Clean Run - January 2015 - 56

Gradually we bring the dog closer to the
sound and/or make the banging louder.
We never move on more quickly than
our dogs can cope with, always making
sure that the dog is comfortable with the
noise level before progressing. With dogs
that are sound sensitive in a variety of
situations, we might need to repeat this
activity in a number of different locations
with a number of different sounds.

This dog has been progressing through the sound
conditioning work and is now at a level where he
can tug very close to the banging board; this is not
where you start conditioning with a dog!

Conﬁdence on
Moving Surfaces

Train your dog to put all four feet in a bowl.

Once our pups are happy to walk on
pretty much any surface, then we begin
to work with moving surfaces-there is
still no seesaw in sight! Some examples
of "moving experiences" we might give
our pups include getting on rocking
chairs, upside-down trash can lids, sofa
cushions, balance discs, and exercise
balls. Only when they have experienced
a number of these moving objects do
we begin using a wobble board, since
we do not want to attach any fear to
any piece of more formal-looking
equipment. Once again, our preferred
method of introducing these experiences to our puppies is through classical conditioning and free play in a safe,
but interesting environment filled with
moving toys.

Leg weaving is a great foundation skill that
can also be used for warm-ups at a trial.

We introduce dogs to a variety of moving surfaces
before we introduce a wobble board.

Handstands can be done against a wall or a plank.

If attending an agility trial with your
youngster, you can use the seesaw bang
in the ring to predict feeding in the
same way. We take every opportunity to
familiarize our pups with this noise before we begin to teach the seesaw.

Fitness and
Whole Body Awareness

Great tricks for teaching these skills
include backing up, walking up stairs
backwards, handstands, putting all feet
in a bowl, leg weaving, and sit up and
beg. This is not an exhaustive list but it's
a good guide as to the kinds of activities
that will help you toward your final goal.
We also use our daily walks to complement the foundation work we are doing.
Fun activities such as walking and turning on fallen logs and running through
trees help us progress toward our final
goals in an enjoyable and stress-free way.
We also love knowing that these fun
activities can be enjoyed with our dogs
without it even feeling like training!
56

Fitness, athleticism, balance, and coordination are essential for any dog to be
able to perform the confident and independent seesaw we have envisioned. So,
besides daily walks and off-leash running
for general fitness, working on tricks designed specifically to help in these areas
is also part of our foundation.
Walking and turning on logs while enjoying a walk is a
stress-free way to work on seesaw foundation skills.

Plank Work

This is really an extension of our work
with different surfaces. First we shape
our puppies to enjoy walking along a
12' plank that's flat on the ground. Once
they are very happy with this, we encourage them to run along the plank by
throwing a toy or food at the end. We
also work on encouraging safe entries
onto the plank by creating a clear entry
and exit point for the plank.

Conﬁdence on a Variety of
Different Surfaces

In the same way that some dogs are unhappy about hearing loud noises, others
may not be confident about walking on
different surfaces. We try to ensure that
all our puppies are used to walking on
anything from dirt, grass, and concrete
to wooden planks, bubble wrap, tarps,
plastic-you name it, if we can find it,
we walk on it!

By placing the broad jump boards as shown, we
create an entry and exit point for our plank.
Clean Run | January 15

Clean Run - January 2015

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