Clean Run - July 2013 - 18

Vivian has individual goals
for each of her dogs, according to their abilities, and
general goals for herself
so she keeps getting better
as an exhibitor/trainer. She
also sets goals for her practice schedule and for the
next weekend of trials.
Rachel Sanders became
involved in agility in 1994.
She teaches agility full
time, writes, and competes
in AKC and USDAA with
her Border Collies, Stuie
and Gifted. She was the
USA Team Coach at the
2012 IFCS World Agility Championships and
was a silver medalist with
her Border Collie Fable
at the 2008 IFCS World
Agility Championship.
She is a strong believer in
the importance of mental
focus and a positive attitude: “Once you have
become proficient with
course strategy and you
are handling a dog that
has learned the various
skills required to complete
a course, I believe the rest
is down to mental focus
and a belief in your own
capabilities. Agility is an
extremely demanding sport
and the margin for error is
so small—often just a few
feet out of position or a few
tenths of a second late or
early with your cues and
an error occurs.”
She sees most handlers
making handling/loss of
focus errors during their
walk-throughs. If concentration is lost during the
walk-through, Rachel suggests that instead of just
fixing the error, go back to
the beginning and start the
walk-through again. If focus is lost in an area more
than once, repeat that
area three or four times in
succession. Also, make
sure to look at the course
18

from the start-line, not just
from the lead-out position.
If loss of focus is typically
during the second half of
the course, she suggests
walking the last part of the
course first and then go
to the beginning and walk
the whole course. Her advice for improving focus in
the ring is to improve the
course walk-through: “That
should be the rehearsal for
your run. When watching
someone walk a course,
an onlooker should be able
to visualize where the handler’s dog is at all times.”
When Rachel is running
her own dogs, she doesn’t
have a set routine before
she runs because she
finds it depends on the individual dog and how each
is reacting to the competition on the specific day.
She tries to connect with
her dogs in some way but
feels a set routine could be
counterproductive if she
were unable to execute it
for some reason. When the
run is over, there is always
a party or celebration with
her dogs. She especially
hates to see people walk
off the course and ignore
their dogs. She sums it up,
“Whenever you are working with your dog, give him
100% of your undivided
attention—he deserves
nothing less.”
Anne Swan runs competitive agility with her two Australian Cattle Dogs, Kylie
and Maizey. She earned
her CPDT-KA (Certified
Professional Dog Training
Certificate) and has been
training and competing in
agility for 12 years. Anne
thinks it is very important
to stay positive before, during, and after your run. She
sees handlers say negative
things before and after their
runs not realizing that what

they say can make a huge
difference on how the run
actually goes. She points
out, “Your thoughts are
powerful and what you tell
yourself is very important.
The course walk-through
is your preparation for the
upcoming run with your
dog. Try to replace negative
thoughts with positive ones,
such as “My dog needs me
to be right here (location)
in order to have a better
chance of making that
tough weave entry.”
No team runs clean every
time they step into the ring.
She suggests, “Let the
negative thoughts leave
your mind. Choose to
focus on what went well,
what may need practice at
home, and the good things
you are going to accomplish in your next run.”
Improving focus in the ring
first requires being well
prepared, calm, and in tune
with your dog, according to
Anne. “Knowing where you
are going on course and
precisely when you need to
be there should be a major
part of your plan. Have a
Plan B or C as a backup.
Don’t panic when something doesn’t go exactly as
planned. Try to get back on
track as soon as possible
and avoid a big display that
could discourage your dog.
Even the best handlers
have moments like this in
the ring, but the difference
is that they do not allow
themselves to get rattled
by it. Smile at your dog and
keep on going!”
Anne prepares for her runs
by spending some quiet
time with her dogs at the
trial venue. She visualizes her handling, gets her
dog to tune into her, and
sets her mind in the correct place for a successful

Rachel Sanders and puppy
Gifted use playtime as
a learning experience.

Anne Swan and Maizey
work on connecting at
the start line.

Anne and Maizey find play
helps them relax and connect
before competing.

Juliet Franzen and Kai
practice focus games
whenever possible.
Clean Run | July 13
Clean Run - July 2013

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