Are you familiar with the seven handling elements? Do you know how they work and how they affect your dog?
All OneMind Dogs handling techniques include elements of seven key factors to support the dog’s movement on an agility course and make it as easy and effective as possible. In every handling technique we try to get all the elements to support the same thing. The handler should be consistent with the training and never give mixed signals to the dog.
Due to the size difference between the handler and the dog, the feet of the handler play more significant role in handling than the arms. The direction of the handler's toes, as well as the direction that he is taking his steps to, gives a lot of information to the dog. To understand what your dog actually sees, it is quite helpful to go down on the ground and observe the handling from the dog´s perspective.
You can use your feet to shape a turn, or to help the dog to commit to an obstacle, by taking a step towards the takeoff point. The direction of the feet is important for example when sending the dog to obstacles from a distance, sending the dog behind a jump, or in Lead-Outs.
The faster the dog is compared to the handler, the more important it is for the handler to learn to move effectively on the agility course. When developing the different handling techniques, we have been watching things from the dog's point of view, but we have paid attention also to the fact in each technique, every single step helps the handler to move effectively towards to the next sequence. By learning the correct patterns for your steps, you can gain a huge advantage and make the transitions on the course faster and smoother.
Understanding the influence of different elements has enabled us to demonstrate what is, from the dog´s point of view, a good way to execute the techniques. On the OneMind Dogs handling technique videos the use and the influence of all seven elements are always presented individually. We also introduce the most common mistakes in execution of the techniques shown in the videos. The goal is to give the viewer a complete understanding of how each element works, and to demonstrate what impact variations have on the dog´s performance.
