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Good morning!
>The local young dog workshops require skills we don’t have yet so the “Art of Play” workshop was perfect for both of us; it was so much fun!>
It looks fun!!! What skills do the young dog workshops require that you need? We can prioritize those if needed so you can get more workshops for him.
>I know there are still a few weeks left for this class but wanted to know if you are also offering a MaxPup 2. Even with being behind, I am getting a lot out of this course and want to continue without a long break.>
Yes – the upcoming MaxPup 2 is for the FastTrack group that just finished. There will be another MaxPup 2 coming for this Supersized group – It will start a couple of weeks after tis one finishes, so there will be just a short break. Stay tuned for a start date!
Tracy
Yes! You can add the next step. I also keep the baby level of the game in the rotation because it helps keep the puppies nice and flexible – it ends up being a great warm up before running courses!
>poor Dublin doesn’t get not tugging. I feel bad.>
Poor guy! Thankfully he also loves food so you can keep training as you heal up.
T
Hi!
>If you throw food to get her back then grab her and the game is over… she will stop coming back 🙂
Guilty!! It’s more like I throw food to get her close enough to me to put the long line back on to go back inside>The smart dogs figure this out very quickly, then use their brains even more to avoid the party ending 🙂
>We played around with this last night! Lexie, my 13 y/o will retrieve all day long, so she’s reliable to go get the thing & come back for more, Kelsie the 9 y/o will join in too! Everyone has a hollee roller, but Sunnie like the LArge one best so does Lexie so I have to get another one LOL>
Yay! Big thanks to Lexie and Kelsie for their help 🙂
>I experimented last night with this too -As much as SHE thinks the holle roller is a prize, when I tried to play with her with another one, not so exciting, but if I run around and drag the crazy tug toy (that has fuzzy & hollee roller on it), that got her going after me!>
She does love to chase! It is a great way to start the game.
>Oh btw I called her off a flying bird last night!! 😀 I had no long line on, having a slight heart attack as she took off running. I gave her the Biggest jackpot ever when she came running to ME! 😀>
That is HUGE!!!!! Good pup for coming to you and good YOU for the jackpot 🙂
Looking at the video: overall a really great session with good adjustments to help her be successful.
She has a lot of value for the front side of the jump so it took a couple of reps to show her it was a threadle – then she needed to take a moment to realize that was not about running to the taret LOL!At the beginning, moving her over so she had an easier video the line into the threadle REALLY helped her -then it was smooth sailing so she could get it from any angle. SUPER! The next step is to mix in some serp reps where you show her when you want her to go to the front side of the jump versus the cue to threadle.
>Tonight we are sharing a lesson with a friend, 1st time trying this. We will be in a dirt arena (new to Sunnie). I would like to try to piece 2 things together & see how she does & modify if we have to. Wing wrap> straight jump to bowl, straight jump to wing wrap, rocking horse game with 2 wings. Thoughts?>
The lesson sounds super fun! Be sure to start with some engagement like tricks and tugging, and pattern games as a mental warm up to be sure she can engage in the new & harder location. All of the 2-part skills you mentioned should be things she can do really well. And you can even try wing to tunnel if there is a short straight tunnel. Give her a warm up with one thing (like wrap the wing) then if that goes well, wing to wing or wing to jump etc.
I trust your instincts and training skills to guide you: if it feels like she will be successful – try it! If she has a question, make it easier. And bring fabulous rewards 🙂 Keep me posted!
Nice work here!
Tracy
Hi!
> Toy play might need to wait till after my Dr follow up Thursday lol. Hand is doing well but tug pressure might hurt too much.>
Yes, you totally do not want to tug with that right hand! Eek! That would hurt. You can just have a toy laying there and not actually use it (sorry Dublin!)
>Not sure why I got confused for my mechanics on this one even though I watched the video a few times. That messed us up but overall I thought it went well.>
Wait, did you cut out the bad parts? I only saw really good stuff!! I thought your mechanics were really strong – the mechanics when he started on your left were pretty perfect. And the mechanics when he was on your right were a little harder – perhaps he doesn’t feel as comfy turning to his left (he was a little wider although he did a great job, and offered a right turn and some lovely line ups LOL) and you might not be as comfy using your right hand and had to think about it (especially after surgery). But overall, I think you did a fantastic job with a game that is quite challenging in terms of mechanics! You had strong click timing too, and he was turning his head really well. Super!
> My in person agility instructor had commented on how tight his turns seem to be the other day. He seems to like going around things for sure lol.>
I agree – he is really good at using his body and coordinating turns.
Great job here!
Tracy
Hi!
Yes, 9kg is big enough for a kick*ss 2o2o! My dog Export was 9kg and had a great 2o2o teeter, and Hot Sauce is a little heavier and she also has a strong 2o2o. And I know a lot of Shelties who had fantastic 2o2os before 4ons became fashionable (but really no one has a good answer why they are better for bigger dogs, because they are not reliably faster :))
So yes, you can do a 2o2o. Or you can teach him the scratching/digging and see which he likes better! He can dig on the ground with the 2o2o LOL!
T
Hi!
This went really well – the front crosses were just about perfect! And you had excellent connect on the exit of the spins (front to blind) so he exactly where you wanted him (the other side of the tunnel). I see the exit line connection from the blind cross class too – click/treat for you!!!! It was very clear for Copper.At :50 you did a regular blind (not a spin) so he was correct to go back into the tunnel entry in front of him (same as the front cross) but you felt that in the moment and rewarded. Super!
Great job here! You can move on to the next game!
Tracy
Hi!
>For the teeter I was planning to do 4 on. He seems to like 2o2o though, so now I’m not quite sure.>
2o2o is a clearer position and he likes clarity! But he needs to be heavy enough to do it without getting thrown off by the teeter board. I would say 8.5kgs or over is definitely doable for 2o2o! But less than that gets a little iffy. How much does he weigh? If he is in 4on range, then we add a fun behavior at the end of the board so he will like it and have a clear thing to do. I teach my small dogs to dig at the end when they arrive there (my Papillon is 5kg and my Pap mix is 7.5kg). They both enjoyed digging at the end of the board in training. I faded the digging after they had been competing for a bit and were still driving to the end of the board.
>Aelfraed says he is a big fan of chasing the auntie! He did start to figure out that pouncing on the treat hugger was also fun. Even though he over-ran it and went back for it most of the time, he was happy to snatch his bread and butter out of it himself when he got to it, even jamming his face into it a few times.>
PERFECT!!! I didn’t see him looking at you and once he got on the Go line, he was too busy to even bark at you LOL!! Ok then, Shaelyn has been hired to be official Bread Runner. The next step is to have her out there the whole time, and you add in the turns, etc. so her presence is not the indication to run straight: it is the GO cues from you that are the indication for both of them to run run run 🙂
Great job!
TracyHi!
She did well with the target here! Very smart! The next step is to not have the cookie on the target 🙂 Let her get to position and you then place the cookie on it. And you can change your position so she can do it with you anywhere, even with you walking.
And turning around on the plank was easy peasy for her. When you are back at the training facility, is there an easy way to take a plank off the dog walk? That would be fun to introduce her too if possible.
Great job!
Tracy
Hi!
He did like the peanut butter and wanted to lick it off, but he did not like the movement of the board here. What was happening was that there was too much ‘whip’ of the board for now – the MAD teeters are very light so the board whips up and down a lot. You can see the vibration on the part that was off the ground when he was at the top and when he was off it, and you can see it move the tip-assist as he got on it too. That makes it harder for the dogs – he was not a fan of the whip and vibrations. He did great on the first rep going up the board and eating the PB at the top. But then there was a lot of whip getting off it that is when he had a big full body shakeoff after it – then ran past the board and was reluctant to get on it. After that was when he was not comfortable at the top (as compared to the first rep).So keep going with the peanut butter but you can stabilize the board more:
> I also think maybe I should put a sand bag on the tip-it.>
Totally yes! Maybe a couple of sand bags on the base and on the feet. I also suggest a sand bag on the base of the teeter (ideally one on each leg), and a towel or something under the top of the teeter where it meets the tip it. That will all greatly reduce the whip and help him be a lot more comfy running all the way up it. And will he be happy to let you pick him up off the end, rather than let him run down it? Most of the weird movement is happening when he is running back down the board, so since he is small we can avoid it by having you pick him up 🙂
Nice work! Keep me posted!
Tracy
Good morning!
> I’ve been deliberate in choosing words/sounds that are distinct from one another, but I haven’t thought about how I say them.>
I have spent quality time obsessing on this, which I am sure surprises no one haha 🙂 In a nutshell: tight turns work best with short, quiet consonant-based words/sounds that can be repeated rapidly and softly.
Soft turns work best with a more conversational tone and volume, elongating words and emphasizing vowels.
Extension lines work best with very loud repeated words that are elongated and emphasizing the vowels: gOOOOO gOOOOO for example.The wingin’ it game went well! He was committing really well even when you were sending fully rotated. When you were doing 4 wings in a row, the first couple had the send then moving forward then rotating. Then you stayed in the rotation and ended up running backwards a bit – so you can move forward out of each send for a few steps before decelerating and rotating. That should feel more comfy than moving backwards.
> A few questions at the end of the racetracks related to my change of motion, I’m sure. >
I think the race tracks went well – the dogs are used to wrapping these wings so the race track on 4 wings is hard! It looked easier turning to his right than to his left, but the left turns went well til wing 4 where he had a small question. That will disappear with a bit more experience.
You also did a good jobs with the verbals!! There are a LOT of verbals in this exercise and I think you were almost 100% with them until the very end where a loo was happening and it should have been a razz 🙂 But yes, the physical cue is the salient cue for now, so he still got the correct line.
Looking at the straight lines 4 ways video:
The tunnel exit points him a little past the cactus jump, almost to the backside of it. So when you showed acceleration into the tunnel and an extension exit at :07, he ran a parallel path to yours which put him on the backside line to the jump. He adjusted and came in to get the next jump – reward that for sure, no need to go back to fix the jump he went past because he was reading the cues on how to exit the tunnel which sent him past the jump.
At :20 and :32, you had less acceleration into the tunnel so he turned and found the cactus jump perfectly! To get the wrap a little tighter, you can start the decel and verbal for it when he is jumping the cactus jump so he lands knowing what to do next.
Nice job with the backsides on the last 2 reps! You did a blind to get there at :33 – you can start the blind 1 stride sooner by sending to the tunnel more, so you can get past the cactus jump sooner.
Your line to the backside at :52 was really strong! On both of the backside commitments, you can keep your arms back behind you more and use direct eye contact as the primary cue along with your motion. I know it sounds so counterintuitive 🙂 but that direct eye contact shows him the exact line of your shoulders and center of your chest. The arm blocks that so it took him a little longer to adjust. Think of it as saying the backside verbal directly to him rather than pointing at where you want him to go.
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hello and welcome! Great to see you here!!
Lovely job getting her tugging as you entered the ring. She loves that toy!!! You can totally trade for a treat to get it back rather than hold her collar (that seemed to cause her to want the toy *more*). For my toy-driven youngsters, I trade for a treat and toss it to the side, which gives me time to tuck the toy away. And this game doesn’t need a stay. You can add in stays as the games get more complex.
It took her a moment to lock into the jumps here – they are very close together so it was hard for her to reduce her speed to find the line. Easy solution: spread them out 🙂 She wants to go fast and I am here for it!
Nice job getting lots of treat throws for her and she was able to find the line. Keep the bars lower for now (8″) because the smaller distances plus stopping to get treats can make it harder to adjust for even a 12″ bar.
She found the jumps brilliantly in the 2nd video! 2 suggestions: Keep mixing in rewards throughout the line, not just on the last jump.
Also, you were connecting really well. You can be more upright and connected, rather than leaning over as much.
Since these games went really well, you can add in the next steps with the tunnel and with the sends. That will lead really well into the sequencing!
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
> I managed to not use her release verbal until our last rep. Sheesh.
I guess I was using all my brainwaves on my body mechanics.>New mechanics do take up a lot of bandwidth! It helps me empathize with my young dogs when they are trying to concentrate on learning new mechanics for a skill.
Great job with your mechanics here! She is reading the blinds really well and running FAST FAST FAST! That is why you could hear the thundering Bazinga hooves LOL!
The view from behind was really helpful: when you were early with the blinds, it was really easy for her. But when you were a little late by starting the blind when she was more than halfway to you – if your re-connection was quick and clear, she changed sides immediately (:59, 1:06 for example). Now, I am not saying that you should be late 🤣😂 but it sure is nice that your connection is powerful enough that it overrides timing!!
Since this went well, you can give yourself a longer lead out and try getting 2 blinds on the flat 🙂 and you can also start the wing and tunnel games. Keep planning your mechanics before every rep – there were a couple here where the toy was in the incorrect hand but overall, the mechanics were spot on.
Great job!
Tracy
Good morning!
>We are enrolled for yet another course 🙂>
Welcome! You are going to be busy LOL!!!
>I will be working with Copper for this course, but thinking Bandit can do some of the games as well. Please let me know if that is the case>
I think Copper can do everything in Week 1 for sure (he has already done some of it in MaxPup 1, like the BCs on the flat and the handling combos). He will be able to do some of week 2. Week 3 and 4 are likely to be Copper full time because they are pretty complex.
> here is my first clunky round of flatwork with Copper.>
I think it went really well! It probably felt clunky because the mechanics were very different. That clunky feeling will go away and it will become second nature.
Flatwork 1 – this went well! The first couple of reps just needed a longer lead out. There was not quite enough time for him to see the connection before he had to make a decision. You noticed that and at :59 did a longer lead out – then the rest of the reps were great!
Flatwork day 2: The single blinds went great!
The doubles need a much longer lead out so you have room to get way ahead and show him the 2nd one with enough time. He has a great stay, so you can do a 20 foot lead out with the first blind happening right after the release and the 2nd blind happening a few steps after that.Next steps: doing the flatwork while jogging then running 🙂 When you do that, you might find that it is easier to bend your elbows and keep your arms in tight – that makes the blinds even quicker 🙂
After you can run and do the good mechanics, add the wing games and the tunnel game 🙂
Great job!
Tracy
I am SO GLAD that I am not the only one who yells PIVOT! like Ross every time I see the word hahahaha
And that gift is AMAZING!!! So cool!!!!
He did well with the pivots here – after the first couple of rewards, starting to delay the find it/cookie toss was the key to getting him to pivot. When you were too quick (rewarding as soon as he got his feet on), he was stopping there. But when you were waiting a bit, the pivoting began for real! So… keep waiting 🙂 You can mix up how long you wait before the reward: some will be quick waits, some will be longer. That will allow him to offer more steps. You can even mix in some rewards for being centered in front of you so he has a good reason to get into that center position 🙂
Great job here!!
Tracy
Hi!
>Your instructions would teach it be shaping. As you can see, I lured.>
There is a definite element of helping (food lure or body pressure lure) to get the pivoting! I am perfectly fine with that all, I like lures 🙂 as long as we can fade the lure when we can’t use it as a cue. For agility, we can totally use food and movement 🙂 but for obedience, we will want him to be able to pivot without body lures or cues (more on that below)
Having him step over the bars was harder for 2 reasons:
– the floor is a little slippery for the balance required (you can see his back feet slipping a bit. Can you move it to carpet or grass?
– yur hands were at your side, so he lost the focal point that helped him pivot. Earlier, your hands were in front of you but a bit high so he was looking all the way up – but if you can have your hands in front of you but halfway down your thigh – I think that will be perfect!>I need to work to phase out the lure.>
Two ideas for you to phase it out!
– you can fade out your movement. Rather than taking several steps, you can take one step and reward him for taking several. Then fade that to just taking a half step (one foot moving towards him). Then when he can do that, you can stand still and let him offer.
– you can start with you standing in front of the perch, and him off to the side. Release him to get on and he will likely get on and pivot towards you. And if you want to reward pivoting into heel position, you can place the reward at your side to encourage him to keep moving into heel position.
Great job here!
Tracy
