Good Footwork and How to Teach It, Part 2 Advanced Ladder Grid basic ladder grid on left and advanced ladder grid on right © susan salo By Susan Salo Last month we looked at using the foundation ladder grid to help instill good footwork in your dog. The next ladder grid that plays an important part in teaching footwork is the advanced ladder grid or advanced plyometric exercise, which is described in my book Jumping Grid Workbook as well as my Tuning Up for Competition DVD. In the DVD, the advanced ladder grid is referred to as the opened up bounce grid. Important: Do not introduce the advanced ladder grid until your dog can perform the foundation ladder grid smoothly and consistently. the foundation ladder grid at the same time. Set them up side by side and alternate your dog between the two grids. This way you are building in scope so your dog recognizes the difference in task as you are leading out to the target. Setting Up the Grid This grid required five winged jumps. I generally use winged jumps because they are more prominent and give the added space more definition to your dog as he looks down the line of jumps. See Figure 1. 1 Overview This grid is similar to the foundation ladder grid which we discussed last month, but it is offered with larger spacing between jumps and slightly more jump height. This makes it a more advanced plyometric grid, requiring a great deal of core strength from your dog. Not all dogs are physically fit enough or have enough core strength to complete this grid without a good deal of practice over time. If you have enough jumps and training space, I suggest you offer this grid and 8 T T 1 1 2 2 4 4 3 3 5 5 Setup Setup Jump Spacing and Height Use the information below to determine the jump spacing and jump heights for the grid. Although I have used these distances with success at seminars, they are only guidelines and you may need to adjust them for your dog. Spacing between the jumps is measured from the center of one jump to the center of the next. Note: This is intended to be a bounce line, not a stride. The distances may need to be adjusted for some dogs to accomplish this. Big Dogs Space the jumps 10' apart and set at 16" in height. The height of these jumps never increases during the exercise. Medium Dogs Space the jumps 9' apart and set at 16" in height. The height of these jumps never increases during the exercise. Small Dogs Space the jumps 7' apart and set at 8" in height. The height of these jumps never increases during the exercise. Tiny Dogs Space the jumps 6' apart and set at 6" in height. The height of these jumps never increases during the exercise. Target The target should be clearly visible to your dog from his starting position. Place it about 10' from the last jump beClean Run | May 17