Consider This...

[Vickie]

I just wrote this for our newsletter & thought I'd share it. Basic stuff really & JMO.

Feel free to add your own "Consider this..." points.

CONSIDER THIS…

• If you are constantly finding your dog getting distracted or over excited by someone else’s toy or food rewards…

it may be time for you to try them yourself?

• It is not enough to have perfect obstacle performance…

what happens between the obstacles is usually what will make or break your run.

• If you measure success only by completing the obstacles in order, your handling will never improve.

Each & every sequence will provide an opportunity for improvement…either through more efficient line,

increased speed or an option to train your distance handling.

•The longer you allow your dogs to break when you ask it to stay…the less chance you will ever have of getting a stay.

• On angled entries to contact obstacles, dogs need to either be straightened on approach with handling,

or trained to straighten their own approach. Without either of these…

risking it on the day is asking for either injury or fright, and possibly both.

• Practising a mistake…makes it a HABIT.

If you are unsuccessful after 2 attempts, your best option is to put your dog away and use your brain

to come up with a solution/plan to fix it.

• Dogs do not deliberately misunderstand your handling/commands.

Instead of getting upset with your dog, give them a pat & go yell at yourself

for asking for something you haven’t trained properly yet.

• If you are getting a mediocre performance over 3 obstacles,

attempting 6 is letting your dog know that mediocre is all you will ever want.

• If you reward your dog when it sits at the end of a sequence…

you are likely to get really nice sits after each run, after all…that is what you rewarded.

• The quicker success is rewarded, the more likely it is to be repeated.

• AGILITY IS FUN, it is your job to make sure your dog thinks so too.

Edited May 24, 2007 by Vickie

[Cosmolo]

Can you show this to the instructors at my club?

[Vickie]

:D Can you show this to the instructors at my club?

One would hope the instructors know it. It's the students it's aimed at .

[poodlefan]

Vickie I can think of a couple of people who need the 7th and last ones branded on their foreheads. :D

I HATE seeing dogs cop the blame for poor handling...

[bordacollies4me]

how about

"Don't assume they will do it because they know it"

"Dog needs to be confident working for you as a handler"

"Easiest thing is to train a behaviour, Hardest is to maintain it for life"

[Pippi]

And.......

"Let your dog know that you have confidence in them"

"Know what your criteria is, then stick with it EVERY time"

[PAX]

I love this quote, I found it on a sheep dog site but it works just as well for agility.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sheepdogtria...yguid=208474091

"If entering your first trial and you have a disastrous run that embarrasses you, stay and watch a few more runs.

You may as well see the same thing happen to a Champion. "That", as they say, 'is dog trialing' ".

[Cosmolo]

That criteria one is so important Pippi- i'm so glad i stuck to my guns on that one as i was being told to reward regardless of things like missing a weaver or contact. My girl's weavers have improved a hundred times over since i did my 'own thing' consistently.

[Maverick]

the stay one :D :D That is sooo me and Maverick.. Just ask me how I fixed my stays.

I blew nearly all of my runs at the Nationals because Maverick kept breaking his stays.

[smisch]

Thats really good Vickie!! I enjoy your articals they always make so much sense; you take simple points and make them simlpier and help reinforce them into our minds!!!

Thats the ability of a good writer!!!!!

Thumbs up to this!