A2Z specialises in dog agility. We train in small groups, and are based at an indoor riding school i
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We’ve some spaces available to train with Alan Bray on Sunday 22nd January at our indoor venue near Colchester - one in the morning G1-4 and two in the afternoon G4-7 sessions. If you’re interested or know someone who would be, please message us through the A2Z Agility page.
** Now sold **
A place for next Saturday 7th Jan has just become available in Alan’s 12:00-1:30 class due to handler injury, if you would like to take it or know someone that would please get in touch!
We have two places available in the pre-competition/young dog class with Alan on Saturday 7th January, if you’re interested or know someone who is, please get in touch with us via the A2Z Agility page.
3 places have become available to train with Alan Bray this Sunday, to book your place please message us!
Last few places available for distance handling workshop with Heather McLean Saturday 3rd December, to book please message us.
** Last two places available for Saturday 19th November **
Mel has been competing in agility for 23 years and teaching for 20 years (at a club, delivering training days for local clubs, and in the last 4 years at her ow venue training one-to-one).
Having competed at Championship level for a number of years and achieved a Reserve Championship certificate with Dare, Mel has also competed at Olympia and Crufts as well as many finals including DINAS, Pairs and team finals too.
Mel has a great background in animal behaviour, and in training dogs (and people) for an assistance charity for 15 years has developed excellent communication skills, allowing her to adapt easily to individual learning styles and needs of the dog and handler.
Our training days will be focused on supporting handlers to develop their dog's skill level, whether that be understanding a skill to enable distance handling, identifying choice of handling techniques on a course (where, when how and why you would use that technique), building a solid skill base or simply enjoying your time working together.
Qualifying as a Veterinary Physiotherapist and Hydrotherapist in 2013, four years ago she has opened her own clinic offering Canine Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy services together with use of an Underwater Treadmill, and treats many agility dogs. Her experience as an agility competitor, understanding the demands of the sport physically on the dog as well as the need to improve performance and reduce injury, has enabled her to have a unique perspective in developing treatment and home programmes for each individual dog on a bespoke basis.
** Last few places remaining for Saturday 22nd October **
A2Z is pleased to welcome back Mel Doyle to host three training days over the remainder of 2022 at our indoor venue near Colchester, postcode CO11 2PP. To book your place please message David or the A2Z Agility page.
Mel has been competing in agility for 23 years and teaching for 20 years (at a club, delivering training days for local clubs, and in the last 4 years at her ow venue training one-to-one).
Having competed at Championship level for a number of years and achieved a Reserve Championship certificate with Dare, Mel has also competed at Olympia and Crufts as well as many finals including DINAS, Pairs and team finals too.
Mel has a great background in animal behaviour, and in training dogs (and people) for an assistance charity for 15 years has developed excellent communication skills, allowing her to adapt easily to individual learning styles and needs of the dog and handler.
The training days will be focused on supporting handlers to develop their dog's skill level, whether that be understanding a skill to enable distance handling, identifying choice of handling techniques on a course (where, when how and why you would use that technique), building a solid skill base or simply enjoying your time working together.
Qualifying as a Veterinary Physiotherapist and Hydrotherapist in 2013, four years ago she has opened her own clinic offering Canine Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy services together with use of an Underwater Treadmill, and treats many agility dogs. Her experience as an agility competitor, understanding the demands of the sport physically on the dog as well as the need to improve performance and reduce injury, has enabled her to have a unique perspective in developing treatment and home programmes for each individual dog on a bespoke basis.
We’re very fortunate to have Heather McLean coming to host monthly training days again this Autumn/Winter at our indoor venue near Colchester, Essex.
For those who don’t know Heather, she is an experienced, successful national and international agility competitor, has won Scottish Dog Of The Year (medium) 2017 and 2019, and has competed at Championship level at Olympia and Crufts, winning the British Open at Crufts. Heather has represented Team GB three years running, and also represented Scotland at the WAO.
This training day will be focusing on distance handling, which is a skill Heather is well known for.
** Last few places available in G1-4 and G4-7 on 16th October **
We still have some places remaining to train with
Heather McLean Sunday 16th October.
Mel Doyle on Saturday 22nd October.
Please message via A2Z Agility messenger to book
Long, but we’ll worth a read while you have a cuppa…
Dog training is an industry rooted in normalised abuse. That isn’t to say that all, or even most, trainers are abusive, by any means. But smacking, kicking, scruffing, shocking, scaring and prodding dogs have all been viewed as valid, and until relatively recently, totally normal ways of punishing dogs.
Here’s a page from an old book I found in the Kennel Club library. It’s worth noting that the Kennel Club doesn’t endorse this book, or recommend any of its methods, it was just in their private library amongst hundreds of other older training manuals, as a record of days gone by. This picture was not only simply captured, but the author deemed it a useful image to be printed in their book. He wasn’t ashamed of it, or afraid of backlash, because it wasn’t abnormal.
Other training methods detailed in these old books included binding a gundog’s mouth shut whilst holding a dummy, so that they don’t drop them whilst retrieving, using pliers to clamp down on their ear or lips to “encourage” the dog to drop the dummy once retrieved, and pinning an aggressive dog to the floor until they submit.
All of these methods are still used today. That last one is even used by trainers on television, and is recognised as a leading method of knocking a “dominant” dog down a peg.
Except dominance, at least in the way we have been taught it, doesn’t exist in dogs. There’s no “top dog”, there’s no “all-powerful alpha,” and your dog certainly isn’t going to challenge you to become the dominant figure in your household. That dominance model, described in wolves, has been debunked time and time again. But not before dog trainers got their hands on it.
Wolves live in families, with a mum and a dad, not in a linear hierarchy with an omnipotent male and female dictatorship. Besides, dogs aren’t wolves. They are a subspecies of grey wolf, with thousands of years of domestication changing their morphology and psychology. They’re neonatal, babyish, infantile… Dave the Yorkshire terrier doesn’t want to rule the world when he asks to sit on the sofa, he just wants a cosy spot to sleep.
But the whole “alpha” idea in dog training left a stain. We think our dogs are using violence to challenge us, so that totally validates our use of violence as a rebuttal, right? If you don’t pin a growing dog to the ground until their body goes limp, they will never know who is their boss?
Except, that’s not what’s happening. Like us, dogs perform behaviours for a reason. There is a function behind the way they act. If your dog isn’t growling for dominance (and they aren’t), then why are they?
Why would you act in an aggressive way? Maybe you’re feeling threatened. Maybe you’re in pain, so you have a shorter tether. Maybe you’re low on sleep, and are feeling snappy. Maybe you have had a bad day, and are more sensitive due to that. Maybe any of these reasons are why your dog is growling. And a scared, painful, tired, stressed animal being held to the ground until they’re too tired to keep fighting, and go limp in helplessness, isn’t helping. It’s abuse masquerading as training.
This is the crux of it. Perhaps what we see in this photograph isn’t the norm anymore, but dog training still has a long way to go before we can fully shake ourselves from the crimes done to animals in the past.
We all have to begin somewhere, and as horrific as it is, we needed these original trainers in order for us to evolve and learn more. They probably didn’t realise what they were doing was wrong, as you only know as much as you know. But nowadays, we do know more. Information is freely available online. We don’t need to abuse dogs anymore, in the name of training. There isn’t the excuse that trainers had fifty years ago- we must do better.
We parade around as a superior species, yet we don’t apply our empathy or critical thinking, instead simply resorting to violence when faced with a scared animal. Do better.
Heather McLean – Saturday 5 March
Venue Nr Colchester: CO11 2PP
1 x Space available, £40
Please contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger for further information
******SOLD******
We have a space become available to train with Heather McLean this Sunday 30 Jan
Either 9.30am-11am (1-4) OR 1.15pm-2.45pm (4-7)
£40
Indoor Venue nr Colchester CO11 2PP
To book contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger
****SOLD****
A place has become available to train with Heather McLean on Sunday 30 January
Grade 4-7 class @ 1.15pm - 2.45pm £40
Indoor Venue nr Colchester CO11 2PP
Please contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger to book
A place has become available to train with Heather McLean this Saturday 18th December 2021
Pre-comp class Class at 3pm £40
Indoor Venue nr Colchester CO11 2PP
Please contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger to book
Still want a change to training with Mel Doyle this Sunday 12 December 2021 - Pre-comp class Class at 3pm £40
Indoor Venue nr Colchester CO11 2PP
Please contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger to book
Training with Mel Doyle Sunday 12 December 2021
Indoor Venue nr Colchester CO11 2PP
3.00pm-4.30pm - Pre-comp class - £40
Please contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger to book
You still have a chance to train with:-
Heather McLean this Saturday 27 November 2021
Indoor Venue Nr Colchester CO11 2PP
Places available - £40
11.15am-12.45pm - Grade 1-4 class
1.15pm-2.45pm - Grade 4-7 class
Please contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger to book
Heather McLean - Saturday 27 November 2021
Indoor Venue Nr Colchester CO11 2PP
Places available - £40
11.15am-12.45pm - Grade 1-4 class
1.15pm-2.45pm - Grade 4-7 class
Please contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger to book
Due to illness a last minute place has become available in the pre-comp class at 3pm tomorrow - Sunday 21 Nov with Mel Doyle. Venue nr Colchester CO11 2PP
£40
Contact us via A2Z FB messenger
Heather McLean - Saturday 27 November 2021
Indoor Venue Nr Colchester CO11 2PP
Places available - £40
1.15pm-2.45pm - Grade 4-7 class
3.00pm-4.30pm - Pre-comp class
Please contact us via A2Z Facebook messenger to book
Little Bentley
CO112PP
| Monday | 9am - 7pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 7pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 7pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 7pm |
| Friday | 9am - 7pm |
| Saturday | 9am - 5pm |
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Training at our new venue, trainer David demonstrates with Poppy 🐶 🐾
