O.k., so this is our last lesson and last 3 weeks! This class officially ends on 18th December - with the next class (that will be a repeat of this one) starting on January 9th, in case you fell somewhat behind and want to continue sending videos. There will be a special, half-price option for everybody taking this class in case you want to join January class too, just as many people from April class joined this one.
1. include the dog-walk in sequences, still reward really good ones or really difficult ones, but mostly, keep running as the reward. If the contact is not good, stop and redo. Try to go to as many different places and on as many different dog-walks as possible to get the dog used to everything. When first trying it on a new place, use your dog's favourite set-up, you can also throw a toy in advance if that helps. Again, new dog-walks can be a very easy step for some dogs, but a very difficult one for others. It's usually a problem with sensitive dogs, retrains or long-strided dogs if the dog-walks are different lengths.
2. even if already doing a real DW, let's go back to the table+low plank set-up, in a seperate session from DW training, put a pole at the end of a plank (where the contact meets the ground) and have the dog jump on a contact from the side to wrap a pole. Use your wrap cue first, but then switch to left/right or come/away cues as the pole won't be there for ever. Click for touching a contact with front feet (not for wrapping) and reward from your hand. Slowly have the dog jump on a plank from further&further away, so that he needs to do a stride and then two before wrapping the pole. Don't worry if hind feet are together in this case, your major focus are front feet now anyway, front feet are better for turns.
Gradually start them further&further, use less&less noticeable (smaller and thinner) pole and make a plank higher&higher and then transfer it to the real DW. Tell them left/right at the middle of horizontal plank (can be somewhat later for shorter striding dogs), first do turns vs. straight exits in different sessions, then mix it up. A warning: teaching turns might temporary make your straight exits worse (so still do plenty of those too!) - but in a long term improves them as they get even better understanding on how to meet the criteria at different speeds.
Here is Le's first session on turns and then the rest of the steps shown by Bu to give you a better picture:
As an alternative, instead of teaching turns, you can teach 2on2off (the same way, on a lower plank first and backchaining it, using a different verbal cue) and then use it for tight turns off the DW. Only introduce it on a real DW once your running contacts are good enough.
3. new rear end awareness trick - backward weaving: tell the dog to go into heel position and start spinning as we were doing on the target, then very suddenly stop and step back with the other leg (if the dog is at left side - with right leg), you can also make a gesture with left hand to try to get them to keep circling below the heeling position, eventually all the way around you leg, so that they come backwards between your legs back into front position. If the dog insists on staying in heel position, you can help with the hand a little bit, lure his head out (left for 90 degrees if the dog is on left side) and say back to have them back up in your direction. Step back with the other leg enough to have them back up between your legs. Reward and tell them to heel on the other side (right) and repeat the process. As soon as you get some smoothness with that, stop rewarding for coming in between, always first tell them to come to the other leg and reward at your side in order to avoid having them back up too far - they need to stay very close to your legs all the time.
Good luck to your future RC training and I hope to see you again in another class!
Today we tried the dw in a new indoor training facility. It´s longer (40 cm each ramp) than the one we usually use and the room isn´t very big…
At first I didn´t set it up correctly so the ramps were a bit unstable. I didn´t include that in the film, but that´s why I started this session from the horisontal plank.
Ninjas reach and hindlegseparation wasn´t as good as it usually is… He used 6 strides…
Well, the good things are that 1.) he is hitting in 100%, 2.) he is not overreachy anymore and 3.) he can do DWs of different lengths, with different stridings. That’s all very important and impressive, so I wouldn’t worry if he is somewhat slower in new conditions -- it will only get better -- and it’s very good already 🙂 So really nothing to worry about, great job!
Today we finally trained again after a long week of work! We couldn´t lower the dw today so we tried full height 😛
I´m really satisfied with his speed and two of the runs were perfect!
But there were also unusually many big leaps and a lot of flying over second apex… Do you think it´s smart to try full height next time too, or shall I lower it?
We also tried som turns:
Am I clicking too late?
Cool, turns are going well and your clicking is good too. For straight exits, lower height would be better for now I think and then raising it up slowly again to keep high successful rate and avoid too much flying over an apex. When you don’t have this option, you can work on full height, but do try to use his favourite set up or any other way to avoid too many leaps. And definitely make a big deal out of those prefect hits, those were really beautiful!
We´ve been practising a lot for 5 days! 🙂
This is yesterday´s session:
I guess I can start to rise the dw now?
I´ve tried full height too this weekend, but then he shortened his stride on the horisontal ramp, flew over second apex and missed the contact/frontleghit/overreached. So I guess I have to rise it really slowly?
(Today Ninja was neutered, so we´ll take at least one weeks break)
Yeap, try raising slowly. See you in the next class, this one is actually finished 🙂
Ooops, sorry! See toy in next class! 🙂
Silvia, I don’t know why I can not get my video to upload to You Tube. So, Over the last 9 days I’ve raised the DW from 31 inches to 41 inches. Today was the first day at 41″ and he had all Jackpots :0) I then put him on the A-frame first time in 9 days at a height of 5 feet and ran him three times just in case he did not have rear leg separation. He was in on the high side and had some separation. :o) Due to the fact that I had all Jackpots on the DW at 41 inches, can I now raise it to its full height? Also what about the A-frame?
Bill
Sounds great!!! I don’t know US rules… -- what is your full height? How much higher from 41 inches? Maybe keep raising it inch by inch. Also, are you still throwing in advance? You will need to fade that next, maybe by pretending you threw, but then only throw after a short straight tunnel or a jump that you set after a DW for him to focus on. With an A-frame, I would try different approaches and exits (throwing in advance, sending to jump/tunnel first etc.) to see if you can find one way that gives you the best hits. If nothing works, I would go lower again.
US full height for the DW is 48″. I’m only throwing the ball after he gets a Jackpot and takes the jump after. His rate of jackpots is so high that he is driving very hard. I have not tried to have a tunnel after the contact yet. just jumps.
A-Frame setup: Five feet high: AKC height is 5.5 feet. I now have him go over two jumps before the a-frame. Jumps are 18 to 20 feet and 36 feet from it.(AKC & UDASS usually have about that spread between jumps.) I through the ball after he is in the contact.
If your DW allows raising it slowly, I would prefer that over going directly to 48″. You can meantime try a tunnel after DW and maybe angling jumps some to have him see it’s the same thing even if the jump is not completely straight ahead. With an A-frame, you can try throwing in advance to see if that helps. You can also try angled approaches, just to see if those give you better separation.
Silvia, someone recently suggested that training with a ball would get nice contacts with the ball but not reliably without… I have not yet been able to move to running to a stationary ball, perhaps I should try that?
Here below is video without the ball, but with food dishes set like 6 or 7 yards out from the DW… just to see how she would run without the ball.
I can see in comparison that in the videos when I throw the ball she does go slightly more into hyper-drive, a little lower, a little faster.
thoughts?
Dinah
I think that with Stella, the easiest to fade the toy would be to sometimes still throw it in advance, but then sometimes not, BUT in those cases get in front of her to push her with your movement and then throw a toy after the next jump/tunnel. When she is fine with that, I would then mix up throwing in advance, throwing after the jump and throwing after several jumps/short sequence and also not being in front every time anymore. Glad to see she is still running!!!
I don’t know how to make a video with two videos running side by side for comparison, so this is as close as I could get…
and yes, you KNOW I am glad she is running too… do you think she understands what she is doing? that she understands the contacts?
It’s definitely better with a toy, so I would mostly still be throwing it, but vary some the timing: throwing it very soon, very late or only after the next jump, to make her less dependant on it. I think she understands this game, but that’s of course not enough for 100% contacts, they do need experience too.
Hi Silvia,
I’ve raised the DW but haven’t varied the approach (still wrapping a cone). Bree seems to be doing well and is in consistently with 4 strides. 🙂 Truthfully, it’s taken us so long to get to this point that it’s still hard to believe my eyes when I see her running over a DW.
Not sure what happened on #9. Looked like her back foot hit the edge of the plank. She sure was determined to stay on the DW! Thankfully it didn’t seem to bother her. She was happy enough to continue on to get the ball and eager to play some more.
What would you suggest at this point? I don’t have access to indoor training but will continue outside as long as possible. Unfortunately I’ll probably lose some training in Jan -- March…unless it’s a low snow winter. Would it be better just to continue raising the DW until the snow shuts us down or should I begin varying her approaches while she’s still on a low DW?
BTW, am loving your new DVD! It got to NH, USA in just over a week. 🙂
Thanks for the help!
She is sure running nicely! Sooner or later, you’ll need to get different striding options too though as especially on full height, she won’t be able to get in with 4 strides all the time. I think it doesn’t matter what you do first, add height or different approaches… I would probably keep adding height as long as it’s going well and once she gets in trouble with 4 strides (or when you’re over half-height), try to play with different approaches and starting points some more, trying to get more understanding after she has a long history of nice running&hits already -- as we certainly don’t want to loose that!
Glad you liked the DVD!!!
Thanks Silvia. I like the idea of continuing to add height, building on Bree’s success with that before adding another variable. The added advantage, of course, is giving me more time to get better at marking correctly. I’ve been a bit of a slow learner on that. 🙂
Yeap, that should work well! I hope the snow stays away for a while for you 🙂
Well Silvia, it didn’t actually work well after all. Before I had time to raise the DW it all went downhill………many misses, some leaping. She suddenly seems quite variable in where she hits the up contact in spite of no changes in her starting point. Her stride seems to be less consistent as well, with a mix of 4 and 3.5.
I’m posting video from today’s session, typical of what I’ve seen the past few days…….several jackpots to start and then lots of misses. Unless the leaps in #8, 10, and 15 were Bree’s attempts to hit the contact, there doesn’t appear to be any adjustment on her part to hit the contact. Not surprising, since she hasn’t really been taught that yet. And, of course, I shouldn’t have clicked those three. Bree’s super quick to shut down when she misses and I got desperate at that point to find something to reward. Clearly I got a bit too focused on the contact instead of watching the entire obstacle performance.
I guess I’m not sure how to move forward. It’s tricky with her shutting down when she doesn’t get the desired reward so any suggestions from you would be most welcome!
BTW, when we’re working on tricks Bree rarely gets frustrated. No surprise, she is LOVING the advanced tricks class. 🙂
So grateful for your patient guidance,
Carol
It doesn’t look that bad to me. I still see her consistent 4 stride pattern, the only thing is that she sometimes hits up contact so low that she is then too high on a down. Hitting the up contact that low usually goes away with height, so actually, I would still follow the plan and raise it some. She probably still doesn’t know exactly what is this all about and that’s probably why she shuts down so easily. Bu was like that too at the very beginning, not knowing what we’re doing is very frustrating for her. But now that she knows what it is about, she doesn’t mind redoing as long as necessary when a difficult situation for her arises. I think it might be the same for Bree. Not sure how to help her understand better though… One thing that really helped Le I think was when my DW’s paint wore out so much I had hard time seeing the contact limit, so I put a tape there to make it easier for me to see. I don’t think other dogs even noticed the tape, but I’m pretty sure Le did and started to put an extra effort into hitting bellow it after that. I don’t think it works with every dog as I don’t think it would for my other 2 dogs -- but maybe it’s worth trying!
Sounds good! I’ll keep moving ahead with increasing the height and will try some tape too, to see if that has any effect.
This has been an amazing class! I had no idea I would have so much to learn when I signed us up. We sure got off to a slow start but I’m thrilled with our progress and will hang in there until we have both a running DW and AF. Will definitely be back for another class. 🙂
So very grateful for all your help!
Smiles, Carol
I’m sure you’ll get there! There is always a way if there is a will! Happy training!
Wow, Carol, she sure looks GREAT!!! You hung in there and stuck with it and look what you have now!!!! I SO love to watch those who struggle at the beginning start to really get it and not give up. GREAT job!! I sure hope the weather holds up for you. I was probably close to this stage with Spur at this time last year and we ended up with snow, remember? I then could only work once/week and managed to do fine! Yeah, it takes longer, but I never found it that detrimental to the foundation work as when you work this hard at the beginning it seems really solid, so weekly sessions progressed fine. I am very impressed, Bree sure has improved with her running!!
Are you using the poles at the end to keep her on it? It’s hard to tell if they are there or on the other side?
Thanks for the kind words, Amy. Not sure yet how we’ll work through the winter, but I have my eye on a sunny area in the driveway so we may get more time in than I expect. I feel pretty confident we’ll eventually be running both DW and AF, though I have no idea when. Surely at least one more class is in our future. 🙂
You’re right, the poles are there to keep her on. At this low height she didn’t seem to care much about the plank so this seemed the simplest thing to do. I never have any trouble when she’s running full height so didn’t want to make an issue of it. We have enough issues without looking for more!
Silvia,
Do you train rear crosses on the DW at all? If so, when do you normally start working them?
That’s a good question as it is something I never did with Spur. I don’t think for me that RC’s will be needed much as I sure can run and he isn’t that fast, but it is something I may want in my “tool bag”. I think I would have to train them with a ball tossed in advance again? Maybe with a lowered DW?
I don’t think you need a lowered DW, but you can try it with a tossed toy first yes. I tried it without a toy, just said DW and rear crossed and they were fine, no problems.
Wrong person to ask 🙂 -- I don’t like rear crosses too much and rarely do them in general and even more rarely on contacts, so no, I never train it… When checking courses of the last WC judge, however, I did find a course (the first one in my career!) where rear cross on a DW would be the easiest thing to do, so I went out and tried, probably for the first time, and they all did perfectly fine, no problems. However, I certainly have no wish to do a rear cross on a DW and then handle something difficult after that 🙂 -- in that only-case-ever that I found where I would want to do a rear cross on a DW, it was a 180 degree turn after a DW that went into the corner, so a rear cross was a good idea and my dogs didn’t mind it at all (they understand rear crosses really well, it’s just me that don’t like them), but I think I really never did in before, in the 10 years I do running contacts. If I do it with Bi, I’ll be at the up ramp when she is off the DW already… -- not my preferred place to handle from… -- if there is not 180 degree turn after DW 🙂
Heehee, somehow I KNEW that would be your answer. I sure can’t see ME wanting a rear cross on a DW much/ever. 😀 RC’s are my least favorite and I rarely do them, either, but I do train them so Spur understands them. It was pretty hard for him at first, since he was such a worrier and his favorite place when I first got him was right behind me. I had to work hard to get him to run ahead. I would lose him our on walks sometimes and then soon learned he wasn’t lost, he was right behind me. 🙁 He does really well now, but if he gets worried about something his safe place is right behind me. His RDW work has sure helped him to run forward and certainly at the beginning stages he would never have cared where I was, he was running for his ball, I could have easily done a RC I think, LOL!! 😀
I am generally the same. I don’t think I’ve ever rear crossed the DW with my current dog. However, I do know I can FC or push off the end since he doesn’t have a 3 strided RDW ;). Actually, as we go up in height he does seem to be doing more 3.5 & 4. I was just thinking a bit ahead in case the opportunity arises that I will not be able to cross ahead. I tried a couple with him and had to place a stationary toy and that was fine -- but as you said I was still on the up ramp as he was exiting which is clearly not ideal.
Here is some video of the turns we have been working on:
In your video you had the extra plank on the down ramp -- is that what i should move to next or can i just take it to the full DW setup?
It’s pretty funny that he keeps picking up his rear legs in the video as now he offers that all the time!
Looks great!!! I would probably do table-plank set up next and have him jump on a table and do a whole ramp and if that still goes that well, you can certainly go to a real DW, you don’t really need additional plank -- I used it to make it look different as I didn’t want to mess with her DW as we were just getting ready to start trialing. And yes, trying some rear crosses is a good idea in order to be prepared for everything, but I teach them good enough sends to a DW that I can really take a short cut and beat them to the other end.
Thanks! I need to cut down that driveway marker i’m using at the end of the plank. I tried using a stick like you and he repeatedly tried to eat it on the way by -- doofus. I will move to the table setup to work turns.
Here is the latest full length work. This was our first session at this new higher height -- about 3.5 feet (i went up about .5 feet). He did well however one thing is troubling me (which i saw at the previous height too). When I run with him on my right he does GREAT rear leg separation (see video 1.2,1.3). When I run with him on my left he tends to have crappy rear leg separation (see video 1.4,1.7,1.11) which i know was not always the case. If I carry the toy it’s in my right hand which may be the issue but it seems that he does that with a placed toy as well. My setup is a wrap to the DW to a jump slightly off center -- i’m thinking i need to go back to some straight exits to see if that helps? Sometimes he is technically getting in with 3 feet a front followed by very close rear -- what should I do with those? Reward or jackpot?
Here is some video (i probably could have rewarded 1.1):
Also he is missing a lot of his ups from what i can see so I’m going to have to work on those separately too. No use getting 2 feet solidly in the down contact if he strides right over the up.
I’ll be curious what she says, Grace, as it looks to me like you are ahead more when he is on your right? Sometimes video can be deceiving, though. I had that issue with Spur for a while going into nothing. It was dependent on where I was. He is much better now about that and less dependent on where I am, although in trials I try to be very consistent.
He looks GREAT!! Super job getting to this height so quickly!!! 😀
Great, Punk is sure amazing to get to that height so quickly, people who think long-strided dogs can’t do RC should definitely see him! He sure has beautiful separation -- on your right 🙂 It could be because of your position yes as you’re more in front when he is on your right. But they often have a preference actually: from my dogs, Bi has a strong preference that she is on my left. If there is an obvious straight jump or a tunnel ahead, it doesn’t matter that much, but as soon as there is a soft turn to the left or she needs to check with me some where to do next, her hind feet separation is not nearly as good as it is on soft turns to the right. So yes, maybe off set the jump in that direction more slowly and throw in more straight exits. I would reward the good hits without good separation, but only jackpot good hits with good separation.
ok, thanks Silvia!
Now at least I have a plan for how to reward those less than optimal hits! Punk is a pretty fun dog in general!
I’m definitely planning on continuing on in the Jan RC class. I know we still have some things to work through as well as trying to sequence more one we get more obstacles in his toolbox. Also I will work on the AF at that time -- looking forward to that! Plus I’ve been slacking on that last trick ;).
Looking forward to see more of Punk, he sure looks fun! 🙂
Another question for you Silvia,
I’ve noticed at the last 2 higher heights that when I get to practice on my indoor setup (which is only once or twice a week at this point) that he’s doing a LOT more leaping.
There are a lot of different factors: 1)inside 2) setup is tunnell,dw,tunnel instead of jump,dw,jump 3)dw has rubberized surface instead of my sanded planks at home.
I can’t really change #1 or #3 but clearly i can change the setup and tried jump,dw,tunnel last night with no luck.
Basically he’s 3 striding the DW and the last rear foot hits he is powering off with both legs together. If he were to split his legs one of the rear might come into the yellow. I thought before that he was coming in with a ton of speed from the tunnel and that was throwing him off. However, after last night I think it’s the end tunnel that’s doing it. He wants so badly to get to the tunnel asap that he doesn’t think at all. I can post a video clip if needed.
I’ve noticed if i pull the end tunnel in closer to around 14′ he does much better then if it’s out around 18-21′.
I’m wondering how to go about fixing this? He’s probably at about 45-50% success rate indoors. Should I use the setup to help him and then slowly change it or do you think it would be best to lower the dw and try to get the tunnel,dw,tunnel setup success back? I know before he was doing well at that setup but i’m pretty sure it’s because it was a lower height which he could more easily 3 stride.
Yeap, definitely make it easier to get higher successful rate. I would keep the height, but use jump-DW-jump set up first and if that gives you good successful rate, try jump-DW-jump-tunnel. If that still goes well, you can try going directly to the tunnel next, first putting it closer if that helps and then further out. Bi had this problem too, but it went away. I mean, she still often goes for 3 strides if she sees a tunnel straight ahead, but she always reaches in with one leg.
Is Stella ready to begin turns with a post? When I start to teach turns, do I need to start with a plank on the DW or just the DW at regular height ORRRRR with a flat plank in our city back yard? And it needs a different cue? and when do you give that cue? when she’s getting on the DW, half way, or just before coming down?
-Dinah
Yeap, you can start some, but I would keep it away from a DW for now, working on it with just a plank on a table or something. You could even do it on your original plank at home yes. You need a turning cue for it and at the beginning (when only doing the end of the plank), you say it right away and later on, when doing a whole DW, I would say it when she is nearing the end of a top plank.
ok, yeah I can do that, great! she knows right and left… which, before I started kik&cap with you, is what I used to cue how she should land turning over a jump…. so back to “right” and “left” coming off the plank?
Exactly! Happy turning!
Hi Silvia
Here is our new indoor setup. 6 meters of mat. The contacts on the board are not as wide as normal contacts (about 1/3). This was the first session with it so she is still a bit confused as to why its inside and being rewarded by someone else, etc. I realise you can’t see the running from this angle but it was ok. Just wanted to ask if you see anything else wrong with the setup.
There is other stuff on this clip. The contacts are at 1:00.
Thanks, Nicole + Sen (sorry there is no sound -- should be)
The set up looks good. It’s not the same as running outside, with more room, but I think it can help with getting more understanding and make the continuation outside, when you can resume it, easier.
Yesterdays trainingsession in a new indoor training hall on a 40 cm longer dogwalk.
When i were a little behind, she got good hits. And most of them was of that type. But i only videotaped the last ones.
But she had some very airy tries.
Yeap, she needs 3 hits on the down ramp or she is too high… So when you’re behind, she adds another stride and when you’re in front and pushing, she goes for 2 hits and misses it… You can stay behind for now to get better successful rate first, but definitely slowly start pushing more and still expect her to do that additional hit, she needs to understand that it’s important, no matter what you’re doing.
today we were in another indoor agility hall and there was a new dogwalk. We only got 5 tries but they all looked like this 🙂
I think it is the first time i have seen her thinking of really jumping over the apex.
Great! This is the first time I see her make an effort and put an extra stride in to hit! That’s a very good sign as she seems to really intentionally add that third hit on a down ramp while till now, she would just leap off when hitting the second time as low as she hits here, without making any effort… And yet here, she certainly makes an effort and gets one more hit in! Very cool!
Wow that looks really nice! I look forward to when my dog’s RC looks like that 🙂
Wow, Gitte, she looks GREAT!! Awesome job!!!!
Spur’s tricks homework. I really, REALLY need “Santa” to get me a new editing program as this one was better edited and all my changes got lost!! Grrrr. Anyway, Spur has had some trouble with this exercise as the pressure of going between my legs seemed a bit much for him, so I am very pleased with how well he is doing, but still some work to do. I had to use the chair at first and outside I used my cute little mini-wing, but soon he didn’t need it!! 😀 I think the last one I didn’t reward until he had done both legs. But, I probably need to reward less with his rear sticking out, right? Reward more of a back turn towards the next leg?
And just to show you we DO play after our sessions, as it very much helps Spur to de-stress and enjoy his training sessions. Your new DVD addresses that and I always do try to have either a play session like this or we head out for our woods/field/farm walk right after training!!!
Almost there! Try to mostly reward at the side yes, but no problem if you sometimes reward for coming in between too. You just need to add more fluency to it, but he certainly has great understanding already! And he sure is too cute with his little ball!
Huughh….these turns are really a challenge to us….. At the first sessions with the pole at the end of the contact, we didn´t have any good hits, so I tried to experience with an other placement with the pole, and it seems to be better when I move it about 10 cm. before the end of the contact. Other wise he just jumps and make the turn right after the end of the DW. This video shows the problems, and I´d like to hear your comments.
How much of just the very end of a DW have you done? It looks like you would need to do more of that, to get him understand the importance of touching the contact. Making it more visual and using a carpet or something on that part often helps too. I would certainly move him further back on a DW more gradually + still do some of just the very end, every time you get two unsuccessful tries in a row for example, to remind him where you want his feet. It often takes a while for them to be able to do it with full speed too.
That was the 5.th session -- but you are right, he doesn’t understand the FF. Today we did 2 sessions with the very end of the DW. I’m not sure exactly what to reward. Is it okay with just 1 FF or shall I only reward when there is 2 FF? Please let me know if you see anything I’m doing wrong on this video.
Yeah, 1 FF is enough, but I would like it somewhat lower as on a first slat where he usually puts it… Part of the problem is that you’re clicking late (when he is on the ground already, not when he is touching the contact) and that criteria is not completely black&white (sometimes you click hits at the first slat and sometimes not), but it’s true that it’s harder to get the right behaviour with some dogs as others. Bu needed really long too. What we did with one of my students to shorten the process some was to actually use a front feet target for a while… You can take a piece of a carpet that is about half of the contact long, tape it on the floor, click him for touching it and toss a reward in the direction he came from to a target, so that you are getting a 180 degree turn on a target, just as you will need it on DW. Once he understands the game (shouldn’t take more than a couple of sessions), tape it in the middle of a DW contact and try it there, you don’t even need a pole then.
Hi Silvia
Here is a last upload and some questions. I’ve started to train with the carpet and he knows what to do when it’s not on the DW. Here is the 1st try on the DW -- he needs time to figure out that it’s also a turn, when the carpet is on the DW. Yet I think it’s much better, and I’ll keep working this way. (I only have to get some better tape:-)) Now I’m using the command that means “touch and turn” but I figure, that once he gets the hang
of it, then I’ll switch to the “left/right” command? How do I fade the carpet away -- by slowly making it smaller and smaller?
Finally thanks for a great class -- I’ll definitely be back for other classes.
Definitely looking better! Exactly, you can switch to left&right now and slowly start him from further&further away. But yes, you need a better tape (silver tape for example -- and you can tape it all the way around the DW) and I would actually also prefer somewhat bigger carpet (as wide as a DW and covering bigger % of a contact -- and centre it in the middle of it). Once he can do the whole DW, coming with speed and all, you can simply try without a carpet, it’s usually not a problem. If it is, do another try with a carpet -- you can keep it on one side of a DW and then run in carpet or no-carpet direction, depending on how he does. You can also do some of just the end again then, just without a carpet, clicking for the right movement. You can actually do some of it even sooner, before doing a whole DW -- it’s usually really easy once they have the right movement. I wouldn’t make it smaller as you don’t want him to focus on being too precise with front feet. Looking forward to see you in another class, always fun to see the crazy Terv! 🙂