Clean Run - May 2018 - 38

Instill a strong default behavior that
your dog will do regardless of how
difficult the challenges in the environment can be.

Know your dog's threshold. If your
dog starts to react at any time, this
means that your dog is too close to
the stimulus. Respect this and abort
the run if needed.

Plan well by setting up your space
ahead of time if you are going to
keep your dog in the building.

Choose the location of the crate
carefully. For example, my Golden
Retriever Lizzie-Taylor has to be crated on the end because, as a pup, a
dog lunged at her when she walked
down the row of crates. She has
been stressed about this ever since.

Never walk your dog into the facility
with all kinds of other items hanging off your person. When you walk
into a show site, all attention should
be paid to your dog and nothing
else. Save the conversations for later
in the day.

If your dog cannot wait comfortably in his crate, keep him in the car
instead.

Decide which route you will take to
get your dog into the ring.

If at any time you are concerned that
your dog is getting tense, communicate this to the exhibitors around
you. Ask for someone to help guide
you to the nearest exit. Do not wait
for a disaster to happen. If you are
honest, most people will be happy
to help you. (If this should happen
regularly, reconsider your decision to
show this dog.)

Before you walk through a doorway, check to see if any other dogs
are coming. If it is clear to proceed,
cue your dog to follow behind you.
Never allow your dog to run ahead
of you as you move through an
opened door.

Once inside, cue your dog to attention heel alongside you. Be sure that
your dog can heel on both sides of
your body.

At the agility trial:

Limit the amount of time you will
be away from the crate. For example, bring food with you as well
as water. Be sure to cover the crate
when you are not there to monitor
assuming it is safe to do so. You do
not want your dog to bark at dogs
walking by.

Hand target. Teach your dog to
touch your hand and follow it if
needed. This can also work well as
a recall cue.

Use a different verbal cue to teach
your dog to recall back to you after
the last jump. Or you can teach your
dog to run back to his collar and
leash and wait for you there.

Teach your dog to watch you regardless of whether you are watching him.

The decision of whether or not to
show your dog is not an easy one and
is not to be taken lightly. No doubt
you have invested time, energy, and
heart in pursuing agility with your
dog. Putting these suggestions into
practice may make a difference in how
you might continue. But if you have
any question as to whether or not your
dog will be safe in these tenuous environments, then err on the side of caution. A fulfilling life with your dog, not
just an enjoyable agility experience, is
your ultimate goal. D

In addition to agility handling, these
are behaviors your dog should know
reliably:

Attention heeling on both sides of
the handler's body. If this is not in
place then teach your dog to heel
with his head in your hand.

A strong default behavior. The most
common are a sit, down or stand. A
rock-solid stay should accompany
this behavior.

Emma Parsons is a Canine Behavior Training Consultant specializing in managing and rehabilitating aggressive and reactive dogs and is the author of Click to Calm:
Clicker Training to Heal the Aggressive Dog and Teaching the Reactive Dog Class: Leading the Journey from Reactivity to Reliability. In addition, she is a faculty member
of the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior and the Karen Pryor ClickerExpo conferences. Emma has been exhibiting in competition agility and
obedience for more than 15 years. In 2017, Austyn-Roque, one of her Golden Retrievers, earned his MACH title in just a single season. Most recently, Emma and Austyn
competed at the Westminster Kennel Club's fifth Annual Masters Agility Championship in New York City. Emma can be reached at CreativK9@aol.com. Her website is
www.emmaparsons.com.
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Clean Run | May 18

http://www.emmaparsons.com

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