Clean Run - August 2012 - 3

Cover
THE MAGAZINE FOR DOG AGILITY ENTHUSIASTS AUGUST 12 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 08
PHOTOS © LYNNE BRUBAKER, CLEAN RUN, DIANE LEWIS PHOTOGRAPHY

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Control Unleashed Solutions and Answers: The Bark Stops Here If frustration or arousal barking is keeping you from being successful, taking a more “holistic” approach can help. There are a number of CU exercises that can help you create a quiet dog that is focused and ready to run. By Leslie McDevitt MLA, CPDT, CDBC

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Waiting for Your Turn in Agility Class In our eagerness to learn and practice handling skills in agility class, we sometimes forget the needs of our dogs in this highly arousing, and often stressful, environment. This can lead to potential problems for all but the most well-balanced dogs as well as dog-ondog conflicts. By Emma Francis

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Building Blocks: Weave Entries at Speed Novice dogs often have some difficulty loading and staying in the weave poles at speed. These exercises are relatively easy but are designed to allow your dog to be at speed as he approaches the weave poles and focus on weave pole accuracy. By Rachel Sanders

21 Footwork for Agility: Rear Crosses Every sport has some kind of footwork, agility included. Footwork for rear crosses is very important. Proper footwork for a rear cross will help prevent injuries and give you better acceleration to the next obstacle. By Karen Holik and Eric Bobkowski

Features
5 Editorializing: On Insanity If what we’re doing with our dog isn’t working, to eschew insanity we need to do things differently. Learn a different method. Use our resources. Plan ahead. Take advantage of all training opportunities. By Elaine Coupé 45 Awesome Paws Drills These drills will make certain that you and your dog both know how you will cue either side of a jump. They will also force you to make decisions about which way to approach a particular jump and which way to turn afterward. By Linda Mecklenburg 49 Training with the Stars: Karen Holik Karen Holik wants to share a secret: she would rather train with friends than go to an agility competition any day. So how does a pro with a full roster of classes and lessons, and a business to run, find time to train? Learn the answer to this question and others! By Sally Silverman 56 Challenges for Rising Stars Have you ever seen a 270° turn or a pinwheel where you only do the first and third jumps? Using “virtual obstacle focus” in situations such as these can help you direct your focus so the dog takes the correct obstacle. By Stuart Mah

28 Knowledge Equals Speed: Start-line Positioning & Lead-outs This month we look at several examples of start-line situations and the best way to help your dog not only understand which direction he is going in right from the start, but also enable him to keep the bars up. By Dawn Weaver 52 Seesaw Training: The Bang Game and the Pre-Bang Game If you’re having di culties with your dog’s seesaw performance, the Bang Game and the PreBang Game can help solve many common problems. By Jen Pinder 62 But He’s Perfect at Home One of the most common refrains in agility is, “But he is perfect at home!” As trainers we need to bridge the gap between the “sterile” environments of home turf and the constantly changing environments of new places so we produce behaviors that are repeatable and reliable in any environment. By Tracy Sklenar

10 The Information Highway of Agility Animals read and understand every subtle nuance of body language we present, but many handlers are totally unaware of what their bodies are doing once in motion. To maximize the effort of our dogs’ performances we need to be more mindful of what our body language is telling our dogs. By Susan Salo 12 Analyze This! Challenges from international courses are making their way into U.S. courses with increasing frequency. This month we look at a standard agility course designed for a UK Agility event in England. By Greg Derrett 36 Agility Mind Gym: The Competition Mindset—Creating Power and Flow Our best runs are usually runs where we feel reasonably relaxed and we aren’t thinking too much. Obsessing and overanalyzing can actually cause us to choke. Learning how to create a feeling of being in the moment, connected, and in flow will help us succeed more often. By Kathy Keats

Columns
6 7 8 Tip of the Month By Deborah Davidson Harpur Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility… By Brenna Fender Backyard Dogs By Mary Ellen Barry

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

Cover Dog
Keeshond by Dog Sport Photos, www.dogsportphotos.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.

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Clean Run - August 2012

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