Chest – Laser Point

Imagine a laser pen pointing from your chest to the ground about five feet in front of you; this is the point which dogs seek.

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In training sessions we teach our students to imagine where the chest laser point is pointing, and to think about if that really is the place where they want their dogs to go next.

By turning your chest towards your dog when running, you can bring your dog’s running line closer to yours. We use this natural reaction when we are handling dogs with False Turns and to pull them toward you for the closer piece of equipment in a discrimination sequence.

In many techniques you turn your shoulder line so that your laser point points into your dog’s running line.  Some dogs naturally slow down when the handler’s chest is pointing towards them, so we use other handling techniques whenever possible with these dogs. Be aware that turning your chest towards the dog is a strong natural slow down cue that is used when preparing for a tight turn. If you turn your chest towards the dog too much, or too early, the dog is likely to pull “off” of the next piece of equipment.