Clean Run

Dedicated to the sport of dog agility since 1995, when we started our newsletter, which turned into a magazine. Visit us at www.cleanrun.com.

Now we have an online retail store dedicated to agility and dog sport trainers and dogs. Since 1995 Clean Run has been the expert in all things dog agility. We sell top rated dog agility equipment, treats, toys, and online courses. What started as a weekly newsletter grew into a monthly magazine and then we started producing our books and DVDs. In 2007, we opened a small training facility. Today we have an online store and brick and mortar shop in South Hadley, MA. Shop at www.cleanrun.com

09/20/2025

Frankie loves her 4 My Merles Plush Squeak THIS! Tug!

09/19/2025

🍂 Fall into Fun & New Skills: October Online Classes Await!

Sign up now for new instructor-guided courses that are starting on Wednesday, October 1, or visit our website and choose a self-study course to start anytime!

Instructor-guided classes starting this month:

**Backyard Training Matters: A Weekly Training Group with Brenna Fender
**Ninja Weaves - Build Independence, Reliability & Speed with Karen Holik
** B.A.M. Pre-Agility Foundation Training with Sandy Rogers

09/17/2025

Verbal cues have become a critical element of agility training and handling. In the Tracy Sklenar on-demand webinar, you'll learn

*WHICH cues to train
*WHAT they mean to your dog
*WHY you want to train them
*WHERE they can be used on course
*HOW to begin training them (there is a simple game for each cue!)

Also, you'll learn

*How to prioritize your training without feeling overwhelmed by So. Many. Words!
*How to choose your words
*How to use pitch, rhythm, tone, and energy to help the dogs differentiate your verbal cues
*Tips to help you remember to use your verbals on course

There are video demos of foundation training for each verbal cue, beginning with flatwork and then moving to jumps.

https://www.cleanrun.com/product/say_what_the_what_which_why_where_how_of_verbal_directional_cues_in_agility/index.cfm

09/16/2025

What is dog agility without agility courses? It's nothing! Effective course design is fundamental to the sport of dog agility.

Structured as a comprehensive resource for competitors, trainers, judges, and aspiring judges alike, the four-part webinar, "Agility Course Design: Roadmaps for Success for Handlers, Trainers, and Judges," approaches the craft of course design through a holistic lens, presenting a roadmap for success across sanctioning organizations and levels.

Crafted in tandem with Zach’s book, Agility Course Design, this series takes a close look at course design and how it works best to create excellent courses. Understanding what makes a course successful is critical to all aspects of dog agility whether you're a handler who wants to better analyze and run courses, a trainer looking to create meaningful exercises for your students, or a judge looking to enhance your design.

https://www.cleanrun.com/product/agility_course_design_roadmaps_for_success_for_handlers_trainers_judges/index.cfm

09/15/2025

B.A.M. Pre-Agility Foundation Training
Instructor: Sandy Rogers
Course Type: 6-week instructor-guided course starts Oct 1. Everyone gets to work their dogs!
Check it out in the Clean Run Learning Center (at cleanrun dot com)!

09/14/2025

Nose work can be a drive sport!

Do you have a dog that loves to play with you with toys? Do you use a toy as a reward in other sports? Are you looking to get started in nose work? Or is your dog already doing nose work but would like to build more drive and enthusiasm?

This webinar will take you through the fundamental components of teaching nose work as it looks in detail at how to use toy rewards in this process. Wendy will take you through starting a dog searching for their toy, building problem-solving skills, and the progression from primary searches to adding odor. Additionally, she will address how you might integrate toy rewards with dogs already trained on odor to help build drive, excitement, and handler/dog connection.

Wendy and has been doing nose work since 2009 and has lots of information to impart. She was also very involved in the evolution of the NACSW.

The content of this webinar is organized into separate modules for ease of viewing. It's easy to jump back in and review parts or skip to a section:

*Introduction & Overview
*Getting Started
*Searching for Primary
*Pairing Toy with Odor
*Odor Only
*Dogs Already on Odor
*Supplemental Information
*Beginner's Guide to Using Toys as Rewards

Note: The training modules assume that you have experience using toys as a reinforcer in your dog training, even if you haven't included them in your nose work training. But if you haven't used toys as rewards, there is a separate module on how to get started building that skill.

CEUs: 2 NACSW CUs available

https://www.cleanrun.com/product/toy_rewards_in_nose_work/index.cfm

09/13/2025

Agility and other dog sports are generally considered hobbies that we engage in for fun, but sometimes we lose the joy of competing. These previously enjoyable activities become filled with stress and pressure that reduce enjoyment for both ourselves and our dogs.

*Have you found yourself frustrated more often than you like when you are training or trialing?
*Do you often think your dog would be better off with another handler, or that perhaps you should just give up the sport?
*Do you feel constantly "behind" or not as good as you and your dog "should" be?
*Do you find yourself comparing your achievements to others and feeling like you are always losing?
*Is agility not as fun as it used to be?

If you said yes to any of these questions, read on!

Did you know there are studies that show joy plays an important role in keeping people involved with and successful in their chosen sports and hobbies? It's not frivolous or silly to think about finding more joy in dog sports. It's actually crucial to your success as an agility competitor! And when you aren't having fun, it's likely that your dog will pick up on that, lessening their joy in the sport as well, which can impact motivation, focus, and speed on course.

Learn 11 ways to help return the joy to agility and other dog sports with the help of Brenna Fender! The presentation includes ideas and exercises for the handler as well as some activities that involve the dog as well. Resources for further reading are also provided.

https://www.cleanrun.com/product/11_ways_to_put_the_joy_back_in_agility_for_you_and_your_dog/index.cfm

09/12/2025

I had fun on this simple setup this week with my dogs. I hope you have fun with it too! Before I combined any of the drills, I did just three obstacles and rewarded the correct response from my dogs. Then we put a few of the pieces together for a longer drill.

You can do these drills with as few as three jumps if you replace the tunnel with a jump. Work on your body language as well as your verbal cues for wraps, threadles, and pushes.

If you don't have separate verbals for a clockwise wrap and a counterclockwise wrap, then use your generic wrap cue. But that won't work when you want the dog to turn away from you, so use your left and right verbal cues. If you have separate backside wrap or backside slice cues, then use those words when indicated. Alternatively, use your generic push and threadle words and try to guide your dog with your body, making sure that your physical cues look different for wraps and slices.

--Nancy Gyes

***Check out the 2nd Edition of Nancy's Alphabet Drills book. It's available at the introductory price of $29.95 for only 1 MORE WEEK! And, if you purchase her Pattern & Number Drills E-book at the same time, get it for $4.99 -- a savings of $10.***

09/11/2025

Certified Control Unleashed Instructor Kim Palermo will teach you about the Control Unleashed® protocol called Voluntary Sharing, which allows your dog to have agency over sharing resources with others in a way that is fun, positive, and kind. Resources may include food, attention, toys, or anything else that your dog has big feelings over! This is a great skill for addressing resource guarding and can also be used to help a dog process general excitement around others.

In the 1-hour recorded presentation, Kim demonstrates how to teach your dog a duration behavior that will turn into their "start button"—a voluntary behavior that cues YOU, the handler, to move on to the next step. Then you will learn the steps for teaching your dog how to use their start button to choose to share with others in a way that keeps them feeling safe, comfortable, and in control. Kim also discusses how to set up management strategies to ensure that both your dog and the helper animal are safe and happy during the entire process.

Throughout the presentation, you will enjoy multiple videos that demonstrate different uses of this method with a variety of different dogs.

https://www.cleanrun.com/product/control_unleashed_voluntary_sharing/index.cfm

09/10/2025

Hippie Handling is about being fully present while running courses and sequences. Realizing that a technique once practiced does not require active attention to perform, Hippie Handling takes the art of communication to the next level and eliminates most of the "planning" handlers do when considering how to cue their dog. Having more brain space available for situational awareness means never losing connection with your dog and keeping small, unexpected things, SMALL!

Devoting full attention to your canine partner in the present moment rather than using brain space for plans that may or may not be appropriate in a future moment is the ultimate teamwork.

https://www.cleanrun.com/product/hippie_handling/index.cfm

09/09/2025

How cute is Malibu Barbie the Chi? SO CUTE!

Address

17 Industrial Drive
South Hadley, MA
01075

Telephone

+18003116503

Website

http://www.cleanrun.com/

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Clean Run - Everything for Agility and Dog Lovers!

Clean Run was established in 1995 as a weekly newsletter that documented the sport of dog agility. The publication grew into a monthly magazine and we started producing books and DVDs. Eventually, we added retail products in the form of both an online store and a brick-and-mortar shop. In 2007, we opened a small training facility in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Visit us at www.cleanrun.com