Clean Run Magazine - October 2007 - 40

Quality Not Quantity: Use Your Training Time Wisely By Sally Silverman S uccess in agility depends largely on good, consistent training. But balancing job, family, household responsibilities, and your hobby is often a challenge for an agility dog handler. Getting away for a class every Tuesday or a lesson once a week is sometimes tough enough. How are those who are unable to devote hours a day to keep up with their training? First of all, don’t be overwhelmed. Many handlers feel that if they can’t run full sequences every time they train, then they might as well not bother. International competitor and USDAA World Team veteran Donna Rohaus is one trainer who consistently emphasizes to her students that five minutes here and five minutes there can really add up, if those five minutes are used efficiently and correctly. or even watching. Course maps are an additional and effective way to note problems to be addressed in training. Another way to make the most of your practice time is to make a list of skills and fundamentals that you would like to have in your “tool box,” and concentrate on one each day, rotating through the roster. Five minutes on one skill can actually be an effective amount of time, and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish. Or think of your classes and seminars. Figure it out: when your instructor breaks things down, you are probably spending less than five minutes on each individual skill. Rohaus says that Linda Mecklenburg’s “cometo-heel-position” exercises are perfect for this. Mecklenburg indicates six positions. Pick one a day and work on just that one. A great way to do just what you want to do, no more or no less, is to put a set number of treats in your pocket. For example, if you are working on having your dog come to your side, once you have used up the 10 cookies, you have done enough for one session. And because you are always ending with delivery of a treat, you will always be ending on a good note. Knowing that you have only 10 treats to “spend” will also keep your training honest and, therefore, valuable. Make a Plan “The worst thing you can do,” says Rohaus, “is to go outside and fling your dog over a few obstacles without a purpose or a plan. The dog won’t learn anything and chances are you will just become frustrated.” She advises her students to jot down thoughts and ideas before they go out to train. “We’d all like to keep a precise journal of our training, but that’s not always realistic. Jot down any thoughts you have about your training or handling, such as, ‘I really need to break down that front cross to get it right,’ or ‘I need to work on this angle to the weave poles when a jump is here,’ or ‘What is my cue for a rear cross?’” That way, she says, you can go out and work on one specific skill at a time. Inspiration can come from class or lessons, or during trial season, a problem you had on a course in competition. Take that notepad with you every time you are training, competing, 40 Break It Down When you are planning which skills to work on, break it down into the smallest components, advises Rohaus. A set of 12 speedy weave poles, executed from any angle and at distance may be everyone’s ultimate goal, but requires a whole set of skills. Use those five minutes to work on entries, one angle per day, for example, to set a solid foundation. Or, if you have worked entries from every angle, maybe your notes indicate that although you nail your entries consistently from many positions, you miss it every time from one particular spot. That, then, is the angle you would want to concentrate on. The same holds true for contacts. Working the bottom of your contact, whatever your criteria, is a great task for a five-minute session. “You can work on the bottom of your contacts, and each session practice in a different location Clean Run | October 07

Clean Run Magazine - October 2007

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