Clean Run Magazine -May 2010 - 67

Add Handler Motion Repeat both lead-out drills while running with the dog as shown in Figure 3. If your dog is too fast for you to get ahead, do as short a lead-out as possible for you to execute a proper front cross (you are out of the dog’s way).

Add a Second Jump
When you add the second jump remember to maintain all the criteria for the tight turn you established in the one-jump drills. The drills are done with the jumps set up in two separate configurations, two jumps that are parallel to each other and two jumps that are placed end to end. On each of the configurations you can train: • Lead-outs: You can use your position to teach the dog when to collect (slow) for the turn based on where you are standing (positional cue) before you execute the front cross. • Adding momentum: These drills are designed to ask the dog if he still understands his job when momentum (speed) is added to the drill. The cross is executed on the second jump, using the first jump as way to add momentum to the drill. This added distance and speed makes collection harder for the dog. You must add to the challenge that momentum brings to any drill by running with the dog instead of doing just stationary lead-outs. Do not fool yourself into thinking that teaching your dog to collect when you are not moving will teach him to collect when you are moving; it won’t. They are two separate training projects. • Choose Me Drill: Execute the front cross on the first jump, using the second jump as an off-course temptation for the dog. The spacing between the two jumps dictates the difficulty of the drill. • Double Up Drills: Do two front crosses on each setup.
5 4

Repeat both lead-out drills while running with the dog. If your dog is too fast for you to get ahead, do as short a lead-out as possible for you to execute a proper front cross.

In this example, the course turns back on itself. Practice the mirror image of this lead-out.

Two-Jump Drills: Parallel Configuration
Start with the two jumps approximately 18' apart (closer for little dogs). Choose spacing that promotes success. As you train and the dog understands the job, you can change the distance to decrease or increase difficulty. Lead-Outs Lead out and execute a front cross on the takeoff side of the jump as in Figure 4, and then the landing side of the second jump as shown in Figure 5. Be sure to keep the path for the dog available to him; do not linger in the dog’s path. Add Momentum Repeat the drills in Figures 4 and 5, but instead of leading out, run with the dog as if the jumps are in the middle of a sequence. If your dog is too fast, do as short of a lead-out as possible to be completely out of the dog’s way as you do the front cross. Figure-eight Drill Start in the middle of the jumps and move from jump to jump as shown in Figure 6. Do not send the dog; run with him. Practice both the hip emphasis and hand-change emphasis separately. Experiment with the timing. If you pull the dog off the jump, immediately get the dog to go over the jump like it is an emergency (like you might in a trial). When perfecting the timing of the hip rotation remember that you are rotating as your dog approaches the jump. You will be facing the new direction before the dog lands.

LOP

In this example, the course goes past the second jump and turns. Practice the mirror image of this lead-out.

Work this figure-eight pattern in a continuous loop. Be sure to practice your front crosses with a hip cue and then a hand cue.
67

May 10 | Clean Run

Clean Run Magazine -May 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine -May 2010