Clean Run - April 2017 - 23

I'm too old to handle each dog differently now, so I need to make a decision.
Do I invest all the training it would take
to teach Ty to accept me being in front
of him? Today's courses with their endless "round the back" of jumps don't
lend themselves to being behind your
dog. At the same time, my left knee is
damaged beyond repair and will need
replacing at some point, so I'm never
going to be able to run like the wind.
Turning on that knee is hard and I avoid
it where possible so a front-cross-reliant
type of handling isn't possible. The European style of handling where you run
in front with a fist held for the dog to follow also isn't a sensible goal for me; I'm
never going to be able to beat my dog
to every turn unless I teach him to wait
for me. I also think that the level of commitment needed for a dog to drive past
me when I'm facing him might be too
much to ask from Darcey (Whippet)-
although she's a much more amenable
dog than Chianna was, she's still a sight
hound. She's also quite shy and quiet,
it's going to take some conditioning
to bring out the drivey girl that chases
her ball and plays chase with Ty into
the agility setting. Asking her to go past
me whilst I'm facing her will be asking
for problems. Shade is already showing
signs of being a strong working dog, but
I've never had any problems putting collection on a verbal cue, so I don't think
facing him will be necessary.
To help me with the decision-making I
booked a private lesson with Lee Gibson. Besides being one of the top handlers in the UK, more importantly, Lee
is one of the few I would trust with my
dog. I've watched him for many years
and he is unfailingly kind and gentle
with dogs. I've also never heard him
call a dog "naughty" or "stupid," which
are labels I find intensely irritating.
Dogs don't ask to be trained for agility
so adding emotive labels to a training
situation not only doesn't help, it shifts
responsibility onto the dog, rather than
placing it squarely on the shoulders of
the handler where it belongs. Ty stresses easily and when he does his answer
is always to go faster, do it again faster,
faster! I'm going to ask Lee to handle
Ty from in front to see if Ty can adapt.
If he can then I will put the training in
to teach him to accept me in front. If
April 17 | Clean Run

Tyzer session with Lee
showed that Ty can adapt to
working with a handler ahead,
so I'll start the foundation
training for this.

Settling on a mat is a useful
skill to take out and about
because it gives the pup clear
information as to our
expectations.

not I'll have to rethink. I'm planning on
starting the three youngsters in agility,
each radically different in size shape
and instinct, but this time I'm going to
see if I can find a way of handling that
will suit all three.

looking after. He drove forward until
he came to a choice, at which point he
stopped and waited for her. It was very
sweet and he did teach her to become
an able agility handler, they went on to
win many junior finals together. I wonder if I can teach Dexi to check in?

The lesson with Lee went well; he really is a sympathetic handler. Ty was
over excited to begin with, as was expected, but in the second half of the
lesson he settled down and began
to work. He's much calmer with other
people and he adapted well to Lee
and his clear, consistent handling. It
was noticeable that as Lee got perhaps
two jumps ahead, Ty kicked up a gear,
speed becoming a priority, rather than
thought. Lee adapted instantly on the
next attempts, staying closer to enable
success. The session was a success and
showed that Ty can adapt and so I'll
start the foundation that will enable Ty
to work with a handler ahead. I'm facing further surgery on my wrist and I'm
not going to risk further damage to it
by running my dog across a full course
(it's wet and muddy in England at this
time of year), but I can do foundation
work. Many thanks to Lee for his help.
Lee is available online via his website
http://www.leegibsonagility.com or
search LGT (Lee Gibson Training) to find
him on Facebook.
For Shade and Darcey that foundation
means planning work that will enable
handling from in front. Dexi remains
a quandary, being deaf, so turn cues
will be interesting; I need to see how
far his peripheral vision extends. I do
remember my Jester, the first time Kris
took him in the ring. She was 12 at the
time and he obviously felt she needed

The All-Important off Switch
Shady is still having problems settling down. He is an active little soul
with an active brain and it becomes
obvious when he's not done enough
during the day as in the evenings he
is a nightmare. He grabs things he
shouldn't have, disturbs the older dogs,
and generally causes chaos. He needs
to learn to settle and he needs to learn
to calm down. His off switch training,
which was going well, isn't right now.
For me, putting in him in his crate is a
last resort. It makes him miserable and
unhappy and isn't really the answer. My
daughter, Kristy, finds him intensely irritating. Although Darcey was only nine
months old at this point, she's always
been happy to settle down, especially
with a warm blanket to snuggle in, or
a person to snuggle up to. The lack of
working drive makes for a very easy
pet. Shady doesn't want to be cuddled,
he wants to play! The solution is twofold, on the one hand, he needs to do
more-not necessarily more exercise,
as he is still growing like a weed-
rather, he needs more mental stimulation. The other side of things is that he
needs to be formally taught to settle on
a mat. Shoving a bored frustrated pup
in a crate, no matter what he is given to
chew, is not a long-term solution.

http://www.leegibsonagility.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - April 2017