Section II. Sign Placement and Where to Perform Exercises When working a course, is it set up so that the exercises are executed on a particular side of the signs? Always with the sign on the left? Or does it matter? A group of us in Columbia MO have started training together and this came up in class last week. Actually several questions came up. There will be courses with signs going not only around the edges but back and forth through the middle. How will these signs be mounted? Will they be at eye level, or on the ground? In our class this week I just laid signs on the floor next to the cones and whether to walk on the left or right WAS a question for us all. However, I later realized my course had been set up far too small, and next week we'll be working with a full course size of 50 x 80 feet, a much larger area. I also discovered that for our class, the Level 1 beginner exercises were a bit too "tame," so I'm going to go ahead and go with Level 2 exercises. We timed ourselves, and the average for the 17 exercise course was a bit over a minute. Wherever possible, the signs should be on your RIGHT as you approach them so that they are out of the way of the dog, who is on your left. Some of the signs work well straight ahead of you, such as the left turn, but you should try to keep it as consistent as possible. Ah, but what about signs for exercises that require the dog to finish right? If you heel up to the sign, then take a few steps backwards to call dog front, you are not going to have the sign in your , or the dog's, way when he finishes right. During the class I taught, I had set my signs as I had understood it. I just consulted my new book (it came !!!) and I was right. If the sign directs the handler to change direction (to the left, right or opposite direction), the sign is placed directly in front of the handler's path. When they continue moving in the same direction, the sign is placed to the right of the handler. The only exceptions are for the spirals and figure 8's. In the case of the spirals and straight figure 8, pretty much the sign is placed in front of the first cone, facing the direction the team is coming from. For the off-set figure 8, the sign goes next to the center treat bowl on the side that the handler enters from. I put my sign for the spiral and figure 8/serpentine "ON" the first cone of the exercise. My sign is part of the exercise. One less cone to clutter up the landscape and confuse people, and they seem less likely to hit it because they're paying attention to it. This is true. Both AKC and Bud say the signs will be on the right except for a change of direction, where the sign would then be placed directly in front of you. What may cause the confusion is where you *perform* the exercise. AKC says exercises are performed near the signs, either directly in front of them, or in front and to the left of the signs. Bud says basically the same thing. However, in his second book he says: "Generally all of the exercises are performed........ (as above). However, the exercise Moving Side Step Right may be performed after passing the exercise sign. This should be the preferred way as the handler would not have to be concerned about moving far enough to the right to make sure the dog was not forced into contact with the sign. However, as long as the exercise is performed satisfactorily, a penalty must not be assessed for the choice........" He goes on to say: "There also may be situations in which a handler finds him-/herself on the wrong side of a series of signs. However, as long as the handler performs the correct exercises in the proper sequence, this is not to be penalized. This could easily happen when a handler is working fast with a lot of enthusiasm." Where do you put the number and how do you clip the sign to the cone? Since my signs are "coroplast", like corrugated cardboard, but plastic, the number has two pegs that stick into the holes on top. The whole sign is attached by Velcro, like all of my signs. The thing I have the hardest time with is the about turns and then placing a sign where it doesn't interfere with another sign or the previous path of dog and handler. It can get pretty tight sometimes. I too find this challenging. I have started always positioning the about turn or U turn such that the next exercise is a right or left turn. That's the only way I could avoid teams running into signs after they do the about or U turn. Terrible explanation I know! What I do is to create a "channel", about 5 feet wide on a pathway that doubles back on itself. So, when heeling along the first pass, the signs are on the right, but the signs for the route back are on the left, facing the other direction, but a couple of feet away from the dog (that is a couple of feet away from the "average" dog - not an Old English Sheepdog that may be 2 1/2 feet wide with all that hair!! LOL). When allowing that much space, I've never had, nor seen a problem, with the signs for the opposite direction being in the way of the path of the working team. Yup - same here - tho you could do a 270. Still, whatever sign follows is easiest if placed behind the sign that was just before the about turn. So you'd have back-to-back signs. Ok, let's see if I can explain. You're heeling up along a wall, with the exercise signs for that pathway on your right. At the end, you make an about turn, and again, are heeling along a wall, but in the opposite direction. The signs for that direction are on your right. But, the ones you've already done from the heeling up the first direction are now on your left, but are facing away from your new path - they're facing the way you were heading on the first pass. In this diagram, you're starting at the ** 1. [START] Sign 2 is facing you for the direction you are heeling (you are heeling north, so the sign is facing south so you can see it) and to your right. [HALT - Sit] Sign 3 is facing the same as sign 2 [Moving down and forward] Sign 4 is also facing south, but directly in front of your path. [About "U" Turn] (after executing this exercise, you are now doubling back, and traveling along the same pathway you were just on, but in the opposite direction.) Sign 5 is facing you as you now travel south and is on your right, so the sign is facing north. [Slow Pace] Sign 6 is facing the same as sign 5. [Normal Pace] Sign 7 is facing you as you heel south, so the sign is facing north, but directly in your path. [270 Left Turn] So, as you look at this, when you start, signs 1, 2, and 3 are on your right, facing you. But, signs 5, 6 and 7 are on your left, but facing the opposite direction, so you can see them after you turn around. After the About "U" Turn, signs 5 and 6 are now on your right, and signs 2 and 3 are on your left, but facing the opposite direction. Clear as mud??? Yup! Got it figured out now. Your graphics did it. My problem seems to be that my students and I make such tight about turns that it's hard to do that. I tried it and it didn't work well for me so I've ended up sticking with the back-to-back signs. No biggie - I'm not a judge. But I will let my students know they can veer to make sure they're in line with the signs. Never even thought about that. Duh...... Beginners especially seem to get confused by signs on left. I try to never have a course with a sign on the left. Signs are only supposed to be on the right or directly in front of the handler. What she meant was that the *back* of a previous sign would be on the handler's left - not a sign that requires performance. If you have a *tunnel*, then you will have signs on both sides but only one will be readable. Make sense???? Maybe I've been putting the about turn along the ring barrier instead of down the middle. I'll try creating a "channel" and see how it works. Thanks. Signs which you walk BY should stay on the right. Signs involving a TURN should be in front of you. So a sign saying "Halt, 1, 2, 3 steps forward" would be on your right and stay on your right. A sign which says "Right Turn" would be directly in your path, and direct you right. For more information e-mail us Home ~~ History ~~ AKC ~~ UKC ~~ WWKC ~~ APDT ~~ Links Copyright 2003 by Carawind Web Work. No part of this site may be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written consent of Carawind Web Work.