Footwork...help please

I seriously fail at footwork. Period. I would very much like to try our hand at Rally and OB this summer but if I can't get my feet to do what they are supposed to it won't happen. I confuse Traveler and myself and it's just pathetic.

Does anyone have any sites that nicely dumb down what your feet are supposed to do when?

No sites that I have found (not saying they aren't out there though) But practice with out your dog.

Get someone to call a pattern and practice walking it. Focus just on you, then add teh dog

The problem is I can't figure out what they are supposed to do to practise or I would be doing it all the time when out and about

Double post.. yet edited to be the next post ahahahha

Well for obedience practice walking in straight lines. Don't turn till the judge (person) says turn. Even if that means walking into a wall lol. About turn means change direction 180 degrees. There are left about turns and right about turns. Turn left would be 90 degrees. There is also slow and fast.

So have someone bark these things out to you. Oh and 'halt'.

Set up two pylons (look up how far apart) and practice walking a figure 8 pattern. You want to start like this


(pylon)Stupid formatting not letting me just put spaces(pylon)
ever more spaces............../\ -this is you



Make sure you leave a wide enough birth going left for your dog.

YouTube - Rally Footwork Part 1 -
YouTube - Rally Footwork Part 2

This is exactly what my trainer has me do, she takes the dog away from me and makes me walk the patterns. I'm the worst ever!

Its sad really, I have to spit gum out and everything. It has been 6 months and I'm finally learning to step off with my left foot. Now all our stays are shot because the brain can't process stepping off with my right.
I think she needs to start tossing me reeces peanut butter cups or something LOL!

well step off with your left foot if you want your dog to go with you. Step off with your right foot if you are leaving your dog. Dekka for a while actually would stay with out the cue if I stepped off with my right foot.

Not so much anymore though.

Not a bad idea. You can research TAGteaching, it's sort of like clicker training for humans. The basic ideas are that you have ONE criteria to focus on at a time... Such as, step off with your right foot after cueing stay. Then you have somebody watching you, and they can reinforce you (even just saying, "Good job!") when you do it right. Eventually, just like shaping a dog to do a behavior, your muscle memory will kick in and you won't have to think about it as much anymore.

If you can get a human to walk next to you as your "dog" it might help...some people I've seen are able to generalize better when they have someone walking next to them, and it prevents confusing the dog while they build that muscle memory.

As for the footwork I'm not entirely sure what you mean...what the different turns and such look like as a whole ie. an about turn is a 180 to the right...and about U turn is a 180 to the left...a Schutzhund turn...etc. (all rally btw...in obedience --AKC/UKC anyway -- the only 180 you do is an about turn to the right)? Or are you talking more what to do with your feet while executing right 90s, left 90s, about turns, etc.?

Thanks a ton CP! Will watch those now

This.