Clean Run - August 2019 - 5

Train, Manage, or Endure?
By Brenna Fender

There are many behaviors in agility that must be trained.
Of course, right? That's what we're doing here; we're dog
trainers, aren't we?
Well, yes, but if you think about it, there are a lot of things
that we train to a point, and then after that point, we manage them. We train the dog to get through twelve weave
poles, but often we stay close to the dog and manage the
entries, avoid side changes before or after the poles, and do
things to keep our dogs in the poles instead of training our
dogs to weave independently of us in all circumstances.
Most of us do this "train some, then manage" in several
aspects of agility, from jumps to contacts to start-line stays
and more. Is there a problem with that? Well, it depends.
Everything you must manage adds another restriction to
your handling. But training to the point of nearly complete independence takes a lot of time and effort, and life
often puts a limit on how much of those is available for
agility. People who can run right next to their dogs may
choose to do more managing than people who need to
handle at a distance. Most trainers must choose what is
trained and what is managed based on their own physical
and life-imposed restrictions.
The important thing is to make this choice consciously
rather than to let it come down to chance, and to be aware
of what behaviors require management under what circumstances. Then you can plan your runs accordingly.
Expecting your dog to perform a behavior in a way you
haven't yet trained it is usually a recipe for disaster in a
trial. I'm not saying don't send your dog 50 yards away
from you to weave in a trial when you generally run next
to your dog to help him get into the first pole; I'm just saying that you shouldn't expect to be successful. And don't
be mad about it either. You can't expect your dog to exhibit trained behaviors in a trial when you've only used
managed behaviors in practice!

So, what's "endure," then? Well, that's when we handlers
just put up with stuff that we haven't trained or don't know
how to manage. Barking tends to fall in this category
for a lot of our dogs. Barking in the crate, barking during warm-ups, barking on the start line, barking on the
course, so much barking! But there are other behaviors we
endure too, like the dog pulling on the leash, and so on.
This month, in her article "Arousal Assessment and Management: With Me in Three," Dudley Shumate shares her
enlightening journey from enduring her dog's barking behavior in highly aroused situations like agility to training
her dog to be mindful. Teaching her dog to think in arousing situations like agility helps her prepare her dog for
better in-ring performance. It also had the side effect of
managing her dog's ringside barking behaviors. Dudley's
article will get you thinking about your own dog's pre-run
and ringside behaviors and how those affect your dog as
well as other people's dogs.
Another article in this issue discusses managing vs. training weave pole performances. Sandy Rogers takes a look
at some of the complicated things we ask our dogs to do in
the weave poles and how to train them and handle them in
competition. In "Practically Training: Embracing Difficult
Weave Pole Entries," Sandy says, "I approach training sessions in one way and handling in another way. When I am
competing, I am relying on a combination of what I reach
in training and the constant handling that I am developing." Sounds a little like training vs. managing, doesn't it?
I hope you enjoy these articles and more in this month's
Clean Run magazine!

Brenna Fender

Brenna Fender is a freelance writer and editor who works for Clean Run. She lives in Florida with her husband, two children, a Papillon (Spark), a Beagle (Wrigley), a
Border Collie (Tessa), her daughter's Chihuahua (Chase), and a variety of other creatures. Tessa has agility titles, UpDog Challenge disc achievements, and a Trick Dog
Champion Title. Over the years, Brenna's dogs have been titled in conformation, agility, Junior Hunter, Junior Courser, rally, obedience, and Canine Good Citizen. Brenna
can be reached at brennafender@gmail.com and you can visit her website at brennafender.com.
August 19 | Clean Run

http://www.brennafender.com

Clean Run - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - August 2019