This blog is about how to teach your Bergamasco Shepherd to jump for agility. Often we are asked, “How many jumps is best to begin with?” You can never have too many single jumps to practice agility. One suitable starting point is 4 jumps. This is the fewest number of jumps recommended.
How to Teach Your Bergamasco Shepherd jumping: Begin with Four
You can teach a Bergamasco Shepherd a variety of skills, drills, and exercises with 4 jumps. 4 jumps will allow you to work on a short jump chute or jump grid. You can position a “box” with your jumps and work on 270 degree jumps, collection, and handling. You can teach your Bergamasco Shepherd jumping left and right. You can be out of the box and send your Bergamasco Shepherd or you can handle from within the box. Your jumps could be setup in a lateral line, so you can practice threadles and serpentines.
Teach the Bergamasco Shepherd 8 Jumps
Take the next logical step and work on 8 jumps. Now you can setup 2 boxes with 1 introductory jump. You’ve now multiplied your routines that you can work on with your Bergamasco Shepherd. Your jump grids can be of typical size and number of jumps. You can even position your jumps in a circle with the jump bars normal to the circle or on the perimeter of the circle. This pattern also allows you to train a variety of skills.
Teach a Bergamasco Shepherd Double and Triple Jumps
The next consideration is a double jump and a triple jump. You can set two or three single jumps together to make your expanded jump, but having double and triple jumps in your course work is especially beneficial to work on. We’ve seen several Bergamasco Shepherds run a flawless course and the final obstacle is a triple and the Bergamasco Shepherd is not equipped for it, and bang, down goes the bar.
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Bergamasco Shepherds.Was this post helpful? If so, please take a minute to Tweet and Share below on Facebook. I would also love to know your thoughts so leave me a comment 🙂
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