Clean Run Magazine - November 2009 - 5

Editorializing… Dancing with the Dogs By Marla Friedler-Cooper I have taught ballroom and Latin dance all my life and when I teach students how to handle a dog in agility I apply many of the same techniques I use in teaching people to dance as a team. Ballroom dancing involves two people working together to create a physical form of art. Just as in agility, there is a leader (the handler) and a follower (the dog). The leader must make all the decisions about which steps to do next and in which direction; the follower must follow the leader’s directions without missing a beat. When I was taught how to ballroom dance I was told that the leader is the frame and the follower is the picture. Dog agility is the same. We, as handlers, create the framework and our dog creates a beautiful piece of art for us to put on display. How does this work? There is a yin/yang to it all, a push/ pull, a counterbalance. In reality, it is simply a physical and an emotional connection between the partners. Both leader and follower must maintain some level of tension in their bodies, but not too much. You don’t want to be stiff as a board and unable to flex with your partner and you don’t want to have what is commonly called “spaghetti arms” where you are so loose that you cannot guide or be guided. The key is to maintain body awareness and have the ability to respond to your partner. The connection between dance partners must stay strong for it to work. When you are dancing it is sometimes easy to lose this connection and not even know it because you are concentrating on only your part. When this happens, the artistry of the dance falls apart and you are missing the point of being a partner. The same is true for agility. Sometimes we focus so hard on our moves that we forget about the dog and the run falls apart. If you are not connected to your partner there is no harmony and, actually, no reason to even have a partner. You may as well get up and dance by yourself. You must constantly be aware of where your partner is, what he is doing, what rhythm he is following and how what you are doing affects him. More novice dancers may focus on what their partner is doing but they are often unaware of how what they are doing is affecting their partner. In agility, we must constantly be aware of how both our physical and emotional cues have an effect on our dogs. In dancing, we always look at our partners (even if just peripherally) to help us stay connected. Seeing your partner helps with the emotional connection. Ever heard “Keep your eyes on your dog”? Well, there are many reasons for this, not the least of which is the emotional bond that eye contact helps maintain. Besides being connected to your partner, you must also stay connected to yourself. In ballroom and Latin dance we are always striving to have our whole body tell the same story. We don’t want our feet to move in rhythm to the music while our arms flail about to some other beat. Another rule of ballroom dance is never to let the arms go behind the body because this creates a broken line and loses connection with your partner. The best dancers in the world have a beautiful connection to each other that you can feel when you watch them. They seem to glide in perfect synchronicity with each other. While it may take time to reach this level, it is accomplished through practice and by focusing on improving your connection to your partner. It is the same with dog agility. If you want to be a good teammate to your dog, it’s important to stay physically and emotionally connected to your canine partner. Always think about how what you are doing affects what your teammate is doing. You should be willing and able to respond to him as well. When this connection happens you will know it. Everything will flow and the two of you will be in perfect harmony. Then you will experience how this game we call agility can be a really beautiful dance we get to do with our dogs. Marla Friedler-Cooper Marla, a film and TV producer and college professor, has had two consistent hobbies in her life, dog training and dancing. She is a dog trainer and a ballroom/Latin dance instructor and was a national finalist with her Golden Retriever, ADCH MACH3 Roxy, who is in the Agility Dog Hall of Fame. Her Border Collie ADCH Sage won the 2007 Palm Classic Speed Challenge in Del Mar, California. She is currently training her young BC, Spritz. Contact her via www.SouthCoastDogTraining.com. November 09 | Clean Run 5

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Clean Run Magazine - November 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - November 2009