I m p r o v e Yo u r Handling Skills at Home Backyard Dogs By Mary Ellen Barry Here are some exercises for basic handling to try out in your backyard. For an added challenge, don’t lead out in any of these exercises so that you can simulate how the sequences might run when encountered midcourse. Figure 2 Start with your dog on your left. Do a front cross between #4 and #5 as in Figure 2a or a rear cross at #6 as shown in Figure 2b. Figure 4 Start with your dog on your left and do a rear cross at the #4 tunnel as in Figure 4a. Go into the pocket slightly at #4. Use a false turn as your dog exits the tunnel to pull him off the off-course jump shown in green. As your dog exits the tunnel, he has to cross the plane of this jump, so you should use a false turn when you want him not to take the jump. Next show the dog jump #5 with your right arm then serpentine from jump #5 to the #7 weaves as in Figure 4b. Do a rear cross at the weave poles. Finish with your dog on your left. Figure 1 Run with your dog on your right through the #4 weave poles as shown in Figure 1a. Use a verbal Go On or Go Jump while your dog is inside the tunnel so that he carries out to jump #2 without curling back to you. Do a front cross between #4 and #5 as shown in Figure 1b. Figure 3 Start the exercise with your dog on your right and do a rear cross at jump #4. Keep your left arm out, and drive to the right wing of jump #6 (as you are facing the takeoff side) to indicate a 270 as shown in Figure 3a. Keep your dog on your left through the #10 tunnel. 1 1A 1B 3 4 3 2 4 2 4 Go On! 5 6 FC 1 5 1 7 T T 7 T 8 Clean Run | June 07