Review: Cik&Cap, the Easiest Way to Perfect Turns

Cik&Cap: the Easiest Way to Perfect Turns (Silvia Trkman)

I’m reviewing the DVD version, not the download.

Whilst it’s clearly not made to a professional-DVD standard (although really, are any agility dvds?), the quality is good and clear, it’s well edited and Silvia is an informative and engaging presenter. It’s a short dvd, running to 60mins only, split into seven sections (Intro, Why to Teach it?, Where & When to Use It, How to Teach it?, Troubleshooting, Related Tricks and Outro.

Silvia doesn’t waste time introducing herself or her dogs in the Intro, which is the first clue that this is aimed at people who are already familiar with both agility and Silvia herself already. There is also an emphasis right from the start that this is a training tool that is applicable to puppies and already competing dogs, and that dogs can go on competing throughout training as it’s a new action being introduced, not a retraining.

The Why sections produce clear visual evidence, comparing Silvia’s Border Collie Bu who utilises the cik/cap turns with another WSD, Witch, who doesn’t turn tightly but has faster groundspeed, and discusses exactly how much time is made up and where by each dog. It’s compelling to watch and the point is well made, but for someone who already knows they want to train cik/cap (as I assume most viewers will?) it’s a little overemphasised.

There is a long chapter on when and where to cue a cik/cap turn on a course, looking at both course plans and videos. This is the only part of the dvd that I felt dragged a little; it was useful, but the information could have been presented with analysis of 1-2 courses rather than 3-4, especially since some of the videos had already been seen in the previous comparison section. The DVD generally seems to be aimed at agility people who already have some experience but this section is probably going to be more useful for those who aren’t overly familiar with how to walk and then run a course.

The How section shows how to begin training with puppies and/or retrain dogs, but does assume that the viewer will either be familiar with clicker training or with successful luring for trick training. It moves through all the aspects of training, including how to incorporate it in sequences and courses. It’s really nice to see non-agility equipment being used, this is obviously something that everyone can train regardless of how much access to agility equipment they have.

The Troubleshooting section isn’t expansive, partially because Silvia outlines how to avoid problems as she goes through the dvd anyway, and the Related Tricks is just a signpost to the Tricks DVD.

Overall, clear, concise presentation and demonstration for a very useful tool. I’m still not entirely sure if this is aimed at experienced agility people or newcomers, but I’d be especially inclined to recommend it to anyone getting their second agility dog, or to Grade 1-2 handlers who have an eye on the climbing the levels. More experienced people will still find the training information on how to teach cik/cap useful, but will also probably find they can skip through some chapters without missing much.