Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 46

Ever attend an agility class or seminar and just not quite get what the instructor was trying to tell you? Or you just don’t see what the instructor is trying to point out? Do you wonder why you miss your dog’s cues when training? Why does it seem that your timing is off? Or how, when you were running a course, you ended someplace you didn’t expect to be? It is possible that you aren’t thinking visually or that your visual skills need a tune-up. Thinking visually means that you are using your eyes and mind together. You are not looking at or watching something and then stopping to think about it; instead you quickly process visual information (what you are seeing) and respond based on that visual information. A key component is response; there is a time element to thinking visually. An everyday term for one component of thinking visually is to consider eye-hand coordination (or eye-body coordination). Another way to think of it: Visual thinking often appears to be acting on instinct. It’s about having the skills to be able to make decisions in the blink of an eye. Many professions and everyday tasks require visual capabilities. Not only do artists or fashion designers use visual skills, but also people in professions like surgeons, chemists, and engineers use visual skills. Tasks like driving or planning play strategy for football or basketball use visual skills. But there is a difference in being visual and thinking visually. One key difference is that if you think visually, you can quickly take action; you can rapidly provide assessments and solutions based on the visual information. In A Blink: Visual Thinking in Dog Agility By Carol Mount © CLEAN RUN Observing and Reacting Visual thinking is important in every aspect of dog training since dogs can’t talk. Trainers must learn to read and communicate with dogs by watching the dog’s responses and cues while training. Dog training requires ascertaining visually what is occurring, and making judgments and decisions on what you observe. This split-second decision-making capability can make someone a great trainer or a great agility handler. In dog agility, visual skills extend beyond training into both course analysis and handling. Most of our communication about the sport of agility is visual. I’m sure most of us can recall dinners with fellow agility handlers where we use sketches on napkins, or lay out silverware, sugar packets, and other items on the table to discuss training, handling, and course analysis. Most agility articles would make little sense without the accompanying diagrams. For agility handling, the handler must be able to watch the dog’s responses to cues and then react based on the response. If handlers can think visually, they 46 can respond quicker. For example, finding the near-perfect position for a front cross can be very scientific. But that is only one small part of the equation of performing a front cross. To execute a front cross, handlers have to be able to locate the proper front-cross spot while moving and while watching their dog. Even if the handler can find that position for the cross, the execution is only perfect if the dog’s response and path are as expected. Course analysis requires finding patterns, filling in the gaps, and mentally manipulating the course diagram and course setup to understand how the dog can react to the course and handler cues. To improve skills needed for dog agility, it helps to improve visual skills. Think of the classic phrases like “practice makes perfect” or “time in the saddle.” It takes time and practice to hone visual skills. It’s not just luck. Anyone can improve their visual skills. Robert McKim wrote Thinking Visually in the 1980s to use in his classes at Stanford University to sharpen his students’ visual skills. The class was Clean Run | December 07

Clean Run Magazine - December 2007

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

Clean Run Magazine - December 2007
Contents
Editorializing: Are We Driving the Common Sense Out of Our Dogs?
Tip of the Month
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility…
Backyard Dogs
How Rude! The Ins and Outs of Trial Etiquette
On Course with Webb and Leslie Anderson
Games for Thinking Dogs
Help! I Can’t Keep Up: Jumping Odds and Ends
In Cider
City Dogs
Trainer's Forum
Being Black and White, Part 3: The Contacts
Converging Lines: Pushing Your Dog Toward the Correct Obstacle
In a Blink: Visual Thinking in Dog Agility
Evaluating Structure in the Performance Dog
Power Paws Patterns: Number Two
Spy Kids: Planning for the Future
Case Study: Teeter Trouble
Distance Challenge
No Not That One!
The Judge’s Debriefing
Mental Management®: Handling Disappointment
Master Plan
Agility Organization Update
Course Diagram Keys
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Clean Run Magazine - December 2007
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 2
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Contents
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 4
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Editorializing: Are We Driving the Common Sense Out of Our Dogs?
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Tip of the Month
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility…
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Backyard Dogs
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 9
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 10
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 11
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 12
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - How Rude! The Ins and Outs of Trial Etiquette
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 14
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 15
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - On Course with Webb and Leslie Anderson
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 17
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 18
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 19
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Games for Thinking Dogs
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 21
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 22
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Help! I Can’t Keep Up: Jumping Odds and Ends
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 24
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 25
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 26
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - In Cider
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 28
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 29
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - City Dogs
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 31
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 32
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 33
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Trainer's Forum
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 35
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 36
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 37
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Being Black and White, Part 3: The Contacts
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 39
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 40
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Converging Lines: Pushing Your Dog Toward the Correct Obstacle
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 42
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 43
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 44
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 45
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - In a Blink: Visual Thinking in Dog Agility
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 47
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 48
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 49
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 50
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 51
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Evaluating Structure in the Performance Dog
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 53
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 54
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Power Paws Patterns: Number Two
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 56
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 57
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 58
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Spy Kids: Planning for the Future
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 60
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 61
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 62
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Case Study: Teeter Trouble
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 64
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 65
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 66
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 67
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 68
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Distance Challenge
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 70
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 71
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 72
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - No Not That One!
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 74
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 75
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - The Judge’s Debriefing
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 77
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 78
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 79
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 80
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Mental Management®: Handling Disappointment
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 82
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 83
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Master Plan
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 85
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 86
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Agility Organization Update
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 88
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 89
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - Course Diagram Keys
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 91
Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 92
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