Clean Run - June 2012 - 25

If your weaves aren’t up to the standard you would like, then retrain. Any dog can be retrained using the method I have described; no matter what the dog’s age, don’t stick with what you have unless what you have is already great. This is why I would cue which leg to exit the weave on when the dog is at weave pole 9. The dog has to complete the weaves, but is aware of which leg to drive from as he exits. It may save you two-tenths of a second. I also want to mention something about weave entries: a dog that changes lead legs efficiently around a course before the takeoff point for jumps may also do this of his own accord for the weave entry if it’s necessary. If the dog has a fast approach and is on the wrong lead leg to make the turn into the weaves, then a dog clever at changing lead legs can adjust and sort himself out without much help from us. So that is another reason I personally promote cueing turns early whilst handling on courses.

If the Dog Fails
Be creative in weave distractions but make sure it is always safe and also do not confuse the dog. I do not believe in letting dogs fail repetitively. If my dog fails twice then he clearly does not know what is required. So my training rule is: if the dog fails two times in a row then make it easier the third time. Letting dogs work it out for themselves can work well with a hyped-up Border Collie that continues to offer behaviors even when he’s failed numerous times, but many other dogs will only offer the behavior a limited number of times. So make it go right rather than keep trying to correct the wrong behavior.

Some Final Words
If your weaves aren’t up to the standard you would like, then retrain. Any dog can be retrained using the method I have described; no matter what the dog’s age, don’t stick with what you have unless what you have is already great. Just a mention of age, there is no reason to start the weaves too early in a pup’s life. Weaving may be a very demanding exercise on the dog’s body so there is no rush. Also limit repetitions, it’s quality not quantity that counts. I hope this article and last month’s article have given you a few ideas of how to train your next dog to weave or improve your current dog’s weaves in some way. As I have mentioned before, there are many ways to train great weaves; we should be open to all ways, but I find this way so simple and easy. Thank you for listening. D

Lee Windeatt lives in Kent, England, in the UK. He has had dogs all his life and has been competing in dog agility since 1999. He currently owns two Border Collies called Shy and Bold that he says are his life. To find out more about Lee and his dogs please visit www.leewindeatt.co.uk

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Clean Run - June 2012

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