#jump work

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AG175 Jumping Gymnastics - week 1 part 1

Maybe this will be the thing I can throw money at and finally improve Chandra’s jumping?? 😂 But yeah, I decided to sign up for this class since it’s only offered once a year and we’re always chasing those jumping skillz. The combo focus of jumping skills plus conditioning is what we have been trying to work on, and Chandra definitely needs both. Especially after another recent rest from injury. 😑😑😑

This is our first session on cavalettis and set point, at least for this particular class since we have done both before. In our next cavaletti session I will use food dishes at the end to get her focusing forward.

Set point starting at 16″, then 18″, then 20″. For the set point, they have us set the dogs closer to the facilitator than I usually do. I also started the spacing at 5.5′ for a few reps, then increased to 6′ to see if one was better than the other. I’m not sure those six inches made a huge difference but I think 6′ is slightly better for Chandra. She kept ticking the bar with the shorter spacing, maybe not quite enough room to get her legs lifted to clear the bar (and then her tail hit it with the larger spacing 🙄). It will also be interesting to see how much of that has a conditioning component. She definitely needs better rear-end strength!

[twobigears]

back on this bullshit again

[twobigears]

AG175 week 2 Baseline grid and baseline grid w/ height

These grids are similar to Susan Salo’s ladder grids, which we have done before. Main differences are four jumps instead of five, and a stride regulator at the beginning. I did a couple quick rounds on these to see which spacing is better for Chandra so we know what to work with. 

6′ looks better for Chandra, which isn’t surprising since that is the spacing we used successfully on the ladder grids. I’m not sure why I wanted to try 7′, maybe because 6′ still just looks so darn small for her and I thought she would “need” the extra space for the version with added height? Clearly not! She is still more balanced and smooth at 6′ in both versions of the grid, versus having to really stretch for it with early takeoffs at 7′.

[twobigears]

AG175 week 2 height grid 2

Even though we still have issues to work out on height grid 1, I wanted to go ahead and get a round in on height grid 2. Plus with grids it’s better to rotate around than to drill one to perfection. The experience with height grid 1 did help me start adjusting this one sooner, so Chandra had more relative success despite some other issues.

It sounds like increasing the spacing so she has a stride between jumps is the way to go. 15′ and 17′ spacing got us there, so that gives us a starting point for next time. I might also try increasing her distance to the stride regulator so she can get 1.5 strides before the first jump instead of that little 0.5 stride.

[twobigears]

AG175 week 3 serpentine grids

A little late getting started on these since we were gone for a few days, but that’s okay. Some time off is good, and it gives me a chance to see feedback for the gold students on these as well. I’m interested to see the adjustments for larger dogs in the final iterations as we get to full height. I’m guessing just more space if needed.

One awkward start on the second rep, but other than that pretty good in this first session. I think as we progress, this will be a good grid to teach Chandra to think a little more.

[twobigears]

AG175 week 2 height grid 1

Second attempt after learning that I misinterpreted the instructions the first time. I think I have a better understanding of what we’re looking for, and some of the adjustments to make, but not entirely.

On the first couple reps, Chandra awkwardly hops the stride regulator and jump #1, which indicates she needs more space there. When I move the sr back, she has better balance over #1-2. Still inconsistent about clearing or knocking #2 (and sliiightly ETO), which probably indicates the need for more conditioning/fitness. Which we already know! :)

The instructions for this grid say “3 jumps spaced equidistant”. Chandra can obviously put a stride in the first space, but knowing her, even with a balanced/centered arc over #2, she’ll just keeping bouncing to #3 with an early-takeoff. Given Chandra’s tendency towards early takeoff and launching herself, I’m not sure that is something she should be practicing on #3. So on our last rep I tried increasing the spacing between #2-3 to produce a stride (obviously not far enough this time). I’m not sure that is really an “acceptable” adjustment to make for this grid though given the equidistant specification, so hopefully I’ll get some clarity on that in the FB group.

We’ll probably try a short session on height grid #2 (which would be jumps at 20″/10″/20″) to get a baseline for that, then I’m guessing we need to hold off on these while we spend more time on conditioning.

[twobigears]

I did Susan Salo’s’ partial bend grid with Blizzard before changing it to the full bend grid for Chandra, and she was a little confused at first but once she got it she Got It and she was so proud of herself. She also seemed to really enjoy the short bounce line at the end.

Susan mentions in her book something about dogs really seeming to enjoy it when they figure out a grid. It’s hard to see that with Chandra because she enjoys everything, so it was really interesting and neat to see Blizzard’s attitude elevate from the beginning to the end of the session.

[twobigears]

More jump work with Chandra. Still quite early in our experiments with varying the jump heights (including some intentionally crooked bars lol) and mixing in higher bars, but I think it’s helping a bit so I’m optimistic that we’ll continue to see improvement! 😀

I’m trying really hard to be consistent about noticing when she touches the bar, whether it falls or not. Because to the dog there is no difference. They either touched the bar or didn’t. I’ve tried to be consistent about this in our training for a long time, but there are some times that Chandra touches the bar so lightly that a) I’m not sure she even feels it b) I can’t hear the tic over the goddamn crazy traffic noise. 

((Traffic has gotten so bad over the past few years and it’s a big reason why even if we could buy this house, I don’t think I want it anymore. 😣 I have the camera facing away from the highway so it doesn’t sound toooo bad, but...it’s bad.))

So in that regard we definitely have some inconsistency with me not marking some of the tics. Plus I feel bad about NRMing a tic if I’m not even sure she felt it and doesn’t know that she touched the bar. :/

At 0:33 the jump does rattle but it’s actually the tip of Chandra’s tail hitting the standard. She cleared the bar with her body. So, yay for video review. I don’t really care if her tail hits the jump as far as rewarding vs not rewarding goes. I don’t think dogs really have control over that so I’d rather focus on the rest of the body clearing the bar. Tail hits are usually a result of trying to correct for handling errors, so it’s my problem anyway. Focusing on jump issues are so hard between trying to watch the bar to make sure it’s clean but also continuing to handle so I’m not late or stopping to watch, which gives conflicting information and can also cause hits. 😵