Lorrie [00:00:00]:
Welcome to another episode of the Maximum Fun Agility Podcast. I'm Lorrie Reynolds, owner of Maximum Fun Dog Sports. We help your agility team build your relationship, communication and confidence so that you can have fun and succeed on any course. In this episode, we'll explore what connection really means and how you can help your dog navigate the course by using it correctly. One of the popular agility methodologies puts a very high emphasis on connection with your dog. Theyre not wrong. Staying connected with your dog throughout an agility run can make it feel like the dog is reading your mind, one of the best experiences ever.
Lorrie [00:00:48]:
However, connection has been misinterpreted by some people over the past few years to mean something that it shouldn't. Let's take a look at what connection is. Connection can mean a few different things in different situations. One meaning is specific to your relationship with your dog. You build a connection through engagement, having fun together, building trust and mutual respect. It's important to recognize that you have a working relationship with your dog that is specific to dog sports and a personal relationship that is your everyday bond. I know a lot of people who excel at working or personal relationships, but not both. I'll give you an example from my own dogs.
Lorrie [00:01:31]:
Storm was my second agility dog. She and I had a great working relationship. We were mostly in sync on course. She loved to work and practice new skills and was always willing to go, go go for agility. Outside of agility, she was my daughter's dog. If we weren't playing agility and my daughter was around, that is who she would be with. Our relationship outside of dog sports was fine, but it wasn't as strong as our working relationship. The second but related meaning of connection is connection
Lorrie [00:02:03]:
while you are actually running a course or working an exercise. When you are connected, each half of the team knows exactly where the other is and what they're doing. When it's at its peak, the connection on course is magical and feels like mind reading. I've had those connected runs at a distance with both Maxx and Pixie and they're the ones I remember the best. A third phrase that is used in agility is connect with your dog. This is a specific behavior during a run. If your dog is running through a tunnel, you want to briefly make full eye contact as they exit to make sure you are both on the same page about what comes next. If there's a discrimination and you need your dog to come in, connecting for a moment by looking directly into your dog's eyes can ensure that your dog comes in and is reading your cues. This is different from being connected as you run, which should be constant and includes your dog continuously being able to see the side of your face and your eyes and you maintaining awareness of him in your peripheral vision.
Lorrie [00:03:10]:
There is a connection myth. Connection is not maintaining full eye contact with your dog around the entire course. Unfortunately, over the past several years, "connect with your dog" or "maintain your connection" has been misinterpreted. In a few of my seminars, there have been a number of teams who were really struggling with running a course because they were maintaining full eye contact with their dogs around the entire course. When the two team members are staring at each other, the dog doesn't even see the obstacles that he should be taking. He definitely can't work at a distance. These teams were trying to maintain full eye contact with the dog and watch the equipment with their peripheral vision. Many times they ended up running with their arm out to the side, looking the dog full in the face as he ran right next to them.
Lorrie [00:04:01]:
Their dogs missed obstacles, knocked bars, and couldn't move more than a few feet away. If you think about teaching heeling, we encourage our dog to stare at our face and maintain position right next to us. Eye contact is a wonderful tool for keeping them close. However, on the agility field, we need to look where we want the dog to go. You can easily see this in action with a simple exercise. Set up your dog a few feet in front of the jump with you right next to him. Maintain constant eye contact and give him his release word. Chances are high that the dog gets up from his stationary position but doesn't go anywhere.
Lorrie [00:04:43]:
Your continued full eye contact doesn't give him any cues. To understand what you want, set your dog up the same way, but when you release him, look at the jump in front of you instead. If your dog has been taught independent obstacle performance, he should take the jump. The simple action of looking where you want him to go gives him the information he needs to take the jump. By the way. It's also the reason that if you worry about an off course obstacle and look at it, your dog is more likely to take it. To stay connected with your dog, he should be able to see the side of your face and your eye and you should be able to see him in your peripheral vision. The only place you should be making full eye contact with the dog is when you need him to come toward you after a tunnel or on a discrimination.
Lorrie [00:05:33]:
The rest of the time you should be looking slightly ahead of him on his line, indicating where you want him to go. Build and maintain the right kind of connection with your dog and your agility runs will feel like well rehearsed dances. If you've been a bit unsure about what connection is, try the exercise with a single jump that I mentioned earlier. Note how your dog responds to his release cue when you're looking directly at him versus when you're looking at the jump. I'd love to hear your results. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Maximum Fun Agility Podcast. If you want to build a successful agility team where runs with your partner feel flowing and in sync, join us in The Agility Playground. The Agility Playground is a low cost membership that meets you where you are on your dog agility journey and helps you propel your team to new heights.
Lorrie [00:06:27]:
You can check out the Agility Playground and join our community at www.maximumfundogs.com. See you next time!
