Left, Right or Straight Ahead--A Distance Exercise

This morning, I created a short sequence on the jumpers course I set up last week that allowed me to test my ability to direct Belle and Dusty's to one of three jumps upon exiting a tunnel.

Here's the course map.  I have three different ways to start the sequence.  You could also start by sending your dog through the gap between 1a and 1c directly to the #2 jump.

With Belle I was able to get the job done from the farther line.  With Dusty, I had to get close to the line nearer the tunnel exit.  But what I found really interesting was the difference in the default jump between Belle and Dusty.  Belle's natural choice was 5c; Dusty's was 5a.  I was rather at a loss for how to direct Belle's attention to 5a.  What finally worked was calling her name as she exited the tunnel.  By getting her to look toward me, I took her focus off of 5c and was able to redirect her to the correct jump.

Getting Dusty out to 5c was much harder to accomplish.  I had to step in dramatically and resort to an off-arm along with a strong "Out."

Jump 5b was not a tempting off-course choice for either dog, but when it was the correct choice, a simple "Come" was enough to direct both dogs to it.