Backyard Dogs By Sharon Freilich This month I have designed drills that give you the opportunity to work on sending your dog to the back side of a jump. While this maneuver has been a very popular challenge on European courses it was only showing up in international courses in the U.S. Now it is not uncommon for a USDAA or AKC course to have this challenge at the top levels. It’s fun once you and your dog get the hang of it. Break it down and work on the isolated skill if it’s new to you and then put it into the drill. Have fun and keep your eye on the goal! 6 5 5 5 7 4 2 3 8 4 3 1 6 2 7 2 3 6 4 1 9 2 1 1 3 Figure 1: Lead out to close to #2, send to the takeoff side, and do a front cross. The dog is on your left for #3 and #4; get in position to support the takeoff side of #5. Finish up with #6 on your left. Figure 2: Lead out to #2 with the dog on your left, wrap the dog around the right (from takeoff side) stanchion. As your dog commits to #2, do a front cross and start moving to #3. Support the #3 and #4 jumps while you move to #5. You will probably need a threadle cue to bring the dog to the takeoff side of #5. Finish up with the dog on your right. Figure 3: Lead out to the takeoff side of #2. Support #3 and do a front cross between #3 and #4. Do another front cross on the takeoff side of #5. Support the 270 and do a front cross between #6 and #7. Send the dog to the takeoff side of #7 on your right. Wrap the dog around the left stanchion with a post turn. Keep the dog on your right for #8 and #9. It’s fun once you get the hang of sending your dog to the back side of a jump. Break it down and work on the isolated skill if it’s new to you and then put it into the drill. Have fun and keep your eye on the goal! 8 Clean Run | May 12