Along about last Friday I was discovered on AGILETEACH, a Yahoo discussion group for agility trainers. Well actually, my new work the Idea Book – Agility Training for a Small Universe was discovered. So my web store (www.dogagility.org/store) did about $500 in new business over the weekend. I’m already hard at work on the second volume; so it makes me feel pretty good to know that the first volume is getting a following.

It’s actually a great resource. It’s basically a .pdf file containing hundreds upon hundreds of training sequences that I’ve worked with over the years. These are sorted by the size of the floor space so that people who work in very small or odd size spaces can page through them and find sequences that look interesting for their classes. The added bonus is that you can click on the graphic and it will spawn into Clean Run Course Designer where you can substitute equipment and move things around to your hearts content.

These days I do all my designing out of Small Universe. Indeed, when I go on the road to do a seminar I’ll typically open Small Universe to find training sequences that fit the floor space made available to me. It’s not that I don’t design new… indeed, I love designing new stuff. But it really cuts down on the work to have a handy beginning point.

This Week’s Lesson Plan

The lesson plan I’ll be using for this weekend came right out of Small Universe. I took a 60′ by 60′ bit and added to it a 30′ by 60′ bit (which cleverly comes up to my 90′ by 60′ indoor floor space.

While some of the courses I come up with are a bit on the whimsical side a sequence of any length will typically create challenges which suggest training remedy both from a dog training point of view and from a handler strategy POV. It’s easy to demonstrate what I mean here.

Right Sweep Tandem – Left Sweep Tandem

If I isolate the first ten obstacles it’s clear that I have the opportunity to work on a very important dog training skill. The turns to both of the contact obstacles are an excellent opportunity for the handler to work on the Tandem Turn, which means that the dog is being turned away from the handler’s position.

To tell you the truth the handler of a very fast dog will struggle with this kind of sequence mostly because after being trapped at the down contact of the dogwalk the handler might lose the race out to the turn on the landing side of jump #7 and may even resort to a raw Back Cross rather than a true Tandem. This requires a technical discussion of its own. The Back Cross can be expect to create a tightened turn while the Tandem creates a sweeping turn. And in this sequence the handler really wants sweep so as not to force a refusal at jump #8. Like I said… it’s a technical discussion.

Raising the Bar – advantage in lateral real estate

You’ll note that the dog’s path remains constant. The real difference is the path that the handler takes. Rather than running full around the jumps prior to each turn the handler simply takes the step, gives the command, and layers back to the take-off side of the jump. We call this a layered Tandem. This abbreviated (yes, and lazy) path on the part of the handler gives the handler real advantage in real estate. The lateral distance between dog and handler on the dismount of the dogwalk is translated to forward advantage after the dog gets over jump #5.

The layered Tandem after jump #7 is completely gratuitous; but is consistent with our desire to practice and refine a skill in ambidextrous fashion. Note that the handler no longer gets to hover over the dog’s head on the dismount of the contact obstacles but must trust (maybe train and proof) the dog to give the desired performance on the dismount, whether that’s a good 2o2o or a running contact.  

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston: dogwoodbud1@earthlink.net. And Checkout my new publication the Idea Book – Agility Training for a Small Universe available at www.dogagility.org/store.