Weave Pole Dilemma - Part 1

Weave poles continue to be a mystery to solve with Seven.  There are a variety of methods available for teaching weave poles (to learn more - click here).  It has been quite a journey and learning experience to persuade Seven to drop her horrendous form and adopt one of the more efficient styles.  I think we are making progress, but we still have some work to do.  For reference, here is Seven four months ago: 

Seven would sort of canter and bunny hop through the weave poles.  If I tightened up the poles and reduced the space, Seven would not hop as much, but would lose all momentum.  I needed some feedback so I took Seven to see my agility instructor and get her opinion.  We settled on a new strategy.

First, we taught Seven to pull on her collar and drag me to a target. 

Then we had Seven pull me through the weave poles.  The theory is that Seven cannot bounce through the weave poles if she has to hunker down and pull through the weaves.

I believe I see it working and she appears to be adopting a mostly one foot style of weaving.  More on that in the next post.