Clean Run - July 2010 - 61

ther and farther out to accommodate his size and still get a running performance from him. This seemed to work well. When we went to fun matches and classes he was solid on his contact performances, so I decided it was time to enter him in competition. Our first show was quite interesting. Our very first run ever was Gamblers and highly entertaining (others would call it disastrous). He crashed the first jump, fell off the dogwalk, tripped over the broad jump, did about half the weave poles, but did the gamble with a teeter in it perfectly. Thankfully, our second and last class of the day was Jumpers and we Qd with about 15 seconds to spare! After that first day of competition, I think Zeppie decided he needed to focus, and our first year of competition was fantastic. We were in Masters in no time, and he got his MAD at his third Masters show. I was very excited to enter him at the Cynosport Games to see how he’d do at a big show. Well, the big show went to his head and his contacts went out the window. As he got more confident competing, his stride changed, so he was missing contacts, mostly the down on both the dogwalk and A-frame. I tried several methods to retrain his running contacts including hoops, stride regulators, clicker reinforcement, and so on. They all worked great at practice, but since they weren’t there at a show, it was literally hit or miss. It was clear he no longer had any criteria for his running contacts. I decided to go back to his original training with a target. This worked great for the dogwalk, and he quickly understood his job there. The A-frame was a different story. I knew I needed to come up with a completely different approach this time. I went through my collection of Clean Run magazines and found an article by Rachel Sanders on training running A-frame contacts with the box. It was fun to go back to some basics with Zep to retrain this. He seemed to enjoy the box training. It’s now been six months since we retrained both the A-frame and dogwalk and so far, so good.

LB: Describe your favorite agility moments.

AD: Our first trial experience was one of my favorite moments with him because it was our very first run and he was having a blast and giving me his all, as disastrous as it was. Another one of my favorite agility moments with Zeppie is our first USDAA Steeplechase run. I didn’t know what to expect or how we’d fare against the other dogs, especially since most of them weighed about 30 lbs less than Zep. We just went out there and trusted each other. We placed third in Round One, and I was thrilled. For Round Two, I decided not only to trust him but also to push him. We already had the Q, so I had nothing to lose but some cash. I wasn’t watching any of the other dogs run, just keeping Zep’s focus on me. I was in a zone and Zep joined me in there. When it was our time to run, we ran our hearts out. We pushed each other through the entire course. Much to my surprise, we ended up winning the class and some serious cash too! Honestly, every run with Zeppie is special. He’s my fourth agility dog. Right after I started training Zep for agility, I had to retire my first two agility dogs within three months of each other. It made me appreciate the privilege of walking to the start line with him, and to be thankful each and every time I’m able to do that with him or any of my other dogs.
LB: When did you realize Zep could be a champion?

AD: Once Zeppie began to sequence a variety of obstacles in the early stages of our training, I knew he would be a champion. It would just be a matter of time. Besides his ADCH, he has his Tournament and Jumpers Bronze titles and is working on his ADCH Bronze as well. He’s also won a couple of local Grand Prix and Steeplechase events too. This year he’s earned two byes into a Regional.
LB: What are some of the things you and Zep do besides agility?

AD: All my dogs walk with me at least a mile every day, play ball and Frisbee, and hike whenever we can. When it warms up

July 10

Clean Run

Clean Run - July 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - July 2010