Clean Run - April 2018 - 41

Distance Jump Training
for any Dog, Part 4
By Stacy Winkler, photo by Frank Barnhart

Welcome to the fourth installment
of my distance jump training series.
This isn't a standalone article so if
you haven't already done the work
in the first three articles, please get
your hands on those articles and
begin with part one so that you can
work through the progression!
Keep in mind that everything I have
taught you thus far should be taught
to extremes if your dog is faster than
you are. Working to extremes is one
of the keys for creating super strong
understanding for behavior, and for
creating behaviors that you will have
confidence in when you show. For
example, if you can confidently lead
out 60ft. or more away from a line
of jumps in practice, rather than being content with a 20ft. lead-out, then
when you need a 25ft lead-out at a
trial, you'll be thinking, "We got this!"
So never be afraid to create and work
through failure, and don't be cautious
about pushing your boundaries and
your skills.

Drill 10: Finishing Distance
Lead-out Training
Going back to what we began in
"Drill 3: Foundation for Distance
April 18 | Clean Run

Lead-outs" in the February article,
we are now going to fade our toy
aid, teach our start-line routine, and
complete our dog's understanding of
how to look for his line. Although we
are training our lead-outs, this work
also teaches the dog to find his line
on course when he's driving off of a
contact or the table.
You are ready for this drill if you
have done all the prep work and
have an established a lead-out
routine with a toy lure from a great
distance. Your routine consists of
leading out, stopping, raising your
inside arm (which the dog has now
learned is a precursor to the toy being thrown and therefore a precursor
for him to look for his line), tossing
your toy laterally from your position
and straight in front of your dog, and
releasing the dog to the toy when he
focuses on it.
Always remember to keep this training fun! One of the biggest points of
stress for agility dogs is their start
line, as there is often a ton of failure.
Make sure you frequently return to
your dog from your lead-out position
and reward him. Yes, this can be a
pain in the butt, but it will pay off in

spades so don't be stingy or lazy.
Get you tush back to your dog and
reward, reward, reward. You can
use toy or treat rewards, just make
sure to keep your criteria clear.
Throughout all the drills in this article you should work both sides
equally. If your dog is better on one
side then the other, start with the
easy side and switch to the more
difficult side. Most dogs will be more
comfortable on one side vs. the other just as we are, but if you create
confidence on both sides you never
have to give what side you are on a
second thought.
Fading the Aid
Begin your session with a quick rehash of your foundation work from
February.
We have been working with jump
wings, but now we will transition this
to a jump. You may work this drill
with the jump bars on the ground or
at height, depending on your dog's
stage of training.
First, we prime the pump:
1. Place your dog in a sit-stay behind the jump and lead out about
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - April 2018
