2×2 Weave Pole Training 2 DVD Set

Description

What is it about?

Excellence in Weave Pole Training: Phase 2: the long-awaited 2-DVD-disc set, Susan Garrett’s 2×2 Weave Pole Training, 12 Poles in 12 Days.

Say good bye to taking months to teach a dog to weave and enter 12 poles in 12 Days. Yes you read that correctly, 12 poles in just 12 days. This video journal documents how Susan Garrett taught two dogs to weave from start to finish, all in a matter of few days, totaling less than 55 minutes of training time. Not quite believable is it? Especially if in the past you have struggled for months or even years with your own dog’s weave pole performance.

Well believe it.

This 2-disc DVD set will allow you to witness not only how easily Susan trained her own young dog to weave from start to finish, but also how she worked through the 2×2 process with a “borrowed dog” with whom she had no previous experience. This unique instructional format allows the viewer to witness both the possibilities of amazing weave poles in a matter of days and how to work through the normal challenges anyone may encounter while training his or her own dog using the 2×2 method. Step-by-step instruction and methodically laid out demonstrations will show you not only what to do when things go wrong and but also how to push your dog when things go well.

You don’t need a big fancy agility yard to train in either. You can carry your own poles around in your car and training anywhere. Heck, some of my students have even trained 2×2’s in their living room! Just to be certain everyone will have success, the 2-disc dvd set also includes a 15-page workbook for you to print off, that is jammed-packed with helpful hints to guide you through the process while you train.

Don’t wait until you get your “next dog” before you give 2×2’s a try. Get your DVD set now and see for yourself how remarkably easy all of this is. Train the dog you have today and turn him into the dog everyone envies tomorrow. Not only will you be impressed with the results you get from re-training your current agility dog, you will quickly become a 2×2 pro yourself, making the process even easier you when you do get your next puppy.

And as if that isn’t reason enough to order, wait to see what is in store for you on disc two of the 2-Disc set! Games, to help those dogs that carelessly drive 1-3 in the poles, others to help build speed and confidence, plus 39 unique challenges you can throw at your dog to really test his understanding of weave pole entry and exits. Your dog will thank you for making this commitment to his future agility success by ordering your copy of Susan Garrett’s 2×2 Weave Pole Training DVD set today.

Regardless of whether you are a novice agility enthusiast just starting out in the sport, or a seasoned professional giving seminars yourself, this DVD set will change your approach to weave pole training forever!

More about Susan

Every dog Susan Garrett has owned has become a national agility champion. In total her dogs have won two World Championships and 18 National Championships (11 in the United States and 7 in Canada) at 6 different jump heights (8″, 12″, 16″, 22″, 24″, and 26″). Her innovative approach to training has earned her worldwide recognition as a leading educator of dog trainers.

When was it released? 2008

Who produced it? Susan Garrett

Running time – 2 hours, 15 minutes

IN-DEPTH REVIEW

Can a dog be taught to weave 12 poles in just 12 days? That is the question successfully answered by National and World Champion agility trainer Susan Garrett in this exciting DVD, which gives you full insight into her groundbreaking new approach to weave training. Guest reviewer Connie Sellers gives the lowdown…

Anyone who has taught a dog to weave will be aware of the traditional methods: lure, channel and V, but you may not yet have come across 2 x 2. The 2 x 2 differs from all other methods by truly creating value for the first two poles, and proofing every entry before continuing with training.

Susan Garrett recommends that your dog is at least 12 months before attempting this method of training, which is in line with all other methods of weave training. There is however plenty of exercises you can do with your dog before he reaches this age, in the form of body awareness exercises such as ladder walking, wobble cushions and reverse.

Before starting the training, Garrett talks us through her acronym of DASH – desire, accuracy, speed and habitat. These are basically her golden rules for all training, not just weaves. She also explains that she will be using a “borrowed” dog throughout the DVD, so as to better explain this method. Her trainee dog has no prior weave training, nor has she been trained by Garrett. This allows Garrett to demonstrate her technique from scratch and to identify mistakes that can be made along the way.

Garrett starts by building value for the first two poles; she is at first reinforcing the dog with treats, and later moving on to the more exciting reward of the toy being thrown. The two poles are angled at the 8 and 2 clock position, which creates an easy entry through for the dog. She does not lure or guide the dog, not does she encourage with treats; she leaves the dog to work out what it has to do.

The trainee collie picks up the idea quickly, at first being rewarded for just looking at the poles, but soon it must pass from the two poles, making the correct entry. Garrett does briefly demonstrate the first two-pole starting point with another dog, a Poodle type (which is interesting as this dog does not pick it up as quickly). However, she shows that you need to persevere and, above all, not to help dog too much.

This might be an alien concept to some people – we all know the temptation of luring a dog to get the desired behaviour, but this does not allow the dog to learn for himself, or to experience failure. This is called ‘shaping’ your dog, and Garrett makes it clear that this method will work much better if your dog has done some shaping previously. This means that you need to have taught your dog a variety of different tricks and meaningless activities, which have allowed your dog to think for himself, and learn that failure can be OK.

Following her own rule of DASH, H for habitat means that once the dog has got the idea of the two poles, Garratt moves them to a different venue to make sure she has proofed the dog’s learning in a different environment. She then discusses the “reward line” for the dog. Once it has gone through the two poles, the reward must always be presented in the direction the dog finishes going through the poles. Ideally, she wants the toy to be thrown into that area as the dog completes successfully, but this does rely on a good aim and good timing. At this stage, Garrett is not clear as to what you do if your still using treats – I presume you would throw them, maybe in some sort of container.

Now the young collie has mastered the straight entry into the two poles, it’s time to work on the “entry arc”. This is the arc which gives you every possible angle and entry into the weaves. Every entry must be achieved successfully before the dog is ready to move on. Garrett then varies her position in relation to the dog, sometimes hanging back, sometimes running past. This level of proofing is fantastic, and you can see the young dog learning to have no concern as to where the handler is as it negotiates the first two weave poles.

Now that the dog is fully proofed with the first two poles, it’s time to add the next two, or as Garrett refers to it, two sets of two. They are laid out in the 8 and 2 positions, about 15 feet apart. Garrett starts off my rewarding in between the two sets before asking the dog to do both. She then gradually moves the second set closer to the first and keeps rewarding after the first set for at least 25 per cent of the time.

She then rotates the angle of the weave poles to 1 and 7, progressing gradually until the four poles are straight. It’s time to change location again and test out this game in a new environment. Once mastered, Garrett goes back to the “arc of entries” now that the dog is weaving four poles.

After only six days of training the dog can now do four upright poles – I was pretty impressed! Also take note that each individual session for the dog was never longer than about two minutes; Garrett strongly advises that this is the best way to train.

Next, a jump is introduced before the weaves, and then it is moved all around the “arc of entries”. When Garrett is ready to try six poles, she opens all six weaves back up again to make it easy for the dog; however, you can just open the last two if you prefer. Interestingly, at this point Susan is still giving no “weave” command, as she says she does not want to associate a word with an undesired behaviour. She therefore waits until she feels the dog has full understanding, and only then gives the action a verbal cue.

Now it is time to add a second set of six weaves, at first 12 feet away from the first set, with a reward always coming in between the sets. She starts the dog on the second set, before trying the two together. She then moves the two sets closer together, easy entries at first and then goes back to her “arc of entries”.

By day nine, the dog can do 12 poles – wow! She then changes location again, and also changes toy as she does not want the dog to rely on a certain toy to give the correct behaviour. The rest of the DVD goes through how to build drive and improve footwork. At this stage, some errors crop up with this young dog and Garrett shows you how to work through this. She then cranks up the distraction with squeaky toys etc., whilst the dog is weaving, helping to fully proof the dog. She also gives insight into how to get your dog to pace through the weaves with alternate feet which is the most economic way for a dog to weave.

Disc Two is a fun watch; it covers some troubleshooting with different dogs, plus some really challenging entries to attempt once you have worked your dog through the contents of Disc One.

I would recommend watching 2 x 2 even if you are happy with your current method of weave training. I think you may well be converted, or it will make you think about your dog’s understanding of your current method. It really is an exciting development and I believe a step forward in weave training for any dog.

My only concern is that it is not that easy to work through the DVD by yourself. It depends on your own dog training knowledge, and your ability to transfer what you have seen to your own dog. Personally, I am ready watch it again so I can further digest the information before I start teaching the method, which I am thoroughly looking forward to.