# Agility Video!



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Great job on the video. Maddie looks like she loves work the course.


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

I don't have a good sense of how she's using her body because of the distance from the camera and angle..So I can't tell you what I'd see about soundness behind. If you haven't done a lot of conditioning over the winter she might just be plain sore. What is your stretching and warm-up routine?

Watch your startlines. I only saw the two startlines but you weren't consistent in your release. It looks like she has a good startline now - it would help to go back and reinforce her waiting for you to cue her release (reward the wait not the release). I go back to them probably 50% of the time and reward and then go back out. It's also VERY important to me to have a startline stay/leadout.

I'd also let her start offering you the sit on the lines and before you release her - I presume that your space is fenced and she's not heading out somewhere to get in trouble? Then let her make the decision - just stand there and wait - reward just the sit when she sits - I'm not a fan of physically pushing dogs down into sits and downs - she looks like she's very into the work and engaged in the game - just make a default behavior one of the rules. If you decide to compete there are judges that will whistle you off for that - so practice a "setup" independently of the startline. You've got some rally titles so I'd imagine the behavior is there - you're just not asking for it in this context. 

The other thing I'd throw out there is your verbal cues. If come means come to you with a ball why should "come" mean turn and take that jump? She's turning and taking the jumps because of where you're pointing your shoulders. Same thing for the here's - she knows what a serpentine is - trust her. Try running silently - I don't mean all the time - but just run a sequence and not use the verbal - my guess is that she's right on. Giving her a lot of verbal cues gives her the opportunity to tune you out some - save them for when you need them.

In the serpentine I think you're babysitting that second jump too long - it's hard to get a sense of where you are in relation to the jumps - but try to move on and keep moving. She's also ready to have some more distance from you in that part of the sequence.

Also, pay attention to your rear crosses - particularly that last one - work on keeping your body in motion instead of stopping or slowing - think of moving into her and bowling her over the jump - she's starting to look back at you over the jumps on rear crosses - this will cause her hind legs to start coming down and she could knock bars...

Erica


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I had typed this out before, but the foster puppy unplugged the computer when he rolled over. LOL

That was a great video! I honestly never thought of using a ball as a "treat". She ran it well and you did a great job! It could be that she just strained something if you have been taking some time off over the winter. I would keep an eye on it and see if it happens again.


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

Oh - Courses...you can't go wrong with clean run. They've got a section called backyard dogs - for those of us without a ton of equipment and a 100x100 agility field. You can view a sample copy online at www.cleanrun.com

It's pricey but well worth the investment.

Erica


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

MurphyTeller said:


> I don't have a good sense of how she's using her body because of the distance from the camera and angle..So I can't tell you what I'd see about soundness behind. If you haven't done a lot of conditioning over the winter she might just be plain sore. What is your stretching and warm-up routine?
> 
> Watch your startlines. I only saw the two startlines but you weren't consistent in your release. It looks like she has a good startline now - it would help to go back and reinforce her waiting for you to cue her release (reward the wait not the release). I go back to them probably 50% of the time and reward and then go back out. It's also VERY important to me to have a startline stay/leadout.
> 
> ...


Thanks Erica! You sound JUST like my agility instructor! As far as the verbal ques, in this video I *tried* so hard to keep my mouth closed! Maybe I should tape my mouth shut next time??? Haha!:bowl: Our instructor told me that I like to talk to much..and then that leads her to toning me out (just like I do with my mother!): 

Yeah..she was off all winter because the trials are scarce around here and there's too much snow! We have a warm-up consisting of some "ready get-its" aka collar pops, that are motivational. But I don't do any streching exercises. Is there some type of video or article or what can I do to better rear end movement?? We are also going to the vet fairly soon for her booster shots, maybe she could show us then.

As far as the startlines...thanks for the rewards...she will break them once in awhile..but all she does is get up and stand there. So yeah rewarding for that good startline...should help! Thanks! =]

Yeah the area we work in is fenced in. Because we live in town and we live on a corner so it's busy all day! And about halfway through she was soooo engaged in it she couldn't sit anymore! So I had to tell her what I meant, otherwise she just ignores me. It's been in her bad training expirence from before. Yeah we have Rally titles and we're working on Obedience...slowly but surely...and we're getting there! Her attitude just needs some tweaking! 

I think that half the time it's my errors!!! Which in this dog sport it is! Haha! I'm not confident with her enough. I've seen her worse stuff she could do....and I know when she'd start something. I'm not confident that she *can* do it...I have yet to find that. Once I get her to focus on me with longer courses and my verbal/body ques...I think we make a GREAT team! I just need some pep-talks...lol! 

And you're right about the rear crosses, I stop and studder...I just need to KEEP MOVING!!! Lol...thanks Erica you've been a great help at seeing where I've gone wrong! It's all in the learning process though! Thanks!! =]



> fostermomI had typed this out before, but the foster puppy unplugged the computer when he rolled over. LOL
> 
> That was a great video! I honestly never thought of using a ball as a "treat". She ran it well and you did a great job! It could be that she just strained something if you have been taking some time off over the winter. I would keep an eye on it and see if it happens again.


Thanks! Yeah we'll keep a close eye over here...and lately the tennis ball is her OBSESSION! So hey why not sue it to get her turned on!?!?! Haha...when she was a puppy we gave her one and she tore the yellow fluff off of it...thinking that, that was the purpose of it! So then she ate it and later puked it up! YUCK! :yuck: So we took them away for a few years and now she is careful with them and loves them! 

I also am subscribed to Clean Run...so I guess it's all in there! Thanks!


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Looks like fun!

She looks like she maybe put on a few pounds over the winter? She appears to be heavier than I'd consider to be ideal for an active performance dog.


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

MaddieMagoo said:


> As far as the startlines...thanks for the rewards...she will break them once in awhile..but all she does is get up and stand there. So yeah rewarding for that good startline...should help! Thanks! =]
> {snip}
> Lol...thanks Erica you've been a great help at seeing where I've gone wrong! It's all in the learning process though! Thanks!! =]


When dogs start to test startlines it starts small - then all of a sudden we're pulling them off courses because they aren't holding their lines. It starts with standing up, it becomes standing and a step, or it starts with moving a fraction of a second before we release them - or when we lead out and stop motion and look at them - it starts small and gets harder to fix the longer the behavior goes on and the greater the anticipation. For some dogs getting to take that first obstacle is reinforcing enough that even if you pull them off the course they've already self-reinforced...

I don't think you've gone wrong at all - but like anything else we see things on video and we see these little things we did wrong or could have done better - that's why video is such a good tool. It helps to have other eyes too because we tend to watch the dog and ough and awww over the dog and when things work we don't notice our mistakes...particularly when we screw up and our dogs save our tushies - mine save me a lot 

Stretching - there are a couple of pretty generic ones - the first is she's standing and you run your hand down from the stifle over the crutiate slowly extending that rear leg straight out behind her - you'll begin to feel over time how loose or tight she is on a given day - do a couple of reps of those on each side - I do left/right left/right not left, left, left....right right right. I do a similar stretch in the front - feeling for the shoulder muscle to become loose - I also run my hand down the T-Touch points on the front leg and then the pressure points on the cheek/ear/ neck. Then they do a bow and to hold it - think fold back down. I'll repeat that a few times too. Then I stretch the back by asking them to jump up on me while I hold the treat above their head - so they are looking up not at me. While they are doing this I'm feeling back muscles. After that we do some spins in front of me - usually 720 degrees one way and then 720 the other, then figure-8s around my legs (stretches the back and side) then we jog for 2-3 minutes. After that they are pretty loose. I also have a cool down routine that has us both jogging for 30-60 seconds then walking out for another 3-5 minutes before they have water then another 3-5 minute walk before I even think about putting them away.The whole cool down period we're playing and they're getting treats. It sounds like a lot - but this is part of our whole tune-in warm up process and at the longest it takes 5 minutes - they need more stretches if they've had several days off (as in no training and no running) or if it's particularly cold...Sometimes Murphy will get off the truck and be a little tighter than normal too. I also get a good sense if there's any heat anywhere they shouldn't be hot.


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

FlyingQuizini said:


> Looks like fun!
> 
> She looks like she maybe put on a few pounds over the winter? She appears to be heavier than I'd consider to be ideal for an active performance dog.


 
Thanks Steph! We did have fun! And yeah she probably did. With the MOUNTAINS of snow...and I mean literally! MOUNTAINS! It was REALLY hard to get her butt out there and work her...even in the house she didn't get much exercise. And with me playing basketball, there just wasn't any time! 

I'm not sure what her weight is right now..but my guess is anywhere between 50-60??? But we'll see when we go to the vet. Hopefully she can tell us what to do over the winter and with her being a canine athelete!  

Also a big thanks to Erica for giving me that advice! You're right..half those things that you pointed out, I didn't even realize I was doing!


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

She looks like she's having a great time! I just want to second a couple of things that have been said, she looks a bit heavy (especially to be jumping the spacing you have there), reward the start lines and be consistent with your release, and please lose the physical manipulation at the start line. If you can't get her focus on you enough to have her sit at the start line, you don't even need to be thinking about the rest of the agility yet. Doing that in a trial could get you whistled off the course and will definitely get you a less-than-desirable reputation.

The spacing on that serpentine is really tight, probably not something you should be doing with a dog that's having soreness issues and may be slightly overweight. But your handling looks good. It might just seem like you're not moving enough in the serpentine because with that spacing there's really nowhere to move.

And maybe try to get into it a little more. She seems like she's really enjoying herself, which is really nice to see. When she's all happy and bouncing around like that, try to encourage that and show some enthusiasm yourself. Especially with the pushing her into a sit at the start line and whatever "motivational" collar pops you use as a "warm-up," you're treading on thin ice a little bit and every bit of excitement you see from her should be returned and encouraged. It's a game


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Looks like you are having a great time together! She seems to be a very enthusiastic worker! 

If you are looking for a better sit response I would work on rewarding that. The few times she sits with the tennis ball you take it away...

For courses I love the Clean Run Exercise Sourcebooks, there is a Volume One and Volume 2. I have both. They contain all sorts of exercises split into three sections: Jumping, Weaving, and Contact Exercises. There are also great drills in the Clean Run magazine as well.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Couple critiques:

At about 1:30 into the video, when you're manipulating her into the sit - you're pushing her butt to the ground while saying sit and then you rachet her toward you and seem to be correcting her by grabbing her head and saying, "Listen... listen... calm down." There was nothing to "listen" to. You were pushing her into a sit (rather than waiting for her to do it on her own) and then acting as though you didn't like it b/c it was crooked.

You might want to consider luring her to either side of you and teaching her a set up in front of equipment. I'll still sometimes lure and reward Quiz for agility set ups. The set up is the boring part for the dog; they'd much rather run! Treats can help make the set ups more "worth it" for the dog.

What's your release word? I don't think I ever heard one. It was sit --- then "tunnel." Be careful about not formally releasing her. You'll want a good start line as you get into courses where you need to lead out. REWARD START LINES OFTEN THROUGHOUT THE CAREER OF THE DOG. TRUST ME ON THAT ONE! Make sure it's clear to the dog that her job is to sit and wait until you say "OK" (or whatever your release word is) followed by the name of the obstacle.

If "come" is the word you'd yell if she was running toward traffic and about to be hit by a car, I'd avoid using it in agility. You risk watering it down b/c it doesn't always mean "run directly to me right now." In my house, "COME" is the emergency recall word. "Here" is what I use to call him toward (by not all the way to) me when running agility.

Her attitude and drive for agility is lovely! I think you may have found her sport of choice!


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