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You are welcome about the outline – there is a lot happening at this stage of training so I figured a list would be easier LOL!!
About the toys… it is possible that the highest value toys lose that value if they are used regularly in the rotation. You can try adding more variety to the reinforcement, even in the same session, to keep the value high and see how he does.
T
Hi!
>> when does “camp” start?
CAMP starts on June 21st.
>>And how long do classes we’ve taken stay available to us to go back to after the class is officially done? >>
Lifetime access! They are available forever 🙂
>>I was also wondering about All Things Tunnel. I’m finally getting my act together about what I’m going to use for verbal cues for my tunnel turns. I had sort of skipped that when we were doing Tunnels and would love to go back and play those games now. Are you going to offer that class again sometime?>>
That one should still be available – I might re-open working spots sometime in the fall but probably not before then.
T
Good morning!
He is doing really well here – the added speed was not a problem at all, he was still very confident. The full teeters looked really good – he was not put off by the board dropping all the way to the ground and was able to hit and hold his end position. So we are now in the ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ phase of training where we play this game in as many places as possible and gradually add in more and more full teeter reps.>> He is still pretty “thinky” about the whole process and I wish I’d see a quicker drop at this point. >>
I think there are a couple of ways to get the quicker down and it is a matter of eliciting it. It is much easier for him to balance at the end of the board in a crouched stand, so I prefer he balance at this point. On the crazy elevator games, catching it lower can help him get into the ground before it hits the ground. But, there are a couple of things that can help on the flat:
Do you remember the motion override games from the puppy classes? That is what you can play with on the flat to get the fastest down possible (using the down cue, not the spot cue). Work it up to being able to get him running at full speed and then dropping into the down immediately on cue. And also add in doing it while moving towards the target out ahead – on the teeter, he is looking forward at it which is ever so slightly delaying the down. Because of that, we can also play with having a little dot of a target on the teeter to focus on for the down, specifically – the target out ahead was designed to get him to focus ahead, so the target on the board might make an appearance to speed up the down. But I would definitely work it on the flat first, to get the fastest down.>> As for the obstacle cue, I was thinking of just using “spot” for the whole behavior. But, I may change my mind on that and add the same cue I use for the girls “tip it” so indicating the next obstacle has a cue and the end behavior has it’s own cue.>>
I think the cue you use for the girls might sneak out in the heat of the moment 🙂 so it is a good idea to try it 🙂 And spot might take on a meeting of the quick down, so it is worth It to play with the different cues 🙂
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>> Yesterday our part was pinwheel to a double to the teeter (Clip N Go) to a 2 jump serp. Did it 3 times ….full teeter. Rewarded the H___ out of each one. First was what I would call his “typical” teeter, just a little short of end. Second was about the same, 3rd (and last) he drove almost to the end……and I kept really running past it to handle the serp.>>
That’s awesome!! Good job, Sly!!!!! And good job to you for rewarding them heavily 🙂
>> There’s a couple of USDAA trials coming up (CATS in a couple of weeks) that I’m going to go to….outdoors, fully fenced so a “safe” environment for him. I’ll keep you posted. Also some UKIs on day before either some AKC or USDAAs in the next couple of months so those might just work out well too! We’ll continue our local “on the road” trips as well.>>
Perfect! That sounds like plenty of good opportunities to get the training in.
>>The other thing I finally figured out in “my head” while driving yesterday >>
Ha! That is where I do the most thinking too… driving and also in the shower hahahaha
>>>was that I need to think about my placement of reward for all the Elvators (regular ones and crazy ones) to be in the same place as with the Teeter Trainer when we were doing Mountain Climbers……just over the end of the board. I think that’ll help me stay lower where I’m rewarding so my hand doesn’t look like a stop sign ……I think if I can consistently change that it’ll both help him drive all the way to the end and will reinforce the focus “down”. I’m going to play with this later today….video later 🙂>>
Yes! Perfect! And also we are doing to be eliminating the crazy elevator game soon enough, so he will just get in the groove of going all the way to the end 🙂
Keep me posted!
TracyGood morning! He did really well here!
The warm up games looked good and the 2 crazy elevator reps looked good too. He moved his left front foot off the board on the 2nd to last rep here – I think that was not a balance issue but more of a reaching for the cookie issue. When a back foot slipped off in the previous video, that was more of a balance issue and I take it as a reminder to keep working on balance on the unstable surfaces, a couple of times a week.
He is stopping a tiny bit shorter at the top of the board than we want him too – I think he is stopping just before the target. With that in mind, for the next session, make the target narrower, maybe half the width it is now so it is more of a strip of target across the end of the board, and less of a square. We can also elevate it a bit by doubling it or folding it over, if he needs the visual reminder.If he does well with the smaller target on the next session, I think the session after that can have a full teeter – after a warm up and a crazy elevator from the tunnel, do one full teeter from the tunnel. Be sure to give his verbal cues for it nice and early. And if his end position is not perfect, no worries – jackpot anyway so his first full on teeter experience is memorable in a happy way.
Since there is a lot of speed and concussion on these games from the tunnel, be sure to give him a day or two off between sessions again now so we don’t get any soreness.
Let me know if that makes sense! Great job here!
TracyGood morning! He did really well here!
One thing that I notice is that the warm up is really valuable for him – he was losing his balance on the first couple of reps and then settled down into position by the end of the warm up video. He was looking at your hands a lot (at the treats?) in that warm up on the first couple of reps – he worked through it by the end of the warm up for the most part. Were the treat especially high value? Either way, we wil have to remember about the warm up because when you take it into the ring for NFC/FEO you’ll want to start with the warm up before the full teeters.The crazy elevator video looked good! He was a little off balance in the end position on the first rep but then got MUCH better. I think some of the end position question was him watching your hand as part of the release for the reward, so be sure to say the marker cue (the get it or the release) and then move the hand to deliver the reward.
His speed up the board looked fabulous and he was weight shifting really nicely! Adding the tunnel did NOT make his brain explode at all – the tunnel and your motion added speed so he was faster AND thoughtful. SUPER!!!!
And it appears that he really, really likes the teeter: happy tail posture, no frustration behaviors, and hopping back onto the end of the board even before you are ready during the elevator game LOL!!!!
So we keep moving through the progression now: for the next session, using the tunnel, do a warm up until he is balanced and focusing on the target. Then do a couple from the stay, then from the tunnel.
If that next session goes as well as this one but he has fewer questions about the end position: for the next session, add in a full teeter! Be sure to keep moving but not too fast and give him his target cues VERY early (as he is getting on) and then even if it is not a perfect performance: jackpot!Now, with your forecast of 50 mph winds – I do not recommend any teetering during that (I would not put my dogs on contacts in high wind situations, not even at trials – they can be blown off during the weight shift moments). So use th wind distractions for tricks and stuff, and save the teeter sessions for non-windy conditions 🙂
>> When I do start to fade the target I should go back and do all the games and build up right?>>
Yes, but it will will generalize pretty quickly. Fade it first on the plank and then on the bang game, then fade it on the elevator game. I leave the target in on the crazy elevator game for a while until the dog is completely confident, then it is easy to fade 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
>> The target was covered in grass here>>
Great! So it was there but not really visible? You can start the next session with it like this, then after rewarding, slip it out (or replace with a smaller one). She did really well with hitting the end position AND staying there as you ran past. Very cool!
>> Should I be concerned that she slowed down a little on the full teeters?>>
No, I am no worried 🙂 She did well in this session – you approached it thoughtfully so she was thoughtful. At this stage, that is better than too much excitement because she will have better body control and there will be no splat moments 🙂 On the crazy elevator game, you can catch the board after it drops more, so you are catching it more when it is halfway down – that gives her a chance to drive to the end more and get rewarded there. (Use bending with your knees more than your back to catch it so you don’t wrench your back). And on the crazy elevator and the full teeters, you can mix in releasing forward as soon as she is solidly in position… that adds some more arousal 🙂
And if she can do all that with the same confidence and attention to end position: get a toy involved, get some barking involved. She was pretty ‘chill’ here which is great. With more history of being correct, you can begin layering in more arousal and excitement and see if she can be excited, faster AND remain accurate 🙂Nice work here! Let me know if that makes sense!
TracyHi!
>> We had a meh session with nearly straight 6 poles on Monday where he started popping out when I tried moving more. >>
No worries, some sessions are just at a lower rate of success then are fine when you go back to them. He might have been mentally tired from the weekend, or just processing the new challenges. A couple of days of latent learning will help 🙂
He did well here; it is a really hard game! On the early reps, add in a bit more handling to help him out re: weaves versus tunnel. That will keep the success rate higher and then you can dial back the handling. At 1:45, for example, you had some subtle handling on that rep and the rep after it – he found it helpful enough to support the cue but you were not over-handling it.
And when he is more comfortable with that, you can also add in going the other way in terms of handling: add a WHOLE lot of your motion & speed so it is harder to read the cues because there is a lot of stimulation.>> We’re trying some NFC runs this weekend at Animal Inn (outdoors, fenced, lots of room to distance). I’m a bit concerned that he might fixate on someone (Lori Michaels who is judging or a ring steward) and completely lose it because it seems like it’s hard for him to break out of that when he falls into that rut. >>
It is great to be able to get to seminars and trials now!! Is this a UKI trial? Because of the pandemic, these youngsters are not going to be on a normal path into trialing: we are going to have to use the trial environment to give them a lot of the exposure they would have ordinarily had in ordinary times. And, trial environments ramp up his biggest distraction, which is strange people nearby.
>> so I wasnt’ about to pass up this one even if all we do is practice going in, doing tricks on and off leash, and then leashing up again to leave.>>
Food for thought on these early NFC experiences: Since we are all in the same boat, I’ve been planning for my own dogs too. The first NFC ‘run’ will tell you what the 2nd run can be 🙂 Since we know that jumps and tunnels are not a problem for him, I suggest leaving him on leash for the whole first NFC experience. The point of that would be so that you can establish your reinforcement procedures (what works for him, how to use it, what tricks he can do) in the ring while eliminating the option of fixating on anyone or going over to them. That will allow you to make the environment rich with reinforcement and play while minimizing the biggest distractions (especially since you have no control over the distractions). Ask Lori where he can be in the ring on leash – if he is asking questions about people, the ideal would be to move him further away. Are they using the food reward box? I’ve brought my Manners Minder into the magic cookie box 🙂
And if all goes well on leash and he can play and do tricks… I would do the next run on leash too LOL! Or if you want to practice leash on/leash off/leash on procedures, do it with 2 leashes (yes, I have done that too LOL!) That way he can get the feel of taking the leash off and leashing back up with the intensity of distractions but without the option of fixating or leaving.
Let me know if that makes sense and keep me posted with the weaves 🙂
TracyGood morning!
The good news is that she did well on 12 poles! Yay! She found her rhythm and was able to stay in pretty nicely, so now we know that it will not be a problem at all.
She was having a couple of striding questions on the entry and the one pop out at pole 10 when you added more motion, so I definitely suggest a couple of sessions on the 6-and-6 box cars so you can add the motion and also the harder entries. With the poles separated, you can reward in the gap between poles 6 and 7, to help reinforce the harder entries and staying in the entry as you start to run 🙂 And then when yo are running, it is a nice challenge to see if she can balance and find the ‘entry’ at pole 7 too 🙂It will be simple to bring them back together to 12 poles, so I think just a couple of sessions on the harder entries and, separately, adding more motion to get up to running. It will be easy to combine those.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I see what you mean about the reinforcement issues, he is not a fan of dead toys so was not really driving to the toy when it landed. What if you had him weave the other direction – it looks like there is more room for throws on the side of the yard by pole 1? So pole 12 can be pole 1 and he can get longer throws.He is doing well with his box cars! There are moments when he really is getting the striding and then there are moments when he is crossing his front feet over. It appears that the good striding happens when you are a couple of poles ahead – and when he catches up to you in poles 7-12, he is adding the crossing over (possibly to remain parallel to you?) For now, try to maintain being several poles ahead for all of the reps to really solidify the striding. And if he can handle it, you can have a toy on the ground for a focal point so he drive ahead of you in the weaves and doesn’t try to match his pace to yours. That will be a fine balance – you will need to move faster but I am not sure that running is a good thing yet, so a medium pace should help him.
He is getting the idea really well so after a couple of reps of the box cars, I think the next thing that will help solidify the striding is to put all 12 poles in a line with no gap. On poles 1-6, he is getting into the groove and then he is done with the poles. Doing all 12, even slightly open, will help extend the duration of the striding to get the muscle memory going. And when he is super comfy with that – we finish closing the poles.
So to outline the next steps:
– weave towards the part of the yard with more room for better toy throwing
– a couple more reps of box cars where you are several poles ahead the whole time
– bring the poles into the line of 12 and keep them them until he is more consistent with striding in poles 2-10 (the entry and exit might be a little inconsistent for now in terms of striding but that is fine) with you several poles ahead
– consider leaving a reward out ahead on the ground so he propels forward through the poles and doesn’t try to dial back to match your position.Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I think 4 foot bars will work – they will fit in your space better and you’ll often see 4 foot bars at trials.Tracy
Hi there!
Big happy dance about the weaves for Lo! That is awesome!!!!!He did well here on this session!
>> I need to pay more attention to my speed …. we both like running fast >>
I don’t think your speed was part of the oopses – I think the visual distraction of poles 7-12 was throwing him off a bit. You can see him having to slow himself down a little to get it right… then he sped right up for 7-12 (no visual distractions after them :)) So that is just an experience thing – another session where you reward in the gap between poles 6 and 7 will help a lot, because he will focus on getting in and staying in, and not looking at the next set of poles. And if he can do that session at 90% or higher success rate, you can start moving the poles closer together until they are 12 straight. My guess is it will take 2 or 3 more sessions til 12 straight are complete, but his success rate will let us know (there is no rush, if he needs more sessions).
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! This looked really good! These little games are actually hard to handle because there is so much speed and NO hang time because she doesn’t have to jump 🙂 It will make handling over jumps feel so much easier LOL!!!
On the tight blinds at the beginning: she was fine to carry on to the wing after the blind, based on your motion. That was correct and even with the cookie in your hand, she should not stop unless you have a specific cue telling her to come eat the cookie (a toy being presented looks different to the dogs than a cookie in the hand does).
Thinking about the timing of that tight blind – you can turn sooner after tunnel. See her exit, cue the wing then start to blind when she is not even halfway between the tunnel and wing. So it will feel more like what you did at :51, which was really nice! What a great turn! You were a little late at 1:05 and 1:10, so she was wider.
She is reading the connection after the blind beautifully, well done on that!!! And you can repeat the left/right verbals rather than say it only once, that will help support the wing as you turn earlier.The race tracks were fun, I think she really liked those LOL!! Wheeee! And then going from all of that speed into the tight blind on the last rep was great: your timing on the tight blind was spot on at 1:44 and she was VERY tight on the wing. Awesome!!!
You can keep building up into the sequences from the demos if you want, or make up your own 🙂 It is a good challenge to be able to handle tight turns at the speed.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
I am glad you got some time to play! Fun!!!
>> I’m trying to increase enthusiasm and tugging too a little bit. >>
Perfect! You can run more and get her chasing the toy more – it is a perfect toy for that!
>>It’s weird because the first video she did really pretty decent but we struggled the second video. I don’t know if I went too long ? It was only about 6 minutes total. Or was I doing something else wrong maybe?>>
After watching the videos, I don’t think the sessions went too long, I think the rate of success was too low (a little over 50%) so she lost her enthusiasm for it. Part of the reason she had questions was the placement of reinforcement: when she took the jump, the reward came from your hands so she was more drawn to you than to the jump. So, you can switch that by throwing the reward to the landing side of the jump, then run over and go crazy running around with it 🙂 The placement of reward will get her focusing on the jump and it will help raise the rate of success.
You can also reward the stays a lot and some tricks in between (especially after she has an oopsie) and that will really help keep her engaged as the skills get harder 🙂Let me know if that makes sense! I think as soon as the reward gets tossed to the landing spot, she will have a lightbulb moment and this game will be easy 🙂
Nice work!
Tracy
