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Training
the Pause Table - Part 6
Chaining the
Table Training
By MS du Toit
You
have now gone through all the different steps of training Fido how to
perform the pause table in agility. You have trained him to run with enthusiasm to the table
and to jump onto it. You have trained him to do a very fast sit or down,
whichever the judge would decide on. You have trained Fido to perform a
very secure stay,
even when you run away from him. And you have also trained him to break
his secure stay the moment you give a release
command. But you have trained these steps
separately and it is now time to combine them through a process called
chaining.
Because you have taken the time and laying a solid foundation by
training each step thoroughly, you should experience no difficulty
chaining them up. I would suggest that you use back chaining, but you
actually start in the middle. Take your dog to the agility course where
you must have three obstacles arranged in a triangle. You can have a
jump, the table and the tunnel. Let your dog jump on the table and let
him sit or down on the table. Give the stay command, move away to the
tunnel with your hand outstretched, wait a few seconds and release.
Click as he jumps off, let him run through the tunnel and give a treat.
Repeat many times. Sometimes you should wait at the jump. You should
also vary the duration, sometimes you should wait five seconds,
sometimes ten seconds and sometimes even longer. Also remember to call
him to different sides, not just always to your left or right side.
At another training session you should send the dog to the table and as
he jumps on, give the sit or down command. Send him over the jump to
the table or through the tunnel to the table. Click and treat if he
responds. Also give the stay command. Click and treat him on the table
as he stays there. You have now reduced the four steps into two steps.
Now at last you can combine these two steps to have only one flowing
sequence. In other words you send him over the jump to the table, give
the sit or down command as he jumps onto the table. As he goes into the
sit or down position, give the stay command. Run to the tunnel to
position yourself there, but do not take your eye off of the dog. Keep
your hand outstretched. Wait a few counts and give your release
command. Click as he jumps off, send him through the tunnel and treat.
If he gets the whole sequence right, throw a party. Praise and give him
a jackpot. Throw the ball and play a bit. Then repeat it one more time
and stop for the day.
If your dog experience difficulty in grasping this whole sequence, you
should back up a few steps and progress slower. Following these step by
step guidelines of training your dog to perform the pause table, you
will end up with a very reliable and confident dog knowing exactly what
is expected of him.
MS du Toit has been training dogs for ten years.
Please visit her Dog
Training Review Page.
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Back to Part 5 of the series: Training
the release from the stay
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