Jump Wraps

There are many ways to perform a sequence, as evidenced by this "Jump Wraps" video put together by Steve Schwarz.  The video also demonstrates how it's always important to "have the dog's head", holding onto that "psychic leash" I blogged about last fall, which became the basis for my Handling Fundamentals class. You can almost see the leash in this video.

Steve can back wave his dog over a jump while facing the other direction, and he's not afraid of the blind cross either.  Furthermore, he shows that even a border collie can be made to collect, to run at a measured pace rather than full out, using closely placed obstacles and short sequences.

Check this out:



Exercise 1.  I set the first sequence up at my Wednesday night Intermediate Beginners class, thinking to further train all the various maneuvers, but it never got traction.  Not sure why.  We moved on to running segments of an Excellent jumpers course, because it seems students at the lower levels want to run and have fun with their dogs more than they want to train specific handling skills, do their flatwork, etc.  My fear is that bad habits develop this way which can wreck havoc later on if they decide to compete.  It's hard to strike a proper balance in a 1 hour class.

So, I've decided to share this video and blog post with my students, maybe inspire and encourage them to set up these sequences in their own yards and practice on their own time. Most of them have some jumps and weave poles at home, and they can substitute another jump for the tunnel.  There are 7 different handling maneuvers in Exercise 1.  If they did 10 minutes a day without a dog, then 10 minutes with a dog, in no time they would be experts and having more fun pursuing titles than they can even imagine right now.

Upwards and onward!

Doggie Dream - "The Invisible Psychic Leash"

Last night I dreamed that I was teaching a Beginners Agility class -- the first one where dogs begin working off leash.  I was explaining to my students that the sport depends upon an unbroken connection between dog (D) and handler (H). So while D may be off of their physical leash, they are still very much on a psychic leash, fully connected to you AND in your control. 

This psychic leash operates just like a retractable "flexi" leash, where D can go out far away and as D returns, the leash winds back into its casing. You are the casing, the psychic leash unfurls from your hand.  And of course, it never gets hung up on poles or other obstacles but passes thru them like radio waves.

In my dream, I demonstrated myself and Maxie doing a flawless run and moving smoothly around a course, but since I can't do that yet, I am posting this video I took of Jane-Simmons Moak running a very difficult Excellent Jumpers course at the Hattiesburg trial I attended yesterday. Jane is a well-known author and perhaps the foremost expert in what she calls "distance handling".  In this video, Jane sends her dog far away, with obstacles layered in between herself and D, and it seems almost impossible that D could know what she wants . . . . . . . but D does know, and doesn't have the slightest doubt about it either.  It's truly remarkable.  You can almost see Jane whipping the psychic leash around the ring.

Seeing this run is probably what sparked my dream.  It was especially exciting because this run earned her team their MACH title, which is why she started running around the ring with a bar.  Notice after the run, the "psychic leash" is no longer attached to the dog so he spins wildly and runs around like a maniac.

In my dream, after running Maxie flawlessly, I presented my students with the following exercises to help them envision the psychic leash:

#1 Practice the rear cross (RC) with D in a sit/stay, on leash, at H's left.  Holding leash in left hand, H moves right to the end of leash, then back to rear cross behind D while shifting leash to their right hand, then stops to D's left, leash fully extended.  D is now on H's right and the arm holding the leash has changed. Reverse.  When D is comfortable with this and their head always follows you, perform the exercise off leash and at greater distances, walking then running while D sits, performing the same hand motions.

#2 Practice the front cross (FC) with D in a sit/stay, on leash, at H's left.  Holding leash in left hand, H moves right to the end of leash, then front crosses (walks forward and left in an arc around D, making a 360 degree turn and ALWAYS facing the dog), while shifting leash to their right hand.  D is now on H's right side and the arm holding the leash has changed. Reverse. When D is comfortable with this and their head always follows you, perform the exercise off leash and at greater distances, walking then running while D sits, still performing the same hand motions.

These are the same arm changes/hand motions you will use to direct D around a course.  To everyone else it will look like you are lifting one arm then another, pointing at obstacles and paths, but you are really "extending" the leash as far as you want D to go, switching leash from hand to hand, and reeling it back into yourself when you want D to return to you.  The trick is to remain mentally aware of the tension on the line, so D can tell by your pressure how far out to go, when he's reached the end of the line, when to return, etc.

Can you really "will" D around a course in this fashion?  In the dream, it seemed you could.  I'm sure there is a lot more to pulling and pushing, sending and calling than this, though.  I want to learn it all.

Today, I tried #1 and #2 exercises on Max and Lucky to see if they really work, and they do!  On leash.  Off leash.  Their heads turned in my direction every time.  If I ever do teach a class, I will definitely teach a reliable sit/stay, front and rear crosses as described above, rewards for correct head turns, and the sense of being fully connected to your dog.