We have camp at Country Dream this week. And we have camp again next week. Both are relatively small camps so I’m taking the opportunity to get my young dogs out for work and socialization among dogs they don’t usually get to see. This week we have a number of small dogs, all of whom I am putting on Teacup equipment. We have a trial here in July… and, of course, I need to get ready for the Petit Prix later this year.

Hobday?

There was a time that the box of jumps was referred to as a “Hobday” Box in our culture. I’m not too sure that Ruth holds much claim to then configuration any more. But that’s still what I call them.

I am constantly interested in the relationship between the box and the pinwheel. So this exercise shows pinwheel transitions on alternate corners. It’s a three-jump pinwheel which will be more challenging in many respects than a four-jump because the jumps are often presented at an oblique angle to the dog.

With my advanced students I had them doing the sequence while layering to the 35′ plus line based on this diagram. That means the handler probably had to introduce the turn into the pinwheel using a Tandem Turn. If you don’t understand my terminology… feel free to ask.

The Handler as Architect of the Dog’s Path

It doesn’t really take much renumbering to make this sequence subtly more difficult. You’ll note that entry to the box out of a pinwheel readily presents a wrong course opportunity across the corner of the box. This kind of sequence actually favors the wide-turning sort of dog (consider a Doberman here); because the dog’s proclivity for turning wide actually squares up the approach into the box. A quick turning little Sheltie with a lot of obstacle focus will be considerably at risk for taking the wrong course.

We could call the handler’s responsibility to square up the dog’s approach a “Vee”-set. On the other hand, the intrepid handler could work the inside of the box pre-cuing the transitions with deft little Front Crosses.