Clean Run - June 2015 - 59

obstacles, but when your dog is more
sensitive, less driven, and does not have
an unlimited desire for work, then you
might have a problem. With this kind of
dog, it is even more important that agility (and the obstacles themselves) are
introduced to them in the "right" way.
So, when starting with agility trainings,
keep in mind that it is equally important
to focus on what happens between the
obstacles, not just on the obstacles.
When introducing dogs to agility there
is one thing I keep in mind above everything else-somewhere between playing,
agility should happen! This sums up
pretty much everything I believe in when
I teach agility. I include obstacles so
seamlessly into the training that the dog
has no reason to believe agility is anything else but a great, fun way of playing with me. It also means I do not do a
single obstacle before my dog is really

excited and happy when he is working/
playing with me. Only when I see he has
no problem revealing speedy running
when playing with me, is it time to include obstacles in our training. After all,
if I cannot make my dog run fast after
a toy (or after me), how will I convince
him to run agility at full speed? If he is
not driven and excited when we work
together, how can I expect from him to
transfer drive and motivation to the agility course? That is why good playing
habits and finding motivators that excite
your dog is so important. And that is why
building a great, trustworthy relationship
from the beginning is so important.
When you have a dog that is crazy and
eager to work with you, then agility is a
"piece of cake." Have you ever seen a dog
that couldn't learn how to do the tunnel?
Me neither! But have you seen a dog that
showed little or no interest or happiness

when doing agility? I have, a lot of them.
That is why the obstacles are far less
important than you think. Every dog can
learn agility obstacles eventually, but the
real question is if your dog can perform
those obstacles with speed, drive, and with
a smile on his face? That is your goal!

Next month we will start putting all this
theory into practice with some agility
obstacles. D

Katarina Podlipnik Capuder has been training dogs for 12 years. During the last 7 years, she has been working as an instructor, holding workshops and seminars. She
loves to work with people around the world through on-line individual sessions and classes on speed, motivation, and drive. Katarina and her husband have 5 dogs: 2
Papillons, 2 Pumis, and a Croatian Sheepdog. She has qualified to represent Slovenia in the FCI Agility World Championship, European Open, and at the International
Mix & Breed Championship (IMCA), which she won twice in a row. Her dogs set the best times in many of those international competitions. Since she is successfully
competing in agility with breeds that are not among the most popular, she dedicates a lot of her time to helping other people whose dogs also need a different approach
to reveal their best on the agility course. You can read more about Katarina and her big family at www.grrready2go-k9training.com.

June 15 | Clean Run

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Clean Run - June 2015

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