Clean Run - May 2017 - 53

Training Verbals
for Distance Work, Part 1

Reward Principles and Practice for Eﬀective Training

By Stacy Winkler
BronagH Daly PHotograPHy

As an about-to-be age 50, not very fast, and not the most
physically sound gal in the world, I haven't a prayer of keeping
up with my dogs on course. I have even needed from time to
time to train my dogs when I can't get above a walk. Although
I am able to get ahead of my dog in competition sometimes, I
can't possibly guide my dogs by their nose all the way around
the course. So it is not only very important, it is imperative
that I am able to have my dogs work at a distance from me.
This means my training has to be more comprehensive than
many of my fellow competitors.
I must train a great start-line stay so I can lead out as far as I
need, an understanding of handler position for difficult leadouts, and distance skills on jumps such as how to find the
line, drive on and turn tight, and come to my side. I must train
independent weaves and contacts to help create all these behaviors, and the behaviors need a very strong set of verbal cues.

should shorten up his stride because a turn is coming) to
override the information my dog is getting from my physical cue (which would be saying drive on in the absence of
the overriding verbal).
In this article series, we will go over the verbals that I use
on course, how to train them, and how to bring them to
fluency. The main thing to keep in mind is that training
something comprehensively can take a lot of time, thoughtfulness, and clarity. Although your dog may appear to have
a strong grasp of what you are training in your backyard or
at the training facility, he may not be able to perform those
skills when you are traveling at full speed at a trial. It is our
job to make sure we train the verbal cues so thoroughly that
our dogs can perform these cues successfully during the
"heat of battle," whether we have a Q on the line or a title at
a national championship!
In preparation for the training we will need to do in upcoming articles, this month I want to discuss basic reward principles and practice. The following concepts are very important to understand as you are building your dog's distance
behaviors. If you take these principles to heart, your training
will progress much faster than it has in the past, and your
skills will have more value.

To be most effective, the dog's understanding of verbals
should be trained to fluency. Oftentimes people assume
their dogs understand their verbal cues completely when
in fact the dogs are simply cuing off the handler's body
language. Training a dog to fluency means the dog is able
to respond to your verbal cues regardless of your position,
and also when your physical position or motion gives him
contradictory information.

Creating Value for a Behavior

For instance, I often use a verbal deceleration cue for a
jump when I am physically accelerating. This can occur
when my dog is approaching a tight sequence and I am
running from behind him and need to catch up in order to
direct him into the next sequence. In this instance I need
my decel verbal cue (which communicates that the dog

Often we don't add enough value and understanding to a behavior before we begin to ask for duration from our dogs. Expecting our dogs to perform a behavior they may not have a
very strong understanding of, or any great desire to perform,
will likely cause us to get frustrated and disappointed because
we won't get the desired results from our cues.

May 17 | Clean Run

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