Clean Run - November 2012 - 3

Cover
THE MAGAZINE FOR DOG AGILITY ENTHUSIASTS
PHOTOS © CLEAN RUN, JULIE BACON, KAREN HOLIK

NOVEMBER 12

VOLUME 18

NUMBER 11

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The Four Agreements Anyone who has spent time at an agility trial has seen or heard examples of poor sportsmanship, criticism, and negative remarks from some competitors. If you find that it’s impacting your agility experience, here are some ideas to help you keep agility a positive experience. By Nicole Levesque

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Not a Practice Dog Anymore What do you do when your agility dog has sustained an injury and can no longer practice and train the way you used to following his recovery? How do you manage the jumps and obstacles your dog still has left in his career? Fear not, there’s a training plan for that. By Julie Bacon

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The 2-Minute Warm-up Warming up before you run helps prevent injury, gets blood flowing to your muscles, and improves your reflexes. In just over two minutes you can stretch your body and be ready for your run—without even having to leave the comfort of your chair! By Karen Holik and Eric Bobkowski

38 Tips for Weave Pole Entries Regardless of what weave pole training method you are using, here are some tips that can supplement your training and help your dog make those really di cult entries in competition until you’ve reached the point of achieving weaving perfection in your training. By Carol Mount

Features
5 Editorializing: Sportsmanship Is Not Just About Being Nice Competition can’t poison our sport, but our actions as competitors can, and do. Whether you choose to demonstrate good sportsmanship is up to you; it is your responsibility. It has nothing to do with whether we win or we lose. By Tori Self 30 Being a Good Student, Part 1 What is your goal when you attend an agility class? Is it socializing with your friends? Is it spending time with your dog? Is it improving your skills? Regardless of the answer, there are just a few things that make you welcome in class or “dreaded.” By Elaine Coupé 32 Analyze This! Challenges from international courses are making their way into U.S. courses with increasing frequency. This month we look at a standard agility course designed for a 2012 UKI Masters Heat. By Laura Manchester Derrett 60 Agility Mind Gym: Persistence and Determination Persistence and determination aren’t necessarily about knowing you can get to the end, but knowing you will fight to take just one more step toward your goal. By Kathy Keats

50 The Worrier: Solutions for the Dog That Is Worried or Afraid Not every canine is enthusiastic about new situations and places; in fact, many of them can be worried or downright afraid. Worried dogs are far more common in agility than we would like to admit, and these dogs need a di erent approach to their training. By Tracy Sklenar 55 What Is a Ketschker Turn? Ketschker Turns have been used in mainland Europe for many years to help with obstacle discrimination and to give the dog earlier information about where he is going next so that you can achieve tighter turns than you can with just a pivot. By Dawn Weaver 62 Building Blocks: Building a Better Lead-out Choosing the starting point for your course frequently gets handlers into a state of “paralysis by analysis.” Having choices for your lead-outs can help, but it is important to understand which cues your dog responds to best. By Rachel Sanders

16 Power Paws Drills: Working Opposites When working on perfecting the small details in your handling, it is helpful to show the dog a maneuver and reward for his correct response to your body language, and then to immediately do a maneuver that would be “opposite” to that maneuver. This is a type of discrimination training. By Nancy Gyes 19 Training with the Stars: Jeannette Hutchison Jeannette is one of those rare competitors who, though she does want to qualify, and win, believes that focusing on being your best and not on the Q is the end goal. Learn how she accomplishes this. By Sally Silverman 24 What’s in Your Toolbox? Many times in class situations we only have time to execute a sequence in one particular way. In reality, there is usually more than one way that sequence can be efficiently and effectively executed. To be the best competitor you can be, rather than fret about how to get through a sequence you see in competition, you should have several different ways to do it in your toolbox. By Mary Ellen Barry

Columns
6 7 8 Tip of the Month By Laura Anne Welch Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility… By Brenna Fender Backyard Dogs By Sharon Freilich

Cover Dog
Jenn NA, AXJ, NAP, AJP, OF, OFP, CT-ATCH, an 11-year-old Norwegian Elkhound owned by Sharon Poulin of Massachussetts. Photo by Karen Hocker Photography.

Clean Run (ISSN 1089-8506) is published monthly by Clean Run Productions, LLC. Principal o ce: 17 Industrial Dr., South Hadley, MA 01075. Periodicals postage paid at South Hadley, Massachusetts 01075-9902 and additional o ces. © Copyright 1995-2012 Bud Houston and Clean Run Productions, LLC. All world rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Clean Run, 17 Industrial Dr., South Hadley, MA 01075.

November 12 | Clean Run

Clean Run - November 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - November 2012