AG270: Weave Pole Training: Not Your Average 2x2s!

It’s time to add more poles! Even though we’ve been teaching the dog to find the gap with different entries in mind, when adding the poles, I think of that gap as the last gap, poles 11 & 12.

This podcast is an excellent resource for learning all about backchaining and how/why it works so well! https://hannahbranigan.dog/podcast/95/

When you are ready to add poles, set up your training area like in the image below.  We want the dog to see that there is more than 1 gap available now. 

Begin with the dog in the middle of the two gaps. So, that you are practicing the motion of going from one gap to another. The fact that you have already worked entries with your dog in this location is a tremendous help to them, because this is position 8, and they can hit the entry from position 8 no matter where you are! Yay! 

I am going to stand at my middle dot as my starting point. I am going to ask my dog for the second gap 3xs. This should be very fluent, since you have already done so much “find the gap” work in previous phases. 

Then, I am going to place my dog behind the first gap, in position 8, and stand in the same position (middle dot). I am going to cue “weave” for each gap, for two-three repetitions, but I am only clicking for the second gap. The opportunity to weave the second gap reinforces the first gap, and the reinforcement history your dog has for that second gap is SO magnetic, that it is VERY likely to happen easily. 

On the third repetition, I am not going to cue the second gap, I am going to let backchaining do the work for me! This way, I do not have to say “weave weave weave” for my dog’s entire performance. I am letting them learn that “weave” = keep weaving until no gaps remain, or you hear a click (or other marker). 

If this goes well, move to the other side & repeat. You can repeat “weave - weave” once or twice, just to help the dog with the change, but you should easily have your dog going through both gaps, without stopping and looking at you between gaps.

So, now you have a chain! We will make sure your dog is comfortable with movement before closing the gap. From each of the starting positions outlined in the images below, try standing still and just cueing weave, walking after cueing weave, jogging after cueing weave, and running after cueing weave.

If that goes well, move poles 9&10 one foot closer to poles 11&12. Change your dog’s starting position and repeat. For example: 

You should include standing still, walking, jogging, and running in your training sessions. You do not have to complete every entry/combination each time you move the poles. The goal is to not offer the dog the exact same entry and handler position during every session. Our goal is to offer variety and keep good notes: if there is an entry/position combination that keeps coming up as a struggle for your dog, then we can pull that particular entry out and train it separately from combining poles. 

Work a different set of entries from the previous lectures 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, and 3.3 (as laid out in the images above) as you move the poles closer together. This ensures that the dog is getting to practice all different types of angles into the poles and is able to learn what it takes to “hang on” to any entry. 

You don’t have to follow my images - they are just examples. You have your notes of which entries you have trained, so you should follow those. These are your weaves afterall! 

Also, when you are planning your repetitions, remember that some dogs will find the handler running the most difficult and some dogs will find the handler standing still the most difficult. Same for the handler being behind or ahead of the weaves. That’s important to know when you are ping-ponging between easier and harder repetitions.