Clean Run Magazine - July 2009 - 33

Handling Your Dog in Awesome Style, Part 15 By Linda Mecklenburg © JT PAWPRINTS More Specialized Handling Situations This article continues the discussion from last month about specialized handling situations. My goal is to discuss how to handle these situations while continuing to maintain consistency in my system. Complete descriptions and examples of every possible scenario for each are beyond the scope of these articles. Layering refers to situations where there is an obstacle that is not to be taken between my dog and me. When done in appropriate situations, layering can be useful. It is important for me to use my knowledge of motion to decide when it is appropriate to layer and when it is not, and how to layer while continuing to maintain consistency. When presented with a seemingly appropriate situation, I carefully consider whether or not to layer. I don’t choose to layer merely to save myself running distance unless there is a compelling strategic reason to do so downstream on the course. Remember that convergence requires my dog to be willing to come off his path to the obstacle closest to me when my motion is naturally cueing him to go forward. I don’t require my dog 12 B 3 Layering to always take the obstacle closest to me if my motion supports the farthest obstacle. However, convergence is a trained skill that I prefer to preserve by choosing not to layer unless it is necessary. Each individual team should decide which skill (layering or convergence) is most important for them to preserve, depending on how they work together and the type of course typically encountered. Being able to have my dog converge on my line of motion is a skill I need more often than being able to layer. So I opt to find ways to avoid layering, and in most cases I can do so with creative use of motion. If I do choose to layer, I use my knowledge of motion and the six basic cues to minimize the extent to which my dog is even aware of the layered obstacle. To cue convergence, I must be ahead of my dog, ideally with the obstacle between us. I use my dog’s name, direct eye contact, and an inside arm behind me to cue the obstacle. I may find it necessary to briefly decelerate and rotate my shoulders toward my dog, still using an inside arm signal in most cases. To cue my dog to layer, I use a verbal obstacle command, forward motion, my shoulders facing forward, an extended inside arm, and indirect eye contact. If the layered obstacle and the one I am sending to are unlike obstacles, I will use the verbal obstacle command as soon as I feel my dog can see it in an attempt to get him mentally committed to it before he realizes there is another obstacle between us. See Figures 12 through 14. B 3 2 2 A A: It is possible to layer jump A in this sequence. However, doing so will present my dog with two like obstacles (jumps A and #3), as well as jump B. To preserve my dog’s convergence skills, I would choose not to layer, or I would try to creatively use motion to minimize the degree to which my dog sees jump A as an option. B: If I choose not to layer, I move through the gap ahead of my dog (blue) so that as he approaches #2, I am moving laterally toward #3 (red), not toward jump B. A 4 1 1 4 A B July 09 | Clean Run 33

Clean Run Magazine - July 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - July 2009