Courtney Keys - Agility Judge

07/29/2024

Other small dog agility problems … I’m so rarely in the pics! It’s always just my butt! 😂 loving these shots from the PNW regional from

07/24/2024

“If you need to beat a horse like this to do sport,” Wensing said, “it’s not sport anymore.”

This is truly a sad thing for the Olympic equestrian discipline. And a gentle reminder that our sport, with its canine partners, does not require force or coercion either.

“There is no excuse,” Charlotte Dujardin, a three-time gold medalist, said of her actions captured on video. “I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.”

07/14/2024

I wrote about how I sometimes feel a little lost in the agility world these days. Does size matter??

https://agilityjudge.com/small-agility-dogs-big-agility-world-67578ab4155f

07/02/2024

Hello fellow judges! Do you have any Beginner/Novice/Starters level courses that ran well and you were proud of? Would you be willing to share them with me and talk about them a bit in a post? Comment here or message me!

06/21/2024

Official relocation announcement! Official seminar announcement! Whee!

https://agilityjudge.com/now-broadcasting-from-oregon-21a4c3be718b

06/15/2024

Flowy backsides are allowed in GP so spread the good word!

06/14/2024

Not a bad office!

06/13/2024

15.5 pints tall! 😂🍨

06/13/2024

Off to my first judging assignment from my new home base! It’s about my bedtime here in Portland but instead of going to sleep I’m getting on an overfull plane headed to Vermont! So fun! 🤩 I think the last time I flew across the whole country I was like 11 years old …

06/02/2024

Good luck in Pentathlon finals to everyone at the SDCA UKI Classic!

06/02/2024

One thing I’ve always found to be useful in my judging bag is the full sheet Post-It notes. I’m judging a UKI Classic this weekend so tried to include the special jumps even though no one ever wants to set them. So here’s hoping the notes help!

06/01/2024

All ready to judge the SDCA UKI Classic this weekend in beautiful Del Mar!!

05/26/2024

New fancy shirt today!!

04/14/2024

Two of my faves that I wish I could run from this weekend in Minnesota! Thank you Julie, Elizabeth, Britt, Christina and Leanne and everyone with Fusion for a super great weekend!

04/13/2024

The real heroes are the ones who start trials at times later than 8 in the damn morning 😂😂😂😂😂😂

04/13/2024

💜🎶 Admission is easy, just say you believe
And come to this place in your heart
Paisley Park is in your heart 🎶💜

04/12/2024

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called flight. My last trip out of AUS for judging! Heading 2 MSP … judging UKI tomorrow, but first, today eye am going 2 live my best Purple Life. 🔜💜⛪️♊️

04/05/2024

Happy weekend!

04/01/2024

I am not a professional dog trainer nor a vet, but I spend an awful lot of time watching dogs move through agility courses. And like many dog people, I grew up in the horse world, and gaits of dogs fascinate me. I watch my own dogs move constantly and am always trying to see what their baseline normal movements are like.

All this to say .... when I judge, I see a lot of dogs whose handlers are trying to motivate them to run faster or even just plain run. I think so many of these dogs I see are in pain in some way. Not trying to judge or be holier than, but, when a dog runs on one lead and never the other, or can't adjust its stride, or just trots around, I watch them and wonder if something hurts. I hate to post this, honestly, but I do see it a lot. And I think we can do better.

Please take care of your canine athletes with regular conditioning and bodywork. If you don't know where to start or don't know any good professionals near you, comment below and we can find you some!

Thank you to the many vets, rehab specialists, and bodywork pros who devote their lives to our dogs!!

‘My dog is naughty/bad/untrainable/dominant/stupid’

I hear this most weeks on intake forms. Usually I get pretty excited to see these cos I know I’m gonna get to change a dog and owners life!

So often we write our dogs off as any adjective that fits the above and honestly, I’m yet to meet a dog who fits any of those adjectives (and I have worked with 10k plus dogs over the ten years I’ve been doing this!). I do however week in week out meet dogs with health issues that contribute to their slow progress in terms of training. Did you know dogs don’t show pain or discomfort how we do? We often think ‘oh he isn’t limping or yelping so he is fine’.

Please read the examples below ⬇️

🐾 A huntaway cross who I work with who bit his owner. Reluctant to have his feet cleaned, got spicy over any intense handling, had periods of seeming insanity and relentless barking and being unable to calm down. Huntaways are vocal dogs… but…

Turns out he had hip dysplasia. This dog didn’t limp. He wasn’t lame in any way. He chased his ball and sprinted and jumped and had no issues physically on the surface however under that behaviour was pain.

🐾 A French bulldog. Resource guarding to the extreme. Bit his owners while resource guarding the knot pattern in their wooden floor. Also bombed around without a worry in the world and had no outward signs of pain.

Turns out he had a severe spinal condition causing intermittent excruciating pain.

🐾 A young spaniel owned by a very good friend who was having confidence issues. She would ‘tap out’ of training on the regular and my friend went from ‘this is my ticket dog who will represent my country’ to ‘is this even possible?’

Dog had hormonal issues and likely spikes of hormones left right and centre. A carefully timed spay and she is now grade 6 in agility.

🐾 A friends Border Collie. Owned by a very experienced and talented agility handler and trainer. Regularly ‘checked out’ of training sessions, seemed to not be able to learn things that were moderately straightforward. Described by other trainers as ‘oh she is just a border collie it’s what they are like’.

Turns out she is mostly deaf.

🐾 A black Labrador. Always social and friendly and attended brilliant puppy classes and adolescent classes. Had the best start training wise you can imagine. He started showing some intermittent aggression to his owners in the home and aggression to other dogs out and about.

Turns out he had bilateral elbow dysplasia.

🐾 Young German Shepherd. Always energetic and silly in her behaviour but suddenly got worse. Excessive zoomies, inability to settle, increased reactivity to other dogs, reluctant to get in the car, obsessive destruction at home.

Turns out she had an infection in her va**na that was causing discomfort and exacerbating all those teenage behaviours to the point of being unmanageable.

🐾 My own dog! My NSDTR started missing his dog walk contact early last year. I was tearing my hair out trying to fix it.

Turns out he had a minor iliopsoas strain and some physio fixed the issue for us.

———————————

All these dogs have one thing in common. They are not stupid or untrainable or naughty or dominant. They are uncomfortable and that is triggering extreme behaviour fallout.

None of the above issues would be resolveable with training. All of the issues will be resolveable with training ONLY when the pain is resolved. Some of them will have drastic improvement from the moment the pain or discomfort is managed!

If your behaviourist or trainer doesn’t immediately advise a veterinary visit if any aggression, excessive ‘naughtiness’ or strange behaviour is present, walk away immediately. Even if you think your dog is fine, visit the vets. Ask for a thorough examination and push for a proper evaluation of your dog from nose to tail and potentially blood tests too. If you’re still not sure, get a second opinion.

You cannot train the pain or discomfort out of your dog. Address THIS first and foremost.

03/31/2024

Thank you Meagan Johnson for being a fun person, for the judging invite, for the delicious sandwiches and the sparkling water for boys. Had a super great weekend judging UKI at What A Great Dog!!

03/20/2024

Had a rare flash of optimism today about life in general and the future. We are planning a big move in a couple months from Texas to Oregon, so much of my energy is caught up in that right now. But today I drove down to my club’s field and ran a few short sequences. This tiny perfect little creature pretty much nailed it so then we spent some time throwing a frisbee and posing in the bluebonnets. Hoping all of you find some bright spots in these trying times!

03/08/2024

Made it to Indianapolis on SWA’s New Mexico One for assignment #2 of 2024!

03/01/2024

03/01/2024

It’s been a while but I’m off to my first assignment of 2024! Course builder maps are ready.

01/24/2024

Started the new year off with a very fun weekend at the USDAA Wild West Regional in Tucson! Ness and I continue to grow as a team … there is a lot of work to be done, but much progress has been made!

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy year of fun with your dogs. Maybe I’ll see you around at one of my upcoming 2024 assignments!!

March 1-3: UKI/USDAA for Dallas Agility Working Group in McKinney, Texas

March 9–10: UKI for Barks & Recreation in Indianapolis, Indiana

March 30–31: UKI for WAGD in Richardson, Texas

April 13–14: UKI for Fusion Pet Retreat in Minnetonka, Minnesota

May 24–26: USDAA Rocky Mountain Regional in Colorado

June 1-2: UKI for San Diego Coastal Agility in Vista, California

June 14–16: USDAA for NOMAD in Waterbury, Vermont

June 29–30: UKI for Kinetic Dog in Barto, PA

July 13–14: UKI for Canine Sports Zone in Madison, WI

December 7–8: UKI/USDAA for Bay Team in Santa Rosa, CA

December 27–29: USDAA for SMART in Morgan Hill, California

12/22/2023

You're at an agility trial.
You sign up to ring crew, thinking you'll just be setting jump bars.
Then you see it.
The frameless tire jump.
Oh god.
Oh no.
You don't know how to set that!
You might mess it up!

First of all, thank you for helping in the ring! And second, you couldn't possibly mess it up. You're amazing just for being out here. Let me show you how to set this tire. It really isn't as hard as it might look at first!

Check out my short video tutorial on how to set the Galican LITE tire jump. The facility I train at has two versions, so I've given you some info on how to set both. I know there are other frameless tires out there, so hopefully this info will equip you to adjust these and others! And then judges everywhere will love you! What more could you want out of life?

Note: UKI now allows only the frameless tire.

Do you have questions about tire jumps or about setting them? Let me know.

You're at an agility trial.You sign up to ring crew, thinking you'll just be setting jump bars.Then you see it.The frameless tire jump.Oh god.Oh no.You don't...

12/11/2023

Haven’t had a whole row to myself in a very long time but my last flight of 2023 is blissfully empty!

Huge thanks to Mary and Holly and everyone at The Agility Facility for a great weekend!!

It’s been a great year judging, seeing old friends and making new ones. I hope to see lots of you in 2024!

12/09/2023

Office and crew for the weekend!

12/08/2023

Off to my last assignment of the year in Ledyard, CT! See you soon, New England!