Clean Run - February 2020 - 54

Sometimes, You Just Gotta Cheat

By Mike Padgett

A bit of agility trivia: No matter how
fast a handler may be, dogs will
nearly always be faster. While handling at a distance is a great skill to
have, handling closer tends to be
more consistent to the dog, and (statistically speaking) produces more
reliable results. So, that leaves us
with a bit of a dilemma. If our dogs
can outrun us, how do we stay close
to, or get in front of them? Playing
fair and matching our dogs' stride for
stride just won't work.
*	 Option	1:	Run	Faster-While
good, in theory, we're all already
running just about as fast as we
can. Sure, training might make
us just a bit faster, but still nowhere close to where we need to
be to keep up with our dogs.
*	 Option	2:	Convince	the	dog	to	
run	slower-Not even good in
theory. Forget I even mentioned
this one.
*	 Option	3:	Cheat-If you can't
outrun your dog, cheating might
be your best option. Cheating,
like any good skill, takes practice. While some may be naturally gifted, most of us need to work
to improve our cheating skills.
Successful cheating in agility is a
two-step process:
1. Create the opportunity
2. Take full advantage of the
opportunity
54

Create	the	Opportunity	
A good setup for cheating doesn't
just happen; it takes a little planning. As you might expect, it is best
to cheat when no one is looking, so
the key to creating the opportunity
is getting our dog focused on something other than us. Luckily, an agility course makes this easy, giving
us that opportunity at nearly every
obstacle. Any time you can send
your dog to an obstacle, or trust
that he will remain engaged in
the performance of an obstacle,
you have just created an awesome
opportunity.

Take	Advantage	of	the		
Opportunity	
Now that you have created the opportunity to cheat, you need to take
advantage. This is your best chance
to gain some ground on your dog,
and maybe even get ahead a bit.
While the dog is focusing on the obstacle at hand, this is your chance
to move ahead on the course
quickly.
Cheating	101	
Tunnels are often the easiest obstacle to gain a dog's focus and
commitment, so they are a perfect
place to practice cheating to get
ahead of your dog. Figure 1 shows
a simple exercise to get started.
The process starts by creating the
opportunity. As early as possible,

send the dog to the tunnel. With a
bit of practice, you will know when
your dog is truly committed to that
tunnel-the point where he will continue to, and through, the tunnel no
matter what you do. Once the dog
is at his commitment point, it is time
for step two: take advantage of the
opportunity. We now need to turn
immediately and move downstream
on the course quickly.
While this sounds so simple and
straightforward, the most common
failure in cheating is failing to take
full advantage of the opportunity we
have created. Admit it. We have all
stood watching a cute little fury butt
disappear into a tunnel when we
could have easily been moving on
to get ourselves in place for the next
sequence.
While this is a simple sequence, it
is one that requires a little effort to
manage the push to the backside
of jump #4. If the handler runs with
the dog (no cheating, watching the
furry butt), jump #4 becomes very
difficult. Figure 2 shows snapshots
(black then green then blue then
red) of the position of the handler
and the dog as they execute the
sequence. The handler at the last
position (red) may find it difficult
to successfully get the dog to the
backside of jump #4.
Now, let's re-run that sequence, as
shown in Figure 3, with just a little
Clean Run | February 20



Clean Run - February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - February 2020

Contents
Clean Run - February 2020 - Cover1
Clean Run - February 2020 - Cover2
Clean Run - February 2020 - Contents
Clean Run - February 2020 - 4
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