Novice Optional Weave Workshop Sequences

25 Oct 2023Steve Schwarz

I’m sharing two AKC-ish novice seminar sequences I used at a recent evening workshop along with some notes on handling them. Not all the participants had solid weaves so I used a long jump. If you don’t have a long jump you can use a double or triple jump or there is room for a full set of weaves (move them closer to the edge of the ring for a little more room on the approach - see this masters setup for where to put the weaves).

Setup

Since AKC judges sometimes create Novice course by removing obstacles from Open/Excellent courses I put generous distances between obstacles. I also wanted to encourage the handlers to get a feel for moving with some urgency. It was great to see a couple teams really pick up their pace and have fun! You could definitely shrink this down to fit in a smaller space.

Skills

These sequences let you work on jump wraps, 270s, Pin Wheels, Serpentines, and, of course, I had teams handle using all the crosses!

Sequences

Both sequences start with a jump wrap with the dog facing away from the second obstacle. This is a “thing” that teams will encounter, though not likely in Novice. I wanted to give them a chance to work on it. We also got to discuss which direction to wrap the dog to give them the best line to the next obstacle.

Sequence 1

Handling notes:

Play with wrapping the dog to the left or right of the first jump.
Can you get down the line so you can Blind Cross jump 3 ahead of your dog?
Rear Cross on the flat on the landing of jump 6? Blind Cross?
Can you turn your dog away from you with a Rear Cross wrap on jump 8?
Handle 11-14 on both sides of jumps 13-14?
Blind Cross 12-13?
Send to 12 and “Serp” 13-14?

Sequence 2

Handling notes:

This was a fun runner to end the evening.
I thought turning the dog right at 1 gave the best line for 2-3.
Most dogs Rear Cross on the flat 10-11.
Control the dog’s path 14-15 and then blind cross 15-16?
Blind Cross 14-15 to keep 5 out of the picture and put the dog on left to the end?

Let me know if you tried these sequences and how they worked for you and your dog!

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