Some of my main main rules, I seem to be forgetting lately:
- No stopping on course
- Always move your feet
- Don't wait for your dog
- Cue early
- MOVE MOVE MOVE
For those of you that tell me "ah but you don't understand.. my dog is FAST".......... you are not listening! FYI if I stop explaining, and just nod or agree with you, I have given up speaking because you are closed off to opinions, and are just sprouting nonsense.. sorry if this sounds harsh, but if people ask my opinion, and they are not actually open to thinking about other handling options, then they are wasting both my time and theirs!
Run CLEVER - by that I mean think ahead, draw the lines out on course, and see where you dog needs to be before deciding how you are going to handle a specific obstacle. Run on the correct sides, give your dogs space, move sooner to the next position (NO waiting around), perform your crosses neatly, cue way before the obstacles for the following direction + obstacle.
Stop whining.
Stop asking every trainer their opinion.
There is no magic fix, no word you can say that will make your dog brilliant.. you are STEERING your dog - it is YOU!!
TRAIN the moves that you say you "can't" do on course. If you see something on course that "would be great IF..." Then TRAIN it!
If in a training session you are wondering what to do, think of the above. Set up ONLY the obstacles you need to train that specific move and train, train, train! Use up more sessions if you need to!
Eish