Clean Run - May 2012 - 26

Before I begin, I would like to make it clear I do not promote myself or claim to be the “Weave Guru,” “weave master,” or some other jazzy weave promoting title. What I do claim is to have a good weave training method that teaches all breeds of dogs good entries, independence, speed, prooﬁng, and good efﬁcient action. Is there any more we require from the dogs whilst weaving? I will attempt to discuss and describe the pros and cons of the most common weave methods most people use. I have a preferred one, don’t we all? I will try to be unbiased towards other methods whilst getting my own method across to you.

By Lee Windeatt, photos by author

Weave Pole Training Methods
Push-Pull The ﬁrst method is the push-pull method. Yep, people really still do this method and have some success doing so. I have no idea how because I certainly wouldn’t be able to use the method. It comprises of either luring the dog through the weaves with food in their hand, or using the infamous step across the dog’s path after each weave so the dog is forced to go back through the next pole. The pros are you don’t need any special weave poles other than normal straight weaves and it can be done anywhere. Cons… when luring, the dog really isn’t thinking about what he is doing and tends to V Weaves (Weave-A-Matic) These are weaves that can be angled to form a V shape to make it easier for the dog to run through. Over time you gradually close the poles together. These are still very popular in Britain. The pros are that dogs can get good technique and action. Closing the poles gradually can encourage the dog to weave and learn the concept over a shorter time. Cons are that the method doesn’t teach 2 x 2s This was fairly popular in the 1990s in Britain (certainly the part I live in). It gradually died out, but now it is extremely popular again due to Susan Garrett revamping the idea and tweaking it to her own method. Please forgive the brief, crass description of the method I am about to give as I really won’t do it justice due to never training a dog that way myself. We start with two poles and
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just follow the food, so it takes the dogs much longer to understand the concept of the poles. You also have no independence and very little prooﬁng. In my opinion this method is very dated and should be left in the 1980s.

entries and it can encourage dogs to ram the poles with their shoulders, possibly causing future injuries. Also you have to purchase a set of specially made V weaves (best left in the 1990s).

ask/hint/wait for the dog to offer the behavior, which is to run through the two poles as though it were the weave entry. The reward is then thrown on a “reward line,” (in line with the dog’s natural path through the poles). Eventually, a few meters after those two poles we introduce another two poles, so the dog runs through the ﬁrst two, carries on his route through the next two, and gets his reward

thrown. This is built up over time and eventually you have all 12 poles in line and a dog that knows its job. The pros are that the dog really understands the weave entry and his job, and he uses good, efﬁcient weaving technique. If you don’t have special poles, the method can also be done using stick-in-the-ground poles. The cons… In the UK I have done many seminars
Clean Run | May 12

Clean Run - May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - May 2012