Clean Run - February 2018 - 19

Training Freedom:

HERE I go agaIn!
By Jo Sermon, photos courtesy of author

Shady sorted out his legs this month!
Overnight it seemed that he could
manage his rear foot targeting, his
stride adjusted and he grew into himself. His odd spooky phase faded although he still doesn't like odd noises
in the dark. He has muscled up nicely;
when you run your hand down his back
you can feel the muscles he's built, clear
and well defined. I've had to go back to
encouraging him to carry a toy when
we're out walking as he became a little
too enthusiastic when playing with
Darcey and Dexi again. It works well
and they play endless games of chase.
This month Shady's Kennel Club registration arrived. I'd really like to address
grateful thanks to the UK's Kennel Club;
they are one of a kind in as much as
their mission statement encompasses
all dogs, not just the breed registered
or "pure-bred" ones. If you have a rescue or an unregistered working dog
like Shady, you simply pay £15 and put
them on the activity register. There is
no requirement to neuter; no restrictions are placed on them. Shady is registered as a Bearded Collie and both his
sire and dam are recorded.
The UK's Kennel Club Charitable Trust
supports various welfare organizations and provides grants to support dog charities such as Dogs for the
Disabled and Canine Partners to help
February 18 | Clean Run

train dogs to assist both adults and
children. The trust has also helped fund
many research projects into inherited
diseases in dogs and has created the
Kennel Club Genetics Centre. People
often blame kennel clubs for all sorts
of things, without really understanding
exactly how much they contribute.

Collection
Several people have asked me what
collection is and I think it is a valid
question. If you have any questions
that you'd like me to address, please
do get in touch, either via Facebook
(search KISS agility training) or email
jo@kissagility.com, or tag me in any of
the Clean Run forums.
Back to collection, I first learned about
collection in the horse world. There it
is at the top of the training levels, as it
takes well-developed muscles to support it. A horse is said to be collected
when he shifts his center of gravity towards his back legs, freeing the
forehand and shortening his stride, as
his hind legs come underneath him.
His entire frame will lift and is said to
be "uphill." You can't have collection
without impulsion and that impulsion
comes from the hind legs. A horse that
is pulling himself along with his front
legs is clearly on his forehand with his

center of gravity forward. As the horse
collects, the effect is similar to coiling
a spring, enabling power and that allimportant impulsion. A young immature horse will not be able to support
true collection; the strength and understanding are built slowly over years
rather than months.
In dogs, collection can be harder to
see, but the basics are the same. The
dog will shorten his stride, shifting his
weight back and bringing his back legs
underneath him in preparation for a
turn, for takeoff, or for a weave entry.
As jumps are lowered, less collection
is needed as many dogs can successfully jump from their forehands, giving
a long flat trajectory across the jumps.
Look at the difference between the
national hunt horses, galloping across
jumps, and the puissance horses for a
comparison. When you see dogs running out around their turns, it is safe to
assume that they have their weight on
their forehand and therefore can't successfully turn tightly. To enable a tight
turn a dog needs to be collected, with
his back legs brought underneath him;
both the turn and the power are driven
from the dog's back legs.
In a previous article I shared pictures
of both Shady and Dexi collecting into
the heelwork position (see CR September 2017), their backs raised as their
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - February 2018