Clean Run - June 2014 - 35

The Close command allows me to smoothly cue course

9
1

direction in situations when I am out of place or farther behind

my dog than I had planned during the walkthrough.
the tunnel entrance, reward him
enthusiastically!
Repeat this exercise, varying both
your speed and the moment at which
you release your dog. The faster you
move, the more difficult this exercise
becomes. Additionally, the later you
give the Close command, the harder it will be for your dog to pull off
the tunnel and come to your side.
Have fun proofing this exercise, but
be sure to give the Close command
early enough that your dog is physically capable of pulling off the tunnel
and moving to your side.

ExErcisE 5:
Jump closE, Jump closE
,
,
Procedure: Set up the sequence of
jumps shown in Figure 9. Walk slowly on a straight line next to the four
jumps. Initially ask your dog to come
in Close so he bypasses the first
jump as in Figure 10. Continue walking slowly and cue your dog to take
jump #2, then ask him to come in
Close so he bypasses jump #3, and
then finally ask him to take jump #4.
Repeat this exercise varying which
jumps you ask your dog to take and
which ones you ask him to bypass.
As you increase your speed, you also
increase the difficulty for your dog. In
addition, as your speed increases it
becomes increasingly difficult for you
to time your verbal Close cue. Make
sure you give the cue early enough
that your dog is physically capable of
coming to your side.

ExErcisE 6:
c-shapEd TunnEl
Procedure: Set up a C-shaped tunnel. Begin with your dog loose at your
side, facing one of the tunnel entrances as in Figure 11. Say Close and
walk by the tunnel entrance. As your
dog passes the open tunnel, reward
him with an enthusiastic game of tug
or a number of small high-value food
rewards. See Figure 12. If your dog
is doing well with this game, increase
your speed and vary the behavior
you ask of your dog. Sometimes ask
him to come in Close and other times
ask him to take the tunnel.

ExErcisE 7: FasT linE
inTo a c-shapEd TunnEl
Procedure: Set up the sequence in
Figure 13. Position your dog behind
jump #1 and lead out to a location
that will allow you to be even with
your dog as he takes jump #3. Release your dog and take off running
for the tunnel. As your dog takes off
for jump #3, give your Close command. Other than clearly cuing your
active side, give no other physical
cues to help your dog. You may repeat the verbal Close multiple times.
As your dog comes to your side, verbally reward him then release him to
the correct entrance of the tunnel.
Regardless of your preferred handling strategy for this sequence,
there are times when you are out
of place or simply unable to get to
where you want to be. The Close
command allows me to smoothly cue
course direction in situations when I
am out of place or farther behind my
dog than I had planned during the
walkthrough. D

Amanda has been competing in agility for 10 years. She and her Border Collie Dilly were 2008 and 2009 USDAA Dog Agility Steeplechase finalists at the Cynosport World Games. They
were also finalists in 2007-2009 in the Grand Prix at Cynosport, placing 3rd in 2008. Amanda is a tenured professor of Psychology at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts
and teaches classes in statistics, learning, dog evolution, and animal behavior. She is a frequent agility seminar presenter and can be contacted at amandashyne@gmail.com.
June 14

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Clean Run - June 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - June 2014