Food for thought

It is always difficult to decide on the best obstacle performance criteria for each dog. The same could be said for flat area criteria as well. We know it is important to take our dogs physical attributes into consideration. It is also important to pay attention the types of behaviors that seem to come more naturally to our dogs. But let's face it, ultimately we are the trainers and the end result of whatever behaviors we teach depend on our ability to establish criteria and then formulate a training plan that breaks the criteria down into dog friendly components.

We must have a good enough understanding of what we want the end result to be. We must be able to recognize success and failure instantly during each phase of the training process. We must be prepared to take a step back, if necessary, we must be patient (I read that somewhere :-)) while the dog learns the behaviors or elements of it.

We have to have an immediate response for the dog that makes mistakes. A response that helps, not confuses or shuts the dog down. There are always transitions during training that will test the dogs understanding of what we have taught. Are you prepared to deal with mistakes?

We must proof and reproof every piece of every new and old behavior and recognize and reinforce success. We must be prepared to "fix" the holes or problems that arise when we proof each of these pieces. We must trust that when the training is done that the dog will reliably offer the behaviors we have taught in any situation when asked.

We must be able to trust what we train! It is impossible to move forward in agility if you have not taught your dog what their part of the job is, and what their responsibilities are.

A very common problem in agility today is planning an efficient course strategy when the primary thought process while walking courses is how do I keep my dog from doing that, or I have not taught my dog to do that. If you have trained specific criteria and have proofed that criteria and are diligent in maintaining that criteria you should be able to plan a perfect course with the most efficient lines. And trust your dog to perform as trained.

It is not uncommon to see a handler and dog in a total state of confusion while training contacts. This is because handler X was told by instructor Z to do a 2on/2off behavior at the bottom of the contacts. Handler X has no idea why they would teach this but instructor Z said so, therefore it must be done. Handler X will never be able to get a consistent 2on/2off behavior because handler X does not even understand the behavior. If you do not have a clear and concise understanding of the behavior you are trying to teach there is no way your dog ever will.

Whatever behaviors you decide to teach, it is a good idea to make a list of what the components of the behavior are to ensure a full understanding on your part, this will also allow you go back and check what steps you have taught and if you have possibly missed any :-)
There is so much more to be said on this topic, which I will save for another day, until then consider this your daily food for thought.