Clean Run - May 2012 - 3

Cover
THE MAGAZINE FOR DOG AGILITY ENTHUSIASTS
PHOTOS © CLEAN RUN, DARLENE WOZ, KATHY MILLER

MAY 12

VOLUME 18

NUMBER 05

11
Embrace Your Dog’s “Inner Naughty” to Build Tug Drive All of our dogs have a bit of naughty in them; that is, they each have fun doing something self-reinforcing that we consider to be outside the bounds of polite pet behavior. You can use this inner naughty to take you and your dog to the next level in tugging. By Tracy Sklenar

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Review: Rubberizing Contacts The trend toward rubberizing contact obstacles is spreading across the country. “Old fashioned” paint-and-sand finished equipment is being replaced by obstacles covered in rubber granules or rubber matting. With several methods now available, how do you determine what’s the best way to rubberize your contacts? By Brenna Fender

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Centered Dog Agility: A Closer Look at Reeducating Mind and Body By using the Four Basic Principles of Centered Dog Agility and adopting these new ways of seeing; of breathing; of balancing; and of being centered and self aware, you can compete free of anxiety with a clear focus of intent and enjoy improved agility performances. By Kathy Miller

26 Teaching the Weave Poles Here’s a look at the pros and cons of di erent weave pole training methods as well as an in-depth description of how to train the poles using Lee’s take on the weave channel method. By Lee Windeatt 33 Formula for Success There is a series of steps that a successful person goes through to reach the goal she has set. This article addresses the actual steps, direct and to the point, you must take to increase your odds of being successful in agility or any other endeavor. By Kathy Keats

Features
5 Editorializing: Our Best Agility Moment One of the best agility moments of my life didn’t take place in the ring. It wasn’t a clean run. My dog dropped a bar. I gave late cues. But, it was one of the most satisfying agility moments ever. By Diane Pellowe 59 Agility Mind Gym: Focus and Distractions Focus is the ability to attend to relevant information and ignore the rest. It is one of the elements that is consistently found in top performers in any sport, and it is a skill you can learn. By Kathy Keats 63 Tips for Purchasing a Supplement We all want our dogs to live long, healthy, and happy lives. This is especially important for those who have dogs that work. Nowadays, there are so many choices and so many claims it’s tough to know what’s the best product to buy for your dog. By Dr. Deva Khalsa VMD 70 How to Become an Agility Judge So you want to be an agility judge! The process isn’t easy, but the contribution you make to the sport is well worth it. By Julia Kamysz Lane
73 The Agility Road Less Traveled: Competing with Shy Dogs If you have a shy dog, you may wonder if your dog can ever compete. Finding help can be a challenge because few resources are available, many agility instructors lack expertise with shy dogs, and most behavior experts have no agility experience. Eleven handlers of shy dogs share the lessons they learned. By Susan Klavon 78 Four Handling Tools for Obstacle Discrimination Whenever possible, obstacle discrimination challenges should be handled in a way that informs our dog of the correct next direction rather than constantly stalling our dogs by pulling them o obstacles. Here are four handling tools to help you accomplish that. By Dawn Weaver

18 Building Blocks: Building Value for Jumps and Teaching Sends This month’s exercises include drills for building the reinforcement value of jumps as well as for training lateral and forward sends. By Rachel Sanders 30 Power Paws Drills: New Fun Drills with Letter H Adding a tunnel and weaves to the lowercase letter H drill makes for some rather challenging weave entry and exit drills. By Nancy Gyes 39 Analyze This! Judge Thomas Ammitzbøll Challenges from international courses are making their way into U.S. courses with increasing frequency. This month we look at an agility course designed by Thomas Ammitzbøll. By Greg Derrett 53 What’s in Your Toolbox? Many times in classes we only have time to execute a sequence in one way. In reality, there is usually more than one way that sequence can be efficiently and effectively executed. To be the best competitor you can be, rather than fret about how to get through a sequence, you should have several different ways to do it in your toolbox. By Mary Ellen Barry

Columns
6 7 8 Tip of the Month By Jamie McKay Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility… By Brenna Fender Backyard Dogs By Sharon Freilich

23 From Hoof to Woof: What Riders Can Teach Handlers By Holly Newman

Cover Dog
Photo by Diane Lewis Photography, www.dianelewisphotography.com.

Clean Run (ISSN 1089-8506) is published monthly by Clean Run Productions, LLC. Principal o ce: 17 Industrial Dr., South Hadley, MA 01075. Periodicals postage paid at South Hadley, Massachusetts 01075-9902 and additional o ces. © Copyright 1995-2012 Bud Houston and Clean Run Productions, LLC. All world rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Clean Run, 17 Industrial Dr., South Hadley, MA 01075.

May 12 | Clean Run

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Clean Run - May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - May 2012