Clean Run - June 2015 - 60

© MATT SACHS / AGILITY IMAGES

Part 5: PhD (Perfectly Handled Distance)

When

"RUN FASTER!"
Isn't an Option
By Helen Grinnell King

Whenever something goes wrong in the
ring, I know that it is 100% my fault. It
was either a handling error or a training
error. Either way, I can fix it. I never get
angry, frustrated, or disappointed in my
dog in the ring or in training. I know
that anything that goes wrong is just
information I can use to make our team
stronger. It is never ever the dog's fault!

Training dogs for agility is a long and
fun process. Training dogs when you
can't run is an even longer process. It
takes a lot more dedication and understanding of good dog training than
if you can run fast and lead your dog
around the course. As the great Bob
Bailey says, "Training is simple but not
easy." If you have the skills, however, it
can be a lot easier than you think.

Take your proofing to the highest level
you can. Be creative. The more difficult
proofing your dog can handle, the better
the understanding will be of that behavior. Can your dog perform the contacts if
you throw her favorite toy as fast as you
can while she is going down the ramp?
Can she weave while you play with another dog or run in the opposite direction, or spin in circles while she is in the
poles? These are all things we do to help
our dog reach a higher level of understanding of each and every behavior.

Throughout your dog's agility career,
you will be constantly training and
maintaining behaviors. Never take them
for granted. You will think you have a
dog that truly understands a behavior,
then one day it is as if they never knew
it at all. That tells you that you have not
maintained the training of that behavior
well enough. It is not the dog's fault!
I hate seeing people yell at or punish
their dog for not performing a behavior
correctly. Every behavior needs to be
maintained with good reinforcement
throughout your dog's career.
© NINA SAGE

Behaviors can
go downhill
very fast if
not constantly
maintained
and if criteria
are allowed
to slip in
competition.
60

Many people avoid doing things that
cause their dog to fail. My husband and
I like to hit those things head on. The
more difficult the better! If my dog has
trouble working around other dogs,
then that is what I am going to do as
often as I can!
Once I think my dog is trained well
enough to be successful in the ring, I enter
my first trial. My dogs are normally two
years old or more before they are entered.
I usually enter only in Jumpers at first and
wait a few months to enter classes with
contacts. That way, they are more comfortable in the ring and contacts will not
be scary. Normally, I would enter a FAST
class or a Gamblers class before a Standard
class so I could work the contacts if something goes wrong. I try to take my dogs to
matches and UKI trials as often as I can.
You can use a toy in the ring with UKI.
That is so great!

The video you can see here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3RZeDsKNyk
or on the June 2015 play list on Clean Run Magazine YouTube channel is of
my husband's Border Collie, Crush. She was 2 years old at the time and still
in open standard, but had been trained to a very high level. Mel was injured
so I ran her. I had just had knee surgery to ﬁx my knee cap that was broken
in half. I could barely move and when I did the pain was excruciating. Crush
was blazing fast and I was painfully slow. It doesn't matter; if you are slow,
you can train any speed dog to get around a course successfully. Unfortunately, Crush dropped a bar but was otherwise clean. I love how she has no
idea where I was when she landed in her two-on/two-off position at the end
of the A-frame, but she waited for me. This video is a great example of independent contacts and how important they are.
Clean Run | June 15
Clean Run - June 2015

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