Clean Run - May 2014 - 5

Can Any Dog Be an Agility Dog?
By Christy McGough

Recently an agility judge said to me, "Every dog is an
agility dog." I am not sure what she meant by the statement, but if taken at face value I would have to disagree.
If you have been trialing in agility even for a short time,
you know it takes a good handler and a good dog to make
a successful agility team. Assuming the human half of the
team is able to do her part with
some level of skill, can any
physically sound dog be trained
to fulfill the canine half of a
successful partnership?
I started agility almost nine
years ago with a rescued German Shepherd Dog. It was her
attitude and personality that
motivated me to start training agility even though I had
no instructors nearby to help us.
She was a happy, playful, and
friendly dog. She was confident
and had a willingness to work
with me and listen. Together we
learned the game of agility and became a successful team.
Today she has agility championship titles in UKC, AKC,
and USDAA.
Four years ago I adopted a mix breed puppy from a shelter. I thought I had my second agility dog. Her first year
of learning agility was enjoyable and she showed much
promise while we were training at home. Sadly it all fell
apart when we started to compete. At first I did not understand why we were having problems. But as time passed,
I learned how much a dog's personality affects their ability to perform. The contrast between my two dogs could
not be greater.

Unlike my German Shepherd, my mix breed dog is not
very playful or happy. She is suspicious of people and
she does not completely trust even me. She is fearful and
anxious about many things and her willingness to listen is
faulted by that stress. Sometimes she can work through her
anxiety, but more often her anxiety shows itself in avoidance
behaviors. Despite sometimes
qualifying, her personality does
not make her what I would call
a good dog for agility.
With many dogs, problems arise
in training and competing. I often see positive and competent
training help the dogs to overcome many of these problems,
but it's not 100% effective with
all dogs. I have worked hard to
help my dog to overcome her
problems, but I have realized
that I cannot change her basic
personality. She is never going
to be a carefree, relaxed, happy
dog away from home. This is not a situation of optimism
versus pessimism, but one of reality.
We have all seen handlers who are often disappointed
with their dog's behavior in the ring. Assuming the handler has done the appropriate skills training with the dog,
has some level of handling skill, and has a positive reinforcement training style, I believe we should look to
determine if the dog really has a personality suited for
agility. I do not believe that success in agility is possible
for every dog, even if they are physically capable.

Christy McGough

Christy McGough has been running agility in the Georgia/Florida area for over eight years. Here oldest agility dog, Dibby, has six championship titles and is the second
German Shepherd Dog to earn an ADCH-Bronze.
May 14 | Clean Run

Clean Run - May 2014

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