OB305 Fronts & Finishes: From Foundations to Fabulous!

There are lots of fronts and finishes in obedience! Fronts and finishes are incredibly complicated. They consist of many pieces that all need to come together. Because they are so difficult, the error ratio tends to be high. Which leads to frustration for both dog and handler. It’s not uncommon for the dog’s return to the trainer to become slower and slower in anticipation of the dreaded front or finish. In this class we are going to break fronts and finishes down into small components. We will teach each piece thoroughly before moving on to the next step. Breaking them down this way gives the dogs a solid understanding of the behaviors. The dog’s success ratio is high which builds success. We will start by teaching the basics of front and finish. Then I will teach fun games to keep the dog animated and build a love for fronts and finishes. We will look at how to add them to the exercises in a way that maintains enthusiasm and accuracy. We will look at how to teach our dogs to work through distractions and pressure in a fun way. We will develop a communication system that will clearly explain to the dog how to fix errors. I will talk about the role of props and how to wean off them. This is a comprehensive course that covers fronts and finishes from basics through advanced skills. Whether you are just starting out, looking to fill some holes, refine the behaviors or work on advanced skills, this course will have material for you. Most importantly, my goal is to teach you how to make fronts & finishes fun behaviors that become inherently self-reinforcing for the dog.

Course Details

Teaching Approach

This class will have written and video lectures each week. Each lecture will be broken down into small pieces. There will be video examples with instructions and demonstrating all exercises. Because everyone has their own learning style, I encourage students to move at their own pace. For the first few weeks, students can work in a smaller space. Later in the class, students will need access to a space large enough where they can perform a full exercise that incorporates a front. It does not need to be a formal “ring’. Students will need to move around with their dog. I am happy to work with you to modify the training to your abilities. A few of the games will require quick physical movement from the trainer for short periods and distances. I understand that each dog and handler are unique and will do my best to accommodate their needs.

Syllabus

WEEK ONE:

Errors Deconstructed
Fronts:
- Focal point
- To close/to far
- Rotation
- Lateral
Finishes:
- Lack of focus
- Butt in
- Butt out
- To far/to close
- Leaning
Developing a Communication System.
Finish – around or left or flip?
Handling
- Body awareness
- Delivery of reinforcer
Reward Delivery
Focal point
Props
- Platform
- Sticks
- Chute
Shaping
Core strength
- Sit posture
- Stand posture
- Down posture
- Front feet up head up
Perch work
- Front & Heel
- Around
- Stop in Front
Hand touches for drive
Teaching Bounce to square up front feet
Foot target
Baseline video

WEEK TWO

Core strength
- Platform for postures
It’s A Trick!
Off the perch
- Around Front and finish
- Lateral front
Off perch stop in position for Front and Finish In motion
Finish Signal
Finish Motor Pattern
- Around
- Left
Teaching offering
Bounce/touch pad in front and finish

WEEK THREE

Core strength
- Disc for postures
Off perch stop in position for Front and Finish Up close Fronts handler stationary
- Rotation
- Lateral
Fronts Add distance
- Lateral
- Rotation
Find Heel Game
Errors!

WEEK FOUR

Front:
Cookie Toss game
Around the clock
Go out
Small adjustments
Backchain
Into pressure
Front & Finish: Handling anticipation
Finish: Pivot left
Creating drive on return:
- Cookie toss through legs
- Go through
- Target
Training for meals
Weaning off the prop

WEEK FIVE

Adding a retrieve item
Backchaining with retrieve item
Backchaining fronts individual exercises
Fronts adding distance
Fronts adding distractions
Finish adding distractions
Alternating drive games with front
- Front reward must equal drive reward
Fronts and Finishes into barriers
Fronts after jumping

WEEK SIX

Offering front & finish
Fronts with judge pressure
Finishes with judge pressure
Fronts – Straightening hind end BEFORE they get to front

Prerequisites & Supplies

No Prereqs. Only supply needed is a perch.

Sample Lecture

Handling. Dogs are looking for physical cues. If we change the picture, our dogs will be confused. We want to give them the exact same picture with the exact same cue every single time in training and in the ring. Dogs are also very pressure sensitive. Humans typically do NOT have good body awareness. That is something that’s incredibly important to develop. Your body will influence your dog’s front and finish. If your dog makes a mistake that you caused..well, then, that’s on you. But the problem is that most people blame the dog for the error. You must ALWAYS be aware of what your body is doing.

The source of the reinforcer and where you deliver it will also have a strong impact on your dog. Dogs will always head towards the source of food. If your food is always in your left pocket, your dog’s head will start to go towards that pocket. I typically prefer the source of the food to be at the focal point. If that’s not an option, you must place it strategically so that it doesn’t adversely affect your dog. How you reinforce is also important. If you always feed with your right hand, your dog will head in that direction. If you always feed your dog out of position, that’s where your dog will end up.

Body awareness front and finish:

Delivery of reinforcer:

Front:

Finish: This video talks about rewarding for heeling, but it’s the same for a finish…you want to maintain heel position. Feed with your left hand touching your body in line with the seam of your pants.

Perch Work. Perch work is fun! The dogs love it. It’s a great way to teach foundation work. Fronts can be incredibly nitpicky. And that’s SUPER demotivating. We want the dogs to LOVE fronts and finishes!! We want them to think they are an incredibly fun trick. And that can happen. It’s up to you. Teach each foundation piece will before moving on. That will build confidence. And confidence is incredibly reinforcing. Push through the steps to quickly, and your dog will get confused…and that’s not motivating. Your dog may have a history with the perch. They may be used to different activities on the perch than what we are doing in this course. That’s fine. Initially, it might cause a little confusion. But we can help them work through that. The exercises I’m detailing are very specific. Each step builds on the prior step. Each step is created to TEACH the dog every piece of front and finish. A highly recommend you follow the steps the way I outline them. It might not make sense at the very beginning, but I promise you it will later on.

First we are going to teach the dog:

(a) to move their HIND END in front and heel position. Dogs are often weaker in one direction than the other. That’s fine. Just work the weaker side more. Remember, you are TEACHING. Reward SMALL iterations early on. Don’t expect your dog to give you large movements if they’ve never done this before, and

(b) teach them a communication system. This is going to be incredibly important later on. Pick a cue and use it consistently. Don’t vary it or change it. That will be confusing. Dogs WANT to be right. They are always looking for information. Especially physical cues. If we give them clear information consistently, they will learn more quickly and be confident.

Instructors

Petra Ford

I have been training and competing for several decades in a variety of sports including Hunt Tests, Field Trials, Nosework, Agility and Rally. My first love has always been competition obedience. I have been fortunate to win the AKC National Obedience Championship four times with three different dogs. (Click here for full bio and to view Petra's upcoming courses)...

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