Susan Salo is here for the next week, although a few of us are sneaking out on the weekend to support our one and only USDAA trial in Ontario. Susan has been coming around here so long now, I am sure our absence won’t be noticed! We have a great group of “repeaters” here for Susan’s mid-week workshop. “Repeaters” being, people that have worked with Susan on multiple occasions.
As usual Susan started off with a brief morning lecture. And again as usual, Susan had some profound logic to share with us all. Often times Susan is just phrasing common sense in a
way that affects people differently that day. One comment she made yesterday morning I felt necessary to really emphasize for all. I added that it was sage advise applicable to all of dog training when Susan said of jumping “it is important that you never have a static lesson plan. Read your dog after each repetition and know what he needs at that point. Be flexible and willing to adapt your plan for that session to suit the current needs of the dog.”
I think of this statement as it relates to people following the 2×2 method of weave pole training. The DVD presents a lesson plan to train or re-train your dog. However it may not be in your dog’s best interest to try to keep up with the pace that I set with the dogs that use for I demonstrations. You shouldn’t try to push a dog along if his actions and success rate is telling you he is not ready for a bigger challenge.
Another gem I got from Susan was when we were discussing the current popular practice of punishing dogs for dropped bars (something neither Susan nor I approve of). Susan’s comment was; “you can not prepare for peace while you are a planning for war” when she was describing the conflict of trying to build a jump education while using punishment.
Those of you struggling with teaching your dogs to jump please know it is not an overnight or even an over-month fix. It is a career long process and perfection is elusive, all you can aim for is a constant improvement. For the sake of the dog, that has got to be enough for you. If you do not have a current jump education program for your dog, I strongly recommend Susan Salo’s Jumping DVD as a place to start. When you get it, print of the PDF that is on the disc and follow along from that handout while you watch the DVD. It is never to late to go back and give your dog a new beginning!
Today I am grateful for the continual improvement I have seen with my own dog’s jump education.
l have been using jump grids for a long time for teaching my dogs to jump correctly and this past weekend it has finally all come together with my pointer Biggles he has figured out when to extend and when to shorten stride when he is jumping. Now all l have to do is figure out how to keep up with him
I have to admit that being a newbie to this and still processing all the foundation exercises, I’m really enjoying the “ah-ha” moments with my dogs.
It’s all about the journey and magical connection with my furry pals.
I don’t ever want to look into my dogs eyes after they’ve missed a jump or whatever and see fear or appeasement gestures from them because of the energy they feel from me.
I agree 100% with Susan Salo and really enjoyed Susan’s workshops and witnessing the comedic dynamics of her relationship with Encore and Feature.
I wish there were more of those clip on her video’s to remind people what’s really important in the end.
cheers,
kate
That’s a wicked shot of Favor and Linda. It’s got great action and composition. Are you some kind of artist or something?
I am a strong believer in Susan’s jump training program. I was having some serious problems with my blasty little dog’s jumping – taking off too early, stuttering, refusals etc… I knew that something had to be done and had tried a few things but it wasn’t until I bought the DVD and then later attended a clinic, that I formed a clear training plan. It has been a long road but the improvements are there and we now can run masters jumpers clean (and fast) on a regular basis.
I have a love/hate relationship with that extension grid and some days it feels like I want to give up, but I have learned to accept those days and just move on to something else for that day. Next time we work on that exercise, we are more often than not back on track and actually make progress…It is a real test of patience and dedication but the results do show that it is worth it.
I got Susan’s jump program about a year ago and we started it and it helped my dogs a lot. Then I let it slip and we have never finished. I was just thinking the other day that I really need to get that back out and work on it again.
This was a good reminder.
And I love the doggie gymnast statues on either side of the jump at the top of this post!