Clean Run Magazine - July 2007 - 13

to get a lead-out. It is necessary, especially with a very fast dog like Cider who will take course management into her own paws, to lead out and provide direction. We worked both in obedience and agility classes on sitting and staying. Mostly I rewarded her only with food. Cider sits: food. Cider sits and I walk away. If she is still sitting, I return and give her more food. While time consuming, the farther I can walk away and return with treats to a sitting dog, the better. Fortunately Cider is highly food motivated. During practice sessions at home Cider has a perfect sitstay—almost all the time. The next step at home is proofing the stay. After leading out for a couple jumps, I will make strange gestures with my hands, pretend to trip, and even start running the course. I will also toss a couple toys around. Cider typically ignores the toys because they do not dispense food. Feeding my other dog, Rox, while Cider is at the start line is probably the most difficult test. Having successfully passed this test we move on to the next level. Proofing for Perfection Private lessons are an excellent way to begin the transition to trial-level energy. First having packed the car, I drive to a new location where there is agility equipment and someone who will act both as judge and distraction. I try all the same routines here that I employed at home. As with most training techniques, we start over: a couple steps out to begin with, and then walk back and reward. Having gained confidence in these routines at home, we progress rapidly during these lessons. Attending group lessons adds the excitement of other dogs running the course, just like at a trial. Finally, a show-n-go helped us get ready for agility trials. In all the previous scenarios I was in training mode. I was not nervous. The final log on the start-line fire is the nervous energy I bring into the ring at a trial. For us to truly practice a start-line stay, I have to be nervous. So I treat a show-n-go like a trial. I walk the course, I memorize the course, and I run it like a trial. If I want to work on something again, I buy another round and practice another start-line stay. There is no substitute for actual nervous energy. At a trial I may think I can walk and talk like I am training-mode calm, but the only one being fooled is me. I am nervous and there is no way to hide it from Cider. Consequently, I must train like I want to trial so that I trial like I train. So we have trained this start line to the most reliable level possible—pretty good—or practicelevel energy. Our Version of Perfection At an agility trial, the results are less perfect than in practice. I walk onto the course with my left hand outstretched and two fingers out like a peace sign—it’s just my thing. When I turn around Cider will either be sitting or standing. Sometimes she stands as I take my first step away. Sometimes her rear end elevates slowly as the excitement in her brain overwhelms the muscles in her back legs. Only after looking at our videotape do I learn how quick she was to stand. Cider may hop, skip, or jump up, but if she does not cross the start line there is no penalty. This is not an excuse to be relaxed in training; it is just reality. Cider is excited about this agility run. I am not yelling her name or clapping my hands to get her attention. I am not worried about her timidly walking around the first jump. She just flat out loves this and I do not choose to trade enthusiasm for a perfect sit-stay. I know many handlers who would walk back to the start line and remove their dog from the ring for failing to sit perfectly still. I understand the desire to make a point, but I prefer to share Cider’s excitement. As long as I can grab the desired real estate, whether she is still sitting or has elevated into a stand, I smile and gladly utter our release, “It’s party time.” D Cider is Bill’s first agility dog. His first AKC agility competition was in Savannah, Georgia, in November 2003. That weekend they earned three blue ribbons in four runs. They would have earned the fourth ribbon if he had been a seasoned, competent handler. The theme of human error holding down the Q-rate has followed them closely since. In the four years since their first agility trial, he has improved significantly as a handler, but hesitates to conjure the notion of being competent, let alone consistent. Cider has humored and humbled him along the way and still found room to bless him with Novice, Open, and Excellent titles. July 07 | Clean Run 13

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Clean Run Magazine - July 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - July 2007