Tuesday evening, I decided to take a break from the long 30-obstacle courses and set up the letter "d" from Nancy Gyes Alphabet Drills, Clean Run, June, 2005. Here's a narrated video of three of the exercises we worked today.
Showing posts with label alphabet drills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alphabet drills. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
There's a Heat Wave Coming
After I ran Dusty on the Euro Puzzle this morning, I decided to set up another of Nancy Gyes Alphabet Drills. This one is the letter C from the April, 2005 issue of Clean Run. Since it is going to be really hot and muggy for the next few days, I thought these drills should be short enough to go out and work once or twice a day. Additionally, setting up the jumps doesn't require the surveyor's tape and wheel. Approximate is good enough.
This morning, I decided to tackle the figure 8 drills. Instead of running a separate set for each type of "cross,"* I decided to blend them into one long sequence and end with a Ketschker. By far the easiest way for me to run the figure 8 was with the front cross--since I can send Belle to do the 180's, it minimizes the steps I have to take and getting the front cross in is a piece of cake. However, the concentration involved in remembering which set of crosses I'm using each time through is a great mental exercise for me.
I spent a lot of time working on the Ketschker turn on the mirror image drill, and we never did get it right. Unfortunately, it was getting too warm to stay out any longer or I would have also worked the figure 8 using a different "cross" every time a turn was called for . I'll post the videos as we do more of these exercises during the week.
* I put cross in quotes because a post turn was also used in this exercise.
This morning, I decided to tackle the figure 8 drills. Instead of running a separate set for each type of "cross,"* I decided to blend them into one long sequence and end with a Ketschker. By far the easiest way for me to run the figure 8 was with the front cross--since I can send Belle to do the 180's, it minimizes the steps I have to take and getting the front cross in is a piece of cake. However, the concentration involved in remembering which set of crosses I'm using each time through is a great mental exercise for me.
I spent a lot of time working on the Ketschker turn on the mirror image drill, and we never did get it right. Unfortunately, it was getting too warm to stay out any longer or I would have also worked the figure 8 using a different "cross" every time a turn was called for . I'll post the videos as we do more of these exercises during the week.
* I put cross in quotes because a post turn was also used in this exercise.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
More Letter "a" Alphabet Drills - Threadles and Rear Cross
Exercise 2 provides the opportunity to do two threadles in quick succession. Once Belle, Dusty and I were able to do the two threadles, I added different lead-ins to the exercise to increase the speed the dogs were running at. Exercise 3 provides a chance to do a much more dynamic rear cross than Exercise 1. Finally, Exercise 3 provides the chance to practice a lead out and three threadles in quick succession.
Rear Cross vs. Front Cross
Those of you who live in the Midwest know how crummy the weather has been this month. Today it is cold and damp, but at least it isn't windy and rainy. Tomorrow, I think it will be warm enough to set up a full course, but for today I decided to set up the first of the Alphabet Drills designed by Nancy Gyes (Clean Run, 02/05).
For the first exercise, Nancy suggested using a rear cross between jumps 3 and 4. I decided to try with a rear cross and then a front cross. (With Belle, I also tried the exercise from an imaginary bonus line.) With both Belle and Dusty, I discovered the front cross produced a faster time on the exercise. For Dusty, the difference was approximately .8 of a second; for Belle the difference was only about .2 of a second. In Dusty's case, the rear cross produced a wider turn around the right standard of #4. For Belle, it didn't really seem to make that much difference in how tight her line was from #4 to #5. However, in both cases, I had to wait for the dog in order to do a rear cross.
That brings up a very important point regarding crosses. In order to do a rear cross, you must be behind your dog. If you have to wait for your dog, there's a good chance you could do a front cross instead. The more dynamic your handling, the faster your time will be. Moving more slowly or standing still cues a dog to slow down. Moving more slowly is preferable to standing still since once you stand still, you are no longer giving your dog any information about where the course is going.
For the first exercise, Nancy suggested using a rear cross between jumps 3 and 4. I decided to try with a rear cross and then a front cross. (With Belle, I also tried the exercise from an imaginary bonus line.) With both Belle and Dusty, I discovered the front cross produced a faster time on the exercise. For Dusty, the difference was approximately .8 of a second; for Belle the difference was only about .2 of a second. In Dusty's case, the rear cross produced a wider turn around the right standard of #4. For Belle, it didn't really seem to make that much difference in how tight her line was from #4 to #5. However, in both cases, I had to wait for the dog in order to do a rear cross.
That brings up a very important point regarding crosses. In order to do a rear cross, you must be behind your dog. If you have to wait for your dog, there's a good chance you could do a front cross instead. The more dynamic your handling, the faster your time will be. Moving more slowly or standing still cues a dog to slow down. Moving more slowly is preferable to standing still since once you stand still, you are no longer giving your dog any information about where the course is going.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)