Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Perfect! About the 8-10 cookie rule: I have done that: I bring one stick of string cheese with me and the session has to be over as soon as the cheese is gone LOL!! Keep me posted 🙂
Hi! Don’t think of it as a lure: we are looking to reinforce the decision to drive ahead of you (not the decision to jump the jump) so you can throw the reward as soon as you see the decision. A lure would be before the decision, in order to get him to drive ahead. The reward here can be right after he makes the decision, and throw past the jump to help cement the jump commitment 🙂
TracyHi! This is going well – her commitment looks great and her jumping effort over the bar was very efficient, even when you were way ahead – she was not rushing. Yay!
On the wing wraps – when you were close to the wing and connected on the exit, she was very tight on the wing. I did see what you meant about her getting wider later on, but I think that part of that was you being so far ahead and not as connected (like at :39). On very tight turns, we would tend to be closer to the turn jump, so I am glad that the wraps where you were close were nice and tight 🙂 And your connection got better later in the video too!
Be sure you step to the wing to get her started – she had the two little errors at :27 and :32, where you sent then stepped back, so she read it like a threadle.Next steps can be the zig zag jumping foundation game posted yesterday, so you can start working her side-to-side jumping form and turns. And the tunnel/wing handling games are perfect for working tight turns too 🙂
Great job here!
TracyAh! Good to know that I was not imagining that little hitch! I watched it a few times but it is really hard to tell on video. Yes, she might be sore from wrestling with the sisters. Keep me posted on how she does!
We have stunning weather here – high 70s and low humidity and sunshine. It is going to rain tomorrow so I will enjoy today 🙂
TracyHi! He is doing a really lovely job with his commitments here!
Looking at a couple of different things:
Chasing you to the jump? No problem! He was really flying 🙂 That might be his favorite thing and he was perfect with it even when you were miles ahead on the last rep.
Driving ahead? He got it nicely! He definitely was less sure of this than he was of the chasing you reps – you can see him lifting his head a little when he is out ahead, and slowing down a bit. That tells me he just needs to see this element of the game more, and also that you can throw earlier: as soon as you see his head lock on the line, throw the toy. You were throwing approximately at takeoff or just before takeoff, but you can build even more confidence for driving ahead if you throw as soon as he has passed you on the way to the jump.The only other detail is a connection detail: be sure that you give a strong connection as he finishes the wing wrap by looking at his eyes (and when you are ahead, have your dog side arm back so he can clearly see the connection). You were tending to look forward, so he was either a little wide looking for connection (like at :08) or he lifted his head and hesitated for a heartbeat as he exited the cone wrap (like at :39(
So, especially since he is young, exaggerate the connection on the exit of the wrap for now to help tighten up the line, which will produce even more speed to the jump.Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! Really nice job on this! I agree, her tunnel commitment looked great and she was really finding the racetracks and wraps on the wings! YEAH!!!! Your connection is looking really good too 🙂
Some specifics for you:
On the first reps, it was hard to see the right turns but it looks like she was turning nicely there! On the first left turn, at :21 you were a little late so at :22 she was a bit wide (then I don’t know where she was going, that was the la la land moment LOL!) You were earlier at :32 and I think she is figuring out that she needs to listen for the turn cues on the tunnel.The run that started at :40 was really good with timing of the right verbal on the tunnel and also on the go for the tunnel exit! She jumped up a little after the go at :46 because your hand was high as you mentioned. And your left on the tunnel was a little late at :49, she was already in the tunnel.
The run that started at :58 also looked really good! Nice timing on the tunnel verbals and your left arm was lower at 1:06, so she saw more connection and didn’t jump up. Plus, I think she is learning the game and that means you don’t have to be as perfect with your arms.
The left verbal at 1:07 looked like she heard it before entering the tunnel – nice turn on the exit! My favorite left turn so far! And the ending looked great too.I think a lot of elements are coming together here and she is really finding her lines! If you want to get the tunnel turn verbals even earlier, you can lay a leash on the ground 3 feet from the tunnel entry, and start the verbals as she arrives at the leash. That will help you get the turns cues in nice and early.
Great job!
TracyHi! Nice job setting up this session – you were marking the entry and giving verbal affirmations, and then throwing the squirrel – all of which help her nicely. Her accuracy in the entries was spot on and her striding is really developing (looks like she is going to be bouncing!).
She is definitely thinking hard about the entries – as the session went on, she got a bit slower from the wing to the entry. And on the straight line entry, we could practically see steam coming out of her ears LOL! I could not tell if she was thinking hard or maybe her shoulders were sore? It looked like she had an ‘off’ step or two after the wing wrap on the straight entries but it is hard to know for sure. It is possible the Lyme has not fully cleared out.>> I feel that happy is most important right now. >>
I agree! And since her striding is already developing, I am not worried about needing to help her figure out striding – I think that will come naturally. So for the next session, we can test the waters a bit: is she thinking hard, or protecting herself? We can test it out by having the bases both at 2&8 o’clock, pretty open, so she can go driving through in her quest for squirrel chasing 🙂 If she is still thoughtful and slowing down, it might mean she is sore. If she is all “yeeeehaw!” and fast, then we can gradually close the poles back up and just let her think through it.
Let me know if that makes sense! She is on the right track, I just want to be sure we know why she is slowing down in some spots.
Tracy
Hi!
Practicing up close on the various angles looked good, he had a really successful session! You can also revisit this sometimes, just to remind him of the harder entries without having to do a full set.The angled poles with 4 poles also looked good! He is beginning to stride here – a bit of swimming! When you have 4 poles out, try to add more motion so you can build up to running while the poles are still a bit open (and use the TnT so he doesn’t look at you :)). And you can totally add the wings to this setup in your next session!
If the session with the wings goes well… you can move to the next step of the progression: poles 1-2 are straight and poles 3-4 are wide open at the 3&9 angle 🙂 At that point, I am betting that you will be able to move quickly through the progression.
Great job! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! This was a really lovely session! You did all sorts of crazy handling and motion and angles, and he seemed to have no questions at all. YAY!
It looks like poles 1 and 2 are a bit open at 2&8 maybe? And poles 3 and 4 are wide open. So, let’s close them up a bit 🙂 Start with poles 1 and 2 going to 1&7 so they are pretty angled, and then if/when that is fine, you can go to poles 3 and 4 at 2&8. This might happen in the same session, and you might also find it easy to get poles 3 and 4 to close up to 1&7 as well!
That means you can get poles 1 and 2 to straight pretty soon too (at which point, poles 3 and 4 go back to being wide open) 🙂 It probably won’t take him long to work through the progressions of closing the poles up – yay! Keep working all the angles and handling challenges, he did a great job!
Nice work here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi! This session was interesting – she was hitting her body against the weave poles pretty consistently on the right side sends and was a bit wide on the left side sends (but did touch the poles a bit when they go straight). So while she was pretty accurate in getting the entries and poles 3 and 4, I would like to get her to not hit her body on the weaves as she enters (mainly so she doesn’t hurt herself!)
I think it is from the stimulation of the toy here without the MM as a focal point. We can play around with different ways to reinforce her so that she is a little more thoughtful when going into the entry on the right side and doesn’t smack into the poles – I think the answer is going to be throwing food. The MM can be out there as a focal point, and you can be chucking bit pieces of cheese or something similar. The throwing will bring some excitement to the game but not as exciting as the toy – and you can add more motion and she will still be a little more thoughtful about finding the right side entries.
The bit of wideness on the left side entries will take care of itself, I believe, as the 2nd base of poles 3 and 4 gets a little more angled 🙂 So for now, keep things where they are and try the food throwing and see how it goes! Leave poles 1 and 2 a little bit open – as much as needed until she stops touching them as she goes through on the right side.Let me know if that makes sense! Nice work!
TracyHi!
She is doing well! On the first video – The left side sends went well and also she was getting the right side sends until you had the one bad throw (rewarding her for going past the entry.
We have all made the oopsie throw on that exact angle, and it amazes me how quickly it changes their behavior into NOT hitting the entry LOL! And that is exactly what happened and why she started asking questions. One reward only builds behavior that we don’t want LOL! Behavior we DO want takes many rewards. So, since incorrect throws will happen, we can avoid her continuing to offer the unwanted but accidentally reinforced behavior: after that incorrect throw happens, don’t ask for the same one angle of entry on the next rep – immediately change to a different angle on the other side, something she will get really easily. Go back to the angle that had the oopsie reward later on, and be sure to reward it correctly. I learned that it was important to just do different things after bad rewards, thanks to all of my bad rewards LOL!On the 2nd video – it was good to ‘cleanse the palate’ with the open angle and the MM – she was fine with the harder angle that had the oopsie reward earlier. She was not passionate about the MM so I am glad you went back to the toy. The left side was easy here and right side looked great too. Be sure to add motion to these 🙂
Nice work!
TracyHi!
Very nice intro session on the channels! He picked it up really well and seemed to have no trouble finding the entries – the additional 6 poles and the MM further away are a visual distraction, but he only had one error that he fixed immediately. Good boy! And yes – they stay wide open while you add in even more motion (he had no problem with the motion you added) and the other crazy handling stuff 🙂 It is a lot of running but it is straight line running with very little repetitive bending, so it is still OK to do a little more than we would if he was actually weaving.On the 2x2s – it is fine to do a little warm up/reminder on the slightly open 1 and 2 poles, then straighten them up. Also, it is normal that poles 1 and 2 can be straight on one side but need to be a little angle on the other side (and, very often, they are straight on the left side sends and angled on the right side sends, which is what Presto probably needs too :))
I think poles 3 and 4 being close were NOT a problem at all 🙂 So for the next session, try angling 1 and 2 a little when he is on your right. He did well enough on the left that I don’t think you need to angle them or change anything – I suggest one more session just like this on the left side sends and see how it goes.The other idea here is to NOT use the MM 🙂 I was watching his eyes… they were focused entirely on the MM the whole time when he was going around pole 1 on the right side sends. I wonder if he will look at the poles more if there is no MM, and you just throw the treats? A toy might be too exciting but big cookies might be just right. I think he has enough MM experience that he will still drive forward without looking at you, but going to the thrown rewards might be just the thing to help him find the poles and not pass them on the right side sends 🙂
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi there!
Looking at these 2 videos, I think we can separate them into the 2 sides of the clock: the 7-8-9-10-11 side and the 1-2-3-4-5 side.
On the 7-8-9-10-11 side, I think he is really beginning to get the idea! Yay! Use a cookie to line him up on the side you want him on – he should be on your left here and he likes to put himself on your right. But a cookie will help that, because he likes cookies more than he cares which side of you he will be on LOL!!! So a cookie lure to get him on your left side if perfectly fine. The only other thing to add on this side is to be sure your motion is parallel to the poles and not towards the poles, just to be sure that he can leave you to go get into the poles.
On the 1-2-3-4-5 side, where he is on your right – this is much harder for him, so he is not quite ready for poles 1 and 2 to be straight on this side. It is totally normal to be working on straight poles on one side, and open up the angle a little on the other side. So when he is on your right, open up the poles to 2&8 for a session to rebuild the value, then do a couple of sessions with them at 1&7. Then you can inch them back to the straight up position. He was failing a lot so he was losing interest, and then you started helping with body language – that gets him into the entry but will end up with him relying on your being there to help. He got it a little better on the 2nd video, but you were also helping more 🙂 So to teach him to weave independently, open the first 2 poles back up a bit until he really ‘owns’ the behavior.
The other thing that will help is to set a timer on the sessions. The first video was almost 9 minutes and he said it was tooooo long – he checked out starting at about 4 minutes. So set a timer for 3 minutes, tops! That way he will love love love the poles because the sessions are short and fun, and you will leave him wanting more 🙂 And if you don’t end on a correct behavior? That is fine, you can stop when the timer goes off even if he didn’t get it right, no need to keep trying to get a correct entry. Then during his break, you can figure out how to set up success which will make for a better session on the next one too! Think of it like this – better to spread out the 9 minutes of training into 3 sessions of 3 minutes where he is totally engaged than to have one session where he loses his energy at about 4 or 5 minutes into it.
The 2nd video was 4 minutes which is a much better length of session, about as long as I would recommend – and he was much more engaged.
Let me know what you think of the plan for poles 1 and 2 to be straight when he is in your left (7-8-9-10-11 side) and slightly open when he is on your right (1-2-3-4-5 side). Have fun! Fingers crossed for more good weather!
Tracy
