The essentials, quote

Understanding your dog and knowing how to control him, develop his potentials, and resolve behavior problems, emotional conflicts and frustrations are no less essential than love and respect.

--Michael W. Fox

Happy New Year Everyone! Here's to a great 2010!

Christmas 2009, Sundance Utah

Obedience Seminar Weekend in MO

Three day of obedience in St. Louis, MO with the great Sylvia Bishop (shown above with her dog Misty). Very inspirational as always. Lots of great people there too. Me and all three dogs had a good time.

Obedience Seminar weekend in WI

Linda Koutsky seminar in Milwaukee, WI with Rosco and Lola.

Teaching The Broad Jump

The broad jump is an exercise that seems simpler that it is.
The two most common mistakes that you see on the broad jump exercise is (1) the dog will walk across or between the boards and (2) the dog will cut the corner of the broad jump.
The first mistake (1) is a result of the dog no fully understanding the broad jump as a JUMP. The second mistake (2) is a result of not separating the jumping action from the finding-front action and as a result the dog is trying to do both at the same time.

As with all exercises there are many ways to teach the broad jump; using leg to keep dog jumping straight across jump, using chicken-wire or some other unseen deterrent place on the floor of the jump in the corner to deter dog from landing there, using targets, lures, or toys (thrown and placed) to get the dog to drive straight over the jump. I don't like to teach the dog the broad jump using any of above methods either because they are de-motivating to the dog (making him worry about a leg coming out to "move" him to the center of the jump or worrying about landing on chicken wire) or they don't create the desired behavior (lures and targets can cause a dog to jump flat and cause him to go out straight which makes it harder to find front, not to mention that if there if something on the floor in the ring it may be hard to convince a dog trained in this way that he shouldn't go investigate it).

The way I like to teach the broad jump is to break the exercise up into 2 pieces, a piece (A) Jumping piece and a piece (B) turning and coming to front piece. Piece A & B can be taught concurrently and than put them back together.

Jumping Piece (A):
GOAL: Your dog should jump UP and Over the broad jump independent of where you are.

Step 1: Your dog should be comfortable jumping a normal / PVC / agility jump. He should understand what the "Jump" command means when you are running by the jump with your dog (on both sides), on the same side of the jump as your dog sending him over, and recalling your dog over the jump when you are on the opposite side of the jump from your dog.

Step 2: Add broad jump boards to either side of the normal / PVC / agility jump. Let your dog come up to them and see both the jump and the boards. Repeat Step 1 above with this set up.
The normal / PVC / agility jump height should be LOW, only as high as your dog needs to lift them up over the broad jump.

Step 3: Figure out what your dogs broad jump width your dog will be required to jump in competition and how many boards this will require. Using the appropriate width and the right number of boards (this is important) set up the same set up as Step 2. Where ever space between the boards has a normal / PVC / agility jump in between it. You may have to play some with the spacing and legs of the agility jump to get this to work out. Repeat Step 1 above with this configuration. Start using the verbal command you intend to use for the broad jump. If you are planning to use a hand signal instead you will introduce that later and so in that case continue using your "jump" command. I prefer a verbal command for the broad jump since it allows to dog to fully focus on the jump and not on my body motion. I also use "jump" for both the broad jump and regular jumps.

Step 4: When your dog is comfortable at step 3. Start fading the bar, by lowering it and than taking it away. Look for your dog to still be jumping UP and over the broad jump. If you dog starts jumping flat add back the bar and stay at step 3 for a while longer. Repeat Step 1 without the bar.

Step 5: Start fading the jump stanchions by slowly moving them away from the jump so that finally the jump is alone, you may also add an additional (optional) step where you lay the stations down on their sides. Again repeat Step 1 as you slowly move the stations further away from the broad jump. Remember to make sure you dog is not jumping flat.

Step 6: Your dog should now be able to jump the broad jump NO MATTER where you are standing. Your position should not be important part of their broad-jump-picture.

Turning and Fronting Piece (B):

Step 1: Teach your dog to wrap an object with their right shoulder. Such that when you indicate the object they will run out and wrap it such that their right shoulder is on the inside (clockwise). I like to clicker train this behavior and I like to start with my dog on one side of a big round object such as a garbage can, such that the garbage can is between me and my dog, I peek around the right side of the can and when my dog comes to me I click and treat. Of course this exercise can also be lured if you prefer to train that way. I often label and add a hand signal to this wrapping behavior calling it "pole" or "wrap" if that makes it easier for the dog.

Step 2: Transition from using the garbage can to something smaller, I like to use a jump stanchion. But you can use anything including a very small piece of wood (or anything else) on the ground. Your dog should understand that the "wrap" command can correspond to any object. Use garbage can, chair, jump station, etc ... this makes it easier to fade these props later.

Step 3: Add the Front Chute and the get-it-get-it-front game to the wrap motion. Such that you ask your dog to wrap and than play the game with him and than ask him to front. See: http://dogtrainingadventures.blogspot.com/2009/10/creating-and-using-front-chute.html for more details on Front Chutes.

Putting it together:

When your dog is proficient at all the steps of both pieces (A) and (B) above. It is time to put them together.

Put the jump station (or whatever you dog will wrap) at the end of the broad jump. You should be able to ask your dog to "jump" to "wrap" and than to come play his front game. You should stay at this stage for a while to let your dog build this habit.

I will add video and pictures to this post when I get the chance to make the concepts more clear.

The Dreaded DOR

DOR = drop on recall

I think that 70% - 80% of all dogs will do the drop-on-recall correctly if you just DO IT without teaching the dog anything. However in this case it is impossible to understand exactly HOW the dog understands the exercise since you didn't teach it. (Let me give you an example of this concept. Say your dog is on the other side of the yard and you say "Fido Sit". Your dog runs all the way up to you and sits at your feet. If Fido understood SIT the same way you do, he would have sat in place on the other side of the yard, but obviously Fido thinks SIT has something to do with his proximity to you, perhaps something to do with looking into your face, perhaps something to do with his tail for all you know. All of this is a consequence of how you taught Fido to sit, which may have been while he was next to you, perhaps looking in your face, etc ...) So back to the DOR, say you decided NOT to teach the DOR and just to DO-IT, and say that after some time your dog starts messing up something about the drop (the DOR is the MOST failed open exercise). What do you do? Do you correct the dog for things you never taught --- assuming he should understand them the same way you do (which remember from the Fido example above is likely NOT true), even though you never explained them to him --- and for all you know the mistakes he is making are still correct based on how he first "understood" the exercise (remember you never taught him different). That isn't fair. Perhaps you simplify the exercise --- back up one step --- that makes sense, make it simpler for the dog --- but wait. If you never Taught the dog how to do the DOR what is the last step? Your first step was the last step so you are forced, in this situation to actually START again from scratch. Perhaps you change your drop word and /or hand signal and start again --- poor dog.

So lets instead TEACH the DOR. By teaching this exercise we will ensure that our dog understands this exercise in the same way we do and if we ever run into a problem we will be able to simplify the exercise by going back to the last step of the teaching process.

TEACHING THE DOR:

There are Many ways to teach the Drop-on-recall. My favorite is to use a bar as a marker for a spot where the dog should drop. You will need a square bar (not round since they roll away), a bar jump bar works well, or any other "thing" that will not roll and that your dog won't ignore. I like this method because I find you get the least amount of hesitation and anticipation with it.

(1) First you must teach the Drop action. Dogs can Down in at least 2 ways. (A) Sitting first and that bringing their elbows to the floor (this is likely how you taught your dog to down if you lured them into a down with a treat). (B) With front feet NOT moving, folding their body backwards or placing their elbows down before their rear comes down. This is sometimes called a Fold-Back Down. If your dog is doing the sit-first-than-walk-forward-with-front-legs-to-down type of down, type (A) above there is no need to worry. But for the DOR you will want to teach the Fold-Back Down type (B) above.
There are two reasons why you want this type of down. Reason1: It stops forward motion. You signal or say drop and your dog locks his front legs and folds back --- all his motion is backwards. Reason2: It is faster and doesn't involve the sit intermediate where many dogs get stuck.
If your dog is doing down type (A) when you say "down" you will have to use another word "drop", "splat", "crash", "lay-down", etc... for the other type of drop, type (B).
Teaching Drop type (B), the Fold-Back Drop:
* If you are going to lure to teach the Fold-Back Drop; leave your dog is in a standing position move the treat from in front of their nose to between their legs, if you dog follows the treat with their eyes they should fold into the down position.
* If you are going to free-shape the Fold-Back Drop; than you will need to kneel on the ground holding a treat down between your knees, let you dog work to get the treat, when to dog lays down in front of you in an effort to get the treat, mark and reward this moment.
* Alternatively any method of down-ing your dog that is taking place "in front of you" such that the dog can not move his front legs forward (if you are in front of the dog you are blocking this option) and such that your dog transitions from a stand to a down without sitting first, will likely result in the correct behavior (Fold-Back down type (B)).

(2) Introducing the dog to the bar. Your dog should not be scared of the bar, should not be scared of his feet touching the bar, should be comfortable running over the bar.

(3) Starting the drop-at-bar game. Step 1 of this game is to stand in front of the bar, such that the bar is touching your toes, your dog should be standing on the other side of the bar. Ask the dog to drop. Look for your dog to drop in a fast consistent way that meets your criteria on the other side of the bar.

(4) Once your dog is comfortable with step one. Start moving back from the bar (You move back). One step at a time. At each stage down your dog (who is transition from a stand to a drop on his side of the bar).

(5) Once your dog understands that he is to drop at the bar no matter how far you are away from the bar. It is time to move your dog back and yourself forward up to the bar. I do this dramatically which means I move my dog back a lot (a good distance) at one time. This is to ensure that my dog can pick up some speed before reaching the bar. If you move your dog back step by step he will learn to walk or step toward the bar and you do not want to put it in his mind that it is okay to walk on the DOR. At this stage I also move myself forward, up to the bar, such that the bar is once again touching my toes. I call my dog and down him at the bar which is at my feet. Don't stay at this stage too long.

(6) Than start moving yourself back again, step by step as before, only now you are calling your dog to come, before dropping him at the bar (asking him to down at bar). Go slow, make sure your dog is doing the drop well before taking another step away from the bar. Make sure to maintain your criteria.

(7) Once you are a good distance from the bar (as is your dog, on the other side). Start adding straight recalls over the bar. Sometimes call your dog over, sometimes drop him at the bar. This is where you will start getting mistakes --- your dog might drop without you telling him to or he might start coming slowly, or he might stop dropping at the bar. This gives you an opportunity to clarify what it is you want to your dog. You can simplify the exercise by backing up a step or two if you think your dog really might not understand what you want from him. I find the most useful thing to do at this stage is to SHOW my dog what to do. I stand next to my dog on the same side of the bar and I say "come" (I know strange since I am next to them) and I RUN with them over the bar to the other side and celebrate. Than I do the same thing but with a drop in the middle, where I will pause at the bar, say drop, and make sure they drop. I find that SHOWING your dog in this way that you want a run and drop and a run or just a run over the bar works the best to clarify this situation in their mind and to make it all a fun game.

(8) Once your dog is comfortable recalling over or dropping at the bar. It is time to fade the bar. I fade the bar by transitioning from the bar jump bar to a piece of wood (optional) to a leash to a string (optional) to nothing at all. I find that the first transition is the hardest and requires backing up a step or two in your training to make sure the dog understands that this new object functions the same as the bar did. I find every transition after that easy and dogs understand the transition to nothing easily as well.

(9) I often go back to the bar in my training if I need to or if I am working on another part of the DOR and don't want to put pressure on the drop part of it. I also will add a second bar such that each bar is 1/3 of the way between me and my dog, to test a more experienced dogs understand of the drop and the drop signal. I will call them over the first bar and drop them at the second or vice versa. Also if a dog is NOT ABLE to make it past step (7), somehow they just can't understand that sometimes they pass over the bar and sometimes they drop at it, adding a second bar and dropping them at one or the other will sometimes clarify this confusion for them.

(10) The only thing left is to proof the DOR and get it ready for the ring. Remember to sometimes bring back the bar and remind your dog that this is great fun game.

I will add pictures and videos to this post to make it more clear when I have the chance.

Creating and Using a Front Chute

Say you are working on /doing a retrieve, you throw the dumbbell out, send your dog ..... your dog does a wonderful pick up and a wonderful fast turn and than comes back in ..... and sits in a slightly crocked front .... what do you do?

Do you praise the retrieve -- ignoring the front?
Do you fuss the dog, correcting the front, losing the chance to praise the retrieve?

Perhaps you were smart and you eliminated the front --- by either squatting down or by running away from your dog --- any thing that presents them a different picture of your body position in which they are not required to or can't "front". By doing this you have given yourself an opportunity to praise the retrieve. However, by doing this you have lost the chance for your dog to practice the front. The front is PART of this exercise (in this case the retrieve), in addition the front is something that must be first taught but that is than perfected by practice --- making a straight front a HABIT for the dog. Your dog should be able to run into a straight front from any angle with anything in his mouth after a jump or a down or whatever without having to think about it or worrying about you fussing him about it.

When I am working on an exercise where the focus & therefore the pressure, will be on another aspect of the exercise other than the front, but where I want to, never the less, add a front in order to build the front-habit for my dog and to show my dog that a front is part of this exercise, I like to use a Front Chute.

Building The Front Chute:

* use cardboard (light, and won't hurt dog if they run into it, but not long lasting) or wood (if using wood ensure that the bottom piece is thin enough that the dog won't stub their toes when running into the chute, and that the wood contains no splinters).

* Your chute should consist of a bottom piece that the dog will sit on. This piece should be just wide enough for the dog to sit on it comfortably with their legs square underneath them without their body touching the sides (for more on sides see below). The bottom piece also should be long enough that when the dog sits on it their whole body, feet to base of tail fits on it, and should not be longer than whole sitting dog + extra half of sitting dog.

* Your chute should also have sides on it. The sides should stand up by themselves. If you are using wood heavier pieces of wood will work, if you are using cardboard you will likely have to place (or tape) another piece of cardboard to the outside, to hold the sides up. The sides should be tall enough so that your dog won't ignore them and can't sit on top of them, but not so high that they reach over the dogs head. Elbow to shoulder height on your dog is usually a good place to aim for.

* Your chute must be open on both other sides and on top. It should look like a 3 sided box or like a square U.


Using The Front Chute:

* First make sure your dog is comfortable with the Front Chute. Encourage your dog to touch the chute with their nose or paw. Move your dog backwards into the chute so that their back feet and rear rub against it, encourage them. Than lure them into the chute (or otherwise encourage them into it) ask them to sit once inside, than let them run out of it. Make sure this is a pleasant experience and that your dog is not scared of the chute.

If your dog is scared of the chute. You have some options.
*You can instead use 2 boards placed dog width distance apart. You want to ensure that the boards are length of the sitting dog to, a max of, the length of the sitting dog + half of sitting dog (so you don't want to use, say, broad jump boards since they are just too long). I like a chute better because the size of how-far-apart-the-sides-are is defined and I don't have to fuss with trying to place the boards the right distance apart each time, however some dogs will tolerate the boards better than the chute and for them this is a better option.
*You also can use a platform IF AND ONLY IF your dog will sit square on the platform and is sensitive about putting and keeping their entire body on it. If your dog will happily sit on the platform while half their body is hanging off the platform or manages to sit crocked while on the platform, than a platform will not work for this purpose. In my experience platforms require a dog to think more and require a dog to lift his body onto them so they function to slow most dogs down quiet a bit as they are coming into front. If you are looking for your dog to think about the front more or to slow down as they approach the front a platform may be the right choice. Platforms work very well for teaching sits after go-outs, where the dog must turn and sit at a distance, but I think for fronts where most people are looking for speed, precision and not much thought from the dog chutes work better.
*Lastly you can play a variation of Susan Garrett's "Crate Games" using the chute. These games will result in making the chute a desirable place to be. The best way to do this is to watch Susan Garrett's "Crate Games" video and modify the exercises to use a chute rather than a crate.

*Once my dog is comfortable with the Front Chute and sitting in the Front Chute, I introduce them to the "get-it, get-it, front" game. The foundation for this game is the "get-it" game. For the "get-it" game I get a hand full of food (white food like white cheese works best since dogs can easily see it on dark floors). I throw out a piece of food and tell my dog to "get it" as soon as they eat it I throw another piece of food in another direction again telling them to "get it". If this game makes your dog too crazy you can add an element of control to it by asking your dog to sit and throwing the food out but, in this case, only letting them get the food if you actually say "get it". You may have to have a leash on your dog to ensure that they do not "cheat" if you are adding this aspect of control to the game. Think about who your dog is --- is control no problem but speed, motivation, and drive are? .... than you likely don't need this extra piece of control, you want you dog to focus on you LESS and learn to RUN. Is control and food on the floor a problem? ... than go ahead and add the controlled sit or even sit-stay + leash to the game.

* Now we are ready to teach the "get-it, get-it, front" game. This game will teach my dog to run into the chute. Make sure your dog is comfortable with the chute and with sitting in the chute before you begin. I stand to the side of the chute such that the 2 open sides are perpendicular to me. I throw a treat out and tell my dog to "get-it", than I call my dogs name while holding another treat in my hand over the middle of the chute, just before my dog gets to that treat, I throw it away from them at the same time saying "get-it", so that my dog runs through the chute. I repeat this a few times till my dog is happy and fast at this game. Than instead of holding a treat over the middle of the chute. I step in front of the open side of the chute call my dogs name with the command "front" and lure them into the chute and into the front with a treat if needed (you should only have to lure the first few times when your dog is learning this part of the game). The game doesn't stop with the front. I now release my dog from the front one of 3 ways (1) I throw a treat between my legs commanding "get it" (2) I produce a tug toy and tug as I walk backwards walking my dog out of the chute (3) I turn my whole body to the side and throw a treat behind me commanding "get it" (if you do this make sure to alternate sides).

* Once your dog understands and enjoys the "get-it, get-it, front" game you are ready to use the chute whenever your primary focus of an exercise will not be on the front. Lets use the example of a broad jump. I ask my dog to jump he does a wonderful job, I stand at one open end of the Front Chute and do one of two things (1) ask him to front (or just stand at the end of the Chute which the dog will come to understand as a front) than praise him for a great jump since the front will, thanks to the chute, be straight. (2) stand in the chute and at the last minute the side and start the "get-it, get-it, front" game.

* The Front Chute is not a replacement for teaching a front. A dog must be taught a front first without the chute, however as long as the front is taught without the chute and the dog demonstrates understanding of the front without the presence of the chute, than using the Front Chute works well to keep fronts fast and straight and builds a very nice front-habit in the dog. In this case the Front Chute can also be faded easily.

I will add pictures and video to this post to make the concepts more clear when I can.

Beginning Open Obedience Syllabus

Week 1:
*Introductions
*Starting DOR (drop on recall)
(1) Teaching the Drop movement
(2) Introducing dogs to the bar
*Starting Jumping
(1) Teaching the “get it” game
(2) Teaching dog to tuck legs by playing “get it” game over low bar

Week 2:
*Jumping Continues:
(3) Teaching spike jumping to regulate stride – fade “get it” add “jump” command
(4) Teaching turning over jump
*DOR continues:
(3) Introduction to drop-at-bar game
(4) Handler begins to move back
*Starting the Retrieve
(1) Evaluate the Dogs
(2) Choose methods – Intro first steps
*Working for Speed Begins:
(1) Learning to Tug / How to play with your dog handout
(2) Evaluating Tugs

Week 3:
*Jumping Continues:
(5) Teaching angled jumping (introducing directed jumping hand signal)
(6) Adding speed to jumping
*Starting Broad Jump:
(1) Intro to front platform / chute
(2) “get it” – “get it” or “get it” -front game
*Starting Out of Sight Stays
(1) Evaluating Dogs Stays
(2) Taking Yourself Out of the stay-picture
*DOR continues:
(5) dogs moves back / handler moves forward
*Retrieve Continues:
*Working for Speed Continues:
(3) Intro to restrained recall followed by “get it” (teaching twist back with dumbbell)

Week 4:
*Jumping Continues:
(7) Evaluate Jumping
(8) Jumping corrections
*Broad Jump Continues:
(3) Intro wrap around object
(4) Change “get it” – front to wrap around object front
(5) Add broad jump boards around jump (remove yourself from picture)
*Out of Sight Stays continue:
(3) Add Chairs
*DOR continues:
(6) dog and handler move back – add occasional recall
(7) showing dog what to do
*Retrieving Continues:
*Working for Speed Continues:
(4) Intro to restrained retrieve (with toy or dumbbell)

Week 5:

REVIEW WEEK

Week 6:
*Jumping Continues:
(8) Introduction to high jump
*Broad Jump Continues:
(6) Evaluate person-less broad jump
(7) Evaluate wrap – front
*Out of site stays continue:
*DOR continues:
(8) Evaluate DOR – occasional recall over
(9) Fade bar + add two bar
*Retrieve Continues:
*Working for speed Continues:
(5) Intro to “watch my hands” game
*Start Figure 8:

Week 7:
*Jumping Continues:
(9) learning to walk, run, jump with something in mouth
*Broad jump continues:
(8) Putting it all together --- fading the props
(9) Broad jump corrections
*Out of sight continues:
*DOR continues:
(10) Evaluate DOR and fade of bar
(11) Corrections for DOR
*Retrieve Continues:
*Work for speed Continues:
(6) Intro to Rah-game
*Figure 8 continues:

Week 8:
*Work for speed Continues:
(7) Play Rah-game from sit & down
(8) Happy Pop-ups

FCI Agility World Championships

The FCI Agility World Championships are taking place in Dornbirn Austria, Sep 18th - 20th.

Agility Vision and Clean Run are offering free live streaming video from the Team Practice Day at the 2009 FCI Agility World Championships in Austria. For complete information on how to access the free stream, please go to

http://tiny.cc/2SGJQ

What is a Title?

Not just brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher title, not just an adjunct to competitive score.

A title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial.

It will remain in the record and in the memory, for about as long as anything in the world can remain.

And though the dog himself doesn't know or care that his achievements have been noted,

A title says many things in the world of humans where such things count.

A title says your dog was intelligent, adaptable and good natured.

It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that pleased you however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.

It says that you loved to spend time with him because he was a good dog and that you believed in him enough to give him yet another chance when he failed and in the end, your faith was justified.

A title proves that your dog inspired you to that special relationship enjoyed by so few. That, in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a title was greatly loved and loved greatly in return.

And when that dear short life is over, the title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend.

Volumes of praise in one small set of initials after a name. An obedience, agility, flyball, herding, etc title is nothing less than true love and respect - given and received and recorded permanently.

---- Unknown

Novice 200 (and 199)

When you are training it can be useful to see how a perfect performance (the ultimate goal) is suppose to look (in this context a perfect performance is defined by a score of 200).

Below are some videos of dogs earning scores of 200 (and one 199) in Novice. (I apologize they are all Goldens doing Novice but that is what I had on hand).

* OTCH Coppertop Celebration UDX8 OM2 TDX JH WC CCA 
VCX CanCD (Dixie)
http://www.coppertop.net/dixie/index.htm
(scroll down until you see the Novice video, Dixie
earned her CD with 3 scores of 200)

* Coopertop Lil' Red Waggin' UDX TDX JH CCA VCX
(Spirit) 
http://www.coppertop.net/kids2/spirit/index.htm
(scroll down until you see the Novice video)

* Gaylan's Fire in the Sky CD (Zahra) 
(below is video of Zahra, I am not sure if this
is her score 200 performance or another high
scoring performance from that weekend)



Here is the Zahra receiving her 200!
(pretty good deep class of Novice B qualifiers)



* U-CD Tanbark's Number Two Pencil, CD, JH, AX,
OAJ, OF, JS-E, GS-O, RS-O,NAC, WCDex, SRD (Quiz)

Rent Dog Training Videos

I love dog training videos and really see the value of them over say a book or a verbal description of how an exercise is done. There is nothing quiet like actually SEEING it. However dog training videos are often expensive and often you only need to watch them once, either because once is enough to learn everything the video has to offer or because the video does not offer what you were looking for. Sometimes you can manage to borrow a video you want to see from a friend but sometimes your choice is "don't see it" or "buy it". Well not anymore... check out this cool site (see below) where you can RENT dog training videos:

http://smartflix.com/store/category/51/Dog-Training

They don't have everything but I found some videos that I have wanted to see.

SAY YES TRAINING REMINDERS by Susan Garrett

The following is by Susan Garrett the full article can be see at: http://www.clickerdogs.com/trainingreminders.htm.

1. Work=play=work. All play is fun and so all work should be as well. If your dog makes a decision during play (example he grabs his toy without being invited to do so) you are reinforcing his right to make decisions during working with you as well (ahh, maybe I will chase the cat rather then practice A Frames right now!).

2. POSITIVE does not equal PERMISSIVE. This is the guiding principle of Say Yes Dog Training. You must be consistent. If a behaviour is acceptable at home (example the dog choosing not to lie down when told) it is also acceptable during work. Approach training and home life with a patient disposition and a strict application of what is and isn’t acceptable. Training happens 24 hours a day 7 days a week; your dog is always learning regardless if you are actively training or not!

3. Behaviours are shaped by CONSEQUENCES. Be aware of what is reinforcing your dog. Review and alter your list of reinforcers as your dog grows up, especially the “activities that reinforce” section.

4. Use your RECALL, to evaluate your relationship with your dog. Be diligent at making improvements each day in the level of intensity your dog has for working with you. Work at building a better relationship with your dog rather than making excuses for his performance. Work with the dog on the end of your leash -- and turn him into a dog other people wish they had!

5. Be aware of what RESPONSE you are rewarding each time you give out a cookie or toy. What did you click—did you see eyes? Did you want to see eyes when your dog is performing that skill? What did you intend to reinforce? Does the dog know?

6. VIDEO at least one training session every second week. More if possible.If progress isn’t as fast as you think it should be for one particular skill, video three or four consecutive training sessions of that one skill (each video clip should be no longer than 3-7 minutes). Review each video individually upon completion – then view and evaluate the entire series. What did you reinforce? Can you pick out why your session isn’t progressing as fast as you would like? If you can’t critique it yourself, ask a friend to review it with you.

7. THINK, PLAN, DO, REVIEW (Bob Bailey). Plan your work and work your plan. Time your session or count reinforcements so you don’t train your dog to exhaustion. Do not begin to train until you have worked through your mechanical skills and planned where you will deliver your rewards. Keep your training session short! After each session, write in a journal recording your progress and plans for future sessions. Do what will assist you reaching your goals; do not get wrapped up in “finishing as sequence or exercise”. Do what is best for your dog!

8. MIX UP YOUR REINFORCEMENTS so that you are working with toys and food. Only offer a reward you know your dog will want. Once a reward is offered, do not accept your dog not taking it. You can use food to reinforce an attempt to play (or the other way around) but never use food to reinforce a dog that has declined the opportunity to play or decided to stop playing. What would you be rewarding? Of course you would have rewarded your dog for making the decision to NOT play with you (and remember work=play).

9. Whenever frustration sets in remind yourself that “YOUR DOG IS A MIRROR IMAGE OF YOUR ABILITIES AS A TRAINER”. Only when you take ownership of your dog’s shortcomings will you be able to turn them into attributes.

10. CLICK FOR ACTION REWARD FOR POSITION. (Bob Bailey) If your dog barks after each click and you feed them, what are your reinforcing? When initially shaping or re-training skills. it is important to deliver your rewards as soon as possible after the click (1-3 sec) – remember the reward reinforces everything the dog does between the time he hears the click and when receives his reward.

11. Train to IMPROVE YOUR WEAKNESSES. All of us tend to practice what we are good at, or the dog we find easiest to train, it is reinforcing for us. If there were exercises you felt uncomfortable with this weekend it could be a result of a weakness in your current training program. Be sure to work short sessions on the skills you are not as graceful at performing.

12. Bob Bailey attributes training problems to: timing, criteria or rate of reinforcement. Have someone observe your timing with your clicker, alter your criteria so your dog can succeed and keep your rate of reinforcement as close to 70% as possible.

13. Cheap responses once rewarded will always be lurking (Bob Bailey). Be aware of ‘what else’ your dog may be doing when you click him for a desired response (i.e., barking).

14. Are you a double L? (…a lurer & a lumper) Your dog’s lack of progress may be due to your not “splitting” the desired behaviour into small enough responses. Be certain you are returning the hand that delivers the treat back to starting position after each rewarded response. Work to create a “thinking” dog not a dog that needs to be prompted by you before he can begin his work.

15. YOU CAN’T HAVE SPEED WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING. Got D.A.S.H.? If you are working many new environments and you start each session with the maximum amount of “D”, the “S” will come once you have the “A” Do not try to make your dog be fast until he first understands how to be correct without prompts or lurers from you.

16. WHAT IS YOUR CRITERIA? Identify it, learn it, work it live it. Maintain criteria, ALWAYS. The easiest thing to do is to train a behaviour. It is a far, far more difficult thing to do to maintain your criteria for the life time of your dog. That is what makes a great trainer.

17. Don’t ever ignore your dog while training. If you are getting further direction or clarification from an instructor, tug with your dog or, hold his collar & stroke him or put him into a relaxed position or in his crate. What ever you do, do not finish an exercise and turn away from your dog to talk to an instructor; it shows a lack of respect for your canine partner. Your dog should always be recognized for his effort to work with you.

Building Drive by "being" a bad dog trainer by Susan Garrett

I just LOVE this Susan Garrett video. Be warned it WILL make you laugh. I still laugh every time I watch it. Watch how by using the wrong command and than "fussing" the dog (essentially replicating what a bad dog trainer may do) Susan is causing the dog's drive increase, notice how much more motivated Buzz is to play the tugging game at the end of the video than he was in the beginning.

Great Blog by Fanny Gott

I found something ... a great Blog by a professional dog trainer who lives in Norway named Fanny Gott (isn't the Internet great) .
She competes in agility, obedience, does search and rescue, and teaches tricks. Her blog is full of wonderful training tips, beautiful pictures, and fascinating videos.

If you have time check it out at: http://www.fannygott.com/
I suggest going back through the her post achieves and learning about how she is teaching Squid to heel, look especially at her posts from Dec 22 2008 - Dec 24 2008.
I also love the post from Aug 16 2008 that contains a video of Fanny and her dog Missy competing in the Finals of the Norwegian Obedience National Championship (the obedience competitions in Norwegian are held according to FCI rules, for more about FCI see my post from July 2 2009 entitled "FCI obedience").
Finally I suggest Fanny's post: http://www.fannygott.com/how-to-prepare-your-dog-for-obedience-trials.

Enjoy.

"Great Dog, Shame About the Handler"

Rosco and I ran agility this weekend ... at least we attempted to. Rosco did wonderful BUT my handling could not have been worse. We ran wrong course after wrong course. After NQ-ing multiple runs on Saturday I decided it was a better use of my time to stay home and clean the house on Sunday. Did I mention Rosco did wonderful and at least the house is now spot-less. As Greg Derrett would say "great dog, shame about the handler".

Hopefully you have never had an agility weekend like this, but if you have, know that you are NOT alone. Here is an agility bloopers video from the Agility World Championships in Basel in 2006.

My Dogs Heeling

Rosco

Lola

Gwyneth

Romancing The Cookie by Linda Koutsky

The article below is written by Linda Koutsky and it appeared in Front & Finish July, 1996. I love the title "Romancing the Cookie". Enjoy.

Like many other obedience competitors, I started training my first dog at a local club. The club had a rich tradition, and had been in business for many years. So I joined, and quickly became hooked on dog training. I loved working with my dog, and never missed a training session. The problem was my dog didn't love it. The more we trained, the more she hated it. At the time, I felt that her poor attitude toward training, was because the club didn't approve of food and toys. I now know that was only part of the problem. The real cause of my dog's poor attitude was my own lack of knowledge, a teaching program that focused on physical corrections, a system that lacked balance between positive and negative, and my dog's own soft temperament. In reality, her dislike of obedience had little to do with food and toys. But in my mind, all she needed was positive motivational training. I wanted ears up and eyes bright. I knew in my heart that the positive trainers had the answer...if I was just reinforcing enough, my dog would love to work for me. So for the next four years, I took off my leash, filled my cheeks with food, my pockets with toys, and had a wonderful time teaching my dog.

To obtain my goal, I embarked on a quest for knowledge, that continues today. I attended every motivational seminar, watched every video, read every book, even joined the clicker list on the Internet. My vocabulary expanded, and I learned the difference between a lure and a reward, between positive and negative reinforcement, positive and negative punishment, between primary and secondary reinforcers. I studied schedules of reinforcement, and knew that variable schedules with a variety of reinforcers, produced the best results. I developed both verbal and physical Conditioned Reinforcers for use in the ring. I put my heart and soul into learning as much as I could about learning theory itself. BF Skinner became a household name, and Operant Conditioning was the game. In the back of my mind, I knew Skinner's work included both positive and negative, but I wanted to believe that I could achieve what the marine mammal trainers have achieved. The more I worked with my dog, the more positive my training became. Corrections were a thing of the past. My dog was simply stunning, with ears up and eyes bright. She loved training and so did I. Together we romanced the cookie.

You see, pure positive, or pure motivational training (call it whatever you want), was a "feel good" method, and I felt wonderful. It's a very romantic idea. Imagine actually training your dog without any negatives. Teaching your dog to offer a vast array of behaviors in hopes of reinforcement. Imagine walking into the obedience ring with a dog that displays the utmost in willingness and enjoyment, simply because you positively conditioned it. The creativity in teaching behaviors, via hands off shaping, is a high in itself. Further reinforcement came from our results in the obedience ring. In Novice A, we brought home nothing but Blue ribbons, in Open A we placed on every leg. The move to Open B was a piece of cake. Our first OB trial, and there we were in the front row, along with three OTCh teams. I was hooked, and I was in love with cookie-power. Looking back on those four years, I wonder just how much pure positive had to do with dog training. For me, it may have had more to do with self validation.

Though we never quite achieved the same level of utmost in the ring, that we enjoyed in training, we scored well, and she was basically a happy worker. But there were little nagging problems undermining our journey through Utility. We finished the UD with two firsts, and a second placement, but behaviors had started to break down. We're now working on the UDX, and those little nagging problems that we never really faced, are no longer little problems. Under the pure positive (no physical aversives ever) approach, when behaviors break down it's often thought that the behavior simply isn't reinforcing enough. I still believe that theory is true, but I now know the answer is not always another cookie. Where did the romance go sour for us? I feel that we encountered three major areas of breakdown in teaching performance exercises, using a totally non-corrective approach. My dog learned what behaviors to do, but never learned what not to. I failed to lead with my relationship, and lead with rewards instead. Reinforcement schedules for training and performance were not balanced.

First, because the focus was always on correct behavior, my dog never learned what wasn't an option. Yes, she tends to escalate those behaviors that bring reinforcement. But she still explored other options, and she learned some interesting things from that exploration. She learned that the environment is jam packed with it's own wonderful array of reinforcers. She learned that if she chose not to do the behavior I requested, because something else was more reinforcing, that her choice carried no negative consequence. Sure, I withheld the cookie, but she was reinforced anyway. Besides, she could always earn a cookie later whenever she wanted one. She actually learned that the environment was more reinforcing at times, than I was. Because our training was correction free, we encountered problems in training when she would refuse to do a behavior. I only had two options, one was to abort the exercise, the other was to bribe her through it. Neither are acceptable. I watched her like a hawk, for any sign of stress. Whenever she showed the slightest sign of aversion, I would work around it. I had not taught my dog to deal with stress, to learn that she could be successful when presented with a challenge, I had not given her the confidence that achievement brings.

My next area of breakdown when using a pure positive approach was the lack of developing a meaningful working relationship with my dog. While our relationship in life is incredible, our relationship in training never reached that same level. Reflecting back, I believe that my mistake was in leading with the reinforcer, instead of my relationship. I had both verbal and physical Conditioned Reinforcers. Like many other trainers, I had taught my dog that the word "yes" meant that you did the right behavior, and that you have earned some reward. I did not teach her that her behavior pleased me, or that it was fun for her to do. No, I romanced the cookie, and lead with my reinforcement. Earning the cookie became the focal point in training, and I was the delivery boy. I actually took myself out of the training picture. What happened to verbal and physical praise, the interaction between teammates, the joy in working? I offered it, but in reality it was nothing but a distraction. She was not learning what I thought she was. I thought I was being reinforcing, while she continued to romance the cookie.

My final point of failure in the application of a pure positive approach, occurred as I got better, and better at it. I knew my dog was quite context sensitive, and that she knew cookies wouldn't be falling from the heavens in the ring. So I did what any savvy pure positive trainer would do. I started to mix up my reinforcers. I used various kinds of food, toys, and finally added games to the training picture. I thought I had it all figured out. Well while this plan sounded good, and while my dog was marvelous in training, a strange thing happened. I had made training so wonderful, and stress free, that the AKC ring with it's limited reinforcements, and all of it's formality, could never measure up. I taught my dog, and myself, that the ring was no fun, and that it was a very stressful place.

Today I'm trying a more balanced approach. I'm thankful for the great learning experiences that I have encountered. Through my initial Correct and Praise club experience, I learned to focus on the positive, not the negative. Through my use of pure positive, I've learned to focus on the positive, but include the negative. From my dog, I've learned that she is not a dolphin, that she is my dog and she is the true master of this game. That she has her own needs, abilities and limitations. That my job is to foster an environment where she can learn to be the best she can be. I've learned that she is my friend, my partner, and a very honest creature. I've learned that the AKC ring with it's limited fixed reinforcement schedule, is not Sea World.

I've learned not to base behaviors on types of reinforcement that I can never deliver during performance. I've started to enlighten my dog that all behaviors have a consequence, some are positive, some are not. I'm not avoiding stress issues. I'm working through them. I'm leading with my relationship now. I'm working to become the jackpot. I've learned that correction does not have to be painful, that correction can enhance learning and build confidence. I've learned that corrections should never be made in anger, or used to make up for a trainers lack of knowledge. I've learned that they are a valid teaching tool.

Our goal now, is to interact and play, to gain attention and approval...not to earn a cookie. I'm working to develop ways through sounds and gestures, to actually reinforce my dog in the ring. I don't want to tell her that she will get her reward after the performance is done. I want to reinforce during. I want her to love working, and being with me. We still enjoy our cookies, but now the romance belongs to us.

Reward is defined by the Dog (short story)

The other night I didn't have much time to train. So I decided I would train all three dogs at the same time. Warning: This only works for certain exercises, but it can work well, and can even build a dogs confidence that they are doing an exercise correctly (when dogs around them are doing the same thing) or increase their drive and motivation (if they decide they are competing with the other dogs around them).
We were doing signals. I left all three dogs standing, walked across the room, signaled down, they downed, signaled sit, they all sat, and I released them (my release command is two hands raised in the air often accompanied with a verbal "hurray").
And than something interesting happened . . .

Rosco ran straight to the kitchen and positioned himself in front of the cookie jar.
Lola ran to me for a snuggle and some pets.
and Gwyenth happily jumped around in circles and grabbed a toy off the floor.

I repeated this experiment and the same thing happened.
It was funny watching the dogs running off in three different directions after the release and it was really interesting to see the dogs choose their own Rewards.

Remember that what constitutes a Reward is defined by your dog, not by you, and also keep in mind what you can and can not bring into the ring with you.

Cooperation by Terri Arnold

The following is an excerpt from an article written by Terri Arnold. The full article is available at: http://terriarnold.com/article_cooperation.html. Enjoy.

I think this article is going to be one of the most helpful articles that I have ever written! I am excited about beginning it, which is a really good sign. I love the title and know that without complete cooperation between you and your dog, all training is going to be a struggle. First, you must be willing to be completely cooperative with your dog. How do you know that you are being completely cooperative with your dog? You must make a decision that you will only train when you have your dog’s complete cooperation. At first this will seem difficult, but I promise you that the results will be well worth the effort!

After many years of successful dog training, I have spent much time trying to understand why I am successful. This has been a long process of self-reflection. I realized that learning to pay attention was the first of a series of steps. This first step is the most difficult and the most important. Not only do you have to pay attention to what you are doing; to what you want to happen, you must learn to pay attention to what is happening as well. To make this even more difficult, you must learn to pay attention to what your dog is thinking, feeling, understanding, and enjoying. Dog training is a challenging sport, both mentally and physically, but I think the biggest challenge is learning to pay attention! To be successful, you must be able to live in the moment. Awareness is the most helpful tool you can develop. Not only self-awareness, but awareness of your dog, your environment, and all the while keeping your perfect mental picture clear in your mind is a task of great magnitude.

I have spent a lot of time, watching my student's struggle with the enormity of the task. I have come to realize that there are no real short cuts to learning to become a successful dog trainer. No matter how much I want my students not to make mistakes, I realize that they will make them. These mistakes come not from a lack of understanding, but more from a lack of being able to pay attention to all of the necessary awareness that are needed. Again, self-awareness, dog-awareness, distraction-awareness, environment-awareness, perfect mental picture-awareness, and in the moment-awareness can be and are overwhelming. When I look back at my growth as a trainer, I realize that I did not develop this ability overnight. It came after years of growing a little better with each dog.

In my heart, I want to help each one of you to not make the same mistakes that I did. I want each of you to achieve your goals as quickly as possible. I want you to become a better trainer so that some day, you may be empowered to help others. But no matter how much I want this process to be quicker, I have come to realize that learning to pay attention is the hardest skill to master. This is because of all the different attentions needed in this sport. I watch my students and I am beginning to really understand the magnitude of this task. I 'll. bet each one of you can identify with the following example. I will use heeling as my example.

How many of you can do your handling a lot better without your dog? How many of you lose your footwork as soon as your dog is with you, as now you are trying to pay attention to your dog? How many of you can heel pretty well by yourself, but lose it when commands are given? How many of you can heel better when there are no boundaries such as ring gates? And finally, how many of you find it hard to put an entire heeling pattern together in a ring and with a judge? I know most of you will be able to answer yes to many of the above question. This is because of the multitude of types of awareness needed.

First question: self-awareness, Second question: dog-awareness, third question: environment-awareness, fourth question: outside distraction-awareness, and last question: perfect mental picture-awareness. When you think about all the skills that are needed, I know you will begin to understand what you are going to master. Take some time to think about how difficult this is and give yourself a pat on the back. You are trying to do what few people are able to do and you are trying to do it well. As I thought about this article, I really came to understand why it might seem as if you are never going to GET IT!

I will continue to do my best to help you get it, and achieve your goals. I think this article will be one more step, on your journey to success! The title of this article is cooperation, and its purpose is to help you develop dog-awareness and to enhance your self-awareness at the same time. To be successful, you must learn to pay attention to your dog and to get complete cooperation from him. I am going to list four behaviors that you must begin to recognize as the behaviors that lead to cooperation. The behaviors are:

1. Attention
2. Movement
3. Speaking
4. Play

Before I train a dog, I must have the four behaviors to cooperation. I will go into detail what these behaviors are, what they mean, why they are important, when to use them and how to get your dog to begin to cooperate. As you can see, these are the same questions you find in my books, what, why, when, and how. Learning to ask these questions and to make sure you are always in a state of cooperation with your dog are the first steps in awareness. I am getting so excited as I write this article because I know it is going to be brilliant!

1. Attention
I know that you have heard me say the golden rule of dog training, is "Never give a command to a dog who is not paying attention." I have realized that many of you do not understand what kind of attention I am talking about. You must have a dog that is actively looking at you. Many dogs look at their handler, but they are doing so passively. The difference is that they are simply either sitting or standing and are looking at you. They are not "with you". The difference between a dog looking at you and a dog being "with you" is enormous. Learning to recognize this difference is important and is the first step in dog-awareness. Refusing to try and train a dog that is not "with you", is the first step in self-awareness, and in perfect mental picture-awareness.

My first assumption here is that each one of you desires to have a happy and willing partner. Personally, I will not show an unhappy dog. Attitude is of utmost importance to me. The way a dog looks at his handler leads to a happy performance. If a dog is passively looking at you, he may be able to respond to a command, but the response will not be brilliant. I can tell how an exercise will be performed, just by observing how the dog is looking at his handler. When a dog is passively attentive, his response to commands is slower; distractions can interfere more easily, the dog may appear disinterested, second commands become necessary, more corrections are needed, and the overall performance becomes less than what is desired.

Many people make a common mistake when they see this happen and I think you know what that mistake is, they get food. And guess what, it seems to work! Suddenly, the dog comes alive and pays better attention and they get instant gratification. His attitude seems to improve and everything gets better. This is such a difficult problem to get beyond, because using food to buy cooperation is the easiest solution. For the most part, we are used to buying almost everything we want. And if we could bring the food into the ring, that would be all that is necessary for success. I do not think anyone would complain, if all they had to do, is remember to bring a couple of hot dogs in the ring with them and they would get a perfect score. I'll bet the hot dog industry would prosper.

The hardest part of dog training is learning to give your attention to your dog. Each of you must learn to give of yourself and make yourself the object of your dog’s desire. This takes energy, understanding, patience, consistency, trust, laughter, acceptance, and love. Handing out a cookie is so much easier. Passively attentive dogs can suddenly become actively attentively dogs, when food becomes part of the training. What you fail to realize is that the dog is paying attention to the food. This suddenly becomes obvious when you walk into the ring without the food. I think a lot of people give up on obedience for this very reason.

Using food when you train gets your dog’s attention for you. This would not be that bad, if we could use it in the ring. I can not stress enough the importance of developing a good relationship with your dog. Ultimately, it is this relationship that you bring into the ring with you. It is this relationship that you show off to the judge and exhibitors the day of the show. I think this is why there is so much pain in your heart, after a bad or "poopy" performance. It is always easier after such a performance to blame your dog, the conditions, the method of training, or a million of other reasons. But the truth is that you must look deep inside yourself and look at your relationship with your dog. I know that 99% of the reason for a "poopy" performance is that you have yet to learn to pay attention to your dog and make sure your dog is paying attention to you. You are still using food to get cooperation from your dog!

When you set out to train, you must learn to put the food away until you get cooperation and then once you have cooperation, you can use food to reward your dog for a job well done. A dog which is cooperative, exhibits the four behaviors I mentioned before; they are actively attentive, quick to move, able to speak loudly, and willing to play. When you have cooperation, it should feel as if your dog is on the verge of anticipation. I know the most difficult part of getting cooperation, is learning how to be cooperative. Think about how many times you continue training, even when you see poop face starting to come out of your dog. Think of how many times you get food out when you start to see poop face, in order to get rid of it. Think of how many times you see your dog sitting backwards in the sit and you still give him a command. Think of how many times you feel that your dog does not want to be working with you.

The following are some of the signs that your dog is not in a cooperative state of mind. Dull or glassy eyes, any motion that is directed away from you, slow unsure motion, unable to speak readily, or frozen still in the sit. Your mental picture of a cooperative dog, should be ears up, eyes bright, happy tail carriage, leaning forward in a sit, and a connection to you, not to food! If you see less than this from your dog, learn to stop training and get rid of poop face by using your own energy and attention. To see the earliest signs of poop face, you must learn to pay attention to your dog! I have been trying to get each one of you to understand how important this is to your success. Beautiful performances in the ring stem from beautiful attention between dog and handler in training.

When I see a dog that is leaning forward in a sit, ready to move, I know that the exercise is going to be done beautifully. There is a connection to the handler. All of the dog’s energy is aimed at his handler. This is active attention. Active attention is necessary for a brilliant performance. Active attention means that the dog is "with the handler". Cooperation is shown by active attention. Ears up and forward exhibit active attention, eyes are bright, all the dog’s motion is directed towards the handler, the dog is quick to speak when asked and may even speak when not asked, and it seems as if he is ready for anything. I know each and every one of you has seen your dog in this state when he wants something. It is of course our part of the teamwork, to get our dogs to want to train with us. Training must be fun for both of you. Training is fun when you have a cooperative dog!

When you go out to train, your goal must be to get and keep active attention. Learn to recognize when your dog is blankly staring at you. So, let’s get started on getting cooperation from your dog; active attention is the first step. When you go out to train, let your dog relieve himself and give him time to get familiar with the surroundings, especially if this is an unfamiliar location. Now, it is time to get active attention from your dog. I want to explain that getting active attention is going to be harder in new locations. Your dog wants to investigate and may not feel like training right away. This is really important to dogs and should be respected. Just think how you feel when you get to a new show site. You want to know where are the bathrooms, rings, food, crating area, and your friends. How would you feel if you walked into the show site and were immediately asked to go into the ring? I know you would be flustered and not give your best performance. We all need a few minutes to settle and get our bearings. It is no different for our dogs.

I have begun to realize that we may be causing a lot of our own problems by forgetting to honor our dog’s needs in new locations. We may even be setting ourselves up for failure, by not letting our dogs get relaxed in new locations before we ask them to work. This may be a huge contributing factor as to why your dog does better at home or in places with which he is familiar. If you try to fight your dog to work for you right away in a new location, you are fighting his very nature. You are making this new location negative. It does not take long for your dog to lose his desire to work and become dull. It is this dullness you see at the show that sends shivers up your spine. Now, you run to get some really special food and try to buy a bright attitude. Most of this would have been avoided by honoring his needs and spending a few minutes letting him settle.

When you go to a new location, let the dog potty, sniff, and investigate. If you have friends with you, remember how important a dog’s greeting ritual is to him. When I get together with my friends, I let my dogs say, "Hi", to the people and dogs that are our friends. I never allow them to go up to strange dogs and just say, "Hi". I am talking about people and dogs that my dogs go for runs with and play with. When all the niceties are over, I put my dogs on a curl drop and let them look all around. I do not let them sniff everything in sight, but I do allow them the freedom of checking things out. Once I see that the original excitement has died down and I have a relaxed dog, I know that I can start to ask them to work for me. I know that I do not want to be correcting them for the joy that they feel, by asking them to do something that they can not do. We must all learn to honor our dogs' needs!
I think we may cause a huge problem when we ask our dogs to work immediately in new locations. By insisting that they ignore their needs, we may be teaching them that new locations are not fun. We may be setting ourselves up for failure. We must never forget that dog shows are always in new locations and we need our dogs confident and relaxed, so that they can turn in the kind of performances we are seeking. Make sure that you are not setting yourself up for failure by making your dog think that here we are and now comes the corrections. Do not ask your dog to work, unless you have the four behaviors of cooperation, attention, movement, speak and play.
I have taught you the moving watch, but I do not think you fully understand what your goal should be with this exercise. The moving watch is one of the most valuable behaviors to cooperation. Without it, all work that you ask of your dog will be done defensively and with poor attitude. Once you feel that you have honored your dog’s needs in a new location, and know it is fair to ask him to give you his complete attention, you must insist that he give you his attention. The first thing you must understand is that your dog may not want to pay attention to you. He has his own mind and desires. He is not wrong or bad because of this. But you are his leader and you have the right to ask him to pay attention to you.

some more European Agility Courses

Here are some more courses from the European Agility Open, go to http://www.belgians.nl/English.htm and click on "various" at the bottom of the page.

On that same page you will also find many other courses organized under the picture of the judge who designed them.

Many of them have different challenges and traps than the ones we commonly see in the USA. I had a fun time looking through them and deciding how I would handle different sequences.