We’re love’n our new RAINBOW 🌈 POLES from CLIP AND GO! Solid colored poles won’t be a problem for these dogs!
This weekend has been a great progress marker for the baby dog! We can do so much more together than the last time we competed! We’re still not ready to take all the training wheels off in competition setting, but, boy oh boy, is it gonna be even more fun when we do!
Looking forward to day 2!
Always grateful for PHD Dog Sports for hosting these trials and giving us the opportunity to train on international style courses here in Ontario! And of course to the McCann Dogs Agility crew for making competition seem like you’re just hanging out with your friends for a day! 🩵
Canada Day Trial - 5-Alive
What a fun Canada 🇨🇦 Day spending time out in Bowmanville, ON at Dogs On Campus for an UKI Agility Trial. Cindy & crew did a wonderful job putting on this event!
My goal for the day was to continue getting my youngster, 5-Alive some experience in the ring. We are much further along in our training since the last time I trialed him, so it was kinda fun being able to put more together.
In the Agility round we ran NFC (not for competition) and focused on rewarding in the ring and letting him see different equipment. This is actually the first time he’s done agility outside 😂 We’re ALMOST done our dog walk and teeter training, so it was nice to let him get his feet on new equipment where he could be successful.
The rest of day we ran on courses that included all the obstacles he’s familiar with, so we ran “for realsies”. While we didn’t get any qualifying runs, I’m so happy with how we did. Just one little mistake in each run (and all my fault), but overall we looked like teammates out there! That’s all you can wish for at this stage in the journey!
He’s such a delightful guy. He’s listens so well and tries to do all the things I ask of him! I can’t wait to continue gaining more experience together.
Special thanks to LB for filming my rounds. Love her commentary ◡̈
This week has been a struggle so far. Can’t quite put my finger on why. I was reminded of a valuable lesson this morning when I didn’t trust my gut on a handling choice and then exactly what I thought would happen…..happened. I should have trusted my dogs skill and my handling ability. I didn’t and it cost me an elimination on Pent Jumpers Round 1.
We had to quickly recover because I had to run Snooker RIGHT away after. We ended up running a completely different plan than we initially walked based on how everyone else was doing. I knew I had to do the current 1st place plan - but do it the FASTEST. Luckily, Bee and I were totally in sync and we pulled out a first place 🥇 finish. She was a ⭐️
We finished with Pent Agility Round 2. I felt great going in. It was absolutely perfect until it wasn’t (on the 3rd last obstacle). Ugh this sport is so disheartening sometimes. Sadly this means I will no longer get to run any of the Pentathlon rounds. I did run this one with full confidence and trust in my dog, so I’m holding on to that.
Tomorrow we have Biathlon Jumpers (Round 1). Dark & early in the morning……. I walk at 7am (NL time) and run at 8:00am. Then I guess I’ll be the team cheer captain for the rest of the day. 🤷🏼♀️ Gotta focus on something! We have some super stellar dogs on our team this year, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out!
This sport is so full of ups and downs. I just wish I could have put it together for Pent! It’s one of my favorite events.
It’s not over for me yet!. I’ll be running last in the GAMBLE FINALS on Saturday night. So I better get my game face on for that! 😇. And I get a fresh start in Biathlon. Pray to the course design gods for me tomorrow!!!
Who Can?, Who Can?, CA NA DA!
A super fun standard agility course designed by Natalie Webb 🏴. She’s one of the judges at the upcoming World Agility Open! Bee-Line and I are training hard in preparation for our trip to the Netherlands 🇳🇱 in just a few weeks!!!!!
We were able to run this clear on the first try, but my poor dog had to decipher my directionally challenged brain! lol. LEFT……. I mean RIGHT…. 😂. She is so good to me! 💛
I want to share a video of some recent training with my youngster, 5-Alive. About a month ago, we had a bit of a brain fart on the Running Dog Walk. I was trying to add it into different sequences and it took a bit of a dive 🫣 But with a little problem solving, he’s made HUGE STRIDES in the last few weeks!! 🙌🏼
He is so much fun to train!!! 🏎️
Challenging Training Session 💪🏻 🐝
Our International class setup this week was PACKED with challenges. We worked on a training course designed by the judge coming for the upcoming EO/AWC Team Canada Tryouts. Lots of layering, lots of obstacle distractions, and lots of RUNNING!
I normally only the leave the errors and fixes in for my online students, but today I thought - what the heck! Sometimes when you see someone doing something well, you don’t get to appreciate how HARD it is!
Bee and I had some struggles but overall I was SO pleased with how we worked together. Love this freckle face 💛
#mccanndogsagility #McCannAgility #BeeTheUnderdog #Beelieve #TeamCanada #BorderCollie #AgilityDogs
JOIN MARCH 1st! www.Patreon.com 💙 Fun Skills exercises to enhance your team’s performance. Watch my experienced dog Bee-Line train & prep for upcoming competitions and watch youngster 5 learn ALL THE THINGS! - Subscription to website with hundreds of Agility lessons. Start & Stop anytime. - Setups for all shapes, sizes, levels and equipment. - LIVE and recorded Coaching Calls every month! - New lessons every Monday! #onlinecourse #agilitytraining #patreon
5-Alive is learning his dog walk exits! It’s always interesting to figure out when each dog needs their cue on the dog walk in order to maintain a great hit AND nail the upcoming challenge. I still use one little guide wire on the poles to help 5 sit back to get that entry with speed! 🧡 Smart whippety guy! Training a young dog has been perfect for the demos & videos in my online coaching program. He makes lots of normal mistakes still and I’m able to include all the problem solving and training! The start of the month is the perfect time to join my subscription site! Hundreds of lessons available for many levels + monthly live coaching calls. Check it out: www.Patreon.com/McCannDogs
We are so excited to have all brand new, shiny and safe CONTACT OBSTACLES! Thank you Clip and Go Agility for designing lightweight & durable equipment that we can push around with our baby finger! Training has been an absolute dream.
Setting courses has never been so easy! My favorite part is the squishy A-Frame that reduces impact when the dogs run up it!
McCann Dogs Agility is greatful to use companies like Clip & Go, Galican and Agility World because they build equipment that has the dogs safety in mind. As the sport continues to bring new challenges and faster dogs - we must help ensure they have the best chance to avoid injury.
🙌🏼 Stamp of Approval from Bee-Line and most importantly my GOAT - Funkee Monkee (with her happy frolic in the background)
Training is kicking into a higher gear!
This week, we’re working on courses designed & inspired by one of my favorite Italian judges & competitors, Nicola Giraudi 🇮🇹
Bee-Line and I are finding our vibe at the higher jump height (until the end of the course where my brain malfunctioned lol)
BUT LOOK AT MY BABY DOG!!!! Bee always gets the spotlight (as she deserves), but little 5-Alive is starting to look like a REAL Agility dog. I’m so excited! I broke things down for him, but I’m starting to see how it will come together. He’s such a smart, honest & willing little guy!
In love love love love!!!!! 🧡
Some of the hardest layering sequences I’ve trained in a while! SO.MUCH.FUN! 🐝 💪🏻
#BeeBold #BeeLine #agilitydogs #mccanndogsagility
I haven’t been posting much training lately publicly. I will admit, I lost a bit of motivation after coming home from AWC and that lead it’s to way into Christmas holidays and vacations. It was a break from social media, competition and intense training that I didn’t realize I needed so badly.
Of course I didn’t stop completely, training the dogs is my passion. During this time, I’ve been casually plugging away at finishing 5-Alive’s teeter & weaves, but I’ve also been slowly conditioning Bee-Line to be able to jump up into the intermediate height.
The initial plan was to just play around and see if she would be comfortable, strong enough and fast enough to even stand a chance against the taller dogs. I don’t know yet how she will fair against the other dogs at this height, but I can tell you that she’s been BLOWING me away at how effortlessly she is making this transition. It makes wonder if there is a chance we could get another crack at this!
Could we have an underdog situation happening???
I’m not adding pressure to mix yet, but we’ve been starting to find our groove again! We shall see what the next few months look like as we prepare for tryouts in April.
Thanks to fellow Canadian superstar, Jessica Patterson for some fun tryout prop inspiration! SO FUN!
Once a month I host a Coaching Call live 🔴 from the @mccanndogsagility_coachkayl arena.
Each month we demo and talk about skills, problem solving tactics, teaching, proofing, handling trends and all things dog training!
This call is available to all my online students from my patreon subscription site, in-person students and anyone registered in the 25 Days Of Agility Program!
‼️ Registration closes tonight for the 25 Days of Agility Course Book (& videos). You can join Patreon anytime!
🤩 LAST COACHING CALL OF 2023 is TOMORROW!!! 🤩
Please enjoy this little snippet on Start Lines!
McCannDogs.link/25Days
www.Patreon.com/McCannDogs
Last call for those interested in 25 agility maps with small setups to help work all kinds of fun skills!
I love course running as much as the next person, but there is something so rewarding about nailing some hard skills and getting the chance to reward that great effort from our dogs!
Some simple setups lead to OODLES of things to train!
Join before registration closes on Dec 15th so you don’t miss this months LIVE Coaching Call!
Visit McCannDogs.link/25Days
🐝 Bee-Line’s turn! This drill was a focus on “flipping” your dog away from you out of the weaves and tunnel. Then I added an extra challenge of adding all 4 obstacles together to challenge directionals, layering AND distance!
So much fun!
This lesson, which includes a breakdown on how to teach these skills, is now available on my Patreon Page. www.Patreon.com/McCannDogs.
I’m having so much fun training my youngster 5-Alive. We’ve progressed enough on our A-Frame that we’re proofing with some distance & layering now!
There’s never been a better time to join my Patreon Page. I’ve been posting videos regularly of 5’s training. He’s 23 months old now and we’re truly in that awkward stage of kinda knowing stuff, having brilliant sessions and then going 🤷🏼♀️ 😂 and you better believe I show IT ALL! What better way to learn? 🧠
You can follow along the ride plus get access to all my weekly lessons plans and join my monthly live streams! Starting at $34/ month CAD.
www.Patreon.com/McCannDogs
#patreon #onlinecoaching #trainingjournal #agility #agilitydogs #trainsmarter
It’s technically my first competition since the Canadian Open back in beginning of September. I thought I’d feel rusty, but my dogs brought their A-game this weekend!
Little 🐝 was a perfect angel. We ran 6 of 7 clean this weekend with one silly bar to break our streak. We filled up lots of our bye tracker for the Open and earned 1st place in the Master Series Final. This dog is 🥹 💛
I got a little taste of what “could be” with baby 5-Alive 🍊 this weekend. We earned our first few Qs ever in Agility with a stellar Gamblers run (specifically crafted to avoid the weaves & DW 😜) and then a smoke’n Speedstakes round. He clocked the fastest time of all heights. To say that I’m excited about the next year with him is an understatement!!!
Something fun & new this weekend was trying my luck at running Smooch 💋 . My BFF Jme had a busy weekend and asked if I could compete with him this morning until she could arrive. Somehow, I’ve never run him before now (which is crazy!) but we connected so well and had 2 GORGEOUS runs! Such a good boy with great training that allowed me to step in & guide him with little effort! It was really fun 😀
A wonderfully run weekend by PHD Dog Sports. Fun & flowing courses by Manca Mikec. ALWAYS the best vibes with the McCann Clan. Many laughs and beautiful runs by all the students. 💙
What more can you ask for!
I've tried to write my AWC Wrap-up post several times now. It's challenging to put into words my experience. While it was one of the most difficult and heartbreaking trips in my life, I was able to learn a lot and experience many exciting & joyful moments.
People have always told me that I needed to go to AWC. It's different than any of the other World Championships. Well, they were absolutely right. I'm not sure I would have believed it unless I went myself. I would have given anything to run this past weekend, but I witnessed the best Agility I've ever seen. It would have been cool to see where Bee-Line would have fit in. I think she would have been fantastic.
Considering my situation, this week had the potential to be absolutely brutal. But I'm reminded again by how damn lucky I am to have such an amazing support system. My hubby, family, and besties at home helped pick up my pieces when things were fresh. I love you all more than I can explain. Thank you for always being a phone call away.
I want to say a special thanks to some of my Team Members who really helped me this past week.
My travel buddy, Carolyn McIntyre - For the long talks & truly unbelievable experiences 🤦🏼♀️…… next time YOU'RE booking the accommodations. For your impressive U-turn and parking skills. So many funny & ridiculous things to list, but extra thanks for looking out for me when I was having a hard time. That was very sweet and appreciated. So glad we made it home & alive!
Joe Boudreau & Aaron Froude - you both are just so wonderful. So caring & FUNNY! My god, I laughed this week! I feel very educated on all things after this trip, LOL. But I also gained 2 new wonderful friends. The trip wouldn't have been the same without you. Especially you, Joeski!
Theresa Rector - You did such a great job as Team Leader. You were also such a support to me this week during some really challenging times. I appreciated you being there by my side so much.
Being the perfect Agility Handler is HARD! Things sometimes feel like someone has their finger pressed on the fast-forward button and I’m hanging on for dear life 😂
Feel Me? 😩
I did very well at the Canadian open this year, but I did have a few costly handler errors. I’m someone who likes to dissect these mistakes and see what I can learn for my own handling ability or to help form a new training plan for my dog.
Next week on my Patreon page, I will be doing a video course analysis on some of the challenges we had with the Canadian open courses.
Why were these mistakes made?
How could they have been prevented?
Was it a handling issue?
Was it lack of skill on the dogs part?
Was Mental Game at Play?
This analysis will be available to all 3 tiers of subscribers. Visit www.Patreon.com/McCannDogs to join us.
ALSO……… 😀
Stay tuned for a NEW EPISODE of the 🎙️ After Class podcast were we getting into ALL the details about the Canadian Open! #AfterClassPodcast #dogagility TOMORROW‼️
