In Schutzhund obedience there are retrieves for the dumbell to be done over an A-Frame. Competition height of the A-Frame is 1.8 meters, or 71 inches, or just below 6 ft. It's a pretty steep wall, and I want to make sure that Kane learns how to scale it and "de-scale" (!) it correctly so that he doesn't injure himself in any way.
So we started practicing with the A-Frame at a much lower incline. I started out with Kane running over the A-Frame, and then he was rewarded when he made it to the other side, with his back legs still on the A-Frame.
I want him to learn to climb up and down, and not just take a leap of the top. Leaping off the top could mean serious elbow injuries, and we don't want that.
Then we moved on to throwing the ball over the A-Frame and having him retrieve it. The first few times, he went over the A-Frame to get to the ball, but then he tried to go around it on the way back. 
We solved that by me climbing up and slapping my hand on the A-Fram and calling him and then moving backwards when he came the right way, again rewarding when he reached the end.Finally he did one correctly all by himself!
Now we continue to do the same thing for a while, eventually raising the A-Frame up until it is at trial height. Then we have to add the dumbell to it as well.
2 comments:
wood us to launch off the a frame - he is such a dufus
good luck in your practice
Woodrow - Sweetie & Sherman
I am seriously impressed - our dogs would be off napping in a corner of the field while I ran back and forth over the a-frame trying to help them to get it. :)
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