# A Frame training



## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

I am beginning to train on the Aframe and would very much appreciate some advice on not allowing my dog to spring off from the very top. At the moment, I am luring with the ball to get her to come farther down. Just trying to establish a habit or muscle memory. We are not using trial height yet. TIA?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

PMing you pictures. They are on facebook


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

Great!! Thank you! When this hoop idea was explained to me, they only used one at the top area. The dog had practiced for quite a while on it. When trial day came, she sprung right off the top!! LOL! All that for ?????


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

I start it by laying the A-frame flatter, so instead of it being 6ft tall, It's maybe 5ft tall. I will place treats on the back side rungs of the A-frame. I'll put my dog in a sit at the base, stand next to it, and tell my dog to jump. Once at the top I slow the dog down and lead it to the treats, making it go slow and eat every treat off the rungs down to the ground. I will repeat this process, until the dog starts to slow itself down with out my help. Then I will switch to a ball and the bottom. If all is going well, I'll increase the height back up. This is basically how I do it in a nutshell.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

I actually used the hoops to fix a dog that liked to launch off the top, though my hoop was at the very bottom so she had to go down the wall to go under it. I got the idea from agility people. The hoop is not on the wall, but actually right at the base. 
Now I lower the wall like mycobraracr except I just lure them up, over, and down with food. I slowly raise the wall over time and don't add in the dumbbell until they have the muscle memory well seated in their minds. I am also unusual in that I NEVER use a ball when teaching the wall or the jump. I want thinking drive and have found that, with my dogs, balls/toys remove thought.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

If you use the hoops, they must be there all the time except on trial day. I only had to use one for Vala because it was only on the way out to the dumbbell that she was an idiot. It held up through 4 more titles so I know they work.


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

@Jax08, @mycobraracr, @lhczth, Many thanks! I was on the right track!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

My dog used to jump off the top of the A-Frame too, but the hoop thing fixed it. 

Had to train him to go under the hoops though - Mr. Crazy was jumping over the bottom ones coming and going! He took to going under them quite well after some help - I guess he figured out it was much easier that way.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

If you use the hoops like I did, you have to lower the wall and show the dog it needs to go through them, then slowly raise the wall so they get programmed to follow the rules (going through the hoop).


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Lisa, NOW of course, I see that is the right way to do it LOL. Never did any of us think that a dog would try to _jump _ the darn things!


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

Castlemaid said:


> Lisa, NOW of course, I see that is the right way to do it LOL. Never did any of us think that a dog would try to _jump _ the darn things!



We run into this issue a lot in SDA, since the jumps are all in line like an agility course. So the dogs are always looking to their next jump(window) so they bail off the top. So a lot of us spend a lot of time teaching the dog to go all the way down, so when they're in drive hopefully it sticks.


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

Castlemaid said:


> My dog used to jump off the top of the A-Frame too, but the hoop thing fixed it.
> 
> Had to train him to go under the hoops though - Mr. Crazy was jumping over the bottom ones coming and going! He took to going under them quite well after some help - I guess he figured out it was much easier that way.


This made me lol ?! I could just see her jumping over them as well?


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