Wrap & Tight

While reviewing the video footage from the Power Paws exercises, I noticed Belle was turning pretty wide over some of the jumps.  About a month ago, I downloaded Silvia Trkman's Cik & Cap video.  Silvia has a phenomenal grasp of right and left while moving at speed with her dogs, and she has taught them "cik" for "collect and take the obstacle in front of you and turn left" and "cap" for "collect and take the obstacle in front of you and turn left."

I know I am directionally challenged, so that is not an option for solving Belle's wide turns.  However, I've been thinking about using "wrap" to indicate "collect and take the obstacle in front of you and turn toward me.  Then I could use "tight" to indicate "collect and take the obstacle in front of your and turn away from me."

I used the four jump box from the Power Paws exercises to do  a little practice with Dusty and Belle.  Dusty had a hard time with the concept that he is to take the obstacle first and then turn.  If I can teach him this, it will be a great way to save wear and tear on his body.  For Belle, it will enable her to turn more efficiently and hopefully shave some time off her runs.

Notice in the video that when one of the dogs doesn't execute "tight" correctly, I work with one jump and then go back to working with two.  "Wrap" didn't seem to present too big a problem, but "tight" is a new concept for both dogs.


Postscript 04/09/2013:  Dusty has been retired and since Belle never responded very well to "tight," I only use one verbal cue, "wrap," and rely upon physical cues to indicate whether I want her to wrap toward me or away from me.  With my next dog, I will once again try teaching both commands.