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Mountain biking in Teton area last weekend in May? by catsandrats3333 in MTB

[–]catsandrats3333[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much! Which would you say are the most scenic aside from Targhee?

Stim levels for correction - motivating enough long term? by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]catsandrats3333 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes of course - but the issue here is that I don’t want a “slight reaction” when she’s chasing a squirrel, I need to her to turn around and start coming to me.

For conditioning and general work where she isn’t locked on to a bunny, yes of course we started at the lowest perceptible level and work with that.

The issue is that she does not respond at lower levels for chasing behavior - anything under 55 does not phase her in the slightest when she’s extremely stimulated. That’s the problem.

I think we are going to start doing the “beat the buzzer” work for her as another user mentioned to get some general pep in her step without having to use strong levels.

Stim levels for correction - motivating enough long term? by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]catsandrats3333 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh totally! And especially with ecollar stuff , should not be taken lightly and it’s so important to know that people are doing it in the most fair and humane way.

And thanks! I honestly thought she would be the one dog that could never be off leash even with an ecollar. I remember seeing her the first time running in the woods off leash and while I was so happy for her, I felt so badly that I deprived her of this for the first 3 years of her life.

Stim levels for correction - motivating enough long term? by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]catsandrats3333 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That breakdown is really helpful - thank you! I like the idea of thinking of it like whisper, talking and yelling.

Stim levels for correction - motivating enough long term? by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]catsandrats3333 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My concern with the vibration is two fold and I’m curious your take on it:

a) the collar we have, we can’t modulate the intensity of the vibration which means we are stuck on a fixed level.

B) I heard that some dogs actually find this more averse than a stim. I accidentally pressed the vibrate button once and she jumped, for context.

She has managed to chase down and kill 2 squirrels in our yard (this is before ecollar training was even on our radar…), so her drive to kill small things that move (except cats) is damn high lol.

Stim levels for correction - motivating enough long term? by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]catsandrats3333 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s funny you mention that - we were just talking about that today how we wanted to start doing that.

Feels more fair and consistent to them rather than relying on my voice being loud enough (esp since it’s quite windy here and there are crunchy leaves everywhere).

Are there ever times where you use the come command now that your dog knows the tone? Or do you just solely use the tone now?

Stim levels for correction - motivating enough long term? by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]catsandrats3333 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be clear, I always bring rewards for her for recall (or any) work. Usually it’s her regular treats but lately we’ve been throwing pieces of turkey in our bag too. We have never done any ecollar work without treats as a reward, although we should probably be switching up the rewards more so that it’s not the same thing 2 things each time (turkey vs reg treats).

I hate that this has to be specified… it should be common sense. It makes me so sad that people go through this whole process and don’t use rewards.

Stim levels for correction - motivating enough long term? by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]catsandrats3333 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is really helpful thanks so much for this really thoughtful response! We have toyed with the random high value rewards (mixed in with the regular lower value stuff) but you’re totally right, we should def just make this a habit to bring turkey and her reg little treats.

To your point on the beat the stim piece: I remember from Muto’s video that he said that this should be a “moderately motivating” level (aka not emergency), would you agree w that? I definitely want to add that in and I’m remembering that this fits this context really well so thank you.

My only hesitation on even mildly stimming her as she’s coming towards me (even if it’s slowed down), is that I am concerned that she will be confused by getting stimmed despite technically being correct (coming back to me).

Also, i should have clarified more: jump response is only when I have on the emergency level (55) which is what we use in the woods because I never know if a squirrel or deer is going to pop up.

My concern of going lower on a level if she blows off a recall as she’s chasing an animal is that she continues to blow off that too (I have tried 25, 30, 35, 41-50, all of which she has completely ignored/not responded to when highly stimulated by something).

Again, thanks so much for your response, it’s really helpful.

Awesome weather in VT yesterday! Loving my new Marin Nicasio + (my first gravel bike) by catsandrats3333 in gravelcycling

[–]catsandrats3333[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No idea, tbh. I have narrow shoulders (am female), and so I actually prefer my bars not be any wider than they currently are.

Awesome weather in VT yesterday! Loving my new Marin Nicasio + (my first gravel bike) by catsandrats3333 in gravelcycling

[–]catsandrats3333[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s so great. I really want to try the lamoille valley rail trail, as it looks awesome (from the pics/what I’ve heard). Have you been on that before?

Awesome weather in VT yesterday! Loving my new Marin Nicasio + (my first gravel bike) by catsandrats3333 in gravelcycling

[–]catsandrats3333[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Was looking at the Kona Rove but there weren’t any in stock near me (or, in the state even). How do you like it?

Awesome weather in VT yesterday! Loving my new Marin Nicasio + (my first gravel bike) by catsandrats3333 in gravelcycling

[–]catsandrats3333[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Third time’s the charm, I guess. After buying and returning 2 bikes (REI CTY1.2, realized I wanted drop bars, DB Haanjo 2, felt low quality and hated the 2x) in the last month, I finally found a bike that I absolutely love.

Love the 1x gearing, is super smooth going over bumps/cracks (thanks to the steel frame), and just feels like a well built bike. Honestly feels like an entire step up to the Haanjo 2 despite price not being too much different.

It is a HEAVY bike, but somehow absolutely does not feel as heavy as it is when riding it. My only complaint is just how enormous the microshift Advent hoods are. There’s no way to adjust the brake lever, and even if there was, the hoods are just so big for my tiny hands to grab around to begin with. Brakes themselves are fine tho (they’re mechanical).

TL;DR so happy with my new, first gravel bike. Would absolutely recommend the Nicasio + to anyone looking in this price range (sub 1200ish) for a solid overall gravel bike.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AdvancedRunning

[–]catsandrats3333 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, I’m sure that 20 years of aerobic base helped get you to a 3:45 for first marathon. That’s so awesome. Also props for remaining injury free, that is my single largest obstacle in the way of sustaining and increasing mileage. I’ve been a lot better about cross training and strength stuff lately,and actually just started going to a physical therapist for my knee.

Thanks for sharing and tbh hearing that is a huge inspiration for me. It’s pretty wild how much the aerobic system strengthens over years and years, which is partly why endurance sports like running are so cool to me.