The secrets of success in agility

HA! If only it was a simple formula that could be written on this blog and magically create success in agility beyond your wildest dreams :-) It is!!!!
There are several foundational basics as I call them and they are Attention, Hand Signal Awareness, and, the understanding of Parallel Positioning. That would be the AHSAPP Principle :-) OK, just kidding, I just thought maybe assigning a fancy acronym would give it more creedence :-)
There is an inability of most handlers to communicate a start line position, maintain connection with their dog for any length of time, cue a turn over a single jump, etc... this got me thinking about how Merger, one of my young dogs (14 months old), who at this point was unable to weave a straight set of poles, did not have a full teeter or dog walk performance, is just now learning to judge proper take-offs in a jump sequence, and, has yet to do a sequence of more than 4 jumps at full height, can line up on the start line in a near perfect parallel position to me on a verbal cue, can stay for whatever duration of time necessary, understands how to target to my hand, seek out the parallel path, collect before a jump, wrap an upright with beautiful full body flexion, and, in essence is prepared to be "handled" through a masters course.
It was because of these things that I had an epiphany! The most difficult part of agility is handling the dog between the obstacles, not the obstacles themselves, therefore, I have subconsciously taught all of the between the obstacle behaviors before even completing most of the actual obstacle behaviors, making it impossible to show the dog before we are truly ready! You can fake the handling stuff and although probably not pretty, get the dog around the course but you cannot fake a set of weave poles if your dog has never seen them in a straight line!
Do you get it, I have successfully found a way to insure, (as well as we can insure anything), that my dog is truly ready to compete before I "can" compete!
I know I beat this foundation stuff to death but is there any substitute for proper foundation training? I think not!
By the time Merger has all of the obstacles figured out his flat area behaviors will be all worked out and I will be able to enter the ring with a level of confidence that allows me to handle even the greenest of dogs without spectating and micromanaging the things I have not yet trained. This ends the vicious cycle of no trust, spectate, lack of information to dog, wrong behavior, no trust, more spectating, even later and less information to dog, worse behavior, and it goes on and on.
I will go into the ring with a well trained, even if inexperienced dog who I will direct with confidence who will in return offer me the behaviors that I am asking for in a timely manner as correctly as possible for a baby dog embarking on a new journey. It must also be noted that there will be growing pains in any new partnership and it will take time for it to become the well oiled machine it may be with the older dogs I am running.
It was really awesome to know that I could use Merger to demo all of the bits that needed to be available in order to get the dogs from point A to point Z, even if he couldn't do straight line weave poles.
This epeiphany was a direct result of the secrets of success I know to be true in my experience as and agility/dog trainer.
The AHSAPP Principle :-) I feel that if my dog understands how to pay attention, has hand signal awareness and knows that it is his/her job to always be looking for a path parallel to me there is absolutely no configuration of obstacles I cannot get the dog thorugh. All of this is of course in reference to the between the obstacle performance, the obstacles do indeed have to be taught but that is a seperate issue.
It is also necessary to teach the value of the various hand signals and maintain clarity and consistency in their usage.
I do not need to practice a "serpentine," I need to know what cues to offer my dog to correctly negotiate the 3 obstacles in this particular order or configuration. My very attentive dog will read the hand signal and will accomodate what I am asking by reading dirction by way of seeking out a path parallel to me. It is of course important that the path that I am indicating is correct and that I am moving in the direction of the course :-)
You see the secret of success in agility is teaching the dog the to read and understand your cues , and, the various behaviors you will need on course and then trusting what you have taught so that you can walk a course for the most efficient path, share the necessary information with your dog expecting them to respond accordingly. It is your job to plan your run and run your plan.
Well, it is off to bed for me as I have another big day of teaching ahead of me tomorrow :-)