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© Ed Presnall - All Rights Reserved
Down a Sidewalk
Starting on a normal 3 to 4 foot wide sidewalk or walkway, walk down the center of the walk placing articles every 10 yards. Start with a minimum of 10 articles and progress through repetition of this game with up to 20 or more articles at a time. Initially, your dog will visually locate the articles and may jump from article to article. Lightly restrain the dog and have them track to the articles. At each article praise the dog for an acceptable indication.
If you are using a clicker for conditioning, click and reward at each article to reinforce the desired indication behavior. Extend the length between articles to 20 yards as you progress in your training.
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Object of Game |
Develop a start routine, a definite article indication and a restart
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|
Location |
Normal 3 to 4 foot wide sidewalk |
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Surface |
Non Vegetated, asphalt, concrete, cement, stone, mulch |
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Number of Articles |
10 (minimum) |
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Article Spacing |
Every 10 yards (minimum) |
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Lead Length |
6 to 20 foot |
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Track Age |
Random / from 5 minutes to several hours |
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Secondary Objective |
Introduction to variable surfaces
Introduction to multiple articles
Introduction to cloth, plastic, metal and leather articles |
Down and Back on a Sidewalk
When using a sidewalk in a typical urban atmosphere where there are sidewalks on both sides of a street, I will normally utilize one side of the street to go down the street, then cross and use the opposite side to come back toward the starting location (see above).
|
Object of Game |
Develop a start routine, a definite article indication and a restart
|
|
Location |
Normal 3 to 4 foot wide sidewalk on each side of a street |
|
Surface |
Non Vegetated, asphalt, concrete, cement, stone, mulch |
|
Number of Articles |
10 (minimum) |
|
Article Spacing |
Every 10 yards (minimum) |
|
Lead Length |
6 to 20 foot |
|
Track Age |
Random / from 5 minutes to several hours |
|
Secondary Objective |
Introduction to variable surfaces
Introduction to multiple articles
Introduction to cloth, plastic, metal and leather articles |
Various Surfaces Including A Parking Lot
As your dog becomes proficient in working on this surface, plot a similar track where the track will cross several types of surfaces. The addition of these transition areas while working on article indications will allow you to train multiple component problems at the same time.
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Object of Game |
Develop a start routine, a definite article indication and a restart
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Location |
Grass, gravel, dirt, asphalt, concrete. Try to utilize as many surfaces as possible. |
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Surface |
Non Vegetated, asphalt, concrete, cement, stone, mulch |
|
Number of Articles |
10 (minimum) |
|
Article Spacing |
Every 10 yards (minimum) |
|
Lead Length |
6 to 20 foot |
|
Track Age |
Random / from 5 minutes to several hours |
|
Secondary Objective |
Introduction to variable surfaces
Introduction to multiple articles
Introduction to cloth, plastic, metal and leather articles |
Below are a series of photographs of dogs working the article game. The dogs are working across grass, asphalt, concrete and mulch. The photographs were taken at a VST workshop presented by Ed Presnall and hosted by the Dallas Obedience Training Club in Farmers Branch, TX, in October 2004. All photographs are © Ed Presnall.
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