The sport of Big Air is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s getting more media attention and dogs are jumping farther and farther every day. The sport is also bringing out more and more new handlers and dogs. As SportMutt continues to travel the country observing and helping people get involved, we’ve noticed handlers using a technique that is commonly described as “what top handlers do.” Very often we hear “I see the big jumpers use it, so I figured it must be the technique to use.” This technique is commonly known in the industry as ”The Chase.”

First of all, let’s get a good understanding of what this technique is and why it is so common among the top handlers. There are three aspects to a successful Big Air jump: Speed, Lift, and the Ability to Hit the End of the Dock. ”The Chase” is a technique that helps ensure the dog gets that ever elusive Lift. The idea is to set the dog at the start point, the handler stands at the jump point, the handler releases the dog and times the throw so the dog will Chase the object at the moment the dog jumps. The purpose is for the dog to jump up and out after the object, thus getting the Lift. The motivation for the dog is to try and catch the object. It’s that simple.

The sport of Big Air is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s getting more media attention and dogs are jumping farther and farther every day. The sport is also bringing out more and more new handlers and dogs. As SportMutt continues to travel the country observing and helping people get involved, we’ve noticed handlers using a technique that is commonly described as “what top handlers do.” Very often we hear “I see the big jumpers use it, so I figured it must be the technique to use.” This technique is commonly known in the industry as ”The Chase.”

First of all, let’s get a good understanding of what this technique is and why it is so common among the top handlers. There are three aspects to a successful Big Air jump: Speed, Lift, and the Ability to Hit the End of the Dock. ”The Chase” is a technique that helps ensure the dog gets that ever elusive Lift. The idea is to set the dog at the start point, the handler stands at the jump point, the handler releases the dog and times the throw so the dog will Chase the object at the moment the dog jumps. The purpose is for the dog to jump up and out after the object, thus getting the Lift. The motivation for the dog is to try and catch the object. It’s that simple.

SportMutt continues to make strides toward gaining knowledge of what we can do to improve our K9’s performance. Dock Jumping is our number one focus here at SportMutt. With the sport being relatively new and so different than other traditional dog sports, we have learned that we must reach out to other competitors who have knowledge in areas that pertain to specifics of training that we feel benefit our dogs in this sport. A great competitor, a former world-record holder in Extreme Vertical, and a very knowledgeable trainer, Angie Jones has contributed this article for SportMutt.

Basically periodization, also referred to as planned performance training, divides training into phases. The phases are commonly referred to as preparation, competitive, peaking and transition. Each phase of training is designed to enhance a specific training component(s) to prepare the athlete for optimum performance. Such components would include aerobic conditioning, muscular strength and endurance, speed endurance, maximum speed, power and skill. Improvements to these components occur by overloading the muscular, nervous and energy systems of the body. Overload means to apply stress above normal workloads. Or in other words, challenge the athlete’s present physical status. The process of rest/recovery, from the fatigue produced from overloading, allows the body to super-compensate (positively adapts to the stress to a level above what was previously experienced). Optimizing training through the control of this overload/rest/rebuilding cycle is the primary purpose of Periodization.