The multi-wrap behavior can be used to teach the dog to collect on exit of a backside jump.  But first, some background. In Lesson 3, backside jumping was introduced with these steps: Build value for the refusal plane Use a physical cue – a step toward the refusal plane with the arm and leg closest to the dog. Use a […]

In Lesson 3, the multi-wrap behavior was transferred to a low jump.  Remember to progress slowly through the heights and only raise the height when your dog is giving you the same behavior in both directions.  Don’t be frustrated if it takes a while to get YOUR mechanics down – it did for me. As you progress through the heights, […]

As with the grids introduced in Lesson 2, the Bend Grid and Adjustable Single Stride Grid give the dog a chance to practice important skills.  Watch Nick manage quick footwork in the Bend grid as a young dog.  And then see both Nick and Tai get a lesson in the placement of a powerful single stride in the Adjustable Stride […]

Agility courses commonly include “backside” approaches to jumps. Here are some examples: Notice that the approach angles and the exit angles vary in each of these examples. The difficulty the dog faces in performing the jumping task increases as the angle of approach to the backside jump and exit from the jump are most severe. In teaching the dog to […]

It’s important to reward your dog for response to your handling in such a way that the reward supports the behavior you are working to build. Follow these simple rules: If you want to reward your dog’s decision to run hard in extension, throw a reward ahead of your dog.  Remember to keep driving the line until the dog gets […]

Before transferring the multi-wrap behavior from a cone to a low jump be sure you have completed the goals of Lesson 2.  That is:  1) you have established a physical cue and the beginnings of a verbal cue for the multi-wrap behavior, 2) your dog has learned the physical skill to stay close to the cone by weight shifting to […]

When you have completed Lesson 2, your dog should have a good understanding of wrapping a cone (or other round object) multiple times and have the beginnings of understanding the verbal cue associated with this behavior.  Be sure the dog is confident in the behavior before moving on to the next step.  If so, you are ready to start to […]

Flatwork can be used to teach many of the skills necessary for our dogs to learn striding in response to our handling.  In Lesson 1 Part 2, I explained how to teach your dog on the flat to respond to a change in your stride in order to cue deceleration in preparation for a turn.  Teaching your dog to drive […]

Lesson 2 Part 3 – Footwork and Striding – Grids As we saw in Part 1 of this lesson, the dog’s ability to jump effortlessly is much more about what happens on the ground between jumps than what happens after she takes off.  Therefore, it’s important to give your dog a chance to practice her footwork, striding, weight shift and […]

In this lesson, you will start to build your dog’s physical understanding of how to collect her body and bend her spine around an object. Circling a cone: Teach your dog to circle an object like a large traffic cone; a bucket; or a round garbage can.  The size of the object is important…you don’t want to create too tight […]