Clean Run - June 2015 - 58

Dogs that are expressive usually offer
a range of excited behaviors which you
can transfer into tricks. But some dogs
do not express themselves so passionately, even when being excited. With these
dogs just choose tricks they really like.
Does your dog like to offer behaviors
with his legs? Does he prefer to use his
mouth/nose? Or does he just like doing
tricks that are full of motion? Besides
spinning, jumping, and barking you can
try: walking backward, standing/jumping
on hind legs (tricks that make the dog
"bigger" than his actual size are great
because they encourage self-confidence),
nose touches (great for easily distracted
dogs since this trick keeps them close
to you), etc. When choosing tricks, just
keep in mind that the tricks for a start
routine should make your dog happy
and excited, and get him in motion and
ready for action. And, they shouldn't be
too complicated.

speed and accuracy. Until your dog can
perform the tricks with enthusiasm,
speed, confidence, and independence you
shouldn't use them as a part of your start
routine since they can have the opposite
effect of what you want.

The Waiting Part of Your
Start Routine
I admit it; I am not a fan of static exercises. Consequently waiting is not my
favorite exercise and, of course, my dogs
know this very well and they also know
how to take advantage of it. But still, I
think waiting is an important part of the
start routine, mostly because it gives you
the chance to gain a much-needed advantage at the start line. Therefore, I advise
all my students and their dogs (whether
they have motivational problems or not)
to include waiting in their start routine.

The final step of completing the start
routine is teaching your dog what the
desirable behavior is after the start routine. This means connecting the start
routine with action, full speed running,
and excitement. You can achieve this in a
few simple steps:

There are not many "out of the ordinary"
ideas for me to write about with regard
to waiting, but I do want to point out several important points-use your release
command consistently and raise criteria
gradually. Remember that every behavior has a beginning and an end, and you
have to make sure that the dog knows
when one behavior ends and another begins. The other important thing when it
comes to waiting is choosing the position
you want your dog to wait in-sit, stand,
or down. This depends a lot on your
own preferences, but after observing
many dogs and their waiting positions, I
have come to some conclusions that you
might want to take into consideration.

When teaching these "happy" tricks, be
sure to teach them with excitement, use
high value rewards, and really focus on
fast performance so you get as much explosiveness from the dog as possible. In
the beginning, it is not so important that
your dog performs the tricks independently; what matters more is that he performs them with speed and excitement.
For example, if your dog already knows
spinning but he is rather slow at it, start
teaching it again from beginning and
help him get faster by using your hand
(luring). After you see his speed improve, start gradually working on independence (fading the lure), making sure
that you do not lose speed at any stage.

w Ask the dog to perform all the components of your start routine (tricks
followed by waiting position).
w When you're done with the start
routine, walk away from the dog.
w Release the dog with your release
command.
w Run away from the dog.
w While still running away, reward your
dog with: a) tugging toy, b) throwing
a toy, or c) giving him food when he
catches you.

Transforming Speed
and Motivation to Obstacles

As I have mentioned many times before,
working with your dog's natural instincts
and behaviors can be a big advantage.
That is especially true with more sensitive
dogs, since we create fewer conflicts when
we follow their individual preferences
(when we can, of course). Some dogs'
preference is without doubt to lie down
but, on the other hand, I find it is harder for

Important: Before you include tricks
in your start routine or warm-up, they
first have to be taught to perfection. That
means the dog has a clear understanding of what you want from him. Only
behaviors that the dog understands very
well are behaviors he can perform with

When starting agility training, people
usually become very focused on obstacles and handling and forget a bit
about rewarding and making it really fun
for the dog. That doesn't make a big difference when you have a highly driven
dog, whose biggest reward is doing the
© craig lizotte/cl photography

passionate barkers to keep themselves in
a down position. While they bark you can
see how it "lifts them up," so choosing a
standing position can be a "safer" option
with less potential conflict. I like the sitting position the least. The main reason is
that it is somewhere between a stand and
down, and the dog cannot perform a sit
as quickly and enthusiastically as he can
perform a down. The dog can just "throw"
himself into a down, but with sit he has to
think more about what to do. And when
we want to trigger quick and energetic
reactions, less thinking is better. We want
the dog to be able to get into the waiting
position as quickly as possible.

Clean Run | June 15

Clean Run - June 2015

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