Meet Jefferson

Meet Jefferson
This is Jefferson: Agility Dog

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

'Cause Mama I'm Sure Hard to Handle Now...


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 




1 comment:

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete