AGILITY
Agility is one of the games people can learn to play with their dogs. There is no such thing in my book as a team that cannot do agility. By that I mean that I am very happy to alter the way traditional Agility is run so that the giant dogs can do zero height agility, so that older folk can do a walk course style agility, so that people with disabilities of all sorts can participate.
Basically, I say that Agility is for everyone. Using the Agility gear to encourage the dog to be obedient, to come when called and to be able to work with his human partner even when other dogs are quite close - all helps the dog to focus down and concentrate on a working, bonded partnership which will carry over into everyday life.
I am not wildly interested in producing top Agility Competitors, however, I am very keen that all the obstacles are done with care and with the proper rules in mind. I have absolutely no truck with anyone who wants to rip around a set of Agility gear screaming and yelling at a dog who is going nuts knocking hurdles over and missing obstacles altogether. I love seeing calm concentration and efficient team work. I want all the people and dogs who come to my classes to be the best they can be. I want them to have a positive experience, and I mostly want to see a lovely elegant round of the equipment.
One of the dogs who comes to my classes is a German Shepherd called 1. I have written about him before, and his Owner Nawa wrote her article about her dogs for the last Newsletter. 1 is a very crippled dog. His hind quarters do not necessarily follow his front half. His back feet turn right out and he has a very dropped rump area. On the lowest hurdle height with tunnels and low A frame plus weaves, this dog is a joy to watch. His concentration and ability to track through without missing anything, is just terrific. I am immensely proud of the three years work Nawa and I have put into making 1 the athlete he is. What's more he doesn't drop hurdle rails. As far as I am concerned the work that this team achieves is every bit as commendable as the best rounds of Agility I have ever seen.
Most of the Dogs at Dog Sports Rotorua who are in the Agility group, started out in either the Puppy class or in the Control class. Basically they came to learn how to come when called, how to wait for command, how not to rush at other dogs/people etc. Some of them have had absolutely manic problems like our lovely zooming Bella the Greyhound, and our water mad Bella the Sharpei X who heads for the water trough in between almost every obstacle. Sophie was scared of her own shadow. The list goes on.
First of all we have to get all the dogs in a calm mood so that they can concentrate on work. To do that we use a system I have developed called 'Control'. From day one I want the dog to give us a little bit of off lead work. Hauling a dog around on a lead is not conducive to teaching anything.
Control class is completed by getting the dogs doing the tunnels, learning open weaves (6) , and learning to walk through a Cavalletti style hurdle system. We do a set of exercises that involve the dog 'referring' to us. We teach the dog to turn his head and meet our eye so that we can give next instructions. When very young dogs turn up to specifically learn Agility, I put them into our Obedience Class as well as the Control class. Our Obedience class has all the normal heel work - sits, downs, stands, stays plus recall and another little thing called send away recall. I encourage tug game play as rewards, and we teach toy and ball retrieve. The Obedience Class also has exercises using stakes in the ground around which the dogs must circle as a heel and at which point they can be left in wait and called to another point, or they can be sent forward to the next stake to wait for further instructions. After a new dog and handler team have been doing this work for a few weeks they have some options. Those who are serious about Agility really need to move to the Equipment Class, or Play to Learn or both if the handler has time to do two or three nights a week.
Doing two or three classes a week really speeds up the learning. I teach weaves by doing a 'Weaves Clinic' class every week. Everyone who comes to weaves clinic works at the level they are at. If they are learning entries or just four open weaves or are up to six weaves straight, or twelve weaves open or where-ever they are up to. Even then they really need to be committed to doing a daily weaves drill at home to get the dog weaving properly. I am extremely proud of the weaving technique we have developed for our learners and we have some lovely stylish weavers coming along.
Play to Learn class has 'Control' lesson at the start followed by a featured piece of equipment.
Week 1 is only hurdles - teaching send away, recall, left and right entries, teaching send-away, recall, left and right entries, getting the heights to the place that each individual dog is at, teaching dogs to stay with the equipment and not to miss a hurdle by going around it.
Week 2 is tunnels - we own five tunnels of various sorts and they all come out to make a course. We learn long send-aways to tunnels, running tunnels, recall tunnels.
Week 3 is contacts - we learn seesaw, on very low, almost flat on the ground, low, low Aframe, one piece of dog walk on the ground or up on two tyres, and crossover table on the ground with its on-ramps attached. I teach the ends of each piece first so the dog mounts from the side of the down ramp and stands two feet on, two feet off head down on a target. I absolutely hammer this into everyone. When we first walk over the gear it is on lead. I teach slow contact work. We make this gear into a course so that at the end everyone gets to do all the gear one piece after another. Basically, everyone gets to do all the gear one piece at a time, so everyone is out there working on a piece of gear at the same time, then they get to run the course one by one.
Week 4 is called sticks - is the weaves clinic using all styles of weave training, stakes pointing outwards, stakes wide apart, all the club weaves at various stages of apart and together. Those that are working ‘closed’ on weaving can do their weaves ‘closed’ to where their training is at, while new people get to have them ‘wide open’.
Week 5 - is a simple course made up of all the elements, everything is on low. I do a ribbon reward system for the best achievers. It is judged on accuracy of handling, team work and clear rounds. It has nothing to do with speed. For example a dog that may have only been able to achieve three pieces of gear in a row, is now concentrating and getting around the whole course without deviation. Wow that is just great.
Week 6 is a Rally-O sort of course with no gear just sticks that have to be done in various orders with sits and waits and recalls, sendaways, heel work, etc.
Week 7 is Flyball night. This is true flyball with only fly pattern hurdles and ball boxes, then we go back to week 1 again etc.
Once a month we have a 'Have A Go' day which is open to the Public plus our members. We put up a course of Elementary, or Starters or even Novice level and then we run it at various levels, for example - A 'first timer' is someone who has never done any agility before or is in their very first stage of learning. The course is set up with everything on easy, and the handler can use a lead to walk their dog around. I work out on the course with the handlers, especially the brand new ones, holding their Dog at one end of a tunnel while they call it through. Many people who have never done this sort of thing before, find the opportunity exhilarating and some will want to come to classes to learn more. Others might come back next month. The winner of this section gets a lovely Agility Ribbon, a real full size printed Dog Sports Agility Ribbon in Purple and white.
The Juniors is the same course with a higher expectation, these are the people from the Play to Learn class and our Junior Agiliteers.
Veterans is for dogs 8 years and older and is set at a low height and ‘Experienced’ of which at present there is only me and two of my dogs, is for dogs who can zip around and get disqualified if I am not careful. I am hoping there will be some other experienced people turn up one day to compete against me. The Club would welcome other Agility people to come and use this opportunity to practice with their dogs, especially those just starting out in national competition who need as many opportunities as possible to do things in new places and on 'different' equipment from what they are used to.
I find that those who continue to come winter and summer and in the rain and scorching sun, to learn the sport of Agility with their dogs are just the most wonderful dedicated people I have ever met. They have a huge love and respect for their dogs and watch their dogs' diets, waistlines and general health. As a Club, Dog Sports Rotorua, supports each one of it's members through the regular trauma of being pet animal owners, all the Veterinary stuff and the dreadful moments when one of our lovely canine members has found it's way to the Rainbow Bridge for one reason or another. We also just love it when our members come back to class with a new Elementary Ribbon or a Flygility Qualification, and we celebrate with them for their hard work and dedication. It is just such a rewarding thing working with your dog, getting a great result, and enjoying the company of others who love doing the same.
Our next ‘Have a Go Agility Day’ at the Stock Car Club Grounds Paradise Valley Road is to be held Saturday 16th November at 1 p.m. It costs just $4 and is a Club Fundraiser. If you have never done this kind of thing before come at 12 noon and I will give you a free lesson on the course so that you have some idea how it works.
The sausage sizzle is pretty good too. Bring Sunhat, sunscreen, good sneakers, leash for dog, treat food for dog and a sense of humour . I will see you there.
