Fizz and I went back to 6ft spacing on the jump bump grids. This was the first day I have not had Emilie to help. Thus, I was leaving Fizz in a sit, and then recalling her down the line. For several of the passes, I walked out, set up, shook the rope, then walked back and rewarded her for holding the sit, and then set up again for the recall. I saw no 'vulturing' in her sit, no anticipation. She held a very solid sit and I was extremely pleased with this. Our "Its Your Choice" work was really coming into play. :)
I use a ground bar to define the entry space to the lane. Something visual to say to Fizz "in this area, you must choose your take-off point." This is the first time I've done much back and forth down the lane with her (b/c of not having Emilie). On pass #5, you can see her make a HUGE jump on the final jump. I heard the landing before I realized what she'd done. That red/white bar, to define entry space, had suddenly become part of the lane in her estimation. So instead of jumping a 6ft arc, she added in the additional 5ft to the bar, and made an 11ft arc. Her take off was good, she shows maximum compression, and her head is down on take-off. However, she over-stretches in the air and lands ballistically, thus the thud I heard. Removed the bar, tried again........MUCH better!
Dogs are so incredibly visual, and I think too often we forget that and don't look at things from THEIR perspective. Jump #5 was a reminder of that today. Apparently there are people who correct their dogs for incorrect jumping. I am SO thankful I don't subscribe to that, she wasn't "WRONG," but rather trying to achieve what she saw: an elongated jump. GOOD girlie! :)
Tried Fizz on 7ft jump grids today, trying to get a feel for what is a good fit for her. We worked in two sessions, broken up by the camera battery dying. :)
The first session, she handled the distance pretty well. In the second session, she starts to tire, and her take-off place becomes variable between the jumps and her motion is not as fluid. After reviewing the video, we'll definitely go back to 6ft for now, until she builds the proper muscles for the impulsion. I may also check her at 5ft, just to see how that looks. Overall, still very happy with her work, and she had a blast! :)
And for anyone interested in following Vik's progress, here she is today. She's definitely showing improvement in form, getting her head down more and becoming more fluid in her strides. She's SOO happy to be working again!
Yesterday, I posted video of Fizz doing her first set of grid work, or for that matter, any formal jumping. Fizz stands around 21.5" (roughly....based on how she compares to Vikka in height. Vikka is measured at 22 3/8" on her agility card). I've had questions about the jump bumps, and "aren't they too low to really see true jumping style." Simple answer: no.
Here is footage of Vikka, also made yesterday. Vik will be 10 in August. She competed in agility for several years, earned her Open titles and ran in Excellent, though we never finished our Excellent titles. She was a 24" jumper. Vik never went through Susan Salo's jumping program, nor did we do much work with Linda Mecklenberg's jumping rounded over one jump (at full height). She did not have issues dropping bars, and at almost 10, is not showing ill effects of her days in agility. HOWEVER, you can see in this video footage that her style is inefficient. Interestingly, Vikka has excellent overall construction. She has near perfect balance of front/rear angles (per Chris Zink, DVM, PhD), her turn of stifle is excellent, her angulation front and back is not only matched, but excellent. She moves effortlessly, and almost always comes to a perfect show stack when she stands. I personally think her construction is better than Fizz's (and yes, Fizz is still in puppy stages, but overall, Vik is better built). And yet, Fizz has a far better jumping style, naturally, than Vik does.
In this video, you can see how incredibly high her head is carried in the first pass, almost painfully so. The landings are ballistic and very unkind to the body. In the 2nd and 3rd passes, she starts to lower her head, and round her jumps more. This CAN be learned, but takes a lot of time/repetition to overcome what is naturally in the dog's wiring. Height of the jump bumps is NOT the issue, Vikka was an excellent jumper at 24", with many blue ribbons to show for her work, she was ranked in the Rottweiler Top 10 in agility when she trialed. What you see here is simply inherent jumping style. And what was seen in Fizz's video yesterday was her inherent (LOVELY!) jumping style. :)
Fizz just turned 6 months, and I've done no jumping work with her yet at all. We have no plans for agility (it just doesn't fit in my life right now), so I've had no reason to start her on anything. However, recently, I've seen her make a few jumps that have really impressed me. Not because of their height or massive ability, but because of what I thought I was seeing in HOW she jumped. Most dogs pull from their front, rather than using rear impulsion. A front-loaded breed like the Rottweiler, especially so.
Today, I took Fizz out to test what I thought I was seeing, and after some 'jumping,' and some video analysis, there it was. A dog who is NOT on her forehand. At all. Nope! :) :) :) Jumping on the forehand means harsh ballistic landings. Bad on the frame of the dog, not what you want in a long term working dog. Dogs are equally able to pull from the front as they are able to push from the rear. However, most seem to naturally want to pull from the front. Dogs, like horses, can be schooled, and taught good solid jumping technique. They can be taught impulsion, collection, compression and extension. And while it can be taught, I'm very excited to see it naturally occurring in my girlie. :)
I use jump in quotations because there is no height to the grid that Fizz is working, nor will there be til she's closer to a year old. However, in that time, using low, 6" jump bumps, she will learn scope, stride, and task. Pay attention to what's ahead of you, so that you can properly work it. Figure out where your best take-off point is, be sure you're on the correct lead both front and rear, round your jump, no matter its height. The footwork, the reading, the thinking can all be taught low, and then brought up when age appropriate. We are following Susan Salo's teaching in doing all of this.
In looking at how a dog jumps, you want to see them with their head low and their back rounded. Head held high = on the forehand. It also leads to a stiff, hard, pastern on landing, rather than one that is relaxed and able to absorb shock. Efficient jumping comes from maximum compression. Just like a spring, what is compressed releases forward with great energy. A dog who is able to compress and release is far more efficient in jumping than a dog who must put in extra strides to cover the same line. Compression is seen in how close the hind feet are planted to where the front feet are. Maximum compression is when the hind feet land forward of the front. This photo is a still grab from the video. While its quality is poor, you can definitely see how compressed she is, and that her hind feet are landing well forward of her front. This is her VERY first step into the grid, on the first time. It's just naturally there. :)
Here is video of our work today: (this is 8min long)
Susan Salo has done amazing work in teaching horses to jump. The dog world is now blessed to have her talent and skill in coaching. Susan's work is in teaching the dog proper mechanics, including scope, and extension & collection of stride. I first learned of her methods in 2004 with Banja and Vikka at BARK camp. Very excited to have a green puppy to work with now....to learn correctly from the very beginning.
Puppies learn via stride regulators, also known as jump bumps. When Fizz is a little bit older, we'll progress to 4" PVC cut in half, but for now, I'm using pool noodles. They cut very easily with a serrated knife. One noodle gave us four puppy bumps. :) They are not set at any particular distance yet. I just wanted to see how her body awareness and proprioception are developing. Last night was our first attempt. I had the bumps too close together and she was stepping on them.
Today, James and I set this up again. He was my puppy holder for the first few runs. On the first pass, you see that she goes off to the side, yet she's still jumping as if going over them. On #2, she steps on every single bump, and on pass 3, she adjusts her striding and has a gorgeous, quiet, run. When a dog is jumping from their hind (collected), they are quiet as they go down the row.....even an adult bitch jumping full height (24 or 26") is silent on landing when jumping correctly. A dog pulling from their front in order to jump has a heavy landing, and often an "ooomph" over time. They are not silent as they go down the row. Was VERY happy with Fizz's stride adjustment and jumping style over the bumps.
Finally, a quick video of Fizz playing on the BOSU. She often climbs on it and hangs out, with out any impetus from me, no food in the area (to be a possible promise of reward). Of course I never have my camera when she does this........so I lured it a bit by putting a sheep tug on the BOSU. You can see how she just settles in with it, and even fights to stay on at one point when it tips. She is a VERY cool puppy!!!! :)
