Solving the issue of wide turns can be complex, and many reasons can contribute to this problem. It is often not black and white but rather a combination of various elements ranging from the physical characteristics and fitness of the dogs, to our training as well as our timing and handling cues on course. By understanding the root causes of wide turns, you are one step closer to fixing this problem with your dog and unlocking their tight turn potential! 🚀 In this second part of this blog series, we will dive into three common reasons why your agility dog might be turning wide. REASON #1️⃣: Physical Fitness and Strength As a canine physio, I must stress the importance of physical fitness and sport-specific training. If you have an agility dog and you only focus on their agility skills, you are missing a key element of their training to maximize performance and minimize injury risk. First, let's break down what physical characteristics a dog needs to complete a tight turn:
If your dog lacks physical fitness, they will likely turn wide despite your best handling efforts. Sports training alone will not help your dog achieve the levels of physical fitness needed to succeed in the sport of agility. Think of any athlete in their chosen sport - they ALWAYS have a cross training or fitness program to help address muscle imbalances, flexibility, strength and power. Too often I see people mistake their dog’s willingness to play agility for physical soundness or correct movement patterns. Dogs will always move using preferred movement patterns, meaning, if something is tight, painful or weak, they will use their preferred muscles and movement patterns to compensate for the deficit. If your dog is missing a canine fitness routine altogether or is not completing targeted tight turn exercises in the canine gym, this can be a major contributor to ongoing, chronic wide turns that are not improving with agility training alone. REASON # 2️⃣: Lack of Jump TrainingMany owners take jump training for granted. Just because our dogs can jump onto couches, into cars, and into our arms does not translate to good agility jumpers! Over the past several years, I have had the privilege of working directly with Kim Collins, owner of Pawsitive Steps Training. Kim has helped me hone my dogs' skills and opened my eyes to how vital targeted jump training is with our agility dogs, including skills such as turning tightly over jumps. When we ask our dogs to turn tightly over a jump, collection is required. We have to teach our dogs collection because slowing down is not often a strength of our highly aroused agility dogs! The term "collection" refers to our dogs shortening their stride to slow down; a vital component of a tight turn! Collection exercises must be taught to effectively teach our dogs how to physically collect (by engaging the proper muscles) and learn where their correct take-off point should be (which is very different compared to jumping into extension). When training tight turns, it is important to start with one jump to ensure your dog completes their turns with proper mechanics and form. One-jump work is often overlooked in training as owners tend to add too much complexity and speed off the bat which creates both wide turns and an additional risk of physical compensations. Remember, it takes time for your dog to develop the physical strength to complete tight turns at speed! Did you know that when your dog turns in one direction, they will power off their inside hind leg more? If your dog is showing a hind limb weakness, they will avoid powering off this inside leg and instead use the outside hind leg, which can create a wide turn! Working on one-jump exercises and slowly adding challenges (like speed) will allow your dog time to adapt and strengthen physically and ensure their form and posture are what you want! Moral of the story: Don't skip out on one-jump exercises, as this information gives you great insight into your dog's mechanics and understanding of tight turn skills. If you have a dog who turns wide, I want you to ponder the following questions: ❓How much jump training have you done with your dog? ❓Have you evaluated your dog's tight turn ability on one jump to check for form and mechanics? ❓Did you do jump training when your dog was a puppy, but it fell to the wayside? ❓Does your dog understand the concept of collection and adding in that extra stride to complete their tight turn? ❓Do they understand their take off spot for a tight turn versus jumping in extension? REASON # 3️⃣: HandlingHandling is not just a part of agility, it's a crucial element that empowers us to guide our dogs successfully through an agility course. As a handler, you play a significant role in your dog's success. We can have a dog that is physically able to complete tight turns, but if our handling does not support the tight turn, our dog is unlikely to execute a tight turn. How do we cue collection in agility? ✅Rhythm changes – handlers change their rhythm while running and start to slow down to indicate a turn is coming ✅ Pressure or turning into the dog ✅ Verbal cues ✅ Lowered hand ✅Handling techniques (e.g. front cross, reverse spin) ✅Moving towards the dog or take off point Handling cues can make a massive difference in our dog's ability to turn tightly, provided they are given in time! As a rule of thumb, handling cues should be given at least one stride before your dog's take off spot, sometimes sooner, depending on the dog. In addition to our timing, we need to make sure our physical cues (e.g., where our feet are pointed, the position of our arm) all support what our handling cues tell the dog. Inconsistent handling can cause our dogs to misread the information and be why your dog is not turning tightly.
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2 Comments
Carol R
6/26/2024 01:19:06 pm
Sheltie Strut was brought up through your fitness programs ( and we continue to work in the canine gym ). Lots of one jump work with SG’s programs. Lots of work in the One Mind Dog program to which I am a member along with 5+ years with Daisy Peel and counting. In flow, Strut still does not understand how to compress, then collect his stride…( Kim Collins ). Age 6 I think the ship has sailed.
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Carolyn McIntyre
6/26/2024 08:03:20 pm
I never believe the ship has sailed on any of my dogs with anything I am trying to teach them. We are looking for progress not perfection. Sometimes it takes a different perspective/approach/program to unlock better turns or a skill you are trying to learn. I have had many trainers over the years who helped me to get more progress with some of my dogs skills than others. My upcoming program (Tight Turn Pro Part 1) that is releasing shortly combines BOTH fitness and agility exercises to maximize your success. So you get the best of both worlds and I lay out of how often you should be doing the exercises and how/when to add challenges and when to go back to basics - all based on what our dogs are doing and showing to us. Stay tuned for this program. Don't give up! There is always hope. He's only 6! :)
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