Clean Run - April 2018 - 29

What about the Timing and
the Handler's Position?
For dogs to give a proper response to a
cue, the handler has to time it correctly
and be in the right place. You cannot
be behind your dog running hard (in
essence chasing him) while trying to
pull with your shoulders and expect
him to turn. If you think you have
achieved this in the past, I bet you
were also giving a verbal cue or slowing down (lack of motion or decel),
and it was one of those cues that your
dog responded to. Many dogs will not
"hear" a verbal cue in this scenario because they are "listening" to the physical motion cue instead.
Lack of motion plays its part in the pull
cue. If you are standing still, you will
have the highest success rate on getting a tight pull, like on a lead-out. In
sequence and course work, anytime
you can be way ahead and stopped
before the pull cue starts you will have
an easier time getting a tighter turn.
Working hard to get that far ahead of
the dog often takes careful planning.
If you can't get ahead of your dog and
are running next to him or behind him,
you need to give him a warning that a
pull cue is coming. If I need a very tight
turn from the dog, I must plan to work
harder and give the cue earlier, especially if I am running. This is the perfect
time for a verbal wrap command. I use
a repetitive command that I deliver as
the dog is approaching the jump. It is
given in a flat voice inflection. "Dig, dig,
dig" and "wrap, wrap, wrap" are popular
cues used at my training school. We will
explore verbal turn cues further in a
future article.
When you work on your timing of the
cue think about making a turn while
driving a car:
* How fast are you going determines
how much and when you need to slow
down before the actual turn starts.
* How tight is the turn: 90 degrees? 180
degrees? 270 degrees? 360 degrees?
Here the handler is in an excellent position tucked in behind
the wing. She rotates as the dog jumps and pats her leg to
encourage the dog to come tightly around the wing to her
side. Notice that her arm is down throughout the pull.
April 18 | Clean Run

You would not expect to change speed
by the same amount within the same
distance for different turns when driving your car. The same principles apply

to your dog. You will have to cue your
dog to collect his stride, or slow down,
before you execute the pull cue. Just
as you would have to hit the brakes in
your car before you turn the wheel to
make a tight turn.

How Far Behind the Dog
Can You Be?
You need to experiment with how far
behind the dog you can be and still
get a reliable response. Dogs have
fantastic peripheral vision and I know
dogs that can be cued from behind:
these dogs are more handler-focused
than obstacle-focused. The dog has
to be paying attention to the handler
to pick up a cue and if more of his attention is on the obstacle in front of
him he will miss the handler's cue. The
trouble is the factors regarding the
level of the dog's focus on the handler
versus his focus on the obstacle can
vary for many reasons.
Asking dogs not to miss physical cues
when you are behind them is a tricky
business, and I know that some dogs
cannot do it. Brink taught me that as
well. I have students tell me all the
time that their dog "is blowing them
off" when it is clear that they have simply fallen too far behind the dog for
the dog to pick up the cue. When you
are behind the dog you should rely on
your verbal commands. Your lack of
motion cue might be noticed by your
dog, but you also need to know how
close you must be in order for the dog
to pick up the lack of motion cue.

Teaching the Pull
Groundwork
The groundwork for the pull cue is
critical. It is fun to do with puppies, so
no need to wait to train it. It is simply
walking, then jogging, then running,
then sprinting while doing every size
turn possible. Do 90s, 180s, 270s and
360s in all sizes. Reward when the dog
is trying hard to stay close to your leg.
Do not spin around so fast that it is
impossible for the dog to keep up, but
do challenge him, tease him, and make
a fun game out of it. Remember to turn
with your feet, not your shoulders. Your
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - April 2018