# Between Exercises



## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I think Flip right now does best just heeling from exercise to exercise....he enjoys heeling and it keeps him engaged and out of trouble (read: getting zoomies or visiting the judge). I will have him do the occasional hand touch because he loves to leap, so this gives him a chance to leap while I'm controlling it. I do a high hand touch (hand held at top of head) so he has to really put effort into it. 

Colby I also heeled to each exercise, for the same reason, but instead of hand touches with him we did spins. And his release from each exercise was me throwing both hands in the air, which was his cue to jump onto his hind legs and "dance" around a bit. He loved to do that.

Conner needed a bit more "cheerleading." After each exercise I would give him a really good hard pet or butt rub. I would happy talk and clap my hands walking him to each exercise, and I wouldn't ask him to "heel", just stay with me in my area. Once we got to the area of the next exercise I would sometimes have him go through my legs to set up or do a spin.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Interesting thing happened today in the utility ring: the steward had no idea what to do with the articles. As she was setting articles out I realized there weren't any out for me. Judge called her over and had her pull two articles out of the bag to put on the chair...and then she left the bag with the articles on the chair and was headed out the ring. So the judge called her back and told her she still needed to put some out in the pile. She puts out some articles and is walking away but when I look there is only leather articles out there, no metal. So judge calls her back AGAIN and goes out with her to the pile to show her what to do.

My point in the story (other than I thought it was kind of funny) is that as soon as I realized there was going to be a hold up, I broke my dog out of heel position and we started playing. We're doing spins, leaps, fronts, backs, lots of fun. I love those kinds of hold ups in the ring for that exact reason. It gives me a chance to play with my dog in the ring in a real trial. I'm thinking the whole time how lucky I was with the hold up. 

I was surprised when I got out of the ring how many people said they would hate if that happened to them...they said they would just keep their dog in heel position and wait and wait and wait and then both the handler and the dog would be tense and nervous. So a very different perspective on it, I take every advantage I can to make the ring a fun experience!

(P.S. We NQ'd...had a really nice run going, he was headed for the bar jump, then halfway there decided to come straight to front and pooey on the jump. This is not something new, it has popped up on and off as long as we've been doing DJ. So tomorrow I am going to hold my signal longer and be willing to take the point hit. But other than that I was very happy with what he did today, he did not look like a dog in for his first utility leg, he was very happy and confident in all of his work.)


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> he did not look like a dog in for his first utility leg, he was very happy and confident in all of his work


Very awesome, Jodie<:

Good luck tomorrow.

@Caryn - circles, scoots, constantly moving, butt tags, etc.

Generally I will look up to see where the judge is setting up the figure 8, and I will go off to do circles and scoots on my way to setting myself up. 

I've only shown in novice (Danny and then Jacks), but in the fun matches we've done with Open, it's not that much different. I think the dogs feel your energy and confidence.


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## LittleRedDawg (Oct 5, 2011)

I heel between exercises to keep my dog with me and periodically ask him for a touch if he looks like he might get distracted, and then major praise/pet at the end of each exercise.


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

See, I know I could do some heeling between exercises and some hand touches, too. But I know if I just had her in my general area she'd lag behind me and that's not what I want her to do. It's giving her the opportunity to wander off and lag. I need to find a show where there's a 5 for 5 or something to be able to give it a shot and see what happens. I think I need to just have more FUN in the ring. I think I turn a tad bit formal in the ring and that's when it hits us that we need to re-evaluate.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

most important is make sure you are giving your focus to the dog and not the judge. Too many hanlders start speaking with the judge and totally disconnect from their dog.

I'll be posting video of some of our utility run today in a different thread, if you want to watch you can see how I handle between exercises.


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## LittleRedDawg (Oct 5, 2011)

I heard someone comment once that you and the dog should be going to the next exercise together- it's a team event. The dog shouldn't be following you around the ring for exercises. So, I watch closely to make sure he's with me all the time. Lijah is an Aussie and much more reactive to his surroundings than your Goldens. ;-) It took until we were through our CDX before he started to relax in the ring, and now he really seems to enjoy it. (Knock on wood, we're showing again this weekend!)

Also, a lot of folks get caught up in whether the dog is having fun- I'm concerned first about compliance, figure he'll have fun when he gets praised for doing the exercises correctly -so far it's working! I train with someone who has a Golden and is worried about the dog having fun, handler is exuberant in training, silent in the ring, and they're still getting low 180s in Novice. I train pretty similar to how I show- in other words, silence when the dog is working, and I'll run drills where he just gets a "good dog," and is sent off to repeat the exercise three more times. I'm tough on him, but I think he enjoys being in the ring. He may get more praise and petting in the ring than he does in a 5 minute training period, actually.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> much more reactive to his surroundings than your Goldens


Unfortunately... there are some goldens out there like that.....


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

What does your trainer suggest?


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

Loisiana said:


> most important is make sure you are giving your focus to the dog and not the judge. Too many hanlders start speaking with the judge and totally disconnect from their dog.
> 
> I'll be posting video of some of our utility run today in a different thread, if you want to watch you can see how I handle between exercises.


SUPER guilty of that right here. I feel like I'm disrespectful of the judge if I don't look at them. LOL, sounds silly and all but I guess I shall from now on look at my dog more. Not saying I look only at the judge, but I know I should pay attention to her more. 

Stephanie: I haven't had a trainer or lessons in awhile. My trainer moved and since then I've just been doing video lessons online with her. Waiting for a response from her....


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