Clean Run - May 2013 - 19

If you are feeling down about your lack of success at whatever level you’ve set your goal for,
it might be hard to believe you have any strengths as a team, but you do—everyone does—
and training to your strengths will bring you to a whole new level.
not hard on the dog, but her
discouragement and disappointment in herself come
through. Suddenly agility
isn’t nearly as much fun as it
was before. Coming to class
is fraught with anxiety; will
the dog do it right this time?
This is a point at which
many students of the game
give up, decide the sport
is not for them, and go on
to other things. I suggest
instead of focusing on the
one glaring hole in their
training, that the team spend
the bulk of their lesson
and practice time working
on the skills they excel at,
bringing them to the highest
level. Does the dog have absolutely smashing contacts
for a novice? Focus on that,
polishing that contact performance until the dog flies
down the A-frame and nails
the contact independently.
Does the dog have lovely

jumping ability? Work jump
skills, tightening turns, and
increasing the dog’s understanding of extension and
collection cues. Whatever
the team’s skills are, focus
most of the attention there.
Continue to work on the
problem area, chipping
away at it a bit at a time,
as the rest of the team’s
performance really starts to
shine. Obviously this makes
training more enjoyable for
both dog and handler, but
more than that, it creates a
feeling of success that carries over to the trouble spot.
As pressure is removed
from the problem obstacle,
the dog and handler relax
and are more able to think
and improve than they were
when all their attention was
focused on one seemingly
glaring deficiency.
This sort of approach to
training is not just for be-

ginners. A top level team
that is always just a hair’s
breadth away from winning
can benefit in different ways
from the same approach. For
example, the dog is truly
competitive, but due to some
issue or another (perhaps
falling off the obstacle, a
structural issue, or an earlier
hole in training) the dog’s
dogwalk is half a second
slower than the other competitive dogs in the class.
Working on improving the
speed of the dogwalk is the
obvious answer; however,
after months of doing so,
the dog has not increased
his speed. The handler seeks
out more and more opinions,
willing to try anything to get
that half second shaved off
the dog’s performance. The
team starts to suffer a similar frustration to the novice
team that cannot master fast,
independent weaves.

At this point, rather than
continuing to focus on the
less than perfect dogwalk, I
suggest the handler look at
where her team excels and
focus on that. Does the dog
have tremendous ground
speed? Focus on cleaning
up handling skills and you
can probably shave a half
second off the dog’s time
without fixing the dogwalk.
Look at what strengths you
and your dog have. Shave
a fraction of a second of
weave poles, pinwheels,
and the seesaw, add all that
together and you’ve got the
half second you were looking for. More importantly,
by training to your strengths,
you improve your attitude
as well as the dog’s; you
are constantly reinforced
for training, so you do more
of it. Who knows, once the
pressure is off, the dogwalk
might improve too. D

Frankie Joiris trains animal actors (birds, farm animals, cats, and dogs) for television and film. She has taught dog training for over 35 years. Frankie currently teaches
agility at Speedoggie and also presents seminars on trick training. She has owned and trained a wide variety of dogs including CH MACH Stamp RN, OF, JE, the first and
only CH MACH Norfolk Terrier. She currently runs a Whippet, a Pyrenean Shepherd, and a Border Collie. Contact Frankie at fjoiris@me.com.

May 13

| Clean Run

19


http://www.waytoweave.com

Clean Run - May 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - May 2013

Clean Run - May 2013
Contents
Reflections from a Novice Handler or What I Have Learned from My Dogs
Tip of the Month
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility…
Backyard Dogs
So You’ve Got a Small Dog Now
Training to Your Strengths
The Judge’s Debriefing
Front Cross Footwork
Club Games to Light the Competitive Fires
The 10-Minute Trainer
Out Spot Out! Teaching Independent Obstacle Performance, Part 2
Knowledge Equals Speed! Teaching Verbal Directional Commands, Part 3
How to Choose Your Best Agility Instructor
4 Easy Steps to Getting More Accomplished When You Train
Carpal Hyperextension Injuries
Power Paws Drills: Timing Turns
Ultimate Instructors: Lesson Planning & Foundation, Part 2
Busting the Myths: Too Slow for Your Dog?
I Know That’s Not the Way You’re Supposed to Handle This, But…
Training with the Stars: Amanda Nelson
Clean Run - May 2013 - Clean Run - May 2013
Clean Run - May 2013 - 2
Clean Run - May 2013 - Contents
Clean Run - May 2013 - 4
Clean Run - May 2013 - Reflections from a Novice Handler or What I Have Learned from My Dogs
Clean Run - May 2013 - Tip of the Month
Clean Run - May 2013 - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility…
Clean Run - May 2013 - Backyard Dogs
Clean Run - May 2013 - 9
Clean Run - May 2013 - 10
Clean Run - May 2013 - So You’ve Got a Small Dog Now
Clean Run - May 2013 - 12
Clean Run - May 2013 - 13
Clean Run - May 2013 - 14
Clean Run - May 2013 - 15
Clean Run - May 2013 - 16
Clean Run - May 2013 - 17
Clean Run - May 2013 - Training to Your Strengths
Clean Run - May 2013 - 19
Clean Run - May 2013 - The Judge’s Debriefing
Clean Run - May 2013 - 21
Clean Run - May 2013 - Front Cross Footwork
Clean Run - May 2013 - 23
Clean Run - May 2013 - 24
Clean Run - May 2013 - 25
Clean Run - May 2013 - Club Games to Light the Competitive Fires
Clean Run - May 2013 - 27
Clean Run - May 2013 - 28
Clean Run - May 2013 - The 10-Minute Trainer
Clean Run - May 2013 - 30
Clean Run - May 2013 - 31
Clean Run - May 2013 - 32
Clean Run - May 2013 - Out Spot Out! Teaching Independent Obstacle Performance, Part 2
Clean Run - May 2013 - 34
Clean Run - May 2013 - 35
Clean Run - May 2013 - Knowledge Equals Speed! Teaching Verbal Directional Commands, Part 3
Clean Run - May 2013 - 37
Clean Run - May 2013 - 38
Clean Run - May 2013 - 39
Clean Run - May 2013 - How to Choose Your Best Agility Instructor
Clean Run - May 2013 - 41
Clean Run - May 2013 - 4 Easy Steps to Getting More Accomplished When You Train
Clean Run - May 2013 - 43
Clean Run - May 2013 - 44
Clean Run - May 2013 - 45
Clean Run - May 2013 - Carpal Hyperextension Injuries
Clean Run - May 2013 - 47
Clean Run - May 2013 - 48
Clean Run - May 2013 - 49
Clean Run - May 2013 - 50
Clean Run - May 2013 - Power Paws Drills: Timing Turns
Clean Run - May 2013 - 52
Clean Run - May 2013 - 53
Clean Run - May 2013 - 54
Clean Run - May 2013 - 55
Clean Run - May 2013 - 56
Clean Run - May 2013 - Ultimate Instructors: Lesson Planning & Foundation, Part 2
Clean Run - May 2013 - 58
Clean Run - May 2013 - Busting the Myths: Too Slow for Your Dog?
Clean Run - May 2013 - 60
Clean Run - May 2013 - I Know That’s Not the Way You’re Supposed to Handle This, But…
Clean Run - May 2013 - 62
Clean Run - May 2013 - Training with the Stars: Amanda Nelson
Clean Run - May 2013 - 64
Clean Run - May 2013 - 65
Clean Run - May 2013 - 66
Clean Run - May 2013 - 67
Clean Run - May 2013 - 68
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