# starting formal stuff - please critique



## x11 (Jan 1, 2012)

only baby steps but the dog has come along way, no longer looking over his shoulder watching for the ball and ploughing into jumps.

body cues look so bad when you actually watch yrself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqFCjgEM9W0

comments appreciatted.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Beautiful dog and love the way you made equipment.

Hmmmmmm............ so you wouldn't happen to do alot of obedience?

Is your handsome boydog most comfortable on your left, looking up at you, and very close to your left leg?



Cause that is very quickly going to bite you in your agility behind!!! 

Vital to work our dogs on BOTH sides of us. And to get them comfortable off and away from our body. Agility is about 2 things.

Doing the right equipment at the right time.

*AND SPEED!*

We need to work both from the start, and if we are teaching them to keep up with us, we aren't teaching them to FLY!

Our mental picture of distance between dog/handler needs to be more like what's in this video. I'm pretty sure this is a novice course too.





 
Frankly, I think you and your dog show the same potential as the dog/handler in the video!

Hey, you found a great place to train? I have equipment in my yard for homework but I really learn with the best instructors/facilities in my area (which is within an hour). HUGE difference how fast our dogs learn and we learn with the best trainers helping from the start.

I always love watching the new handlers with their first dogs cause they are dying to do the equipment!!! And it's only down the line that we all learn the darn equipment is the easy part to teach.

It's tearing around a course at top speed to SHOW our dogs that path that's the challenge. And teaching me the handling skills is the hard part.


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> Hmmmmmm............ so you wouldn't happen to do alot of obedience?
> 
> Is your handsome boydog most comfortable on your left, looking up at you, and very close to your left leg?


I was going to say the exact same thing. :rofl:
_*Clearly*_ you have worked a lot of formal obedience. My opinion is that because of this engrained desire to be close to your left leg, that you simply stop working your dog on your left for a while. Or at the very least- work your dog on your right 70% of the time. This is a tip I've heard Susan Garrett say over, and over, and over. You're trying to overcome LOTS of reinforcement for your dog being at your left side-- which is quite contrary to agility. MRL is spot on in this. You have to get your dog out of the obedience mindset.

Secondly- it's hard to see from the video, but I'd guess your jumps are a bit close together for anything realistic. Most courses will have about a 16' minimum dog path (the measured path the dog would likely take) between obstacles. This isn't always true, but for training a pinwheel like you are- I'd spread them out.

Lastly- I noticed your dog stopped at the top of your barrels. Since barrels aren't a real obstacle in any agility venue, this is not likely a problem. However, you absolutely do not want your dog stopping at the top of the a-frame (whether agility or schutzhund for that matter). I'd discourage this behavior by encouraging a quick up and over execution.


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