Small Dog, Super V, Winter Time...

[thejackswild]

Okay, Penelope is only 12.75" tall and the physics of her distance jump don't make her a likely let alone promising prospect for Super V but her obsession with the whole thing warrants some sort of exploration on my part this winter. Because we have absolutely no experience with SV I'm looking for ideas on how I can satisfy her curiosity this winter. Really, this is about the dog. She levetates and screams while watching distance but goes absolutely balistic with the same level of intensity she demonstrates in the hunt field the instant the bumper is suspended over the water. She is a very odd little dog.

Thanks in advance for ideas!

Liz

[Sassy Girl]

I'm guessing your not gonna go out and work her in the frigid water this winter,right? I would suggest doing some ground work w/a super v training pole or even by hand. Since your from the world of terriers, a flirt pole should be familiar and you can jimmy rig it up to be a super v training pole or better yet just make one out of pvc.

You want the dog to have some form to their jumping, not just jumping up straight up for it. To get the correct jumping form when doing dry land work it is easiest to use a pvc agility jump or anything else you can pull together. Try setting an agility jump at 10 - 12" for the smaller terriers. Your going to start the toy low so it is in easy view of the dog. I would keep the toy on the far side of the jump within 1 foot of the jump and at the height the dog's line of sight is when they are over the bar of the jump, then work up.

Liz - it's similar to flyball - back chain, small steps so your dog understands from the ground up. A lot of people rush their dogs and I've seen some people take dry land training to the dock and have it totally backfire and nearly injure their dogs...so use commons sense or shoot me a private email and we can talk about it.

Some tips:
- teach your dog to respect the jump first (easy task w/positive motivation)
- keep your toy low and build up
- be careful how high you ask your dog to jump on dry land, remember their joints and the impact they take when landing.
- make sure to give your dog a runway, basically 2-3 strides when entering the jump and then plenty of room for landing
- remember to think about it from the dogs perspective and be realisitic in what the dog can achieve in your training sessions

Hope this helps....

[thejackswild]

Thanks, Urs! We're definitely not jumping into water right now. It is cold, cold, cold here right now! But I did want to get started with her on land. Thanks so much for the great ideas!