Clean Run - September 2014 - 53

Training Your Team

Perfecting Your Team's Trial Rituals

There are many factors to consider
when planning your dog's training sessions. Your training should allow for a
combination of

Now that your dog is comfortable training with your handler, your team is ready to
test their teamwork by running in a trial. Don't underestimate the difference between
training and trialing. Be prepared for all possibilities and don't be discouraged if everything doesn't go as plan in your team's early runs.

· Building handler value
· Getting your team's handling
and timing together
new gaps
· Fixingyou are notthat appear
when
the handler

· Rehearsing rituals that can be
used at a trial
· Training your dog to be
comfortable working with
someone else

While working with Dylan's handlers,
we were pretty consistent about whoever took him out of the crate would run
him that day. When he came out of the
crate, his handler had one of his favorite
toys, walked him, and played with him
to loosen him up and connect. Even if I
took him out for a walk to help get him
ready to run, I would put him back in
his crate so his handler could bring him
into the training area. This same practice
carried over to trials making it easy for
Dylan to know what to expect based on
who was releasing him from his crate.
During training sessions, I would always
be near the ring so Dylan could see me
while waiting for his turn. During some
training sessions I was actually out on
the course so that he got comfortable
running right past me with someone else.
Knowing where I was helped Dylan to
focus when running.
Occasionally we would work on a Go
Play command to redirect Dylan to his
handler, who would be rewarding him
on the spot with a game of tug or treats
or running part of a sequence. Teaching
him this verbal cue was another great
way to build value for his substitute handler. Repeating this behavior in a trial
environment became a fun game to play
while standing around waiting his turn
for an agility run.

Leverage many of the rituals you established in training to help transition your pup to run
stress-free at a trial. Have your handler get your dog out of the crate and plan on asking
for some of the tricks they did in training. Be sure your dog knows where you are before
entering the ring. I would look at the course and decide where was the best place for me
to stand. Ideally I wanted to be near the ring exit. As Dylan's handler was warming him
up, she would walk by me several times. We would always look at the map to be sure that
where I was standing would not be distracting at difficult section of the course.
If Dylan didn't know where I was, he would constantly scan the crowd to find me.
When he was sitting on the start line he would turn away from his handler and the first
obstacle. Once we established the strategy to plant me in an obvious place, he quickly
settled and was focused on his job in the ring. Adopting this approach will improve
your dog's focus even if you haven't had a chance for your handler to train with your
dog. I have seen handlers try the opposite, to hide when their dog is running, but it
causes more stress and often you will see the dog trying to leave the ring.
When possible, it is good to walk the course individually (you and the handler) and
then get together to talk through it. I found it best to let the handler develop her own
handling plan because this would be the most comfortable for her to run. I would usually listen and answer questions about which option might be clearest to Dylan. Then
we would usually walk through the course once together. An important part of our
walk-through would be to identify the most attractive off-course obstacles for Dylan
and how to proactively manage through those sections.
As you discuss the options for handling the course, your discussion might include differences between how their own dog will run the course versus yours. If
your handler runs a different breed, she might expect tighter turns or if her dog
struggles with an obstacle you might see some unnecessary babysitting for your
dog. It is helpful to discuss the expected differences in how the dogs might run
to help avoid surprises.
As Team Dylan would exit the ring, I would hand the reward bag to Dylan's handler
to celebrate with him. I would step back and give them that time. Usually after that,
I would take Dylan to walk him around and cool him down so his handler could get
back to focusing on her own dogs.
I was always grateful for every handler and every run. Watching from the sideline, I could learn more about how my dog ran than I could see while running him
myself. I became more familiar with signs that he is committed to an obstacle,
which helped me when I could return to running. In many cases, I learned that my
dog understood more than I had given him credit for knowing. All these runs met
my goal of keeping him happy and fit.
All that said, there were some minor changes that I hadn't expected. Dylan had expanded his vocabulary to be able to release off a variety of new verbal commands. He
also had run with several handlers who do running contacts so we had a little fall out
on his 2-on/2-off performance. So don't be surprised if when you return to running
your dog, you might have to tighten up a few skills in different areas! D

Linda Rose lives in New Jersey and competes in agility with her three Golden Retrievers. She is a part-time agility instructor at St. Hubert's Training and Behavior Center
and works full time for Dun & Bradstreet. She is very happy to be back on course running with her dogs! You can contact her at Lin1putt@comcast.net.

September 14 | Clean Run

Clean Run - September 2014

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