Clean Run - October 2019 - 43

PRACTICALLY TRAINING:

Lead-Outs,
Part 2

By Sandy Rogers

Last month I discussed how to "be" or
act as you lead out, giving details on
the benefits of a "power lead-out." I
included training tips and hopefully
some inspiration for those of you who
need to tackle, maybe again, a solid
stay. This month I hope to inspire you
to adopt a system for handling all your
lead-outs.
If you get confused about where to
stand and what to do when you lead
out, you are not alone-not by a long
shot. If lead-outs give you a headache,
this article is for you.

Using Positional Cues
I lead out to a position that enables
my dog to know where to go when
I release him. This location is a cue, a
"positional cue." I handle the first section of the course as I would if it were
any other section of the course; I'm
just doing it at a distance. I am consistent. I know my dog will interpret
my position correctly because I do not
mess around with the key elements
that I practice. I really enjoy this training. It strengthens my entire system,
including my turn cues and which lane
to handle from as well as line setting.

Positional Cue Foundation training
The success of using positional cues
to your advantage is based on just a
couple of concepts. One is that the
dog is taught "you can't pass me if I
am stopped unless I tell you to do so"
and "when I turn, you turn, even if I
am over here." If you have good front
crosses, you may be surprised how far
away from your dog you can be on a
lead-out and successfully cue turns.
Many dogs that have a good stay can
do very long lead-outs with turns
successfully on the first or second try.
When it does not work, it is usually a
result of the handler's timing, not the
dog's ability to recognize the turn cue
at a distance. I encourage you to explore it with your dog.
Let's look at a five-obstacle lead-out
with two turns. In Figure 1a, the handler leads out as far she can and still
create the tight turn needed from #4
to #5. If jump #5 was located farther
over (see green arrow), it would make
the turn less severe, and she might be
able to lead out all the way past #5.
The red arrows prove that there are
two turns to be cued. The dog is lined
up correctly to make #1 and #2 as a
straight line. The handler is indicating
jump #2 so that as the dog is released,
she is cueing both jump #1 and #2.

Figure 1b shows the desired path for
the dog through the sequence and a
snapshot of the current position of the
handler and dog. The handler has already cued jump #2 by setting the line
set to it from #1. The dog knows jump
#2 is next, but he wants to know what
comes after that. The handler is cueing
the turn to the tunnel at #3 when the
dog is in the "information zone" for #2
by rotating to her left and changing
arms. (See my article in the February
2019 issue if you missed the explanation of information zones.)
In Figure 1C, the handler has adjusted
again and is now facing the approach
of #4 because the dog will be coming
fast and requires additional cues to
collect. The handler still has the right
hand and foot forward.
The handler's rotation to #5 is
completed before the dog lands in
Figure 1D. The handler's on-side foot
has set the line to #5 when the front
cross is complete. If the dog ignores
the collection cue despite the on-time
rotation, the handler will get out some
cookies and train the proper response
(giving the cookie while facing the
dog to create the collection on #4).

I lead out to a position that enables my dog to know where to go when I release him. This location is a cue, a "positional cue."
October 19 | Clean Run

Clean Run - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - October 2019