Clean Run - March 2018 - 10

opportunities to reward in a training session. Reward often-even if you're not rewarding the desired end behavior. Reward
effort to get the dog to continue giving effort. Don't worry about teaching the dog
to do things incorrectly, the focus should
be creating a partner that is engaged and
having fun. If the dog offers an off-course
jump while working on a sequence and
there's a break in the action-reward. It
doesn't matter if the dog does or doesn't
offer what was cued, it only matters that
the dog stays engaged. Build on what the
dog is offering and then adjust handling
or training to get desired results. When
the dog is rewarded for what he offers, he
is more willing to continue to try.

Here's an example. Suppose you have a
dog that is trained on 12 weaves and has
been competing at the highest level for
some time. But, during practice, he pulls
out two times at pole #10 while weaving
into a wall. To remove the pressure, reward those 10 poles, especially the second
time. I know, I know, "He didn't do all 12!"
Doesn't matter. If you do not reward the
effort, he might not try again. If you believe your dog does indeed know how to
do 12 poles, you need to assume that for
some reason he does not know how to do
the poles in this situation. Maybe the exit
is too close to the wall?
Before asking the dog to weave again, either move the poles slightly away from the
wall or open the last two poles an inch or
so to help him out. Then, of course, reward.
When we break things down into smaller
and more accessible successes, we build
confidence. I believe pressure increases
when we attempt to build on failures.
A dog that is rewarded for effort will have
a stronger behavior in the end, a happier
performance, and very little, or no, pres10

sure associated with the obstacle or the
handler. If the dog is continually asked
to do the 12 poles into the wall after two
failures (and no rewards) and the picture
isn't changed, the handler will most likely
keep getting 10 poles from the dog, maybe fewer. The dog will certainly feel the
pressure, and possibly frustration from
the handler, but will not have the tools
to change his behavior to meet expectations. A happy dog offering 10 poles that
is rewarded (and knows how to weave)
should quickly offer 12 when the picture
is changed a bit to help him out. Then, the
12 poles return (even close to the wall) as
the dog understands what is being asked.

Avoid Repetition
Training agility requires handlers to repeat
sequences and behaviors. But repetition,
especially without reward, can cause a
dog to feel pressure. Often, getting it right
once is enough. It's common to see handlers in training doing the same (already
correct) sequence repeatedly. Move on,
change the criteria, or adjust the picture.
For example, when working on weave entries with a dog that is successful with a
90-degree soft-sided entry, do not repeat the
same entry. Use a rear cross on the next rep
or try a 90-degree hard-sided entry. If he is
successful with that rep, change the picture
again. If he missed the entry, either stand
closer, remove your motion, or change the
angle just a tad to help make him successful. Then return to the missed entry after
seeing success with the altered entry. Here's
another example: in a jumping sequence
on which the dog is successful, change
the distances between jumps or move
on to another exercise-once is enough.
To remove pressure in training, our priority should not be a better line, a tight-

er turn, or perfection. Working on those
things can suck the joy, speed, and play
out of a training session. Tighter lines
will come from rewarding effort, not by
repetition. Faster times will come because we break things down and reward
often, building the dog's desire. Perfection, well, there is not a lot of room for
perfection when working on removing
pressure from training-adjust expectations and enjoy the process and growth
you see in the dog's understanding.

Acknowledge distRActions
Scents, sounds, strange objects, strange
people, other dogs, and even a favorite
agility obstacle can be a distraction to a
dog. Environmental distractions can be
difficult and frustrating because we have
no control over them. It takes time, patience, and practice to overcome environmental distractions. Your dog is often
asking questions about strange objects,
smells, and sounds. Don't ignore this.
If you can, take the time to answer your
dog's questions. Relieve pressure by acknowledging the distraction and then
allowing the dog to refocus his attention
on you. Help the dog out, "This is what's
making the weird sound" or "I see that
strange object; want to go sniff it or do
you want to move away from it?" can
be easy ways to answer important questions. Once the questions are satisfactorily answered, you can move on.

If, after answering your dog's questions,
he still chooses the distraction over the
requested behavior or sequence, you
know that he is not ready for what is being asked in the current situation-the
pressure is too high. Plan to sacrifice
some training time, ring time, class time,
or the training plan to build on focus,
play, and engagement. The obstacles will
Clean Run | March 18

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