Clean Run Magazine - December 2007 - 14

Fellow handlers offer these additional helpful hints: • Dogs love food, so snacks near the ring, including the score table, are enticing. • Dogs react to their names. Using his name when a dog is on the line can break concentration. • Dogs pottying in remote areas probably need their privacy. • High-stress agility venues can cause even mellow dogs to react. • Reactive dogs are often afraid and may not be able to remain in line or even approach the check-in area. © CLEAN RUN Stay Close to the Crating Area If there is one absolute in dog training, it’s that you cannot affect a dog’s behavior if you are not there. Emma Parsons, dog trainer and author of Click to Calm: Healing the Aggressive Dog, suggests turning your crate into a working space. In other words, train your dog to respond to control-type cues (sit, down, settle, quiet) inside the crate. Her late dog Ben, who inspired the book, learned to turn around in his crate to tune out various triggers. Parsons first got the behavior from Ben by accident. She was sitting in a chair toward the back of his crate when another dog approached. Since Ben’s default behavior was to look at Parsons, he had to turn around to do so. • Everyone prefers plenty of space around the practice jump. • No one likes to handle urine-soaked equipment. • Each person’s warm-up routine is equally important. If yours is loud, excessively motion-driven, or kicks up dust, find a more secluded spot to do it. • Clear ring entrances and exits make everyone happy. • The only place to run is in the ring. Walk everywhere else (especially kids). • Some dogs get distracted by early leash removal at the start line. • Flexi-leashes can be dangerous in tight quarters. • Someone nearby probably knows (and likes) anyone you’re discussing. • There’s always work to be done so clubs need volunteers. • Everyone appreciates applause, especially junior handlers. © CLEAN RUN She suggests using a target stick to help train your dog to turn around inside the crate, if you think it might help keep him calmer and quieter. That said, Parsons never left Ben crated alone. She or a friend always stayed nearby to manage his behavior. When asked about dogs that bark too much while crated, Parsons says simply, “They shouldn’t be left to do that.” Togetherness Some clubs include check boxes on entry forms for first-timers with questions. Maybe such programs could expand to include mentors for these unspoken rules of trial etiquette that are no fun to learn through negative experience. When people annoy you, they either don’t know better, or they are so focused on their own situation they don’t realize the imposition on others. Try to keep that in mind, even when you’re hot and tired. D © CLEAN RUN Roxanne Hawn is a professional freelance writer, based in Colorado. Her clients include The New York Times, Reader’s Digest,The Bark, Modern Dog, and many others. She trains a rescued Border Collie named Lilly, who is a medium-drive dog currently stuck in park due to shyness/fear. Read about their adventures on their blog, www.championofmyheart.com. 14 Clean Run | December 07

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Clean Run Magazine - December 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - December 2007