Besides looking very cool, the serpentine maneuver is a great way to create very tight turns, with the added benefit of preventing off courses. Take a look at the sequence below:
Without the serpentine, most dogs will head toward the tunnel after jump #2. Even if the dog doesn’t actually take the tunnel, a wide turn after jump #2 will create a bad approach to jump #3 and some dogs may even turn toward the off course dummy jump instead of turning toward the tunnel after jump #3. The serpentine kills two birds with one stone, tightening your turn at jump #2 and eliminating the tunnel trap.
Well done! It’s a handy move to have for a sequence like this.
Oh, the suspense!
I tried clicking on my youtube link above, and it said the video was “currently unavailable”. Dunno why. So here it is again. See if this works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSuC9IUTnp8
SF
Great drill! My only concern was that if my dog failed to read the serp cue, or if I was late in giving it, then she would be driving toward a tunnel entrance in extension with me on a collision course between her and said tunnel entrance. Failure is not an option! (At least, not a pretty one…) But I have worked the serp drills previously posted here at Bad Dog Agility, so I gave it a go.
Will I get to serp position in time? Will Gris and Gitchi read the cue and turn tight? WILL Susan’s knees survive this extreme serp??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSuC9IUTnp8
Susan Fraser, with Gris-Gris and Gitchi