Clean Run - June 2019 - 18

PHOTOS © LESLEY MATTUCHIO

The

S O L U T I O N
Sequences for Small Spaces
With only about 25% of the area of
a typical agility course, my training
center's inclement weather training space is under a 60ft. x 40ft.
pavilion. Using a teeter, six poles,
4ft. jumps and some 10ft. and 15ft.
tunnels, we can cultivate our dogs'
basic agility skills including contact
performance, weaving, and jumping, as well as work on our handling
abilities. Here I will share some of
our equipment setups and drills.
The setup shown in Figures 1-3
allowed us to work on our serpentine
skills. A serpentine in agility is a group
of obstacles, arranged generally in a
row, that are required to be taken in
opposite directions from each other,
often approaching turns of 180 degrees in an "S" shape or wave pattern.
Most commonly seen as a series of
three (or more) jumps, a "serp" can
include any obstacle. Teaching your
dog to recognize a serp pattern is a
valuable skill to develop. It is advisable to introduce the pattern to the
dog by initially angling three jumps,
so the dog has a straight way through
them, and then gradually "flatten" the
hurdles into a single line, requiring the
180-degree turns.
A guideline that may offer better
course advancement after a serp
is for the handler to maneuver to
the exit side of the line of obstacles
as soon as possible. For example,
18

when dealing with three jumps (or
other obstacles), the exit side of the
serp would be the opposite of the
approach side. With good handler
position, the exit side could be secured earliest with a front (or blind)
cross between the first and second
obstacles. With a four-obstacle serp,
the exit side would be the same as
the approach side, so a side change
might not be beneficial. Experiment with these exercises to see if
a handler side change (and when)
might give your teammate more information to negotiate the rest of the
course better.

By John Reid

The second setup this month,
shown in Figures 4-6, focuses on
working the table. If a regulation table is not available to you for these
exercises, a 3ft. x 3ft. "box" on the
flat formed from rope or engineer's
tape will work. The table is often the
subject of conversations within the
sport centered on comments like it
should be "gotten rid of." Since this
piece of equipment is thought by
some to be more of an obedience
challenge, while others observe that
tables are rarely found in national
or international courses, it is not
uncommon to hear questions as to
why we need to be concerned about
its performance in the first place.
Despite the negatives surrounding
this obstacle, it is still something encountered in standard agility classes
at many local, and some national,
events so we must continue to train
and proof it-at least for now!
Here are some table tips to consider
as you work the exercises:
* If a venue requires a particular
table position, then that position
(generally a "down") should be
perfected on the flat away from
the table itself.

Introducing a Serpentine

* Many times, the table is positioned along an edge of the
course, making it more obvious
to the dog that he must pause
on the obstacle in readiness for
Clean Run | June 19
Clean Run - June 2019

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