Clean Run Magazine - April 2008 - 73

By Nancy Gyes Number Four Threadle cues are also called false turns or reverse ﬂow pivots (RFP). The false turn refers to the fact that you are beginning to cue a front cross and then instead of completing the front cross you turn in a new direction. Reverse ﬂow pivots were created and named many years ago by my husband Jim Basic, possibly about the same time that false turns were gaining popularity in England. No matter the name, the game is the same. Turning toward your dog should always be a cue for your dog to begin turning toward you, and that part is what you want to reinforce many times. False turns trained without reinforcement will create a dog that anticipates the second part of the turn. Many handlers have been caught when using a false turn to draw the dog off a jump or wrong tunnel entrance, only to have the dog anticipate the new direction change and move with deliberation to the obstacle that we are trying to draw him away from. Dogs anticipate. Plan on it. If you follow one move with a different move and do not reinforce position on the ﬁrst move, the dog will begin to skip to the chase, so to speak, and the ﬁrst behavior will be weakened. Reward your dog often for coming all the way to you on false turns. And don’t forget the toy toss at the end of the course. Run through the last jump and toss the toy out in front of your dog, or leave it on the ﬁnish line before you start your drill. If your dog will not go to a toy, toss the food reward instead of stopping at the last jump and handing out the cookie while you and the dog are standing still. You get what you reinforce. If you do not reinforce forward motion you are not helping to teach your dog to drive across the ﬁnish line. Have fun with number four! This jump grid that resembles the number four is full of front-cross, threadle, and serpentine drills. You can replace many of the front crosses with threadles and rear crosses; getting into position for the threadle after a rear cross can be an interesting challenge. Focus on keeping your front crosses tight by thinking about how you will time your turn to the next jump. I usually try to time my front cross to begin just as my dog is taking the last stride before elevating for the jump. When working threadle drills I reward the dog during practice with toys or treats a huge percentage of the time after I cue the dog to come through the gap. On a threadle I stand still momentarily until I know the dog has taken the cue to pull through the jumps. I am fully rotated toward the dog as if I am beginning a front cross. D 1 2 1 3 1 3 2 FC 2 3 FC 4 FC 4 5 5 The number four is full of front-cross, threadle, and serpentine drills. Begin this drill with your dog by sending to #1 and cutting across the 180 (#1 to #2), and then doing a front cross before #3. Move into position for another front cross before #4. Repeat the drill with the same handling to #3, but this time do a serpentine to finish #4 to #5. April 08 | Clean Run 73

Clean Run Magazine - April 2008

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