Clean Run - October 2020 - 41

Some General Rules for Jump Instruction
1. Assess your dog's physical structure to determine
what they are going to be able to give you in their
jumping effort. Jumping is a very physical endeavor (as
is the entire sport of agility). Straight angles in either
the front (shoulder) or rear (stifle or hock) or a lack
of symmetry in these may limit what the dog can offer
in an appropriate jumping style.

A
Ouch!

2. Speed is not a goal at this point; confidence and sound
learning is the goal. Speed should come later.
3. Keep rewards low to the ground to encourage rounded jumping style.
4. Assess the level/type of reward. We need a thinking,
brain-engaged dog, so use a reward that is a good
positive marker but doesn't make the dog crazed
(e.g., food vs. toy, etc.)
5. Use varying heights and widths (3 ft. to 5 ft.) of jump
bars and slanted bars in training to keep the dog thinking about the horizontal jump element and not just
assuming all jumps are the same.
6. Before starting an exercise or training session, determine how/if you are going to address dropped bars.
Know your dog. What is best for them in this particular
situation? It can range from not marking bars at all to
actively, negatively marking every dropped bar.
7. Record/video a lot. The naked eye misses so much,
so utilize recordings of training to analyze and assess
jumping skills. Also, having a skilled training buddy is
invaluable in identifying successes and weaknesses in
your jump training.

Turn on the flat

in a disorganized jumping effort and put bars in jeopardy
of going down). So, the takeoff point determines where the
dog can/will land, and they need to learn to adjust their
takeoff point in order to land where appropriate.
What we don't want is the entire turn taking place "on the
flat," as shown in Figure 1A. The dog did not use a takeoff
point that would allow a uniform arc over the jump, with
the turn starting even before the takeoff point, as shown in
Figure 1B.
We can use walls or other physical barriers as aids to support takeoff point/turn learning. The aid helps create the
desired behavior, and we are there to reward, reward, reward the behavior.

8. Seek professional support and input. If ever in doubt
about the state of your dog's jumping skills, find qualified support to work through it.

A dog that relies on making turns on the flat
can be inflicting damage on their body with
every jump. After they land, they need to
scramble and scratch to get back on path,
which can lead to acute microtears/injury in
tendons, muscle, and fascia.

9. If the dogs jumping skills seem to change significantly
or unexpectedly, again, make sure you have video and
assess for any changes. The dog may have developed
an acute injury that, if left untreated, could become
chronic and debilitating.
10. Keep in mind that jumping skills apply to single bar
jumps (winged, non-winged, ground bar and no ground
bar), spread jumps (double, triple and broad jumps),
panel jump and the tire - these are not all the same, so
all jumping skills need to be taught on all of these!
With this background in mind, let's start with some elementary compulsory exercises that will allow the dog to have
the necessary, safe, proficient, and efficient jumping skills:

Jump Takeoff and Landing (Turns)
Once the dog's rear feet leave the takeoff point, their jump
trajectory has been determined and cannot be changed
(some dogs try in desperation mid-air, but this will result
October 20 | Clean Run

Turn starts before takeoff

Exercise
Everything is a slow progression. This exercise is intended
to be done over a long period of time.
The jump starts very low (for example, 8-12 in. for a
20 in. height dog). Over time, the bar can progressively
go up.
The distance between the barrier and the jump has
to be equal to the height of the jump at a minimum to
allow for round/collected jumping, but this spacing is
likely to be too tight for most dogs. Know your dog
here and determine what is reasonable for him. There
should not be any banking or banging off the barrier.
41

Clean Run - October 2020

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