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Sunday, May 10 2015

Good Dog Training Newsletter - May 2015

By Raewyn Saville on Sunday, May 10 2015, 18:28 - Newsletters


Walking the talk without reinventing the wheel


As an instructor for Dog Sports Rotorua my job reaches way beyond teaching people how to handle their dog for best outcomes or teaching the dog which is the right side to walk quietly on a loose lead, or indeed teaching a dog how to safely jump a hurdle or run over an A frame. I end up in a place where the dog is overweight and that is impacting upon his ability to have a good quality of life or sometimes the dog is too thin .Occasionally people come to class with unregistered dogs or unvaccinated dogs. Many people do not understand minimum housing standards for dogs outdoors or the level of nutrition that a dog needs to function. The amount of exercise a dog requires to keep fit and well. It is often difficult for people to understand that a working dog needs a four km hike per day and a Chihuahua still needs about one km. The list goes on.

I often assume that people understand how to care for their dog when in fact they are completely unsure. This sounds a bit funny to folk who have had dogs all their lives, but a lot of city dwellers are owning their very first dog, so it is natural that they need good sound advice and a back up person to contact when they are lost.

I run a class called control that deals with most of the above and if I see someone really lost I follow up and make sure they are coping at home. A few years ago the NZ Kennel Club did a wonderful thing. They initiated a program called CANINE GOOD CITIZEN affectionately known as CGC. This is a recognised set of tests for the handler and dog to achieve which sets firm boundaries on behavior and makes the owner/handler learn the rules of dog ownership from the perspective of the law and the welfare of their dog.

I have long wanted to participate in CGC but as I did not belong to an accredited Club (i.e. Dog Sports Rotorua is not affiliated to the NZ Kennel Club) then I have not got started on it. However, some of us are now competing at NZ Kennel Club Agility and have been lucky enough to have membership of WAG, Waikato Agility Group. This allows us to have a serious look at CGC. The CGC manual is 50 pages long. It is quite heavy going unless you are really into Dog Training. A lot of the work could be considered boring and unnecessary by those not as completely besotted by dogs as I am.

The work in the manual is very precise and very organised and very achievable. The first set of tests is called ‘Foundation’. In order to progress you must pass Foundation first. At an Accredited Club there will be advertising that ‘Foundation tests will be done on so and so date'. You then turn up and do the tests which a qualified Assessor will oversee. You must pass every test in order to gain the Foundation qualification....

Here is a list of the work required on the day of the Test. 1. Appearance handling and responsibility (a) responsibility and care(this is a paper attached to CGC manual which requires you to answer questions on ideal weight of the dog, questions around legal obligations from the Local Body Dog By-Laws. At list of dos and don'ts re care of your dog. Like? Providing a bed of its own for the dog, toilet training, responsible decision making around breeding from your dog etc (b) Public cleanliness and identification, (local body registration and removal of dog poo from all public spaces). (c) Examination of the dog by the handler (can you examine your dog's ears, teeth, throat, tongue, feet and the dog is comfortable and calm with this) (d) Grooming and inspection of the dog by the assessor (can someone else examine your dog and handle it to the point of grooming it touching feet etc) 2. Food Manners. Does your dog behave itself when it is two meters from someone eating? Does your dog wait to be told it can take its food from the bowl? Dog is sitting half meter from food in bowl and needs to wait for the command to eat. 3. Accepting a friendly stranger, 4. Accepting being patted by a friendly stranger. 5. Walk on lead through a door/gate in a controlled manner. 6. Return to handler, a recall basically. 7. Walking on a loose lead, 8. Controlled walk through people and distractions (a) Pedestrian traffic (b) Distractions. 9. Being left tied by a lead to an immovable object 10. Meeting a stranger and their dog 11. Supervised separation (the handler gives the on lead dog to someone else to hold and leaves the area so they are out of sight of the dog) Playing with the dog. (This is quite formal, play tug; the dog must stop and start play when you say. The game must be quite small no long retrieves)

So that’s it. Now while this does sound like watching the paint dry, it is not designed to be an entertainment. It is designed so that there is no doubt in the Assessor’s mind that this is a good mannered dog and deserves to pass Foundation. It is a great achievement. Having got through that and had a bit party afterwards to celebrate all your hard work, there is then the Bronze Silver and Gold qualification for you to be challenged by.

Let’s just have a brief glimpse of expectations in the Gold Test. Walking beside the handler without a lead, Send away to a known article (perhaps a piece of the handlers clothing or a piece of dogs bedding), and the Dog must stay with that article. Putting dog into car. Distractions outside the car while the dog is inside, getting dog out of car. Delivering a dropped article to the handler, this is a retrieve of sorts. Another person handling the dog completely with distractions, in a public area etc. Quite hard stuff if you consider it. And along the way you will answer harder questions about the health wellbeing and legal obligations that you have to your dog.

So there you have it. I believe there are probably 8 or 9 people currently at Dog Sports who could work towards their Foundation at this time. I certainly will be one, Deb Trimbach is another and Jenny Williams is also keen. These are the people showing interest at present but I am sure there will be more. The group will need a co coordinator. It does not need a tutor, it needs the group to work through the tests together and help each other to find ways to make the dog compliant where there are problems. Your dog needs to be 12 months old. I can't find an age for handlers but it will probably be 14 years which is the Dog By Law age for responsibility in walking a dog alone in a public space.

Yes I probably could make up a similar set of tests for Dog Sports members and make sure they were compliant but this is the bit about Walking the Talk. If you believe that you can train your dog to do all those things above then you should proudly go out and sit this Test with your dog alongside you and enjoy every moment of the Kudos of the occasion. Dog Sports don't need to reinvent any sort of test system. The Kennel Club have done a stunning job to put this together and it is to be hoped that one day every single dog owner in this country will have to pass a test such as this in order to be able to own a dog at all.

The extension of this that I would like to see is a new dog owner doing a test with a suitable dog and answering the questions at Foundation level before they can register a dog for themselves. If you think that sounds a bit harsh then think of the bad press the poor old dog has had for the last ten years, biting kids, killing stock, chasing post-people. Whose fault is it? Lousy owners that’s whose fault it is. If each owner understood the basic care and responsibility section it would be a miracle. If they understood the degree of training that needs to go into making their dog a Canine Good Citizen, then maybe they might get over the idea of having a dog to neglect and mistreat.

Who wants to join us in this challenge, txt me, Raewyn 0277593005

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Wednesday, April 15 2015

Good Dog Training Newsletter - April 2015

By Raewyn Saville on Wednesday, April 15 2015, 19:31 - Newsletters

Lets join the club!


A long time ago I joined a Dog Club and started doing Agility and Obedience and Flygility, in fact I would have done any sport that involved dogs having already done a bit of duck and pheasant shooting and some field trial work.

I quite enjoyed the Sport of Agility but I didn't find the Agility Community at that time particularly helpful and caring about the dogs of others. It seemed very hard to say 'what a good run', or ' better luck next time but still a great run'.

If I did express to others that they were magic or amazing I received back a look that said in so many words, 'what would you know anyway'. I slowly started not to enjoy the sport. I moved on to Flygility where sometimes it seemed people and dogs were having a good time, and then again sometimes not. The thing that got me was how disappointed they were about not 'winning' not getting a ribbon. Achievement seemed to be a narrow band of behavior related suppressed emotion. I thought it was weird. If I won a ribbon I was stoked and smiley.

So over a period of time the sports have morphed into the thing where clear round certs count toward getting out of one Jumpers and into another, points can be scored towards titles etc. This spread the feel good thing a bit more generously. Sometimes ribbons to 7th or heaven help me 10th mean that a wider participant achievement is recognised. Now of course we have splits where minis and micros are their own class and Medium and Maxi are a separate class. When I won Novice fifteen years ago with my mini dog, I beat out all the border collies. So the chances of some sort of success have improved over the years.

Anyway for the last 10 years I have concentrated on helping people who owned dogs with apparent behavior problems. Generally proving to me that the dogs were fine but the people who owned them had many issues unresolved not the least of which was that dogs need food and exercise appropriate to their size and location. Dogs all do much the same thing when they receive certain stimulation. Many people do not like that this is the case. For example, the neighbors complain when we are out that the dogs bark all day. What are they barking at? Nobody knows. Half an hour in the back yard and it becomes obvious that as the sparrows land on the roof and the fence and sometimes swoop down onto the lawn, they are winding up the dogs. Of course the dogs shouldn't be wound up by sparrows, but if you are a 50kg guard breed dog in a fenced back yard then that’s what you do to ease the pain of boredom and loneliness. So I have continued to find solutions to the problems people have when they own dogs, and I enjoy that a lot.

However over this period the small club called Dog Sports Rotorua started to lean more and more towards Agility Training. It wasn't planned but after all the behavior aversion (for the owners) and obedience lessons and control lessons for the dogs, we needed to have a focus for the long term club members. Nala was a starting point and from there I have organised four training sessions per week which involve dogs and handlers learning the basics of Agility. Along the way over the last four years some of these people have committed to both the Club and to Dog Training in a way that is extraordinary. Most of these people have not done any form of Dog Handling before, so they have to start by learning which end of the dog to point at the equipment.

It started with Chris Hutchings and Bootz a wee micro that Chris fancied learning to do agility. Now Bootz really did his best and he has competed and won ribbons and gongs but I had to tell her if she was gonna be the manic trainer she would wear this little guy out. Get another dog and she found one free to a good home a Cattle/Collie/Lab who apparently at 4 years old, was not a good stock dog. We did discover as we went along that he can be a wee bit excitable when wound up. However he has gone on to get FD in Flygility and just yesterday got his first AD certificate. You can't fake these qualifications, it isn't just good luck, it is very hard work when you are 70 plus and staying fit requires overlooking the pain of growing older. It is very encouraging when someone such as Chris achieves so much.

The next person to come along and tell me she wanted to do Agility was Debbie Trimbach with Sophie the Border Collie / Heading Dog who was shy and fearful. A beautiful dog and a doting owner. It has taken a couple of years now to really get Sophie going and while she runs very well at Nala and at Club Comp, she doesn't like new places. Today she went to her first Agility Champs and completed all three courses without being spooked by the judge, the equipment or the dogs and people outside the ring. Clear rounds are just around the corner. All this and her handler Debbie has a severe disability. Wow these people are immortal.

I just have to mention Katie who for some years has trundled along to Club with a tiny terrier called Tyson from the Pound. Much though everybody loved Tyson he dawdled around the courses. We tried all manner of motivation but nothing seemed to work to move him. He hated the hurdles, the tunnels the seesaw the dog walk, you name it he hated it. Katie really feels that Agility is her sport for life. At present she works full time, is Partner and mother, has a small acres lifestyle block and time is very precious. Then one day a nice lady from Taupo pitched up at the Club with a Kelpie Border Collie cross going spare, partially trained to do Agility. Hey Katie, I said, here's your dream dog. Not ready to compete yet but what a wonderful mover. Katie is learning all sorts of new handling skills. Yesterday Katie and Meg completed 12 straight weaves. The good news is that having Meg has put a rocket up Tyson’s bum and not to be outdone he is fair barreling around the courses and his weaves are on the up as well.

What do you do when a lovely person tells you she wants to do Agility with a dog who is actually totally unsuitable? You don't tell them and you carry on training them and they get better and better and shock the whole agility world. This is Alex Jones and Shadrock. Shadrock is a Neopolitan Mastiff, American Staff cross, in other words a Pitbull Mastiff. Shaddy has a lovely nature there is no doubt about that but most people think he is going to take them 'out' when they look at him. Nobody has worked harder to bombproof and Agility train a dog than Alex. Today at his first Champs he had a lovely clear round in Jumpers C and Starters 2. Alex is still kicking herself for messing on Shaddy in the Novice ring. This is heroic, believe me there are times when Shadrock looks around and goes Nah not doing this today, this young woman's dedication to motivation has been mind blowing.

Twelve or thirteen months ago a woman turned up at control class with a Poodle, Spaniel, Labradoodle cross. Such a pretty dog as she reminded me today, I always called him 'she' Jesse is now very much a young man. They came to class because he would not come back to her when she called. Apart from the frustration for her as Handler it was also difficult to keep him safe when he ran the other way. I said to her immediately, do you want to do Agility this dog is just perfect. No she said I want him to be a good obedient dog. Today at Champs Show she got her first Champs Ribbon. Third place in Jumpers C. The judge complimented her on the dog's run and another competitor came by to say that she thought she did a lovely run. This partnership will go far. Christine Longton and Jesse definitely haven’t even touched their potential yet.

Gloria and Bear and Macey, Sue and Molly, Sue and Girl, Leonie and Yoyo, Christina and Mia, Linda and Minnie, Renee with Coco and Zulu, Jenni and Bree, Angela and Eddie, Rayne and Gretel, Ann and Gemma are some of our club members working away at their chosen sport with an aim to get good enough to go out and compete in either Fly or Agility and they mean it.

But most of all I want to thank all our club members for their wonderful attitude to one another. They help each other when a dog needs to be held or if there is a problem. They complement each other for doing well and achieving. They take pride in their Club Dog Sports Rotorua and every time one of them adds to the total of placings and clear rounds there is a great yell of excitement. They remember how a particular dog was when he started and how far he has come to becoming a working friend or a competing sports dog. Non competing members come to shows to support their mates. For me this is a great thing to be part of and I really hope that it will continue forever.

Today I attended an Agility Champs Show for the first time in ten or eleven years. The only dog I have to compete with is Becki-boo who is 10 and although she has done a couple of ribbons has never done any Champs shows. She is slower than she used to be but managed three clear rounds from three starts 4th 5th and a 6th placing. Even better I had a bunch of mates with me who all shared lunch under the Club Gazebo and chatted and walked their dogs and competed and enjoyed. That was what was missing 10 years ago when I quit. The companionship of true dog lovers enjoying a day in the sun and the rain. Gives you the warm fuzzies doesn't it. Thank you all again.

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Sunday, October 5 2014

Good Dog Training Newsletter - October 2014

By Raewyn Saville on Sunday, October 5 2014, 17:34 - Newsletters

Dog Sports Ten Point Plan to learn Agility


Over the last ten years many people have said to me that they wanted to train their dogs to do Agility. Over this period I have only managed 4 people who have gone all the way with it and trained their dogs to be able to achieve national competition standards. Although to be fair I have some current trainees who are just brilliant and I have high hopes for them. However, the fall off in numbers of trainees as the training becomes more demanding, is very high.

Let's look at the positives, the facts and the negatives.

If you want to compete in agility your dog needs to be fit. It needs a fitness program of walking, running, swimming, stretching and it needs to have a very good diet. The dog should not be carrying any fat. This is fantastic for the look of the dog, but most people find it very hard to limit the amount of food they are feeding and to keep up a fitness program for the dog.

The handler needs a degree of fitness too. Walking, running, swimming and watching weight so you can keep up with your dog is a wonderful incentive to keep in good shape so that you can wear appropriately athletic clothing when competing in the Sport.
In order to do Agility your dog needs a degree of obedience work. In fact I believe that Obedience work should be a daily occurrence and used in your warm up regime prior to doing work on Agility equipment. So every day you need to get out there with your dog and do some heel work some sits, waits recalls, stays in stand, down and sit. Obedience work tends to increase the bonding between the handler and dog, and the body language the handler wants to use plus the verbal commands the handler wants to use, become normal communication devices.

So by the time your dog is 8 months old you should be able to jog along with your dog on both your right side and your left side and your dog should be able to be sent forward from this position and be recalled back to either the right or left side. You should be able to jog along stop suddenly and ask your dog for a stand wait, move on and call your dog up to either your right or left side. Now some people say, oh come on I just want to do the Agility equipment, well sorry folks, I am really strict about pauses on the down contacts, I am a stickler for 'Waits' at the start line and I like a dog who knows a send-away when it is asked for. The Agility gear is neither here nor there if you have a dog that knows your body language, trusts you to the degree he will try his best and is able to do basic commands then the gear will be a doddle.

I like to teach the gear object by object and blitz it so that the dog knows each piece and what to do with it. I am not actually a great fan for starting on course work straight off, although in my Play to Learn class we do little sequences from the start such as hurdle (no crossbar) tunnel hurdle in a line.

The biggest problem that all my learners have is the weaves. This is not a problem for the dog, it is a problem for the handler who has watched others doing fast and fancy weaves and cannot get their head around doing it themselves. I run weaves clinics frequently mostly to get the handlers understanding the methods available to teach their dog to weave. Some go off home and put their stakes in the ground and practice every single day a couple of times a day. These are the minority and these people get their weaves going really quickly. Others think that coming to class once a week is going to do it, and I have to tell them it won't, I also have to tell them that the longer they are marooned in open weaves or two by twos or whatever the harder it will be for the dog to move on to the next stage. In the old days I was told that three times a day practice for three months and you will have a great weaver. I find that three months is about right. Two months and dogs can basically get through 12 weave poles three months and you are starting to lengthen the send into the weaves and get the dog used to the distraction of a tunnel or hurdle at the end of the weaves. So that should be the standard we hope to achieve.

So the gear isn't the thing that is going to be difficult to achieve. What most people lack is 'THE GAME'. Getting people to play with their dog and to take that play into the Obedience work and into the Agility courses is the hardest thing to achieve. If I have someone come for training who is playing tug with their dog, is able to throw the tug and the dog brings it back for more tug, is able to transfer tug to ball retrieve, playing soccer or chasing a long rope with a toy tied to the end then I am over the moon. This tells me:

1. This person loves this dog and enjoys playing with it

2. This person has taken time out to teach this dog to play with rules around no jumping up no biting etc.

3. This person understands that as long as there is fun for the dog, the dog will come back to his handler will listen to his handler and will try to do whatever the game is that his handler is showing him.

So we are more than half way there. I know that that person will practice their Obedience and play tug, will do their weaves every day and play ball with their dog. This is the person who will succeed in Agility and there are not that many of them. Oh sure there are a lot of people doing Agility and that is what it is the people are running around on courses with dogs who are frightened, bored, unsure, and distracted. Not much fun in that. So please take time out to play with your dog every day and you will see the difference it makes with his training. I love playing with my dogs. some days I feel busy and down and I think MUST PLAY with the dogs. I get out there and I start laughing and they have me on and we tease each other and eye each other. Ten minutes and I am a new woman my troubles and stresses have melted away... not just for the dogs' benefit is it!

So here is a program to get you competing with your dog at Agility using Dog Sports Classes and Competitions. Basically you need to attend classes twice a week once your dog is six months old.

1. Do the free puppy class with your under six month old pup.

2. Move to 'Control' Class when dog is six months old and learn the pattern of commands you need to keep your dog working for you. Class costs $5 (plus $2 for rent) and is at 10a.m. on Saturday morning This class also teaches tunnel and hurdles.

3. At six months old also join 'Play to Learn' on a Monday night at 5.30 where you will also do the control exercises plus learning each piece of Agility equipment and how to do it. You will learn what faults you will incur if you do the equipment incorrectly and also learn 'safe practices' around the equipment to avoid injury to both your dog and yourself. This class is also $5 (plus $2 for rent).

4. You are now a qualified 'Learner' and can come once a month to Dog Sports on a Saturday Afternoon at 1p.m. and show off the skills and control you have by competing in the Learners Competition Club Agility. There are ribbons to be won and it is a great test of just where you are at. This Competition is $4 entry.

5. By the time your dog is 10 months old it is time to start learning the weave poles seriously. Join a Weaves Clinic. $50 for eleven weaves lessons, guaranteed to have your dog weaving six straight poles.

6. If you are going well and your dog is 13 months old and is weaving six poles then you will probably need a little bit of one on one as well as class work. One on ones are $10 each for an hour at a time that suits you or $50 for eleven twenty minute to half hour sessions tacked on the end of Monday night or Saturday about midday. These sessions need to be booked with me.

7. Following on from this you will be joining the Wednesday night Senior Agility Class and doing the work you need to do to achieve 18 piece courses using all of the Agility Equipment. This class is also $5 (plus $2 rent).

8. I would probably advise you to come to Tuesday night Obedience class as well as an opportunity to fine tune your handling skills. It also aids the dog's concentration. Remember you will need your dog's attention for about 30 seconds to get from start to finish of an Agility course. You both need to learn how to concentrate on each other. Another $5 for this class (plus $2 rent).

9. Your Dog is 18 months old the age at which the Kennel Club says you can compete in their National Competitions. Dog Sports Rotorua will take you to a Ribbon Show and help you get your dog measured for the height he will officially jump. At that show you will participate in your first Ribbon Agility Course which will be Elementary B. Dog Sports will encourage you to become part of the monthly team at our Club to do NALA - National Agility Link Association. This will give you the opportunity to do top class Agility Courses and to get a ranking in New Zealand for your sized dog.

10. Now after about 15 months to two years training you have reached your goal of being an Agiliteer. There is still lots more coaching and training to do to be a top achiever but you will also know by now whether you like it or not and whether you want to pursue the full Kennel Club Membership Agility Champs and Jumpers Champs. Congratulations you have achieved the Dog Sports Ten Point Plan to learn Agility.

If you decide not to do Agility then there is always Flygility which is even more fun. We will talk about that another day....

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