Clean Run - June 2018 - 22

It hasn't been an easy journey for Janet and
Gracie. One of Janet's challenges has been
Gracie's reactivity to other dogs. When Janet first started foundation classes, Gracie
could not be in the same building with
other dogs. Janet says "Gracie was so overstimulated, and she would bark and bark
and bark. I could only bring her into the
building when it was our turn." Through
plenty of training, assistance, and lots patience, and as Gracie's love for agility grew,
Gracie was able to be around other dogs
on walks and in class. Janet and Gracie
participated in their first agility competition a few months ago, something Janet
never thought they would be able to do.
And it wasn't just Gracie's reactivity to
other dogs that has made their journey a
difficult one. When Gracie was two years
old, she accumulated a life-threatening
amount of fluid in her abdomen. During
the process to discover the cause and live
with the symptoms, Janet and Gracie have
stayed with agility as much as possible
since they both love it so much.

Jordan Biggs
Age 25. Competing for a year and a half.

Jordan found agility when she took an
obedience class with her first Border Collie puppy at the local humane society.
Jordan mentions, "The instructor of the
puppy class ran a Border Collie rescue,
and after class, I was talking to her about
BC rescue and asked about volunteering.
She is the one who helped me find my first
agility instructor."
Jordan says she got involved with the sport
because she wanted to work with her dog
and was motivated to learn all about different dog sports. "I also started doing com-

petitive disc training and found I had a
knack for teaching my dog tricks. I understood reward-based training quickly (even
though I was originally taught negative
reinforcement). I think the main reason
I wanted to get into more dog sports was
that training dogs came so natural to me."
When asked what she found to be most
challenging as a beginner in the sport,
Jordan says, "figuring out all the details of
competing was hard. Things like filling out
an entry form, where to go when I arrived at
the trial site, how to get my dog measured,
how to know what class I was in, where
to check in, and all of the little details."
Jordan also said she did not understand the
end goal or where the foundation was taking her. I asked Jordan if after competing for
a year and a half she now understands the
end goal and where the foundation leads.
"I think everyone has a picture in their
head of what they want agility to be, for
them and for their dog. Everyone may have
different goals, or their pictures might be a
bit different, but I feel like my foundation
is what has set me up to reach my goals."
As a novice, Jordan found it difficult to
navigate through all the information, especially when she was unsure of where she
wanted to go in the sport. Jordan says what
helped her most was "finding an instructor whose teaching and training supported
my goals. Everything clicked after that. I
just ran away with it. I trained and learned
and took more classes, online classes."
Being new to the sport has its challenges,
I asked Jordan what she found to be her
biggest challenge in the sport. "My frustration. My frustration with myself or my
dog. I do the best I can to not get frustrated with my dog. I always want him to
feel like he is the best dog in the world.
He works so hard for me. But it is hard.
It is hard to feel like I have put so much
time and training into a specific skill and
still have trouble with that skill at a competition. I have always been a competitive
person at my core and when it comes to
something that I feel passionate about I
can be a bit of a perfectionist. But with a
dog, you cannot be a perfectionist. They
don't see things the same way, and they always come into training giving their best."

I admire Jordan for being so honest with
her answer. It is sometimes difficult to
talk about personal difficulties. When
asked how she combats her frustrations
Jordan says she likes playing music when
she trains, "especially fun upbeat music
that I like to sing to. I think it helps me
remember it should all be fun. I also try to
remember that even though we are doing
well, Kirbee is only three years old and I
am a first-time handler."
Kirbee is the first dog Jordan has trained
in so many agility skills, and she says, "as
much as I am competitive and like to push
the limits, I try to remember we are both
new to the sport." Remembering that both
she and her dog are learning new things
together helps curb her frustrations, and
Jordan mentions that forgiving herself
for not being perfect goes a long way. If
Jordan finds herself overly frustrated, she
says she will take her dogs for a hike or a
swim and come back to their training later with fresh eyes. By having tools to work
through her frustrations, Jordan says she
is better able to check herself and keep
training fun for her and her dog.
When asked what advice she would give
to someone going to their first foundation
class, Jordan says, "Learn to love the game
through play. Don't rush it. Spend a lot
of time building skills and proofing skills
before putting it into coursework. Don't
ask your dog to do something you have
not taught him to do. Find an instructor
whose training and classes support your
goals. Above all, though-play."
Although Donna, Janet, and Jordan may
have different agility goals, they all believe that agility is a game, that it's fun, and
should be considered play for both handler
and dog. I find it's not these women's goals
that define them or their dogs, but the love
they have for their dog and the game. I
am fortunate enough to be surrounded by
Novice A handlers on a weekly basis. I find
them to be a wonderful reminder of why
I started agility in the first place. D
Editors' Note: No longer able to combat
her illness, 5.5-year-old Gracie passed
shortly after this article was completed.
Our condolences to Janet.

Tammy has been training dogs for more than 30 years, getting her start in 4-H obedience in middle school. Tammy found her love for agility in 1999 and started teaching
agility in 2002. She opened her own training program in 2006 when she founded Oregon School for Clever Dogs. Tammy is best known for helping her students create
happy working relationships with their dogs. You can reach Tammy at www.cleverdogsagility.com.
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http://www.cleverdogsagility.com

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