Clean Run - February 2016 - 58

Two Balls

Developing Playful Energy

In addition to the usual tug games
and using the ball as a reward for a
static send, I teach puppies to love the
energy of being close to me. I reward
the dog quickly with another ball for
returning the ball to me and the return
of the ball becomes a game in itself.
I use two balls to reward for coming
into position during heelwork and
eventually, as adults the dogs enjoy
being by my side and running to me
so much that they will gravitate to
"heel" position (on my left) or "side"
position (on my right) whether the ball
is in their mouth or in my hand.

Firstly, when bringing up a new puppy
I usually reward whatever object they
pick up and bring to me. Not only is
the word "bring" useful throughout
their lives, if they do manage to find
and pick up a ballpoint pen and wonder what to do with it I would rather
they brought it to me.
Secondly, I try not to try!

One of the little ironies of dog agility is that when inexperienced agility
handlers are told that the be-all-andend-all of having a great agility dog
is to be found in play, they begin to
approach their dogs with the goal
of getting them to play. As emphasis
is placed on the act of tugging, it effectively removes enthusiasm from
the dog. Some handlers go about it
the wrong way and instead of the
toy being fast and exciting prey to be
pursued and then killed, it is thrust
into the dogs' face and any interest
that may have been ready to kindle is
gone with the wind.

and relaxed. So if you are ready to go
about teaching a dog, the best way
to do so is by seeming like you do not
care whether they tug or not. Be carefree, happy, and energetic when you
play with your dog and only play for
short periods of time, stopping when
both of you would rather not. By doing
so, your dog's desire for the toy should
grow stronger and stronger.
Be inventive and find items and toys
your dog finds desirable. Remember
that it is the energy you present to
your dog when you train/play with
him that is the critical component of
success... not the way you play or the
objects you use.
Would my dogs be better at agility if I
was physically able to tug with them?
Possibly, but I will continue to be creative when engaging my dogs to play.
I will encourage their goofiness and
reward them where I want them to
be. Above all, I will continue to treasure every moment we can run agility
together. D

As any dog will tell you, they only tug
or engage in playfulness when both
they and their playmates are happy

Agility author and Pioneer of Dog Agility since 1989, Kathy Lofthouse was inducted into the USDAA Hall of Fame in October 2014. Kathy has trained 14 USDAA Agility
Dogs, 4 ADCHs, 2 MACHs, a U-CDX, 2 U-CDs, and made the USDAA Grand Prix Finals 4 times. She and her dog, Daz, were 22" Regional Champions in both Performance
Grand Prix and Performance Speed jumping in 2010. Kathy has taught private agility lessons for 25 years and enjoys problem solving, teaching seminars, and workshops
for all levels. Contact her via email at runjumpweave@hotmail.com.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - February 2016