Should your dog be only so-so in any elements of basic obstacle or retrieving training, shore up weak areas prior to initiating the “Retrieve Over High Jump.” Otherwise, the animal may extend previous problem behaviors into the new activity.

When starting the Retrieve Over High Jump, begin that day’s session with a Retrieve followed by a recall over the jump. If your dog doesn’t perform each exercise well, work on problem areas until you’re satisfied. Initiate formal High Jump retrieving by having your dog Sit in front of and facing the jump from a distance of ten feet. Set the height even with the animal’s elbows. Have him take and hold a dumbbell.

Command, “Stay,” verbally and via the hand signal. Walk to the jump’s opposite side, preferably by stepping over it (to suggest the correct route). Position yourself within touching distance of the obstacle. As one flowing action, slap the top board’s edge, command, “Bring - Hup!,” and back away to create landing room. Repeat the sequence three times, and end today’s training.

The next day, with pooch at heel, throw a light dumbbell over the jump, sending him as it lands by sequentially commanding “Hup,” “Bring” and “Hup.” The first “Hup” sends the animal, and “Bring” should be timed while he’s airborne, going for the object. Command the second “Hup” immediately after the dog picks up the dumbbell. Now the task becomes phasing out the commands used only for teaching, waiting several seconds before sending the dog after the dumbbell, and gradually raising the jump to the desired height.

Find out Sit Stay Fetch Review

Handling dogs for competition, as well as a living, is an art that can be acquired only through experience. It is not anything you will pick up in several months. It is the culmination of all the knowledge that you have attained through different sources such as reading, studying the different breeds of dogs, digesting the Obedience Regulations, conducting frequent practice sessions, observing top handlers in competition, and developing your own style for Obedience competition. Of course the first requisite is a genuine love for dogs, and if you have that it should follow that you will have the patience and understanding to cope with them. The second requisite is perseverance, for without it you will not get very far. And last but not least you must have a sense of humor, for in obedience trial competition anything can happen.

If you want to learn something you should go to the person who is most qualified to teach it. By qualified I mean he is at the top of his profession because of what he has accomplished personally. The teacher who has made a fine record himself in Obedience is the one who can help you. There are hundreds of Obedience trainers in the country, but most are passing on bits of training advice they have picked up here and there. With coaching like this you can expect very little consistency and much confusion.

The first thing you will notice when you watch a top handler is the relaxed, easy manner in which he controls his dog and the rapport that is evident between the two. The dog will be attentive and responsive to the handler’s firm but soft-spoken commands, the signals will be given with just one hand and arm, and the exercises will be performed very smoothly and skillfully. The first time you witness this type of handling you will be more impressed with how easy it looks than by anything else. If you haven’t started training you will be quite certain that you could do it yourself - it looked so easy.

The first step to becoming a good handler is to train your dog correctly. Good handling is synonymous with expert training. Your voice is important - give the commands in a firm, well-modulated tone and praise your dog in a very pleased tone that rings with sincerity. When the dog is close to you teach him to respond to commands that are given to him softly. When working away from you, teach him to execute the commands that are given crisply but just loud enough for him to hear. Don’t keep repeating commands, rather correct him for not paying attention.

Read SitStayFetch Review

With your dog present in front of you, erect both jumps, configuring them at low height and setting them ten feet apart. Do it again. Then walk your dog to a point between the obstacles and a dozen feet behind them. Aim the animal toward the High Jump, and command, “Stay.” Walk to an equidistant spot, relative to the obstacles and the dog. Emphatically point and step toward the High Jump and command, “Hup.”

As your dog sails over the correct jump, praise, “Good Pup,” and take him back to the starting point. Command, “Stay,” return to the location opposite the animal’s, and repeat the exercise. Do the routine twice more, then end the session. On the next day, repeat the preceding exercise once. Then “Stay” your companion, having first aligned him toward the other obstacle, the Bar Jump. Return to your command location, and - adding pronounced body language - command him over this second jump. If he does as well with it as he did with the first hurdle - and he probably will - great!

Now the work is gradually raising the jumps’ heights, repositioning them until they’re eighteen to twenty feet apart, phasing out aligning pooch toward either jump, and starting him from at least twenty feet. During the teaching sequence, should your pet take any action other than the correct one, don’t chastise him. Perform some work at which he excels (to finish high), and call it a day. Initiate a more structured method tomorrow.

Directed Jumping - Structured Method

Begin by leaving your dog on a “Sit-Stay”, fifteen feet from and facing a Standard High Jump. Walk to the hurdle’s opposite side and command, “Hup.” Skip the finish. Repeat the exercise, but this time move leftward a few feet as your pet leaves the ground; turning to face him as he lands. Run through this routine three more times, then close the session.

Start the next period by leaving your dog on a Sit-Stay, fifteen feet from and facing a standard High Jump. Walk to the obstacle’s other side, and after standing there for a few seconds, move a few feet to your left. Adding an exaggerated hand signal, verbally command your dog over the jump. (Should he attempt to run to you, block him and repeat the “Hup” command while gesturing toward the obstacle. If need be, lift him over the hurdle.) Repeat this new procedure three times before ending the period.

Over the next few sessions, gradually position yourself farther left until you’re twenty feet removed from the centerline between the two jumps. Though less distance is required in competition, the extra-mile principle operates here by saying to your dog that he’s to clear the indicated obstacle regardless how far you are from it.

The next stage is steadily moving your pet’s starting point to your left (his right). “Sit-Stay” your friend three feet left of the two jumps’ centerline, and walk to a point opposite his new starting position. Adding excessive body language (stepping and pointing toward the desired jump), command, “Hup.”

SitStayFetch Review