Cue discrimination in agility is used to clearly indicate to the dog which obstacle to run when there is more than one obstacle in their line of travel. Today we played a mini-course with a series of obstacle discriminations.
It is important when directing the dog to turn off her forward path toward the handler to use "Here!" very clearly and obviously, even a repetition of the verbal cue "Here! Here! Here!" if needed to make it obvious to the dog where you mean, as well as directing their line with where your body, feet, eyes, and locked-elbow arm are pointing.
Pearls:
- Think of using a laser pointer out in front of the dog's path of travel to indicate the dog's line
- Keep your elbow locked and arm up while directing the dog's line of travel; use your entire body to support where you are pointing your dog to travel
- Indicate early where I want Jackie to travel, as in "Go tunnel! tunnel!"
- Exciting engaging exercises at the start of a run help Jackie stay enthusiastic and energetic
- Repeat "Here!" only once for the first turn, not at every obstacle around a curved line of travel; Jackie will use physical cues to continue along the curved line
Obstacle discrimination and speed circles:
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