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Hi!
He is doing really well with the serps! You can start the serp verbals sooner, as soon as you see him at the start wing you can switch to the serp verbal (and repeat it) but overall he did well with finding the lines even as you were getting way ahead. NICE!!! You did get the verbals out on a lot of reps, but you were silent on some others, so keep working to spit those verbals out on all of them LOL!On thing that I think will help here: you can stay more engaged during the lotus ball reload and the line up, which will help him stay more engaged during the in-between moments. You can talk t him, you can show him the reload process, then take his collar and give him a little ‘ready ready ready…’ before sending him. You were quiet and probably thinking ahead to the next rep, but we don’t want him to disengage so you can include him in the planning process 🙂
>.I also need to remember to repeat my cues and start them early.
Yes – the backside verbal in particular needs the repeated verbals and starting them early with you holding him, otherwise he guesses based on the motion he sees. For example, at 1:34 where you moved before saying back (left foot stepped then you said the verbal) so he took the front, processing the first cue which was motion. And on the next rep handling got it because you moved towards the backside. So be really careful to hold him, say the verbal a few times… then let go. And when you do, move directly forward to the bar, don’t move towards the backside wing so he begins to understand the verbal more independently. You can throw the reward as soon as he arrives at the entry wing.
Great job catching yourself with the bar down, and staying engaged 🙂 let me know if you try the Klimb or Cato board or something for him to hang out on for those in-between moments. You can also use a toy for thee games – he likes the food and the lotus ball, but chasing a toy might be a lot more fun 🙂
>>he knows the cue “push” really well, so I thought I’d use it for backside wraps since that is what he’s really used it for. I tried “back” at first and got frustrated and switched to “push” to see if he knew it. I’ll need to teach “back” and decide which is for what turn
I don’t know if he knows push or back independently of motion (like at 2:48 and 3:16 you stepped to the backside as you said push then you moved away, so it was more of a motion cue). So this game and the backside circle on the wing will be good for teaching the verbals, with him hearing them before you move.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Happy Mardi Gras (this is today, right?)
This is looking really good and it was also a really good session in terms of structure, reinforcement, criteria, etc.I am glad you started to add your movement earlier – that was a “just right” amount of challenge. You had a really good transition back to the start after the one error – it was a legit error, there was more pressure on his line (which is correct for this game). You can deliver the reset cookie as part of also lining him up but that is just a little nitpick.
2 other details – your timing of the reward toss was really good so now alter the placement a little by getting it to land on the landing spot (not near you when he exits the wrap). That will get even more independence – you’ll be throwing it behind you as you move up the line 🙂 And, try to say “get it” then “yes” not “yes get it” – I am trying to get myself to NOT say yes first as well, such a hard habit to break!
I think he is ready for the more speed here – start your next session on the easier side for him (left turns, I think, like you did here) and do a couple of reps with the motion you had here. If that is all good, add jogging then running 🙂
>>when I come in like the meme of Jason Momoa to the backside.
Well, our goal is that you are literally running behind his tail, so he will get used to the Momoa-ing 🙂
“”I keep trying to make this holee roller a fun toy but I think he gets bored with it. We played fetch after so hopefully he keeps feeling it’s fun. It’s just super easy to place.””
Try flinging it further – when you throw it to te landing spot, you can really toss it rather than plop it. He likes to chase it!
>> I’m still bad at switching is collar to hand while tugging to restart.
Do you mean getting your hand on his collar while still tugging? I don’t think you need to, and I think it dilutes the play a bit. On the last rep, you did play-out-cookie-line up -collar – cue. I think it was clean and smooth and he was a very happy critter who then nailed the response.
>>I feel like I’m leaving over too much to start but that may just be me nitpicking
yes, just nitpicking- you have to lean over to hold his collar and he didn’t seem sad bout it 🙂
Great job here!! Le me know how the next session goes!
TracyHi!
>>>> After last week’s live chat, I was really trying to keep this in mind, but it’s so hard of a transition for me when I spend Sundays teaching Puppy Kindergarten, Good Dog 101, and Jump Start Puppy and we’re using “Yes!” (or a click) to mark behaviors. Eventually, I got a bit more regular with it, but definitely still need a lot of work!
True, it is a hard transition when you spend a lot of time just getting folks to use their clicker or say yes and reward in puppy classes 🙂 Not gonna lie, I don’t teach people to say yes anymore but I still have a hard time stopping myself LOL!
>> I tried a bit of handler motion this morning, but I didn’t record it, so no video to share. I was trying to be clear with left/right handler motion, but she was still going straight. Any specific tips for what handler motion might look like for this? Do I try starting her way back from the jump/wing so that I can be far enough ahead of her that I can turn while she can still see me?>>
Yes, it is possible that she needs to see it sooner – so starting way back and then letting her see you move away on a right angle can help. You can also add a little more space between the 2 jumps – if they are 6 feet, try 8 or 9 feet and see how she does. Is she able to do it on a wing, but goes straight when there are 2 jumps?
>> I have worked so hard for her to focus more on me, less on cars/squirrels/scooters/skateboards/motorcycles/trucks/manhole covers (weird I know)/other things that she has been reactive towards or wants to chase so that she can be a calmer/more balanced dog. At this point she stares at me any time I’m at home and I can’t shake her from looking at me. So hard to get her to focus on something else these days! Should I just wait her out until she’s looking at a jump or some other obstacle?>>
Ah, the joys of Border Collies and herding dogs in general LOL There is a lot of “Don’t Look At That” game LOL!!! You can start some focus-forward-on-‘work’ by holing her collar and tossing a ball or toy: when she looks at it, let her go to get it.
Then apply it to a jump: hold her collar and when she even glances towards it, you can release her and toss the toy past it.
Speaking of where to look – have you ever done the Look At That game with her? It is a Control Unleashed game that helps produce calmer behavior in the environment, but also helps her learn that it is OK to look at other things and not just at you.Keep me posted! Let me know what you think1
TracyUnfortunately, Zoom doesn’t have any way to transcribe the video or get text of the conversations 🙁
T
Found a bunch of videos for training the over-the-bar distractions!! Now to get the get out videos too 🙂
T
Hi! I think this went really well!
You esablished a very different tone between the louder, more urgent “GO!” and the quieter, more chill left nd right verbals. And you had your ‘get it’ markers too! Yay! He seemed to process everything pretty independently from physical cues, which is great! I don’t think you need to revisit this game – it builds in to the week 4 Fast Lines Challenge – so try this with the exit line challenges first like in the week 2 Exit Criteria Combo game then the week 4 Fast Lines Challenge 🙂Great job!
TracyHi! Looking good here!!! Hope the great weather holds!
The backsides are going well. For the next steps:
– have the toy in your hand so you are ready to throw it. The goal is that it lands on the landing side of the jump, pretty close to the bar, so he doesn’t look at you at all. With it in your pocket, he gets all the way back to you so it is building in looking at you too much.
– Keep moving forward for longer, and faster 🙂 You were stopping your motion as soon as he was arriving at the backside wing, but you will want to stay in motion moving forward, as if getting ready for a backside serp or a German turn (backside serp to blind).– if that goes well, move to step 3 (front side versus backside)
The serps also look really good – you were a little too quiet, though. I heard your verbal for the start wing, so now remember to use your soft turns verbals for the serpentine. That will get especially important as we add the Serps Part 2 game – I think he is ready to see that!
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Great questions!
You can probably still use tight and right if you changed the delivery:
Riiiiight
TTTTT (for tight :))The in in comes next week 🙂
And for a connection verbal- a soft noise is great! I use my dog’s name – depending on which dog and which situation, it might be a soft name call or a loud urgent name call or a full name: first, middle and last 🙂T
Hi! Great seeing you last night!
I agree, motion is the biggest thing for him. Rewarding that start wing will help him have more value, which should also increase thoughtfulness while you move 🙂
And using a start wing instead of a collar hold or cookie toss is probably the best thing, so he is happy and calm and not angry. 🙂
TracyYes! The start of each session will set the tone – start each session a couple of steps easier than where you left off. It is better to be able to immediately increase difficulty than to have to immediately dial it back or have an error.
Good morning!
>>I moved doing the running contact foundation downstairs where we have more room to do it and she can run more but I can’t get her out of a trot in a way that isn’t adversely affecting her inteeraction with the mat (ie running across it).
Don’t worry about it 🙂 She doesn’t need to run any time soon – I believe she just turned 7 months? So we don’t want any speed until she is more grown and has more coordination and a couple of other foundation games under her belt. The RC methods all increase the speed naturally when planks and other things get involved, but she is still a solid 5 or 6 months away from that. The only thing she needs now is to just enjoy trotting across her mat 🙂 We do have more games coming, but there is no rush at all. This is about the age of puppyhood where I turn off social media so I don’t have to see same age puppies doing contacts or sequences 🙂
>>On the good news side of things – she is backing up almost 10′ to a mat. YAY!
YESSSS that is a more important RC foundation that running across the mat is!!!
>> Looking forward to the next one although I am going to have trouble with space I think so might not be able to do some things.
Fingers crossed for great weather ahead for all of us!!
Tracy
