Clean Run Magazine - February 2007 - 15

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stages of training when the channel is open. The young dog can be taught
to race through the channel and get started on his understanding of
finding entrances. I like to combine these two methods, training a young
dog to run through the poles and find entrances using the channel, then
when he is old enough to begin actual weaving, switch to work on the WAM
so that his weaving behavior is quickly solidified. If the dog has trouble
generalizing from slanted poles to straight poles, some follow-up training
on the weave pole channel with the poles slightly offset can sometimes be
just the trick to help at this last stage of training. My goals in
training are to teach the dog to weave fast, reliably, and independently.
The dog is trained to enter with the first pole on his left, to drive
through the poles as fast as he can, to treat the weave poles as one
obstacle, rather than a series of small obstacles individual poles , and
to focus on the job of weave pole performance rather than the handler from
the very beginning. Dogs are trained on sets of 12 poles and with a
motivator/target in front of them from the start. Handlers should refrain
from teaching their dogs to actually weave that is, flex the spine
repeatedly until the dog has matured and the growth plates have closed,
due to the risk of injury to the spine. I advise my students to wait until
their dog is a minimum of 12 to 14 months of age to start actual
weavemotion training. If the proper groundwork is laid, weave training
does not take long when performed as outlined here. Tug Toy as a Motivator
If a tug toy, you need to teach your dog to drive toward a toy held in your
hand, take hold of it, and tug on command. Once he’s doing this, start a
play session. Interrupt your play and restrain your dog by taking hold of
his collar or applying pressure to his chest, then drop the toy just in
front of him. Release the dog to the toy using your command to take hold
of the toy to start a game of tug. He should grab the toy immediately and
you should resume your tug game at once. may be able to transition to a
tug game over time. Once he’s eager to interact with and grab the food
container, restrain your dog by taking hold of his collar or applying
pressure to his chest, then drop the container just in front of him.
Release the dog to the container. He should grab the food container
immediately and you should open it and give him a treat. Repeat this cycle
adding very small increments of distance each time by moving your dog and
restraining him farther from the dropped food container until your dog is
driving ahead of you a few feet to grab the container while you run to
catch up and give him a treat. If your dog should try to take his
motivator and run, attach a leash or line to the motivator so that you can
get your foot on the leash before your dog gets away with the motivator.
Repeat this cycle adding very small increments of distance each time by
moving your dog and restraining him farther from the dropped toy until
your dog is driving ahead of you a few feet to grab his toy while you run
to catch up and resume the tug game. Taking the dog farther and farther
from the toy is important so that he doesn’t require the toy to be in
motion to be cued or motivated to go toward it. Also be sure to work with
the dog on both sides of your body while you’re teaching the dog to
drive to his motivator. What’s Next As you do this groundwork with your
dog, make sure he is comfortable with your handling him all over, holding
his collar, his chest, his loin, his back. You want your dog to be very
comfortable with being handled and physically maneuvered; he should not
consider this a break in the fun or an aversive. Once you’ve established
your motivator in the absence of equipment, and your dog is focused on his
motivator and going toward it fast and confidently straight out in front
of you, put this behavior together with some simple obstacle training. For
example, set your tire at its lowest setting, touching the ground. Take
your dog and motivator about 6' beyond the tire. As you move with the dog,
play tug or touch and treat depending on your motivator . Drop the
motivator in place and then run the dog around to the opposite side of the
tire. When he has refocused on the motivator, release the dog through the
tire. Follow behind and reward the dog with a game of tug or a treat from
the container. I like to use this training method on a number of simple
obstacles such as the tire, the tunnel, and backchaining a board on the
ground before introducing the weave pole channel. This exercise insures
the dog’s familiarity with the method and that the focus and drive
forward to the motivator are in place. See my article,
“Four-on-the-Floor Contacts” in CR December 2005. 15 Food as a
Motivator If your dog is far more interested in food than toys then you
will need to devise a way to get the food away from your body and still
control the dog’s access to the food. Using some sort of easy-open
container is a good way to control access. Velcro-sealed food pouches
especially designed for this are available, or you can use something as
simple as an empty plastic water bottle. First teach your dog to interact
with the object to earn the food reward. It can be as simple as touching
the pouch or plastic bottle to receive a click or verbal marker yes , then
a treat from the container. Work up to the dog grabbing the pouch or bottle
for the click and treat. Deliver the treat to the dog as quickly as
possible from the container; keep the open container in contact with the
dog’s mouth and have the dog facing away from you, not making eye
contact. Always emphasize that the treat is connected to the container,
not to you. Should your dog start to mouth or play with his food
container, all the better; you Groundwork for Puppies and Dogs New to
Training My first objective is to teach the new dog or the puppy to run as
fast as he can straight through the open channel of poles. He should simply
perceive the weave pole channel as another kind of fun tunnel. There is no
risk to the spine and the dog learns that the weaves are fun. He also
learns to do them fast, independently, and completely, and to find the
entrance from any angle before starting actual weavemotion training. To
accomplish this, you need to first identify what motivates your dog so you
can use it to teach him to go fast and straight ahead of you. Is it a tug
game? Is it roast chicken? February 07 | Clean Run Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid
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Clean Run Magazine - February 2007

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