BACKYARD MASTERY: All the Wraps By Steve Schwarz I want to help you get the most training out of any sequence you set up in your backyard. In my last article (Clean Run August 2020), I showed you how you could use "All the Crosses" at each change of direction. This month I will show you another way to wring every challenge out of every course by using all the methods for wrapping a jump. Any place your dog wraps a jump, you should be able to: front cross, blind cross, rear cross, "throw back," forward send, and even treat the wrap as a serpentine. You might be able to lead out or do a lead-out pivot at the first jump wrap too. A lot of possibilities! 1 10 20 30 Figure 1 shows the obstacle setup for a 40 ft. x 50 ft. area. How would you handle the jump wraps at obstacles #2 and #3 in Figure 2? For every jump wrap you need to decide: 1. Which way should you turn your dog? 2. What cues will your dog need to make that turn? In competition, you would answer those questions based on what will give you and your dog the best chances to qualify or win. The way you learn that is to have practiced turning in both directions and using all the techniques for cueing the turns so you can 2 make an educated decision. You can even time the sequences to find the fastest and see which also allows you to get in position for the next challenge. You will also uncover challenges that will require extra training and practice. That is the whole point of "Backyard Mastery," training away the "but we can't" situations so you can be successful on course in many ways. Let's focus on the left-turning wraps at jump #2 to see the handling options. Figure 3 shows handling the left turn at jump #2 as a front or blind cross. Your dog ends up on your other side 3 5 40 3 40 4 30 30 1 6 20 20 10 10 10 22 Setup 20 30 2 3 2 1 7 Front/Blind Wrap Handling Clean Run | October 20