I happened to catch a live stream session by Ricky Jones the other day on FB. It's a nice session with a malinois puppy featuring shaping, cookies, an…
Episode 24 of the show takes on over-arousal in a multi-session progression lesson on Wait vs Stay featuring Ron & Motown working on the Back Stall. T…
This is Session 4 of a series of training sessions with Motown over the course of an afternoon. It served as the introduction for the sessions and the…
Session 3 with Motown shows a significant reduction of arousal and a marked increase in Drive. Drive is energy and action applied towards work. Buildi…
This is session 2 of Wait vs Stay via the Back Stall with Motown that took place a couple of minutes after session 1. In this session Motown is more c…
This is the first of a 4 part session with Motown, an 18 month old MiniAussie. Motown is easily over-aroused while working for cookies. He is Apryl's …
Passing can happen actively or passively. The Crossing Pass allows the handler to handle the dog into the pass, setting the dog's line and creating a …
Ron & Epic take the Flank or Pass Challenge during Tuesday Afternoon Disc Quan Do Class. Class members call out Flank or Pass and Eppie and Ron execut…
Apryl & Marty take on the Flank or Pass Challenge for the first time during Tuesday Afternoon Disc Quan Do class. The Flank or Pass Challenge is a fun…
Ron & Grasshopper work on a Dog Catch, Pedestal, and Wait vs Stay in this training session featured in DiscDogger Weekly #24. Getting a Dog Catch is a…
DiscDog Flatwork is more than moving the dog around the field and is more than the patterns of movement we can create as a handler and as a team. Most…
Ron & Epic explore the 3 key variables of the Flatwork Process: Pushing, Pulling, and Blocking. These 3 variables are the principle functions in disc …
Ron & Epic explore the entirely too simple application of positional pressure as it relates to DiscDog Flatwork and communication - Are you Pushing or…
Fetching up discs can be used to exercise and reinforce successful disc dog flatwork. Here, Ron & Epic demonstrate this simple, useful, and fun exerci…
Ron & Epic do a little Tuesday Afternoon Disc Quan Do laying out some practical advice and practical application of the Yellow Belt Crossing Pass Form…
Go around is the typical disc dog set up move. It is used in toss and fetch, games, and freestyle to different effects and flavors. This move is not a…
Go around is the typical disc dog set up move. It is used in toss and fetch, games, and freestyle to different effects and flavors. This move is not as simple or as rigid as it may seem though... Flatwork can be used to alter the execution of the skill and create flexible and interesting Team Movement. Ron & Epic lay out some of the details below.
The Go Around behavior is used to set up timing for the team to get together to do a move. If the Go Around behavior is always used to create the same situation and timing it will always be the same, for good or for ill.
Using the Go Around in the same manner every time will create a pattern trained understanding and performance of the skill. While this is good for toss and fetch and may be useful in a Zig Zag, it can easily become a problem or an impediment towards purposing the skill towards another application.
If you are not a fan of how your dog goes around, whether the dog pressures you too much or the dog goes out too wide, then you should look at what you always do and whether or not that is a patterned trained expression of the behavior. Odds are it is, and regardless, the behavior can be shaped and altered using reward placement and dog training and doing things differently with a purpose and an eye towards shaping the behavior.
Contraction and Expansion of the Flank on the Go Around
In the video there are 3 expressions of the Go Around behavior being demonstrated and exercised: a neutral or natural Go Around, Expanding the flank, and Contracting the Flank.
The neutral expression of the Go Around is the first 2 reps and serves as an example of what the dog does naturally without input from the handler. You can see that Eppie leaves the handler about 1 yard away and slides out to the front a couple yards.
In the 3rd and 4th reps I push Eppie out using a verbal "Get Out" and physical flatwork cue of stepping out in the direction I want the dog to move and he bounces out to 3-4 yards for a much wider and softer Go Around behavior. This is Expanding the Flank.
The last two reps of the clockwise Go Around is a purposeful contraction of the flank. I step away from the dog with my right foot in the direction I will be throwing and pull Eppie in real close on both the around and in terms of distance out front of the handler.
This is repeated in the Counter Clock direction to similar effect.
Variation, Examples, and Non-Examples
The reason Eppie can do this is not because he is a "Border Collie", he's not, well half of him is not...
The reason we can do this (and I do stress the we part) is that we work a variety of Go Around variations and I present both examples and non-examples of each skill while doing focused training.
Performing a variety of variations of a skill is self explanatory. Providing examples and non-examples is not quite so clear or cut and dry.
For instance, while shaping and reinforcing a "Get Out", or Expanding the Flank, I will throw in a rep or two of a regular Go Around or purposefully Contract the Flank on one of the reps to provide a non-example within our work.
Providing non-examples is important to escaping the false understanding of pattern training and helps to compare and contrast the various varieties of the skill that can be performed. Comparison and contrast requires a non-example and is a powerful tool for training and learning.
Give it a shot...
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