Jump Sequence with Tight Turns & Teeter

Hello everyone,

So today after my Monday agility class at the agility club I attend, I decided the dogs needed some more work on tight turns.  I also decided to throw in the teeter because you can never get too much practice with that. 

I put together this short sequence which includes front crosses, tight turns, and one threadle.  It is great to practice this once your dog is good at jumping and following your commands.  Using tight turns is especially useful with a big dog because they tend to jump wide, which can result in a slower course time, or having them take the dreaded off course obstacle.  Notice I use the command, 'here' in this video when doing the tight turn in order to draw my dog close to me to perform the best turn possible. 

This course turned out to be pretty fun for me and Strider & Goliath had a great time too.  With an agility trial coming up on November 28, we have been practicing a lot in preparation for that trial and the many others we have in December.  With all this practice, the dogs and I will give our best performance possible!

Happy Training!

Training the "get out" command

Hello everyone!

This week we will look at the “get out” command, a fun and handy skill to train your dog for when you are running a course.  The “get out” command is useful for times when you need to send your dog away from you when they need to perform an obstacle that is impossible for you to get to.  It is handy also if your dog is fast, or at least faster than you. You can also use this command if the jumps are in a straight line (typically at the end of a course).  This will propel your dog forward and allow them to score the fastest time possible without you having to be directly by their side.

To train the “get out” command:

1. Begin with your dog and three jumps (the command can be used with any obstacles, but we will start off with just jumps)

2.  As seen in the diagram above, the far jump (pink) will be the one that you will use the “get out” command on

3. Lead your dog through the jumps in a normal way without too much distance from your dog and give the command “get out” when they take the pink jump.

4. Begin to slowly move away from the pink jump each time you run your dog through, still giving the “get out” command as they take the pink jump. (remember to reward that too!)

5. Eventually, you will be able to drive down a single straight line (as seen below) and give the “get out” command as your dog successfully takes all three jumps

Once your dog is confident with this command and ready to move on, I would recommend using this technique with a tunnel and when teaching them the different tunnel entrances.  You can use the “get out” command to direct the dog to take a far tunnel entrance when necessary.  This command can be used with any obstacle so continue to practice this command in various ways and always remember to reward your dog after they “get out.”

Happy training!