Lorrie [00:00:08]:
Welcome to the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. I'm Lorrie Reynolds, owner of Maximum Fun Dog Sports. We help your agility team build your relationship, communication, confidence, and fun in training so that you can joyfully succeed on any course. In this episode, we'll talk about independent obstacle performance and the four aspects of performance your team needs to be truly independent. Independent obstacle performance is one of the most important skills your agility dog can have. What does that actually mean though? Each half of the team has their role to play in agility. After you direct your dog to an obstacle, your dog should be able to perform it and maintain criteria no matter what you are doing or where you are in relation to him, as long as he has sufficient training and the confidence to do so. Many years ago, I was at a USDAA trial, and the sequence in gamblers caught at least a third of the teams.
Lorrie [00:01:11]:
It consisted of a jump, teeter, and 2 additional jumps. What tripped up so many teams was the teeter. It was going almost directly away from the line. The dogs got to it, started across, and realized that their partners weren't coming with them, so they turned around and came back, jumped off the side above the contact zone, or wouldn't move forward on it. Most of them had beautiful teeter performances when their handlers were parallel to them, but they had not been taught independence. There was another gambler's course at DOCNA Nationals 1 year, where the gamble line was at the start of the a-frame, and dogs had to move forward off of the a-frame contact and take a tunnel while avoiding the off course jump next to it. Many teams were unable to either have the dog complete the obstacle without the handler right next to them on the a-frame or, have the dog move forward after the contact zone without assistance. They were reliant upon the environmental cue of their handler being next to them and being able to move forward with them.
Lorrie [00:02:20]:
There are numerous stories I could tell about courses that tripped teams up because the dogs couldn't complete obstacles independently. In recent years, much more attention has been paid to independent performance. But often, it isn't broken down into pieces that are easy to understand. Independence is a huge part of my training philosophy, and we focus on it a lot in my membership, The Agility Playground. It is one of the foundational principles I teach in the membership and at live seminars. I created a mnemonic to help people remember the skills to practice for independent obstacle performance. It is CLAWS, C-L-A-W-S. C stands for call over or through.
Lorrie [00:03:06]:
LA for move laterally away. W is run with on a parallel line, and S stands for send ahead. You should be able to call your dog over or through an obstacle when you're ahead of him and have him stay in the weave poles, keep the bar up, or hit the contact zone. This is probably the easiest skill to teach as long as you have a solid stay. You need to be able to move laterally away from your dog after you indicate the correct obstacle and get into position to direct your dog through the next section of the course. Sending and moving laterally away requires your dog to have obstacle commitment. Your dog should be able to run with you on a parallel line and maintain the distance between the 2 of you while taking obstacles without coming in. Many dogs can initially start on a line or path, but they tend to move in after 1 or 2 obstacles.
Lorrie [00:04:10]:
Finally, you should have the ability to send the dog ahead of you over or through an obstacle without the dog turning around and coming back to you, jumping off the side of the contact, or stopping partway through the weave poles. All 4 of these skills are required if your dog is going to have truly independent obstacle performance. The good news is that they are teachable, and your dog can master them as long as you build confidence in your dog and handle with clarity and consistency. The bad news is that you have to avoid making yourself part of the environmental cues that help tell your dog where to go. No more standing at the bottom of the contact obstacle and pointing the way, or doing the weave pole dance to keep your dog weaving. True independence means the dog can perform the obstacle no matter where you are on course as long as you direct him to it correctly. Building obstacle independence skills in your team gives you advantages on non distance courses and allows you to qualify on courses with distance like gamblers, chances, and FAST. The best time to create independence and confidence is when you are initially teaching the obstacles.
Lorrie [00:05:26]:
The second best time, if you've already trained the obstacles, is right now. If you want to build independence and confidence in your dog on agility obstacles, join us in The Agility Playground. The Agility Playground is a low-cost membership that meets you where you are on your dog's agility journey and helps you propel your team to new heights. You can check out The Agility Playground and join our community at www.maximumfundogs.com. See you next time.
