Clean Run - February 2015 - 54

Using Loops to Reset Your Dog After an Error
You have set up this course to train on. Here are some
loops you can do to keep the flow for your dog as you
re-attempt obstacles you may have had a problem with.

USDAA Masters Standard
Bay Team
December 7, 2014
Carol Voelker

Dog pops out of the weaves at #7:

Dog on right: Pick up #4, #5, and #6 to get back to the poles.

17
8

Dog misses weave entry:

Dog on left: Pull slightly away from weaves, front cross
to put the dog on your right and avoid #15. Send the
dog over #6 and then front cross so you have dog on
your left to re-attempt the poles.

12
4
1

Dog on left: Pull sharply to #15 and then do the poles
or include the wrong side of #6 on your way (remember
the problem was not the entry).

5
11

Dog on right: Pull to keep the dog on your right, take #6,
and then pull the dog back to re-attempt the weaves

20
1

Dog misses down contact on dogwalk at #5:

Dog on left: When you are ready to re-attempt the
dogwalk, do #18, #19, and the wrong side of #2. If you
don't want to take the dog off the side of the dogwalk, take #6 to #18, or #6 to #17 to #18, and then do #19 and the
wrong side of #2.

Dog on right: Do #6, #7, and #4 and then re-attempt the dogwalk.

Dog misses down contact on A-frame: When you are ready to re-attempt the A-frame, front cross to #8, take
#9, and then front cross back to the A-frame.
Dog misses teeter contact: Heel dog quickly back on your left-not all loops include obstacles. If you want to
re-attempt it a few times, change the angle of the tire and send to it.

2-on-2-off contacts: If the dog does not stop at all, I
have him lie down. So many folks do this at trials every
fourth Sunday (inconsistently), but never in class. I do
not yell at the dog, I just tell him to down (they do not
resent it because it is normal communication for us) and
he must wait for a release word to get up (critical). Then
I make my loop. I would never down a dog that is low
drive or just learning, only a seasoned dog.
If the dog did stop in the correct position and then released himself, I would do a "short one." This means
pulling the dog all the way around me (no side change)
and having him hop up onto the side of the obstacle at
the point where he is able (depends on the size of the
dog). Be sure you have pulled the dog around you far
enough that he is facing the correct direction before
hopping on. Give him your end-position command, not a
"hop on" command. Once the dog puts himself back into
the correct position you can do some proofing reminders and give lots of rewards. Then I would start over and
put the obstacle back into sequence by making a loop,
of course!

Dropped bars: I don't believe in scolding dogs for
knocked bars. They are either not able to jump high
enough or they have not been trained to run fast, jump
high, and turn all at the same time. More often than not
they are not fit enough to be perfect jumpers. I do worry
that if I ignore the dropped bar entirely that the dog may
not be getting fair feedback from me. It is a very slippery
slope. I simply stop moving, reset the bar and take it again.
If I can reward before the next obstacle I do, I always verbally congratulate the dog when he clears the bar.

Running around jumps: I simply dive-in like a warrior
princess and push the dog back around to the correct
side of the jump. If I blow it and he takes it the wrong
direction that is okay, the point is to get over the jump!
Be super sweet about it with the sensitive ones. Hurt
their feelings and pay the price. For the super sensitive
ones you may need to ignore it and just keep going.

Refusals because of "early" turn cues: My current
favorite subject. Please! No hate mail! I think we have
taken "screw-up cookies" too far. In this case, I'm referClean Run | February 15

Clean Run - February 2015

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