I couldnt make a video any better than this one for this exercise.
This is a fun easy trick to help you line your dog up at the start of an agility run. Sometimes dogs get a little unhappy if you pull and push them into position and a heel position or infront of you position to line the dogs up without pushing them although is better isnt easy to always see what the dog is seeing from where you leave them.
This trick is about teaching your dog to go round between your legs and then sit/down/stand (whatever you use at the start line)
It means they are looking in the exact same way as you are so you can line them up perfectly
Take your time building up to stepping away from the dog, make it a very fun and rewarding position to be in and your dog will love their start lines.
This one is way easier to see than to explain!!
You start with your dog on the left hand side focusing on you
Then you rotate anticlockwise 180 degrees keeping your dogs attention by bringing in your right hand with a treat in it. Reward when you are facing the opposite direction with your dog on the opposite side from where you started
Repeat the other way
Keep practising the flat work as well and you can add the front cross into this to change the side your dog is on
Stays
For agility you can have a sit, down or stand stay. A stand is the least secure stay, its easier for the dog to move, but anything that works for you and your dog.
Personally I dont use a 'stay' command - it isnt needed. You ask your dog into the position then teach them that they stay in that position until they are asked to do something else.
Teaching that is actually really easy - get them in position, reward, reward, reward then release them from the position. Then same again with a slight gap between rewards. (I will make a video of this when it stops raining)
Build up difficulty slowly, if your dog moves dont get angry with them (anger can actually make them insecure and want to creep towards you) you just made it too difficult - so put them back in position and start again making it nice and easy.
Once your stay is nice you can work on sometimes releasing them to you at a distance. Face away from them and call over one shoulder - have a treat or toy in that hand and hopefully they will run to that side.
Then you can add in a post turn, when they are running to your hand turn so they wrap around your body then chuck the toy/treat as the reward.
Dont forget to keep up the circle work as well :) (I dont ask for much eh? :D )
make it all FUN (for both of you) and better to do a couple of 1 min training times rather than trying 1 10 min boring training time
Beginner classes started this week at Old Mill Agility. A great bunch of dogs (and owners) I think we are going to have some real speedy guys here :)
Week 1 homework is beginnings of circle/flat work
This starts out just as loose lead walking, rewarding your dog for walking nicely at either side of you and not pulling ahead. The challenge here is to try and not use the lead to pull the dog back to position or punish the dog (yuck) but to reward often enough so your dog enjoys staying in position.
Once they are doing this nicely then try it off lead (or you can start off lead if you are in a safe place) Then add walking in circles (easier outside circles (dog on the outside of the circle) ) figure 8's and then jogging and running with your dog.
I think this exercise is really important for an agility dog, it gets them used to focusing on you and where you are going, it is also great fun and you can practise at the park on walks without equipment - so its free
Although a bit cold the weather has been totally lovely for our first classes - and the brand new jumps look quite stunning
Last year I posted that I had had to stop teaching at the agility club I had helped set up and had been teaching at for 2 years.
I was very sad to leave and determined to do something as I had loved my teaching so much.
Well a bit of hard work and some really great friends and family and we have just started up a new project
This is a very exciting new project, not only will we be continuing with the agility training but my partner in crime has some exciting different skills so we are adding dog walking and other dog training - gundog training, obedience, tricks
And to top it all our brand new training ground is totaly secure
Here is my friends dog Blue, he was so excited when we put the jumps in the ground that he sat in the middle and wouldnt move
Classes are starting TOMORROW (gulp) but we will be starting several more beginners agility classes over the spring and summer so contact me or pop over to the website for details
One of the big things I have learnt from international handling dog agility blogs in the past year is the Ketschker
Yup thats the funny spelling one I mention in the last post
It has different names from different handlers - I think I will stick with 'Ass pass' as yelling 'ASS' to handlers running training courses just appeals way way to much (Oh I will be teaching again soon - more about that later too)
So what is this manover?
Technically it is a front cross followed by a blind cross
What?? Why?? Eh!!
Yup sounds odd - and if you follow it you will see it ends up with you on the exact same side of your dog as you started up!
What it is used for mainly (I have seen other uses) is a tight jump wrap where you would normaly have used a post turn
Here is a great video I found showing exactly what it is
I have had limited space to train my dogs lately so I came up with a simple little two jump exercise to combine two tricky handling moves all in one go. A Ass pass followed by a push to the backside of the jump
Totaly forgot to video so I will get that later but here is the start of the course
Here is the start - keep repeating it in a loop and hopefully it should become fairly fluid. Ass pass over jump 1 and wrap over jump 2 doing a post turn.
Then all you have to do is slowly rotate jump 2 anticlockwise until you are pushing your dog over the back of jump 2
2 tricky manovers in a simple 2 jump course :) You can make it easier or more tricky by moving the jumps closer or further appart also see if you can send your dog away and over the jumps with you being less close every repitition, or try running to the next jump when your dog has commited to the first - and remember to work on the other side as well
This blog has been accepted to join the Dog agility blog events blog :) Which is a worldwide group of bloggers several times a year blogging on a set topic
As I am just joined I am a little late for the first of this years topics - but it is an interesting topic so I thought I would add my ramblings to it - Internationalisation
What does Internationalisation mean?
Its a term American agility people are using for the move towards more European type courses with more tricky handling situations like pushing dogs to the backside of the jump, threadles and oddly spelt handling moves (I will cover them in a later post)
So Im Scottish - is that relevant to me?
Actually it has proved very helpful to me - let me explain the UK system
Here in the UK we have 7 grades - levels for handlers and dogs
Progression up the grades is kinda a bit complicated but in simple terms grades 1-3 are where new/inexperienced dogs and handlers start out.
Courses tend to be fairly flowing with a few changes of sides some slaloms and a few little 'traps' like an enticing tunnel. You do get some nice twisty turny courses and some lovely flowing fast courses so the rocket dogs and the more careful dogs all get a chance to shine.
Here is Ben a few years ago showing some grade 1-3 courses
Then once you get to the higher grades things suddenly, backside of jumps, threadles, bypassing jumps, it all gets quite tricky
and ontop of that Ben suddenly got a giant burst of speed when we hit the higher grades.
So in the past I could walk a course saying to myself 'front cross here, post turn here' and have plenty time to do all these moves on the course, now I was walking a course with no idea HOW to handle it and when I got there with my dog I suddenly realised that he was way out infront of me so I didnt have time for the handling I would have used in the past.
I lost my confidence and didnt really go to a show in about a year
Then I found the agility blogs from America, people struggling with the same type of courses that I was having trouble with - I really advise anyone to have a look at all the other bloggers on the group (click the links at the top) the horrible spelling handling moves, different training exercises, ontop of that I found a great club to train with with a handler in the same situation as me, and I hired some great land for training myself.
and suddenly we are having great fun and going clear again.
I love foxes, I have to stop myself making loads and loads of foxes
The other day I decided not to resist - and I am glad I didnt. This little guy has been hearted the most ever times in the first day in my shop. 8 likes - which when you consider he has only had 11 views and dosent even show up on the search pages yet - pretty amazing
