Clean Run - May 2013 - 27

The concept: Each participant takes
a turn designing a short course of
3 to 5 obstacles, working within the
helter-skelter setup. All teams run
the course. Each team with a clean
run earns a marble for their cup. The
object is to collect as many marbles
as possible during the 90-minute
training session. If you have seven
participants, expect to run about
seven short courses. If you have
more participants, plan on running
fewer courses.
Toward the end of the session, designate someone to design a full course
(13 to 20 obstacles) within the helter-skelter equipment layout. Minor
equipment tweaks can be made, but
only to accommodate a more ﬂowing course. Each team runs the full
course, and clean runs earn 5 bonus
marbles. This is usually enough to
break any ties and determine the Marbles winner who gets to keep the trophy until the next Marbles match-up.

The beneﬁts:
Perfection in short sequences
No refusals, no ﬁxing things—
the pressure is on to get the
sequence right the ﬁrst time
Condensed time for course
analysis, lots of walking
Course design—everyone, including beginners, gets a chance
to design a short sequence

May 13

| Clean Run

Lots of “in and out” crate
experience for the dogs
Lots of start-line experience
for dogs and handlers
Marbles is appropriate even for beginners, because some courses
may be simple enough for them to
run cleanly. A team that hasn’t yet
learned an obstacle can run in “training mode” (unjudged) and skip the
obstacle, run with leash, ﬁx goofs, or
use treats and toys.

Tickets
Tickets is another game of short,
cleanly run sequences, but it’s less
formal than Marbles and includes an
element of chance that evens the
playing ﬁeld between beginner and
advanced handler.

ticket for the team. Half of the ticket
is deposited in the bucket. At the end
of the session, someone will draw a
ticket from the bucket and the winner
gets a prize—anything from a dog
toy to a bottle of wine to homemade
potholders. The winner is responsible for providing the prize for the next
scheduled Tickets match.
What Tickets offers that Marbles
doesn’t: Beginners have an even
better chance of going home with the
goods, which is great fun for them.
They may have only one clean run
that consisted of two jumps and a
tunnel, but they earned a ticket that
turned out to be lucky. That ﬁrst “win”
is serious kindling for a good, strong,
future ﬁre.

What you’ll need:
Judge
Roll of duplicate tickets
from an ofﬁce supply store
As much equipment as
you want to haul out
A ticket bucket
A prize
The setup: Helter skelter, like Marbles.
The concept: Each participant takes
a turn designing a short course (3
to 5 obstacles), working within the
helter-skelter setup. All teams run
each course. Each clean run earns a

Club Qs
Club Q courses are like fun matches
held in-house on a regular basis for
your own students or club members.
Once or twice a month, set up a full,
regulation NADAC, USDAA, CPE, or
AKC course of moderate challenge. Al-

Clean Run - May 2013

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