What are some tricks to get an Australian Cattle Dog (or any dog for that matter) to do agility jumps?
He will only jump them when I throw a ball over the jump (and even then he goes around to get it sometimes) What are some easy ways to teach this?
He definitely is in tip top shape! Hes been checked out by my vet many times (plus I’m schooling to be a vet so I do exams on him often.) I think its more he doesnt understand what I’m asking of him. Like I said, he’ll do it if I throw a ball over the jump.
My guess is that the presence of the ball has becomes part of the cue to do the behavior.
If you want to teach your dog to jump well, rather than just getting himself over the jump (and yes, there is a big difference!) dont’ use a ball when training this. You want food, to control where the dog’s head is going, keep him focused on you, and hopefully keep his head from exploding (ACDs are almost as bad as BCs for becoming completely obsessed about chasing a ball!)
If you’re becoming a vet, and interested in agility, I suggest you get Linda Mecklenburg’s Developing Jumping Skills book, as it will not only help you teach your dog to jump well, but help you understand what is involved in good jumping. Vets who become knowledgeable about agility and preventing and rehabbing injuries are still rare in many parts of the country, and you may find yourself with a great clientele once you’ve established some expertise in this area.
Below is a video of an early session, though I would have preferred finding a video of the first session, where dog is just learning how to get himself up and over a jump, using his rear legs, and with head down. What you can see well in this video is the quick progression upwards of jump height. Far too many people leave jumps down, and the dog learns jumping as a horizontal exercise, rather than a vertical one, and learns to jump only in extension, which makes teaching jumping in collection much harder, later, when the dog needs to be collecting to jump tightly. Having the dog basically chase a ball over a jump also teaches the dog, too early, to be jumping in extension, and also to focus on the ball, rather than the jumping effort required, or what the handler is doing to cue where the dog is going next. Don’t get me wrong- there is a place for tossing a ball when training agility, though generally we prefer tugging when using toys, but not when teaching a dog to jump, if you want the dog to jump well.
In order to get this point, start with you kneeling at the jump standard (the pole that holds the bar the dog jumps over) and have some treats in one hand, clicker in another, or use a verbal marker and have treats in both hands (a bit easier) and dog on one side of the jump, approximately in the middle, about one dog length away from the bar, with bar very low, probably 10-12 inches for an ACD. Hold a treat out eye level, and bring it down to floor level as the dog goes over the bar so that dog is bringing head down and turning somewhat into you as you let him have the treat. Now do it in reverse. Don’t worry too much about knocked bars for the first several- he’s thinking about a lot! Once he seems to get the picture, move the bar up a notch and repeat. At some point, he’ll probably go under the bar- simply don’t mark it as correct! Keep reinforcing very low, so dog is having to bring his head down, which will help his mechanics.
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