All About Handling

There’s a lot to learn about your job as a Dog Agility Handler.  These short posts are not intended to give you all the answers (that’s what the training is for) but certainly should be thought starters to make you aware of ideas and concepts you will eventually need to study.

Before you start – FOCUS

Before you start – FOCUS

So let's start at the beginning, because that's a very good place to start.After watching videos from a recent VT Tuesday, I was struck by the number of dogs who come in to the ring looking around at everything but their owner, sniffing the grass like they're on a...

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The Handler’s “Prime Directive”

The Handler’s “Prime Directive”

Understanding your purpose makes figuring out what to do a lot easier! Your main job as a handler is to make "reading the course" as easy as possible for your dog.  Our dogs are the stars of this show - we are simply "co-pilots" or navigators.  We should never do more...

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Plan for Success

Plan for Success

Your performance can be only as good as your plan. You can only help your dog "read the course" as well as what you plan during the walk-through.If your walk-through is more of a sketch than a plan, you won’t get the best results. The fact that some handlers end up...

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Handle Sequences, Not Numbers

Handle Sequences, Not Numbers

Planning a course is like planning a Road Trip Navigate the Big Picture! When planning a long drive to a distant destination, most of us don't define our route based on each Starbuck's we're going to pass along the way.  Instead we look at the big picture, typically...

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Walking your Virtual Dog

Walking your Virtual Dog

Refining your Plan for Any CourseIn our previous post about the Walk-Through titled "Plan for Success", the process of how to go about examining a new course should be completed.  In that process, however, some unanswered questions may have been raised.  Probably the...

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Be Clear

Be Clear

There's no time for discussion or debate. All your information must say the same thing!   Your dog, the canine athlete "star of the show", moves about an agility course at a rapid pace and needs clear information in a timely manner in order to get on to the 'next...

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The Loop

The Loop

Looping through this Communication Cycle provides consistent outcomes on any CourseStaying in the loop of Connection, Commitment, and Cueing between every two pieces of equipment will become second nature, a split-second routine that happens automatically, by the time...

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Trust Your Dog

Trust Your Dog

It sounds simple enough, but many of us have had life experiences that make trust a difficult concept.  Trust requires giving up control, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and to a certain extent risking failure or harm if the one you trust does not behave as...

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Listen to your Dog

Listen to your Dog

Your dog will tell you what you need to know. You and your dog are a team and at the foundation of agility teamwork is an understanding each other.  If your dog understands the cues you are giving (both verbal and non-verbal), and you know what your dog needs to see...

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One Goal: Be “That” Handler!

One Goal: Be “That” Handler!

To have the dog that everybody else wants, You have to be the handler that every other dog wants. Your dog is a fully committed team mate.  They don't say bad things about you to other dogs when you mess up, they try again when you are learning a new skill in...

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Keep Your Head in the Game

Keep Your Head in the Game

Our skills are on the same level as our emotions.   We are not machines, we have thoughts, feelings, we get tired, distracted, angry, starstruck, frustrated, and intimidated.  When we enter the agility ring it isn't always easy to put those variations on our...

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