makes that is in a downward direction, you can click and reward in position. So if your dog lowers his head to sniff or just glances downward then you can click.Your reward should be given from your hand as low as possible toward the ground.As your dog goes to take the treat he is going to be low to the ground himself so that is another opportunity to click and treat. Do this a couple of times and then wait again for your dog to offer something. He will soon get the idea as long as your clicking is fast and accurate. in the down. Once the dog is jumping up and adding the down position (where you can click and treat several times for the dog remaining in the down), you can add your verbal cue for the table as the dog is on his way to the obstacle. Shape the table in the same way as the jump. For example, clicking for a look at the table initially and then moving on to clicking for a move toward the table. Once you have clicked, you can sometimes carry on to reward on the table itself and then click again as the dog jumps onto the table to get the treat. To get your dog off the table be careful with your hands. You need to give a verbal Galaxy demonstrating her understanding release command and then sometimes of the down position reward for getting off, but make sure it isn’t both at the same time. If you release the dog and toss a treat at the same time, the dog starts to think that a hand movement has to do with the release and he will start to release on handler motion. The verbal release must come first, followed up a couple of seconds later with the treat being tossed away. This allows the dog to retarget the table. This is a very motivational way of teaching the table and all dogs usually enjoy their table performance when taught this way. It is much more preferable to leaning over the dog on the table and shouting Down at him. This is very threatening and should never be a part of agility. All behaviors can be taught in a motivational way since basically it is only trick training. If your dog doesn’t add a down in the ring, then just standing still and waiting will remind him of the original way it was taught and he should respond accordingly. Try never to give two Table commands and don’t give a Down command at all. The Table command itself assumes the down is attached to it and should cue both behaviors. Don’t forget to proof your dog’s table performance against handler movement by initially making small movements with your Once your dog is predictably jumping onto the table, you can wait a few seconds and see if he will offer you a down. Dogs usually do this fairly quickly. Remember to only reward in the down once you have clicked. The dog may get up on the initial click. If this happens I just pause the treat delivery and wait again until the dog is once more 34 Clean Run | October 13http://caninelighttherapy.com http://caninelighttherapy.com