As I already wrote: I know it's quite hard to keep up with this class program, especially to those who can't practice every day or have had some problems with plank work. Don't worry about it, keep working on it and send videos of wherever you are. Print out lesson 4 to start with it when you're ready, but don't push for it. If you want to keep working on it within the class form even when the class finishes, there will be a new class starting right then and you're welcome to join for a lower price, I just opened a registration with that option.
For those who are still keeping up, meaning that you're already running full low DW or DW with a plank with a jump or a tunnel after it, here is the lesson 4. For those who are still struggling on a plank or have troubles with low DW - don't even try it, keep sending videos of whereever you are and watch videos of others to get a good picture of what this lesson is about and you can work on it later on.
1. Start moving the jump after which the dog is getting his toy A LITTLE in different directions: left and right, rotating it somewhat too. If it makes the dog fail, set it back to help the dog succeed and then move it again by really VERY little tiny bit. It's better to move it a little every two tries as to move it a lot every two sessions! Keep rewarding by throwing a toy after the contact is done, over the jump. Try to sometimes use a tunnel instead of a jump too. Go through all the possible positions of the jump that still allow the dog to get the jump without collection on a dog-walk. When the dog is fine with that, try also running into nothing. You want to address all possible course situations other than real turns - we'll get there in the next session.
2. Time to start with an A-frame too! Put it somewhat lower (1,5m maybe) and try running the dog over. I recommend less speedy approach first (starting close to the base of an A-frame) as dogs who were trained to RUN over planks tend to run up so fast they then fly over the top so much that it's not unusual they only land on the floor... If you see your dog doesn't have such tendencies, add more&more speed to the approach AND make it steeper and steeper, I usually go to full height in one session.
Don't worry if not all contacts are perfect at first, they will probably need to experiment some at first. They often first go for one stride but then change to two as it's more comfortable striding for them or sometimes medium dogs start with two that are too short to get in but then start to extend more and are nicely in with two. Many long-strided dogs will go for one, Bi is always doing one and used to sometimes be somewhat high, but is now always nicely in, even on not so speedy approaches. Bu will normally do two, but sometimes also does one and interestingly, is always in even when she goes for one. Le does two and is sometimes somewhat high as she once flew over the top so much that she crashed to the floor really badly and is now somewhat too careful at the top - but getting in nicer with time and experience.
The thing that I said for running contacts: that the good thing is that they only get better, even if you don't do anything about it... - It's especially true for A-frame. I simply put it in sequences at the second session and they just get better&better. The only problem we ever had with A-frames was with "limit" dogs who were too far with one/two strides that they could make another one, but too high to be in with that one/two strides. You do need to do some more sessions on just A-frame with those dogs and select for good ones. Experiment a little with what gives you best hits as far as handler position and timing of a thrown ball (in advance vs. after the contact) and use that for a start.
With a good hit, I mean anything clearly in. You do NOT want them to generalize DW style too good as you do NOT want them too deep, it's physically too hard on them and they might prefer to not do it if you ask them to come too deep - remember, the easier behaviour is for them, the easier it is for you to maintain it. You are again looking for hind feet separation and you don't want it any deeper as that:
3. Tricks: let's do some pivoting again, this time so that you position yourself next to the target and only click for coming all the way to your leg, touching it. Then either move away and have them follow you or have them pivot back to the other leg. Once they understand the leg is their new object to target, switch to a flat target and then fade it. We need them to know to come to both legs for the next trick.
The other trick we need till next time, for being able to introduce turns, is going tightly around a pole, cik&cap. Shape the dog to wrap the pole/table leg/whatever tightly and put it on a verbal cue.
Hi Silvia,
I did some aframes with Emily this week, here is her first session. Still much work to do but she is sure trying to figure it out:) The dog walk is coming along very nicely! She is finding her confidence and a couple times I’ve seen her completely adjust her striding when she is hitting the down ramp in her usual leap, she kind of throws an extra stride with her front feet so she can come further down or she really works to throw her front foot down in the middle of the yellow rather then leap. So I have gone to not rewarding the high hits anymore.
Thanks SO much for doing this class! It’s been so nice having the feedback and it makes me feel so much more confident about what I am doing having your instructions.
Cool, great dog-walks! Getting there with an A-frame too, despite I would probably wait some more with her, because of her age. A-frame always scares me some, because of that landing on the steep up ramp and in the beginning steps also because of a tendency of dogs with RC to fly… I think you’ll have an A-frame in 3 sessions, so I would wait with those until she is older.
Yes, I agree with waiting. I decided to just do a session to get a sense of what she would do with it while we are still in class as I am trying to decide if I should sign up for the next RC class (kind of thinking maybe I should do a puppy/trick class instead). And, I always started her right at the bottom so she couldn’t slam the up ramp, but yes, I will put it back away for a couple months, for the same reasons you list:) Plus I am going to rubberize it before working on it again since most of our local venues have gone to rubber contacts. I have also backed way off the dog walk work, we were doing the plank work everyday for a long time but now that I see she has the understanding coming along nicely I am only working on the actual dog walk twice a week & the plank 2-3 times a week. We have hot summers so our cool training times of the day are limited so I have been switching and working a little more on cik/cap & the foundation exercises and less on contacts…
Here’s a cute story about her level of understanding on the dog walk about jackpots, her jackpot game is a multiple catch ball game we play where she spits out balls as I quickly throw her another ball, it makes her really happy without tiring her out as much as retrieves do. Well, I hadn’t realized it until watching the videos, but I have a certain “YAY” that I say to mark her jackpot, well this last session she started just racing back to me without the first ball if I didn’t “Yay”, even though I still click & play with her with the one ball if it’s a reward hit, I guess she’s an all or nothing kind of girl:) And people think dogs are not this smart, boy I think we greatly under estimate them!
I agree with both, dogs are definitely very smart -- and jackpots are definitely a very powerful training tool 🙂
Another thing I wanted to say about your A-frame is that you want to stabilize it better as it was very bouncy! Rubberising will help too, I like it much better as just wood. But yes, let’s wait some more, it doesn’t look like she will have any trouble with it anyway. You probably really don’t need another RC class, tricks might be more interesting!
Hi Silvia, Today training session was realy bad, and I don´t know why 🙁 what should I do?
Well, the good thing is that the good ones are really good -- and it actually started o.k., but then she starts to experiment with one stride on a DW ramp and is somewhat high and you’re very strict with the criteria (I would reward 12 for example) -- and then she looses confidence and is too short to get in even with two strides! -- What is definitely strange, so it definitely must be a lack of confidence or maybe getting too tired? So again: if things start good and then go bad, just stop the session and try again in a day or two.
Hi Silvia and classmates, here a video comparing my two girls, Acqua does RC and Samba does 2o2o
That was fun, thanks for posting it!
Thanks, that’s a very interesting comparison!
Here is a video of todays training. We only did a short session.
Yesterday was the first day with plank on dogwalk, and it did very well (no film because of rain).
Looks good! Just to be sure, I would also try a normal down ramp on a low table or something, just to see if she can adjust to the longer plank too.
Hi Silvia,
We have been hard at work. I worked on getting rid of the carpet and going down to one plank. My set up was two 12” high pause tables before the narrow plank. He was doing quite well for about a week so I decided to move to a full low DW. The DW was 12″ high on my first try and 21″ high on the second. This video is of the second attempt on the full DW. Both attempts yielded the same results of no hits and jumping over the contacts. I am not sure what I should do from now? It has been super hot here in the Northeast of the US so practice has been difficult due to the weather.
I did back chained the DW at first but I did not feel this gave him the speed we were look for because of the starting on the level planck only 10 to 12 feet away. Am I on the right track by having him do the full DW or should I have added more height in the set up with the pause tables and one plank?
Thank you in advance for your suggestions,
Rick & Disco
I have been watching other video’s and I realized I have not been having disco do anything prior the DW set up. We have been starting from about 15 feet away in a sit stay. I release him and throw the toy while he is doing the DW. Should I have added a tunnel or a jump before I moved up to the low DW?
Thank,
Rick
I don’t think that was a problem, the problem was a DW as such, not being solid enough.
He doesn’t look very comfortable running on that DW at all, but then, I can’t blame him, it’s all bouncy and rocky… Can you support it some more??? It’s really not good when it’s that rocky, he is evidently trying to get off as soon as possible and doesn’t run full speed across. To make him forget about that experience and have him get used to this set up, I would probably do a mini-DW version with two tables between up and down ramp first -- and once he is o.k. with that, go back to a low DW, but make sure it’s not that bouncy!
HI Silvia,
I did notice the bouncing on the video. When you are doing the running you can’t see that until you slow it down. I will stabilize it in the future and I can do the mini set up as per your suggestion. How high should I make the tables? Is 12″ to low or more like 16 or 20″. Thank you!
Rick
You can simply use the same tables you were using when he was last successful. I think they were 20″?
todays training.
Dogwalk ramp from table.
Yeah, this one is harder for her as she doesn’t really have place for three strides (when coming with more speed), but is sometimes high when going for 2… Still, when she flies the apex some, like in 2:50 try, she is deep enough and I think she will learn to fly it even more when it’s more pronounced and she has even more speed, so I think this will be her striding: flying the apex and then two strides nicely deep in a contact. I would keep this set up for a while, starting her further back to introduce even more speed and getting her deeper in 2 strides -- and once there, make a table higher.
pivot trick for lesson 4…running contacts almost into lesson 4 category, not quite yet.
Great!!! 🙂
Hi Silvia 🙂
This is Liryk’s Aframe…..
Thanks!
Megan and Liryk
Great! That’s my preferred striding and “deepness” for A-frame -- no need to be any deeper than that. Looks easy and consistent 🙂
Here is video from our last 2 session on the small DW, I feel like there were more successes these times. Is number 9 pretty close to the perfect one I’m looking for?? He keeps randomly doing those front feet hits too. And oh boy, he can sure sail through the air when leaps off early 😉
Thanks!!
Yeap, I agree with what you were rewarding, but I sure would like some less leaps… Like in 10 and 11, he has such a good starting point of the last stride to finish it with both front feet on the contact… And yet he leaps… Is there a way to help him be successful? Like starting him at the beginning for a down ramp? Would be good to have something that would help him be successful to go to after every leap, just to show him the difference… But then, maybe it’s too early to worry on 2nd session already… Try to do some more and see the trend.
Here is the video from the session we did today. I was kind of shocked at the successful hits he had! After the previous session I wasn’t expecting him to do that! Good boy!
We also played around with just doing the down ramp. I’ve tried this before and have not been successful. He isn’t able to do a running stride from that starting place, just leaps off. I try different starting points and its always the same. I would like to have something like that to help him be successful when we have all those failures. Need to figure out how to get that to work. I have videos of it, but didn’t include it in this one.
Cool! That looks MUCH better!!! I hope the trend stays like that and we won’t even need a back up for when things go wrong 🙂
Hi Silvia,
I’m afraid I need your help. I think I am inadvertantly teaching Beatrice to be slow. Things were going nicely, she was running well with lots of good hits, I was moving the jump after the DW by inches. Then she lost her footing on the DW and jumped off. The next session she did lots of leaping. The session after that she started to be more careful and slow, I think to try and get in and be rewarded. This video does not mark each of my rewards…but I am getting good at seeing Beatrice’s hits and I jackpot lower ones, or one where she hasn’t gotten in at all for a few. I did jackpot even those very slow runs. I wasn’t really sure how to handle it. Please look at these 3 sessions and let me know what I should do. I am inclined to just keep at it and hope she figures it out but I really don’t want the slow stuff I was seeing on the last session. Thanks very much! Heidi
Wow, that sure looked great! So sorry to hear about her fall… When that happens, the best is to just start the party, keep her busy to forget about it and then give her a break for a week or so. I never redo when something potentially scary happens, especially not immediately, when the dog is still somewhat stressed. Well, she didn’t seem too stressed, so I think it will go away, she is not really slow and it’s actually nice to see that she can get in with different striding pattern too, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much, probably still give her a break for some days and then just try again, pretending nothing happened.
My goodness, I am relieved to hear you say it. But 4:25, wasn’t that slow? I guess one or two like that is not a big deal?
Well, we could do with a break and there is foundation class to work on. I hope you know how valuable your feedback is. We are officially taking a break as of now.
Heidi
Exactly, it’s no big deal, it’s actually really cool that she can hit it even when her striding and speed is different. And I’m sure it will all be gone after the break anyway, I’m sure she will be so glad she is back on her DW that she will forget everything! 🙂