Clean Run Magazine - August 2007 - 17

Backchaining the Rest of the Dogwalk Once the dog can do the entire down plank and hit the touch board while you move as well as while you are stationary, proceed in your backchaining until the dog can complete the entire obstacle. At each point during the rest of the backchaining process, start with the toy placed 6'-10' away from the end of the dogwalk. Vary your handling position, just as you did when you were working with the touch board on the flat. Remember, besides working the dog on both sides, you need to do multiple repetitions with you in different handling positions, at various distances from the dog, and in motion (first walking and then running) as well as stationary. Only change one variable at a time. What If the Dog Misses the Touch Board? While backchaining the contacts and while working the entire A-frame or dogwalk in sequences, your dog will sometimes fail to hit the touch board. If my dog misses the touch board I will reattempt the same exercise one more time, with no aspects of my position, motion, or the dog’s distance from the board changed. If my dog fails again, I will make one aspect of the exercise easier and reattempt. If we were backchaining and I am close enough to the touch board to lift it, I may do a restrained send while I hold up the board so that the dog can see it better and hit it out of my hand. If I am working on lateral distance, I might not go quite as far to the side as before. If I was increasing my speed and running by the end of the plank, I may slow myself down to a fast walk instead of sprinting away from the dog. If I had recently increased the dog’s starting distance from the touch board, I may move him to a closer starting point before reattempting the exercise. If changing one aspect of the exercise does not help the dog succeed, consider changing a different aspect of the exercise. For example, if the dog misses the touch board and you were working on lateral distance from the obstacle and you were running, try leading out farther before releasing the dog and moving at a fast walk instead of a run, but maintain the same lateral distance you were working at when the dog made the original mistake. There are many ways you can make an exercise easier for your dog to get his success rate back up after a mistake. Carefully analyzing all the factors involved in the exercise when your dog makes a mistake will help you decide what is an appropriate way to make the exercise easier without underchallenging the dog. Raising the Dogwalk If you have been backchaining with a lowered dogwalk, you can start raising the dogwalk in 6" increments as soon as the dog can perform the entire obstacle. When your dog is successful and confident at a height, raise the dogwalk another 6". Continue in this fashion until the dogwalk is at regulation height. Backchaining the A-frame Starting with the apex of the A-frame at 4', backchain the A-frame as described for the dogwalk with the exception of the notes below. You can do this at the same time that you are backchaining the dogwalk. Before you begin raising the A-frame height or having your dog complete the entire A-frame with the touch board on it, work through the exercises in “Short Sequencing with the Down Ramp” covered in Part 4 of this article. Keep the stride regulator at the top of the down ramp of the A-frame, if you’ve been using it up to this point. Raise the A-frame toward regulation height in 2"-4" increments. Proofing the Dogwalk and A-frame I like to proof my dog’s dogwalk performance with a variety of drills. Do the following drills in the order listed and progress only when your dog is consistently accurate. For the first two drills listed, you can put a jump wing on each side of the contact zone, parallel to the plank, to encourage your dog to remain straight upon exiting the plank. After you have done all of the drills using the dogwalk, repeat each one with the A-frame. Proofing Exercise #1 Place the dog about half way on the down ramp. Instead of placing the toy directly in front of the end of the dogwalk, place it 8'-10' away on a slight angle, but on same side of the dogwalk that you’re handling from.The dog has permission to leave the plank immediately on hitting the touch board. With success, gradually move the toy until it’s at a 90° angle to the dogwalk. Do this exercise with the dog on your right as well as your left. As the dog is successful with this proofing exercise, gradually move the toy until it's at a 90 degree angle to the dogwalk. August 07 | Clean Run 17

Clean Run Magazine - August 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - August 2007