Clean Run - February 2013 - 23

Last month I covered how to teach turns on the flat using the triple plunger setup. This month we will explore how horizontal arc work with the plungers
can be incorporated into full height jumping. My goal is to create a dog that works smart and hard, and knows how to read the turn, position his body
accordingly, complete the turn with a bend, and exit the turn with balance, power, and acceleration. You should be able to achieve this without having
to shape the dog’s turn with your position. It is important to avoid shaping turns with our body when teaching these skills because you won’t always
be able to be in position to shape your dog’s approach. First teach your dog to execute horizontal arc skills independently, then add line shaping
with your body later to get the best results for each situation.

Head-Turning Turns
© CAROL LAWRENCE

• Part 2

By Jenni Shelegy, photos by Lauren Bond, except where noted

Although turning around plungers or jumps may seem like a
simple thing to do, when you look at the physics of an object
moving on an arc, and the physiology of our dog, there are a
lot of variables we leave our dog to account for when we ask
him to turn.

Physics of the Perfect Turn

So, how does a turn work?
First let’s define two
terms: contact force (a.k.a.
normal force) and centripetal force. Contact force
is the force present when
Quasar is working the physics of a
an object (your dog’s
turn. He is tight, low, and leaning
into the center point.
feet) comes in contact
with another object (the
ground). Centripetal force is a force that keeps a body moving with a uniform speed along a circular path. When a dog
executes a turn, he has to exert contact force, which occurs
February 13

| Clean Run

In order to get the tightest and fastest turn, the line the dog travels has to be smooth so that his approach speed can be managed
and carried through the turn. By using the triple plunger work
to teach our dogs how to turn properly, we teach them how to
carry their momentum into the turn and through the turn, while
staying balanced, which
allows them to blast out of
the turn with power.

Physiology of the
Perfect Turn

Now, for a bit of turn physics. The perfect turn has two constraints: the minimum distance of travel, and not losing any
speed on the path of travel. There is an entry spot into every
turn that will allow the perfect turn for your dog to occur. This is
dependent on the length and width of the dog as well as his flexibility, conditioning, and extent of training. There is also an optimum path of travel that an object can take around a center point,
which allows for the quickest execution of the turn. The path
is dictated by the physical
capabilities of the dog, his
speed, and the amount of
training he has had.

between the dog’s feet and the ground, and is directed outward
from the center point of the circle. This effort allows the dog
to maintain a circular path of travel and not “exhaust out” on
a tangent. It also allows the dog to engage in centripetal acceleration and move with speed through the turn. To help this
process along, the dog also assumes an angle of lean. By leaning as he turns, gravity and centripetal force are directed from
the dog’s center of mass to the contact point with the ground,
so that the dog can keep a low, balanced body position.

When we talk about
great turns, we have to
remember that the degree
of turn we get is directly
proportional to the bend
The dog’s entire body is supporting
our dogs are physically
the bend, from the tip of his nose to
the tip of his tail.
able to produce. A dog that
approaches and executes a
turn with a straight back is a dog that isn’t bending to the best
of his ability. If you’ve ever taken an animal anatomy lab then
you know why.
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Clean Run - February 2013

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