Last night the "baby dog class" that isn't really a baby dog class did really well. They're all either competing in Novice, ready for Novice, or Novice dogs that have made it to Open or Excellent (like Solar, who has made it through the levels in AKC but is still definitely a Novice dog!).
One of the big things I try to promote in my classes (hopefully I am at least moderately succesful at this!) is free thinking amongst my students. Yes, I do subscribe to a handling system, but what I like about that handling system is that there aren't any rules, really - just a list of observations of handler actions and consequences with respect to how the dogs will respond. This can cause some problems for people, though, because if there aren't any rules, then how are you supposed to figure out what to do? There are some basic principles regarding how dogs respond to what the handlers do, principles that seem to hold true across the board (you slow down, they slow down, you speed up, they speed up, etc. etc.), but beyond that, it's all about individual handlers figuring out what they need to do for the dog they've got at that moment (which may be different than the dog they THOUGHT they had!!).
Further beyond that, there are a few things that seem like they might work at the moment, but *might* have some long term consequences that the handler hadn't thought of. Sometimes, it's worth doing those things that might have long term consequences, because the short term gain is large. But, inspecting the consequences of repeating those actions might mean that the long term gain is actually negative.
Anyway, the thing I love most about agility is trying to predict what will happen on an agility course. Look at the course, predict how the dogs will see it, predict the possible problems and the different options - there are ALWAYS options, although they might not all have equally suitable outcomes. The ability to predict the outcome of an action on a course is IMO one of the keys to being able to get through any agility course, time and time again. Once you develop the ability to predict the outcome of different actions on a course, you've got it made.
On the flip side, what if you make a prediction and it doesn't pan out? Those failed predictions are just as important as the successful predictions, because they (the failed predictions) can help you sort out where you may be missing something. Perhaps you're looking at the wrong spot on the timeline, assigning consequence C to event B, when really consequence C is a consequence of event A, and event B will produce consequence D. If your predictions fail time and time again, you've got options with respect to how you will choose to improve your ability to predict in the future. Will you train your dog to meet your expectations? Will you strive to improve your observational skills to see if, without any training on the dog's part, you can better handle a course through making different decisions, thinking at things from a different angle? It's not always one or the other, either - sometimes you may want to train or re-train your dog to meet an expectation, and sometimes you may simply want to adjust your strategy so your prediction is more in line with what is actually happening.
So, with that in mind, here's a little ditty that those 'baby dogs' ran last night. They ended up doing quite well - running the course wasn't nearly as difficult as thinking about running it was! What are the options? How would you predict your dog would do if you handled with strategy A, strategy B, strategy C? Are there tradeoffs or consequences in any of your strategies? Will any of your strategies require training beyond the knowledge of taking the obstacle?
