Walk it and Two on/two off

[Heather & Jake]

We just started agility (today was our 3rd class) and so far Jake is doing amazing.  Our instructor keeps telling me what great potential Jake has a competition dog it will be really just working on my handling.  This lady knows her stuff but boy is she blunt!  The handling/increasing our bond is why I signed up for agility in the first place, I never even thought of competing but now that I see how much Jake loves it I might have to think about it.

Anyways, I'm having a little issue slowing him down as he wants to run the entire thing.  This will be great once he learns it but right now the "walk it" command, the two on-two off a the bottom of the A frame, and pausing to sit for 5 seconds on the table are proving a little bit of an issue as Jake just wants to keep on going.  Any tips to practice on getting them to stop at the correct spot (two on/two off) at the bottom of the A frame?  And how to slow them down for the "walk it" over the contact dog walks?  We're using the target method in class for the two on/two off, but that doesn't seem to be working very well for us, and needless to say with his need for speed "walk it" means nothing.

[Ellen]

Agility is fun, isn’t it?   For dogs like Jake that need a “stop contact” (i.e., stop at the bottom of the A-Frame, Dog Walk, and Teeter), it’s important to understand the concept of “contact.”

 

When I took Agility I with Riley, we learned the basics about “contacts” before actually using the Dog Walk and A-Frame.   Here’s how Riley and I learned “contacts”

 

-- Get a wood plank that is about the width of the planks used for the Dog walk  (e.g., 4x4) and about 2 inches off the ground.

-- Position Jake on one side of the plank and then stand opposite him.   Call him across the wood plank.  After he walks across to you and is off the plank, click and treat.  You’re teaching Jake that walking across the plank will result in a treat.  Do this until he will walk across the plank without any direction (verbal or physical motion) from you.   This is a form of “shaping” Jake’s behavior (vs. luring), where he is figuring out what he needs to do for a treat.  At this point, you don’t worry about whether his hind legs stay put on the plank.  You just want him to understand that he needs to cross the plank to get a treat.  It should reach a point that when you pull out the plank, and stand across from him, he will walk across without any word or motion from you.   Once he understands this, move to the next step.

-- Do the same thing with the wood plank but as soon as his front feet are off the plank and his hind feet are still on, start clicking and treating like crazy while he is in that position (click-treat, click-treat, click-treat, click-treat, click-treat) to teach him that this is the “sweet spot.”  This may mean that you need to stand a little closer to the plank and that you may need to block him from coming completely off the wooden plank.  The timing for clicking and treating the “sweet spot” is important.  Because if your timing is off and you click when one of his hind legs is coming off, you’re telling him the wrong thing to do.  Keep working on this.  Eventually, Jake should understand that he needs to stay with both hind feet on the plank to get a treat without blocking him from coming off – this could take a while.  Don’t expect him to get it after a day or two or a week.

 

-- If targets don’t work, see if your instructor has “walls” that she could put around the exit of the Dog Walk or A Frame.  My instructor created “walls” using chicken wire, and she used these walls to narrow the exit and force the dog to slow down.  This is your opportunity to be ready at the exit and click and treat Jake like crazy when his hind legs are on and his front legs are off.

 

Hope this helps! 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

We've been working on this by setting up a board about 4' long (and about the width of the A-frame board) on bricks to raise it off the ground. I position Lucy on the board and have her sit then lead her off with a treat. As long as she keeps her back 2 feet on the board she continues to get treats. After 30 secs. or so I reposition her and go again. She now knows not to let those back 2 feet off the board and to stretch to get the treats. After months of foundation classes we've only once gone close the actual A-frame obstacle. Lots and lots of foundation work to get through first.

[Leslie C.]

Hi, Heather.

 

I took a peek at Jake's pictures and story.  He is a cutie and that's some story of how he became your puppy!  LiliBear also has tons of fun and too much speed.  She loves agility!!  I look forward to the pointers others share.

 

~Leslie