During the Lynne Stephens Seminar on Sunday, she led a
discussion about dog agility handling systems.
She threw out names such as
Greg
Derrett, Linda Mecklenburg,
Stuart Mah,
Greg and Dudley Fontaine.
But, what, pray tell, did any of these have to do with Jefferson and I
running a dog agility course!? I have
taken lessons with Stuart Mah; read Linda Mecklenburg’s book,
Developing Handling Skills for Awesome
Agility Teams; watched Greg Derrett’s DVD on jumping; even walked an AKC
Time2Beat course with Greg and Dudley Fontaine (not really “with” them, but
they were out there strategizing while I was walking the course). So, I began to think about handling systems
and how having one, would help Team J-Dawg.
To me, a handling system is a method that a handler consistently
uses to communicate to his or her dog the path to correctly, safely and most
efficiently run an agility course. But, which “one” do I use? Hmm…maybe, herein lies one of our biggest
problems: “consistently uses to
communicate.” Of this I am sure, I am
not consistent but am consistently trying to be more consistent...talk about irony! I have continued to work on front crosses,
rear crosses, RFP’s, acceleration and deceleration cues, directionals and the
like. As we continue to practice and
work together, I will become more confident and consistent with my handling; Jefferson
will be more responsive to my methods and better able to read what cues I am giving.
Still another part of my handling that needs improvement is
that I am watching Jefferson too much while running the course rather than
looking ahead at the next obstacle. I
somehow developed this habit lately because I have subconsciously been worried
about him not taking the obstacles or shutting down so I want to figuratively
and literally “keep an eye on him. “ I
need to improve on watching him with my peripheral vision and not turning my
head to glance his way. This results in
him losing speed and feeling “pressure” from my not trusting him to take the
correct obstacle. Last night, I ran a sequence during class
without my “evil eye” glaring down - his speed improved and our run was
smoother.
Now, back to Lynne Stephens...I appreciate that she acknowledged that there is not "one" way to handle a dog, a sequence or a course for that matter. It seems to me that learning what handling system works best for you and your dog is part of the fun (and challenge) as we press onward in our awesome agility adventures!
“The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling.”
~Henry David Thoreau
Great thoughts! For me, choosing a handling system also depended on what my personality would allow. For instance, Derrett's system requires more training the dog how you will be handling him/her, Mecklenburg's system tries to take advantage of what the dog natually knows. In the end, it will all about what works best for you and the dog.
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