Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 83

Now he reliably does weaves and teeters, obstacle discriminations, and anything else I ask at 15' or more. I am so proud of how confident he has become. He often has a 100% Q-rate on a weekend. Chewie is a very soft dog, and I had to work very slowly and not move too fast even though he learned so quickly. If we regressed, I always made it okay; we would go back to where he was comfortable and pick up there. Our training sessions lasted a maximum of 10 minutes, and I limited each piece of major equipment to two times successfully and then went on. At the beginning, Chewie wanted to pee on weave poles or anything else vertical in the agility yard. Once we taught him not to do that, it was smooth sailing. Chewie responds well to happy reactions so that was all he received. I let him know he was brilliant at all times. I laughed happily at any mistakes. He is a sensitive dog and would have quit if I had ever said anything negative. Now he is thoroughly reliable, and he is my little “Q-machine!” LB: What are your favorite agility experiences? become relaxed in competition, and one of my favorite moments was when we took his victory lap for his C-ATCH and he kept barking at the person carrying the C-ATCH pole (recent regulations make us have someone else carry the ribbon and pole so we are not distracted from our dog’s safety). He couldn’t understand why this person was running around in the ring with a pole, and he barked at her the entire lap around. It was pretty funny. LB: When did it dawn on you that both your dogs could become champions? Level 1 and I just thought he would have fun instead of just sitting around while Lucky ran. Before we knew it we were almost through Level 5. Just eight months after he started trialing he had earned his C-ATCH. He has since earned his C-ATE, less than two years after his first trial. TH: I really thought Lucky’s C-ATCH would be our crowning glory, but I kept running her for fun in Level C. After 32 runs in a row without missing a Q, I realized she was capable of all kinds of championship titles! The C-ATE requires more than 230 C-level qualifying runs, including at least 20 Qs in each of 7 classes. Chewie started training in agility a month after we brought him home and he caught on pretty quickly. But he was afraid of men. My husband was endlessly patient with him, and after some time Chewie could happily climb into his lap. But Chewie remained afraid of strange men. I worried that he would be scared of male judges, so I took him along to Lucky’s trials to get him used to the environment and meet any men willing to pet him. I wanted him to realize that a man’s touch would not hurt him. He responded pretty well, and he never barked at a judge and really seemed to enjoy running. He started trialing seven months after we started training. This may seem very quick, but he was entered in © terry hawkins LB: What are your favorite non-agility moments with your dogs? TH: Earning Lucky’s C-ATCH and C-ATE were very special because Lucky absolutely understood these were big moments that put her in the spotlight, exactly where she wants to be. She started running her own mini victory laps even before we got the C-ATE. It was a delight to watch her soak up the applause. Chewie is very different. I don’t think he takes agility as seriously as Lucky, but that is okay and probably better for me. I have TH: Lucky and my husband have a special bond and actually sing (howl) together, which is quite cute and loud. Lucky also loves tennis balls. She has no interest in dog-toy balls but is very excited by real tennis balls. After almost every walk, my son throws the tennis ball down the street toward our house, and she scurries those little legs as fast as she can after it. My son (who is now 13) also recently ran Lucky after her C-ATE for fun and Q’d on all their runs. He has always helped at trials, but he had never run a dog before. © doghouse arts November 08 | Clean Run 83

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Clean Run Magazine - November 2008

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