Addressing Knocked Bars

Why do bars fall? 

The dog hits a part of the jump with enough force to knock it over or displace the bar. 

Why does the dog hit the jump/bar? 

• didn't jump high enough 
• slipped 
• reacted to (late) handling cues 
• lack of education with a specific jumping effort 
• lack of natural ability with a specific jumping effort 
• out of condition for the jumping effort 
• injury or illness 

So what can we do about it? 

First, you have to decide if your dog's bar knocking is a problem for you because the bigger a barrier it is, the more effort you'll likely put into addressing the problem. 

1. Confirm that your dog is not ill or injured. 
2. Confirm that they are in good physical condition and are strong enough to complete the task. 
3. Analyze your handling: are you timely with your cues and are those cues adequate for the situation? 
4. Analyze your dog's skills: do they have the necessary commitment, keeping commitment, and following the handling skills? 
5. Analyze your dog's current level of education about the specific jumping effort: is their natural ability enough or if additional training is necessary. 

Consistent Criteria is Crucial 

If you decide to stop your dog in training for knocking a bar to bring awareness to the behavior, you need to be able to do that in all training situations. You should stay on top of any bar-knocking in competition and keep notes on which bars fall and analyze why they are falling so that you can better plan your training around those jumping efforts. Also consider that touching the bar/jump is what the dog can be aware of and control, so that should be the criteria vs the bar falling. One way I help myself with this is to set my jumps "poorly" during training, where the bar is barely hanging onto the jump cups, so if there is any contact with the jump, the bar is likely to fall. This makes it much easier for both myself and my dog to be aware of the criteria.