Homework!

[ClareB]

Sounds interesting Rachel, let us know how you get on.     I'm very aware of my verbal commands as I'm rather loud anyway and probably sound like a fish wife bellowing commands at Milo around the agility course.        Will speak to Milo's agility trainer tomorrow and see what she thinks.  She's very up on using body language as well as commands and now we've been going for a while she has suggested we drop commands when it's obvious what we want the dog to do, eg. sitting and waiting while we walk past jumps and then call the dog to us, she says at this level it should be obvious to the dog that he needs to go over the jumps and this seems to be the case.  However, Milo is soooooo fast that most of the time I won't be anywhere near the equipment that my body language would be sending him over/through and she says it's really important that Milo knows some pieces of equipment by name so that I can send him over/through them at a distance.  She did also say though that within a few months we should be able to stand in one place at the end of two rows of jumps and point them over the jump we want them to do just with a hand signal.     Don't know whether hand signals/body language alone would work with Milo given his speed though.  Be interested to know what experienced agility-ers think....

[debbie321]

I think I'll go back for the 1-2-1's.  The school is very good ............ and the only local one (11 miles away).  I'm doing it for fun but Ben promises to be so good at it that I'm getting idea's above my station    I can just imagine him in a team of black and white collies (they seem to rule at this game) and coming out best  ................................. This is from an owner in her mid 40's with the fitness to prove it and an unruly working cocker    I can dream can't I 

[Cob-Web]

This has been a real eye-opener for me - and revealed that lil'bit's non-verbal cues are FAR better than mine 

Molo sometimes gets confused when I am "training" him non-verbally; whereas he does exactly what lil'bit wants straight off  It has been a brilliant exercise to carry out; I really, really have to tighten up on my hand signals and body language.......but I'm definitely looking forward to class on Monday after a weekend of practice   

[PennyB]

I am reading this with interest.  What signals are you using as I would love to expand on our repetoir.

It involves a lot of pointing 

I point up to the sky (at a slight angle towards the jump, not straight up over my head) for "OVER" a hurdle. I point directly at the entrance contact points of the walk and A-frame and use a flat hand in front of him for the exit contact points 

I point with an arm straight and parallel to the ground for the tunnel entrance  I am working towards hands clasped behind my back for the weaves, but that is a few weeks away 

At my agility lesson on weds Emma had me using my shoulders as well as my arms to indicate which way to go on a crossover/changing sides from left to right or vice versa (basically not so much just pointing but turning my body so its leaning round to indicate which way to go)

[Spangle]

I'm very aware of my verbal commands as I'm rather loud anyway and probably sound like a fish wife bellowing commands at Milo around the agility course.         

  you're not alone there, I still find it hard to keep my gob shut even though at times I know I should! 

Don't know whether hand signals/body language alone would work with Milo given his speed though.  Be interested to know what experienced agility-ers think....

No harm in using your voice as well*, just to be aware of your non verbal signals is a huge advantage. You could find in time that you don't need to keep up with Milo to direct him, many handlers with turbo dogs do it from afar.  It's interesting to watch other handlers  and see what they do, some hardly move from the middle of the course.

  I'm going on about body language but with those still introducing their dogs to the equipment it probably won't apply just yet.  When your dog is confidently running on is when you're really going to reap the benefits. 

* if you can limit your voice to when you really need to attract his attention it will be a more effective tool.  (edited to add this!)

[ClareB]

Don't know whether hand signals/body language alone would work with Milo given his speed though.  Be interested to know what experienced agility-ers think....

No harm in using your voice as well*, just to be aware of your non verbal signals is a huge advantage. You could find in time that you don't need to keep up with Milo to direct him, many handlers with turbo dogs do it from afar.  It's interesting to watch other handlers  and see what they do, some hardly move from the middle of the course.

  I'm going on about body language but with those still introducing their dogs to the equipment it probably won't apply just yet.  When your dog is confidently running on is when you're really going to reap the benefits. 

* if you can limit your voice to when you really need to attract his attention it will be a more effective tool.  (edited to add this!)

There's no way I'll be able to keep up with Milo when he's reliably running full courses.  At the moment I get away with it 'cos the series of obstacles we do in a course are in a fairly structured order, and fortunately I can leave him in a wait and walk as far as the straight part of course takes me and call him from there, the problem starts when I've fallen behind and am trying to instruct him when he's way ahead.  I'm sure it will come in time and as he gets more confident.

Discovered this morning that Milo doesn't actually pay much attention to my hand signals and does what he thinks he should be doing, which is normally the obvious route to take.     This morning we had jump, then rigid tunnel (in a "u" shape) and then another jump.  The aim was to put the dog over the 1st jump, through the tunnel and then once they were in the tunnel, leg it to between the two jumps with our backs to the tunnel and then with the appropriate hand indicate left or right, depending on what jump we were aiming to do.  Milo did the jump, tunnel and left jump fine, 'cos the left jump was the one directly in front of the exit of the tunnel.  But, when we had to do the right hand jump, he repeatedly jumped the left one because it was the most obvious to him and he paid no attention to what my hands were doing at all.     So, we're now going for using non verbal commands as little as possible for the next few weeks, to see if he pays more attention to my hands.