Clean Run - March 2012 - 15

Relaxed Stay
Teach your dog to wait patiently on a chair if he is small enough; for bigger dogs, use a raised bed. This behavior is great to use when you are at your group class and the ground is damp and cold. It also keeps your small dog from being stepped on in class by another handler or her dog. Many dogs are noisy in class when in a crate or x-pen but are quiet when having to wait for their turn on a bed or chair. Initially train this when you are stationary, either watching TV or sitting at your computer. Then train it when you are moving around; for example: folding laundry, putting groceries away, or loading your car for a show. At first reward your dog frequently while he is resting on the chair or bed. If he gets off the chair or bed simply take control of him and return him to the chair or bed. The dog’s criteria for this exercise is to remain where placed on a chair or bed in either a sit, down, or stand (it is okay for him to move between positions) until released with his verbal release cue. See Figure 4. This differs from a sit- or downstay where the dog should remain in the same position until released. I teach three types of stay to my dogs and therefore use three different cues: 1) Sit or Down for my sit- or down-stay where the dog is to remain in position until verbally released; 2) Wait there for a relaxed stay on a bed or chair where the dog is to remain on the object until verbally released; and 3) Settle for my dog to go and lay down somewhere, but the dog may get up without a release cue. 4

Reliable Recalls
When training recalls with a young dog I start by using my dog’s name as he runs toward me. The end position of my recall is when my dog is in front of me and my hand is in his collar. See Figure 5. I consider my hand to be the equivalent of my leash clip and my arm to be the equivalent of my leash. I add my recall cue when my dog reaches me. I reward my dog with a treat and praise, and then I give my verbal release cue and let go of the collar. 5

This is step one of basic recall training and I rely on this well-trained basic recall to get my dogs back to me whenever they are off leash. It differs from a restrained recall which I will use to build drive to chase, catch up to me, and play with a toy. I think a strong reliable recall under all levels of distraction is a necessity for all dogs competing in agility and I will cover the training of it in detail next month. After all, agility is an off-leash sport. D

Rachel Sanders has competed in agility since 1994, and with her Border Collie, Whist, and JRT, Trump, has won three USDAA Grand Prix of Dog Agility Championships and a Steeplechase Championship. Rachel and her BC Fable represented the U.S. at the 2008 IFCS World Championships in Belgium where they earned a silver medal. In addition to teaching across North America at seminars and camps, she teaches full time at her agility center in Atascadero, California. Contact her at www.fastforwarddogsports.com. March 12 | Clean Run 15
http://www.doggytoyland.com http://www.fastforwarddogsports.com
Clean Run - March 2012

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