Clean Run - June 2017 - 22

often say their dogs can read their
minds. I stretch, say "right," and immediately all my dogs are by the door
waiting for their walk-dogs are highly
observant and you can use that to your
advantage. So I introduce them to an
agility lead, an obedience lead, and a
walking lead. At the moment the agility lead and the obedience lead simply
mean that he needs to focus on me,
since we're nowhere near ready to start
any obstacle training or any formal
obedience training. The walking lead
tells him that apart from basic obedience his time is his own. Those associations need to be kept clear. Both working leads need to be associated with a
fun and exciting time, but exclusively
focused on me.

needs to be kept clear for youngsters
until they have the work ethic I'm looking for. This is not a life-long arrangement. My Jester loved children and
when we were at agility shows I often
had a caravan full. He could switch
from playtime to work time in the blink
of an eye, and I often let the children
take him for a walk and play with him
right up until the point we queued to
run. But this wasn't always the case;
in the beginning, I was careful about
keeping work and play distinct, just as I
will be with all three youngsters.

When we go to agility shows, the babies will come out of the car with their
agility leads on and do little sessions of
work/play and then be returned to the
car. I stay well away from exercise areas
as they are often crowded with hypedup dogs. I also stay away from the competition rings at this stage as no one
needs to learn to scream at dogs that
are working! If I want to socialize with
other people and dogs I find a friendly
dog park or local walk. Agility shows
are not for my dogs to socialize, they
are working areas and that distinction
22

With Chianna, my daughter's Lurcher,
who had not one drop of a work ethic
anywhere in her body or brain, I did
exactly the same. It wasn't always successful; on one memorable occasion
she left the top of the A-frame, cleared
the next jump, and left the ring after a
rabbit moving in the hedge. She was
thrilled with her catch and most upset
that the judge didn't share her pleasure! I was also thrilled for her as you do
have to be a realist-but not only that,
she'd never caught a rabbit before! A
Saluki-cross was never going to be the
easiest of dogs to train; Chani did well,
with a good few wins to her credit before the injury that ended her agility career. However, when I was working her
I was always aware of distractions in
the distance and how diﬃcult it was for
her to ignore them. At one show, which
was held in a country park with a resident deer population, I simply didn't
run her, as it was too much to ask. What
being careful with associations did for
her was to make it easier for her to understand what was expected of her in
those situations.

The next part of building associations
is a warm-up routine. Every agility dog
needs to warm up; they need to get the
blood pressure raised and get the muscles and tendons loosened and ready for

work. They also need a routine for mental focus. I have had a different warm-up
routine for every dog I've ever worked
based on their needs. Tyzer's routine is
almost exclusively heelwork, with little
play; he's as high as a kite and doesn't
need to be worked up any further. Boogie was shy of the urban world and his
routine was all about excitement, but
still focused on me. With all three of the
youngsters a routine needs to be built;
the basics will be in place long before
they go anywhere near the equipment.
Shady is a big dog and he will need a
good deal of attention to the physical
side of things in the beginning. Darcey
and Shady are much more physically
able, but both have focus difficulties
that Shady doesn't. Their warm-ups
will be about happy, snappy responses.
As we start to develop warm-ups we'll
take them on the road. Anywhere and
everywhere I go, the dogs will come
with me and will come out of the car
and "work." Car parks, shopping centers,
main streets-we'll take and develop
our warm-ups until both halves of the
partnership are confident in as many
different situations as I can find. I don't
think there's anything that compares to
one of the UK's 24 ring agility shows and
all its attendant chaos, but we can certainly prepare as well as we can.

Shady is on his own in a local city
park with me to meet people and
dogs. It's important he maintains the
confidence he has developed and
doesn't start relying on the rest of
the pack for confidence.

Clean Run | June 17

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