Masters Challenge Inspired Exercises

We recently encountered the following sequence in a USDAA Masters Challenge course.

Having a bypass cue is very handy in these situations. In addition, this sequence adds some complexity by requiring a tunnel discrimination immediately after the off course trap. We tried this sequence both with and without the off course jump and to both ends of the tunnel. In our handling (with dog on right), the far end of the tunnel was handled as a straight line (once you’ve avoided the off course) and the near tunnel entrance was handled as a threadle.

By working all of these options, you can actively minimize patterning by the dog, ensuring their response is to your handling cues alone.

We also practiced the bypass and the tunnel discrimination with the dog on our left by executing a Front Cross after jump #2. This made the red jump (as seen in the video) the off course trap and (in our handling) made the near tunnel entrance the straight line, and the far tunnel entrance becomes the threadle. Lastly, we proofed our dog’s understand by taking the red jump for the final repetition.