Clean Run - December 2017 - 37

*	 Does he stay closer to you when
he is on a particular side?

1

R

*	 Does he look uncomfortable
and/or duck behind your back or
cut in front of you to get to your
other side?
*	 Is your stay weaker when you walk
away off your right or left side?

R

Close!

Close!

*	 If you walk off to the side, rather
than straight ahead, is your dog
more likely to break position and
turn toward you off your right
or left?
If you see any issues of imbalance
in these positions, spend some time
strengthening whichever side is weaker. You can use these same drills.

Lead out 20 feet. Stand still.
Recall dog to side. Reward when
he reaches you.

Another proofing drill to test balance
is doing come-to-my-side recalls from
a stay. Starting with your dog on your
left or right, leave him in a control position (sit, down, or stand) and walk
away. Stop and then release your dog
to your side using his left or right side
cue as appropriate. When he reaches
your side, reward and begin again.
Repeat this multiple times. Sometimes when you stop, rather than
walking away straight ahead, walk
off to the side as if you were leading
out laterally.
Again, assess if your dog performs
better off of one side than the other
so that you can work on strengthening the weak side if there is one.
Note: It is always a great idea to get
your dog excited when you do these
tests. The more aroused your dog
is, the more likely you are to see any
potential weaknesses in your training.
It's always important to make as honest an evaluation as possible so that
you know what you need to train.

Lead-Outs without Obstacles
You are going to try four different recalls off your left side and your right
as shown in Figure 1. If you're using
a toy to reward your dog, hide it away
as you do not want to inadvertently
lure your dog to respond correctly.

Stay!

Stay!

Lead out 20 feet. Recall dog to
side and run forward. Decel and
reward on the move.

R

R

Close!

Stay!
Lead out 20 feet. Recall dog to
side. Run forward and front cross
as dog reaches you.

Pull the toy out or reward with food
once the dog has come to your side.
1. Rev up your dog, ask for a stay,
and lead out about 20 feet straight
ahead. Stand still as you recall
your dog to your side. Reward.
2. Rev up your dog, ask for a stay,
and lead out about 20 feet straight
ahead. Release your dog to come
to your side then immediately run
forward, decel and as you continue moving forward, and reward.

Close!

Stay!
Lead out 20 feet. Recall dog to
side. Run forward and then post
turn as dog gets to you.

3. Rev up your dog, ask for a stay,
and lead out about 20 feet straight
ahead. Release your dog to come
to your side then immediately run
forward. Front cross when your
dog is about to get to you, and
reward on your new side.
4. Rev up your dog, ask for a stay,
and lead out about 20 feet straight
ahead. Release your dog to come
to your side then immediately run
forward. Post turn as your dog
gets to you and then reward.
Repeat on your opposite side.

December 17 | Clean Run

37
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - December 2017
