- Do you have the kind of dog with tons of energy,
who will just pick up a toy and run around for no reason?
I got a thing!
What if I told you you could burn off all of that energy
while teaching your dog it's fun to listen?
Lately, we've been posting lots of puppy videos
on the channel but our aim on the channel
is to get you outside and doing more with your dog.
Whether they're 10 weeks old or 10 years old.
So, today I'm going to show you how to teach your dog
to jump over something.
I'm Ken Steepe and welcome back to McCann Dogs.
(dog barking)
So our helper today is Deegan the Black Lab
and we have the luxury of using some jumps
in our big, beautiful agility arena,
but at home you can use anything to teach your dog
to jump over something.
It could be something as simple as a couple of buckets
and a broomstick, but these skills
that you're gonna learn today can be applied
to nearly anything.
Now, before you do any of these exercises with your dog,
make sure that they're healthy and fit enough
to be doing something so active
and be sure you're not jumping them
over anything higher than their knee.
Another thing to keep in mind is with young puppies,
young puppies have growth plates in their long bones
and you shouldn't be jumping any puppies
whose growth plates aren't closed.
Now the first thing you need to do with your dog
is get them accustomed to whatever the jump is.
Again, we have jump standards in our agility arena
and I've put the bar down at six inches,
which is really low, even for Deegan,
and we need to lure our dog over the jump
so that they get accustomed to going over it.
Now, I'm gonna use a toy with Deegan.
You can use food with your dog
and food would also work for Deegan,
but I have a toy available, so let's practice with that.
So, first thing's first, I'm gonna go to the other side
of the jump and then I'm just gonna lure Deegan over,
ask her to follow the toy, come on, Deegan,
and get her to jump over
and then I can reward her with a game of tug.
Okay, good girl!
Get that thing.
Now, once our dog is comfortable with going over the jump,
we need to start to teach them to jump safely.
Now, as we were luring Deegan over the jump,
she was looking up at me, her head was held pretty high.
We need her to start looking straight forward
so that she can see her landing
and a great way to do that is by pre-placing her reward.
So, I've got this kong toy that I know she really loves
and I'm gonna take hold of her collar.
Now I'm gonna get up and I'm gonna get her really excited
about this toy and then I'm gonna toss it
to the other side of the jump.
Now I'm gonna release her.
Okay, go jump.
Good girl, and she can get her toy.
Good job, buddy!
We're also gonna practice sending her on both sides.
Ready, set, go get it!
Good girl, nice job!
And once you've taught your dog to wait,
you can actually step to the other side of the jump
and recall them to you.
I'm actually gonna let go of this toy
so that Deegan jumps straight.
Okay.
Good girl.
And don't forget to practice it on both sides.
Okay, jump.
Good girl.
Now, once your dog's jumping reliably
you can start to add a cue and a hand signal to it.
Now, some people use jump or over or hop or whatever.
I'm gonna use jump with Deegan,
but I'm also going to add a hand signal to it.
So, when I send her over,
I'm gonna take the hand that's closest to her
and I'm also gonna step with that same leg
to really help her know that I wanna send her over the jump
and you can see how she naturally takes the jump there.
Now, I don't wanna be dependent on holding a piece of food
or holding a toy in my hand as I'm signaling Deegan
over the jumps and you don't want to either.
As I cue her, as I signal her with my dog side hand,
I'm actually gonna toss her toy out with my right hand.
You can do this with your dog
if you're using food or toy or whatever,
but this breaks that dependence
of your dog seeing that toy.
Ready, go jump.
Good girl!
Now part of this exercise is doing something with your dog.
So, after you've sent them out over that jump
make sure you do some with 'em.
Call them back, maybe have a game of tug,
make it really fun for both of you.
Ready, Deeg?
Go jump.
Get it, good girl, Deegan!
Come on, buddy!
That's a good girl, very nice!
Way to go, good girl!
Tug, tug, tug, tug, tug, tug.
Now, if you're looking to increase the difficulty
a bit with your dog, then you can try
some off angle jumping.
Here, I'll show you.
Here, Deeg, ready?
Are you set, go jump!
Good girl, nice job!
Come here, Deeg.
That's a good girl, way to go, buddy!
Alright, good girl.
Now, if this is your first time on the channel
and you wanna have a well behaved four legged family member,
or you want to get out and do more with your dog,
we have tons of videos on the channel
that will help you do that.
So make sure you hit that subscribe button
and make sure you hit the bell notification icon
so you don't miss an episode.
On that note, I'm Ken, this is my black lab, Deegan,
happy training, bye for now!