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Wednesday, December 14, 2011 'Nick' of Time: Lessons from a great dog
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In this Issue: Early Influences Training "Go On" Verbal Commands Body Language Running with Nick Nick's "Tux"
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FROM A DISTANCE When I went with Sherry to USDAA agility events in the early years I was just a spectator. Many of the trials we went to didn’t offer Masters classes because no one had earned an advanced title yet. Master Agility Dog (MAD) was the highest title you could attain at that time. The ADCH had not yet been created. Agility was that new to the U.S. Early Influences There were two teams that really fascinated me when I watched them run. Their names were Hazel Thompson with her dog Rick Rack and J.C. Thompson and his dog Robby. J.C. and Hazel were in their 60’s and had some of the very first Masters level dogs in the country. They literally stood in the center of the ring and sent their dogs around the courses using nothing but verbal herding commands. It didn’t matter if it was a Standard, Snooker, Jumpers or a Gambler course, they handled them all the same way. To top it all off their dogs were quite accurate. This method of handling captivated me. They were two of the top teams in the country. I thought this had to be the best way to run the courses 'Go On' Ahead When I started with Nick in agility I wanted to direct him in same way. I wanted to train Nick to understand verbal commands such as ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘get out’, ‘come in’ and ‘go on’. I started by training him to go in a straight line over several jumps in a row while I stayed back behind the first jump. I did this by using his ball and throwing it over one jump, then two jumps etc., etc. I would tell him to do a jump and then throw the ball over his head. He would almost always do the jump and then look for the ball to be ahead of him. I kept progressing the number of jumps he had to do before I would throw the ball. Wow! I could get him to go out about forty feet over jumps. I didn’t worry if he knocked any bars down. This turned out to be a big mistake, as he never really understood that he wasn’t supposed to knock bars. As a matter of fact, I was actually incorrectly rewarding him for knocking bars. I didn’t know the consequences of him getting a ball reward when he knocked a bar. But I wanted distance! After I taught him to go out over several obstacles
ahead of me I then needed to teach him a ‘left’ and ’right’, also
known as directional commands. I
came up with a method of using four jumps in a tight box shape and
started taking him around the outside of the box all the time telling
him left or right depending whether we were going clockwise or counter
clockwise. I had a
difficult time getting my lefts and rights correct.
If he was ahead of me I didn’t have any trouble but if he was behind me
sometimes I would tell him ‘right’ when it should have been
‘left’ and visa versa.
Sherry told me about herding commands that used the terms
“come by ” (come by) and “away to me”(away).
These terms were used to circle the dog in either a clockwise
(come by) or counter clockwise (away) direction around the sheep herd.
I seemed to understand the concept better than left and right.
I knew I had to at least learn them thoroughly before I could use
them. So I began to learn
the terms as if it was a foreign language.
I still use them today with all of my dogs. I have since found much better ways to teach the dog directional commands. I then began teaching Nick verbal obstacle commands I had him perform the obstacle and of course use the name of that obstacle as his command. After a while I just started fading out any body language cue and just gave the command. He soon learned to do the one I called out without my taking him to it. Agility is a body language sport. If the dog is focused on playing with you he will follow you whatever direction you go. When you move forward you dog moves forward. If you move to the right he will go to the right with you, etc., etc. Teaching Nick to do agility with mainly verbal commands was great for getting him to understand which obstacle to do or direction to go. I could get him to do them at a great distance from me. But he didn’t learn what my body language meant and he wouldn’t always do the correct obstacle. It was successful only about seventy to eighty percent of the time. I also knew that when I ran with him he ran faster than when I stood still directing him verbally around the course. I competed with Nick for several years using mainly verbal commands. I have to admit it was fun showing off how far I could get him to go away from me and follow my directions. Spectators were in awe of those skills. After one particular course one of my fellow competitors remarked, “that was a lazy man’s course” because I stood in the center of the ring and directed him around the course. Distance was just great for the Gambler’s courses. Nick was one of the best in Gamblers. After watching several exhibitors running with their dogs and how accurate they were I decided I had to run with him. Towards the end of J.C. Thompson's career I had a talk with him. We had been doing agility for a few years and it had already progressed tremendously (although it was still archaic by today’s standards). He told me his method just couldn’t keep up with those who were directing their dog while running the course with them. He admitted the new competitors were much faster and more accurate. Nick was almost all black except for a stripe down the front of his chest. To me it looked like he always wore a black tuxedo. Towards the end of Nick’s career and in semi-retirement I wanted to hone his distance skills once again. I wanted to put on a tuxedo jacket, just like his, add a top hat and run only Gambler and Snooker. I wanted to show off. I had had the tuxedo jacket for several years just waiting for that day. He got his ADCH title in the summer of 2004 and I was waiting anxiously to don my tux. He died in December 2004, before we got that chance. God is watching us
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