We have taken zero actual agility classes yet; we're currently taking a second Intermediate Obedience class (this and previous one with other instructor are focused mainly on rally and agility-foundation prep, not on pet dogs or actual obedience competition) mainly to give him practice keeping brain plugged in during a class and while waiting for them to schedule another basic-intro-level agility class when there's enough people. Russell is pretty well educated in terms of basic control off-leash, I can send him in various figures around our baby spruce trees in the backyard without running next to him the whole time, has 'get out' and 'around' and such.
Mostly (not that we've done *so* much, as the snow is only now melting enough to really allow jumping) I've played with him taking a single jump from all possible angles (running with him, or calling him to me, or sending him ahead). Last weekend I built two more jumps so now I have three total (plus a non-jump "hoop") but I am sort of at a loss as to how to most effectively start USING them, or how to work on handling skills per se (as opposed to dog's skills). I have dinked around a tiny bit with sequences of 2-4 jumps and was able to keep dog with me and going over correct jumps, at least at a slow canter, but I just have no idea of what to do in a more systematic way, you know?
I dunno, maybe what I'm asking for is not easily summarized in a few sentences and unrealistic to be requesting <shrug>, if so, sorry
As far as *how* to do the handling, I am sort of figuring that the dog can teach me that to a reasonable degree for now? I mean, either it works or it doesn't
When what I do works, I try to figure out what I'm doing right so as to keep doing it on purpose; when he does something other than what I intended, I try to figure out how I accidentally made him do that so I don't do it again (or maybe can harness it on purpose for future situations), you know? That's what I've been doing so far anyhow, and I feel like it is working reasonably well, as it is not THAT different from free-longeing or roundpenning horses and I am starting to figure out which particular rules are different for dogs (e.g. 'bending lower tends to send dog faster').
Pat
