In this week’s video I will be utilizing a jump box drill that I did at my Handling 2 class last week. This box drill is helpful because it helps you practice creating lines for your dog in order for them to have a smoother run. Front crosses, blind crosses, and rear crosses can all be utilized with this drill, and it is important to find what best works for you depending on the sequence you are doing.
Seven jumps are used and set up in two boxes that share one of the jumps. A tunnel, teeter (in the video), or weave poles is also used and should be set up outside of the boxes. This drill is also helpful because you can practice start line stays in not only straight line, but at angles as well.
In the video, you will see how I handled the jumps with two different sequences and how I made use of front crosses, blind crosses, and rear crosses within those sequences. Also, just because I use a certain cross in a sequence, doesn’t mean you have to do it the same; it is important to handle this drill in a way that works for you and your dog. I like this drill because you can create so many sequences out of it and the possibilities are virtually endless. Remember when you practice this with your dog to always create ‘lines’ for them and use your entire body to help indicate where you want them to go next. Also, never forget to reward your dog and keep it fun!
In this week’s video, you will see my run with Goliath at an agility trial from back in November. I would normally like to show a more recent agility trial video; however, the company that films and sells the videos is not always at the trials. Anyways, this video is from November 28, 2015 at a trial in City of Industry.
In the video you will see Goliath’s AKC Standard Novice run. Novice is the beginning level and this was our third Q (qualified run) that we needed to get out of Novice and into the Open competition level.
I am very proud of how we did in this video and we received a clear run with a score of 100, meaning no faults whatsoever (ie. a dropped bar, missed contact, refusal). The reason I was so proud of him is that I taught Goliath in a way that is referred to as “homeschooled” meaning I have never attended a formal agility training class with him. Basically, everything I learn from attending classes with Strider, I would come home and teach it all to Goliath using my equipment at home or sometimes using the equipment at the place where I attend classes. SInce Standard includes more of a variety of obstacles than Jumpers with Weaves, Goliath and I had a few more issues there as he needed to build his confidence on these obstacles that he didn’t get much practice on. Even though this was a Novice course and it was pretty simple, I love this run because it shows how far Goliath has come in his training and it proves that his confidence is building with agility.
I hope you enjoy the video!
Happy training,
Hayley
Goliath with his 1st place ribbon, Q ribbon, and new title ribbon!
In this week’s video, you will see how I taught my dogs how to perform a pushback when taking a jump. Basically, a pushback is when you send your dog to the back side of the jump and they must tightly jump and come back around. Teaching the pushback will prepare you for more challenging handling movements including wraps, reverse wraps, German turns, “scoops”, etc. The backside is mainly seen in most international competitions and in the new Premier class in AKC. Although you may not see a pushback in even a Masters AKC course, they can still be very useful to teach and very helpful in the future. And, all in all, you never know where agility may take you.
To begin training the pushback, you will only use one of the jump wings in order to break down every step of the action. Begin by sending your dog around the jump using the proper hands (if your dog is on your left, send him behind the jump with your left hand, and vice versa). You may have to lead your dog around the jump with a treat or a toy to encourage this action. When your dog understands the action of running around the backside, start adding distance (see in the video above) and eventually a cue word. (I say “huphuphuphuphup” when I send the dog around, but you can say something like”pushpushpushpush” if you prefer) For the cue word, it works best if you say something repetitively that way the dog can differentiate this cue from the normal “over” or “jump” cue.
Once your dog fully understands the step above, you can begin step two. In this step, you will still only use one jump wing, but you will add a bar and let one side touch the ground (see in video above). Continue all the same steps and keep the bar extremely low (at least ½ the height of their normal jump height). Keep repeating this step until your dog has mastery of this concept. Also remember that it may take several days or a few weeks for your dog to move on to the next step. Training takes time and if you rush through it before your dog is ready, it can set you back even farther.
For step three, we will finally set up the jump completely and have the bar starting either on the ground or at a very low height. The point of all this training so far is to get the dog used to turing tightly around the back of the jump. Now you can repeat the same routine as above and add in other obstacles (still keeping the jump height low). Training a consistently good pushback takes time, so be patient and don’t rush the dog and make them jump too high if they are simply not ready yet. Doing that can cause distress and confusion to the dog and possibly even joint injuries.
Hopefully the video above will give you a good demonstration on how to teach this pushback and remember to always make it a game for your dog and keep them having fun. With just a 10 or so minutes of training a day, you will have a beautifully trained pushback in no time!
This week I decided to work on the weave poles a little more with Strider and Goliath. After our agility trial on December 28 and 29, one thing I noticed was that our weaves were good, but our entries definitely needed some work. In this video I was working with the dogs two separate times on their weaves. In the second half of the video, you will see that I used only 6 poles when working with Strider even though when trialing, 12 poles are used, as seen in the first half of the video. I use only 6 poles when working with difficult entries in order to be able to work more entries and not tire out the dog. You may also notice that when I was using a jump in addition to my weaves, I had it set only at 16" even though Strider jumps 24." This serves the same purpose as 6 weaves and it is done to not tire out the dog so quickly.
As for my weave pole training, I trained both of my dogs using guide wires that attach to the poles and simple guide the dog through the weaves. These are helpful for teaching the dog where to enter the weaves seeing as the dog must enter with the first pole on their left shoulder. Training various entries is an important thing to do with your dog because throughout your agility career, you will experience a wide variety of entries, some easy and some difficult.
Even though I trained my dogs with guide wires, it is not the only way to train them. Other methods include the two by two method and channel weaves. The thing about weave poles is that they can be taught several different ways and it is all about finding the way that works best for you and your dog. Just remember that weave poles do take a long time to train (for example, I began teaching Strider the weaves in Sept 2014 and it took until Feb 2015 for him to be perfect with them). Always stay patient and keep the dog engaged and having fun!
This weekend I decided to head out to my local agility training club to use some equipment that I don't own in order to get some more practice in with Strider. Whenever I come out here to do my own training, I usually center my focus around the larger contact obstacles that I do not own, including the dog walk and A-frame. Although this trip I did work with the A-frame, I mainly focused my training on the dog walk, like you see in the video. Even though Strider is completely confident on the dog walk, the extra practice never hurts and I like to try different variations with it, like shown in the video.
Feel free to try these techniques with your dog at home and read through the following tips if needed.
To start off, I placed a 15ft tunnel underneath the dog walk with the opening near the entrance to the DW in order to increase the difficulty for my dog, this exercise is not just about your dog listening to the correct cue word, it is also about whether or not you use the correct body language when directing your dog to the obstacle you want him to take. If you make a mistake while trying this out, always look down to where your feet are pointing, because usually the direction that your feet are pointing is what will cause your dog to take the obstacle they did. This exercise can get a little frustrating if your dog repeatedly takes the wrong obstacle, so always remember that your body language is what they are paying attention to more than the word you are saying!
I hope this helps!
Happy training!
Strider ready to run while carefully staying in his 2on 2off contact
This week we will take a look at Strider’s AKC Open Jumpers with Weaves run from the agility trial at Industry Hills Expo Center. This trial was on November 28 and the dogs and I had a blast! Both of them did great, adding Q’s and advancing in their title requirements. After this qualifying run in jumpers with weaves, Strider now only needs one more Q and he will be competing in the Excellent class! I am very proud of him and he is truly turning out to be an incredibly focused and fun agility dog!
In this run, I was very pleased with a few things. To start off, his speed was awesome and it truly shows how much fun he was having out there. When we first started competing, he definitely seemed a little unsure about it all and he definitely wasn’t the fastest. With this being said, I am so proud of how far he has come in just a few months and I can’t wait to see how much he improves in the future!
Another thing that made me very happy about Strider’s JWW run is the two rear crosses I was able to execute in the beginning and towards the middle of the run. Strider has always been okay at his rear crosses, but since we have been practicing them a lot more lately, you can definitely see how much he understands them now. Even though rear crosses seemed like they have to be intensely trained, a good rear cross relies on the handler, just as much as the dog. If the handler’s timing is off, the dog could knock a bar or totally miss the jump completely. With that being said, I am equally proud of myself for being able to time my rear crosses in order to make them the best they can be.
I hope you enjoyed watching Strider’s Open JWW run and hopefully you found some inspiration for your own training!
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!
