In this episode OneMind Dogs Coach Minna Martimo tells about her training sessions with Janita and Jaakko, where the theme for her and Colt turned out to be timing of handling and paying attention to dog’s lines. Related to these things we also talked about choosing between different handling options and verbal cues, and how to help the dog understand the difference between slicing jumps and wrapping. Minna says:

In these training sessions Colt reminded me about these rules:

• Do your handling one stride before takeoff, so the dog can prepare for the next direction when taking off.
• Pay attention to the dog’s lines: if the next obstacle is not on his line, handle the turn.
• Think how you would handle the same sequence if there was an off course obstacle close to the line. The dog’s line is the same even though the off course obstacle is not there.
• To layer or not to layer? If you need to push the dog out or send with a step in order to be able to layer, it could be easier to get further ahead without the layering.
• Look at the course from your dog’s point of view and pay attention to his lines.
• You can say your verbal obstacle cue only for an obstacle your dog can see. Think if you need to handle / cue the turn first.

Slicing or wrapping - Colt’s rules & recipe for success:

• when slicing, say “forward” and let him go to the obstacle directly from the previous one with your opposite hand
• when wrapping, say “here” and keep him close all the way from the previous obstacle, as if I was planning to reward him from my hand. Then handle the lead change with my opposite hand. Say “Colt” before takeoff to get his attention. This way I got him to commit the turn towards me.
• Slicing happens easily, this could be beneficial in some situations :)

These kinds of recipes and understanding them together with your dog and coaches give me a great feeling of learning!

You can find printable course maps here:

• Janita's course in feet
• Janita's course in meters
• Jaakko's course in feet
• Jaakko's course in meters