Clean Run - November 2016 - 53

Improve Your Handling Skills at Home

BACKYARD|DOGS
I tend to have obsessions that last for
three to six months, recently it has
been how do I know if I'm improving
and how do I make sure I continue to
improve. We tend to focus on what
is weak, we make it strong, and then
what was strong becomes weak. And
it always seems like so many things
need work that it's hard to know
where to start.
Vic is my seasoned boy, 9.5 years old
and has always been pretty darn perfect (yes, I'm biased). I was doing some
of the inevitable comparisons between him and my 3.5 year-old Rich.
The biggest difference is their speed;
Vic is fast, but Rich is really fast. But
even at 3 years of age, I had a faith in
Vic to do what I expected that I don't
quite have with Rich. All dogs are different so I don't expect them to reach
the same places at the same age, but
I took a look at what I have done differently with Rich. Then it hit me that
Rich does not have nearly the reward
history Vic had at that age. I was so
good about rewarding the details with

Vic; I have been good with Rich, but
not as good as I was with Vic.
My first step of my new plan has been
to reward every set of weaves Rich
does for a month. No, his weaves are
not weak-in general, I consider them
a strength-but my main concern
when Rich is weaving has been on
what I can do while he is busy. If I can
use the time while my dog is weaving to get where I need to go next,
why not throw Rich a toy when I get
there to reward the weaves? This got
me thinking more... My threadle cues
have been getting weak. So for two
weeks I'm rewarding every threadle
cue. And Rich's turns out of tunnels
tend to be good, but I can't remember
the last time I rewarded them, so those
are getting reinforced for two weeks.
Meanwhile Vic is getting focused rewards for releases off of contacts, rear
crosses, and extension lines.
I have challenged my students to make
lists. The first list is their strengths, the
second is things that are good, and

By Mia Grant

the third is things that are weak. Then
I asked them to pick one thing off each
list they will be sure to reward for two
weeks. This does not mean they are
the only things being rewarded during those two weeks; I am always rewarding good jumping efforts by Rich
since our NQs are almost always due
to a bar, but again, we tend to focus on
what is "the problem" instead of striking a balance in our training plans.
This month's setup will allow you to
work on a variety of skills. Take time
before training to think about your
goals for that session and how you will
achieve them. What will you reward
your dog for?
There are lots of handling options and,
as always, if you do something with
a front or a blind, see if you can do
it with a rear cross. If you are adding
more blinds into your repertoire be
sure to add more rewards for your side
cues in training.
And have fun-if you aren't having
fun, how is your dog supposed to! D

This month's setup will allow you to work on a variety of skills.
Take time before training to think about your goals for that session and how
you will achieve them. What will you reward your dog for?

November 16 | Clean Run

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - November 2016