Clean Run Magazine - April 2008 - 55

expected to do the same. I would never compete with a dog that I could not take into the ring off leash; and I expect full attention to line up, and of course for him to stay with me while the previous dog is running. I have always had these goals with all my dogs. I feel that if I cannot even get my dog into the ring off leash, how could I possibly get around the course with him successfully. This applies to the end of the course as well. Our dogs are taught to find their leashes, just like they are taught to go to their toy at the end of a drill. We are teaching Sweep to get his leash at the end of some of the jumping drills. We want him to tug and then stop momentarily to allow us to snap on his leash. After he does so he is invited to tug again. My life as an agility instructor is divided between teaching classes, seminars, private lessons, and writing. The majority of the private lessons I teach have to do with the handler’s lack of control of the dog, the toys, and the food. The lessons do not start that way, but that is how so many of the lessons end. While trying to address tight turns or off-courses, we are really talking about the dog driving back to you when called and not getting behind you. When addressing dogs that jump long, we always end up discussing circle work and the dog’s response to heel work, deceleration, and so on. Contacts, table, and start-line problems inevitably lead us to discussion of the dogs’ understanding of the stay as well as the release command. Dogs that need speed and motivation rarely have the toy drive or control that you try to build from the beginning of training. While I love my job security because it seems there is an endless supply of these kinds of dogs, I urge you to consider taking my advice and not starting to show your dog until you can get into the ring off leash and have a great stay as well. And that goes for small dogs, too. Put them on the ground! It is way too easy to pick up small dogs and carry them places rather than ask for all the control and groundwork we expect from our large dogs. learn best in private training sessions; there is no way to cover all the aspects of competitive handling in a group class unless the handler is already very experienced. Group classes take care of having a stimulating environment in which to train your dog that may be similar to the excitement your dog will see at a show, and they are the way to get your dog on equipment each week. A dog that is out of control though should not be worked in a group class where the dog may become overstimulated unless the handler has methods to regain the dog’s attention and focus and ways to reward self-control. Play, Control, Play Jim works on taking Sweep from aroused play sessions into quiet control drills. While in the middle of an exciting tug game, he gives the cue to sit or down or hand target. Sweep is rewarded with a treat or is released to play again after his response to the cue. Teaching your dog to be able to calmly stay in a position like sit or down, or to do heel work, then jump up with animation into a tug game is an important aspect of teaching your dog to be able to control his impulses. Equipment Update Sweep weaves! While the winter weather did not oblige Jim’s teaching Sweep to weave in a month’s time, after two months of training he did his first sets of closed poles this week, no wires and with obstacles before and after. He has a nice lowered slalom style in the poles, and seems to understand his entries and exits. Sweep is gaining confidence and speed on the full-size dogwalk, and Jim will continue to train with backchaining and speed games like jumping on the low dogwalk from the side. He is proofing Sweep’s nose touch and the wait for release by moving himself to different positions after Sweep targets, as well as throwing toys and cookies around while Sweep is performing his nose touches. 2 Group Class and Private Lessons The majority of Sweep’s training is done without the distractions of other dogs around. Now that Sweep can do jump drills Jim is letting Sweep run in some of the classes he teaches. Like a lot of high-drive Border Collies, Sweep can get excited watching other dogs run, and Jim has to work on keeping Sweep’s focus on him rather than on the other dogs between runs. I think handlers 1 If your dog runs around an obstacle either to the inside or outside DO NOT continue the circle and present the obstacles again. DO stop the dog and bring him in to you (or do a front cross into him), and then take the dog back to the beginning of the exercise. Skipping the first jump on a long lead-out can become a terrible habit for some dogs, herding and non-herding alike. If this happens, go back to doing simple two- and three-jump grid work at low heights. April 08 | Clean Run 55
Clean Run Magazine - April 2008

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