Why?

For me, the most difficult thing about bonus line work at this point is figuring out what verbal cues I need to give.  I think I'm doing a fairly good job of drawing the line, but when your dog is heading  away from you, verbals become essential for alerting your dog to what you want.  Today, we tackled the Open version of yesterday's Jumpers course.
 

Today, the biggest problem I encountered with both Belle and Willie was getting from 5 to 6.  I tried "go," get out," and "switch," all to no avail.  This was really weird since the opening on the yesterday's Novice course was exactly the same as today's Open course, and 5 to 6 was definitely not a major issue yesterday!  The solution to my problem was to use a "come" command as the dogs were closing in on 5.  It worked like a charm, but why it was necessary today and not yesterday was a mystery to me. 

 

The only other consistent issue I had today was at 3 with Belle.  If I said "switch" as she was crossing 3, she switched right then and there.  I had to delay my switch cues until she was within a stride of 4.  Since it was absolutely necessary to do this with Belle, I decided to also do it with Willie.  When I compared clips from yesterday and today in Coach's Eye, I discovered that the delayed switch cues were responsible for Willie and Belle defaulting to the tunnel if I did not say "come" as they crossed 5.

Switch vs. Go Back

The weather has finally turned nice here in the Midwest, so I thought I'd set up a jumpers course and do some bonus line training.  Here's the course we tackled today:

 In our morning session, I made several mistakes.

• Trying to work the course from behind the red line.
• Using a moving start with Willie.
• Using a switch command at #9.

Without a doubt, our biggest problem was #9 where Willie gave me all sorts of unexpected responses to my "switch" command.  When I sat down and watched the video, I could see Willie's point.  I wanted him to turn away from me and take #10.  However, from Willie's point of view there is really no change of direction involved.  Moving from #3 all the way to #10 involves moving along one big counterclockwise circle!  When I said "switch," Willie did his best to switch off the circle he was on.  He tried several different options, almost all of which involved turning to his right.

The "turn" from #9 to #10 is actually a spot where "go back" is the appropriate command.  Luckily, we have worked on that a little bit, so it wasn't totally foreign to Willie when I tried using it on this course.

In the morning session we used a running start, and Willie failed to heed my "turn" command for the right turn at #2 several times.  I decided he probably didn't need quite so much momentum approaching that first turn, so for the afternoon session, I had him start from a sit stay.

The morning session got pretty messy and ugly, so I decided to take the whole experience down a notch and use the green line for our bonus practice.  It allowed me to handle the course much more calmly and confidently.  I'm really looking forward to tackling the Open course tomorrow.

 

Bonus Line Practice

It is very hard to believe that yesterday there was a quarter inch of ice on the ground.  The patio was so slick, we took the dogs out through the garage for their outing of the evening--didn't need anyone slipping and getting hurt.  (Since the coyotes were out in force, we went with them to be on the safe side.)

Today the ice is melted and the sun was in and out.  I took advantage of the nice weather and worked all three Aussies outdoors this morning, concentrating on their heeling and stepping off with me on my first step.  Then I picked up the yard.

This afternoon, I decided either we should go tracking or I should set up a course to practice distance.  Since I didn't feel like leaving home, I decided to set up a Jumpers course with hoops and work on distance.

This one of the current VT courses on the NADAC forum cite.  (I added my own bonus line.)  I thought the hardest part of the course would be the turn from 6 to 7, and by and large it was.  However, it also took us a few tries to get the sequence from 3-6.  With Belle, the key to getting the turn from 6 to 7 is that I must use her name.  See "What's in a Name?"

I was surprised how quickly we pulled it all together.  Notice how much calmer my voice is by the last run.  ;-)  Oh to be able to handle it like that the first time.

Working on the Send

When I first started working on bonus lines, Belle didn't drive away from me very well.  I thought we had overcome that problem, but apparently not.  I used hoops on this course and compressed the 16-19 serpentine and tweaked everything else accordingly because I thought the serpentine would be almost impossible if the hoops were placed as indicated on the course map.  (Using jumps would have been a better choice, but they are already being used in another course at the moment.)

Well, when Belle and I had a go at it, I quickly discovered that driving down the line to the #4 tunnel was not in the cards.  Belle expected a turn after #2, and no amount of shouting "go" or "tunnel" could convince her otherwise.  Once we finally managed to get to the tunnel, the next problem was getting from 6 to 7.  Even with jumps, I think the dog's natural line would be over the off-course #2 jump.  We finally stumbled our way to the second half of the course, but Belle's confidence and energy were ebbing.  For once, I'm glad that operator error kept me from preserving this fiasco on video.

For sure we will be working driving to the tunnel over the next few days!

Biting Off More Than We Can Chew?

This is the same Jumpers course that I blogged about in my previous post, except now I want to talk about it from the bonus line.

As I already mentioned, the spacing between some of the jumps is huge.  It is particularly noticeable in the serpentine.  Additionally, Belle and I had a very difficult time coping with all the switches involved in getting from 3 to 6.  The serpentine became extremely loopy, and toward the end of this morning's session, poor Belle had no idea of which way to turn when I called out "switch."

I originally opted to try this from the 20-pt line so I would have more freedom of movement.  But realistically, I think that was just too far for Belle to feel comfortable shifting into the obstacle focus required in the wide open pinwheel after the handler-controlled serpentine.  By the time, I finally moved up to the 15-pt line, Belle's brain was frazzled.

Also, I caught myself repeating "switch" commands between jumps.  Logical from my point of view since I knew where the course was going.  But to a dog without the map, quite confusing.  As in "I already changed directions and she wants me to change again?  I must have made a mistake."

Eight Hours Later:   Belle and I had one last go at this course this evening.  I decided I would forget about the 20-pt bonus line and try it from the 15-pt line.  I usually rev Belle up and release her from behind the start line when we are attempting a bonus line.  However, from the 15-pt line on this course, it made more sense to take a slight lead out so I could be in position for the serpentine.  Much to my surprise, we made it through the entire course the first time, and I think I remained behind the 20-pt line for the whole thing.  Obviously our bonus line problems are mine and not Belle's.

Getting There

I set up a Regular course this morning while it was still relatively cool.

I found it rather odd that there was a 15-pt bonus line on this course since once you move up beyond the 40-foot line, the A-frame impedes your ability to move from one side of the course to the other.  So I chose to try this one from the 20-pt line, and I was pleased with how well Belle and I did.

I made two mistakes.  First, I said tunnel as Belle was taking #3.  Well, duh, the tunnel under the A-frame was a lot more obvious to her than the one under the dog walk.  Second, I failed to give Belle a directional command as she exited the tunnel under the A-frame.  I realized the difficulty of getting from the tunnel to jump #10, but I had hoped that saying her name as she exited, coupled with my position at about (22,62) would be sufficient to achieve the turn in the correct direction.  WRONG.  Even on our second attempt, Belle paused momentarily facing left before turning to take the correct jump.

I think I also crossed the 20-pt line while Belle was doing the 14-18 sequence.  But I didn't cross it by much, and if there had been a line on the ground, I think I would have been able to stay on my side of it.

 

Chances - 03/08/2012

The winds have abated somewhat, so I was able to set up a Chances course in preparation for this weekend's NADAC trial.

The hardest part of this course is getting to the #7 jump.  On my first attempt with Dusty, I ended up against the back line after completing the serpentine, and was unable to move in the direction of #7 when he exited the tunnel.  The second time, I made sure I had the room to move.  Unfortunately, I failed to plan for handler movement toward the tunnel after #9.  However, to my surprise, Dusty continued on to the tunnel with verbal urging and a couple of arm pushes.

Since this course included a couple of bonus lines, I gave it a whirl with Belle.  I was expecting the turn from #3 to #4 to be difficult, and it was.  I didn't think #7 would be that much of a problem since I certainly had room to push forward.  However, sometimes timing is everything, and I was dismayed to see how late I was in my send to #7 with both dogs.


One last thing to look for in the video.  When Belle and I finally make it through the whole run successfully, notice that I am bending forward as she finishes the dog walk.  At the time, I wondered why she failed to stop.  However, now I know.  The best way to reinforce a stopped contact is to stand up straight.  Bending forward is an acceleration cue.  That's why sometimes it works when you run out of running room in Chances or Gamblers.

Don't Be Afraid to Ignore the Line

Finally, the snow has melted again, and I was able to set up a new Jumpers course for distance practice.  Here's the course I chose:

When I finished setting up the course, I decided it would be a long time before we could tackle a course like this in a trial setting--like probably never :-)  From the bonus line, it just looks like a sea of hoops, so I had to work extra hard to memorize the course from my vantage point behind the bonus line.  Then I had to look at the course from Belle's point of view.  I did a little bit of tweaking to make hoops 18/5 and 15 more visible to Belle.  I decided the hardest spot would be the turn from 7 to 8--I knew Belle would develop lot of speed before she got to 7 and the off-course hoop at 15 would be the next logical obstacle.

Because of the difficulty of the turn from 7 to 8, I decided to try handling the course from the 70-foot line first.  As I suspected, it took some thinking and some work to figure out how to best handle the turn.  What seemed to work best was a combination of Belle's name and "wrap" given as she approaches hoop 7 and my sharp movement toward my right.

I thought getting from 14 to 15 might also present a problem, since 15 really isn't in Belle's line of sight when I'm 40-50 feet away.  However, Belle had no problem finding that particular hoop.

This course lends itself beautifully to handling from a very small area in the vicinity of  (75,40) point.  I tried it with Dusty, and was very pleased with how well he did.  He even stopped head-checking when I started to urge him on with the "whishing" noise I use when Belle is weaving.

A Puzzlement

Yesterday, in addition to the USDAA course, I also set up the Olive Oil Elite Jumpers course using hoops.  (This is one of the courses from the VT sets in the NADAC Yahoo files.)  I didn't shot any video yesterday, but our major problem with this course was getting from the tunnel to the #10 hoop.

A dog naturally turns in to his handler unless the handler applies pressure to his line.  The less obvious the line and the less experienced the dog, the more the handler has to apply pressure to keep the dog on course.  On this course when the handler is 60 or more feet away from the tunnel, #10 is no longer the next logical obstacle from the dog's point of view.  The dog comes out of the tunnel looking for the handler--this immediately takes #10 out of the picture and makes #6 a good-looking candidate for the next obstacle.

My original plan was push out with my left arm toward #10 while moving toward #12.  I thought this would give Belle advance information as to where we were going next.  Unfortunately, from the video, it is quite obvious that doing this fails to give her information about where to go from the tunnel.

When I finally realized that I had to face the #10 hoop in order to get Belle to go through it, things went much better.  However, while editing the video, I realized that by facing #10 I was applying pressure to Belle's line.  I thought I was on to the key--face her line, and #10 will be a piece of cake.  I went out to try it one more time with this thought uppermost in my mind.  However, I was dismayed to find Belle was pausing for a split second when she emerged from the tunnel.  I tried calling "out" before she emerged from the tunnel, but that seemed to make matters even worse.  Waiting until she emerged and using an off-arm seemed to produce the smoothest line.

A heavy snow is predicted so it may be a few days before we can get back to this puzzle, but I'm looking forward to discovering how to get from the tunnel to #10 with no spins, head checks, or pauses.

Another Chances Course

I set up this Chances course on Monday using only hoops, and I set up an arbitrary bonus line at 40' for my runs with Belle.

I had problems directing Belle through the turns and switches from a distance on Monday, but today, we pretty much sailed through the course.  Dusty was another matter.  We had a lot of trouble with the turns and switches yesterday, and after some work, we finally it together today except for the tunnel discrimination.  The really weird thing is that we had no problem with that on Monday.  Here's the video with commentary:

Another Chances Course

I set up another Chances course today.  We ran this one in late February at the QCDC.  Here's the course map:

I didn't look for the video from February's trial until after I ran this course with Dusty and Belle today.  Although you can't tell from the camera angle, the two tunnels at #2 are only about 12 inches apart.  At February's trial, the tunnels were about 30" inches apart and the hoop at #1 (which was a jump at the trial) was pretty much in line with the correct tunnel.

I began with Dusty since I was planning to try from the 15-point bonus line with Belle.  This course contains more challenges than yesterday's course.  Right off the bat, there is the tunnel discrimination.  Then from the tunnel, the dog has to turn to the #3 hoop which is not visible until the dog has exited the tunnel.  Leading out to about (50,-5) gives the handler enough room to push toward the correct tunnel at #2 and ability to see the dog exit the tunnel and call him to the #3 hoop.

Next you have to be able to turn your dog away from you into the tunnel under the A-frame.  Then you have to turn him away from you again from 7 to 8.  Additionally, to be successful, your dog has to have an independent A-frame and independent weaves.

I really felt the tunnel discrimination was the easiest challenge.  However, it turned out to be quite difficult for Dusty.  He took the closer tunnel or he went to the outside of both tunnels much more often than he took the correct tunnel.  What I should have done was break off my efforts and set up a separate exercise just for him, which is what I will be doing over the next couple of days.  Here are a couple of different ideas for set-ups to use for working on "out."

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Working from behind the 15-point bonus line, the biggest difficulty Belle and I encountered was getting to the #3 hoop.   From behind the 15-point bonus line, there is no place the handler can stand to have a clear line of sight to the tunnel exit.  The handler has to rely solely upon a verbal cue to get her dog to #3.  I think some of the missteps that Belle took at other spots on the course were due to my use of the word "switch" instead of "turn."  I have always used "turn," but I thought I could change over to "switch" without much fuss.  It worked yesterday, but it didn't work as well today.

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A nice thing about this Chances course is that it lends itself easily to alternative sequences.  For example:

Chances Practice

Belle and I are back from Champs.  As soon as I receive the DVD of our runs from Three Pines, I will post about Champs.

 

I entered Dusty in a trial in mid-November, so I decided to start putting up some Chances courses for us to practice.  The one I picked for today also had 15 and 20-point bonus lines to practice with Belle.



There are four challenges on the Elite course.  First, the dog has to be able to perform the weaves with his handler approximately 12 feet away.  Next is the 180 degree turn from 7 to 8.  Third is the push from 10 to 11.  Finally, for those of us not able to keep up to our dogs, the dog has to be able to finish up the course while his handler is falling further behind.

 
In the Open version of this Chances course, the first challenge is removed, but the others remain.


As you will see in the video, I prefer to lead out on the right side of the #2 tunnel because it puts me in a position to see my dogs exit the tunnel under the A-frame.  I did one run with Dusty in which I lead out to the left of the tunnel, and he took the weaves with ease.  However, I think he was able to do so because he knew the course by the time I tried leading out to the left of the tunnel.

Be able to perform the weaves without the handler being close by is a skill that has to be taught.  And as Dusty's little meltdowns show, once it is taught, it must be practiced from time to time.

The 180 degree turn from 7 to 8 depends upon the training the dog to turn away from you after he has started toward you.  It also calls for fairly good timing on the handler's part, especially if you substitute jumps for the two hoops.

The push from 10 to 11 is most easily accomplished if the handler backs away from the line while his dog is in the tunnel so that he has room to push on the dog's line from 10 to 11.

If you fall behind your dog on the last two hoops, you have to have a verbal to indicate he is to go on without you.  FWIW, I have a theory that over-using a verbal will cause some dogs to turn back toward their handler or pull them off-course.  Think of it this way, the dog is on course and his handler is in back of him cheering him on with "Go! Go! Go!"  Since he was going toward the last object and you are still yelling, maybe you really want him to do something else.

15-point Bonus Line Practice

Monday I set up an elite jumpers course using hoops and one tunnel so that I could practice some distance work with Belle before Champs.  In the video, I used the original course map, but here is the course with hoops and a tunnel:

Before running the course, I thought the most difficult parts would be turning Belle from 4 to 5 and getting her from the tunnel to #9.  However, both of those proved to be no problem.  The major problem was getting her out to #3!  The second problem was getting the turn from 10 to 11.  I think the first problem is a training issue and the second is more of a handling issue.  Here's the video of Belle and me attempting the course from the 15-point bonus line:

Bonus Line Practice

I set this 25-obstacle regular course, which I believe was in the course example file on the NADAC list at one time.
 

This is actually Round 2 of this particular course.  I chose this version over Round 1 for our bonus attempt because Belle is coming toward me on the dogwalk and A-frame.  I think sending her away from me, not once, but twice on the dogwalk has a very low probability of success.

I really thought the 5-7 sequence was the hardest part of the course, especially the turn to the #7 jump.  However, as you will see in the video, I was so wrong about that it's pathetic.



Here are some short sequences Belle and I will be running on this course to practice our communication skills :-)

A Difficult 15-Point Bonus Challenge

Yesterday, I set up a Regular course from the February NADAC trial at the QCDC. 

This is not a course I would try from the 15-point line in competition because it is a too complex for us above the 70' line.  However, I felt it would be a good course to practice increasing our distance skills.  Part of the problem we encountered with this course was due to the fact that I have never been able to train Belle to drive to the end of her dogwalk and A-frame. Since my handling area was limited by the bonus line, I was unable to keep moving forward while Belle was on the dogwalk and she lost momentum.

When I try this course from the 15-point bonus line again, I am going to do a lateral lead-out to about (8,-8) and see if I can't keep pressure on Belle's line while she is on the dogwalk.

I also ran Dusty last night, but didn't have the camera rolling.  I was amazed at how intently he attacked the course and how well we did.  He got his contacts and left all the bars up; no barking at his handler; an almost perfect run.  He was really flying by the time he hit the weaves and ended up single-footing them.  Unfortunately, he was moving with such extension that he ended up popping out at #10 because he had run out of room for his body in the poles.

An Almost Successful 20-Point Bonus Jumpers Attempt

Belle and I did the reverse of yesterday's Elite Jumpers course this morning.  Belle got everything except the last jump, which she missed because I started to celebrate our success after she took the penultimate jump.  Moral of the story:  The course isn't over until the finish line is crossed.

Here are a couple of sequences using the four obstacles I added to this jumpers course.  The course maps are included in the video.

20 Point Bonus Attempt

Belle and I went out to the field around 8:30 this morning for our first bonus attempt on the course I posted yesterday.  It went really well except for the turn from #9 to #10.  Instead of going left after #9, Belle wanted to go right.  I also was majorly late in turning Belle from #15 to #16.



Next I brought out Libby and Dusty and had another go at handling the course from the area around the #5 jump.  Since Libby does agility only because I ask, I accept the off-courses and just keep going.  Once again, I was impressed by how much distance she was able to do.

This was Dusty's second exposure to this course and we did well until #18, which is where we had trouble yesterday.  The plane of #19 is close enough to the left upright of #18, that if the dog is already turning as he jumps #18, he is going to have difficulty getting the next jump.

Bonus Line Practice

I set up a Jumpers course that we ran last year.

In analyzing the video from today's practice, I found:

I did a pretty good job of remaining in motion.  And for the most part, my body signals were timely.   On the other hand, my verbals were almost always late.

The first two times I ran with Belle, I was falling behind by the time she got to #4.  Because of this, she is looking back at me, and this draws her attention to the #9/#15 jump.  The first time, I was clueless and my late "out" was useless.  The second time, I knew it might happen (although I didn't know why) and I was a little more timely in my effort to keep her on course.  I also was inadvertently a little less behind her the second time.  I was even less far behind on the third effort.

When I was running with Belle, I really liked the slingshot start I used the second and third times much better.  However, in looking at the video, I found Belle curled back toward me both times.  I also noticed that by the time she enters the tunnel I am no longer moving so I will have room to drive forward when Belle exits the tunnel.  I'll try the slingshot start again and try to keep moving and see if she will drive straight to the first jump.

I ran Dusty from behind the red line on the course map.   Any run with Dusty that is silent and without spins is a huge success, so I was really pleased with him and with myself.  The only spot where I was late signaling was for the turn from #11 to #12.  And apparently, I was within Dusty's guidelines since he neither barked nor spun.  However, as with Belle, my verbals were uniformly late.

I decided my late signals would be more of an issue if the dogs were actually jumping, so we went out and tried the course again with the bars up.  Dusty and I did nearly as well with the bars in place, but Belle and I still had some bobbles.  I look forward to running this course in reverse tomorrow.

From a Distance or 15-point Chances Practice - Part 2

 

Now, what happens to the usual challenges when you try to stay behind the 15-point bonus line?  Well, I already knew that the #10 tunnel becomes an extremely attractive off-course after #4.  First of all, I was late with the verbal.  Second, I tried both a shoulder pull and facing Belle and pulling (sometimes to the point of an RFP), but I neglected to actually move toward the bottom of the course while doing so.  When you are standing close to the 50-foot line, you are at least as big a draw for your dog as the #10 tunnel.  When you're below the 15-foot line, your animal magnetism is considerably diminished :(

Additionally, because the distance is so great, it hard to provide a deceleration cue to Belle as she entered the straight tunnel.  She comes blasting out in full extension.  My signals to turn over #4 were almost all late; a) because she was moving so quickly, and b) I didn't want her turning before she took #4.  As you will see in the video, this means she is pretty much beyond the left upright of jump #5 before she completes her turn to it even on the best of our attempts.

Once I actually got Belle through the first six obstacles, I got the shock of my life.  She didn't go into the tunnel under the dogwalk!!!  I got all sorts of variations on the theme you see in the video.  I never did figure out exactly what was going on with this.  Maybe in a month or two, I'll realize what I was doing wrong.  [10/26/11.  By reviewing the video in slow motion several times, I was able to finally figure out that I was late in indicating the turn to the tunnel on our unsuccessful efforts.  Body and motion cues for the tunnel must be given as Belle takes off over the #6 jump.  Once she has landed, it is too late!  The only way that I can see at this point to create some collection over #4 would be to use a quiet "easy over" as Belle exits the tunnel.  This is something we'd have to work on.]

I was late a few times on the 8-10 sequence, but Belle was cranking.  I was really surprised to see I used the on-side arm to indicate the push to the #10 tunnel.  I would have thought I would have gone for the off-side arm.  But when it came to doing it in real time, there just wasn't time enough for me to switch arms.

________________________

Lessons I learned from this one.

1.  I really thought the shoulder pull would be the way to handle #4 to #5.  However, for me it was better to face Belle and move backwards, doing an RFP if need be.  This meant I had my eye on her at all times and I could move more quickly to where I had to be next.

2.  Even without intervening layers of obstacles, distance changes the challenges.

3.  If I find myself shrieking "Belle," it is because I am late, late, late.

Closing in on the Goal

I set up an Elite Jumpers course today and tried the 15-point bonus.  I was expecting the send down the line to #5 to be the most difficult part of the course.  However, Belle's ability to drive away from me has really come a long way since last July, and she fairly flew down the line of jumps.

Unfortunately, I habitually stop and send with the BIG ARM.  Most of the time, I can get away with this in Elite Chances.  However, from behind the 15-point line stopping wrecks havoc  with my ability to communicate the course to Belle.  Supposedly, it that it takes about six weeks to break a habit or develop a new one.  If I'm vigilant, hopefully by mid-May I won't have to think about continuing to move because it will have become as natural to me as stopping is now.

Since it's quite chilly outside, I went out for four short sessions, and during the third session, a couple of times, it felt as if I had bounced off an invisible wall when I came to a stop.  If I can maintain that level of awareness, it will make re-training myself much easier.  Of course, I also have Belle to keep me on the straight and narrow.  When I keep moving smoothly while sending her, her path is sure and smooth.  When I stop inappropriately, there is a hesitation or loop in her path or she goes in the wrong direction.

___________________________

It came to me during the fourth session, that when practicing bonus-line handling, I should walk the course as if I were going to handle from behind the bonus line.  However, when it comes to actually running the course, my over-riding goal has to be remaining in motion.  If that means I go two feet or ten feet over the line, that's okay.  With practice I should be able to plan my path and gauge my speed and my stride with more and more accuracy and avoid crossing the bonus line.

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.  ~Author Unknown