Clean Run - August 2011 - 75

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Every dog has the desire to go fast. It’s your job to help him achieve his dream of lightning movements. He wants speed; you want coordination. One of the best ways to achieve this goal is via agility games. You set the guidelines to help him meet his own goal, much like a life coach. Have fun guiding him and help him go all the way! – Erin Harvell

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5 - Get on the Ball
Confidence on unstable footing and core strength provide your dog with a solid advantage in the ring. One of the most fun and easiest ways to provide both involves exercise ball work with your dog. FitPaws makes a ball specifically for work with dogs (available in the Clean Run store). It’s able to hold up to the pressure of their nails and the unique way a dog mounts the ball. When doing exercise ball work, it’s most important to ensure your dog is safe. Place your dog in a safety harness or work with the ball pinned against the wall by your body. Make sure you can always keep your dog from falling. Lure your dog onto the ball with a treat or use a clicker to shape him into place. Merely standing on the ball provides a balance and core workout. Your dog can also sit, lie down, sit pretty, and turn around while on the ball. Exercise ball work also provides your dog with a boost in confidence in your leadership and handling skills. See the DVD Get on the Ball Too by Debbie Saunders for more information on ball work. With Your Dog. Your dog is able to earn points toward four different titles consisting of roughly 25 tricks of varying difficulty for each title (http://domorewithyourdog.com/pages/domorewithyourdog.html). Any tricks enhance core strength in your dog, along with fullbody awareness.

7 - Tug
Teach your dog to tug and you’ll have a reward system available to you in any place, at any time. Training via drive is an extremely powerful approach that enables you to train harder, quicker, and with more intensity than would otherwise be possible. While playing tug with your dog, make sure that your dog doesn’t always lose the game. No one wants to play a game that isn’t winnable; it gets frustrating and can quickly turn an apt player sour. Introduce tug outside of a training environment and then incorporate it into your work in the ring.

6 - Tricks
Trick work provides your dog with mental exercise, fun skills, and an opportunity to bond with you, the handler, leader, and guide. Possibilities for tricks are limitless. There is a governing body for the sport of dog tricks: Kyra Sundance’s Do More 5 6

8 - Crate Games
Susan Garrett’s “Crate Games” program has been used with smashing success in circles all over the world, from agility to police to search and rescue to our own service dog training work at Gimme Grace Dog Training. It creates unshakable impulse- and self-control. Even a hint of self-control can halt those pesky start-line problems long before they start, and unshakable selfcontrol proves invaluable in the ring. Create a drive to succeed, a need for speed, and a dog that is so tuned into your word that he becomes an agility monster. The premise of crate games is simple: give such a high value to do what he is told that he has no desire to do anything else, even if that “anything else” looks like a more valuable option. Susan Garrett’s DVD, Crate Games for Self-Control & Motivation, is available at www.clickerdogs.com and at the Clean Run store.
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http://domorewithyourdog.com/pages/domorewithyourdog.html http://domorewithyourdog.com/pages/domorewithyourdog.html http://domorewithyourdog.com/pages/domorewithyourdog.html http://www.clickerdogs.com

Clean Run - August 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - August 2011