Clean Run - December 2011 - 53

There is a lesson to be learned about enjoying the lighter side of agility and not taking ourselves so seriously!
Dana Rocco was entered at a new site with Charlee her mixed breed. Dana and Charlee were relaxing in the shade when they encountered an alien being. Charlee was not prepared for a security guard on a Segway. She would have bolted if Dana had not had control of the leash. Charlee completed her runs that day but kept looking around for the monster. Donna Deal’s Border Collie Tillie had a similar encounter atop the A-frame when she spied a wheelchair-bound Boxer. Tillie froze and started making noise. Tillie is gone now but Donna recalls that after that incident she always looked all around before descending in an unfamiliar place. Lindsay King’s Mini Australian Shepherd came out of a tunnel at full speed only to encounter two wooden Doberman silhouettes as jump uprights. Her dog shrieked, swerved to the side, and took a jump with “normal” uprights. She has since met the scary black wooden dogs and is quite happy to run between them. Diana Penha and her shy Toy Fox Terrier Abbi had just gotten their first Double-Q and overall were doing pretty well competing. At an early spring outdoor trial the judge ran toward Abbi while she was on the A-frame. The ground was hard and they could hear the loud pounding of his feet as he ran. Abbi got frightened and when she came off the A-frame she left the ring. While she remains comfortable in practice that single event caused her to become anxious at trials and she freezes if the judge comes too close. Diane has worked hard to help Abbi gain more confidence and they still compete. With her next competition dog, Taylor, Diane set up many different practice situations with unexpected distractions. I am happy to say I saw them earn a MACH recently. Cherrie Treber and her Keeshond were trialing on a very windy day. The strong winds pulled an E-Z UP canopy out of the ground and carried it over the ring barrier. It landed in the ring where it proceeded to roll in a tumbleweed-like fashion. Cherrie and her dog stopped. The judge signaled a refusal. Cherrie said, “There’s a tent in the ring!” She was given a rerun after the judge noticed the new non-regulation agility obstacle. Kim McNeill was competing with her Basenji Digital when a plastic bag floated out in the field ahead of him. Did I mention that Digital is a field champion lure-coursing dog that has been encouraged to chase the plastic-bag bunny? Then there is the day Jet, another of her Basenjis, discovered his tail while he was in the weave poles. Kim is pretty sure it’s the same one he had always had. Finally there are the tales of Charlie a Benji-type terrier mix who lives in Florida with Pam Voitas. Charlie is quite famous for his antics. Charlie has tried to dig to Middle Earth while in a tunnel, stolen the judge’s water bottle from under the A-frame and circled the ring with it, picked up course cones, and he has also left the ring to grab someone else’s bunny tug, reentered, then restarted his run from where he left. During his initial encounter with a rubberized A-frame Charlie brought the crowd to its feet with his performance. Charlie rubbed and rolled into the contact zone, ending the obstacle with a complete flip to land on his feet. Charlie once left the ring to pee on a post and reentered to complete a very difficult gamble. Just as Pam overcomes one challenge Charlie rises to the occasion and presents her with a new one. Or as Pam puts it, “Charlie has taught me patience, humility, and the ability to laugh no matter what!” That’s a pretty important lesson for all of us to take with us. Agility, like life, is not predictable so learn to roll with the punches and never lose sight of the fun. Treasure the memories you are making and the time spent with your dog. It’s never enough. D

Jamie gained her early experience in New York at the New Rochelle Humane Society, providing training to enhance the adoptability of shelter dogs while teaching safe handling skills to volunteers. She teaches puppy, family manners, focus, impulse control, and tricks classes at the Port Chester Obedience Training Club. She competes in rally obedience and agility. Jamie and her husband Stephen are owned by two Shetland Sheepdogs, a Golden Retriever, and a West Highland White Terrier.

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Clean Run - December 2011

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