Clean Run - November 2019 - 33

PHOTOS © LESLEY MATTUCHIO

The

S O L U T I O N
Sequences for Small Spaces
With only about 25% of the area of
a typical agility course, my training
center's inclement weather practice
space is under a 60ft. x 40ft. pavilion.
Using a teeter, six poles, 4ft. jumps
and some 10ft. and 15ft. tunnels, we
can cultivate our dogs' basic agility
skills including contact performance,
weaving, and jumping, as well as
work on our handling abilities. Here
I will share some of our equipment
setups and drills.
Agility dogs are often quite attracted
to tunnels, so much so that some
trainers don't expose their young
dogs to tunnels until well along in
their training program. Additionally,
course designers often present
tempting tunnel openings as offcourse challenges by requiring the
dogs to go in the less obvious end
or even to pass by the obstacle
completely. The ﬁrst setup this
month, shown in Figures 1-3, offers
opportunities to develop a team's
ability to get the correct tunnel
opening, or avoid either, on the
ﬁrst try.
Note: If you don't have three
tunnels, substitute two jumps, as
shown in Figure 3.
The most effective way to show your
dog the correct tunnel entrance (or

November 19 | Clean Run

avoidance) is to ensure that he is
on the correct line, or path, in the
ﬁrst place. Some of the handling
techniques to work with include
a soft verbal name call (gentle
communication generally gets more
response than loud and deﬁnitely
"looks" better), the false turn (turning
into the dog to get attention and
then quickly turning back toward the
desired target), a V-set (changing
the dog's path by shaping it into
a "V") and, if ahead of the dog,
doing a front cross. These tactics
are listed in ascending impact on a
given path. Observing your dog's
natural line will help in deciding how
much change will be required to get
through a sequence while hopefully
remembering that less is generally
best!
Course designers frequently use
two speciﬁc pieces of equipment
as their start or ﬁnish obstacles:
tires (most common as the start)
and spread jumps (generally a
double as the ﬁnal hurdle). Figures
4-6 show some sequences using
these obstacles. A tire at the start
presumably allows the handler to
more assuredly set a safe approach
while a spread jump at the end of
the course tests the team's skill at
working the run to its conclusion.

By John Reid

But a tire at the start offers a
speciﬁc challenge. While your dog
is waiting for his release cue, he
might be focused through the tire's
framing system at another obstacle
rather than through the tire itself;
when given his go command the tire
opening may not be his ﬁrst choice.
(If you will permit me a lobbying
comment: Please, US agility
organizations, adopt the "saloon
door" or "lollipop" design tires seen
overseas.)
Note: If you do not have access to a
tire, substitute an additional spread,
maybe one you have assembled
using two singles; the practice in
negotiating a spread jump at the
start will prove beneﬁcial as well.
We have all seen the heartbreaking
result of not working the ﬁnal
obstacle of an otherwise stellar
effort. When that obstacle is a
spread, which requires horizontal
as well as vertical jumping effort,
the handler's support must be that
much stronger. We encourage
our training partners to imagine
one more jump after the on-paper
ﬁnale to mitigate this common
phenomenon. D

33
Clean Run - November 2019

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