Leg Weaves for canine freestyle
Teaching your dog to weave through your legs is great for building confidence, and the leg weave is a fundamental skill for dog sports like Canine Freestyle. The goal of leg weave is for your dog to weave through your legs in a figure eight pattern, as demonstrated in this video.
Before you begin training this behavior, make sure your dog knows how to nose target. Once your dog is targeting your hand reliably, you can start to train your dog to target your hand through your legs by placing your hand behind your legs. As your dog becomes comfortable targeting through your legs, increase the distance gradually until your dog is following your hand in a full circle around your leg. Shape the other leg the same way, clicking and rewarding your dog each time s/he completes the circle. Once your dog is comfortable circling each leg, combine the two legs so that your dog is following your hand in a figure eight pattern.
Interested in a new way to train and have fun with your dog? Learn how to put together your own show-stopping freestyle routines in KPA’s online Canine Freestyle course!
Happy Training!