Clean Run - February 2012 - 26

I am not saying that getting the weight off is going to solve all your problems. But it will extend the life of your dog. I once commented on the weight of one dog, only to be told that the dog was at the end of his career anyway! To which I retorted it’s a quality of life that is at stake! Your dog runs agility because you ask him to. You take him to training classes. You have probably spent thousands of hours working your dog. Your dog is in agility trials because you take him. As smart as Border Collies are, I have not yet met one that can ﬁll out an entry, and write a check. He could probably take the envelope to the Post Ofﬁce and mail it, though. The least you can do for your dog, and his performance is to make absolutely sure that he is ﬁt for the task of running. For most of the dogs, a simple reduction in the amount of calories is all that is needed. A little reduction at meals, and a few less treats before, during, and after the run or class. I have changed out some of my treats to Cheerios. They cost less, and I get a lot of them in a box. I even use the generic store brand. And the calories are lower, and they can actually be good for him as well. Now, the Greyhound that I work with isn’t fond of them, but my other dog doesn’t care. He will eat anything! And there in is the whole point in a nutshell. Most dogs that are overweight will eat anything. They are not fussy. So, why cut up the hot dogs, the ham, and the other fattening treats when something simple for training will do? Keeping the better treats for the really important runs make it much more rewarding for the dog. Or if your dog is a fussy eater, then make the treat a real reward! He actually has to perform to earn it! He isn’t just sitting there and getting handfed. I recently watched a handler with her dog sitting in a chair just giving treat after treat. The dog has done nothing to earn the treat. He was just sitting there. Sometimes I ﬁnd myself doing this. I give my dog treats while waiting our turn. Then, I give one just before we enter in the hope that he will keep his attention on the run. I know in my heart that this isn’t so; once we are in the ring, we are on our own. My dog

has to want to do the job. He knows that this is a “free” zone. He’s free to do what he wants, or what I want. The choice becomes his. And that is the point. The treat becomes the afﬁrmation of a correct choice. Let’s make sure that the reward doesn’t end up sabotaging our efforts by adding a handicap. If you think that an extra pound or two isn’t slowing your dog down, check out the Delaware Handicap Filly/Mare race that was recently run. In it, the number one-ranked horse, Havre de Grace, “gave” 2 pounds to the number-two ranked horse, Blind Luck. Blind Luck won by a nose, setting off a barrage of debates concerning those 2 pounds! We’re talking 2 pounds here, folks. Two pounds of extra weight on a 1100-pound horse! Or, try running a course with a backpack of books and see how it goes for you. The way I ﬁgure it, I give my dog a handicap just by running him in agility. I really don’t need any more help in hindering my dog. Do you? D

Although Donna has bred and shown Beagles and English Foxhounds, Sam is her first Harrier, and her first agility dog. Sam was a rescue from the Harrier Club of America. He didn’t start training until the age of six, and has earned CD, BN, RAE, MX, MXJ, NAP, OJP, and OF titles.

H o of t o W o m o

Each month, I’m going to share a short visualization exercise that provides solutions to many common handling problems. I’ll do this using exercises I use in riding. Happy handling! Jump poles are knocked down when green dogs aren’t given a fair-n-square approach. To keep poles up with an inexperienced dog, imagine you must get your dog’s body lined up at a perpendicular angle to the base of the jump at least two dog strides before each fence. This is called a square approach. Try not to redirect until the front two paws have hit the ground. As your dog progresses in training and courses get more challenging, you can narrow that distance to getting perpendicular to the jump one stride out. This will also improve your handling set up if you are a green handler.

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The Square Take-Off and Landing
By Holly Newman

Experienced dogs will jump clean on a diagonal line across a fence (without a perpendicular approach) and will turn in the air, but you should practice these approaches at home (both angled leftright and right-left and a redirect before the dog hits the ground) to see how clean your dog is and the maximum angle he will tolerate without a run-out, refusal, or knock down. D

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Holly Jean Newman is a United States Dressage Federation Bronze Medalist and a graduate HA Pony Clubber in Eventing. She is currently showing 4th level dressage and has three scores remaining to earn her USDF Silver Medal. The young horse she “broke” and trained was the Mid-Atlantic Intro Level Morgan Dressage Champion in 2011. Holly also handles an ASPCA rescue Australian Shepherd, that has shown and ribboned in agility. Her sister Heather Newman and mother Robin Newman are both successful USDAA, NADAC, and AKC agility competitors in Central Virginia. Clean Run | February 12

Clean Run - February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - February 2012