green green team there.... I feel lucky I got into my trainer's class and she is the best teacher one could ask for, she reads dogs, knows exactly what your problem is, never blames the dog and tells you straight what you have done and what you need to do...
our class starts with everyone doing one run and then we go over the course, my trainer starts with questions "what is your dog seeing?" What are your body motion? What are your cues here?... then she discusses options for more difficult places why they'll work or don't work...
Trainer states she uses what works in a way of which system... Primary cue is body motion which generally already present in dog/ human relationship, second is directional commands/ trained/ and third is verbal command/ trained/. Fundamental is recall to side, from anywhere, any position dog has to come to side. Non turning obstacles like DW taught for dog to be very independent, i.e no matter what handler position is or body movement, dog has to start and finish obstacle regardless of handler moves... turning obstacles like jumps- rely on handler body motion/ trained cues/ position, take whatever is in front unless directed otherwise...
Generally it reminds me of dancing, motion of the partner tells me what to do even if I do not have pre learned steps...
another strength that I could actually think ... hmm how do I show my dog I want this or that... ok, here is tough one, I better build eye contact in this spot with dog name/ verbal/ arm movement/ directional/ and if needed obstacle name/ verbal/... and here is the simple one... run, dog will take whatever obstacles in his path, then FC, change directions etc...oh and here I need to make sure dog decel and does post turn so I will stay on take off side and rotate my body...
am sure glad I did all those years of dance lessons
