Clean Run Magazine - May 2007 - 21

move it up to full height. Recall, send, and run by off the left and right again with hoops at both ends. If you are starting to see lack of conﬁdence, speed, or understanding, back up, lower the dogwalk, or put a table/tunnel on the side and start from the bottom half again. If your large dog can execute the dogwalk at full height and full speed with difﬁcult entries and exits and maintain balance safely without an up or down contact performance (which, in essence, will change your large dog’s striding and speed), there should not be a contact safety issue. Separate and away from the dogwalk (on the stairs, ground, a plank, and so on) I would train whatever up/down contact method you have selected for your large dog, including prooﬁng and distractions. Then the contact performance can be added to the bottom half ﬁrst, and later the entire dogwalk (with no hoops). I have seen Linda Mecklenburg’s one rear toe on (1RTO), foot touch, running, moving, sitting, and the “Hit It” board methods work very well for large dogs. Some of these methods include stride regulation, so you might want to consider having a training partner or instructor watch closely when you actually apply your up/down contact performance. Last, it is your decision whether to run a course. If you think there is a safety issue that is out of your control (for example, weather-related problems), scratch your dog. ROTTWEILER © MATTALLISONPHOTOGRAPHY.COM, GREAT DANE © DIANELEWISPHOTOGRAPHY.COM. SAINT BERNARD © CREATIVE INDULGENCE, DOBERMAN © CINDY NOLAND A-frame is natural, more comfortable, and safer because there is less impact than with a two-on/two-off stop at the bottom. The upside contact of the A-frame (judged in USDAA) cost Morgan a ticket to the 2004 Steeplechase Finals. Back in Starters I resorted to a two-on/two-off on the A-frame upside, but once we got into Advanced we’d get called a refusal for stopping to hit the contact. Since we started doing the running, two-touch A-frame, she tends to hit the upside contact more often than not. A two-touch teeter is also natural for a “drivey” big dog. My fastest Dane will take one shortened stride onto the bottom of the teeter (to rock back and slow down), which causes her to hit the upside yellow. Her second touch lands in the downside yellow, while her 100+ pounds slams down the teeter so fast that we’ve never gotten a ﬂy-off fault. She technically does a running teeter. I have three other Danes who don’t have the same drive and/or conﬁdence to run the teeter yet. They usually choose to trot across the narrow board. Their stride naturally hits both contacts but is still faster than a lighter dog that has to pause and wait for the teeter to fall. My secret to the upside of the dogwalk is—NADAC and AAC (where the contact is not judged)! But for USDAA/ AKC I’ve trained a two-on/two-off on the upside contact, which I don’t enforce at trials but it’s usually enough to get a slower stutter-step stride that hits the upside. My less driven Danes prefer to trot the dogwalk, which again allows them to hit the contacts nicely. The dogwalk is deﬁnitely a big dog’s weak point with a two-on/two-off because you lose so much momentum on both the up and down sides. Training speciﬁc foot placement on the contacts using a target-touching method seems to be the key; I am working with my younger Danes with Elicia Calhoun’s method. (Editor’s Note: for more information, see “Get ‘On Board’ with Elicia Calhoun in CR March 2007.) With any large-breed dogs it is best to start them on low plank equipment (and tunnels) while they are puppies and continue on it weekly so they never suddenly feel too big for the equipment. I’ve seen 36" tall, 180-pound Danes enthusiastically blast through 24"-diameter tunnels. As long as they are trained with positive encouragement, they can do anything! I also run a 16" tall dog, so I’ve learned that running with 100+ pounds of momentum has the advantage of an extremely early commitment point, which is a good thing! As long as you set up good paths going into a sequence, distance handling is very easy because you know where all that momentum is headed, enabling you to cut away early to get that front cross where you need it. I get emails all the time from people who have Great Danes that have been turned down at agility classes because the instructors didn’t think a big dog could compete. Just go to a trial, ask around, and ﬁnd an instructor who is excited to work with an “alternative” breed, who will encourage you to bring out the best in your dog, and who has very sturdy equipment! © CRAIG LIZOTTE/CL PHOTOGRAPHY May 07 | Clean Run 21

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Clean Run Magazine - May 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - May 2007