Clean Run - February 2014 - 45

R
Delivery does not
support my takeoff
side location

This reinforcement
delivery is
preferred

Obstacle Magnetism: Step 2
Reinforce in the middle and mix up
using a pull-through or front cross
* = Click or mark verbally
R = Reinforcment (toy or treat)

Preferred Reinforcement Delivery
Continue to observe location cues.
* = Click or mark verbally
R = Reinforcment (toy or treat)

If you use a toy, feel free to toss
it for your dog, if that's what he
loves. However, make sure that if
you throw or toss a toy, you do so
in such a way as to continue to reinforce the dog turning back after
the jump. I would not stand on the
takeoff side of a jump, as shown
in Figure 2, and toss a toy forward
because I may inadvertently teach
my dog to ignore my location on
the takeoff side of the jump.

Step 2
We're going to repeat the same exercise described in step 1, but this
time using multiple jumps. Again,
the goal is simply to build value for
and commitment to the obstacles,
jumps in particular. The setup is
shown in Figure 3. Obstacle spacing isn't specified because you will
need to determine this for yourself;
for example, it might be better to
start with a smaller jump square if
your dog is hesitant to commit and
then you can gradually make the
square larger. I would recommend
a minimum of 10' across the box.
For this part of the game:

Keep your session short, no
more than 10 jumps, then stop.

Always click for commitment
and reinforce in the middle
of the box. You can do a front
cross or a pull before delivering your reward, your choice-
mix it up!

As soon as your dog has received reinforcement, begin to
orient toward another jump in
the box, any jump, and repeat.

Be sure to vary whether your
dog is on your right or your left
side so your dog learns to "grab"
jumps ahead from both sides.

If your dog is really getting
good, and you don't have time
to even give your dog a reinforcement, make the box bigger (up to a maximum of 15')!
At this point, you're almost
ready for the next step, which
I'll go over in the next article.

If you
build it...
they can
run!

There are no rear crosses at
this point!

A Final Word
Building up your dog's obstacle
magnetism is useful even if you
don't ever plan to use rear crosses
on course. Increased commitment
to obstacles, jumps in particular,
will allow you to more effectively
send your dog to a jump while you
move away toward the next challenge on a course. Increased commitment to jumps will help your
dog's confidence and speed on
course improve as well.
Next month I'll go over how to effectively put lateral motion into
the obstacle magnetism game so
that you can work on really perfecting your rear crosses! D

Jump cup strips
Clip-on jump cups
PVC ttings: 3-way,
4-way, and 5-way
connectors
1" and 2" vinyl tape
1" and 11/4" PVC pipe
in red, yellow, blue,
violet, and white

www.cleanrun.com

Daisy Peel has won multiple national and regional championships and has represented the USA in international
competition more than 10 times with three different dogs. Educated as a high school chemistry teacher, Daisy
teaches classes and seminars in the USA and worldwide, in person and online. Visit her online classroom:
http://classroom.daisypeel.com.
February 14

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Clean Run - February 2014

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