# Pimg hits the spider!



## wildo

I've decided that jump training is going to be a key area of focus in Pimg's foundation training. I built a Susan Salo spider (using these plans [pdf]) and finally got Pimg's training room cleaned out enough to use it. Of course the room is only 12' wide and 20' long, so you wouldn't be able to see everything with a normal camera lens. To account for this, I made a wide angle lens out of a front door peep viewer.

I'm really impressed with Pimg's jumping! The point of the spider is to dictate a specific area for the dog to launch from. It also forces maximum compression in the dog prior to take off. The key areas to look for are:

Rear feet close together and inline on take off.
Head down through entire jump.
A smooth, relaxed, slightly curved back at the apex of the jump. (This can only happen if the head is down.)

I only have iMovie '08, so I couldn't do any slow motion shots. But if you pause/play (like stop motion) during her jumping, you can see that she is nailing the criteria. Actually, her form is very nice!

We also worked some other foundation stuff. The video is kinda long, so you can click these links to go to each area we worked:

Perch training and reinforcement zone: Start of video
Set point: 2:24 in
Rear foot awareness, Balance, and Coordination: 4:29 in
Backups with a few hand targets: 6:53 in

Enjoy!


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## FG167

She is fantastic! You are doing great things with her! I've never heard of this spider thing but it's intriguing to watch. Great job!


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## wildo

Thanks! I thought I'd be able to find an article or something to link to this thread, but everything I find requires a subscription. The "v-bounce" or "spider" is covered in Susan Salo's Foundation Jumping DVD set: Clean Run: Foundation Jumping 4-DVD Set

The point of the apparatus is to teach the dog how to get to that "set point," the point where everything is in proper alignment to successfully take the jump. The "V" marks the beginning of that point and is a tool used to physically define the set point for the dog. By requiring the dog to jump into the set point area, naturally the rear legs will come forward of the front legs (or close to) which is maximum compression. If you think of a spring, it will bounce highest when compressed in entirety. When the dog's rear is under him/her, then he/she is at maximum compression. That's what the spider achieves.

If you see a dog stutter-stepping up to a jump while running a course, you can be sure that the dog doesn't understand how to determine where to take off from. In other words, the dog doesn't understand its set point. In the DVD, Salo mentions that someone calculated that each stutter step literally takes 300milliseconds! The dog will stutter up to the jump and be unable to determine the proper location for take off. Finally in a last ditch effort, the dog will fling himself over the jump (hopefully clearing the bar) and will land with its head up. Having the head up on landing diminishes cushioning from the pastern and is obviously hard on the joints. 

The Salo spider teaches the dog how to find that sweet spot, and how to jump it correctly. This will be the core foundation to grid work we will tackle in a couple weeks (weather permitting).

Here's a photo of a dog at the proper set point. Notice the rear feet are very tight together and inline. This is balance. The back is relaxed with a slight curve. The head is low and it is clear the dog is quite comfortable in the jump:


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## wildo

I made a little animation out of screen captures


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