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Yay! He certainly seemed to have no trouble with this at all! Perfect! You can revisit it here and there as you work the bang game and elevator games, but because he was fine with the movement – you don’t need to do sessions specifically for the rebound game. You can just add a little wiggle to the board maybe one time when he is in target position for the other games. Great job!
TracyHi! Thanks for the Krome update!
The first section with the bang game looked good but I agree – he was a bit too chill about it all. But then when you changed to a spoonful of delish for the 2nd session, wow what a difference! He was a wild man for it! That is good to know- you can see if he likes squeeze cheese or whipped cream, as those might be as high value but easier to run around with LOL! The reason I mention ease of running around: when he is in class and there is a teeter on course, you can reward before the teeter, then have him do a bang game just like this, for some crazy high value reward. That can start transferring his good teeter work in the class/course setting (which will help transfer it to trials). I suggest the bang game like this as a starting point for that, because there is probably no history of running up and bailing off the board in that context, so you should be able to get good reps in. You can bring the target too, if it is easy to attach to the board in other places. That wild man “I LOVE THIS” approach to the teeter is exactly what we want 🙂At home, using the spoon of delish: add a little more tip! And let him run through some tunnels before, to get him as excited as possible 🙂
He did really well on the teeter tables too! On the first rep at 2:19, he went righ across the board and into position, and looked pretty smiley about it! On that rep, the target was empty. On the other reps, I think the target had treats, so he did not go into position right away – and that is fine 🙂 I keep the target loaded until the board is hitting the ground – then it merges with the other end position games and he runs down and into target position. So for now, leave treats on the target to keep him running fast across the board, then just release him rather than ask for the target position (but keep working the end position cue & behavior separately so he builds that up). And you can add more tip here too, he looked very confident!
Nice work! Let me know what you think!
TracyLook at the good weather! Yay!!!
Great session here. The check-it-out rep to start was really helpful! And then I think she REALLY liked the tunnels before running the board – SUPER fast on rep 3 where you were ahead and also moving. When you were not as far ahead or not moving as much on the other reps, she was still fast and drove straight across. NICE!
Now because she is coming in with so much speed from the tunnel – see if you can get her nutty with the tunnel, then maybe tug or hop her up onto the table and get balanced on the table… THEN run down the board. It happens quickly so you can maintain the tunnel excitement, but that stop & balance moment will get more speed across the board. When she runs and leaps on and runs across the board, she was moving fast enough that she had to shift her weight back on the top of the board when landing from the leap on, then she had to try to pick up speed in order to shift her weight back. So she didn’t quite get all the way up to speed on the board. Balancing on the table and then running down should help that. Let me know if that makes sense 🙂
For the uphills/mountain climbers, you can urn directly from a tunnel and up the board (as long as you show it to her first, I don’t want her to be surprised and fly off :)). That simulates the teeter on a course.Great job!!!
TracyHi!
More good work from Ms. Confident here!!! Love it!On the elevator game: your attention to the mechanics needed was MOST EXCELLENT. Click/treat for you! I think you were doing a quiet countdown and then a louder target cue, and that is great. She did really well here – the first couple of reps were nice but check out the last rep: she was focusing forward AND shifting her weight in anticipation of the board moving. YES! Perfect. For now, other than playing this on as many different teeters as possible (which, due ot lockdown, might mean simply moving the teeters you have access to into differet places in the barn or yard) – you can add a little more independence on the target position and as she is arriving in target position, you are walking forward to challenge her to hit and hold the position as you move past.
The downhills are looking good! The target might be a little too close to give her enough room for her front feet? Maybe move it one paw-length away from the edge of the board 🙂
She is fast and confident, so you have to be really careful to always start her from a standstill on the barrel (or table or whatever is there) and NOT start her by leaping then down the board. Leaping on presents a balance & weight shift issue. Because she has to balance and weight shift after leaping on, but that leaves her no time to get up to speed and then weight shift again as the board moves. She was trying to get up to speed on the board, but it can’t happen after hte leap on which is why she fell off at :27 and was losing her balance and scrambling on the other reps where she was leaping on. We don’t want her to scare herself or consider slowing down across the board, so it is easier to not have her leap on.
Her end position work looks great! So for now, have the target empty and you can deliver the cookies after she hits and holds the position.
Great job!! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>My go on cue means run in extension and take obstacles on the line in front of you, eg, last 3 jumps on a course or anywhere I want the dog running in extension.
I understand you are distinguishing left/right/straight exits just not sure that will confuse my cue for Go On. Suggestions?>>
I think of my verbals as ways to help the dogs understand how to exit the obstacles:
left or right produces that “soft” exit. The wrap verbals produce a very collected exit. And the GO verbal asks for an extended exit. So when I say GO as part of the commitment cue on a jump or tunnel, that means to commit to the obstacle in extension and exit in extension. If I want that to happen on the next obstacle too, I will say it again. So if the end of a course is a straight line exit of a tunnel to 2 jumps, I will say GO before the dog enters the tunnel, then say it again (and again LOL) to get the extension on the jump and then the next jump if needed.>>In your example Contraband ran out of the tunnel with the Go cue was asked for a tight left turn.>>
Do you mean when he had to exit straight and find the wing, then wrap back to the tunnel? In that scenario, here is how I used the verbals:
as he exited the wrap before the tunnel, I said ‘tunnel’ then 3 feet or so before he entered the tunnel, I started the GO cue so he knew to exit the tunnel straight and NOT turning or looking for me. He needed to exit the tunnel straight in order to see the line to the wing. Then when he exited straight and could see the wing, I switched to his left wrap cue to indicate what I wanted on the wing. So the Go cue in that situation only applied to what to do on the tunnel and not what to do on the wing. If the GO that was given before the tunnel also applied to the wing (or if it was a jump)… then I would never be able to turn my dogs LOL!Let me know if that makes sense. If not – tell me exactly where on the video you had the question so I can see the context 🙂
TracyHi there! Hope you had a great weekend too!
>>Also trying to make sure all frisbees are out away after frisbee play so they don’t become a distraction.>>
Welcome to my world. Frisbee distractions are currently a big thing at my house LOL!
It is so fun to see her be able to open up and run run run here! And yet she also had LOVELY left and right turns on the tunnel exits. Such a nice balance!!! You were doing a really good job of connecting as you drove her through this – the connection on the front crosses on the wings looked really strong. Most of the tunnel exit connections were spot on too – she is very literal (as is typical of young dogs LOL!) and when you disconnected and pointed forward, she was not sure where to be. That happened at :10 on the wing after the left turn tunnel exit, but you felt it and fixed it on all the other wings after the tunnel turn exits. On 2 of the GO exits (:40 and 1:36) you were a in a good position but pointed forward, so she wasn’t sure if she should go around the wing or come in next to you. When you were looking at her more on the tunnel exits, she zipped right around the wing 🙂
So, for now – keep emphasizing that connection! As she learns more about the game, it won’t be as important because value for the wings (and eventually jumps) will come way up. Right now, value is on you (da momma!!!) but it will shift so you don’t need to worry about always needing perfect connection.Good job adding in a couple of reps with the GO for the toy at the end! She was excellent on those! Right now, she is better at turning on the tunnel exits and not as strong with going straight – that is also pretty normal, as youngsters are usually stronger at one over the other. But those reps at the end will really help balance her. You got her to go straight by being ahead on some of the reps to the wing, and that helps too.
>>I ended up going and getting a toy and trying to do a couple drive lines at the end just to get her driving forward and make sure she understands the “go”.>>
She seemed to really love the toy reward on those! On the sections with the turns on the exit and the wing wrap, you might want to add the toy back in! That will certainly help with distractions – and will really require you to nail the connections as the toy will be more exciting (or try it with a frisbee :)) I like to add toys in to spots where I am feeling comfortable with my handling, because the toys will get more speed and motivation from the dog. If I am NOT feeling comfy, I don’t add them as much because I don’t want to mess things up with the dog going really fast 🙂
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
>>skeptically optimistic>>
HAHAHA that is a great way of putting it 🙂
I am glad everything is going really well! You can shelve the uphills for now – focus on the downhills because that is going to turn into a big ‘putting it together’ moment when the board meets the ground!
And since the bang game is going really well, you can move to the other end position games: rebound game, elevator game, and fading the target on the plank. It is going to come together really quickly in the next few weeks!!! FUN!!!!
Keep me posted 🙂
TracyHi!
>.We did it once outside the chiropractor’s office on grass next to a busy street. Of course he was on leash, but paid no attention to the traffic or his surroundings.>>
Wow! That is terrific!!!
He did really well on the video. I think the next steps have to do with getting this behavior without the target but also without him also being able to see the treats. So, like with the bang game above, move the treat holder stool to behind him – so he has to leap into the board into position with the cookies in a spot that he cannot see 🙂 Now, if this makes his head explode, you can put the target back in on the board for a couple of reps to help him out.
Having the food behind him and not in his field of view is perfect for transitioning this to trials, where we will be asking for this behavior and the treats will be outside the ring.
That should also take care of the issue of having treats on you or in your hand – we fade them out by having them behind him.>>2. My being behind him. Now, maybe without treats on me, he can go to the target and I can be behind him….not sure.>>
We can approach this a couple of different ways (and to get it started, the target can go back in if he struggles to be correct). We will change just one variable at a time, because it is a hard skill:
I think the cookie chair behind him will help get this started – with you continuing to be moving forward, so he can still see you.
Then when he is good with that, you can start hanging back more and sending him ahead of you, bit by bit.
And if he is curling around to look at you and the cookie chair, you can add in that target out ahead that you used in the video – the round plastic target on the ground, a few feet ahead. Then you can release him and throw a cookie forward to it, to help him continue to look straight. I wouldn’t have the cookie already on the target, in case he releases himself and grabs the treat 🙂 It is just a focal point to help jump start the behavior.Let me know if that makes sense, and let me know how he does 🙂
Nice work here!
TracyHi! This session looked great! He seemed perfectly happy to hit and hold the end position no matter what you did. Super! And it looks like the board was parallel to the ground.
You can play with having the treat location behind him, so he is leaping on to the board, you have nothing in your hands… and the treats are not visible to the sides because the are back near the other side of the board (you go back to get one then deliver it :)) . Or you can have them way out directly ahead, so you can sometimes release to go forward to them.No more tip needs to be added here, so you can add in the Rebound Game and the Elevator Game now! He is progressing beautifully!
Tracy
Hi again!
>>She seemed a little distracted earlier. The neighbor was going in and out of his house and sometimes she kept missing the tunnel. I should have added that in the video. I see you have something for that in the lesson. Maybe I was saying the directional verbal too soon?? Maybe I needed to connect more? going to….the tunnel?>>
Do you have video? It might have been a connection oopsie or a cue issue… but probably just the distraction of the neighbor being out and about. The video will let us know, if you still have it.
On this video – so much great stuff!! Fast Forward Ruby looked fabulous 🙂
First rep was good, it looked like (sounded like> LOL) the verbals were on time and she was committing and turning nicely! After the wrap at :09, she just needed to see more connection to her eyes so she could know which side of you to be on.
Then on the wrap at :15, she is very literal – you were saying go and you didn’t decel and turn for the wing, so she did a really good go 🙂 past the wing.
At :26 – she needed more connection there to find the line.
On the next run – good verbals and good timing! Yay!!!
And the next run after that – lovely too!
And same with the last rep – including the figure 8 on the wings in the middle – your arms are low, your connection looks great, and the verbals are sound good! So lovely!She is really young so the connection makes a big difference – but overall, looking great! If you have more room, spread it out a bit so you can get more running in 🙂 And if you are Bonnie’s or any place else, try some of these so you can generalize the skills to new places.
Nice work!
TracyHi there!
This went well, she is really responding to the verbals on the tunnel exits! There were a couple of oopsies but they were connection-related:
you started off nicely, and at :10 just needed a little more connection for her to be able to find the wing. On the 2nd rep – nice! You nailed it! On the 3rd rep – really nice til you disconnected on the right exit of the tunnel, so she was not sure where to be. Then you got back on track – one little disconnection at :52 which you fixed beautifully at 1:00 and you were great til the end!
So keep focusing on getting that connection, it makes a big difference for her seeing the lines. Nice work!
TracyAh, well that is a pretty big distraction 🙂 Can any of your dogs be nearby while he is training? I don’t want to foster undesired behavior with my younger dogs, but you might notice my 15 year old dog running around barking in the background during a few videos LOL!
T
Hi there!
I totally get it about the environment! I could see from his facial expression an posture that the environment was more stimulating. I give the environment big props for being a massive variable (internal environment, external environment, or both working together LOL!) And it was smart to stop the weaves and get reinforcement in for other stuff. Were you able to pinpoint what was different? New location? Or more movement stimulating the internal environment? Either way – he still got some good reps in. And when you get back to the location, start with the poles more open and see how it goes. And at a ‘home’ location, you can try to stimulate the internal environment and see how he does on slightly easier poles. I have found it hard to stimulate the internal environment at home, so I do crazy things like have the dog run through the tunnel 10 times then try the weaves LOL!!
Let me know what you think!
TracyHi!
This is a good session considering the MM is a new variable! Yay! We are also starting to see some striding! On the harder right side entries, I think that the first poles being straight are a little too hard – open those up for a couple of more sessions so he can be more successful.
The other thing you can do on the ‘bottom’ of the clock angles (3-4-5 and 7-8-9) is to take one set of poles and do isolated, up close sessions where you work the really hard angles and drop the treat in right after the entry (no throwing, no MM needed, just drop it in LOL!) I did this in my living room on a small carpet 🙂Now, about the striding: he is bouncing a bit – I am not sure that he will be better as a bouncer or a swimmer (see new games added today) . How tall is he? Aussies can be either bouncers or swimmers – tall enough to swim, but front end assembly might be be better for bouncing. So as we work on striding in the coming weeks – do you have access to channels? If not, we can use open 2x2s as channels to see what he does with his striding. For now, keep the 2x2s a little more open so we can watch the striding percolate in coming days 🙂 The Find ‘Em Games added today will be fun for the 2x2s and will give us more ideas about his striding 🙂 I like to detour into striding before we finish closing up the poles 🙂
Great job here! And I like your plan to go outside if the weather holds. Start with the poles a little more open than the indoor sessions because the environment is a new variable – and if it is no problem, you can angled them really quickly 🙂
Have fun!
TracyHi there!
Yeah, I feel the pain of the MM sometimes randomly doing whatever it wants LOL! However, the good news is that I can now add the word “doo-lally” to my vocabulary LOL! What a great word!!! Ha!About using the MM… also yeah – she will eat the treats when asked but is not very excited about it. That tells us that the MM is really not a useful, high value reward. So, let’s take it out – she is not interested in the treats and she is not using it as a target – and she is working beautifully for the toy (excited but not losing her mind). So, onwards to only the toy (she won’t be sad) and I am not worried about her looking for you after she finishes the poles: on a course, you would be cuing the next obstacle.
This session was really strong in the challenges!!! Only one detail to suggest: when you are sending and going to be moving alongside the poles, try to move immediately (even if it is just walking) rather than stand still til she gets into the entry and then move. We want her to find those entries even when you are already moving. When you did the rear crosses and lateral movement away and countermotion – you moved immediately on all of those, and she was great! So, on the big sends, don’t stand still unless you are going to be standing still the whole time 🙂 If the motion is hard for her, you can dial it back to move slowly. If it is easy… move faster 🙂
I think she will be fine with it because she is really focused on her ‘work’ 🙂
In a few minutes, I will be posted all the new games for the next couple of weeks! I think you can add any of the new channels games (there are a couple for 6 poles, and a couple for 12 poles). For the new 2×2 games, you’ll want to get her onto 4 poles that are pretty angled before adding those.
Great job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy
