Here comes your new homework:
1. straight line as a serpentine: now that you mastered straight lines too, it's time to show the dog they can come in different forms 🙂 Let's try angling the jumps as you can see in a video, still working on extension vs. collection. Keep angling the jumps all the way to a serpentine. You should still throw in some wraps to keep them attentive to possible collection cues.
Showing the angling in 4 steps, but try to go even more gradually and make it a serpentine in 6 or 7 steps:
2. sequencing
With long-strided dogs, 10 will be hard - so you can simply take the other entry instead.
3. let's check how far you have got with weave entries: send in your "top 5" - choose the 5 hardest entries your dog found, the 5 you are most proud of.
Sorry I placed the video in the wrong place.. Just in case you overlooked it up there.
Again late on some verbals and some pushing out to the other side and sometimes clicking things you don’t really want to click… -- click something specific, like a nice wrap for example. But you can definitely angle the jumps some more.
I am not sure if I should be posting the running contact video in the carpet here but with all the videos I am a little lost.
Cool, you just need to throw sooner -- and cut the parts of the video where we can only see the carpet in the grass in slow motion next time 🙂
Hi silvia, last serpentine training we are angling the jumps very little every session. The slalom is almost close 🙂
Silvia how do you manage your training time? I have many things to do with acqua… Running contacts, handling, slalom, see saw, A-frame and I feel we are not finish anything yet. I can train just one session per day, Could you advice me about what to do? one day slalom anohter running, other handling, or every day slalom until is finish?
thanks
Great! Almost there with weaves and serpentines and mostly very nice wraps on full height already, that’s great! But yes, it’s LOTS of things to work on with a young dog and almost impossible to master it all in three months… I usually work on two things in one session: just pick two things for each day and vary it every next day to not do too much of the same thing.
Hi Silvia and classmates -- Paddy and I have been working on the serpentine so that we can move to lesson 5. Here is video shot today. We have the jumps a lot straighter now, although not all the way straight. He will still miss the middle jump sometimes although it is getting better. It looks to me like he is bouncing the jumps. Is this good or should I try to space them further apart? Not sure I can do it with three jumps given the size of my yard but will try if you think that I should. I think his line looks good without too much push and pull -- what do you think? Thanks for your input. Notice no squeaky toy on this video and I am doing more of a “set up” to stop him from circling and barking at me between exercises. Still a little hampered by my knee but it is feeling a little better.
Great! Bouncing is definitely a great sign, it means he is staying really tight close to the line, without much in and out. Bigger distance however would make it easier for him to get that middle jump, but he was really doing great by the end of a video! Those were really nice, small moves of the jumps, continue like that now that things are getting complicated. To make it easier, you can also try to spread them some at one point, maybe using a diagonal of your garden? If too difficult, you can as well leave it like that, he is a smart boy!
Here is our sequence for lesson 4. I’m realizing that when my back is to the camera, I’m not speaking loudly enough to be heard. Will try to correct that in the future.
Jump #4 looks tighter in the first two runs than the last two. I’m wondering if I should have gone deeper into the tunnel with her so I wasn’t so far ahead of her approaching #4. Sending her with decel on my part might have been more effective?
Have been working hard on giving verbal cik&cap earlier. It almost seems as though waiting for her front feet to land on the previous jump is too late. Or else my timing is off. 🙂 Do you ever give the verbal cue right before the previous jump if they’re in full extension over that previous jump?
Great! Very nice smooth handling and in time with the verbals! Great obstacle focus and still very nice wraps -- just on 4 she gets thrown out of the turn some. It actually looks to me as if she is collecting nicely, but then drifts away some… -- maybe you just need to reward after 4 a couple of times for coming straight to your hand after cik. But yes, you still don’t want to get to 4 too soon, waiting some at the tunnel would be good in that case. I never give cik/cap cue before taking off for the jump before, but will sometimes say it before front feet hit the ground. I think you can also raise the bars some, just make sure to first do some multi-wraps and sends to wraps on a new height first.
Grace & I started the serpentine exercise last night. WOW -- when i changed the angle of the jumps she was sooo fast and straight! I was having problems with my camera so sadly i couldn’t video it (we didn’t get to a full serpentine but the jumps had quite a sharp angle). I have included the start of the session (but it was bf i had angled the jumps). I think she is starting to jump much better. I realised that our cik is much better than our cap…she is still knocking the rail sometimes with my movement but i think it is gradually improving 🙂
Great! Definitely less bars down, great speed and nice wraps! For your one jump practise, you can as well set it somewhat higher now. Looking forward to see the serpentine!
Here is Nessa’s video of the sequence. I took out some tries and left in some problems ones. Hopefully it is not too long. After doing it the way that you asked us to I tried doing it in reverse (well almost reverse -- I didn’t move the tunnel). I had a real problem trying to get Nessa to wrap the first jump (more tries than what is in the video). The next day things went better and I finished off with the original sequence. The 4 jump did pose some problems at first. I think that she needed help with my body. Also perhaps I did too much the first day and that was why she had problems.
Serps are not going very well. Nessa is so tunnel driven that when I angled the jumps too much she would miss the last jump before the tunnel. Sometimes it may have been my fault because I gave the verbal cue for the tunnel before she was over the last jump. I tried straightening the last jump so that it was in the path to the tunnel again (this worked). I tried moving the tunnel so that it was more in line with the last jump (sometimes worked). I also moved the tunnel so that there was more distance between the last jump and the tunnel. I also had a hard time getting Nessa to do a wrap before the tunnel. She would just drive to the tunnel and ignore my wrap cue. At one point I put jump wings in front of the tunnel to block it so that she couldn’t get in the tunnel when I was trying to get her to wrap. That seemed to backfire a bit because then I had a hard time getting her into tunnels when running an easy course the next day. I guess I should have ended the training session with allowing her to go into the tunnel again.
I am considering not using a tunnel at the end just so that she hopefully can do the serp and wraps.
That was good to reverse the sequence then as she seems to remember them well and then stops listening. With dogs like that, it’s very important to keep them on their toes and in listening mode by always running something else so that they learn they can’t “help” you and need to just follow whatever you say. She needs a better understanding of obstacle vs. handler focus I think. She sometimes really searches for those tunnels out of nothing and yet on some places she doesn’t pull to obstacles that much, as to that 4 first few times when you’re behind (probably really too much) -- she looks back at you and barks at you before taking it. So some send would still be good. Throw some tunnels around (first far, then bring them closer) and only send her in if she does the send to a wrap nicely: she needs to understand thing happen when you say so 🙂 Tunnel drive is great, but it’s important that you can control it. For the serpentines, you can do the same, first practise without the tunnel, then put a tunnel really far and then bring it closer, sending her in if she takes the jump and recalling to redo the jump if she doesn’t take it. Basically, she needs to understand that the shortest way to the tunnel is to follow your directions. I did a lot of it with Bu, my no-drive BC. The only thing she drives to are tunnels so I used them as a reward for everything (contacts, weaves, wraps, not taking tunnels 🙂 etc.) -- works great once they understand the concept.
Thanks Slivia for the comments. I will work on sends and controlling her tunnels and using them as a reward.
Something that I forgot to mention. Some of our jumps in Canada are not designed well for tight wraps. We have fixed metal jump cups at all the heights (some have many heights 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 inches). Some jumps even have bolts that hold the bars. Last week I was using jumps with metal jumps cups while working serps with wraps and noticed that Nessa had some hair missing below an eye in the middle of one session. A day later a scab formed so I am suspecting that she got to close to jump cup. It makes me a bit nervous about practicing wraps and severe slices across jumps now. I have started bringing my own wingless jumps with plastic jump cups and putting the wings on the outside of them. This is fine for practices but not trials where I can’t substitute jumps. The jumps that you use look like they are much better designed. Do you think that she will learn to not be too tight so that she doesn’t scratch herself again?
Hm, difficult question… I would probably wait and see, I think once she gets more used to it she will be able to judge better how to jump to avoid crashing into it, but yes, we don’t have this problem as only one jump cup is allowed (and is moved up and down as necessary)…
Here is our video of yesterday evening. Straight line as a serpentine:
I used the ” slowmotion” option again to see if she is stretching…
Jonina & Jin
wow! another impressive one! Great work Jonina!!
Jin’s jumps are very stylish and beautiful!!
Nice to watch in slowmotion 😉
now I am a bit worried about being far behind ;(
Thank you Emi that’s so sweet! We are having a hard time during the RC class, so these sweet words gives me some confidence back. Please don’t feel worried to be behind, I think most people are behind with some things, we are also. You two are doing great, so I’m sure everything will be ok!
Yeap, she sure is stretching now! Very cool! To make the serpentine even more challenging, now that you mastered it so well, you can try 4 jumps and also putting them closer together, it makes it more difficult. You can also try the other direction, start from a stay (in both directions, either recalling her over or pushing to the first jump) and try it in the tunnel direction, it’s sometimes harder as some dogs are too much in a hurry to get to the tunnel to take the jump.
Thank you, we will do 4 jumps next time and try the other direction. It will definitely be difficult for my tunnel crazy puppy 😉
If it will too hard for her, move the tunnel further back to make it less tempting, reward and then slowly bring it in.
Nice!!! I am jealous that you can run so fast and still direct Jin so nicely. Goals for me to work on!
Thank you Pam! Actually I am not such a fast runner (I have bad knees) but thanks to this class I can handle my flying puppy! 😉
Here’s where Grace & I are up to with our weaves…
I opened up my 2x2 a bit -- which has created a little 2x2 channel (I’m ordering the other 6 but it might take a little while) I think Grace is starting to do some nice single stepping -- esp at 1:18
I included the jump footage which i did a little while ago -- just for fun 🙂 Her understanding of the entries seems to be getting better and she seems to be having more fun now that she’s a bit more confident with the entries (not making so many mistakes)
I have no idea why my videos keep posting as a reply to other videos..!? It seems to randomly decide where to insert
But… -- they aren’t posted as a reply… Everything looks right to me.
Oh ok -- i was just confused because i was expecting it to insert at the bottom of the page but it adds itself about half way up the page which seems to mean the comments aren’t in chronological order on the page.
Huh, yes, I can see it now… I will have my boyfriend look into it, that sure is weird…
wow! very impressive progress 🙂
Grace looks having sooo much fun!!(and you too Cam!)
well done!! xo
Thanks Emi! Yes, i must confess -- i was having a lot of fun 🙂 We did this at the park last night. Let’s hope i can get the next 6 poles easily 🙂
Yeap, looks good with more open channel! 🙂 Having 12 will also help, they have more time then to sort their stride: they often start with two feet and go to one further in a channel, so I like to have 12 right from the start.
Thanks Silvia … I look forward to getting the rest of my weave poles then 🙂
Wow Grace nice entries!!! When you taped it from the front her tail looks like a tail from a lion, hihi, so cute she can’t stop waggling! 😀
Beautiful entries! Love to watch this, thanks for posting.
I moved the weave poles in one step on the channel. At first I tried a ball, because Tibby wasn’t very fast and the ball always makes her go faster. I didn’t get it taped, but she would go around the weaves to get to the ball faster. SO I went back to food and threw the ball in every once in a while. Then I tried the ball again and some low value treats (kibble) with some high value treats (cheese) when she had any speed.
Tibby is doing SO MUCH better with her tunnel fear. 🙂
P.S. My neighbors think this is very interesting. Every time we do anything with the weave poles they come and look out of their windows! 😛
Too funny when she is chasing the cat and takes tunnels all on her own with full speed, that was sure great to see! Good idea to combine the tunnel with weaves, it gave you some really good speed. You can move the tunnel some to give her different approaches, though.
Ok I will do that next! Thanks!
Most of the time (when she’s not chasing a cat LOL!) she is a little slow going into the tunnels, but much faster coming out -- yay!