Clean Run Magazine - June 2010 - 77

5. Inexperienced dogs and handlers must be trained by experienced instructors This statement can get me into trouble when I explain it at seminars. There is a view that the most experienced instructors should concentrate on coaching experienced handlers, and it is okay for newcomers to be left with less experienced trainers. The exact opposite is true. More often than not leaving novice instructors to teach newcomers usually leads to problems with technique later on. It should be self-evident that inexperienced trainers may not identify incorrect application of technique until it is too late, if at all. In my experience technical faults are a lot more difficult to correct after they have become fixed. 6. Technique before speed Another of my favorite arguments! A lot of handlers I come into contact with tend to be obsessed with speed (this is mainly due to the win-only progression system we have in the U.K.). They will do anything to shave off time even if it means compromising on technique. This is particularly apparent when training weaves: handlers become so obsessed with the speed element that they try to take short cuts in training. Case Study 2............................................................................... I was asked to help a handler with a dog that had been trained to weave using the channel method. The dog had developed a couple of faults during the transition from the channel to competition poles. The main problem was a complete inability to slow down enough to enter the weaves correctly. I spent some time discussing the approach the handler had adopted in using the channel weave method to train the dog and it was clear that the problem was not enough time was spent teaching a correct weave entry before the dog was allowed to compete. The outcome was the dog would nearly always get a weave entry in training, but nearly always did not in competition. “Nearly” is not good enough in training! It seemed the handler had misunderstood the need for a dog to learn to decelerate sufficiently to pick up the entry because his trainer had used the terms “slow down” when explaining the technique. The last thing the handler thought she wanted was for the dog to slow down anywhere on a course; so this compro-

mised the handler’s view of the technique needed for the dog to attain a correct weave entry. Once I had persuaded the handler I wanted the dog to decelerate on his approach to the weaves (slow was not what I wanted), we started to make progress. 7. Rebuild slowly When a fault has been identified within the technique under review, a method needs to be devised to correct it. If a process was used to develop the technique originally, a process broken down into component parts, it is normally enough to run through this process again to remind the handler (or the dog) what the technique should be. This should be done at a slower pace so that the correct technique can be (re)learned. A word of warning: There is a risk in trying to rebuild a technique slowly that the opportunity to incorporate speed into the technique can be missed (especially where speed is considered to be an essential component of the technique). It is up to the judgment of the coach to decide when the rebuilt technique is sufficiently robust to reintroduce the speed element, taking care not to reintroduce the fault (or create another one). Using Case Study 2 as an example, it was essential to reintroduce the speed element as soon as the improved weave entry technique had been stabilized. 8. Skills are best acquired in a controlled environment This is not always possible in a group environment; however, in an ideal situation the technique for each element is taught in a controlled environment with the minimum of distractions. It is very difficult to teach a dog anything when he is overstimulated by the environment around him. This applies equally to the handler who is completely distracted from the training objective because she is simply trying to hang on to her dog that is intent on chasing all the other dogs in the class. In such extreme situations it is essential to develop a training plan that enables the dog and handler to learn in a quiet environment away from distractions; only test the technique in a stimulating environment once it is fully stable. If this sounds like an advert for one-on-one training, then you have understood the situation perfectly! However, for a good description of how to deal with this problem see Susan Garrett’s Shaping Success.

ComfortFlex Sport Harness

We’ve Got Your Number...
You’ve Got Our Address!
®

• Safety • Simplicity • Security

www.cleanrun.com
June 10 | Clean Run

Tent-style or stick-in-the-ground obstacle markers available at

www.cleanrun.com

http://www.cleanrun.com http://www.cleanrun.com

Clean Run Magazine - June 2010

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