Clean Run Magazine - July 2007 - 38

Trainer’s Forum By Brenna Fender What are some good ways to use the practice jump as part of my pre-run preparation? Barb DeMascio There are several good ways to use the practice jump to help prepare you and your dog for the upcoming run; the jump’s intended use—warming up a dog’s muscles—is just one. The best way to warm up your dog can vary depending on the type of dog you have. For any dog, you can practice your crosses to get you and your dog in tune with each other. If you have a dog with stay problems, you can work your stay by tossing a toy or dropping food and rewarding success before going in the ring, reminding the dog to have self-control. You can also work your stays while waiting to use the practice jump. Just be sure to keep your dog on leash and far enough away not to bother the dog that is jumping. This can be a good reminder for your dog to focus on you, especially for dogs that are motion sensitive. If you have a dog that gets very excited at trials, you can work control exercises, such as collecting the dog to your lead-out position or front cross, or running and decelerating into the jump and rewarding the dog for collecting. If your dog needs motivating, you can work some running recalls over the jump and reward him to help pep him up before going in the ring, along with some ﬂowing crosses. Each dog is different in the length of warm-up time needed to prepare him to run Barb, who has been involved in agility since 1988, is a full-time agility instructor and teaches seminars, group classes, and private lessons in various locations. Her business, Get Rev’d Agility, is based in southeastern Pennsylvania. Contact Barb through her website: www.getrevd.com. his best, and this time will also vary with the temperature (needing less when very warm and humid and more when cold). Your warm-up routine at the practice jump should not be lengthy—you aren’t there to drill, just to get your dog in tune and ready for the run. You don’t want your dog too hot or no longer eager when entering the ring, nor do you want him fresh from the crate. If you aren’t sure what’s optimum for your dog, keep track of your warm-ups and how your dog runs and try adjusting it until you ﬁnd what works best. Another use of the practice jump is to help cue the dog to the type of class you are about to run. If your upcoming Sherry Kluever Sherry, a full-time agility instructor, was a 2003 AKC World Team Member, a twotime ESPN Great Outdoor Games Gold Medalist, a three-time USDAA Grand Prix Finalist, an AKC Nationals Finalist, and a Steeplechase Finalist. Visit Sherry’s website: http://SherryKluever.com. Good question! I have a deﬁnite ritual at the practice jump before we run. The very ﬁrst thing I do is to make sure I walk my dog after taking her out of the crate to warm her up a little. I then do a quick warm-up on the practice jump. Basically, I jump her low, just to get her muscles warmed up, mostly doing ﬁgure eights around the jump for several minutes. Once her muscles are warmed, I step away from the jump. Then I go through a whole stretching routine. I stretch her sides, back, rear legs, and front legs. I also do some lateral leg stretching as well. I ﬁnd that most people don’t even consider stretching their dogs before their runs. I’ve found that this routine has really helped alleviate some of the potential for injury. Once I’m done with the warm up and stretching part, I then do a little routine that incorporates front crosses, rear crosses, and jump wraps. I start at a lower jump height and move up to either the dog’s normal jump height or even one height above for my Border Collie to help her get some additional extension. I begin by doing ﬁgure eights. Then I do reverse ﬁgure eights. By reverse I mean I start by sending my dog around the outside of the jump, into me, and then do a rear cross of the dog on the 38 Clean Run | July 07 © CLEAN RUN

http://www.getrevd.com http://SherryKluever.com

Clean Run Magazine - July 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - July 2007