skills list??
Olga,
Do you have a list of skills for your toolbox for Yankee that you could post for us to copy? It would be a really good way to organize our training log books so we could break down the various lesson skills then add additional skills practice to improve our training sessions?? I don't know if the list could be created in such a way that we could use it like a sheet in an excell workbook where we could keep all our work organized?? any way even if you just post the list we should be able to copy and paste it into a spreadsheet for ourselves.........
tx elizabeth
Re: skills list??
Elizabeth,
Before TNT I used a training log to have a method to my madness. Have no idea where it is so its time to re-do. I had the following taped to my desk so I probably got it from some article I read.
Week Training schedule
Rest & Play after a trial weekend
75% skill building
25% full courses
Tuesday & Wednesday., Skills for specific issues
Thursdays, sequences form old maps (now from TNT lesson)
Friday, Swimming & Skills
Kody has agility class on Tuesday night and Bailey has his on Wednesday night.Our class is basically running full courses with very little if any instruction.
I am going to rework my plan based on the above. I am not sure a one size fits all spread sheet would be helpful in our case. Kody needs things to build drive, and distance skills for example and Bailey ( trialling for a year and a half) still needs training in the basics.
So lets toss some ideas around. You have a baby dog so your skill list may be different.
Jumping: pinwheels,180,270,wraps,right,left,boxes
Weaves: entries,speed,distance
Contacts,waiting for release..
now i have a headache...too much thinking.
Cheers
Jean
Re: skills list??
a few to add off the top of my head
go on
come front
come from a straight lead out
lateral lead out
pin wheels, 180, 270 using back crosses, using front crosses
table - sit/down, table at speed, table count
chute - continue straight instead of curving in - helps to prevent stepping on the dog
Everytime you watch TNT - write down the skills you see - both with the TNT films and student films. I learn a lot from watching student films. I just wish I either had a digital video camera or a video capture card
Re: skills list??
Back from a walk to clear my head...hummmm so IÂ quess we start with each obstical? On second thought, we have Foundation Skills, Obstical Skills and for lack of a better word, Performance Skills.
Jumps (single,double,triple)
Weave poles
Broad Jump
Teeter
Tire
Table
Tunnel
Chute
Dogwalk
AFrame
Skill building would consist of safe performace of each obstical with speed and accuracy from all angles and distances.
Then as Chris says skills, which in my mind would be Performance Skills
Start line
Lead outs
Contacts
Turns
Go On, Sends
Directionals
Push
Pull
Pinweels
Serpentine
Threadles
180
270
Wraps
Crosses
Pivots
Reverse Flow Pivot
Ok guys jump in here, I am aready lost again and not liking calling them Performance skills.
Jean
Re: skills list??
Ok.... what I was thinking was more like a list of what skills my dogs should have independent of my handling and what handling cues my dog should understand.
for example basic dog skills
obstacle:Â ______Â Â Â call / send / run by ; distance ; notes?
obstacle:________ around the clock; dog; handler; distance: notes?
basic handling skills:
rear crosses: obstacle / obstacle; direction of turn; notes;
front crosses;Â obstacle / obstacle; direction of turn; notes;
lateral lead out; obstacle / obstacle; direction of turn; notes
startline / table; inline / leadout, distance, rate of reinforcement notes?
I think the easiest thing will be to make a spreadsheet and up load it then we can all customize it for our specific goals but also there should be a nucleus of standard stuff our dogs should be rock solid on.... elizabeth
Re: skills list??
Re: skills list??
the above is an excell spreadsheet. I plan to make a few hard copies of them then circle the obstacle I am using and mark the dog /handler position and distance and any problems. Teh other way to do this is with a piece of square ruled paper. Put the obstacle in the midle and x marks your position and d the dogs.... continue until all the square have a d / handler then you know you have completed the grid. In the second section I have 3 columns with the same obstacles in each. I will circle the ones I am using ie jump then tire then table. then I will circle the skill to work on. that way it is easy to keep trackl of what I have done, what I been successfull at and what I need still to work on!.... end product better training less time!
elizabethÂ
Re: skills list??
Hmm, Elizabeth..
In fact, I do not have a list of skills or any kind of written legend for training.. Neither for my dogs, nor for my classes/lessons..
It's all in my head! lol..
No, seriously, I am all for creating such a list and putting it in a format that will help all the TNT students to train thoroughly, to be able to track their progress and to maximize the effort..
The ideas that you guys came up with so far are very good.
I think we should approach this project in stages. Let's see.. say, you can work on Jumping and at the same time work on your dog's Navigational skills, like Jump Left and Jump Right.. or you can work on your Navigational skills without using any jumps at all, but using tunnels, weaves, etc.. or you can practice directionals without obstacles, which I do a few times each day, btw.. So, the areas of training overlap a lot.. and sometimes it's the focus of the session that determines whether we were working on Jumping or on Navigation, etc..
Another thing to consider, and it depends on each student's personal taste in learning, there shouldn't be too much data collected after each session, so you don't get bogged down in filling out your spreadsheet and then querying and analyzing all the data.. and then you'll have no time to train your dog, ;-)..
A list of obstacles and major skills with dates when each one was worked on is a great tool. Say, you look at your list and see that you haven't specifically worked on the Broad Jump for 2 months.. oops! Means you need to bring it out and work it. OK, you also see a date when you did work on the Broad Jump last time.. so.. you go to your training journal, look up that date and refresh yourself on what exactly happened last time you worked on the Broad Jump. Did you work on it because your dog has faulted it in the Steeplechase run that weekend, or was it a part of a sequence you had set up and there wasn't any specific work done, but the dog had no problems with the Broad Jump..
Cross-referencing in the ticket, guys, IMO..
Now, you are probably incredulous that I don't have a list.. dang.. knowing me, you'd expect me to have a full blown database set up, ggg..
The flagship of my own training is developing concepts, such as a concept of teamwork, or a concept of going forward, or a concept of jumping, etc.. So, in order to develop a concept, after introducing it to the dog, I put it in all kinds of contexts. Say, I want to teach the dog to stay at the start line.. First I teach the dog a concept of staying, and then put the dog on a stay before I throw his toy for him to fetch. Right away, here is a concept of: Stay is a part of the Game. Very important. Put a jump in front of the dog. Toss the toy, while you are standing next to the dog.. behind the dog.. to the side.. on a lead out. Can the doggie sit and stay in front of a tunnel instead of the jump? Weaves? AF?
Can you spot all the things I have worked on in the above example? It may take more time to list them then to train them, lol.. but we will try..
Olga.
Re: skills list / concepts
OK... then a list of 'concepts' for agility.
stay (as you have described)
go on (take what is in front of you) correctly without my intervention
recall (run as fast as you can to me!)
directional cues verbal/ positional
what other basic concepts??? elizabeth
Re: skills list / incredulous
Re: skills list / incredulous
Well, there is a flow chart of sorts: I give you fun exercises to solve, you post your videos, and post your questions/remarks, I look and see what needs to be done and make a suggestion, you work on it if you feel you can benefit from it.
In a while you get the flow.. if not the flow chart, ;-)..
Dog training is art not science, listen to the dog, he will tell you.
See, I didn't realize you didn't realize that it's beneficial to have your dog adopt a neutral attitude..
It's a mystery to me, but here in the States, it is for some reason accepted as perfectly normal to drag a freak of a dog to the start line on a GL or whatever contraption your favorite Agility organization allows, run him, catch him, take him to the crate and sit ringside discussing the science of dog behavior with other freak owners.
Folks are interested in how to teach their dog to weave WAY MORE then how to teach him to come, ;-(..Â
I teach Agility, you see, and I feel it is not my place to tell you guys how to rear and live with your dogs.. unless some incident comes to light, like Wisp not being comfortable in the presence of Rhonda Carter (of all people)..
Well, anyway, if you wish to have a list.. ehh.. flowchart of Life Skills for Agility Dogs, we can put one together too, but those skills should not be mixed up with FX's and 270's, lol..
Olga.
P.S.: a full blown dBase came into play because I used to program databases.. I am still a super nerd.. you know..
Re: skills list / incredulous
This discussion even if it goes no further has been very helpful in getting me to think about what I have and what I need. I had a series of things in mind to do when I took wisp out after work yesterday and we made good progress with all of them. I think I need to make a better structure for myself to keep on point so to speak. The TNT lessons are great for that and there is a lot of content to work though and go over. I think it was Chris that suggested that we go back over all the lessons and list the skills / concepts. I think it is a very good idea and perhaps I can build the skills / concepts from that.
I think it is probably much easier to teach a dog an agility skill than a life skill. I actually don't think I have ever considered 'working' at life skills for my dogs. .. Perhaps I should plan to bring Wisp and Pippen to see both you and the Dog Whisperer!! However I am the one that needs the *help* even if I get it through the dogs!
I think that working throught the lessons, being exposed to when and how you get our virtual classmates to break off an exercise, the focus on rewarding the dog has really improved my agility skills to the point where some lack of life skill becomes more apparent! I think finding the balance is hardest for me and an impartial outside view is incrediable instructive! With TNT, it is the next best thing to being there!!
re super nerd.... I am not quite there yet, but working with genome wide family analysis is forcing me to become more adept with $ awk - switches ......elizabeth
Re: skills list / incredulous
Ok Guys,
I am a firm belever of the K.I.S.S. method. (keep it simple stupid) If memory serves me this started with Olgas comment:
"Please make a list of all the skills in your notebook and put dates/notations when you have worked on each one of them and what the results are..cycle through them."
As a sales professional, record keeping and paperwork are not my forte. If I am not face to face with a client, I am not making money. Of course I need to do enough to stay organized and make the most productive use of my time.
Carries over to my dogs and our agility training. So I am thinking my list will look something like this:
Jumps
Contacts,
Weaves
Table
Motivation & Drive
Discriminations
Ten minutes of each session ( 5 minutes per dog) I will work on one or two of them.
For example, yesterday I did sends over 4 jumps for "go on" with Kody.Since the jumps were full height it covered jumps & motivation-drive.
Bailey did some more one jump work with lowered jumps,working on the push through. Goes under jumping with a note on push throughs???
Cheers,
Jean