Another awesome team here :) Kirstie and Maddie's signature move is a rear cross, you can see them skillfully excute this twice in this run. It's quite a hard one to master as the dog needs to keep running ahead, without looking back at you and then carry on whilst the handler crosses behind them. This can cause them to spin round and lose their approach to the next obstacle or simply waste a bit of time. Getting them to run smoothly on like this takes practice :)
Look at this RIDICULOUS distance handling from Meg and Peg! They absolutely smashed this course. I love watching this pair work. Peggy is a border collie and absolutely thrives on "work". If we spend too long discussing the course, Peggy often takes herself off to do a lap of her own design whilst feedback is given and handling choices are made 😂
(Extra note: The jumps were lower than Peggy normally jumps as the ground was quite soft that day and we didn't want her skidding too much on the ground as she puts a lot of power in her take offs and landings! She was safe at this height :) )
Chomsky is so clever! A perfect run on this nice flowing course. Paul and Chomsky are ace at blind crosses, so we practiced our rear crosses in this course and Chomsky didn't disappoint!
Mia and Rolo are a great pair. Check out his weaves and enthusiasm for attacking a course! All this is possible with reward based training. There's never any punishment for getting things wrong in our sessions, or forcing them into situations they're not comfortable with. Agility is all about having fun after all. We build confidence on the equipment slowly and we never push them through tunnels or drag them over equipment on lead, it's all the dogs choice. This approach means the dog learns how to move their body independently of the handler, and because learning is taken at their pace, the dog builds trust in the handler. This pair have a great relationship and Rolo can't wait to get going each session. If we incorporated punishment he would not have this much joy in his Agility. He loves to do activities with Mia and she's worked hard with him to create a confident, friendly, well-rounded friend.
I have heard of a resurgence of trainers telling owners to use a squirt bottle to "correct" their pet. This might sometimes succeed in suppressing an unwanted behaviour, but at what cost. The dog potentially becomes fearful of their owner, worried about water and they have experienced an unpleasantness paired with whatever was causing the unwanted behaviour so they may feel even worse about it. It doesn't address the underlying emotion causing the behaviour. The same thing applies to shock collars, prong collars, slip leads if used without a stopper, tightening head collars, tightening harnesses, rattle bottles, shouting, yanking on the lead etc. These just aren't necessary, there's always a punishment-free option! Training will depend on the dog and the situation, but there's never a need to intimidate, frighten or punish a dog. Oh, and you don't have to be "pack leader" either, that whole thing is long debunked.
So to have a happy dog like Rolo who loves to do activitieswith his owner, positive relationship building is key!
If anyone wants a sneak peek at this week's course, watch this to walk the course with me! It has a nice mix of flowing parts and some chances to practice lots of different types of crosses and gives the opportunity for different handling choices. I love playing with a new course design each week :)
Woo hoo! Luna has got her weaves for the first time! When you're training in Agility, it's always a special moment when they can do 12 closed poles in a row for the first time. I'm so unbelievably happy for them! She did so well!
I know I recently did a post on Rolo, but he was on fire today! Not only did he do his first awesome clear round, HE COMPLETED THE WEAVES FULLY CLOSED FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! Anyone in the beginner stages of Agility training will appreciate what a big deal this is ❤️
It's time to celebrate Chomsky! I've known this little guy since he was a puppy when he began his basic training. He went on to do Rally for a while and was good at that, but his best talent lies in Agility. I honestly can't believe he's 6 now! How has it been that long?! He's become an accomplished little Agility dog. We've had a few weeks off for various reasons and switched to evenings for the summer, but Chomsky lost no time in showing us he hasn't forgotten anything and blasted round this weeks course effortlessly. He brings his owners so much joy, they dote on him, he couldn't want for anything more. He deserves it as he's a super boy!
It was a lovely evening to build this week's courses (after gathering various bits of equipment that had travelled across the field during yesterday's crazy weather 😆)
It's that time of year again! First proper whole-field mow of the year. All ready for this week's 121's and classes!
Take a look at Paul and Chomsky running in their second ever Agility competition! They got 2 out of 2 clear rounds, couldn't be happier for them! What a lovely smooth run this was. Massive achievement to pull off a run like this in only their second ever live competition. What a great team. Congratulations! 🎊
Can we all give it up for Kirstie and Maddie who did something amazing this weekend?! They WON their Grade 1 Jumping run yesterday at Colchester Agility Show with this brilliant round! Such a beautiful, smooth clear round. Massive congratulations and all that hard work is paying off 👏 Incredibly proud of them 😍 (Getting this news made up for me missing the entry deadline for this show!)
