It’s fairly clear that the weakest cue for performance that we can give to the dog in agility is the verbal cue… the command. Don’t get me wrong here I have a careful though somewhat whimsical verbal language for my dogs. The real communication, however, exists within the context of movement. Movement is direction; movement is motive.

I have for a number of years catalogued handler movements in agility and tried very hard to understand how they influence the dog’s understanding of the direction of the course. Since it is the handler’s job to direct the dog it makes some sense that we should understand movement as a form of communication with the dog. Indeed, movement surpasses verbal speech in nearly every way. This is a radical notion in today’s game. It seems so obvious to me that I am always surprised when I run into the brick wall of incomprehension and, frankly, belligerent denial.