Clean Run Magazine - October 2009 - 80

If you build it they can run! in another venue—it simply means they were bred with a purpose in mind and therefore have a body built to offer those characteristics easily. Border Collies, for example, were bred to work low to the ground, to slink and crouch as they work stock. When we do agility with BCs, we now want them to jump and soar. I have always truly enjoyed the puzzle of how to communicate information to the animals concerning just how you would like the task performed and how they can most comfortably accomplish that task. I still consider this dilemma to be a work in progress, but I am more than happy to share what I do know to this point. In this setup the jump is lower than the dogs’ actual jump height, but much wider than a normal double. It is offered to the dog as a set point with a facilitator jump. Dogs will need to practice this type of jump with some regularity throughout their jumping career. Exercise 1 Jump cup strips Clip-on jump cups PVC ttings: 3-way, 4-way, and 5-way connectors 1" and 2" vinyl tape 1" PVC pipe in red, yellow, blue, violet, and white ® www.cleanrun.com When I see dogs struggle to articulate their bodies properly off the ground or through the air, I generally make the information clearer to them by providing a jump that “tells them how” to perform it. In this case the jump is lower than the dogs’ actual jump height, but much wider than a normal double. For the smaller dogs (JRTs, small Shelties) the jump height is 8"-10" but the double is about 12"-14" wide. For the Aussie- or BC-sized dog the jump height is 16" and about 2' wide. For even larger dogs the height could be 18" and 2.5' wide. Presenting the double this way produces a lovely effort on the part of the dogs; they drop their head down a bit and round their topline, which is the desired behavior off the ground. A target on the ground is essential for this process. The jump is offered to the dog as a set point with a facilitator jump the appropriate distance from the actual jump (about 3' for the small dogs, 4' for the medium dogs, and 5' from the jump for the larger dogs). This serves as a basic ground line that tells the dog “where the action is to take place” and as such has no height. Dogs will need to practice this type of jump with some regularity throughout their jumping career. Many dogs with straighter shoulders truly do struggle to come off the ground quickly; and if the information from their handler is not presented in a timely and smooth manner, they might tend to launch because they get caught off-guard, so to speak, and simply cannot add another stride to come closer to the base of the jump, because they “need” a bit more time to organize their shoulders to come to their angle of elevation and get out of the way of the jump. In the dogs’ mind they simply cannot do that and drive into the base of the jump; they feel they have run out of room to organize themselves. [Editors’ Note: See Susan’s article in CR July 2007 for information on the V-bounce apparatus to help dogs learn a set point for jumping.] When I see dogs struggle, I generally take away distance and speed to help them get better control and more confidence. I would therefore not ask the dog to run at a jump from a long distance, which produces both speed and length of stride. The longer the stride becomes, the more difficult it is for the dogs to get under themselves to push off the ground. Some dogs actually use their shoulders to help push or load the weight back onto their haunches for liftoff, while some use the muscles in their necks to help jerk the forelegs and shoulders off the ground. We cannot tell the dog this method is inappropriate and will not work well for them over time so I use the low, wide double jump to give the dog that information. What I also know at this point is motion or pressure from the handler clearly exacerbates the problem. While in most cases the handler feels the need Clean Run | October 09

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Clean Run Magazine - October 2009

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