Clean Run Magazine - June 2009 - 41

No Stay The dog can’t hold a stay for lead-outs. First, find out if the team really needs a stay: If you have students with a dog they can always outrun, perhaps they can just run with the dog forever. It is not, as I eventually learned, the end of the world. If they run with the dog in trials they might as well practice like they compete, right? I have them restrain the dog by the collar and not do even a mini lead-out. Perhaps we should rename lead-out work to “opening sequence work,” having students perfect what works best for their dog. If they need a stay for lead-outs, here are some suggestions. Long-term Fix — Have a handout available with tips for teaching a rock-solid stay. — Suggest private lessons with you or someone uggest you trust and other resources for training. — Keep encouraging them every week and ask how they are progressing. Short-term Fix — Have a long shoe lace or thin cord handy. Before the handler says Stay, she slides one end of the cord through the buckle collar and hands both ends to a helper (often the instructor); the helper does not pull on the collar with the cord. Should the dog start to move the handler simply prevents the dog from moving—no correction, no verbal scolding—just enough pressure that the dog can’t leave. When the handler releases the dog on a verbal cue the helper drops one end of the lace and off the dog goes as the cord slips through the collar. If the dog is nervous with strangers this won’t work; in fact, it could make the anxiety worse. — Skip the stay and the lead-out. Have the handler start the course running with the dog where/when the lead-out is over (usually at the third or fourth obstacle). — A helper (you or someone the dog knows) can restrain (hold) the dog at the start line, that way the handler never even tells the dog to stay. — Do not allow students to take up class time to train their start-line stay unless the student prefers to skip the drill or a portion of it and spend time working on the stay. Not all students should be given the choice. — Encourage stays to be practiced on the sidelines of class when or if possible (based on whether or not you need the students’ attention on you). Short- and Long-term Fix — I have tried many things and what works best is to have the handler abruptly leave and go sit down. The zooming rarely last longer than the person’s turn would have taken so the class does not lose any time. If the dog goes last in the jump height, the height change can take place while the dog is zooming. In dire situations, I sneak up behind the dog, clap my hands together hard, and shout Hey! That usually makes the dog notice that his momma is gone. The dog simply goes back on leash or in the crate when he returns, no scolding. In most cases the handler has to miss a turn to be fair to the class time. Do not let anyone chase after or scream at the dog; it doesn’t work and often makes zooming worse. — You will have to tell the class not laugh as well; that is the hard part (except for the poor handler who usually is not laughing). — This last tip only works sometimes, but when it does it is beautiful! As the dog zooms past the handler, the handler can actually join the zoom, like hopping a freight train, and get the dog to take an obstacle. It ends in an ad-lib course with a big reward for rejoining the partnership. Missing Agility Foundation Skills No Lateral Lead-out The handler can’t be off to the side of the jumps on a lead -out. The dog has to see the handler through the jump stanchions or he will go around one or more of the jumps. Long-term Fix — Insist that the handler train a lateral lead-out at home; again have a written handout on how to teach it. — Give the handlers a choice in class. They can either have you help them with the toy and show the dog what to do (actually train the lateral leadout) and skip the rest of the drill or they can do a short-term fix and run the current drill. They can’t have both; make a suggestion as to what they should do based on the team. 41 Zoomies It took me a while to understand that zoomies (the dog tucking his tail and running like crazy, usually in giant loops) is not a terrible thing. The dog is letting his hair down because he really needs to do it for a variety of reasons (stress release, lack of exercise, and so on) so I no longer make a big deal of it. Most dogs don’t do the zoomies after the first few months of class; they get into the game and forget about zooming. Zooming is often about excess energy so remind the owner to take the edge off before class if possible (exercise the dog). The real answer is all about having a well-trained recall, isn’t it? June 09 | Clean Run
Clean Run Magazine - June 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - June 2009
