Wow, these dogs are well-trained! That’s a lot of work and effort in this movie, I laughed until I cried! enjoy! Merry Christmas, everybody!
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23Dec
Tags: videos
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22Dec
Christmas is the time of giving and cheer, and we love to share it with our pets! However, many items this time of year can prove hazardous to animal health, so please, keep a watch out for dangerous items and situations!- Decorations – light cords, real pine trees, tinsel, poinsettias, chocolates, and mistletoe are all ‘new’ things in the house that a pet will want to explore. Keep the animals safe by securing decorations and keeping the pets contained and away from open flames and electrical cords.
- Food – holiday food is notoriously sweet and fatty! Keep treats to pets to a minimum, and food stored safely away from them. Even the best dog will steal a turkey if it’s left within reach.
- Stress – with so many people in ‘their’ house, or being in a new place, your pet may stress out. Provide them with a safe place to go to – a quiet room, a crate, or an elevated cat tree.
- Open Doors – This time of year we are always opening the door to welcome in family, unload the car, or take the packages from Affordable Agility off the stoop. Be careful that your pet doesn’t make a break for the great outdoors!
- Gifts - sometimes we wrap delicious food and put it under the tree. If your dog or cat is half as smart as you think they are, they probably think it’s a game to unwrap!
Tags: dog safety & health
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19Dec
Q. My dogs is brilliant on training nights at the club. We can do quite advanced stuff, yet we are still in the beginners for competitions. We attended a competition yesterday and she behaved like a dog that didn’t know what agility was about! She ran up to the Judge for some attention, she ran out of the ring to see someone she knew, and she was s-l-o-w!How do I transfer her wonderful skills at training to a competition?
A. I think your dog just needs a bit more time to learn to work at trials – this is super common for beginner dogs! They get a little bit stressed because of the new atmosphere and their handlers’ jitters, and so they seem to ‘forget’ how to do agility, or go very slowly, or leave the ring altogether. Some things that might help you and your dog are (you can use all, or some, and please let me know if you think of any others! this is a pretty common problem.
- fun runs - go to a trial that offers ‘fun runs’, where you can bring a toy into the ring, or even treats, maybe – ask before you do treats!
- Enter one run at a competition, if possible. This will spare your dog the stresses of crating AND running.
- Bring your dog along (with permission from the trial hosts) and just crate and walk them at the trial. That will get them used to the atmosphere and crating and coming out with lots and lots of dogs!
- Train at another center, if possible, a few times
- Rent a ring with friends and stage your own trial! I like this one, since it allows you to have some of the atmosphere but in a super controlled way.
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16Dec
I just found this gorgeous video of Purina’s Incredible Dog Agility – and had to share! What a lot of beautiful runs! I wish agility was on TV more… but if it were, I would watch TV more, so maybe it’s for the best!
Tags: agility competing
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14Dec
Q. This is my first season competing with my collie, Taggie. I’ve been told he has lots of potential and will go far if only he would jump the last hurdle. Instead of going over it, he turns back to me. Whatever I do, he won’t take the last fence! It’s the only thing stopping me from getting a clean run. Do you have any advice?A. How very frustrating for you!
Why the last fence?
- Associations are made in a split second. Tag may have knocked his toe on landing after the last hurdle – ouch! He may have seen a helper throw a leash as he took off and assumed it was aimed at him – ouch! Is it a surprise that Tag is suspicious of the last fence?
- All those dogs ringside are in a frenzy to get at the equipment. Taggie questions the wisdom of jumping the last fence and landing in the middle of them.
- It is possible that Taggie is anticipating the praise he receives at the end of a round and is preempting you. He turns back to his handler too early for congratulations on a job well done (but not finished).
Mental Imagery You and Taggie are both very apprehensive about the last fence and reinforce each other’s anxiety. Picture another fence after the last one and continue to work Taggie over it. Pretend the finish line is not where the judge has set it. This should help you avoid tensing up as you approach the final hurdle.
All the Hurdles are the Same By becoming last-fence-obsessed, you may be unwittingly rubber-stamping Taggie’s behavior. Act at the last fence just like you do at fences number one, two, and three. It’s possible that your dog believes that all the extra attention he gets at the last fence is his reward for refusing it.
Lower the Jump Make it as easy as possible for Taggie to jump the last hurdle so that you can praise him for his performance. Start with the fence at mini height. As the fence is raised, and your dog continues to jump it, both of you will relax and cease to think of the last hurdle as your biggest obstacle.
Go on Teach your dog the “go on” command. Teach him to go over a fence to a target or toy. The reward and praise is delivered after the fence, not before it. And the spectators who cheer Tag to the end of his run will be shouting ‘go on’ too! Your command to send Tag down the home stretch will be reinforced by the crowd.
Have a break it’s amazing. Some problems disappear as suddenly as they appear for no discernible reason. Have a week or two off and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Don’t let this problem dominate your dog agility training. The last fence is only 1/20th of the course. Keep practicing other agility exercises. If you get a hang-up about the last fence, so will your dog.
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