Interior Flatwork | Flanking Set Up Moves | Part 2
Out to the side of the handler is the Flank. If the dog is out to the handler's right or left the dog is on Flank. If the dog is moving with the... to Thru – In and Out – and Flank to Rut – In and Out. In Part 2 we examine Complex Set Up Moves and Scooting and backing up from the Flank. Scoots Happen From Front Position
The standard Scoot
A Scoot is a Set Up Move where the dog scoots backwards between the handler’s legs. It’s a really clever Set Up Move, the image of your dog spinning around and shimmying backwards... Set Up Move starts in Front
Front is a stable position directly in front of the handler. Front is an traditional obedience skill. Usually your dog sits in this position, but standing is often acceptable as well, especially in... position with the dog turning away from the handler and then backing up through the handler’s legs – front to back – winding up behind the handler.
The handler either turns around to face the dog or the dog fires forward to one side or the other to meet the handler for the next move. This is a sweet set up move, it creates a rewind or glitch kind of effect. It softens up the crashing Linear Retrieve and provides an interesting visual effect to this standard disc dog freestyle approach.
Like most of these Set Up Moves
Set Up Moves are tricks that are used to establish timing and position in disc dog freestyle. Traditional tricks include: Around, Through, Backwards Through, and Scoot, but any or all of your tricks,..., this behavior has many names: Scoot, Parking, and Home to name a few.
Scoot can happen from the flank, and also has an In and Out component, but we are going to skip that expression of the Set Up Move as it’s a bit tough to talk about and not the most useful for sequencing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really cool, but it opens up a can of worms that is beyond the scope of this training series.
Pro Tip: As the dog scoots through, look in the direction you want the dog to finish.
If you look left, the dog will finish the Scoot on your left. If you look right, the dog will slide to your right.
Flank to Scoot – Get Back
A Scoot from Heel or Side position is a trick we call Get Back. It is a bit more dynamic than the standard Scoot behavior. It starts from Heel or Side position and slides back and through the legs from both front to back and side to side. It’s kind of a diagonal move. This less aggressive angle creates a faster and cleaner hook up between dog and handler because neither teammate needs to turn all the way around.
Another way to think of this, positionally, is scooting from the flank. Heel and Side
Heel position is the same as in obedience, with your dog standing immediately to the left and side has the dog on the right. All obedience positions are helpful in the game of... position can be seen as Clock and Counter flanks respectively. These standard dog training positions are the base level flank position. Heel, dog on the handler’s left, is the most basic expression of a clockwise flank and Side, the dog on the right is the essence of Counter.
Eppie and I tend to work from Heel position, as it is the more standard position, although he has been taught both. Most handlers will find Heel to be the easier of the two as well. But do understand that both directions are possible.
Pro Tip: Turn the dog’s head out and away from your body to set the dog’s line for backing up between your legs.
Turn the dog’s head out and away from your body to create the line and step and turn to set your body to match the dog’s line.
On In & Out
Just like the Thru, Rut and flipping behaviors, Get Back can go In or Out. Just like those other behaviors these directions are about completing or breaking the flank: In continues on the current flank and Out goes against the grain or breaks the flank.
The difference is that the In and Out are defined by the entry into the skill, not the exit or the directional change that happens mid skill. This is super funky, and I’m almost sorry that I’m bringing it up. Just know that you can go both ways and you can call them whatever you want.
Flip to Get Back
Flips resolve into a flank. There is always a flank. Reading your dog’s landing on a flip, and working the appropriate Get Back for that flank can yield amazing sequencing results. Check out this piece on Reading the dog’s release from our Sequence Building class: https://pvybe.com/digital-dojo/sequence-building/modules/trick-as-set-up-move/lessons/read-the-release/
Rebound to Get Back
A Reverse Vault
Essentially a flip off of a part of the handler's body, the Reverse Vault is a vault that stays on one side of the handler. If the dog starts the trick in front... or a Rebound is just a flip off of the handler. Read
In Play+, "Read Release" refers to the handler's observation and interpretation of the dog's behavior following the completion of an action or behavior. the flank of the landing and bust out the appropriate Get Back move. This is also a super slick Set Up Move with creative glitchy flow.
Counter the Flank of a Thru with a Spin or Twist
Thru behaviors have a flank. We talked about In and Out in Part 1. We also mentioned that Thrus have a flank – you can go through clockwise or go through counter clock.
Spinning and twisting in front of the handler is a standard Set Up Move. For us, Clock is Spin and Counter is Twist.
The flank of the Thru behavior can be countered with a Twist or a Spin in the opposite direction. This is a very useful and flashy set up move. It creates a straight line approach from the normally arcing Thru Set Up Move.
For me and my dogs, a Thru n Twist is a clockwise Thru to Counter Clock Twist. A Thru n Spin is a Counter Thru to a Clockwise Spin. That is what you will see on the video, call them what you want.
This was also covered in a recent piece on Complex Set Up Moves.
Change Flanks with Rut n Twist or Rut n Spin
A Backwards Thru, aka: Rut, has a flank as well. You have a clockwise Backwards Thru and a counter clock version. Use the opposite direction spin or twist
Spins and Twists are tricks where the dog spins 360 degrees in a clockwise or counter clockwise fashion. Spin is clockwise and Twist is counter clockwise so it is important to have a... to counter the flank and freeze the dog.
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