Is it the handler or is it the dog?

As I travel all over doing seminars, camps, workshops, etc... I spend a great deal of time teaching people how to better handle their dogs. I also spend a great deal of time trying to impress upon said handlers the incredible importance of foundation training.

I think everyone out there understands that foundation training is super important but I also think that there is still a lot of confusion about what foundation training really is, and, how it applies to the overall big picture in agility.

I just returned from an awesome seminar in Minnesota during which this seemed to be a pervasive theme running through my head. 

Copious amounts of time was spent on trying to help people achieve the perfectly timed front cross, while even if the side change was indeed timed "perfectly" there was still a less than desirable outcome :-) 

The problem is that for so many people, even if they are perfect the dog is still not contributing to the overall process. It sounds here like I am "blaming" the dog but I am not...

Who teaches the dog their part or their responsibilities on course? That, of course, would be the handler :-) It always comes back to us, doesn't it?

I was finally able to really put my finger on the overall issue yesterday when I was doing a lesson with a very talented handler and there was a section in the exercise that called for 2 front crosses in succession, we cleaned up the handlers timing nicely but it still was not quite right.

I kept thinking about how I had run it that same morning and did not have the problem that was occurring, which was that the dog was over running the handlers side change. 

These were front crosses that required the handler to move through the side changes in order to make them both, however, in this case if the handler did not stop at the initiation of the cross the dog would over run her.

The main issue here is that no matter how "perfect" the handler is, the dog must also know what their responsibility is in all of this.

So, what was missing? This particular dog does not truly understand the value of the extraneous cues involved in the front cross. He is not bending to the handlers hand signal, he extends through a front cross without converging on the handlers path. 

He does understand that if mom decellerates and begins to rotate that he should come back to her but he is still extends over the jumps and turns back on the flat "after" the jump instead of flexing over the jump.

When a side change of any type is cued in a timely fashion the dog should never extend or have a straight body posture over the previous obstacle, there should be collection and flexion.

It is really important to practice timing and learn to "read" the dog and their position, etc.. However, in the meantime do not forget about the dogs part.

The dog has to be taught about collection, flexion, cue specifics, etc.. 

My style of training and handling focuses primarily on shaping "natural behaviors" into specific behaviors relevant to what I am going to need to be competitive on the agility field. It makes perfect sense to me to capitalize on things that are innate to my dog and add a few tweaks here and there to make these behaviors more specific to agility in general, however, the problem is this, because these are "natural" behaviors first and foremost we can easily forget to spend the necessary time to create the specifics that we need.

For example, one of the things that my dogs absolutely must learn is to find and maintain a path parallel to me, if my expectations are that my dog will follow me around a course reading my cues then don't I need to teach my dog to follow the direction "I" will be taking? If a dog is just willy nilly running across my feet or behind my back I will spend more time trying to keep the dog next to me and watching to be sure that he/she is next to me that I will not be able to get the course cues out in a timely manner or at all for that matter.

I need to be able to count on my dog understanding that their job is to always seek out a path parallel to me, this takes time and training as well as a handler who makes sure to notice if what they are teaching, (and you are always teaching), is what I want my dog to learn.

I start every exercise, even 1 jump work, with my dog parallel to me, I make it my mission to practice the correct cues, handling, position, etc.. whenever I am training and whatever I am training.

Pop quiz, does your dog know how to line up next to you on a start line in a parallel position without you physically manipulating them? If not, there is a big hole right there. If they cannot find this position while not in motion how are they to know to find it when you are running around a course?

I know there are not a lot of great foundation training resources out there at present but even just taking a step back and taking inventory of what cues you use and what they are supposed to mean to the dog is a great way to start to get a handle on what you have available in your tool box and what tools you need to acquire. 

Short list: 

Does my dog know parallel path?

Does my dog know and understand hand signals?

Does my dog know how to interpret the various hand signals?

Does my dog know how to interpret the variations in body cues, speed, etc..

Do I use these cues in a correct and consistent manner?

Does my dog know and understand how to pay attention through all levels of distraction?

These questions should get you started :-) I am sure there are many more that each of us could ask ourselves but 1 thing at a time....

To answer the question in the topic line of this post, it is both!