Jump Grids

Hello everyone!

In this week’s video I decided to work on some jump grids with Strider, Goliath, and my new(er) dog, Maverick.  Jump grids are simply a straight line of jumps with a target at the end that you send your dog down.  They are handy for many reasons and feel free to incorporate any type of jump including single, double, and triple.  Jump grids help agility dogs gain strength and they make the dog focus on how they collect or extend when taking the jump.  Dogs must think about where they are placing their feet which helps them in many ways when running a course.  

For beginners setup, start with 3-4 jumps and line them up in a straight line.  The distance between the jumps should get increasingly larger as you go down the line.  I like to set up a target with a treat at the end of the jumps in order to get the dog to drive down the jumps as fast as possible.  Once your dog understands the concept, feel free to add more jumps.  

When I am working with Strider on his jump grids, I like to place some bars at 16”, some at 20”, and some at 24”.  This forces him to think about how high the jump is and what he needs to do with his body in order to make it over the jump.

Be advised that if your dog is continually knocking over the bars, you may have to lower them until the dog understands the concept.  Remember not to punish your dog for knocking bars, it just takes time for them to learn.  Also remember that jump grids are great for a dog with any level of skill.  As you’ll see in the video, with a beginner dog like Maverick, jump grids are handy because they create that drive in a dog to race down the line, all while teaching them to control their feet and focus on how they are jumping.

Happy jumping!

Hayley

Goliath

Maverick

Strider