Clean Run Magazine - June 2009 - 73

Jumping Extended and Collected Teach your dog to jump long when you are running past a jump. Pump your arms and run hard toward and past the jump; throw the toy while you are running. And when you are stopped on the takeoff side of the jump, teach your dog to collect and turn over the bar. When he lands after the turn, you and the reward will be on the takeoff side of the jump. Don’t-cross-me Drill Teach the dog not to change sides on you while you are running. Simply run around the jump in both directions with your dog on the outside; you stay in the middle between the dog and the jump. Reward the dog for not crossing in front of you or behind you to take the jump. Seven Turn Cues Work both sides on each of these drills and don’t call your dog when you are teaching physical cues. Do use your voice to encourage and reward your dog. Pull: You can run tight circles around each stanchion and reward your dog for staying next to your leg. Front Cross: Practice the front cross on the takeoff and landing sides of the jump. Add a lead-out if needed. Rear Cross: Get creative; do all angles. Make some turns tighter and some looser. Some end with handler and a reward on the landing side of the jump; some can be combined with a pull where the dog wraps back to the handler. Lateral Motion: Start by standing in the middle of the jump with the dog close to you. Spring to the side by pushing off with the leg closest to the dog. Your dog should take the jump then turn tightly to you. Progress to running toward the jump then moving laterally. Lack of Motion: Just run toward the jump and slam on the brakes. The dog will jump and turn tightly back to you for his reward. Do not add a pull or a front cross at the end. Push-through: Step toward the space next to the jump to send the dog off your leg to the back side of the jump. Use the hand and leg closest to the dog. Do not overtrain this drill. Verbal Left and Right Cues: Practice sending the dog to the jump and perfecting his Left and Right commands; remember no moving (these are verbal-only cues). Try sending the dog from between your legs for a clean start. Distance and Send Work Use all the space you have. Teach Go On by throwing the toy past the jump. Teach the send by using a verbal Jump command and reward for going out to take the jump and turning tightly back to you. Use the jumparound-the-clock method so you don’t miss any angles. You can teach your dog many jumping skills and cues with just one jump. When you perfect these drills, your foundation for your 180, 270, and serpentine work will be done. Have fun! Tracy Sklenar There is a ton of stuff you can do with just one jump in a small area. The first thing you should do is purchase Susan Garrett’s Success with One Jump DVD. That DVD is worth its weight in gold because it is chock full of information. Tracy, an instructor at Leader of the Pack in Smyrna, New York, and Say Yes! Dog Training in Ontario, Canada, presents seminars throughout the country. She competes in agility with her Border-Jack, Export, and Rat Terrier, Rebound. Her puppy-in-training Matrix is a Border-Staffy, and her two Dalmatians are retired from competition. Contact Tracy at agilitydals@yahoo.com A great skill for you to focus on is a rock solid start-line stay. Can your dog hold his stay no matter how many distractions you present, or how far from the jump you go? Having a great start-line stay opens up a huge variety of handling possibilities and puts you squarely in control of every run. When you are happy with your start-line stay, you can add an “Around the Clock” game. Can your dog take the jump when you lead out to anywhere on the clock face? You can use your single jump to teach the dog how to use his body over the bar. If you have two spare long poles, you can set up a homemade version of Susan Salo’s “spider” exercise (a construction article is available in the Articles section of the Magazine Forum at www.cleanrun.com). Also, you can get some PVC plumbing pipes to use as jump bumps. This will allow you to do some of Salo’s set-point exercises. You can get specific distances and setups for your dog from her Foundation Jumping DVD. If you have enough room, you can teach your dog how to respond to your motion. You can cue the dog to work in extension by accelerating past the jump (and then throw your reinforcement). You can cue the dog to collect and turn by decelerating near the jump (and then reward the dog for driving back to you). You can work on your verbal directional cues on a single jump, too. Not only do you want to work on your Left and Right cues, but you also want to work on the Go On, Get Out, Dig, Swing, and any others you think will come in handy during your dog’s career. D Brenna Fender is a freelance writer with an undergraduate degree in mass communications and a masters degree in elementary education. She lives with her husband, two young children, a Whippet, and a rescued BC puppy. Over the years, Brenna and her dogs have earned titles in agility, obedience, conformation, hunting, rally, and lure coursing. The husband and children are far less impressively titled. Contact her at BrennaFender@gmail.com. June 09 | Clean Run 73 © clean run

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Clean Run Magazine - June 2009

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