• 30Apr

  Legal or illegal T-shirt?

  Dog Agility Competing 3 Comments

  So what do you think?  Could you see this guy in the picture running an agility course dressed like this?  Well, not according to AKC.  Current or old news, I don’t know, but I just read an AKC rule regarding clothing at agility trials.  Advertising is not allowed in an AKC agility ring on the clothing worn by an exhibitor or ring crew staff, such as, “train at Joe’s Dog School,” or “eat at Joe’s Diner.” (or “Shop at Walmart”, I’m sure).  Club shirts may be worn, however. (Huh? Isn’t this advertising?).  Clothing must not display the name of a person or a persons’ dog or their titles. If a dog food logo is worn, it must not be in conflict with a sponsor of the trial. A picture of the exhibitors’ dog may be worn.  Gosh, I’m confused.  Does anyone have any insider-knowledge as to what constitutes advertising according to AKC’s definition?  Are they even enforcing it at trials?  Or this only at the national level?  Looking forward to your comments!  (click on the title of this blog, or the “comments” link in the upper right corner).

   

  

  Tags: agility competing, agility organizations, controversial

• 29Apr

  Agility Ladder Contest Winner

  Contests No Comments

  Sorry for my delay in blogging this week, and announcing Friday’s winner (as I usually do on Mondays).  We’re experiencing a technical problem and I haven’t been able to access the administrative panel from our server at work.  So I’m at at the Panera hotspot this morning, enjoying some coffee and blogging on my laptop.  Life is rough.  Anyway, congratulations to Debi, who won the Agility Ladder obstacle!  I used a cool web tool I found online to pick the random winner number: http://www.violetcottage.com/random/ and it picked the #24.  I decided this is better than asking an employee to pick a number, because humans can be partial (or superstitious) with certain numbers.  Most of us wouldn’t pick the lowest or highest number in a range, either, as the computer did this time.  Sooo…I think a computer generated number is the most fair way to start doing these contests! 

   

  Thanks to everyone for your great stories!  So many of you, both trainers and class members, shared how the Ladder is often used for training very beginner dogs, even before doing other agility obstacles.  It really is a versatile thing to have, as it is also helpful for advanced dogs later on, to enhance their performance.  I feel bad that everyone couldn’t win one.   If anyone is reading this and would like one, I can offer free shipping (in continental U.S. only).  Just give us a call and mention to Debbie that you heard it on the blog.

  Check back this Friday for yet ANOTHER fun giveaway!  Only at Agility Fusion!

  
• 25Apr

  Do you get AnimalRadio? Check out today’s program!

  Interesting and Funny No Comments

  Airing today, and for the next 6 weeks, I have the fun privilege of being on Animal Radio, a weekly radio program heard all across the U.S.  I’ve been asked to help train Ladybug, the AnimalRadio mascot, how to do agility using our Agility-in-the-Bag set.  I’ve been sharing the spot with Vladae, the famous Russian dog wizard. He is cool, and has been featured on all sort of major television shows and with celebrities for his amazing skills. (Me, well, starting a business has caused me to get a bit behind in the fame-department).  If you can pick up the station, check it out! Visit Animal Radio (click on Radio Affiliates on the left side for stations and times).  It can also be heard on XM Radio Saturdays 12-2 EST and Sundays 5-7pm EST.

  

  Tags: dog fame

• 24Apr

  Agility Ladder Contest

  Contests 24 Comments

  FRIDAY FUSION CONTEST…
  This contest is now closed, but comments can still be viewed and added.

  An Agility Ladder is called a “conditioning obstacle”. Besides just being different and fun, conditioning obstacles are used for helping dogs develop better coordination and confidence with their bodies, so they can better perform on regular agility obstacles.  The ladder helps dogs learn they have back feet, and how to use them in a more caculated, accurate manner.   It can improve your dog’s performance on regular agility obstacles that require stable footwork, such as the dogwalk, teeter, and even jumping (spacing themselves).   To win this obstacle…

  Tell us a story!  Tell us why and how you can use the ladder for your training purposes.

  • The deadline is Sunday night at midnight.
  • The winner will be posted Monday morning.
  • After they are all collected, an employee here will pick a random number to be the winner.  If we get 45 entries, for example, they will pick a number between 1 and 45.
  • To enter your answer, click on “comments” in the upper right corner.
  • Don’t forget that you have to have registered on this website at least once in the past.  You are then good for all friday contests!

  

  Tags: agility obstacles, agility training

• 23Apr

  Using your dog’s name in agility training

  Dog Agility Training 2 Comments

  I had (what some would call) a true “blond moment” the other day, when I was waiting at the hospital to get some blood drawn. The woman came out with her clip board and called ‘Pamela’. I looked at her. She looked at her clipboard again and called my name again. I looked at her intently, and asked, ‘What did you say?’. She said “Pamela’. It then hit me, she was talking about me! I laughed and said, “I was expecting you to call out last names. So when you said Pamela, my first thought was ‘Isn’t that funny? Someone has a last name the same as my first name!’”.

  Okay, you can laugh at me. But it WAS early in the morning, and I hadn’t had my coffee yet. Plus, the brain can be a funny thing. Sometimes it gets stuck on something and it can impair our thinking, all but briefly!

  I was thinking of this in relation to agility training. It’s very tempting to use our dog’s names a lot when trying to get their attention and do the obstacles we desire them to do. But its not a recommended practice. Dogs primarily associate their names to the activity of “coming”. Or at least, to give YOU focus, including looking into your eyes. Now, this may be fitting if your dog is running away from you, in an opposite direction, to call his name. It also can be useful if your dog has to make a sharp turn, and you are afraid he might run the wrong direction. But generally, you want your dog focused on the path ahead, and watching for your general body language cues. Not disrupted by having to give you a more full glance because you carelessly called his name at a time that really wasn’t necessary. This can slow up his speed and accuracy, and if overused, you will wear out the effectiveness of using his name when you really need it.

  Now, if you do have to call your dog’s name, and he looks at you funny, be forgiving, okay? I can certainly understand what its like to have a mental block!

  

  Tags: agility training, dog training

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