Clean Run - October 2019 - 21

to tile). "I love the suggestion of using a dog bed," says Christensen. "It
makes me realize we can practice
almost anywhere you have a clear
distinction between levels and materials. It can be generalized to the
edge of something and made a habit." O'Day adds, "On a bottom stair
to a mat if the surfaces are similar.
I would use something to change
texture-wooden stairs with carpet
at the bottom, or on carpet turn a
bath mat over so the rubbery side is
different." O'Day also suggests using a Bosu ball, balance cushion, or a
human aerobic step platform.

ways and call dogs across them. Turn the stove liners upside down, O'Day says, "so
they crinkle more."
* Back-end awareness-Dent the side of empty soda cans, and you have perfect
stands for cavalettis made of PVC pipes or pool noodles. "Walk the dog through a
ladder on the ground," suggests Selthofer. "Or lead them over PVC pipes or a twoby-four with the 4-inch side upright. Take some wonky branches and put them willynilly and lead them through. Or call to side through
the branches."
* Weaves-Try toilet plungers. "The old-fashioned brick red kind, not the useless
bulb kind," O'Day says. They're cheap and plentiful, and many people use them for
at-home agility practice. To make them wider and more stable and visible, slide pool
noodles or cellophane-wrapped paper towel rolls over the handles. Line up six to
twelve in a hallway for weaves. Practice wraps with a single.
* Tunnel-O'Day recommends you lay two lawn chairs on their sides to make a
chute. Sending your dog into a makeshift tunnel that looks nothing like a tunnel also
generalizes the behavior. O'Day uses traffic cones too. "Cone work is the current
thing," she says. "I prefer 24-inch-high cones. The dog sees them as something to
deal with." She first sends her dog around one cone, then adds another and another up to five, sending her dogs to wrap around the row. She spreads them
farther and farther apart to mimic the length of a tunnel. To get puppies
used to a tunnel, you can also make a tunnel out of large cardboard boxes.
O'Day opens two sides, sets it up so it won't collapse, and sends her
dog through. To make the "tunnel" longer, just add more boxes.
Jumps-Prop a cardboard sheet against furniture or taped across
a hallway for a nice panel jump, or drape fabric over a pole. Rest
a broom handle, pool noodle, or a PVC pipe across paired chairs,
boxes, or waste cans. Depending on the width of the support, add
multiple poles for a double or triple. Make sure you have enough
space and a non-skid surface for safe takeoffs and landings.
Left/right turn, wraps, backsides-On nonskid surfaces, wrap
around table legs, garbage cans, coffee tables, ottomans, traffic
cones, boxes, hampers, stools, trees, makeshift poles.

* Table-Hop onto any stable, raised
object, such as furniture, park benches,
garden walls, fallen logs, flatbed dollies
at hardware stores.
* Confidence on different surfaces-Try bubble wrap, leaves, wrapping paper, branches, heating grates,
cellophane, cardboard sheets, wobble
board, metal stove liners. Put these
materials across thresholds or hall-

Front, rear, and blind crosses-Use all of the above, a makeshift
tunnel, or a hallway. When practicing crosses, Selthofer also makes a
straight line to mark the dog's path using painter's tape indoors or surveyor string and two golf tees outdoors. The lines remind you to "cross at
diagonal, not straight across," she says. "For an open-concept house without
hallways, you can use a piece of tape for the 'jump,' and as you do your front
cross, call through the center of the tape and then send through the next jump."
Using tape for a jump also guarantees you're isolating the maneuver and won't accidentally reward for a dropped bar.
* Sends-Send your dogs to almost anything they can step on, jump on, jump over,
touch with nose or paw, retrieve, or otherwise interact with, such as kitchen or
bath mats, paper plates, pieces of cardboard, an X in masking tape, a traffic cone, a
dumbbell, doorbell, plastic lids.Vary the size, color, texture, and location. Little by
little, increase distance. I toss rewards, but when working distance behaviors, Storm
finds remote treat dispensers her "go-to helpers." The bigger the send, the bigger
the party when you praise. There's no end to the type of sends, which can be loads
of fun.
You can even send the dog to fetch you a soda from the fridge-you earned it!

Lisa Lanser Rose is a Certified Trick Dog Instructor, creative writing professor, and the author of the memoir For the Love of a Dog (2001 Harmony Books), the novel,
Body Sharers (1993 Rutgers University Press), and many award-winning stories and essays. She fosters herding dogs, trains trick dogs, blogs with awesome women at
TheGloriaSirens.com, and gets lost on agility courses throughout the Tampa Bay area. Lisa can be reached at www.lisalanserrose.com.
October 19 | Clean Run

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Clean Run - October 2019

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