It is useful for the dog to be familiar with the different sorts of hurdles in our game. Too often at the training center the spread hurdles (double and triple), the panel jump, and the broad jump are ignored.

There might be several solutions depending upon whether the handler is forward of the dog or behind the dog. But the issue of the handler’s position relative to the dog warrants some discussion of its own. The opening three hurdles of the sequence represents an essential pinwheel. It is worth remembering that the farther the dog gets ahead in a pinwheel, the greater is the handler’s advantage in distance… forward of the dog.

So long as the dog’s training accommodates such a thing, the handler should release the dog to get out and own the pinwheel while the handler takes a strategic position forward of the dog. This would be a great opportunity for a nifty little Front Cross so that the handler can take the blocking position of both tunnel entries to the left while showing him into the correct entry.

The closing of the sequence, #5 through #8 surely has its’ own consequences. Many handlers will opt for the lazy behind-the-dog-and-pushing position, holding dog on right through jump #7 then using a Tandem Turn (a cross behind the dog on the landing side of the jump) for the turn back to jump #8. While I think it’s an excellent idea to practice the Tandem I will almost surely insist that my students also practice a Front Cross on the landing side of the panel jump at #6 in order to be in the control position for the closing of the sequence.

Hurdlez 2

You know a “discrimination” is when two or more obstacles are placed in close proximity. It’s clear here that the word is a bit of a misnomer. I expect in the early days we expected we could train our dogs to discriminate between obstacles based upon what name we give as our command to performance. Frankly, the jury is still out on that concept. Here, however, we are faced with three possible performances all with the same performance command. So it cannot be discriminated; it must be handled.

The tougher of the three entries in terms of the handler establishing a control position must be the center entry. The simple handling might be to keep the dog on left while pushing forward to take a blocking position on the right-most of the tunnel entries; then, as the dog commits over the spread hurdle at #3, the handler will give a little RFP (counter-rotation) to draw the dog tight, and into the correct tunnel entry. The closing of the sequence is once again a bit of a riddle. After insisting that my students show a Front Cross in the previous exercise they’ll almost certainly be disposed to attempt the same handling here. My own druthers would be to keep dog on right for jumps #5 and #6, using a Tandem Turn or a layered Tandem for the turn back to the broad jump.

Hurdlez 3

In a final bit of torture, we push to the outside tunnel. This should be quite a simple thing. If there is a lesson for students here it will be about how they use their movement to apply pressure against the dog’s path. The closing of this sequence is quite fun. The key element will be at jump #6 in which the handler has a choice of directions to turn the dog; either to the left or to the right. My choice would be to the left. I’ve ever handled shorter-strided quick turning dogs. To the left offers not only the shorter path but less risk of a wrong course. To achieve the turn I’ll have to step to the landing side of jump #5 for a deft little Front Cross; and shall probably Cross again after jump #6 to tighten the turn.

A longer-strided dog might have more difficulty in the short space between jumps #5 and #6 if the handler is working some intrusive Front Cross unless the handler has a well-trained pre-cue Front Cross to alert the dog to the change of directions before he even gets up in the air over #5. Otherwise, it might be the greater part of valor to take the turn to the right.

Getting on the Road

It’s time for me to put it on the road with my girl Hazard. I’m interested pretty exclusively in USDAA… and so I have to check my calendar against the USDAA events calendar all over the east coast. I might fly from time-to-time. But I feel so suffocated by airports and airlines these days I think it’s better to drive in a range anything within about a thousand miles. The expense of travel might be a bit oppressive. I expect I’ll do whatever I can to keep the costs down even if it means sleeping in the car from time to time and subsisting on cereal and cold cuts.

Hazard’s an absolute delight to travel with about the country. In a hotel she makes herself at home and is comfortable within my habits and idiosyncrasies. She’s also a good traveler in the Suburban. I let her travel out of her create more than I should. At three years old now Hazard is showing a bit of maturity. While a year or so ago she was a bit fearful out in the world, she’s pretty much over all that.

I’d very much like to campaign her to her ADCh in the USDAA; though realistically I’ll have to call this her secondary training. It’s the bit where she and I will become a team and learn to understand each subtle pressure and nuance from the other. I say I’ll campaign her to her ADCh as though it were a simple thing or a done deal. I know it’s nothing of the sort. Of all the agility organizations the USDAA championship is the true measure of champion. The dog must have more and varied skills, and the handler as well in order to earn this achievement. Still and all… it’s a time over money proposition.

After the USDAA I’ll likely make my return to the AKC. I find the venue boring. And too many of the players take themselves too serious. But I suppose in the long run I’ll be most interested in the CPE and the TDAA. These are the venues where people still have fun with the game. And frankly, I’m feeling that life’s too short and these are the people I want to spend my days with. Not those others. You know, I was thinking the other day about how little I care about the MACh. A part of me insists that it’s an important measurement or mark for the dog; while that other part of me questions why I should lend any sort of support to an organization whose methods and practices are loathsome… and somehow manages to pretend superiority in spite of it.

That really does raise the important question. Why should I care about the MACh?

* * *

I’ve been a lazy trainer with Hazard. But that has ever been my way. I’m not obsessive compulsive… about anything. I couldn’t imagine spending hours on drill and practice and repetition and the other irksome practices that pass as “dog training” these days. Agility is a game and my approach is playful. I heap reward on certain elements of performance when I do practice. But when we play, or “run” as most call it, it’s all race and game and devil take the consequences. And sometimes he does! (I’ll bet he loves the AKC!)

Hazard’s strengths include great contacts, the ability to turn on a dime while working at full speed, and in general her willingness to work at full speed. Her best trait is in her distance work. There’s no Velcro in this girl! Weaknesses: I’m still not comfortable with her weave poles (curse of the lazy trainer). But we’re working on it. Our relationship when “technical handling” is a bit bumpy right now. Encouraging distance work makes her harder to drive on the tight turning roads. This is what we’ll attend to in our secondary training (the USDAA campaign). Overall, I like where we are and look forward to a bit of competition.

* * *

I’ve given the web page a bit of an overhaul: www.dogagility.org. I’m trying for a simple look and feel. And I wanted to make sure it isn’t a bandwidth hog; so… not a lot of photos or hi-res images. I abhor glitzy selling splashes… bad salesman that I am. At the same time I’m working on revamping our “house papers”. That would include hand-outs, flyers, brochures, letter-head and so forth. While I’ve moved to this new place everything needs the update. At the same time I’ve been pondering the eternal questions. Who am I? What do I want to be when I grow up? These are important questions when designing your marketing material.

I’ll attach to this web log a .pdf of my latest tri-fold brochure effort. It will cover some of the obvious selling points so you can know what I am thinking. I’ve always hated sales. Sales is aggressive pomp and hyperbole. People who have me for a seminar tend to have me back. People who come to training with me at camp tend to return. So “sales” would be convincing someone who knows nothing of what I teach or how I teach it… to train with me. I used to write a lot more than I do today. So I might have a good article in the Clean Run that would tempt someone to inquire after a seminar. That’s a lazy way of selling, but a thing I’m more comfortable with. I’ve never aspired to be a “guru” in the sport. I’m a coach. And that’s about the extent of it.

* * *

A family came down to rent one of our cabins in a long weekend vacation. Their teenage woman-child Britney (I don’t really know how to spell it) had a couple hours of private lessons with me and joined a couple of our advanced classes. Britney has been a superb backyard trainer for her third agility dog a feisty young poodle. Even training in a relative vacuum she has better skills than most adults I know. Our lessons became more about playing with a killer-instinct than anything more basic. Working with Britney got me thinking of the world as it will be when all us old dinosaurs are gone. She began working in agility as a preteen child. Hold that thought.

A week later and I’m in Arvada CO doing a TDAA trial and seminar. A family has driven more than a thousand miles from Minnesota to attend my seminar. Their daughter Christie has this wonderful driven little JRT. So Christie is 16 and tells us that she’s been doing agility for eight years.

* * *

I started in agility when I was 35. And I’ve been at it for about 20 years now. You do the math. When I started doing seminar work I was tireless and relentless. I developed this fast-paced approach to teaching that was about 2% lecture and 98% make ‘em feel the pain! I’ve always believed that doing is a better way to learn than listening. At the end of day in Arvada I feel that only one thing has changed in my approach. I am no longer tireless. In fact I was so dog tired in the evening that I hadn’t much ambition to do more than chat, drink a beer, and go to bed.

The youngsters coming up… I noted Christie and Britney, will own this world of ours some day. And they will never be clumsy or awkward or grasping as many of us old farts have been. And there is every reason to expect that the real strength of intelligence and teaching and intuitive understanding will come from them and not so much any of us. They’ll look at our writing one day and make note of how primitive were our conventions.

* * *

It was a fun bunch I worked with in Arvada, CO. The TDAA seminar/trial was held at Zona Tooke’s facility at Rocky Mountain Agility. I did a couple seminars here in the late 90’s. I had to be impressed with the improvements to the property!I already mentioned that a family drove down from MN to attend. Beyond them the participants were Zona’s students mostly. When people train together they are inclined to adopt the same idiosyncrasies. So as a group I might say… they’ve done a fine job training their dogs. Of the things I might fix… a) they are far too inclined to use negative verbal corrections with their dogs. B) There was a strong disposition to use the counter-arm as the lead hand. I tried to correct the cross-the-body lead throughout the weekend. But as it was a matter of powerful muscle memory I didn’t have much success.

Zona explained to me at dinner that the counter-arm was introduced to them at a Stuart Mah seminar and reinforced by a Steve Frick seminar. These presenters evidently argued that the counter-arm applies pressure against the dog’s path. Okay, I simply cannot imagine that either Stuart or Steve actually teach that a handler should move crab-wise through the course like Quasimodo hailing a taxi! So I’ll have to assume that the message was lost in translation.

I have to say that one of my great delights in traveling about the country is the good local food I get to eat. Zona took me to a restaurant that served the finest beef enchiladas I’ve eaten in about 30 years.