Clean Run - August 2017 - 3

Cover
THE MAGAZINE FOR DOG AGILITY ENTHUSIASTS

PHOTOS © LESLEY MATTUCHIO,
CAROL BOLDUC, CLEAN RUN

25
Agility Classes: Are We Meeting
the Needs of All Types of Students?
Part 2
It's a challenge to design classes that
properly serve different types of agility students. But the challenges don't
end when the handlers move up into
higher level classes. By Brenna Fender

AUGUST 17

VOLUME 23

35
The Construction Zone: Affordable,
Portable, Storable Ring Fencing
At one-third the cost of accordionstyle PVC ring gates, this fencing
design is more durable, easier to
repair, stores more compactly, and is
higher for green dogs that are starting
out. By Carol Bolduc

NUMBER 08

Vestibular Disease in the Agility Dog
Few things can be as alarming as a
sudden onset of vertigo in your canine
athlete. Within minutes dogs can go
from tackling the agility course to
quite literally being unable to stand
or orient themselves. By Ryan M.
Gallagher DVM, DACVIM

15 Doesn't Variable Reinforcement
Create a Stronger Behavior?
Even when done correctly, the
possible value of a variable
reinforcement schedule can be
demolished. Because in the real
world, thinning a reinforcement
schedule does not have the same
effects that it has in the lab.
By Eileen Anderson
19 As the World Turns: The Three
C's-Commitment
Commitment means the dog
has looked at the obstacle and is
beginning to move toward it. At
this point, he should not break
commitment and should allow
the handler to cue what is next
on course. By Mary Ellen Barry

Features
5

Editorializing: A Different Kind of
Success Story or Why I Continue to Make a
Fool of Myself and Couldn't Be Happier About It.
By Sally Treat

37 Training Freedom: Here We Go Again!
A look at how record keeping can help you make
the most of your training time as well as an
update on training progress. By Jo Sermon

Got Focus? Setting Expectations and
Winning Your Dog's Attention
When training your dog, believe it or not,
engagement comes first. If your dog is focused on
the world around him, you have lost the training
battle before you have even started.
By Meagan Karnes

42 Canine Rehab Certification Meanings
DVM, DPT, PT, CCRP, CCFT-what do these
initials stand for? And who is allowed to do what
to our dogs? By Kaitlyn Arnsdorf SPT

10 Team Small Dog Agility Humility: Tipping
the Balance, the Teeter Terror
Teeter terror is endemic in little dogs. My spouting of this statistic is a made-up alternative fact,
but I will randomly guesstimate that 25% of
little dogs encounter teeter terror at one time or
another-even little dogs that are lovingly trained
and conditioned to adore the teeter.
By Laura Hartwick
13 Distance Handling In Action
It's time to take the distance skills you've been
working on and apply then on course. This
month we'll look at distance handling possibilities
on an AKC Excellent/Masters Standard course.
By Kristy Netzer
30 Sense of Self: The Bad Session
Our successes in agility-our good training sessions and good runs-come as a result of the
cumulative effects of everything we've done up to
that point. So without the bad training sessions we
wouldn't have achieved our successes. By Tori Self

48 How I Helped My Dog Love the Sound
of Velcro
The ripping sound of Velcro can be aversive.
Here's a plan to make that Velcro sound have
positive associations. By Eileen Anderson
51 Power Paws Drills: Mash-Up
Work on serpentine and threadle lines in this
month's drills. By Nancy Gyes
66 What Should You Be Training?
Your dog's emotional state is of utmost importance when training and trialing. If your dog is in
the wrong emotional state, he will never show the
training that he has. By Loretta Mueller

32 Training Verbals for Distance
Work, Part 4: Backside Verbal
Backsides have become increasingly popular in agility courses so
it's important to teach a backside
directional cue as part of your
verbals training. By Stacy Winkler
58 Practically Training:
Don't Cross Me Drill
The drill is all about, and only
about, teaching your dog not to
make side change choices on his
own accord. The lesson is important because if our dog ends up
on the wrong side of us while
we're handling a course, it is super
hard-if not impossible-to save
the day. By Sandy Rogers

Columns
4

Themes Like a Good Idea By David Bozak

Tip of the Month By Kristine Mayer

For Your Information... By Brenna Fender

28 My Favorite Jumping Exercise
By Loretta Mueller
56 Backyard Dogs By Dudley Shumate

Cover Dog
MACH Olive Hawkins MXB MJS OF
T2B2 CGC, a.k.a. Olive, a 7-year-old
All-American adopted from a shelter
in Montana by Craig and Stefanie
Hawkins of Kentucky. Olive is
handled by Stefanie. Photo by
Pix 'n Pages Photography

Clean Run (ISSN 1089-8506) is published monthly by Clean Run Productions, LLC. Principal office: 17 Industrial Dr., South Hadley, MA 01075. Periodicals postage paid at South Hadley,
Massachusetts 01075-9902 and additional offices. © Copyright 1995-2017 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.

August 17 | Clean Run

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - August 2017