Clean Run - January 2009 - 73

LB: When did you realize Casey could be a champion? LB: Describe your favorite non-agility moments with Casey. BL: I felt Casey could be competitive but to what degree I wasn’t sure. At the 2006 USDAA Northeast Regional Championships, we had a nice run in the Grand Prix finals and were 3 seconds off the winning time. I never thought we could shave off that much time. Through the following year, with the help of our instructor, Sandi Shilling-Daniels, we worked on speed. We tightened Casey’s turns and took a quarter of a second off her dogwalk and an eighth of a second off her teeter. When Casey began to run very competitive times, I realized she had what it takes to be a champion. But today’s dogs are so fast that it’s really difficult to win the big competitions. In 1998, when Phoebe made the USDAA Finals, most of the competitive times were 36 to 38 seconds. It was amazing to see a dog break 35 seconds. Now dogs are breaking 30 seconds. LB: What do you think makes today’s dogs faster? BL: Almost every summer day I take all three dogs for a swim around the perimeter of the large pond on our property. I either paddle a canoe or swim with them. I look forward to it almost as much as they do. It’s a blast to do and it’s great conditioning. In the winter we go on long hikes two or three times a week. LB: How does Casey fit in your household? BL: She has been a perfect fit. She had a big job on her hands coming into our house. She has been a wonderful addition to the pack. She worships both Phoebe and Reggie and she loves to travel so she has been just great. LB: Would you get another dog from a shelter? BL: It’s the training, not the dogs. It seemed clear at the Northeast Regional that running contacts will win. But lots of dogs missed their running contacts under the pressure of a big event. I love to see running contacts when they work. I think it’s a challenge to do well with a quick release of a two-on/two-off contact, after the dog hits the two-on/two-off position. In a big competition, it is a huge temptation to release the dog early, in the contact zone but above the two-on/two-off position. You can probably get away with an early release about once a year, and then you have to retrain. If you give an early release more often you will confuse your dog. Then the dog gets apprehensive and the behavior begins to fall apart. You have to control yourself as a handler, and not give that early release more than once a year or so. LB: How often do you compete? BL: Absolutely. We have adopted both dogs and cats from the shelter, and they have all been wonderful pets. The dogs are all great agility partners. Living in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a farming community known as the puppy mill capital of the country, makes going to a shelter a very easy choice for us. And there are wonderful dogs being killed every day because shelters don’t have space for them. Every time you adopt a dog, you make room in the shelter for one more dog in need. LB: Your favorite venues? BL: USDAA Regionals and the Nationals are my favorites. I enjoy the excitement that comes with the larger venues. It’s an opportunity to see dogs and competitors we usually don’t see. But I wish the USDAA Nationals would be moved to a more central part of the country. LB: Have you had any help with Casey’s agility career? BL: Because we run an aquatic plant nursery, I can’t get away for very many trials in the spring and summer. I go to about 10 trials a year, mostly just on Sundays. I would love to be able to trial more, but I have to work on weekends—at least on Saturdays—during our busy season. Agility is a game that Casey enjoys and that I do for my entertainment. My dogs’ long, healthy, happy lives are a bigger priority to me than agility. BL: We have had lots of help! Casey has a great life here at the plant nursery and at home. She spends the majority of her days with Julie, Phoebe, and Reggie. I think a happy, active life away from agility enhances any dog’s success in the ring. Julie provides a wonderful day-to-day life for Casey. On the training end of things, I’m very grateful for Sandi Shilling-Daniels’ knowledge of the sport and her talents as an instructor. Without Sandi, our struggles would have been many. January 09 | Clean Run 73

Clean Run - January 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - January 2009