So... Here is the plan. As agility is easier to show as to explain, you'll be getting your homeworks in video form. You'll always get some new assignments, but you need to keep practicing the old ones too - we'll be checking back on those here and there, so don't forget to keep working on those!
This class program is very extensive and after discussing it with 1st class students, I decided to give you some more time for last three lessons: first three you'll get every 2 weeks and last three every 3 weeks and we'll also make a 2-week break somewhere in between to let you catch up. As always, taking things slowly is always better and takes you to the goal faster as rushing things up, that's why I'm giving you more time for your homeworks.
1. restrained send to cik/cap - the purpose of this exercise is to play a nice chasing game, while teaching great sends, distance work and commitment - see how early I can start running in the other direction when sending Le to the jump.
Things to pay attention to:
- height: If you only did cik&cap on other objects so far, start with a jump stanchion now, but without the bar first: and then put the bar VERY low - max. 5cm (2 inches) for smaller dogs, 10cm (4 inches) for BC size and bigger. You can then add some height every 5 sessions: 3cm up for small dogs, 5cm for bigger dogs - SLOWER with young dogs! If you already did cik&cap with more height, do this exercise on your normal height, send a video and I will tell you if it's o.k. or you need to make it lower.
- distance: Start the dog very close to the jump first and then further&further every next try to slowly add distance. If the dog turns back to you (as Le does once in my video) or waits for you, start closer again and add distance more gradually.
- angle: Note from which angle I bring Le to the jump and in which direction I run away to reward. The purpose is to teach them to jump close to the stanchion, NOT in the middle of the bar! That's why I always do this side approach FIRST and do lots of it before trying any straight approaches. Check the angle again as it's not the best angle to see and many people do it coming to the jump facing it and then running parallel to it away and then the dogs are back-jumping the jump. You want to come to the jump from the side (nearing the stanchion/wing first) and then run away perpendicular to it.
- speed: You can't expect much speed with multi-warps, but you definitely want it now. Restrain the dog, wait for a good pull, let him go and run away for them to chase you&the toy. Make sure the dog is rewarded when still moving - don't stop and reward: run and reward! 🙂
2. If the first part goes well, you can also do some figure 8s + chase it game: it's the same game, only that you use two jumps now and run from one to another, sometimes still rewarding the first wrap, sometimes 4th, sometimes 2nd, sometimes 5th, sometimes 3rd... Note the angle of the jumps (side approach again!) and the distance between them: you want BIG distance to get good speed - something like 10m/33'. Again, you want the jumps under this angle to make sure the dog is jumping close to the stanchion, not in the middle of the bar. DON'T do figure 8s on one jump, it teaches the dog to jump in the middle!
3. restrained send to a tunnel (obstacle discrimination!) + come to hand vs. go game
Restrain the dog very close to the tunnel, as he is pulling towards it, say "tunnel, tunnel" to them: pulling in the direction of that thing is what you want when you say "tunnel" - and then let them go. Slowly add distance. Later on, you can add more obstacles (jumps&contact) close to the tunnel to make the discrimination harder: only say "tunnel" when the dog is pulling in the right direction, you can feel it if you hold him. You do the same with jumps: call cik&cap and release to the jump that is first the only thing around and then add tunnels closer&closer. The goal is teaching obstacle discrimination AND actively pulling towards obstacles you call (as opposed to hanging with you, waiting for you to take them all the way to each obstacle).
To train even more things at the time, when the dog is out of the tunnel, either call to hand and when he is at your side, either do a front cross or a shoulder pull (see the video) and reward for closeness - OR say your magic "run FAST" word and throw a toy ahead when the dog is catching up with you - meaning that you're moving in both situations, do NOT stand still when you send!
To make it even more challenging and train three things at the time 🙂 you can also add more tunnels and jumps around, like this:
Try to change it some every time, like bringing the other tunnel closer, or curving it sometimes, or using a jump instead, and also try running by it (to the other entry maybe) while calling to hand so that the dog needs to stay with you even when you’re actually moving towards the tunnel/jump and similar.
4. independent weaves
If you haven't started weaves yet, set 12 poles in two rows (left row must always be 60cm/24inches closer to you when you stand in front of the channel in order to teach them correct entries), at least 1m apart, restrain the dog at least 3m before the channel, throw the toy through and release. As the dog is running to his toy, sometimes just stand back, sometimes run after him, on both sides, sometimes far, sometimes close, sometimes run and stop, sometimes run and turn etc. The purpose is to teach the dog to ignore your body language when in the weaves and complete the task. Slowly switch to a static toy 4m after the channel, bringing the two rows closer&closer as you practise independent performance (I'm using bowls with treats with Le as she isn't too excited about dead toys... - but I quickly switched to a toy, thrown after she is out then to get more speed). See the video for some ideas on what to do when the dog is in a channel. If the dog already knows the weaves, send the video of how independent it is. If it's not, go back to the channel. With puppies, you can start the channel work, but only play with it max. twice a week, to not progress too fast as you don't want to close it to the point that requires real weaving before the dog is fully grown. But you can do a lot of work on independence and entries without doing any real weaving.
Have fun!
Hi Silvia,
Here’s our first attempt at cik/cap around a jump standard. I was wondering what you think about the area right before Squirt makes the turn around the standard? I’m not sure if he is not going as close to the standard at the beginning because of the legs on the standard or possibly me pushing on his path? Any suggestions or don’t worry about it? I did try once we got to the other side (wrapping left), starting below the plane of the standard and the second to last try looked better.
Thanks!
Heather
What a fast and happy little dog!!! I think the problem is mostly you pushing on his line -- try to let him take a straight line to the wing and then take off. He looks ready for you to add more distance, it will be easier then to not push on his line.
Squirt and I tried Cik/Cap from 20-30 feet away and I was so thrilled that he was running so hard to the jump standard and beating me with that tiny stride of his! He did a good job and it got better as he was learning to adjust himself around standard. Maybe we should try a figure 8?
Thanks!
Oh, that was great! Squirt is so much fun to watch! He sure is driving hard for that standard, doesn’t push out at all anymore AND is sure showing a great effort to stay close! Great job! Definitely time to do some figure 8s and then add a very low bar -- maybe just a ground bar to start with -- you need to progress in slower steps for smaller dogs.
OH, I see someone else says “GO” a lot, LOL!! I bet if I had more room and said my “GO” more, like Heather maybe Spur would run faster! Heather, GREAT job, very fun to watch you and little Squirt!!! Definitely inspirational!!!!!
Thank you Amy! He’s a fun little dude!
Go Squirt go! Heather, you are doing such a lovely job motivating Squirt! Very inspiring!!
Thanks Melanie! By the way, I’m enjoying watching Grit. She is fantastic!
Aw, Heather!! Squirt is ADORABLE!!! Such a fast and happy dog, is for sure!!!
Thanks Amy! He’s so much fun! I should probably explain his bark if the sound is up on your computer. He literally sounds like a squeak toy and I forget because I’m use to it but his first owner de-barked him when he was a very young puppy and that squeaky sound is all that he has for a voice.
He is wonderful! Brought such a smile to my face watching little Squirt.
This is where we are now.
The sticks are open about 15cm in the first few runs, about 10cm for most of the rest except the last couple which are on straight sticks (I just wanted to see what she was doing).
Cool, those were really great weaves!!! Great independence and entries! I would keep it open a bit until you address all possible situations, to not make her weave too much. Great job with tunnel exercise too, sending well and coming to hand nicely and tighly! She is a bit slower on sends to a wrap, maybe you need to move more with her for now? You could also try dropping down the close end of a bra some to see if you can get her to jump closer to the stanchion. Great to see Tili again!
Hootie understand the basics of cik&cap, doing it on a jump standard here in the house, but he’s still doing it slowly. There’s just not enough room to run & tug. I’d like to move outside but we just got a foot of snow! There’s room in the barn, but I’m not sure if I can keep his border collie brain from obsessing about the barn cats! Do I just need to spend more cat-free time in the barn with him? If we’re practicing our cik&cap do you think I might be interesting enough to hold his attention? (There’s NOTHING more exciting than cats for Hootie -- he’s obsessed).
Hm, well, you can try to work through his cat obsession, trying to keep a focus by playing and his favourite tricks. If he is still doing cik&cap slowly, then that probably won’t be fun enough to keep his focus for now, but yes, would be great if you could work on it away from addressing the cat obsession, in a cat-free barn.
Dear Silvia
Here is our progressing so far for cik/cap,want to learn so all/any suggestions appreciated. Want to start adding distance to the send wrap. also just got a tunnel so been teaching apollo the tunnel, then want to add wrap jump and tunnel together. I only have this type jump available,must probably get a wing jump too to generalise.
He can sure turn tight! But actually, I always do cik&cap around the object as I want them to understand it’s a send to an object and never means turning on flat. I do teach spinning too, but use different cues for that (left&right), while cik&cap is always around an object. So always use an object and pay special focus to his object focus -- he is sometimes watching you so much he doesn’t really see the object. So spend some more time on that as it will transfer to a great obstacle focus and wait some more before putting things together, it’s important to master each element first. I don’t think wings or wingless matter, I’m using wings because that’s how all jumps in Europe are 🙂 But you can do everything the same on wingless.
Breggie, I hope I’m not speaking out of turn, but I’m a bit concerned about your jump cups. They’re really unusually long and right at your dog’s eye level. Perhaps there’s something I don’t understand and if so please disregard. It’s just that I would feel terrible if your dog got hurt and I hadn’t spoken up. 🙂 My own dog once took a very tight turn into a much shorter metal jump cup and was injured.
Oh, gosh, that was a good observation, I missed those! Definitely looks dangerous, you want to take those off! Thanks Diane!
No problem, they’re pretty hard to see, actually. Breggie, make them just as small as can be while still holding the bar up. Mine are 1/2″ but I think they could be half that and still work.
Yes, when I’m watching videos in sunshine, I can easily miss things like that… My jump cups are much shorter, but I always remove them completely for flat cik&cap work OR put them on a highest height. Once you use the bar, it’s not an issue anymore.
What you can also do if you have jump cups that you can’t remove, is to buy some foam pipe insulation and cut it in two lengthwise then just tape them onto your jump standards, covering the jump cups.
This was our first attempt with cik&cap round jump wings. I kept the pole very low as Ponto has always jumped much to wide.
Great, loved the enthusiasm! Some very nice turns already too! Definitely keep a bar very low for now though -- those using higher bars were all in the previous class already! As you probably noticed, rear crosses on figure 8 are not the best choice -- always use a front cross on those. But I would actually focus on the sends to one jump first, make all of those turns really tight and only then put two wraps together.
I am really looking forward to feedback on these videos. I don’t know how to edit so I am sorry but these aren’t as professional as most videos posted on here!
There are 3 of the cikcak exercises. I call it ‘dig’ for right and ‘check’ for left. We have done some of this before on low jumps, but not correctly (!) because I have been sending her from different angles, mainly straight on probably, and now I realise I should have been sending her from the side. I can see now how where you stand will affect the tightness of the turn.
Although she jumps on full height now, I haven’t done cikcak on full height (we started cikcak in January) but thought I would try it today so you could see how she did. I have noticed before that her digs (rights) are not as tight as her checks. I just moved the camera so you could see the turns better for the full height
I have done cikcak on two jumps before, but not in this sequence.
Audra, they’re private.
Great, very impressive distance and commitment!!! But she is not ready for full height no -- what is completely normal if you only started in January! I would keep the jumps low and do some more work on right wraps -- left are really good on low height, but right still need some more work. Apart from cik&cap work, you can do some stretching to a cookie on her left -- and even more often right hip 🙂 and some spins to help her with bending right. You can also spread the two jumps for figure 8 even more, she has good enough distance for the next challenge!
Thanks Silvia. I will certainly do as you suggest. Should I do all my jumping on lower height (eg. sequences at club) until she has tightened her turns or just when I am specifically working on Cik&cap ?
I have entered her in competitions -- would I just not use ‘dig’ and check until she is responding with tight turns?
I have put my tunnel and weaves on later and reposted this. Sorry-will get the hang of this soon!
This is a great course already-wish I had known about your courses 2 years ago!
Exactly, you can keep training and trialing at full height, but without using collection cues until you master it at low height and then build it up to full height. You sure did a great job already -- see my suggestions to Melanie and Louise on how to add extra challenges for more experienced dogs!
Thank you!
Will work on those sparkly eyes 🙂
Do you use left right for 90degree change in direction then on flats and jumps? If possible if you can video show when / how you use them, or direct me.
Cues for wrap rock and lick?
Thank you!!!
It’s actually not about the degree of a turn… It depends if getting the best possible line requires collection or extension. So what is left/right vs. cik/cap depends on where the dog came from, where he is going next and how long he naturally jumps: something that is cik for long-jumping dog is just left for short-jumping dog. Makes sense? Cik&Cap DVD provides course analysis and explains what is cik/cap vs. left/right to more detail. But basically, it’s always a question of how far I want the dog to land in that particular situation. I use left/right for extension jumping in one or another direction, for turns on flat, out of the tunnel and after contacts.
And well, any cue that you can remember and say quickly is good! 🙂
Hello Silvia and classmates--can you make this out okay? I thought I might be able to get away with uploading in lower quality for this class (and therefore faster) but I think it might be too blurry. Let me know if I should go back to full quality next time. Or even this time.
First part is Bun Bun. As I mentioned earlier, she has almost zero toy drive, so I thought the way to go with her might be a thrown food target that I could eventually swap for a ball. I don’t think she will ever bring a ball back, but I could reward her after she touches it. So, this morning she had a brief introduction to the thrown container, and then I tried using it with cik/cap, but it was stressing her out, so for today only, I just rewarded her from my hand. Then I used the container with the tunnel and it went much, much better--it’s pretty cute, you can see her learning to chase it over the course of the few tries on this video. I think she’ll be able to use it with cik/cap next time. I tried having her spin before sending her to the tunnel and she likes that so much better than being restrained.
Second part is Byrdie. First the current state of his weave poles, then I just had him do Bun Bun’s tunnel since it was already set up, then cik/cap. This exercise is provoking a LOT of barking, unsurprisingly--he’s very quiet for a Sheltie as long as there’s a reasonably long sequence to do. In trial he might bark twice on a course. But apparently little drills just make him crazy.
Looking forward as always to hearing what I’m doing wrong! 🙂
(That last bit was a comment on my own lack of skills, not your teaching!)
Cool, great to meet Bun Bun! She sure seems to start liking that food container! 🙂 Great wraps too, just try to leave even earlier to have er dig in after a turn even more. Byrdie, he is sometimes watching you so much on wraps that he is turning with your body language rather that searching for the tightest line around himself. Try to let him do it a bit more independently. The weaves look great already, but you can always chalenge him some more 🙂 Slowly introduce some crazy entrances and movements as he weaves and you could also set a straight tunnel next to weaves and work on discrimination at the same time, for an extra challenge. Driving well to the tunnel -- but try to throw even sooner so that he can see it when still in a tunnel. AND, you could mix it up with some turns after the tunnel and calling him to your hand. -- Just to keep him challenged too, he is sure really well trained already!
Thank you, Silvia! I wish the video was better so you could see Bun Bun’s happy face. She was so utterly delighted. This class is perfect for my sensitive girl.
With Byrdie, yes, he was barking his silly head off and staring at me instead of running. Maybe he was confused by the strange angle, or because of the short drill. I think he gets frustrated if he can’t get going and run. It should get better when it’s in a longer sequence. On weave poles, I ordered some stick-in-the-ground poles, and I’m planning to set them for Bun Bun, but also work the stranger entries and distractions with Byrdie even with them wide open and throwing a ball--does that sound good?
Well, you won’t hear from me for a few days as we’ll be out of town, but the weather’s supposed to be a lot better after this weekend and hopefully I can get a lot more practice in. I’m so frustrated in RC, I think I’ve only been able to practice ten times since we started!!
And just as I said that, it started snowing again. LOL.
I hope your weather gets better soon! And yes, see some weave challenges for Byrdie in my reply to Louise. For cik&cap, you could maybe try to send from more distance -- or even start with a tunnel, to get better forward focus? You can play with it away from agility too, sending him around the trees before throwing his ball.
Hi Silvia! We missed you on our break but we have not stopped working. Finally we have had some great weather and lots of opportunities to work outside. I found some channel weaves this weekend at the dog club so here is a short video of Secret. The channel is slowly getting more narrow and her entries are slowly becoming more challenging. The thing that I am having the most trouble with is that if I am really running I have trouble knowing if she misses a pole. I think that is why I am going so slow…I am trying to concentrate on if she is missing poles or not. So I need to work on more creative proofing!
Welcome back! I see the weaves are going great, keep adding challenges to her entries and independence, she looks ready!
Bright is still a bit baffled at the concept of being restrained for the jumps, but our first efforts. We also introduced the weavepole channel, but this is as wide as they will open, unfortunately.
Wow, that sure was tight!!! She can sure bend! But you don’t really want to use “go” and probably also not “over” if that will be your cue for extension? You need another cue for collection, meaning go ahead and land close. If you can’t widen the channel more that that, you need to keep it easy for now, but definitely gradually start introducing chalenges.
Yeah, it’s true, I’m terrible with putting things on cue, we will work on actually naming the behavior this week. As for the weavepoles, I think I’ll just work some proofing staying in the weave channel, but not mess with entries until she’s grown.
Okay, we’re going with ‘check’ for both directions of wraps, I have no skills in even being able to tell the difference with two directions. We introduced that, the figure eight exercise and found a wider weave channel.
Looks great!!! For some extra challenges for cik&cap, see my reply to Melanie. With the channel, slowly add entries and distractions when she is running through. Great job!