Clean Run - April 2014 - 36

The handler rotates into the dog, as if
starting a front cross, as the dog is on
approach. She faces her shoulders toward the dog's takeoff point. When the
dog begins to lift his feet for the jump,
or even just before, the handler moves in
the opposite direction. The handler's
motion and collection cues have cued
the dog to jump tightly. As the handler
begins to move away, she should look
over her opposite shoulder. In effect,
the handler is now doing a blind cross.
By the time the dog comes around the
wing, the handler should be in motion
and have eye contact with the dog over
the new side. Ideally the side change is
complete as the dog is landing.
Note: In North America, this type of turn
is often referred to as a Ketschker although
there are also some people who refer to a
Ketschker as any type of turn in which
the dog goes behind the handler's back.

The cues are as follows:

* Motion: Deceleration and/or no motion. The handler should stop forward motion at least one stride before
the dog reaches the jump.
* Shoulders: For most dogs the handler's shoulders should be partially
rotated into the dog and should be facing his takeoff point. Some dogs will
need more or less shoulder rotation.
* Location: The handler should be
very close to the jump and tucked inside the wing if it is a winged jump.
* Eye contact: Use direct eye contact for dogs that need more collection cues or indirect eye contact
for dogs that are short striding or
less motivated. So for some dogs
you are looking directly at their
face, and for others you are looking down toward their takeoff point.

* Verbal: A verbal is not necessary, but
it is fine to use either the dog's name
or a jump cue depending on the dog.
* Hand signal: The OneMind Dogs
methodology uses an inside arm for
the Jaakko turn; however, I believe
the arm/hand cue is really a matter
of personal preference. I tend to use
both hands as if I am "passing" the
dog from my inside to my outside
hand, but any combination of inside
and/or outside hand works as long
as you are using your hand cues well.
Lowered hands and arms will grab
the dog's attention more and will result in more collection.
When performing a Jaakko turn, the side
change should happen by the time the
dog lands, or at the latest, by the time the
dog's head is coming around the wing. In
Figure 1, the side change has happened
before the dog even lands.

As the dog is landing in Figure 2, you can see he knows to come around the wing toward the tunnel based on the handler's cues.
The dog does not even look at the off-course jump.
2

A Jaakko turn is a specific cue combination in which the handler is very close to the jump and tucked inside the wing
if it's a winged jump. The dog should jump with collection and wrap the wing on landing. Because this technique cues a lot of
collection, it might not be appropriate for very short-striding or lesser motivated dogs.
36

Clean Run | April 14

Clean Run - April 2014

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