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I've got a rally trial coming up at the end of March. The signs where the dog spins right, spins left, and where I spin with the dog, always give me a bit of a sinking feeling during trials. My spacial awareness gets lost during trials and I make handler errors. However, I've come up with solutions that have helped me.
Sign #312 Dog Spins Right Forward
In heel position, a right spin turns the dog's head inward toward your body. The right spin brings the dog's NOSE toward your KNEE. Nose to Knee.
Sign #313 Dog Spins Left Forward
In heel position, a left spin turns the dog head outward away from your body. A left spin brings the dog's TAIL toward your KNEE. Tail to Knee.
Keeping that in mind...
Sign #319 Side by Side 360 Right Circle
The dog is turning Nose to Knee. Think, "Knee the dog in the nose." Don't do it, obviously. However, if you think of kneeing the dog in the nose, you'll be moving your left knee in the correct direction when you turn. Dog's nose comes toward your leg, you move your leg towards the nose and circle right.
Sign #320 Side by Side 360 Left Circle
The dog is turning Tail to Knee. Think, "Chase the dog's tail." Tail comes toward your left knee, you chase the dog's tail and circle left.
Sign #321 Dog Circles Right Handler Circles Left
Looks horrible and confusing. It's the 360 version of a Novice left about turn. Dog goes all the way around to the right, do exactly what you would do for a left about turn only the full circle version. That's it. Easy peasy.
Another Hint... During the walkthrough, ask the judge how long a pause is for them. Some judges think half a second is long enough. Others want two seconds. Losing points for handler errors is never any fun.
Hope this helps. Rally on!
Sign #312 Dog Spins Right Forward
In heel position, a right spin turns the dog's head inward toward your body. The right spin brings the dog's NOSE toward your KNEE. Nose to Knee.
Sign #313 Dog Spins Left Forward
In heel position, a left spin turns the dog head outward away from your body. A left spin brings the dog's TAIL toward your KNEE. Tail to Knee.
Keeping that in mind...
Sign #319 Side by Side 360 Right Circle
The dog is turning Nose to Knee. Think, "Knee the dog in the nose." Don't do it, obviously. However, if you think of kneeing the dog in the nose, you'll be moving your left knee in the correct direction when you turn. Dog's nose comes toward your leg, you move your leg towards the nose and circle right.
Sign #320 Side by Side 360 Left Circle
The dog is turning Tail to Knee. Think, "Chase the dog's tail." Tail comes toward your left knee, you chase the dog's tail and circle left.
Sign #321 Dog Circles Right Handler Circles Left
Looks horrible and confusing. It's the 360 version of a Novice left about turn. Dog goes all the way around to the right, do exactly what you would do for a left about turn only the full circle version. That's it. Easy peasy.
Another Hint... During the walkthrough, ask the judge how long a pause is for them. Some judges think half a second is long enough. Others want two seconds. Losing points for handler errors is never any fun.
Hope this helps. Rally on!