Clean Run Magazine - September 2008 - 59

These photos were shot eight months after the previous photos were taken. You can see how nicely Kitty's weaves have developed. Bringing Out the Fine China: Adding Skills If you can get to this point with your Pigs Fly dog, you probably have everything you need to qualify in any agility venue at any level. You still have a lot of work ahead of you as far as getting your dog to generalize the weaving behavior to different contexts and proofing the behavior, but that is not really a weaving skills issue. Following are some weaving skills for you to consider. Remember how hard it was to maintain accuracy in typing class when the teacher pushed you for speed? Many people of my generation (40 something) never learned to type quickly with accuracy. I swear it’s because of the trauma of sitting in class with the timer ticking, knowing we were making mistakes as the teacher pushed us. Yet young people today type quickly and accurately, mostly without typing lessons, because of the desire of self-expression through email and text messaging, rather than externally imposed pressure for speed. Give your dog a reason to want to do the weaves and he will eventually figure out how to do them faster. handler and dog, but unfortunately the team’s enthusiasm is often not matched by the skill to handle this newfound speed. You may see your dog start to miss poles, especially those deadly last few. If this happens, it is crucial to work around the problem in a way that preserves enthusiasm, yet builds the skills necessary to handle the speed. If your dog is missing poles due to exuberance, try this exercise. Run a few sets of weaves and take note of where your dog is missing poles. Don’t stop or worry about it if your dog misses some—you are just gathering data, not training. Once you know where your dog is likely to miss poles, click just before that point. A click will cause the dog to slow down, regroup, and stay in the poles. You may be tempted to try and click your dog for staying in the “problem poles,” but what you have to realize is that these poles are really not the problem. The dog’s trouble is that he does not know how to check himself before those poles so that It’s Not All about the Speed I believe that pushing for speed with a Pigs Fly dog reaches a point of diminishing returns very quickly. It can backfire and cause the dog to go slower or shut down due to stress from making mistakes. What you are aiming for is a steady rhythm through the poles with the dog’s head down, hugging the poles as tightly as possible. Speed is secondary. If you can stick to your program and allow your dog to learn to handle his body without pushing him, he will speed up on his own as he is able to, because it is fun and he will want to go faster. Stay Where You Can Handle It Once your dog figures out how to weave, he is going to realize that it is fun to bounce or stride back and forth between the poles. He will start picking up some speed and really weaving through the poles. This is an exciting time for both September 08 | Clean Run 59

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Clean Run Magazine - September 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - September 2008