Gambling

Kili and I recently spent a bit of extra time working on our "switch" command. This is useful during a class in AAC agility called Gamble. In this class you run a 40 second opening segment that can be any order of obstacles that you choose. Each obstacle has a designated point value and there is a minimum number of points needed to qualify. Following the opening you must complete the main gamble, which is a short sequence (depending on the level it is 3-5 obstacles usually) that the dog must complete while the handler stands behind a line. The distance varies depending on the level the dog is at, increasing as you move up. Kili currently just needs 1 more Advanced qualifying score to move up to Masters (the top level).

For us a "switch" tells Kili to turn away from me. We're still working on speed to respond. She generally does switch but she tends to make wider turns and has to think about it for a few seconds. This is to be expected as she's a young dog and this is a newer skill for her. In time it should become almost instantaneous for her to turn away from me when I give the command.