which is very helpful. One overall thing to add is reward him more often, and with more excitement 🙂 Even if there is an off course or something – reward him like he just won it all, because that stuff is handler errors and we want him to feel great about it 🙂Course 1, looking at it in sections:
Opening:
He had a little trouble finding the line after the exit of tunnel #1. You can call him before he enters the tunnel or a ‘right’ verbal would work at :05 and on the 2nd rep as well. And reward him if you are late or don’t call him and he can’t find the line 🙂 You had really good connection at 1:22, that helped him find 2 and 3 better. Yay! You can also throw rewards on the line to help him find the jump after the tunnel regularly – he had a little trouble with it here and on the second course too.On the tunnel exit – start the head turn of the blind (and call him) before he enters the #4 tunnel at :17. You called and showed the position better at 1:26 so he turned better – this is a good place for a left verbal (not just his name). If you are not yet in perfect position, you can let him see your head turning anyway as you keep moving to the next line.
About the weaves –
>> I pushed it WAY MORE than I should have but I was hoping I’d see a successful rep.>>
Yes, you need to become one with the 2 Failure Rule and don’t let thigns go past two failures (and that is two failures for the day, not two failures for the moment). He had 7 failures here. It might have been a combination of factors: different location, closed poles, no reward target (weaving into ‘nothing’) and Roulez right there barking (lots of pressure even though he knows her).
Since this was a low rate of success session, the next session should be set up to get 100% success – so I recommend opening the poles and putting the MM out there. That will simulate what he is very successful with at home and help him generalize the skill in a new place with new distractions. And you can practice the handling and independence while he gets rewarded 🙂 And then you can ask him for a stay at the poles exit to do the handling for the next session.
On the closing line for the turn 12-13-14:
at 1:13 you were parallel to him when he landed from jump 11 which means no FC between 12 and 13 🙂 You would have to be past 12 to start it when he landed from jump 11. Having the independent weaves will help that, and you can get it on these courses by leaving him in a stay at the weave exit after rewarding the weaves.He went around 13 at 1:17 because you were on his line to the front side – still party like he won it all! That is a good spot to reward anyway 🙂
The spin for 12 at 2:17 is a better idea: start deceling as he is jumping 11 so you can have the spin in play before he makes a jumping decision for 12. You were a little late starting it and had no deceleration so he didn’t read it and ended up in the tunnel. Still rewardable!
Starting on the tunnel send made the FC more do-able at 2:45 for sure! You *almost* got it: you only half-finished it and ended up running backwards to ‘catch’ him… and backwards motion is same as forwards motion 🙂 So that is also a good off course to reward. If you are late on a FC (sh*t happens) be sure to finish it and run the new direction so you don’t end up running backwards. That 12-13 line is a great place for a blind cross because you can finish it sooner (no rotation of feet!) and get the connection, without ever running backwards there.
2nd course, also looking at it in sections:
Opening:
This was a Goldilocks moment to get the jump to the tunnel:
Rep 1 was tooooo hot: at :13 there was no turn cue so he was being a good boy to try the weaves
Rep 2 was too cold: at :36 you deceled too soon (as he was in the air over the previous jump) and at :38 curled away as you sent to the jump so he was correct to come directly to the tunnel
Reps 3 and 4 were just right! Much better at :53 and 1:19, the decel happened after he landed from the previous jump so he committed AND turned. Yay!One thing I will start to bug you about here and in general: you can be more specific with your verbals. You were generally using obstacle names (jump, tunnel, etc) and his name. But he will need directionals too! You said “jump” and “tunnel” here – but a wrap cue would be more helpful, and since he can see both sides of the tunnel on the tunnel verbal, the tunnel threadle verbal will help him know which side you wanted.
Middle section: at :16 and :58 missed jump after the tunnel – more connection will help (arm back so your shoulder is very open to him) and also this is good training skill – so reward lots on the line when he takes the jump after the tunnel (he had trouble with it on course 1 too) He got it at 1:24, that is a good place to reward because that way he will learn to look for that jump rather than go around it.
We can help him out on the 10 jump a bit more. At :20 and 1:00, give the turn cue when he lands from 9 so he can adjust his takeoff for 10 and keep bar up and turn tight. You were earlier for sure at 1:26 but also backing up – keep moving forward or even consider a spin there rather than moving backwards – moving forward (even with a spin) will put you in a great spot for the next cue while also getting a good turn on 10.
The Tunnel threadle is a good option to get the correct tunnel entry! At :23 but you can make a sweeter line with less rotation. You set a good line at 1:32 in that you didn’t pull him more than needed so he had an almsot straight line to the tunnel entry. Yay!
BTW – you had plenty of time for the blind before the tunnel which would get the tightest fastest line 🙂
On the double backside moment at the end- this is a hard section and you two both did really well!!! He got the backside at :27, so keep moving and stay connected so you aren’t in the way (he pulled the bar). You were much better at 1:11 – connected but also moving through really well! An then he got the 2nd backside nicely. At 1:38 he wrapped and you told him good try, but it was the same handling as what he had just been rewarded for so were you trying for the slice there (I think the slice is the best line to the closing line). You would need to move further across the bar if you were wanting to ‘flip’ him away from the landing side. You can also keep him on your right and move into the gap between t he jumps so you are on the takeoff side, then do a blind on the flat to get him on your left and get the slice 🙂Great work here! Lots of stuff you should keep in your toolbox and some new stuff to try. Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>Also, my throwing skills are not as good as yours – just saying!>>
Ha! Some days I am spot on… some days I look like I am using my arms for the first time 🙂
His weaves look super awesome, as per usual for him. Pretty darned super! My only suggestions to add challenge are to move the wing closer to the weaves so your departure is much more visible and obvious – you will be close then suddenly leave. It might be more challenging… or not. LOL! Or do the 90 degree run-away angles as rear crosses – so start him on your right to send to the poles, then rear cross so he is on your left as you run away on the extreme angle. That is a challenge that is getting popular on course.
The other suggestion is to throw the toy while he is weaving – throw it when he gets to pole 4 or 6 to challenge him to stay in 🙂 The sequences will add obstacles to ignore which is also a good challenge for him.
Teeter –
>>For the teeter, I should have used the MM but it wasn’t working. Maybe needs a new battery?>>
Yeah, they are temperamental! New battery might do the trick. You can also leave a toy out ahead if he can resist it til cued 🙂
This is going well for just the 2nd week of the new end position! How are you helping him learn the new position: a target? You can totally have it out there on these challenges, if it wasn’t already there – it was hard to see where he was putting his feet when the board got to the ground, plus he wanted to curl into you a bit – a target will help there too.
The weaves can totally go into the sequences! And the teeter can go in if he does well with a target helping him rehearse the correct behavior (otherwise, do a couple more sessions with it in isolation before we add more challenge).
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>For the previous discussion: he can do the threadle when we approach it at an angle or with less speed. It is just a thing we need to work up to.>>
Got it! Hopefully the skills and sequences for the next set of games will help this: we are focusing on TURNS 🙂 As in, how to help the dog process verbal cues when they are more stimulated and also how to apply that to sequences, in terms of timing, style of cue, etc. We start it with “easier” turns but then will get to the harder stuff like threadles in the Games Package 3 stuff 🙂 Stay tuned!
On your transition to trial video here:
This was not terribly difficult for him, but I also felt it was not super easy. He did have some question marks over his head, in the form of looking around a bit more as you were lining him up, and not being as quick to respond to some of the cues. The leash at tug toy needed a bit of encouragement at first but then he got more into it – I think the leash will be a nice reinforcement in the ring (just the visual of having it there really helps in trials) and a nice anchor for the stays and for the arousal he will encounter at trial. It was hard to hear some of the cues – I think “Let’s go” is the cookie cue and ‘get it’ was the cue for the leash? That is good, I recommend distinct cues and the leash should *definitely* have a cue on it so he doesn’t become one of the dogs that leaves the course to go grab the leash.He did well with the tricks when the reward was behind him! Those are useful for getting him into the right state of focus on the start line even if you don’t have toys or treats. And you can use the leash tugging as a reward for those. The barking on cue is GREAT because it raises arousal in two helpful ways: gets his focus back up to you (useful for situations where he might be tempted to watch something moving in the environment like a loud, fast dog running before him) and also you can use it to raise arousal to a trial-like state in training (which allows you to work through challenges you see in the trial ring but not necessarily at home when he is relaxed.
He had just enough challenge here that I would revisit this game periodically in his training, building it into longer sequences. The more experience he has with knowing where the reward is and with you NOT having a reward on you, the easier it will be to make the trial behavior more like the home behavior. Most of the training should be done with the rewards in your hand, but you can totally do a couple of reps of this game scattered in throughout the training sessions 🙂
Great job here! Le me know what you think!
TracyHi there!
Good work on these!!
For the weaves – it took her a moment to figure out that the MM was in play (you can have it beep when she exits so she knows to go to it) but I do like having it out there for her.
She was at about 50% rate of success here, which is lower than we want it to be. To raise it up closer to 100%, I suggest opening up the poles so she can stay in them even when you run away and do crosses and so on. Her entries seem good so you can open up poles 8-12 (use your 2×2 bases) so it is easy for her to stay in while the challenge of independence gets added in. Then you can gradually close them back up again. I would try for 2 sessions of 90% success or better and then close on one section (like poles 9-10) a little bit… then another couple of high success sessions, then close them a little more, and so on.The handling is going well!
Nice blinds at 1:01 and 1:17 and 151!! Good timing! I think she was turning really well out of the tunnel but was then drifting a bit: I believe the drifting was because to clear the wing of the 5 jump, you were running parallel to the bar rather than forward to 6. So if you get closer to the #4 tunnel to start your blind and then run more forward to 5 – she will have a great line there. And the key to getting closer to 4 before the blind is to send to the #1 tunnel from further away, so you are also further ahead on 2 and 3 🙂On the ending line: the BC at 12 at 1:28 was too early – you started it when you passed 12 but she was just taking off for 11, so she read it correctly as a cue to NOT take 12. Letting her land, cuing the jump then doing the blind will get her to commit. Your timing was much better at 1:39; also you can decel into the blind to tighten it. Decel plus keeping your arms in tighter through the blind will help her read it as a really tight turn there.
Really lovely work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi there!
I love the cue “Happy Hour” – makes me laugh every time!
Happy hour with the ball looked really good! He seemed comfortable playing with the ball while on leash, and that is GREAT. He also seemed very engaged as a left it behind him: looking up at the momma and doing a nice prance, and responding to cues quickly. Super! That will work nicely in the trial ring!
With the leash tugging I think he was wanting to engage. You can have 2 tug leashes, one on him and one as a toy that is not attached. And when it is attached to him, try not to move it towards him like at 1:02 and 153. He was trying to engage with it when you moved it away, but then you would move it towards his mouth and he would back off (and he got a little mouthy too, a little frustrated perhaps?). So keep moving it away and let him grab it (and be careful not to move it towards him when he is going for it). And you can also have it be the ‘in play’ reinforcement when you put it on the ground behind him at a start line, cuing him to go get it (different verbal than Happy Hour, it can be something like “get it”).>>The best reward I’ve found for that is to send ahead to the Pet Tutor followed by some raw food in a toppl so he can’t scarf it down. Only problem is that if I carried the toppl or placed it off to the side on the grond, he would turn his head as he hit the target. Put it on a mill crate and he looked back at it as we left but kept his head forward on the DW! >>
So to be sure I understand this… by having the Toppl in the Happy Hour setup, it improved his head position while also allowing you to use the ‘loop’ of the super high value reward? If yes: cool beans! Yay! (If not – please explain or send more caffeine hahaha)
If this turns into a “you know where the reward is but you have to focus forward on your work to get it” thing, then I am happy with that. Just be careful that nothing (teeter) is on the line for happy hour cues 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi there!
Good work on this course! Looking at it in sections:
On the opening section:
You had a consistently lovely opening line, good timing on the BC before tunnel #4 (just keep calling him there – he exited turned properly but hesitated for a moment to look for you). Yay!You sent and left a little too quickly so he missed 6 at :08, nice fix with a better sends at :30 and 1:16!
OK, the weave poles:
On the 1st rep – he had the entry until you made the weave noise and then he came out
2nd rep – he headed out there then put his nose on the ground (possibly stress, or possibly something smelled really good :))
3rd rep, same as first rep – he was heading to the poles and then came out as you made the weave noise.He had trouble weaving towards the trees (away from the course) when you isolated it – his head came up and he slowed down. He was a little better going back towards the course.
>>Nuptse does not like the WPs>>
I agree! I think we can build the love for the weaves so he drives to them no matter what you do. How was he originally trained – 2x2s or channels or? To build the weave love and independence, I suggest going back to the training method, opening the poles up, putting a focal point out ahead (like the Manners Minder) and training the independence with a high rate of success. For example, if he learned on the channels, open them up to be about 6 inches open and the MM can be 10 feet past pole 12. Then you train all of he crazy independence on these courses and he can get rewarded a LOT 🙂 Then we tighten the poles… and fade the reward target away. It is a good summer project, I am sure he will pick it up really quickly.
The closing line was harder because you couldn’t really leave the weaves. You needed to take one more step to cue 12 at :16 – you turned and moved away before he saw 12. It was much clearer at 1:33! When you step to that jump, you can also start the verbal so it comes sooner. And I bet you can get in for a blind cross to pick him up on your left side after he serps 13! That will all be easier when he is very comfortable in the weaves.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think about the weaves idea!
Tracy
Hi there!
Good job with all of the training bits here!! And definitely some good training opportunities too, perfect for summer training!Here are some ideas from the videos:
Looking at the weaves:
>> I used the ready treat at the end of the weaves but I do think I was asking too much. I like your idea to go back and make things simpler. >>
Yes – she was better with the ready treat out there for sure! I think a great summer project is to go back to the training set of poles (6 open 2x2s or channels or however you originally trained) with the RT out ahead of it – and we will train all of the independence.
>>She was showing either stress or fatigue or maybe both trying to sort these out I think.
I would say it was stress – her rate of success was too low, so she was stressing about it. The main goal is to raise the rate of success to almost 100% by making the weaves easier, so you can add in all of the handling options. That way you won’t have to be with her or ahead of her in the weaves.
The other training thing to look at is the teeter. On the 3rd video, you were running to position and she did not understand her teeter criteria – she ran off then it banged and she looked concerned about it. Then she was realllllllly careful at :26 on the redo there. On the 5th video, she also stopped short and you had to stop and cue the end position several times. So, to plan the training, a few questions:
first, is her criteria a 2o2o? And if so, do you maintain that in trials? She seems to think that she should keep going when you are moving fast, so we need to clarify the criteria so she knows what to do. For now – I highly recommend just having a target out there to give her a focal point and so you can get a super high rate of success.Also, a general rule for her and also specific to the teeter (and weaves too) – don’t use any negative markers when something goes wrong. When she came off the teeter, your marker was something like “ohhhh” and a low voice – so she got really careful and slow. You don’t have to say anything at all when it happens, you can just run back to the previous jump and try again. I mean, we are trying to get a higher rate of success so ideally you won’t see any errors – but if it happens, the markers that tell her she is wrong also cause her to melt. So…. don’t use ’em 🙂 Have more of a “cool, yay, try again!” vibe and less of a “ohhh no that was wrong” vibe.
Onwards to the handling! Your connection is looking REALLY strong on all the clips. YAY!!
On the first video, she had a refusal on jump 3 (backside wrap) at :08 – ideally the 3 backside is a slice but I don’t think there was enough room there 🙂 Your handling intention looked good – nice connected send, then as she passes you and turns to the jump, get outta there. Her current understanding of the commitment is what we can focus on: to train her to let you leave like that, when she turns and looks at the jump as you take off, toss a reward back to the landing side of the jump so she commits while you leave.
On the 3rd video, nice serpy lines on the way to the teeter!
On the 5th video – nice handling with all the backsides on the line after the weaves! Nice connection! And nice line from the teeter exit to the weaves!
On those types of lines, I recommend more throwing of toys to get her comfy to drive out and away with more speed rather than trying to stick close to you (and the cookies :))She only had one other handling question: on that last video, you had a refusal on the rear cross at 1:00 – your upper body and verbal were good. Add in turning your feet to the center of the bar, not just your upper body – she was going to take the jump but then your feet stepped forward so she flipped away from the jump. She probably didn’t want to run into you 🙂 And you should reward here there – that was totally handler error, she needs to get paid 🙂 Pay careful attention to reinforcing her A LOT especially when there is a handling error. You did the wrap there on the next rep (I think it was intentional?) to a blind then a rear cross – so you can do the wrap as a FC and have her exit on your right, so you don’t need a rear cross on the 2nd to last jump. But we will definitely keep working on those tight rear crosses because I believe it is the best, fastest line.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi –
Sounds like a fun weekend!!!
>>So obviously, ASCA must not have rules…although perhaps different clubs are more conscious of these things, because I don’t remember having concerns when I ran at OTR a couple years ago. >>>
Yes, I think it is up to the various clubs? Plus I might be pickier about these things than other folks, but I don’t want my dogs to break themselves and I truly don’t know how to slow them down in tunnels.
>>But I hope you can find somewhere for your babies to run – I can just imagine that is incredibly frustrating – especially when you are teaching a class on getting ready for trials.>>
So far the 2 youngest have all made their competition debuts in disc and will probably also be running flyball before we can get fully into the agility ring. But disc and flyball train all the skills I would need for agility in terms of handling the environment, so it is all good and far, far less expensive haha!
>>But he had great start lines in all four classes. He did six closed weaves successfully in all four classes, although in the first two classes he had a least one “fail,” once distracted by the toy and then the number cone >>
Good boy on the weaves! The toy and cone distractions are indicative of the difficulty of the environment – he does not get distracted by those things when he is in a less difficult environment. The ‘stress’ of a situation will make distractions (internal or external) more obvious. So, more training runs will help the environment get him more comfortable and those distractions will go away.
>> I am thinking he’s ready to run some full courses if they are jumps, tunnels, weaves by the time we compete again.
Depends on when you are at your next trial LOL! The cone distraction and toy distraction plus his age tells me he is not ready for the bigger courses yet. When he is ready, he will not get distracted by those things. He doesn’t really need to practice his handling/coursework skills in that environment, he just needs to practice being *in* that environment 🙂 so no need to get into the full courses yet. You’ll see the shift in his focus and relaxation. And I personally would want at least 5 or 6 training runs with zero fails under the dog’s belt before we ask for longer sequences.
>> I think the rhythm of keeping going is more rewarding than the distracting of toy reward and start again.
Maybe, but that can be a slippery slope with young dogs – it shifts a lot of value onto the running lines and then we lose control of the reinforcement. So I recommend toy rewards that then get looped into a smooth, fast starting point for the next sequence. It is also a good way to add in a little more start line practice because you can reward, play, ask for a stay, then continue. We don’t want agility to be the reinforcement because that makes it harder to maintain the precision skills.
Looking at the weaves:
he definitely wants to bounce when the poles are straight! Opening them up 1/2 inch does not get the swimming, do I think you would need to open them more to get the swimming.>> There is a 5th rep where I decided to drive up fast with him that I didn’t realize I left in there until I uploaded it, but I look super silly 😉
I am glad you left it in there – with you driving ahead, you were stimulating him more and getting more speed… but still have the bounce/swim combo. It did not help him swim.
So, we are at a fork in the road:
we can either open them up to where he swims and leave them open there for a long while, to really get the muscle memory set. Or, you can go with the bouncing and see how fast we can get it. The first thing to do to help make the decision is to do 3 or 4 reps with the poles closed and you running ahead – and we time them. And then in a different session, 3 or 4 reps with the poles open as much as needed to get the swim (an inch? 1.5 inches?) and then we time them. There are many, many top level agility dogs of his size that bounce rather than swim.Bearing in mind that the slightly open poles will be faster than they would be as closed poles, we can compare the times. If the bounce and the projected swim are really not all that different in terms of speed, then we let him bounce because it is what he wants to do. If the swim looks like it would be dramatically faster, then we leave the poles open until the swim is solidified and close them in the tiniest increments to maintain the striding (like boiling the frog lol). The 2nd rep of the bouncing was pretty speedy with the distraction of you running laterally, so it would be interesting to see how he does with your running forward.
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi –
>>Distractions and being a social butterfly are going to be her big challenge so lots of visiting other places in next couple of months as she seems to be getting the hang of sequences fast.>>
Yes, that will become a higher priority now – training runs with toys and all sorts of new environments will help her so she understands how to ignore all of those things before you start trialing her.
T
Good morning!
She did well here – it is a useful game for her because she definitely had some looks back at the kibble cart LOL!!!A couple of ideas for you:
She seemed to like the lie up between your feet the best – the other interactions were ‘stickier’ for her in that situation. So definitely keep doing that line up! And, separately, you can play ith her doing tricks without a visible reinforcement then running back to a cookie bowl. Start this somewhere in the house and then move it outdoors but away from the agility equipment… and then eventually back in front of a jump.For the ‘get your cookie’ verbal: I think you were using a ‘break’ cue as well, but you don’t need both. “Break” means ‘release forward onto the course/focus on da momma’ and the cookie cue can be super specific to running to the cookie cart. And isolating the ‘cookie’ verbal will help it really pop and be salient, making it even more valuable. She was definitely figuring it out and was doing well ignoring the cookie cart 🙂
About the leash tugging:
She seemed to really get engaged with it here! In training, if the leash is in play as the toy, it can be the reward as well which is useful for end of run as it is a toy in the ring. I recommend a separate verbal for the leash so she knows when it is in play and when it is not in play. And, separately from the agility obstacles, you can play with the leash as a toy and ask her to do tricks and use the leash as a reward.
At trials, you can have a separate leash that is introduced only as a toy – see if she can tug on it away from the ring, and gradually get it closer to the ring and then eventually it is the leash that she is wearing 🙂You can incorporate this game into a variety of training sessions – adding it sometimes to your sequences at home, and also having it happen if you are training at new locations. And if you can do FEO runs at trials, you can use a toy to replace the cookies and see how she does with it.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
