Clean Run Magazine - November 2007 - 50

Level II The configuration setup for Level II uses two jumps set 15' apart as seen in Figure 2. With the jumps set 15' apart and another 15' to the weaves, your dog is now over 30' away from the poles. You should lead out to the side and midway between the two jumps. Remember to let your dog find the entry ahead of you. Do not race him to the poles and try to influence his line. 1 2 1 2 Level V, Station 1 Straight on, 0 degrees 3 Level V, Station 7 90 degrees 3 4 Differences from Level I If the entry is missed twice at Level II or higher, instead of the half-step restrained send we move one obstacle closer to the weaves and do the restrained send from there. In Level II that means putting the dog behind the first jump and not the second. Now your half-step is a restrained send between jumps #1 and #2. 5 4 5 6 6 12 13 Level III The next level replaces the two jumps with a straight 15' tunnel shown in Figure 3. A tunnel encourages your dog to extend his stride, particularly when you are between the tunnel and the weaves. If the dog approaches the weaves in an extended stride, however, it’s unlikely that he will be able to make the turn from pole #2 to #3. Your dog must learn to collect before he gets to the weaves. This is a critical skill for large dogs and for dogs with high drive. Place your dog at the tunnel entrance and lead out to the end of the tunnel both with the dog on the left and on the right; and do a rear cross to the left and to the right. For the recall, stand behind pole #6 and call your dog through the tunnel and recall to the weaves as he exits the tunnel. Level V Figure 5 shows the final level for advanced weave entries and puts the weaves at the end of a five-jump sequence. Place five jumps about 15' apart in a circle or oval and send your dog around to the weaves. As the dog gets more advanced you can vary the sequence. You should do both the left and right side and then both left and right rear crosses on the weave entry. For this level, eliminate the recall; thus, there are only four handler actions at this level. In Level 5 you are trying to simulate as closely as possible what you would see on a real course, without actually having to do 20 obstacles. You should always use only five jumps, and the closest jump to the poles will always be at the angle you are working on (the station); however, after your dog is proficient with the simple five-jump arc sequence to the entry, you can start to alter the orientation of the other four jumps in the sequence. For example, you may want to try it as a five-jump serpentine or a zigzag sequence as shown in Figures 12 and 13, respectively. Advanced Entry Skills Here are additional entry skills to be practiced after your dog is proficient through Level V. Chute and Poles I use the chute to teach the dog to hunt for poles because he can’t see the poles and comes out blind and has to adjust his stride. Offset the poles after the chute with varying degrees of difficulty. Decrease the distance from the end of the chute to the poles as the dog advances in skill. Hide and Seek As the dog gets really good I like to “hide” the poles in different parts of the ring and have the dog find them with only a verbal command. Start with just poles and no other equipment on the field and then proceed to add obstacles around the training area. Level IV The next level replaces the tunnel with a chute and a wingless jump as seen in Figure 4. Your dog exits the chute “blind.” He cannot see the weaves as he executes the chute, thus finding the weave entry requires concentration and a quick response. Realize your dog is moving forward as he exits the chute so he must find the entry and adjust his stride accordingly within 15' to hit the entry successfully. Weave Pool My dogs love to swim so I set up the poles at the edge of the pool and send them from very far away to do the poles before being rewarded with a jump in the pool. I work up to doing this from so far away it is like a herding outrun where the sheep are a few hundred yards away. 50 Clean Run | November 07

Clean Run Magazine - November 2007

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