Clean Run - October 2013 - 62

© TERI AND JACKIE PHOTOGRAPHY/DOUG DUKANE

OUT SPOT OUT!

Teaching

Obstacle
Discrimination
By Lorrie Reynolds

Discriminating between two obstacles in close proximity to each other (discrimination) is one of the ﬁve
essential skills for successfully working at a distance from your dog (see “Out Spot Out!” in CR March 2013).
Almost all agility courses are designed with at least one discrimination challenge. The most common challenges include contact/tunnel discriminations, discriminations between two ends of the same tunnel, and in
some venues, discriminations between two parallel tunnels.

OBSTacLe
DiScriMinaTiOn cueS
Training a dog to move closer or farther
away is based on patterns of behavior
that occur during everyday living with
62

dogs. If you turn away from your dog and
toward the door to let him out, he automatically moves closer to you so that he
can get to the door. If you step toward
the dog, he automatically moves away so
that he doesn’t get stepped on. These
basic behaviors can carry over to agility
and be trained as “natural” cues, or cues
that make sense to the dog based on his
reactions to your motion and body language that occur during normal activities.
Indicating the “Inside” Obstacle
When we train foundation behaviors,
the “natural” cues are reinforced. A dog
that is learning to heel sees the handler’s
side or back with her arm down at her
side and her shoulders facing forward.
Because the dog already understands
that picture, it is easy to transition those
same cues and use them to teach the
dog to perform the obstacle closer to
the handler. The combination of cues

that indicate the “inside” or closer obstacle include the handler maintaining a
path parallel to the obstacle, facing forward with shoulders forward or turned
slightly away from the dog’s path, and
the handler’s arm down at her side, as
shown in Figure 1. A verbal cue (the
dog’s name, Here, In, or a similar word) is
added to the motion and body position
cues. The combination of cues indicates
to the dog that he should move toward
the handler and draws him in to put him
on the path to the closer obstacle.
1

© BRYSE TAYLOR

Discrimination does not require the
dog to understand the verbal cue for a
specific obstacle. It requires a system of
cues to communicate whether the dog
should take the obstacle that is closest
to the handler or the one that is farther
away. The cues are frequently called “relational cues” because rather than cueing a concrete action like a jump or contact performance, they cue the dog to
move in relation to the position of the
handler.The system of cues includes motion, body language, arm/hand position,
and verbal cues, as discussed in “Out
Spot Out!” in CR February 2013. Once
trained, the cues are effective for any set
of obstacles, from any distance.

Body language and position to indicate
the closer or inside obstacle.
Clean Run

|

October 13

Clean Run - October 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - October 2013

Clean Run - October 2013
Contents
Editorializing: The Next Generation
Tip of the Month
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility…
Backyard Dogs
Understanding Run-outs and Refusals
The 10-Minute Trainer
Power Paws Skills
What is Drive?
Knowledge Equals Speed! Motivation Through Shaping
Awesome Paws Drills
Making the Most of the Dog You Have
The Judge’s Debriefing
Training with the Stars: Ashley Deacon
Picture Perfect
The Best Stretches for Weekend Warriors
Class Challenges for Rising Stars: Time Warp
Out Spot Out! Teaching Obstacle Discrimination
Clean Run - October 2013 - Clean Run - October 2013
Clean Run - October 2013 - 2
Clean Run - October 2013 - Contents
Clean Run - October 2013 - 4
Clean Run - October 2013 - Editorializing: The Next Generation
Clean Run - October 2013 - Tip of the Month
Clean Run - October 2013 - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility…
Clean Run - October 2013 - Backyard Dogs
Clean Run - October 2013 - 9
Clean Run - October 2013 - Understanding Run-outs and Refusals
Clean Run - October 2013 - 11
Clean Run - October 2013 - 12
Clean Run - October 2013 - 13
Clean Run - October 2013 - 14
Clean Run - October 2013 - 15
Clean Run - October 2013 - 16
Clean Run - October 2013 - 17
Clean Run - October 2013 - The 10-Minute Trainer
Clean Run - October 2013 - 19
Clean Run - October 2013 - 20
Clean Run - October 2013 - 21
Clean Run - October 2013 - 22
Clean Run - October 2013 - Power Paws Skills
Clean Run - October 2013 - 24
Clean Run - October 2013 - 25
Clean Run - October 2013 - 26
Clean Run - October 2013 - What is Drive?
Clean Run - October 2013 - 28
Clean Run - October 2013 - 29
Clean Run - October 2013 - 30
Clean Run - October 2013 - 31
Clean Run - October 2013 - Knowledge Equals Speed! Motivation Through Shaping
Clean Run - October 2013 - 33
Clean Run - October 2013 - 34
Clean Run - October 2013 - 35
Clean Run - October 2013 - 36
Clean Run - October 2013 - 37
Clean Run - October 2013 - Awesome Paws Drills
Clean Run - October 2013 - 39
Clean Run - October 2013 - 40
Clean Run - October 2013 - Making the Most of the Dog You Have
Clean Run - October 2013 - 42
Clean Run - October 2013 - 43
Clean Run - October 2013 - 44
Clean Run - October 2013 - The Judge’s Debriefing
Clean Run - October 2013 - 46
Clean Run - October 2013 - Training with the Stars: Ashley Deacon
Clean Run - October 2013 - 48
Clean Run - October 2013 - 49
Clean Run - October 2013 - 50
Clean Run - October 2013 - Picture Perfect
Clean Run - October 2013 - 52
Clean Run - October 2013 - 53
Clean Run - October 2013 - 54
Clean Run - October 2013 - The Best Stretches for Weekend Warriors
Clean Run - October 2013 - 56
Clean Run - October 2013 - 57
Clean Run - October 2013 - 58
Clean Run - October 2013 - Class Challenges for Rising Stars: Time Warp
Clean Run - October 2013 - 60
Clean Run - October 2013 - 61
Clean Run - October 2013 - Out Spot Out! Teaching Obstacle Discrimination
Clean Run - October 2013 - 63
Clean Run - October 2013 - 64
Clean Run - October 2013 - 65
Clean Run - October 2013 - 66
Clean Run - October 2013 - 67
Clean Run - October 2013 - 68
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