Clean Run - October 2010 - 41

Once the dog understands the command your ground work is done and you should begin your one-jump work. Do not overdo the ground work. You want the dog thinking that turning and jumping go together. For one of my dogs, I overtrained the ground work so he will turn on command at the very last second and not take the jump. He is often so close to the jump that he can actually knock the bar with his rear end as he turns. I no longer overtrain the ground work and I have not had this problem again. Troubleshooting • If you are using a treat to distract the dog until you tickle him, you may need to fold it tight into your hand to get him to turn away from it. If it continues to be difficult, remove the food and use the hand-in-the-collar routine. I like using the food when the dog can handle it because it helps to keep the dog from anticipating the tickle. • Start with several treats in your hand so that you are ready if your dog needs more treats to get himself turned • If the tickle doesn’t do the trick, try a soft pinch or gentle hair pull. Be careful with reactive dogs; I don’t want you to get bitten! You can also try other parts of the leg to tickle, pinch, or pull; the hock often works well. • Do not start to turn yourself until the dog has definitely turned his head away from you. • Don’t worry about anticipation. When it happens, you are on the right track and should start using your turn command at that point. • Always rotate with the dog so you end up facing the same way as the dog.

several times (six to eight) a day. Dogs that only get a shot at a new skill once or twice a week can really struggle and seem to always be going back to square one (often because they are!). • Do not wait till the original direction you choose to start with is totally perfected before you start teaching the other direction. As soon as you have basic comprehension, begin training the second direction. • If your dog struggles with one side more than the other, work on the weaker side for a day or two and put the other side on the back burner. You may have to do this balancing act by going back and forth between cues as you proceed.

Setting the dog up for the left and right:

This handler is setting the dog up between her legs, centered on her body, so the dog does not consider which side he left from.

jumps so she does not influence the dog before • When you ask the dog to distinguish between she gives the verbal command. the two directions, don’t go crazy going back and forth and back again. The dog will just start guessing and he will not be learning anything. Ask for repeated responses for the same direction; for example, two, three, or four reps of one direction and then ask for the other direction. This will prove whether the dog comprehends the cue more than just going back and forth. Vary which cue you start with in each training session.

The handler stays in the middle of the

• Reward every correct response. Withhold rewards for incorrect responses. Words of Caution • I do not recommend teaching the dog to turn by using a wide, sweeping hand movement. The motion is a much too large hand signal and will take too much work to fade. Remember, we are teaching a verbal cue and any physical movement used in the initial teaching stages will have to be faded. Even the movements used above will have to be faded, but they don’t take as long to fade since they are smaller (which is the reason I use them!).

I do not recommend teaching the dog to turn like this. The hand movement is so large that the fading process will add unnecessary time to the training process.

Ground Work
Training Verbal Left and Right Cues I recommend using shaping (clicker training) when teaching left and right. The shaping process takes comprehension to the required higher level. Here are some basic tips for shaping left and right. • Teach left or right first, spending a few days on it. Like any new behavior it is best to play with it for 2 to 3 minutes
October 10 | Clean Run

• Never cue your dog to turn on a hand signal. We bring our hands up all the time in agility to cue the dog to go straight. Using the hand to also signal the dog to turn can confuse the dog, even if you try to discriminate between signals by hooking your arm to turn him and keeping your arm straight to cue straight. If you use a hand signal, the dog will begin to guess as you start to raise your hand whether you are going to cue straight or a turn. Use your raised hand only to mean travel straight and your dog will not end up confused and turning when you don’t want him to.

Next Month
Work on perfecting your ground work. In part 2 of the article you’ll take your training to one jump and then two jumps. D

Sandy Rogers has owned and operated ACE Dog Sports in San Francisco, California, since 1991. Her Border Collie, Brink, finished in the top five placements four times at USDAA Nationals in the Grand Prix and Steeplechase finals. In 2007 he won both the Speed Jumping and Performance National Standard and won Speed Jumping again in 2008. Brink won the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge Regional two years in a row. Her Parson Russell Quill took 3rd in Grand Prix finals in 2008. Sandy’s USDAA champions in the 12", 16", and 22" classes are also all high in trial obedience dogs. Her DVD, titled One Jump Two Jump, presents her easy-to-use system for learning handling and teaching dog skills with only two jumps. Contact Sandy at acedogsports.com.

http://www.acedogsports.com

Clean Run - October 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - October 2010