Clean Run Magazine - August 2007 - 55

How to Train the Behavior To train the RFC my dog needs to understand my body’s positional and physical cues that will alert her to • Proceed past and go behind my body (but not cross its plane) to where I am sending her • Take an obstacle beyond/behind my body only when cued to do so • Take the obstacle, wrap tightly (turn with collection), and resume a position at heel side A Note about Retraining I had previously trained my dog Minka to understand that she should never cross the plane of my body behind my back. So, when I introduced the RFC, she had difficulty understanding what I was asking her to do. When I stood facing her on the takeoff side of a jump, she interpreted my body language to mean: “Do not go forward; turn, come in to the handler, resume a position on heel side, and turn before taking the jump.” She would also anticipate our next move to be turning away from, rather than taking the jump that was behind my body. Rather than proceed beyond my body to the jump, she would now bark at me as if to ask, “Where do you want me to go next?” She was a confused dog. I had retrained her well to follow recall-to-heel handling concepts before I introduced the RFC. If dogs are initiated in the correct signals for the RFC as part of their foundation training, it readily becomes a component of their skill set. Unfortunately, my dog’s foundation training occurred before Linda’s training articles were published. Since you may be in the same situation, you might need to retrain your dog as well. Exercise 1:Teaching the dog to go beyond your body and resume a heel-side position Stand, facing the dog. Motion with your arm for the dog to go past and beyond your body, but not cross the plane behind your back as shown in Figure 9. (When the dog wraps a jump, the dog must recall to whichever heel side you are presenting.) Since I had re-trained my dog to understand basic recalls to heel, it took only a few repetitions 9 and a little encouragement for her to actually proceed forward and resume a parallel, heel-side position, facing the same direction my shoulders were facing, at which point I clicked and treated. Try to do this without the use of any verbal encouragement; use your body and motion to indicate what you want the dog to do. Exercise 2:Teaching the dog that a turn is coming and that the dog needs to wrap tightly The acceptable criteria are • Dog moving forward in a straight line • Dog proceeding forward beyond your body • Dog wrapping tightly around the standard • Dog resuming a heel-side position, facing in the same direction your shoulders are facing Once again try to remain silent while shaping the behavior, but reward (click and treat) at every available opportunity, wherever and whenever it appears that the dog is beginning to understand the behavior as it relates to the set criteria. Take a position slightly in front of the jump standard facing the dog. Stand fairly close (laterally) to the standard and give the dog just enough room to wrap around it. The dog is in a sit-stay approximately 5' in front of you. Motion to the dog with your inside hand to draw the dog around the standard and then recall the dog to your side and reward as shown in Figure 10. Gradually move the dog farther and farther away, but not more than 15' from the standard. You may need to show body motion by moving backward to the standard while you use your arm and an open shoulder to encourage the dog to continue forward motion and proceed past your body while wrapping tightly to resume a heel-side position. 10 August 07 | Clean Run 55

Clean Run Magazine - August 2007

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