# Agility Course of the Week: Sequence #1



## wildo

Here's the first course of the week sequence! This is a slightly modified sequence that was posted on www.AgilityNerd.com today. I've modified it to include weave poles since we don't all have chutes. With the addition of the weaves, this little sequence really has a lot to offer- a fast, straight on weave pole entrance, a threadle, a 270, a distance send, a jump wrap, and plenty of opportunity to play with crosses. This should be a fun challenge!










Have fun, post videos!

This course should remain "course of the week" at least until July 15th, with the option to leave it for two weeks. The current queue is:

wildo
kbella999
MRL
TaraM1285
I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO
AgileGSD
NWHeather
mahhi22

...so kbella999- you'll be next.


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## wildo

If you'd like to get a better feel for the obstacle spacing, as well as some handling strategies, you can check out Steve and Meeker here:


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## wildo

If you have really limited space, you can eliminate the tunnel by going from 8 to 11.


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## TaraM1285

Looks like fun! I'm planning to run it tomorrow.


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## wildo

Way to go Kristin! I was hoping someone would go first... 

This is a really fun little sequence. I've been having a blast with it. You can practice distance in your weave pole performance. You can practice clarity in your handling for the threadle. You can practice your sends to jumps. There's just a ton of different ways to attack this. I have to say- this has got to be one of the most useful small sequences I've seen from agilitynerd. I'm really excited to see how everyone does and the handling strategy you all choose!


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## TaraM1285

Fun course! I'd like to run it again, now that I've watched the video of Steve & Meeker. This is actually the first time I've done agility with Tara in the backyard, and she struggled to pay attention a bit the first day we tried it. It's also been awhile since we've done much agility. Our last time on weaves was probably back in May and we had only done 4 weeks of class since then. I decided to just work individual obstacles and attention instead of struggling through the course, so I ended up running the full sequence today. Here is our attempt at this course:






My critique of our run:

- 1, 2, 3 went fine, but I was having to babysit the weave entry, so clearly we need to do a little work on weaves. 
- My threadle handling needs some work. I don't need to be bending down and my direction over the number 4 jump was nonexistent, causing Tara to hesitate before committing to the jump.
- I think my setup of the 270 at 5 was a sharper turn than on the course map. Regardless, my backwards motion indicated to her to keep moving (she looks to the weaves), and I needed to stop moving backward and turn toward the jump 6. I could have fixed this by positioning myself closer to the center of the course rather than being so close to the jump.
- 6, 7, 8 was fine, but we could have gotten that done faster if I had just run instead of babysitting the #7 jump. 
- The 8, 9 serpentine was fine but I should have handled it from the other side to turn Tara around the outside standard of 9 instead of pulling her around in that awkward wide turn to the tunnel. 
- The ending of the tunnel to jump 11 and then straight out to 12 would have been much smoother if I had run to the landing side of 11 to show her we were turning sooner. Again, I was babysitting the tunnel for some reason, which I really didn't need to do.

All in all, this was a fun little course to work on a little of skills. Thanks, Willy!


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## wildo

Wonderful! I'd like to respond more, but I really need to get back to work. Will update later tonight.


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## wildo

Once again- really nice work Kristin! Sorry I didn't get to this last night. I think you guys looked great, and I think your critiques of yourself are spot on. I really like the addition of weave poles to this course. I think you can handle it with dog on left as you did, you can lead out, and you can start with dog on right and rear cross. I also played around with a lead out where I started in front, but ran behind as soon as Pimg committed to the poles, and then did a rear cross on the flat to get back around to jump #3. Of course one would never actually do this, but I wanted to see if she would maintain weaving regardless of my body position. To that point, I also worked a lot on sending her to the weaves and moving away as she's weaving. This course lends itself well to that work.

I also had some work to do through the threadle. Like you, I chose to do a reverse flow pivot. I watched your video multiple times, and I do think you could be a bit more clear in your direction with the RFP. That said, I will openly admit that as people get better and better with the RFP, they do fade the cue quite a bit. So perhaps you are just at the point. Another tip that I found immensely helpful, that I practiced quite a bit, is not turning out of the RFP until the dog has crossed the plane between the two jumps. Turning early will send the dog over the back side, and turning late sets the dog up for an awkward turn to get to jump #4. I setup a camera and watched myself so I could ensure I was turning the instant Pimg crossed that plane.

The 270 is still an area I need to work. In yours, I can't tell if it's a sharper angle or not, but you can easily tell because the 270 should form a right angle between the two- a standard corner, so to speak. If you are more acute or obtuse than the 90* corner, then you should adjust the jumps. I think you did well to step in to support that backside of jump #5. I've also had to do this. However, my best tip is to support your own line as much as possible for the #4, #5, #6 sequence. If you step in too far, then you trap jump #5 between you and jump #6. I found that I wanted to try to stay close to the left upright on jump #4 (closest to jump #3) and turn to face jump #6. This keeps jump #5 out of MY path so that I can run to jump #6. It's certainly difficult if you have to step in to support the backside for the 270, but in the end, we MUST support our own line as well. 

Steve also shows a front cross between #4 and #5, which I don't think is such a bad idea. For this sequence, it could work well. For other sequences, 270's are often put in place in a way that forces the handler to stay on the inside. So personally, I think handling the 270 on the inside is an important skill to grow. Like I said though, for _this_ sequence, the front cross may be quite useful. 

I really enjoyed the challenge of sending to jump #6 without having to run up to it. This keeps me in place for getting to the serp in time. I thought hard about it, and I can't particularly find a reason that dictates that the dog should turn a specific direction over #6. The course map shows jump #6 being slightly offset from #5 which should put your dog in her left lead. For this reason, it would seem natural for our long strided dogs to want to continue that lead and wrap jump #6 around to the left. That said, some handling strategies (the Derrett system, for example) state that the dog should never turn away from you unless cued to do so. This is a situation where I think having a GSD rather than BC might dictate the way we handle. Then again, as long as the dog is turning tight, I'm just not sure the direction of this turn is uber important.


...I will finish this critique of your run and review of the course later. I have to run- taking Pimg dock diving!


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## wildo

Ok- so I think I got to up to the serpentine in my last response. I can definitely see value in treating like an actual serpentine allowing Tara to go around the outside, like Steve shows in his handling video. It may be a straighter path which could work well. I admittedly have not practiced that as I found simply treating this as a post turn and wrapping the #9 jump was effective for us. It also maintains the left lead so that Pimg doesn't have to do a flying lead change which is what would be required for a tight turn when allowing the dog to go to the outside. I have video of Pimg doing a flying lead change in the threadle at jump #4 which I think is pretty cool, but I believe I recall MRL saying sometime back that a flying lead change is quite difficult for many dogs. Anyway, I could see it being handled both ways. Since Pimg does turn pretty tightly, I choose to post turn and wrap that #9 jump.

I definitely agree with you, Kristin, about your front cross at jump #11 out of the tunnel. It did seem needlessly late to me, as Tara did seem 100% committed. You saw that in your own video, and I think you're spot on. I'd also recommend trying to stay as close to the #4/8 jump as possible when you pick up Tara out of the tunnel. Because you're front crossing out of the tunnel, the ONLY choice for her is the #11 jump. Therefore, I'm not sure that jump really needs much support at all. Further, when you stay closer to the #4/8 jump, you put yourself AHEAD of your dog when front crossing, and you'll find yourself in the perfect position to cue the #12 jump and send to #13. If you happen to have this Clean Run Special Edition: Handling, there is a really great article in there by Susan Garrett about positioning yourself in front crosses so that you end up ahead of your dog, not behind after the cross. This article might be in her "foundation articles" (which I think you said you had) but I'm not sure since I don't have them. Anyway- I think this is another example of protecting your own line as well. Of course we have to guide our dog through the course, but we must also remain conscious of our line so that we can effectively get to the next position and be ready to cue the dog.

Anyway.... I liked it. Nice run.

And for the course itself, I really liked it! I found many situations that I could break down and work on those individual components:

I found for myself that while Pimg's weaving on six poles really needs to improve in speed, her understanding of doing all six poles while I move away seems surprisingly good. 
I found that unless my handling is perfect, a "change of arms" does _not_ mean a "change of direction" when it comes to a late-cued threadle (she'll run right past it), and so I need to be spot on with my threadle cues. 
I found that I have to support the 270 much more than I'd like to admit (this is an awareness brought on only from watching my video).
I found that Pimg's "go" command was much better than I thought it was- she seems to really move forward and find something to jump- great!
I found that Pimg continues to show agility in tight turns. Honestly, after reviewing my videos, I'm floored with how tightly she can turn.

Overall, I had a great time with this sequence. I hope others had a chance to try as well, and that they'll post in here. I'm trying to wrap up the editing on my video, but it's late and I have an agility trial all day tomorrow. I'll get the video posted ASAP.


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## kbella999

Here is my attempt at course #1. GSD Forum Course 1 - YouTube My girl Rusti, ran the course flawlessly the first time. As you can see in the video she is a velcro dog and much slower than Jerry Lee. I love running with her. She has taught me so much and I use her to figure out how to run with Jerry Lee. I worked on the threadles with Jerry Lee before running the course and he was doing great. When we did the course and he saw the tunnel, he wanted to go to the tunnel. Then he started anticipated my moves and knocking some bars. We tried doing different things in this course and some worked better than others. Learned a lot from doing this course. Things that I need to work on are my hand signals and I need to quit swinging my arms everywhere . Also have to be much faster with Jerry Lee and remember to support his turns or he will knock bars if I don't.


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## TaraM1285

Nice job kbella! 

I made some modifications and ran 3-10 again to work on smoothing that bit in my handling. It starts at 0:47 in this video:






My threadle still needs work but the 270 handling is a lot better, as is the serpentine handled from the far side. I didn't intend for that to be a blind cross, but it actually worked nicely. It was my fault the turn to the tunnel was so wide. She can do it tighter but I forgot what I was doing when I threw that blind cross in there and kept running instead of decelerating for the turn back to the tunnel.

Watching these videos has made me realize how slowly Tara is running in them. She really can be quite a lot faster than she's running. I am not sure if it's the heat or the new environment or a combination of things. She clearly doesn't mind running full out for the ball but doesn't seem to want to push as much for agility. Since I still have this course setup I might do some quick jump circles for motivation with lots of good rewards. It's actually a really nice setup for that too, using the same beginning but straight to the tunnel instead of the serpentine and then back around or in the opposite direction.


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## MaggieRoseLee

Kristin, you need to break down the sequences to speed up your pup and make it more fun....the harder we make 'agility' the more they will tend to slow to do it right. Plus if the rewards are only every 12 obstacles or so.... for most of our pups it's not worth it.

Do the serpentine, THROW THE BALL. Do the 270, THROW THE BALL. First we want speed and then we want accuracy...


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## wildo

Here is my video for the course. I have to admit that I'm not that satisfied with the video footage I used for running the entire course. I took it today after a full day of agility trialing, and I think both Pimg and I are pretty stinkin' tired! You can tell from her weave performance that she's pretty tired. Anyway- I've really enjoyed this! Thanks everyone for playing along! It's been fun watching those who have uploaded video, and especially fun to hear people discovering different ways to use the course to train!


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## wildo

kbella- I really like that you chose to handle the 270 by front crossing the first half of it. I admit that I didn't actually try that option, but it does look really smooth. I also really like your "dizzy" route through the course. I doubt you'd do something like that in competition, but it clearly shows some really nice shadow handling foundations. Nice work!


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## MaggieRoseLee

Wildo, LOVED all the weavepole practice! Nice how the 6 poles allows the quicker toy reward too...


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## wildo

Weave poles are something I've really wanted to practice lately and haven't made time to do so. To be quite honest, I was super impressed with her dedication. There were very few times that she pulled out of the weaves early depending on what I was doing. He drive through the weaves drops FAST with repeated attempts (I think that's clear in the video- her first was fast, while subsequent attempts got slower and slower). This is something I will make a mental note on to be sure I don't over work the weaves.


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## kbella999

Kristin, that blind did work very nicely. I think that is the only time I will be using blinds is when I do it and don't mean to.  Jerry Lee can be a lot faster than he is also. I know that it is me that keeps him slower than he can be. Also, I think as we get more experience, he will gain confidence in himself and in my handling to direct him and he will get faster. When I find he is going really slow and trying to anticipate my moves I will stop training full courses and do just a few obstacles and then reward him and let him build up confidence and have fun. 


TaraM1285 said:


> Nice job kbella!
> 
> My threadle still needs work but the 270 handling is a lot better, as is the serpentine handled from the far side. I didn't intend for that to be a blind cross, but it actually worked nicely. It was my fault the turn to the tunnel was so wide. She can do it tighter but I forgot what I was doing when I threw that blind cross in there and kept running instead of decelerating for the turn back to the tunnel.
> 
> Watching these videos has made me realize how slowly Tara is running in them. She really can be quite a lot faster than she's running. I am not sure if it's the heat or the new environment or a combination of things. She clearly doesn't mind running full out for the ball but doesn't seem to want to push as much for agility. Since I still have this course setup I might do some quick jump circles for motivation with lots of good rewards. It's actually a really nice setup for that too, using the same beginning but straight to the tunnel instead of the serpentine and then back around or in the opposite direction.


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## kbella999

I love how you were ahead on that 270 in practice. I am going to have to try that. So many different and interesting ways to run a course. I've almost got the next course ready and it will hopefully challenge your weave poles. I'll post it Friday if that is okay with everyone.



wildo said:


> Here is my video for the course. I have to admit that I'm not that satisfied with the video footage I used for running the entire course. I took it today after a full day of agility trialing, and I think both Pimg and I are pretty stinkin' tired! You can tell from her weave performance that she's pretty tired. Anyway- I've really enjoyed this! Thanks everyone for playing along! It's been fun watching those who have uploaded video, and especially fun to hear people discovering different ways to use the course to train!
> 
> Course of the week sequencing - YouTube


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## MaggieRoseLee

One of the best things about agility is that we can all run a course differently, and successfully, and all be 'right'!


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## wildo

Speaking of running the course, MRL- we'd all like to see you and your great dogs run it! :thumbup: :toasting:


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## MaggieRoseLee

wildo said:


> Speaking of running the course, MRL- we'd all like to see you and your great dogs run it! :thumbup: :toasting:


But it's so hot (whine whine whine :wild: )

Maybe tomorrow???


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## wildo

kbella999 said:


> I've almost got the next course ready and it will hopefully challenge your weave poles. I'll post it Friday if that is okay with everyone.


Looking forward to the new course!


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO

I've been a slacker and didn't do this course yet...
My backyard is so overgrown with weeds and we've been overrun with mosquitoes-you can't even go outside. The city sprayed for the mosquitoes again this week and today seemed a bit better, so I'll try to get the yard cleaned up soon and catch up.

Everyone else did a nice job with the course!


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## MaggieRoseLee

I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO said:


> I've been a slacker and didn't do this course yet...
> My backyard is so overgrown with weeds and we've been overrun with mosquitoes-you can't even go outside. The city sprayed for the mosquitoes again this week and today seemed a bit better, so I'll try to get the yard cleaned up soon and catch up.
> 
> Everyone else did a nice job with the course!


Those are all my excuses too... :wild:  :wild:


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## MaggieRoseLee

Ok, so I just put together a video of GloryB and PURPOSELY not really looking at everyone else's runs in detail until I had done it.

Interesting because looking at Steve and Meeker, I walked and performed the course kind of same as his second method EXCEPT...........

I entirely forgot the last THREE jumps (well I did the one after the tunnel a few times). The handling was so tight on the stuff I did I never kept reading the course map to the end. Hey, guess I need the numbered cones after all 

Putting it up on youtube now though I may fix it and repost with the correct ending. Sorry it's so long, two dogs plus editing issues...


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## wildo

Wow MRL, to be honest I had given up on you! haha! I didn't think you were gonna post a video. I'm very much looking forward to it!


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## MaggieRoseLee

wildo said:


> Wow MRL, to be honest I had given up on you! haha! I didn't think you were gonna post a video. I'm very much looking forward to it!


Now that I've run it my way (not saying the right way, just one of many...) be interesting to try the others. I run keeping Bretta's bar knocking in mind, I can't be in her landing path (or perceived landing path) or the bars will really come down as she pulls up.

I KNOW I didn't run the end in it's entirety (I know it now, didn't at the time....  )


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## KristiM

I am slooowly working my way through these

Here is Odin: I realized after the fact that I was running it wrong (oh well, still good practice.) The first one I had taked out the weave poles for havoc and was too lazy to put them back. The order I ran them in got reversed when I edited it. The last one is the first, with the really ugly line! I handled it a little different after.




 
Here is Havoc, I modified it for his wee brain (he was being special today.)




 
Feel free to critique the handling. I don't think any of us were on our A game today!


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## wildo

Man I forgot just how much I love this little sequence. I may just set it up again myself... So fun, so flowing, so challenging. 

I think you guys did a nice job KristiM even with your course liberties...  If you get a chance to run it again, one thing that I really, really loved about this course is the potential for the bounce jump as the dog makes the 180 at 6, turns to 7 and potentially bounce jumps 8- all while maintaining control for the turn into 9. I just love it. It's hard and it takes skill. But with the way you set up the jump, you have eliminated the opportunity to push the dogs with this kind of a bounce jump between 7 and 8. I would recommend trying again because it's feels REALLY good to see your dog do it! You should be able to stand and jump #6 and see #7 and #8 in a row...

Ok- onto Odin's video:

Wow- I think you go really lucky on your threadle at 0:06! Look at that jump rockin' haha  I think you can get better positioning from Odin by positioning yourself closer to jump #3. I can definitely appreciate your layering by standing at (to the right of actually!) jump #4, but this is going to be difficult for you to maintain once Odin gains confidence in threadles. (You are used to NADAC, correct?) For a threadle, you need to be calling Odin between the jumps WAY before he even THINKS about taking that next jump. This is HARD! Definitely watch Steve's annotated version of this course and particularly watch his positioning in the threadle. He has a VERY fast dog but you don't notice him running ahead to jump #4. Why? Because it's his job as handler to turn the dog for the threadle- a job that he does very clearly (look, he almost turns a full 180 to signal the threadle). And as he states in the "bloopers" at the end- "must wait for dog's head to pass the plane of the next jump" before cuing the second part of the threadle. So like I said, I'm impressed with your layering, but I think you will have trouble with this strategy down the line. Notice that you rocked this at 0:36!! MUCH better handling position! See how you were in between the jumps this time to cue the threadle? Much better!
Notice that Odin did NOT knock the bar doing the 180 at jump #6 (at 0:08). This is because you waited for commitment before taking off for jump #7. I think it's really important for you to study this closely- watch the video over and over. Check the difference between this time, 0:08 and 0:23, and 0:40- the last two where he knocked the bar (or pulled off early). It was you... Gotta wait for that commitment!!
I really like your rear cross at 0:13. I've always thought it looked cool when people call "switch!" and the dog kind of magically allows the handler to rear cross. It flows well, and Odin clearly liked this lead change here at jump #9. I believe that I let Pimg stay on the same lead and warp jump #9 which worked well for us. But I like this line you've done with Odin. It's all about knowing your dog isn't it! I suspect (but don't know for sure) that your "switch" (and I know you didn't actually call 'switch') is a result of NADAC trailing. It's that graceful kind of flowy running. Looks great and clearly works great for you guys!

Overall- looks great!


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## wildo

Wanted to post that novel so I wouldn't lose it and have to retype it!

Havoc's video:

My oh my the knocked bars! :rofl: Ok- just kidding! For the first bar, jump #1, you see why it was knocked, yes? It was knocked because you set him up too close to the jump. He wanted to take it in one stride, but felt he was just far enough away to need two strides. This put his take off point WAY to close to the bar and he took it out with his knees. With a fast dog (or perhaps equally true with a big dog) be sure to give them the space they need when setting them up for the first jump! No reason to cramp them. Oh yeah- look at 0:27- you have him at least one foot further away from the jump and he nailed it. He needs that space! Don't forget when you set him up- he needs that space.
Ah! Notice with Havoc you choose to wrap jump #9 going into the tunnel at 0:13! Different than when running Odin. Like I said, I like the flowiness of the "switch" (rear cross) at jump #9, but depending on the dog I really like allowing them to stay on the same lead and wrapping the jump. But you know I'm a sucker for jump wrapping. If you have a dog that can turn on a dime, I prefer the jump wrap. Then again, those dogs that can turn on a dime can also often do a flying lead change, so the rear cross also works... haha! Decisions! 
You know, I almost hesitate to say this because overall, he seems like a nice jumper. But I did notice (or think I noticed) that every time he knocks a bar- his head is WAY up, taking a glance at you. I can't pick out what it is that you are doing (it must be VERY subtle) but it's enough for Havoc to pick up on. You will need to watch your video closely to try to figure out what you're doing- whatever it is, it's pulling his head up and he's knocking the bar. Watch at 0:33 which is jump #5. He pulls his head up and knocks the bar.
Having said that about the head up issue, I don't believe the knocked bar at 0:09 was a head up issue. I had to watch the video a number of times before I spotted it, but watch very very closely (use the space bar to pause the video- push the space bar really fast to kind of do a fake frame by frame). You start your front cross, Havoc sees it and then takes ONE MORE stride before jumping! In other words, you were a split second early on your front cross. Funny because most people cue LATE. hahaha. Nice job here- you just need to get your timing a millisecond better.

Nice runs on both dogs! How are you liking this kind of a tight, turny course compared to the open, flowy NADAC courses? I imagine this is very different for you. Agree?


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## KristiM

wildo said:


> Man I forgot just how much I love this little sequence. I may just set it up again myself... So fun, so flowing, so challenging.
> 
> I think you guys did a nice job KristiM even with your course liberties...  If you get a chance to run it again, one thing that I really, really loved about this course is the potential for the bounce jump as the dog makes the 180 at 6, turns to 7 and potentially bounce jumps 8- all while maintaining control for the turn into 9. I just love it. It's hard and it takes skill. But with the way you set up the jump, you have eliminated the opportunity to push the dogs with this kind of a bounce jump between 7 and 8. I would recommend trying again because it's feels REALLY good to see your dog do it! You should be able to stand and jump #6 and see #7 and #8 in a row...
> 
> 
> 
> Ok- onto Odin's video:
> 
> Wow- I think you go really lucky on your threadle at 0:06! Look at that jump rockin' haha  I think you can get better positioning from Odin by positioning yourself closer to jump #3. I can definitely appreciate your layering by standing at (to the right of actually!) jump #4, but this is going to be difficult for you to maintain once Odin gains confidence in threadles. (You are used to NADAC, correct?) For a threadle, you need to be calling Odin between the jumps WAY before he even THINKS about taking that next jump. This is HARD! Definitely watch Steve's annotated version of this course and particularly watch his positioning in the threadle. He has a VERY fast dog but you don't notice him running ahead to jump #4. Why? Because it's his job as handler to turn the dog for the threadle- a job that he does very clearly (look, he almost turns a full 180 to signal the threadle). And as he states in the "bloopers" at the end- "must wait for dog's head to pass the plane of the next jump" before cuing the second part of the threadle. So like I said, I'm impressed with your layering, but I think you will have trouble with this strategy down the line. Notice that you rocked this at 0:36!! MUCH better handling position! See how you were in between the jumps this time to cue the threadle? Much better!
> Notice that Odin did NOT knock the bar doing the 180 at jump #6 (at 0:08). This is because you waited for commitment before taking off for jump #7. I think it's really important for you to study this closely- watch the video over and over. Check the difference between this time, 0:08 and 0:23, and 0:40- the last two where he knocked the bar (or pulled off early). It was you... Gotta wait for that commitment!!
> I really like your rear cross at 0:13. I've always thought it looked cool when people call "switch!" and the dog kind of magically allows the handler to rear cross. It flows well, and Odin clearly liked this lead change here at jump #9. I believe that I let Pimg stay on the same lead and warp jump #9 which worked well for us. But I like this line you've done with Odin. It's all about knowing your dog isn't it! I suspect (but don't know for sure) that your "switch" (and I know you didn't actually call 'switch') is a result of NADAC trailing. It's that graceful kind of flowy running. Looks great and clearly works great for you guys!
> Overall- looks great!


I set up the course kind of wonky, I hadn't really intended to run this today (I was suppoed to just be doing foundation stuff with my guys boo, I hate foundation stuff!) so it was kind of set up on the fly. I will probably give it another shot.

I have to admit I am having a really hard time with threadles!!! I am kinda starting to hate them I felt like the line between 4, 5 and 6 was so ugly when I was in between 3 and 4 which is why I changed it. I think the ugly line was also part of the reason that he knocked 6 (plus me being early.) The one where he turns nicle and tight over 6 I actually remembered my "wrap" command we have been working on that seperately and I was really impressed that he was able to utilize it while we were running this little sequence! Now I just have to remeber to use it! 

I felt likle he was actually a little more consistent with me ahead at #4. This is something that I need to work on, since my background is NADAC (and hence all the foundation on my dogs) I am not very good at getting in their space and thus they are not very consistent when I get in their space Stuff we really need to work on! I really like these little courses becuase I (obviously) never set them up myself.

I really like the switch to the tunnel and I find it's a lot faster and makes a much nicer line.  I did call a switch, I'm just very quiet, I have had people comment to me at trials that they think its so amazing that I don't say anything on course lol. Sometimes I DO forget to talk though, creates some problems


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## wildo

KristiM said:


> I have to admit I am having a really hard time with threadles!!! I am kinda starting to hate them I felt like the line between 4, 5 and 6 was so ugly when I was in between 3 and 4 which is why I changed it.


Well, since you choose to go to the inside of jump 5 (rather than the 270) I could definitely see why you would like being ahead at #4. Still, my personal take is that while it's good to be ahead, you're playing a dangerous game about training the threadle like that. Odin was SO close to making it a serp rather than threadle- you have to wonder about such a mistake at a trial where he's even more amped up. If it works for you, go for it! I just think you'll find more consistency once you are both used to working in close proximity. This is probably something you'll really want to focus on if you're getting into AAC (which I take it is very close to USDAA as far as tight, turny, demanding courses go). 

Just like anything, break the behavior down. Train the threadle with one jump. Then add a second far away. Then work to bringing the second jump closer and closer.


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## KristiM

wildo said:


> Wanted to post that novel so I wouldn't lose it and have to retype it!
> 
> 
> 
> Havoc's video:
> 
> My oh my the knocked bars! :rofl: Ok- just kidding! For the first bar, jump #1, you see why it was knocked, yes? It was knocked because you set him up too close to the jump. He wanted to take it in one stride, but felt he was just far enough away to need two strides. This put his take off point WAY to close to the bar and he took it out with his knees. With a fast dog (or perhaps equally true with a big dog) be sure to give them the space they need when setting them up for the first jump! No reason to cramp them. Oh yeah- look at 0:27- you have him at least one foot further away from the jump and he nailed it. He needs that space! Don't forget when you set him up- he needs that space.
> Ah! Notice with Havoc you choose to wrap jump #9 going into the tunnel at 0:13! Different than when running Odin. Like I said, I like the flowiness of the "switch" (rear cross) at jump #9, but depending on the dog I really like allowing them to stay on the same lead and wrapping the jump. But you know I'm a sucker for jump wrapping. If you have a dog that can turn on a dime, I prefer the jump wrap. Then again, those dogs that can turn on a dime can also often do a flying lead change, so the rear cross also works... haha! Decisions!
> You know, I almost hesitate to say this because overall, he seems like a nice jumper. But I did notice (or think I noticed) that every time he knocks a bar- his head is WAY up, taking a glance at you. I can't pick out what it is that you are doing (it must be VERY subtle) but it's enough for Havoc to pick up on. You will need to watch your video closely to try to figure out what you're doing- whatever it is, it's pulling his head up and he's knocking the bar. Watch at 0:33 which is jump #5. He pulls his head up and knocks the bar.
> Having said that about the head up issue, I don't believe the knocked bar at 0:09 was a head up issue. I had to watch the video a number of times before I spotted it, but watch very very closely (use the space bar to pause the video- push the space bar really fast to kind of do a fake frame by frame). You start your front cross, Havoc sees it and then takes ONE MORE stride before jumping! In other words, you were a split second early on your front cross. Funny because most people cue LATE. hahaha. Nice job here- you just need to get your timing a millisecond better.
> Nice runs on both dogs! How are you liking this kind of a tight, turny course compared to the open, flowy NADAC courses? I imagine this is very different for you. Agree?


Yes I definitley set him too close for the first jump on that one! I need to make sure I am more conscious of that so I don't set him up to fail (knock bars.)

Lol, I don't have a "switch" on Havoc yet He does tend to have a shorter stride than Odin though and pulls under himself a little better on landing, making those wraps easier with him. He can turn on a dime but sucks at bending around the jump, Odin is the opposite.

You know what, he is actually a naturally talented jumper! He is very flowy over jumps, you wouldn't think it to look at him but he seems to float over jumps. Last week I was doing grids with height (16" at jumps 2 and 4) and he decided to take the last two jumps as one. He did it beautifully though! The more I did the grid the more he figured that taking the last two jumps (which were 7 feet apart) was no problem! 

At 9 seconds, you can't see from the video but I was way too far forward, I was in his way which is why he knocked it. He knocked the bar at 33 because I paused and stopped moving forward making him unsure of where he was going.

I do really like the challenge of the tight courses, but I have to admit I can get frustrated with it sometimes! Just not what I am used to. Odin is very forgiving and picks stuff up stupid fast! Havoc makes me want to pull my hair out!!! He has so much potential but he is so freakin hard to run. He is VERY sensitive to any kind of movement and he tends to just run around doing stupid stuff when he is not sure of what I want which drives me nuts! Like threadles for example I just can't seem to be able to do them with him. I can't seem to get him to push off of me back out to the other jump, he comes in and then as soon as I turn my body he flies out past the jump. I know that it will just take time to figure eachother out as a team and he's not really a dog with a "team" mentality to begin with which makes it super hard. He's just a tough dog to work with, I keep telling him he needs to be more like Odin but he just doesn't listen! Rant over


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## wildo

KristiM said:


> Like threadles for example I just can't seem to be able to do them with him. I can't seem to get him to push off of me back out to the other jump, he comes in and *then as soon as I turn my body he flies out past the jump.*


Oh! This reminds me! I meant to comment on this and forgot. At 0:07 in your Odin video, you _didn't_ turn back towards the jump after turning into him for the threadle. You just cued Odin with your off arm and then picked him up after jump #5. 

Now, KristiM... where could you possibly have seen that before? :rofl: How about:





Check out 1:58. So yeah, you don't _have_ to turn back towards the jump. Lisa Frick does this, as does Steve Schwarz, as does Jenny Damm, and many others. That might help you with your threadle with Havoc.


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## KristiM

LOL! I just need to learn how to run backwards as fast as a bordercollie and that will work just fine:headbang:

I am going to try breaking it down a little with Havoc tomorrow and see if we make any progress. He is just very touchy, makes handling super tough, I guess it's kinda like that whole driving a ferrari analogy. 

I am filling out my first AAC entry form at this very moment! I am pretty excited, Odin has been running super nice lately. A few weeks ago we ran in Open in NADAC for the first time and he did really good! No Q's but wholly crap he was flying! We had some pretty nice stuff and I REALLY enjoyed the challenge of the open classes.


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