Clean Run Magazine - March 2008 - 18

On Course with Ronda Carter By Elaine Coupé, photos by Karen & Ian Stewart Ronda Carter and her BC Blast had an incredible year in 2006: They won two gold medals as part of the USDAA World Team at the International Federation of Cynological Sports (IFCS) world competition in the Netherlands in May and four gold medals overall, including one for team. But they didn’t stop there. At the USDAA World Cynosport games in Phoenix, Arizona, in November 2006, Blast won the 22" Grand Prix and was on the winning DAM team. EC: You’ve been on the USDAA/IFCS World Team twice with two different dogs (Scout and Blast), and you’re consistently in the Grand Prix ﬁnals, Steeplechase ﬁnals, and DAM team ﬁnals.What do you look for when you choose a dog? RC: A sound mind, good structure, and healthy background. It’s that simple. EC: From that “simple” beginning, how do you consistently develop your pups into world-class athletes? anything else, but jumping really is such a murky thing. Do you punish a dog for a knocked bar? Some trainers would say no, but I say yes. And the dog has to learn to keep the bar up while going straight, keep the bar up while turning, keep the bar up and assess the next takeoff point if there are a couple jumps in a row, and so on. There is so much knowledge and body control they need in addition to the muscle memory. EC: What do you consider “punishment” for a knocked bar? RC: I stress relationship from the time they’re puppies. I believe foundation is the single most important part of a dog’s training. The foundation training will shape a dog’s career, so I put most of my emphasis there. Then as the dogs mature, I strive to be consistent in my handling. EC: How do you develop your relationship with your dogs? RC: When I say punish I mean stop forward motion, replace the bar, re-attempt the jump, and reward if the bar stays up. I am using negative punishment, which means removing something the dog wants (motion and more obstacles) to decrease the unwanted behavior (knocked bars). EC: When training jumping, do you start with a single jump, a jump chute, or what? RC: I want my dogs to be able to trust me and I [want to be able] to trust them. So as puppies, rather than agility training, I focus on games that develop trust, go for long walks with them, and just hang out with them so that we can be friends. EC: When do you actually start training agility with your dogs and what behavior do you start with? RC: I start with a single jump to make the dogs aware of the bar. I also use a compression lane to teach them to round out. A compression lane is ﬁve jumps evenly spaced and at a set height. For the average Border Collie, a compression lane would be ﬁve jumps spaced 5' apart. EC: What is the purpose of the jumps being evenly spaced? RC: When I start depends on the dog, but it can be anywhere from 8 to 12 months [of age]. And when I start, I always start with jumping. EC: Always? Why? RC: By evenly spacing the jumps you are teaching the dogs not only the muscle memory they need for jumping but also encouraging a rhythm. They need to feel this rhythm to learn to be effective and efﬁcient jumpers. EC: What is your favorite obstacle to train? RC: Yes, always, because there are more jumps than anything else on course! Also, because jumping is muscle memory and it takes a while to build a conﬁdent, good jumper. EC: What do you think is the most difﬁcult obstacle to train? RC: Again, jumping! There are more of them on course than 18 RC: Weave poles! It’s fun watching a dog ﬁgure it out. Weaving is a behavior that would never be offered spontaneously. As a trainer I enjoy watching the process and seeing a dog give fast and enthusiastic responses. Clean Run | March 08

Clean Run Magazine - March 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - March 2008