climbing versus jumping training - Page 2

Going back to the original point I manage the issue with two commands, i.e, for the Hurdle when there is NO touching I use the word JUMP, and for the Palisade or A-Frame where touching is unvoidable I use the word OVER. Over time this emphasises the diffference in exercises and helps the dog to achive what you want from it.

Ronin

thanks for the great tips, actually making some progress, involved letting the dog put some hurt on himself, inital training was on home made plastic (PVC) pipe jumps which he had no respect for, built a solid wood jump and that squared him up a bit, dam dog actually jumps like a stag as oppossed to charging down the jumps like a steeple-chaser, i knew he could excell in this area.

BTW the placement of the ground line DID seem to make a difference, amazing what you can learn, so 99% trainer error promoted his poor form....live and learn, thanks a bunch all.

SS i did not think the cavaletti were for jumping over? that is like a bounce, i thought the idea was to walk/trot over with a constant distance between each one - the idea the dog should trot thru them without jumping or breaking a normal  stride and not jump them, as in teaches independence of limb action for want of a better phrase???

which would not be A-B...A-B... it would be a-b-c-d-e...

I don't use different commands myself and it stays pretty clear to my dog.  It's context, she knows when she's jumping and she knows when there is a wall, but I do think 2 different commands is a way to help keep it more clear. But I've always used "hop" for the hurdle and the a-frame without trouble, so when I did the pallisade I saw no reason to change it.

I have seen the cavaleti (SP?) used.  I don't.  I'll use a string of jumps all evenly spaced and low to get a nice flowing jump, then raise them and eventually vary the heights.  Just cheap PVC varying from 6 inches to 2 feet and about 5-6 in a row to get a nice rhythym in jumping and teach awareness.  Then move to a wooden jump.  That's for a dog that doesn't naturally jump well for sport.  I've had some that would go thru a wooden jump rather than over if they saw a ball.  They'd forget what they were doing.  Touch pads and the lower repitious jumps allowed for nice easy teaching that translated to a much easier time with the meter hurdle.  

If a dog appears to be very aware and thoughtful in its jumping I just work the jump with touch pads and don't reward for a touched jump at any height.  By the time we're full height it's not an issue.  Then we move to pallisade, though they've already done the aframe at this point, but the technique for the dog is different.