Description
Most of us spend lots of time lavishly reinforcing good contact zone performances and start-line stays, but we don’t think about reinforcing and building value for the one thing the agility dog will do more of in his career than anything else—Jump!
Every course your dog will ever run is primarily made up of jumps; yet, is it the least taught and least understood skill set in agility. Because a dog can jump doesn’t mean that he knows how to jump. As handlers we tend to focus on practicing drills that are designed to perfect the dog’s understanding of our positional cues and handling maneuvers, and we neglect to offer the dog an opportunity to hone the skills needed to master each component involved in jumping: path, distance, appropriate takeoff place, weight transfer, angle of elevation, and height. Gridwork gives the dog an opportunity to focus on each of these components so that he can develop understanding of the task. Gridwork also gives us a training methodology for building value into the jumps, which ultimately affects how the jumps are perceived by the dog.
When a dog understands how to jump, he will run more smoothly, efficiently, and decisively; therefore, he will be faster and less prone to injury.
This 4-DVD set includes all of the jumping grids taught by Susan in her 3-day “Foundation Jumping” seminars. As a bonus, it also includes a 25-page PDF file with notes and diagrams for all of the exercises on the DVD as well as PDF files for seven articles that Susan has written for Clean Run magazine.
About the Author
Susan Salo has over 35 years of experience in the world of show jumping as both a competitor and a professional trainer. She has ridden for many years with some of the nation’s most noted horsemen including Gene Lewis, George Morris, and the late Jimmy Williams. Susan brings her extensive experience of combining speed with jumping to the sport of dog agility. She offers a unique perspective and knowledge of the mechanical aspects of jumping which, when properly applied, can create muscle memory and balance for the canine athlete. Not to be confused with handling seminars, her lessons and workshops focus entirely on the dog—building better jumping skills and instilling more confidence and speed. Training with Susan is an opportunity to develop your “eye” and witness dogs learning about balance, striding, and scope until jumping becomes effortless for them.
