Clean Run - July 2017 - 60

Improve Your Handling Skills at Home

BACKYARD|DOGS
Spring is here! In California that means
a return to outdoor trials where we
aren't worried about rain and classes
aren't being cancelled due to rain.
Soon we will be complaining about the
heat! After our unusually wet winter, I
have been looking forward to these
days, only to have my primary competition dog, Rich, get injured. Fortunately, it is much more minor than it
initially looked, but that means another
break from agility since Vic at 10 years
just gets light tune-ups and 14.5-yearold Starlet just looks cute and looks
forward to seeing her treat people at
classes. So, it's been more planning of
future training and looking forward to
when my three-pack can all run loose
at the beach together again.
Rich is just starting to return to agility,
which means we are doing a fast-track
trip down our foundation memory
lane-a fantastic reminder to go back
and revisit a foundation skill every week.
For this month's setup, I'm going to
break down how I would look at three
of the exercises, one from each level.
Obviously, there are many ways to
handle things, but if you are looking for
inspiration, here's what I would do.

For the exercise in Figure 1, my go-to
plan would be to front cross after #1
and again at #2, focusing on being off
my dog's line and giving clear and welltimed information. I would do another
front cross after #4, most likely closer
to #4 than #5, but I would play around
with the cross being in either location.
After that it's just a run. I would be paying attention to not using a serp cue
at #6, since it is just a straight line that
I would like my dog to pick up on his
own. If I were looking to build character, I would force myself to do a post
turn at #2 and rear cross #3.
For the exercise in Figure 5, I would set
up my dog to slice #1 and try to hold
a lateral line while he goes into the
tunnel. Before my dog enters the tunnel, I would want him to notice that I
was not driving forward to cue the turn
afterwards. I would also call his name
while he's in the tunnel, which I always
do when I am out of sight at the exit
and need him to look for me. I would
try to front cross as my dog's shoulders
were exiting the tunnel to further help
him notice the turn. I want my front
cross to give the dog a clear view of the
wing of #4. As soon as he lands I would

By Mia Grant

start giving him a backside verbal while
still supporting the line. When his nose
gets to the correct side of #4, I would
start my front cross to #5.
If I could send him to #5, there's a chance
I could make a front cross happen after
the tunnel. But if I have to support #5,
I will not make it there, in which case I
would need to show my dog deceleration before he goes into the tunnel. If I
had to send to the tunnel, then I would
serp #7 and rear cross #8 to the weaves.
If I could front cross out of the tunnel,
I would want my dog to see me slow
down, then turn, then go at #7, then
drive the line to #8, where he would
once again see me slow down to show
the turn to the weaves.
For the exercise in Figure 9, I would
lead out only far enough to cue #2 and
have a parallel line that I could run with
my dog to take him to #3 and me to
#4. When my dog was committed to
#3, I would start the deceleration of
my threadle cue, then my rotation and
arm change. I would like to threadle to
a front because then I can rear cross the
weave poles. I may have a slight addiction to rear crossing weave poles, so I
would also force myself to practice it

For this month's setup, I'm going to break down how I would look at three of the exercises,
one from each level.
60

Clean Run | July 17

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - July 2017