Stand off-center of the two jumps, and you should be far enough from the jump to allow room for the dog to land and come front. It will be helpful to put gating between the jumps so your dog won’t come through the center.īegin by sitting your dog behind the jump, giving enough distance so he can jump easily. Set a high jump and bar jump approximately 10 feet apart and 20 to 25 feet from the back of the ring. If you will keep this as a game, this should alleviate some of the stress that your dog may feel in this training. Intermittently go back to sending the dog the entire length of the ring, to the pouch, (no sit when you go back to this part) and running full-speed back to you. Make sure that he understands what you want before demanding more. Most of us are in such a hurry to succeed that we move ahead too quickly and confuse our dogs. Increase your distance, remember to use your hand to mark and also use your verbal cue, send your dog to the stanchion, and tell him to sit. This new piece is teaching the dog to go out to the stanchion to their spot, to turn and sit, and stay there. You have previously taught the dog to run to the pouch and run back to you with speed. When you have consistency, put the pouch back on the stanchion, stay close, use your cue, send him to the pouch and stay with him, tell him to sit, and give the reward.Īs you increase distance, you must run in behind him to reinforce the turn and sit. Take him to the correct location, giving your “go-out” cue, call their name so they turn and face you, and have him sit, luring him around to face you if necessary. As in everything new that we teach, start close and make sure to show your dog what is expected. You can use a sit box, a “U” made from PVC, or any type of target you have used in earlier training, and put this directly in front of the center stanchion. This should be taught separate from the go-out. It has helped Twister straighten his go-outs. If your dog is arcing rather than running straight to the center of the ring, you can put a jump bar on the ground about 3 feet away from the stanchion and 2 to 3 feet to the side that the dog is arcing ( photo 2). You want a run to the pouch and a run back to you. Keep increasing the distance that you send the dog to the pouch until you can send from the full length of the ring, and remember to run away – call him and make it a game. Once there is consistency in running to the pouch, start close again and as soon as your dog has taken the pouch, call him, have him chase you, feed for returning to you quickly, trading the pouch for a treat or other reward. Keep increasing your distance away from the pouch, but remember to move closer if failure occurs more often than success. If you have to run with your dog to the pouch in order to motivate him, then run. Keep it fun! A dog that does the death march to the stanchion is not having fun and is so unimpressive to watch in the ring. Once this is understood, move out a few feet, give your cues, and as soon as the dog takes the pouch from the stanchion, go immediately to your dog and reward. It won’t take but a few repetitions for your dog to relate the pouch to a treat. Start close, give your hand and verbal cues, lead your dog to the pouch, have him take it, and then give a treat from the pouch. “Mark,” “Go,” Go-Out,” “See-It” or anything you are comfortable with. Pouches that have Velcro can be purchased, or you can make them from denim or any other fabric of your choosing.Ĭome up with a cue for the dog to focus on the stanchion (and pouch). Having taught your dog to “mark,” where your hand is directing him to go, is an invaluable part of teaching this exercise. This was trained using pouches that had treats inside, wedged on the stanchion on the gating ( photo 1). Teaching my dog (Twister) to leave me was my first hurdle. I will not go into teaching your dog to “mark” in this article, but it is an important part of teaching this exercise as well as the Directed Retrieve. Over-handling in the “A” class often is forgiven, but if you develop the habit of over-handling, and carry this into Utility “B,” points that are lost will be your errors and not your dog’s. I see dogs that are confused, and handlers that either are giving poor cues or over-handling. In watching many exhibitors in the Utility A classes, it seems that Directed Jumping is one of the exercises that is giving those new into Utility a lot of problems. Pat Mann, owner of the first All-American Dog to earn the AKC Obedience Trial Championship, Twister, tells us how to teach the advanced Obedience exercise of Directed Jumping in which dogs learn to distinguish between two jumps with their owner’s hand signal.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |