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Hi!
She didn’t appear to think you were too nuts here LOL! She was a little better with the sits – I think she was watching your hands for the spin or for when you would move in towards her a little. So be careful to keep the silly motion in one place like jogging in place LOL! And I think you can definitely build in more of the motion override now – walking forward and giving the cues as you stay in motion, to build up to running. Nice work here! I see the wing stuff is below, that is also the next step 🙂
Tracy
OMG an abscessed tooth… OUCH! Hope you are feeling better!!!
She did really well here with her pattern game! The distraction of the agility field was just the right amount of challenge. Plus, being in the new place near the road was perfect too but she was great – sounds like a car was coming by and she offered engagement with you at the end. Yay! You mentioned she was also doing it in class – how does she do in that environment? Trying to plan for where else to take it 🙂 If she is doing well in the class, you can try it while another dog is running (somewhere off to the side so you don’t attract the attention of the other dog :)) And any opportunity to get to a trial or something to add a little more chaos to the environment would be perfect too! Or maybe The Daddy can play with Yuki as a distraction? We can get creative 🙂
Nice work here!
TracyHi!
Thanks for putting the first run in the clip, I was all set to go back and load the other one but now I didn’t have to LOL!
Nice work here – I liked the lines better and I think he will be faster on the lines you got here. I was able to get a decent timing on the 4-5-6 pinwheel, and the ‘let him rip’ line was faster already. Yay! And the 8-9 soft turn and the 11 wrap both looked really strong – I couldn’t quite get a timing on them because of the camera angle, but also if he was sluggish in high heat, the times would be deceptive so we can compare more specifically when it is cooler.One thing I do notice is that when you have your dog side arm parallel to your body, it closes your shoulder forward which blocks connection: so he head checks a bit. The arm can be parallel and down, or parallel and extended: same questions from Presto. A really obvious one was at :36 it resulted in pulling him off the tunnel 🙂 But it is less obvious elsewhere so you can try playing with your arm locked back with your fingers extended to his nose (when you are ahead) so he can see clearer connection. When I time things, the most consistent thing I see across all dogs is that dogs without questions are faster than dogs with questions (even little head checks) even if we have chosen the less-than-perfect line, if that makes sense. So if we can find the sweet spot of connection where he doesn’t need to head check: BOOM! Everything gets faster 🙂
Great job in this work session getting more speed on all the lines, I really loved how he could run it basically in extension except for the wrap, which he looked great on too. When you move to the next sequence, try exaggerating the arm back and see what he thinks!
Tracy
Pinwheel faster
8-9 same ishHi!
>> Along with avoiding/delaying the teaching of rear crosses with my dogs, I have also avoided the threadle wrap while everyone else is teaching it. I better get going…..
I feel this! I personally think the threadle wraps are slower but now the judges are putting them in courses where they are simply the only options. There are a couple of course design trends which I think are best left to training seminars LOL!
But, we need to train the dogs on it so we are starting it here on Monday lol>>I like Close Close…. but I think it’s too close to Pose. I have a hard time with In In In… Hmmmm… I will think about this.
What about something with the letter F starting it? I don’t think you have any F words on your list LOL! Like ‘flip’ or something?
Pose, Course 1
I had some trouble hearing all the verbals here but it might be my headphones. So I will go with the assumption they were perfect 🙂
I liked the striding effort she had 1-2! But it was a hard jumping effort over 2 at :03. She pulls it off but watch how she had to dip her shoulder over the bar – I think she just needs to see that striding over a slice more and then she will be fine. She does that little shoulder dip on all of the right turns on that jump on the first repetition, actually! When you did it again on rep 2 – she nailed it, no shoulder dip, full on extension. That would only be beaten by a dog with more ground speed (there are going to be very few dogs with more ground speed haha)
Off course after 4 on rep 1:
At :05 she was making her decision and you were moving and facing forward. Compare it to :12 and :35 where you were turned and she got it, no questions asked.
She is a little wide/looking straight over 5 at :13 and :38. This is a good place to compare, within the same session: if you send and leave sooner to get her to turn her head over 5, is that faster (like it is for Contraband)? Or do you let her rip and trust her – is that faster (like it is for Hot Sauce)? My guess is that just turning your shoulders sooner for earlier info delivery and then letting her do what she needs to do will be the right answer for Pose.On the 2nd half of the sequence
Be sure to keep more connection and parallel line (don’t turn away too early) on the 6-7 (jump tunnel) line at :38 you turned away too soon and she turned her head to look at you (compare to the first rep at :15 where you were more connected and the opening here at :34 and we didn’t see the same head turn). That head turn is costly for time to the tune of about a 1/10th of a second… but we don’t want to lose that fraction.
I didn’t time this session versus the previous one, but I did time the reps of 8-9 and the turn over 11.
The first spin on 8 was a little later so she landed wider. I liked the timing of the 2nd rep MUCH better, plus I think there was a bit more decel to it. So guess what? No real difference in time LOL! And, on the 2nd one which looked better: her jumping effort for 9 was harder because she was on a more severe angle so she put in an extra stride there to sort it out. I would have to look at an overlay to see which was faster there in that section, by about 1/100th.Looking at the wrap – you were earlier on the 2nd one and it was a nicer turn! And definitely faster. She didn’t respond with a ton of collection before the jump that so many people want… but she seemed to 100% know where she was going and pulled it off without having to slow down. In the next set of games, we will be comparing a whole lot of things like that and it will be very interesting to see!
Differ:
It is hard to see those little dogs behind the jump wings LOL!
Nice opening line, though, giddy up!!! Woohoo! And she moved because she wanted me to time the difference on the opening lines: the curved one on the first rep was about 3/10s slower than the straight one on the 2nd rep. Good to know!On the 2nd rep, when she went off course to the last jump: at :38 you were facing straight as she was taking off. Same happened at :50, still facing straight as she was taking off (small dog, BIG commitment :)) Compare that to :11 on rep 1 and :58 at the end: you were turned well before it.
So for both girls, something about you saying “jump” might have too much energy and it is causing you to face forward too long. A softer delivery (mine sounds like a question: “jump?”) might help you keep turning.
Looking at the 8-9 line:
I think the spin asks for too much collection for her – she did well with it on the first rep but she had to collect for 8 and for 9 – I believe the let’er rip will be faster as long as you send and leave laterally for 9 early enough so she can see the line. On the 2nd spin rep, your outside arm came up early prominently so she looked at you and barked – that question made it slower than the first rep.She was a little faster on the 2nd rep of the wrap at 11 – I think there was more motion in and out of the jump, and the cue was a little earlier. One thing I noticed on both was that by leaving 11 early, you ended up decelerating near the tunnel and looking forward – which caused her to look up at you. Questions are costly in terms of time (and frustrating to the dogs, she was yelling LOL!) so it would be fun to look at wraps with you getting up to the wing and then stay for a heartbeat – then drive to the tunnel so you don’t decel and can connect more. In sequences where you don’t have a tunnel next, it would probably get the fastest line! If you had a big long sequence after it, I think the send and go go go would be better. Different contexts can set up different handling and ideally she has no questions on any.
Pose course 3:
Nice send to 2! You can move forward sooner to be able to clear her landing line – she didn’t look at you when she landed (you were just past the line) but she didn’t accelerate as she normally would. You were sooner on the 2nd rep but I think she was still being careful, so you can drive in there to connect sooner and affirm the line for her with connection.Yes, the lead change for the backside after the tunnel is so hard! GREAT job getting to the tunnel exit at :24 to show it to her!!
Because it requires you to be at the exit of the tunnel (which is not always possible because of her speed) you can play with going the other way on 5 (similar wrap as the one at 10 on that jump) – you would do a BC on the tunnel exit and send her to the other backside wing on your right, then do a FC to 6.
Or a threadle wrap, dog on left. KIDDING!! Haha I would do whatever I needed to do to get the blind and not do the threadle wrap there LOL!When all the options are equal in terms of being able to get her to do them both easily, I think your original plan is faster so definitely keep training it. But the wrap on the other side will be pretty fast, and helps her stay on course.
She was a little wide on the tunnel exit at :30 and the jump after it: you can give your turn verbal before she enters the tunnel and let her see you start the BC to tighten the exit of the tunnel which will also tighten up the turn on the next jump a little (but you only need it to be a little tighter).
Hooray for the new dig cue! She looked great there and the lines were good too!
Nice work! Let me know what you think!Tracy
Hi there!
Super nice opening line and weaves!! Try to stay closer to the tunnel, moving down to the next jump rather than parallel to the weaves and ending up past the tunnel – is a really extreme countermotion, so it is a good thing to go on the training list to gradually add in.
You helped with a big upper body rotation on the backside before the teeter at :11 and :58 That rotation will end up slowing you down from getting to the next position – in this case you didn’t get left in the dust but in other scenarios you would be. So this is a good place to train the independence so you can cue and leave 🙂
After the tunnel at :21 – your send was a little pointy 🙂 meaning you pointed forward to the jump but turned your body away towards the tunnel, so he didn’t commit. Try to use less arm on the send and more connection, so he sees your shoulders turn towards the jump.
Run 2 – nice blind on the opening! Also at :43, super nice! This is a spot you can really run into the blind (very little patience required LOL!)
I thought your opening on the first run (dog on left) was lovely but I timed it versus the blind – the blind was faster up that line. I think the dog on left push created a question on jump 4, where the blind allowed him to just power through, no questions. Wow!It was hard to hear your verbals after the straight tunnel – I think if you call him more you won’t have to help as much on the jump after the tunnel then you can be way ahead to get the backside at :52
After the teeter – really good blind on the exit of the straight tunnel! I don’t think there is time to do the FC there (1:04) so a blind after it is a better choice because it can start sooner with the head turning and finish sooner with connection without rotating your feet. He was really driving!!!
On the jump before the tunnel at 1:11…. patience (I know, I hate that word hahaha). Don’t rock back out of it, and be super connected – you looked ahead but rocked back so he looked at you. Stay in position and look at him til you see him looking at the jump – then you can run to the tunnel.
It will also be fun to look at the difference between the wrap there, and a slice on that jump to see which is faster! We will start to obsessively time all these in Games Package 3.
You did a FC after the straight tunnel at 1:17 and he ended up taking an extra jump. So to use the FC there and get the wrap: start it, but don’t finish it 🙂 Instead, do half of it and remain facing him so that he gets a massive collection cue on the jump there to come through the gap. You finished the FC and then didn’t have time to set up the spin before he rocketed past you at 1:18 (he was flying, and that is great!)
Great job on all of these! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
Looking at the run with the patience thing in mind 🙂 You were a little more patient maybe on the first run but not on the 2nd run (bar 2 down)One way to be more patient here while still running fast is to lead out less so you can run really hard but you will maintain the forward line to the tunnel better.
After the weaves, you can give him the threadle cue sooner too – ideally starting it when he is around pole 10 so he sees it and is ready for it when he exits.
Doing the Blind to wrap worked, but is slower, so working to get the slice line is a priority. Can you do a blind to that flip away (with you on the landing side of the jump) or a double blind (I personally love the double blind there, but I am a nut job hahaha) – you would blind before he exits the weaves (when he is around pole 8 or so) and then when he changes lines to come to the threadle side, you would do the 2nd blind for the jump. It is a fun skill and can be used to replace Threadle handling.He didn’t come in on the backside at :38 and :54 – I think he is relying on a bit of physical cue, so you can train it so he doesn’t need to be cued to come on, he just comes in. On a low bar, send him around the backside and as he is at the entry wing, throw a toy to the landing side as you keep running through (with no cue other than connection). That way you can keep running like you did here.
Great weaves!!! You had to scramble to get to the BC at 1:20 and he hit the wing – maybe keep him on your left as he is weaving for the tunnel rather than go to your right then back to your left. He can exit on the left and then it is a push to the jump which might be easier than the crosses at that speed.
The rotated turns their (FC to spin) got nice collection! One of the things we look at soon is which is faster: getting that collection like that? Or letting him rip and go a little wider so they don’t have to slow down. It will be super interesting to see with both of your dogs!
7/13 run:
Lovely patient connected opening! And super threadle after the weaves 🙂 Getting up to the decel on the weave entry really helped him! You ran fast but not sooooo fast that you broken connection or peeled away too soon, and you got where you needed to be.He came in and got the jump on both backsides but you are also helping by swinging your arm back, let’s see if we can fade that – just connect and keep moving, and throwing the toy in on the landing side (the low bar is useful during training so he doesn’t hit the bar driving for the toy).
A small detail: he was surprised by the line on the tunnel exit at 2:13 and 2:29, turning too tight then popping back out – to help him, you can try to run more directly to the jump rather than serp across the tunnel exit as sharply (I think that’s why he turned so tight).
On the weaves, your videographer said something about no more than one nice on a night – I agree, if the dogs get it the first time, you can skip asking for it again because those difficult skills are hard to keep doing and often go downhill after a success (dogs start to anticipate).
On the ending line – you were freaking the videographer out LOL!!!! The sound was SO FUNNY!
That ending line after the straight tunnel is really hard as a serp, because he sees where you were before the tunnel and is turning left – it makes the right turn so much harder – an then you end up further from the jumps so it is harder to get him to commit to the next one – I think keeping him on your left then serping the tunnel exit so he exits dog on left and then you move into a FC between the 2 jumps might be best.A bit of a no-patience moment at 2:55 – you were moving too fast but lost connection, so he was wide. You can still get to position with connection and running a little slower LOL
Super nice finish!Also interesting latent learning: Emmie and Kip both struggled with the threadle after the weaves on the first session but then both got it on 7/13 🙂 Yay!
Great job 🙂
Hi there! Looking at all 3 videos, I see a theme emerging: stay patient, don’t rush. I know, I know, I hate the word ‘patience’ and also hate BEING patient hahaaha so we will look at specifics on what I mean. And you are going to laugh, because in general it means ‘run slower’. When you were moving really fast in some places, you ended up losing the lines or leaving too soon, so something would go wrong. When you ran a little less fast? You had time to set up the cues and the dogs nailed it!
On the course:
opening line: you were just rushing a little bit on the opening line which is why she kept missing the tunnel: when she landed from 2 you were saying tunnel but disconnected and moving away (:07 and :15). Stay parallel to that line (don’t turn your upper body away) until you see her looking at the correct tunnel . You were more patient at :38 but not fully patient LOL because she dropped the bar on the jump before the tunnel. Much better at 1:01 and you still got to the weave entry, no problem, by layering. You have plenty of time to get where you need to be on most courses, so remaining parallel to the line with connection until you see her look at the tunnel will help her pick up the line more independently.After the weaves – that is a hard threadle – that is something to start before she exits – let her see the hand come up and verbal can start too. It is a tremendous challenge and a trained skill, but definitely something to add to the list!
Super nice line to the backside at 1:22 and 1:47!! Great connection and send!!Here is another be patient moment at 1:24 – hold your connection there on the send to the second backside until you see her make the turn to it, then you can slide away. You sent her but before she really saw the cue, you rolled your shoulders away and took off so she didn’t take the backside.
When you ran a little slower and held your connection for longer – the backside send was so much better at 1:30 and 1:49Good job with all the teeter rewards, she is getting stronger and stronger with it, especially later in the session!
You can do the flip away at 2:13 but don’t rush away, be patient 🙂 more like what you did at 2:44
On the re-starts at 2:22 and 2:32 she would need a collection cue on the jump before the tunnel, she was looking at the weaves.
7/13 – very patient and connected! Great teeter! Loved it!
On the weaves, she started off really strong with the weaves – you can ask for it once then don’t ask again, because she was popping after that. If she gets it the first time, reward but don’t ask again 🙂
On the jump after the straight tunnel:
When you were handling from the landing side, you can try to be closer to the serp jump ar 3:44 and keep your shoulder open to try to turn her sooner. It is a really hard line on the landing side with all that speed!Then make a BIG connection to her eyes on the exit at 3:47 – you had your dog side arm out but that blocks connection: lock it behind you so you can make very direct eye contact there so she is sure of the line.
Nice work here!
TracyGood morning!
>>I recently needed to add a new verbal (for tunnel threadle; my instructor didn’t like my using in-tunnel or come-tunnel). In order to make a new word, I needed to list EVERYTHING Enzo hears which is supposed to be meaningful and then find a new sound. So here is the list, broken into categories. Btw, the new one I added was “Fly” because I didn’t think it sounded much like anything else.>>
I vote with your instructor on this – I like distinct verbals on the tunnel.
>>Are all these words “fluent”? Heck no! But some of them are. 😊>>
Some is better than none! We will just keep working to get fluency 🙂
>>ALSO, for my “moving” cue in the verbals games, can I use “say it” (his bark cue)? He doesn’t have a lot of moving tricks and I don’t want to use left/right in this context.>>
Agreed, I don’t do the left/right here because it should be relative to a jump. Yes, you can use your say it cue. And also does he have a back up cue? That is a GREAT one for this because it is so opposite of what your motion is doing.
Really good list of verbals! You are going to curse me out, though… The cues that start the same way (like jump and jump-left) might get muddy. If jump means extension and jump left means a slightly collected left… that is really close and I think the processing of the left/right element might be late. Or you might end up with less extension because he waits to hear if your jump cue is followed by anything else. So in the interest of clarity and not needing to be perfect: I would make them more distinct by leaving jump as the extension cue (if it is somewhat fluent) and then taking it off of the left/right. Left, for example, would then mean: take the jump and turn left.
Same with the in-in-in and the in-switch: could get muddy or could cause him to wait to make a decision on it, especially now that those dang threadle wraps are getting REALLY popular.
I know some people want a different set of cues for dog walk exits and jump exits, but the dogs seem perfectly fine with left and right, for example, to be used on the jump and on the DW. How does your instructor feel about it?Tracy
Hi!
I raise the plank maybe 6 inches at first, then to a foot. And yes, she can jump off it for the cookie, we add the end behavior separately.Jordan teaches the RDW with a mat – she adds TONS of great foundation skills really make it easy and fun! Her class is finished for now here on AU but it might be happening over on the Clean Run site?
T
Good morning! Good topics to discuss here:
>>One thing to remember in skills training in particular, is to set a timer so that you get a 3 minute session total… then be finished for the day (or maybe try another 2 or 3 minutes several hours later, but still it keeps the total training time low)
>>Oh! 3 minute sessions several hours apart! So while there were a few times that I had her come back down and then right back up, there were a lot of breaks (hidden by the editing), some with 10-20 minutes between them. I thought that was sufficient enough of a break, but maybe not!A break of 10 minutes or so can be fine if it is the only thing on the training agenda, and it is the only other session of the day. Otherwise, a couple of hours is good, or only one session a day. I like for the dog to rest in between because that seems to help the behavior cement better, plus their energy is recharged. And also, the longer breaks gives me time to watch the video or think about things and make changes – I need to rest and recharge too haha!
>>I know that Ria would work until she falls over dead; maybe I’m still not the best at reading when she is mentally or physically tired. >>
Correct – and she might not show many obvious signs either, until she literally cannot move anymore. Yes, some dogs do collapse. And one of my first agility dogs worked until all of her pads tore off and I didn’t know until afterwards, when I saw some blood. Ouch! That was a big lesson learned. You can tell by the quickness of response, willingness to tug, alertness of body language, length of tongue… but some dogs so nothing obvious so the only thing to do is run a timer on your sessions all the time. For example, my BorderWhippet is definitely the type of dog who will play frisbee games and train with a frisbee until he would collapse. And you can’t see it during the session – because I know that he heats up quickly, I limit frisbee throws to 5 only – and when his turn is done, he starts to breathe and only then do I see how hot he is – so it is really important to stop before you see it and the timer is the only way to know, or limit reps.
>>On that note, all four of these videos (Lazy Game, Back & Forth, Teeter, and Wingin’ It) were done on the same day, after all of the classes at Wholistic Hound were over for the day. (Ria is crated during the classes and will have time to play, etc. between classes.) Is that too much? Are there any signs that I should particularly be looking for that she is telling me that she’s done? These seemed lower energy and like she could go on for a bit yet, so I kind of just kept going…>>
This raises a good point: certain breeds (Border Collies are among them) and certain individuals might show no signs that they need to stop, until they are too mentally tired to continue. It is really hard to see mental tiredness – they make mistakes or don’t tug as much. Physical tiredness is easier to see sometimes but not always. So…. a timer 🙂 That will keep the sessions efficient and fun with time to cement the learning in between.
These particular 4 games can all be done on the same day, with plenty of time in between, as long as it is a couple of minutes on each such as 2 or 3 minutes (I use those times because that is generally the limit of a dog’s attention space and ability to work, from what we have tracked over the years). So that can be 8-12 minutes total in an air conditioned space (heat changes things dramatically)
>>you can try duct taping a spoon to the underside as the treat holder
So at 4:43, I tried this…the angle at which the spoon was attached, and Ria’s propensity to just knock the treats on the floor instead of being able to actually eat them kind of made this difficult. I’ll figure something out!>>Ah yes, I feel that pain – I used peanut butter a lot in the early stages of this game, because it stuck to the target 🙂
>>and a whole lot of food for her for the same day of training
>>I don’t mind the food intake, though, because Ria has to earn or work for all of her food in some way throughout the day, has no set feeding schedule, and 98% of the time doesn’t eat out of a bowl. What I was feeding was a complete and balanced food, so she just got more food during training than other times of the day. If she wasn’t getting the food here, she’d get it through other games, puzzle feeders, Kongs, etc. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t too long, though.>>In terms of calories, it might total out to be a good daily caloric intake… but for using it as reinforcement, the volume diminishes its value. She will not be as hungry for it and that changes the impact the reinforcement brings to the table. A less-is-more approach is useful with food reinforcement: high value, big chunks will pack a wallop and speed learning more than extended sessions with normal food.
For example, I was working a specific skill on Sunday, using food. The skill was hard, so I used freeze dried turkey. One rep got a chunk that was the size of my thumb – I swear the dog’s eyes popped out of his head. He went WAIT WHAT? And each rep after that was driven and focused and also accurate. I stopped at about 6 reps – and will go back to it next week. But the value of the food made quite an impression on him so he really worked to sort out the behavior quickly because he wanted more more more 🙂
The ins-and-outs of all of this fall into the ‘mechanics’ of dog training – how to use reinforcement and session structure to get us to our goals quickly and without overworking the dog. It is fun to discuss!
>>Your FCs back to the tunnel after the wings looked good – you were really emphasizing connection and that set the lines really well.
Phew! That’s good to hear! In the moment I was thinking, “Wait, am I doing a front cross or is what I’m doing a post turn, or is it something else altogether?” I just wasn’t sure!Ha! You were great! The connection looked really strong and so she read the lines so nicely.
Tracy
Good morning! He looked really good here 🙂 You can totally add more distance between the 2 jumps, to increase the level of challenge!
He is doing well with the GO cues. Good toy throws from you also really help! One suggestion: Keep accelerating on the go, even after you throw the toy – we don’t want him to see deceleration paired with an extension cue (that will dilute turn cues later on) and also this way you won’t get into the habit of decelerating on long lines – drop your shoulders forward and run run run til he has landed 🙂
The wraps are looking good! Yes, I have separate verbals for left wraps and right wraps – it is easy enough to teach the dog and that way, I don’t need the dog to know where I am in order to find the wrap back towards me or wrap away: he just needs to know where his left or his right is (which he does know a lot better than I know hahaha!!)
On the wrap handling: You can face forward longer as you decel, in terms of you feet. You were decelerating and turning your feet at almost the same time, which can cause pressure that looks like a rear cross. He really did well on the rear cross here, so we totally want the wrap to look different – decelerate facing the wrap wing, then just rotate and go 🙂 I don’t think he will need you to run into the takeoff spot or anything, he seems very responsive 🙂
Your RC pressure looked really good too – that is hard for young dogs but he nailed it. Super!!!!On the wing games:
Nice commitment! This what we want! Because he was so happy to let you do the one step sends behind you, time to add challenge: start further away, build up to maybe 10 feet and see if he will still do the backwards one step sending. And if he lets you do that? Start at that 10 foot distance and as soon as he starts to move towards the jump, you can start to move the either direction so you are moving away well before he even gets to the wing.
You were already rotating nice and early when you added the 2nd wing or did all 4. You can play with seeing how early you can be: decelerate as he exits the previous wing and then be rotating as he is passing you (and then before he is passing you, eventually). He is looking good so far, so I think this will be fun to build to!
And yes, he loved the speed circle LOL! Keep adding those in – it helps us maintain the ground speed and extension while working on all of the turn turn turn games 🙂
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyGood morning! She did really well here! A couple of suggestions:
On the go, leading out more helped for sure. And throwing early also really helped. My only suggestion is that when you throw, keep running too so that she doesn’t see deceleration paired with the extension as that would muddy the cue.On the wrap towards you: she is turning really well!! As you decel and see her committing , you can drop your dog side shoulder back into the front cross and rotate a little sooner – I think you were facing forward and doing a little post turn more than needed on that first one, pulling your dog side shoulder to the wing. You got better and better about leaving earlier on the other reps, so keep on trusting her commitment there.
Rear crosses – on that first rep, you were a little late pushing across to the RC line so she wrapped left – in that moment, you can throw the reward to the RC line to help her learn to override your motion when you are saying the verbal.
The next RC looked good, just the right amount of pressure on the line and early enough that she knew it was coming.For the backside, a little more lead out will help make it smoother for now: you got it with the extreme connection and outside arm, but you had to really push for it so ended up turning your feet. For now, giving yourself a little more of a head start will allow you to keep moving forward with your feet – and then as she learns more about the independent verbal, you’ll be able to work it from further and further behind her.
>> Then we walked around the arena working on the Motion Override. This needs to be an everyday, in the house and outside exercise. I didn’t feel like we progressed at all. As a matter of fact, I felt she was being a bit stubborn and forgot what sit means!>>
I don’t think pups are stubborn, so if something isn’t progressing or it appears as if they won’t do it, the answer is in the training. I look at timing, criteria, and reinforcement (type, placement, rate). My guess is that there is not enough reinforcement (rate or placement) for the sit while you are moving when you move faster (criteria) and in different places (also criteria). So try going back to multiple sessions where you move very slowly so she is highly successful and then you can gradually increase the challenge while keeping success Hugh.
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
He did well on these videos! A couple of ideas for you to keep advancing the skills:On the first video, he did really nicely. A couple of things I notice :
He is watching your non-toy hand a lot, so be super careful that you don’t move it when giving cues. Same with the toy. My favorite challenge for him was when the toy was dangling, you were walking, other hand motionless… perfect!Another thing here was that as arousal came up, he vocalized and leaped around a bit (similar to what happens on course, sometimes.). That is great! You can totally add more stimulation without moving but swinging your arms around the whole time (but feet stationary), then eventually add foot movement to it too. In other words… get wilder LOL! And you can add more speed to motion override too 🙂
On the 2nd video – I agree, the mats are too slippery to go any faster than you did here. He did well! On these reps, the cue matched the handling. So, next session (he will need turf or grass for this): go more of the wilder jumping around near the wing, flinging hands, etc… and give the cue without the handling. Start easy with arms swinging around and wrap cues… and if that goes well, you can add the more complex cues like backsides and switch. Then add more crazy motion (jumping jacks) and see if he can process the cue with all that excitement (and also process when to grab the toy and when not to grab it if it is moving too ;))
Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
