Clean Run Magazine - April 2007 - 63

COURTESY OF ALLISON BRYANT 2 3 4 give you some extra room if you feel that your dog is distracted by them. Having a judge handle a dog can be stressful for some shy dogs. From the dog’s perspective, the judge is a stranger that suddenly focuses his total attention on your dog and wants to put something that looks like a stick on your dog’s back. Some dogs find this very disconcerting and don’t want to have anything to do with it. As part of preparing your dog for competition in trials, try to make it a habit to have a stranger approach your dog and run her hand down your dog’s back. (Don’t forget the cookie!) This exercise should get your dog more comfortable with strangers. Additionally, it will also help reduce any anxiety if an overexuberant leash runner comes to pick up your leash before you have started your run. A very smart owner asked me to play tug with her dog before I measured him. It only took about 15 seconds, but it convinced the dog I was friendly and made the measuring process go quickly. Don’t be afraid to ask the judge to handle your dog in a certain way. If the dog likes tug or a scratch behind the ears, let the judge know. The judge has dogs too and understands that some dogs are shy at first. Judges appreciate any tips on how to ease the measuring process and make it a good experience for your dog. When a dog won’t stand calmly for measuring (for whatever reason) it can cause the measurement to be higher than it should be. When the handler has to force the dog to stand, she often uses her hands to “prop” the dog in place. When the handler has to prop the dog up, she might lift the dog by placing a hand beneath his belly, chest, or neck. Figures 2 and 3 show a dog that is close to the 18" cutoff for the 16" height class in ASCA and AKC. A fixed height wicket (18") is used to determine if he is under the cutoff height. As you can see in the pictures, when the dog is propped up, he is standing taller under the wicket. Also notice that the dog is not standing square because he is resisting the owner. When the owner holds the dog up with her hand under the chest, it raises the dog’s withers (even though the head is lower). When the owner puts her hand under his chin and neck to prop him up, it raises his whole front end. In both pictures where the dog is not standing properly and the owner is propping him up, he is very close to the cutoff and might even be too tall. In Figure 4 where the dog is standing calmly and the handler is barely touching his chin (just enough to keep him from walking away), the dog is standing relaxed and is under the wicket. The dog is actually 17.5" tall. Because he is so close to the 18" cut-off height for the 16" jump height, the owner has made a special effort to train him to stand for measuring. At 17.5" there is a big difference between jumping 20" and 16"! Teaching a Stand for Measurement and Wicket Tolerance Teaching a dog to stand for measuring is relatively easy. It’s similar to teaching a sit-stay. I typically use a clicker and some treats to reward the dog for standing and not moving his feet. Once the dog will do a stand-stay for about 20 seconds reliably, then I start teaching the dog to allow me to place his feet. I move the dog’s front or back paws into place and say Stay. If the dog doesn’t move the newly placed foot, I say Good and click/treat. Dogs figure this out pretty quick. Once my dog will allow me to place him into position, I teach him to accept the wicket on his back. I highly recommend making a little wicket out of 1/2" PVC. You need three straight sections and two 90° elbow joints. (For explicit directions on how to build a wicket, see this month’s “Construction Zone.”) It doesn’t have to be fancy. At first let the dog sniff the wicket and give him a little treat. Then hold the wicket directly in front of his nose (not over the withers yet) and position the dog into a correct stand. © CLEAN RUN April 07 | Clean Run 63
Clean Run Magazine - April 2007

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