Clean Run Magazine - June 2008 - 22

6A My dog is directly in front of me; his approach is opposite of our final direction. 6B A B C D A) My dog is directly in front of me; his approach is opposite of our final direction. B) I call him; as he approaches I step back with my left leg and draw him in behind me to my left leg. C) I then turn him 180° and draw him forward into his final position at my side. D) My dog should not come to my inside (left) foot and then shift his rear end laterally to achieve a parallel position at my side. Because of my natural cues (no motion, shoulders facing dog) and trained cues (hand signal), my dog should be reluctant to go past me. As he approaches I step back to provide some motion in the direction I want him to go, and, at the same time, draw my hand behind me to encourage him to move past me. Because the most common recall is shown in Figure 5A, where he should not go past the plane of my hand, he will need the support of these cues. I maintain eye contact throughout this exercise. When practicing heelwork, I focus on changes in pace and changes of direction, including the four basic turns: front cross, pull, rear cross, and push (see CR, February 2008). I practice 90° and 180° turns at a walk and a run. I emphasize 90° turns that are cued primarily with lateral motion. Lateral motion not only cues the turn, it cues the direction of the turn. To a lesser extent I practice 180° turns, which are cued with deceleration. Deceleration is nonspecific since it cues the turn but not the direction. As a handler, so that I appropriately cue my dog to which direction he needs to go, I use lateral motion to cue most crosses. Therefore, as a trainer, I focus on using lateral motion when I practice heelwork on the flat. See Figure 7. I teach my dog each of the basic turns on the flat without obstacles to establish how my cues relate to each turn. When teaching the basic turns on the flat, my goal is to increase my dog’s understanding of what is expected in response to my motion cues, which will ultimately become my turning cues when used in combination with obstacles on course. I call him; as he approaches I step back with my left leg and draw him in behind me to my left leg. Once my dog can recall to heel on the flat, I introduce obstacles that are not to be performed. I continue to recall him on the flat; however, with the addition of obstacles he learns that there is no reward for him to go beyond my hand signal to perform an obstacle that has not been cued. See Figures 4, 5, and 6. Recalling my dog to heel as a control measure on course is not my final goal. In my handling system, I do not use a recall to heel to create a turn on the flat between obstacles. On course the primary place I use a recall to heel is over and through the turning obstacles because it allows my dog to predict where he will be going next and helps him prepare before the obstacle. For him to understand recalls to heel over and through the turning obstacles, he needs a solid foundation on the flat. Sends In my handling system, in order for me to cue a turn, my dog needs to be able to go forward to a turning obstacle while I am moving laterally or decelerating. If I send my dog to a turning obstacle without supporting the dog with forward motion, I am giving him a turning cue. If I expect my dog to go forward to an obstacle, I must give him forward cues. The forward cues needed in the absence of forward motion are a verbal obstacle command and an inside hand signal, which are trained skills. To help my dog learn the meaning of my Jump command and hand signal, I teach him forward and lateral sends, which require him to focus on the trained cues. As part of my jumping foundation work, I teach my dogs to circle around a cone, post, or wing at speed. My goal is to teach them to love turning, and to learn to decelerate into and accelerate out of the turns. This is not unique; many trainers do this. I expand on this drill by practicing forward and lateral sends to the wing. Clean Run | June 08 Heelwork on the Flat Running with my dog at my side strengthens my dog’s awareness of my natural cues and his understanding of certain handling maneuvers. At first I walk with my dog at my side, but I quickly progress to running, so that I can work on acceleration and deceleration as well as changes of direction. I want my dog to become keenly aware of my motion. I have no problem with starting with my dog on a loose leash. I don’t ask for precision heeling, but I do ask that my dog respond to my motion and turns. Actually running a full course with my dog in heel position is not my final goal. I simply want my dog to learn to watch for my motion cues and to follow them. 7 A B A) I am running with my dog and I make a quick pull, 90° laterally to the right. I will run away and reward my dog when he catches up, having followed my motion. B) I am running with my dog and I make a quick pull, 180° to the right. I will run away and reward my dog when he catches up, after having followed my motion. 22

Clean Run Magazine - June 2008

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