Clean Run Magazine - August 2008 - 47

Double-lead Trick For many high-drive dogs, the stimulus of their handlers pulling the slip collar over their heads or unclipping a leash has become a cue for them to take off from you—freedom at last! Making the double-lead trick part of your routine at home and at trials will help to change that stimulus. Plan from now on to always have your dog on two leads. One will be a very lightweight lead that you hope will never be used and one will be your usual trial lead. If you trial with your collar on (allowed in some venues), use a thin lead with a light clip for your second lead. Those of you who use a slip collar at trials will need to find two slip leads of different weights and thickness. The key to success with this is that the second lead must not be engaged as you are removing the first lead. So, when the first lead comes off, the second lead remains loosely in place, so the dog is unaware it is there. For some dogs the stimulus of hearing the clip of the leash clasp or feeling the slip leash being pulled over their heads prompts all-out chaos. They immediately realize their handlers no longer have control and they bolt. Now, when your dog tries to bolt you will have control of the second lead, so he can only go a few inches away from you. If the dog does try to bolt, put his larger leash and collar back on. Move around, ask him to perform some control behaviors such as a hand target, sit, or short on-leash recall and then try removing the leash again. Continue this until he is showing self-control when you remove the leash. You can now reward him for his great restraint of not bolting away from you. At a trial you should do this right up to the start line. Your final leash removal will be the two leashes or slip leads at the same time. By removing two at once the dog never really knows for sure if the second leash is still on or not. © CLEA N RUN It’sYerChoice Tracy Sklenar described how to play It’sYerChoice in a previous Clean Run article (“The Other End of the Spectrum,” Special Focus Issue on Motivation, Drive, and Self-Control). With the high-drive dog I will play this at ringside by placing a single treat on my dog’s paw and having her focus on it for the entire time it takes another dog to do his run. For a younger puppy I would drop an entire handful of cookies in front of the puppy and pick them up one at a time to feed him. As the dog gets really good at this game I shape him to hold his head flat on the ground as I bounce cookies off his nose. If he lifts his head to see where the cookie went, I pick it up; if he keeps his head down, I will present the cookie back to him to eat. Body Awareness Tricks These tricks are great ringside entertainment for the more easily distracted dog. They serve the dual purpose of helping the dog to engage his body, while keeping his mind off the dog in the ring. Shaping the dog to back up, pivot on his front legs (perch work without a perch), sit pretty, or even heeling on either side are all good exercises to do just before you enter the ring. Use food as your main reward for any of these games. Tug sporadically to get the dog to engage his rear (throw his weight into his hind end, while tugging against a toy with you). © CLEAN RUN Hand Holding Change Your Expectations Deal with your own anxieties. If you have a history of poor performances at trials, you will be entering the ring with a rehearsed apprehension, rather than excitement for what is about to happen. Along with the change to your routine you need to change your expectations. Practice active visualizations. Prior to your first trial, confidently envision you and your dog successfully moving through your new routine of fun games, just as you have been doing at home and in class. Chewing gum or using a breath mint may also help to mask any stress you may be transmitting to your dog. You must expect success to be successful! D Hand holding, as opposed to hand targets, which are repetitive nose touches to the palm of your hand, teaches your dog the duration behavior of holding his nose to the back of your hand. While sitting, hold your hand flat against your thigh with a small cookie under your fingers. As your dog sniffs your fingers, spread them open to present the cookie. Build duration, having the dog hold his nose there for longer periods of time before you present the cookie. Now take your hand away from your thigh and hold it in front of the dog. Have a cookie hidden in your other hand pressed up against your fingers. Present the cookie in the same way, but only after a few seconds of the dog holding his nose to the back of that hand. Now use only one hand and have the dog hold his nose to the back of it as you move him in a slow pivot around your body. © CLEAN RUN © CLEAN RU N August 08 | Clean Run 47

Clean Run Magazine - August 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - August 2008