Clean Run - January 2018 - 22

Driving from Behind on a Serpentine

Handling the serpentine the way I have described so far
is assuming that you can be ahead of your dog before he
approaches jump #2 of the serp. I work hard to be able
to do distance work so that I can be ahead in strategic
places, like serpentines. However, I want to be prepared
for as many on-course scenarios as possible so I also
teach my dogs to "read" a classic serpentine configuration with me driving from behind. I use backchaining to
train this as shown in Figure 10.

T
2

Tips:
* Before you start this training, you need to have already trained a basic "Go On" command to drive your
dog down a simple row of jumps.

* Place a toy approximately 12 feet past the last jump,
on the landing side, as shown in the diagram. Restrain
your dog with jump #3 between you with the dog
and the toy. Get three correct repetitions and then
move to step 2. Continue in this manner until you
have moved all the way back to jump #1. I do this in
five steps, but take as many steps as your dog needs.
* Stealing the toy may happen; don't panic, the sun
will come up tomorrow. A few steals is not something
I get concerned about. If my dog keeps running
around the jump to steal the toy, then I need to get
smarter about the placement of the toy, placement of
the dog, the angle of the jump or all three!
* Be patient, don't scold the dog. Angle the jumps to
make it easier if you need to. Placing the jumps on an
angle and then slowly moving them into a straight
line can help, as you see in Figure 11. This is also can
be used when training serp handling from ahead.

Backchaining the Serp
This handler is backchaining using five steps. She will get
three correct repetitions on each step (starting with step #1)
and then try the next step. If your dog needs more steps, then
proceed more slowly. You can use this backchaining method
with the jumps straight as shown, or with the jumps angled as
shown in Figure 11.

Okay, time to get your serp mojo going! D

Sandy Rogers has been teaching obedience and agility since 1991, and
founded ACE Dog Sports in San Francisco, California in 1999. Her dogs have
competed in the USDAA and AKC national championship finals multiple
times in four jump heights. Sandy and Jack Russell Terrier Quill competed
on Team USA at the World Agility Open in 2011-2013, winning individual
gold and silver in 2012 and bronze in 2013. Quill won the 2013 USDAA Grand
Prix Finals, and placed second at the 2012 and 2014 AKC Nationals. Sandy
has two DVDs available: One Jump Two Jump and Feet First. To contact
Sandy, email sandyrogers@acedogsports.com.

Angling the Jumps
You can angle the jumps to make serp training easier, whether
you are working on handling from ahead of the dog or behind.
It is more steps, but if your dog is struggling this can be a
beautiful solution. Usually three stages of angling will be
enough for most dogs as shown here, but you can go slower
(adding more steps by reducing the amount of the change in
the angle each time) if your dog needs you to. The next and
last step would be a straight row, a classic serp configuration.

Clean Run | January 18

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - January 2018