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Hi there! Glad to see you back in action!!
Take a breath – how does she do in a non-agility environment? She was very excite here 🙂 I think watching to see her close her mouth will help with seeing if she is inhaling through her nose. In the spot where you captioned it as “I can’t see” Is because she was panting and not breathing through her nose 🙂 You can also do this sitting in a chair (even on the agility field) because sitting in the chair is less stimulating and she is more likely to take the breath and less likely to have a dance party because she thinks you are doing agility!
Remote reinforcement is looking good in all the various formats you used it here 🙂 She seems very happy to leave her “stuff” behind and do the thing 🙂 At the end when you did the line ups, having the toy behind you was great because that is something she will see on course! Having the toy out ahead was really easy for her 🙂
Engaged chill is actually chill! Yay! You can see her tail relaxing. Ahhhhhhh 🙂
Line up – you gotta be quick to get turned around with her, she is so speedy LOL!She seems to like this line up game and also she seems to be happy to weave through your legs – so this can be useful to have her ‘weave’ into position then you walk/job away on the start line while she holds position! Just be careful not to use your “YES!” Lol as she thinks she is done when you do that.
I think the line up can be useful because it will give her something thoughtful she needs to do on the start line, which can help get her settled into position and be more thoughtful on course too!
Off leash engagement looked great too! She looked super!
So I think that we can plan some more things – you can definitely do more of the remote reinforcement combo games but I also think you can take a look at the kryptonite games – those distractions will put her into the higher arousal like a trial, so we can tackle those to transfer the engagement to the trial ring 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyPerfect! It will be good to know which tools are effective and when, especially on a harder surface like dirt!
THi! Lori is awesome!!
>>I always started from outside the ring to set up sequences…she was actually the one who pointed out the additional use of let’s go. I will try “cookies” for his remote reward. We worked on bypassing his remote reward (sometimes behind or in front of him) and having to come to me and then maybe completing one obstacle before running to the treat bag. We also worked on his start line with me running prior to releasing. I think that everything was better due to exercises from this course😁.>>
Yay! And I am glad you were able to incorporate them into your lesson 🙂
>>We have a trial at a lovely dirt arena this weekend…we have not been on dirt since before Covid😳 My goal is to keep Grady happy and engaged!>>
Super! I think the pattern games will really help for getting engagement as you arrive at the arena and also when you are getting ready for the run. And then the tricks and Volume Dial should really help! Are there FEO opportunities?
>>The major Kryptonite issues he has would be random stuff on the turf (Sheltie fur, bugs, leaves) and sometimes judges. I carry a baggy full of fur pieces to put on turf as a distraction during practice. For some reason during our last trial, he seemed to feel pressure from Laura English as she move into different positions. At one point, he had an issue with men in hats. I believe we have worked through this by asking people to portray obnoxious male judges in hats.>>
Perfect, so you have already been working on the kryptonite games with the men-in-hats 🙂 In training, keep on scattering the fur pieces and adding other kryptonite stuff – and work on the volume dial so that he can completely ignore it 🙂
Keep me posted!
TracyAh, here os the combo game with tricks! Nice! The sit and the touch look good! The ‘up’ trick is definitely harder for him (and the speak seemed a little quieter :)) It is a good indication of the difficulty of the game – so if you get a good ‘Up” you can run right back to the reward, even if you had planned more. And yes, remember to ping pong so you ask for some really easy reps so the game doesn’t get harder and harder.
Planning for next steps:
this remote reinforcement game can go on the road, to as many different places as you can take it to. Also, be sure to work in the pattern games and the instant focus games, as they will be SUPER useful 🙂You can also begin to look at the Kryptonite games – he is ready for more distraction in these games with the tricks and the remote reinforcement 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
He was great here too! This is what we are going to want hi trialing to look like 🙂 You can mix this into training, but you don’t need to do it all the time – for now, keep the remote reinforcement games pretty short, to build it all up slice- by-slice 🙂 And Yes, I agree – try not to say ‘yay good boy’ before the “let’s go’ marker – try to use the marker then you can do all the praise to keep the marker really strong 🙂Tracy
Good morning!
Leash mechanics are a real issue, especially with coated dogs and dogs with long ears! He was great here – look at the brilliant engagement at :36, :59 and at the end. This is exactly what we want! Happy dance! And you were super patient with waiting for a second or two, praising, and then bringing the cookie out.
This game can also go into the remote reinforcement games – that happens in Games Package 3, so be sure to do the Package 2 version first for a session or two. He looked great so I think it will easy to put this into the game.
Tracy
Good morning!
>>I discovered an issue with “let’s go” during a recent lesson as it seems to be part of what I say when entering the ring. I’m still trying to figure what to say…perhaps,”are you ready, are you ready, let’s play” with “what a good boy” thrown in…>>
Ah yes, that would be confusing if you use it when you enter the ring. Also, try not to say “yes” to him… we say “yes” a lot on course and I conversation, and we don’t want “yes” to eb the remote reinforcement cue. For example, he hits an amazing weave entry, you say yes…. and he exits the weaves to run to the reward station. Oops! (I accidentally did that with one of my dogs LOL!). So, you can mark the behavior with the marker, no need for a “yes” as well.
It is probably harder to change the entry words than the remote reinforcement word, so you can change the remote reinforcement marker to something like “cookies!”. I doubt you would enter the ring and accidentally yell COOKIES! LOL! so that might be a better choice : )
He did really well here – he was offering to move away with you nicely!! So now you an move forward to the next level in Games Package 2, where we add in a bit more behavior before cuing the run back to the rewards.
Great job!
TracyGood morning!
He looks great here – DEFINITELY faster without needing to see the treats in your hands.
I love the barking and leaping tricks! It is hard to resist reaching for the cookies… so now you can add in the remote reinforcement games with the tricks so that the cookies are not in your pockets at all.One thing we might add in is moving the cookies as you deliver them (rather than a stationary delivery) so that the cookies are more like toys that he can chase. That is something to look at in the Volume Dial games, where we sort out if you need more arousal (or less :))
Great job!
TracyTotally relatable – it is hard to get back into the swing of things but I am glad you did 🙂
>>Thought- Roulez suckles on a mat at home in the evening. Think it would be useful in a trial setting? She is very calm outside the ring… it’s only when we walk through the gates when the arousal level is visibly heightened.>>
You can try it and see if there is a change in what happens inside the ring. If the suckling puts her in a lower state of arousal, it can either help us by having her stay a bit “lower” when you center the ring. Or it can hurt us by having her arousal swing a bit more wildly as she moves into the ring. Only one way to find out LOL!!!
I think she is overall doing really well, so you should look at the various remote reinforcement combo games and also start the Kryptonite games 🙂
Have fun! Keep me posted!
TracyHi! You can totally do this with the BCs 🙂 It is all about starting early 🙂 Same with Sasy – keep your arms a bit lower in the beginning, so you can see her more and start sooner to then make the connection on the exit. Plus, having your hands lower will help you turn more quickly.
When yo switched sides, you had lower hands and that totally helped! Great rewarding across the body on those reps at :33, 39, :44! Tat really helped her know where to be and it worked nicely 🙂 You replicated that on the other side too at the very end – looked great!My only suggestion to make this have even more flow is to run closer to the tunnel so you can move into the blind rather than have to wait for her. For example – at :23 you were a bit too far ahead so she stopped because you had stopped. So running towards the tunnel more will get her to commit the wing more easily because you will be running forward more when she exits – and that will help the blind cross timing too because will see her commit sooner.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Nice job on the lap turns – you were both executing the 3 inch rule really well so he was reading them well.
There was one spot for each of you that maybe you were a bit early, and so the turn was not as good – for example, Karena at :51 was too early so his turn was not as good, compared to 1:02 which was good timing.
>>Should I be facing tue dog/wing a bit more when doing the lap? I learned these (OMD) a while back and so am patterned to face the way I am in the video vs turning more towards the dog/wing as they do the lap turn around that wing.
I liked your position! The better the timing with that 3 inch rule, the better the position will be – you will feel more sideways to the wing or dog if you are too early. She you are on time like you were here, you will remain facing the dog and his previous line like you did here.Great job to Mike too!
Give a little more connection on the race track at 1:15 – he is behind you and when you use your arm to indicate forward, he sees the shoulder turn and questioned where to be. So keep your arm back more and a little more eye contact when he is behind you, so he can stay on the correct side (you did this beautifully at 1:56, coming towards the camera).The sending went well!! It allowed you to get to the lap turn really early and not have to run backwards. You can have an empty hand or already have the cookie in your lap turn hand – you were tending to switch the cookie into the lap turn hand as you were starting it, which delays the cue a bit .
>>We also did the racetrack but I wasn’t sure which arm to use for the lap turn after completing a few laps around the racetrack. Does it matter?>>
You can do it from either side, but I like to whip the dog into speed with the race track and then use the same hand to cue the lap turn. So if he is on your right, do a couple of lap on your right and get him sending – then face him so you can pul him into the lap turn with your right hand too 🙂 It helps build more independence on the race tracks and works the handler mechanics of getting rotated for the lap turn 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Yay for the rear crosses! On the first 2 reps, she was looking straight and taking off in extension (maybe looking at the jump straight ahead?) but then she had a lightbulb moment and you started the RCs even sooner on the 3rd rep and beyond: nailed it! It is like you could see her say “OH! I GET IT!” And boom – lovely rear crosses. YAY! So You can mix in a bit of the extension GO line with the rear crosses, to help her now read the difference between how those are cued: with the go, you will immediately take off up the go line. On the RCs, she will see you do what you did here: decel at the wing then pressure into her line before cutting behind her.
For the backside jump commitment:
I plop the toy to the landing side as I move forward. So if she is on your right hand on the backside cue, have the toy in your left hand. As soon as she moves to the backside and looks towards the jump, drop the reward in as you move forward. Think of it as reading her choice to hold the line and go to the correct side of the jump, with good placement on the landing side of the jump. You don’t need to wait for her to jump the jump, the reward can be dropped in as soon as she is passing the entry side of the backside wing.Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning!
Yes, it is time to get our pandemic puppies on the road! I did the same thing when my pups turned about a year old or do – they eased into it and are now doing fine 🙂
One thing to remember when going to new places is to dial things back to 50% level of difficulty. So if he can do something at home, make it 50% easier to start in the new place. That sets him up for success – and if it is too easy, no problem, you can make it harder. If we ask for 100% of what he can do at home, he might fail right off the bat which we don’t want.
Do you have any way to put him in a class or baby dog seminars? When I put the youngsters in classes in new places, I also put them in a lower level. So even though my baby dogs could do Masters-level sequences, I put them in Novice and pre-Novice seminars in new places. The handling doesn’t have to be challenging because the environment will be challenging.
I agree that he did really well here!! Very few distraction issues and was running his legs off! Nice!
And yes, you can increase the value of the reward but also attach the lotus ball to a line so you can keep it moving and engaging. Will he play with toys there?
He did well with the Diamond game. When you mess up – reward him. And since this is handling… all of the errors are human not canine. So rather than reset him or trying to keep going: if he is attempting to wrap a wing or get in the tunnel but it doesn’t happen to match what you wanted, reward him because he is probably reading what you are doing. A good example is at 2:54 where he was behind you and you disconnected to point forward. It looks like a blind cross when you do that, so he went to your other side. You want him to stay on your right, but it as a handler error – so reward him then fix the connection on the next rep.
To help build even more speed, use a shorter tunnel (15 feet or 10 feet or 6 feet if they have those shorties! And also bag it – he isn’t exactly moving it yet but he needs to get used to the feel of a heavily bagged tunnel. Plus, if he moves it, I don’t want him to get worried about why it is moving.
He was fully focused for the first bunch of reps and then checked out for a bit – it is entirely possibly that there was just too many reps of the same thing. So mix it up more and set a timer: 2 minutes, then a break. The challenge of renting a ring by yourself is how to pace the session: setting the timer will help a lot so you can give him a break before he gets tired or before there are too many reps.
He did have a valid question at one point which was causing difficulty: when you started on the right turns with the tunnel coming towards the camera, the dog walk was on his line (not the tunnel) so he was confused. He doesn’t know the DW so he didn’t get on it, but he recognized that the visual of it was on the line so he wasn’t sure if he should take the tunnel or not. So, you can block off the DW more and reward after a struggle – when he got the tunnel, reward it right away.
>>but also I was thinking maybe I need to leave the wraps and turns earlier. Thoughts?>>
No need to leave sooner for now – in a new environment, you don’t want to rush the handling because that risks a disconnection or a handling error, which will break his flow. So it is better to support him and be super connected and reward lots 🙂
>>I have some more training time booked for Thursday and this time I will be upping the reward for not sniffing around and for coming back to me – steak it will be! Suggestions for which drills to do in a distracting place? I had wanted to wait on more GoGoGo training until I had your feedback today at least, but could try that there if you thought it was a good idea, or wait to do that where he’s more familiar.>>
Bring a list of 6 or 7 different games, and do maybe 2 minutes of each. You can do a bit of the diamond, a bit of stay training, and yes you can totally do the wind in your hair go go go with steak in a Lotus Ball. I mean, I would race you to a nice piece of steak LOL!!!!! Maybe do that one first, the way you did in the video from yesterday – hold him, throw it, race him 🙂 And pick some of your favorite fast & fun games to play – he seems to really love the tunnel, so the smiley face game is a good one too.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! I definitely like the closer starting points here!! She looked more balanced indeed. I think the next step would be to add the dragging toy: put it down, slowly walk forward (dragging it on a long line so you don’t have to bend) and after a couple of steps, release her 🙂 that will add challenge while also proving more good form.
For the ladder… I am curious to see how she does with the dragging toy. I think the 5 foot distance was a little too short for her on that one, so you can try 5.5 feet or 6 feet and see how she does 🙂
Great job! See you soon!
Tracy
