About Me

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I have had dogs all my life, the first being a Rough Collie, and then my first Border Collie in 1978, and I was instantly hooked. An Australian Shepherd followed I was in the dogworld to stay! I have been training dogs since 1996. I practiced as an Obedience instructor from 1998, and an Agility instructor from 2001, including specialised foundation and puppy Agility classes, clicker training, and advanced Agility. Since then the Shetland Sheepdog has captured my heart and I have been studying them ever since! My goal is to encourage great performance dogs while, at the same time, promote the good & healthy breeding, and pure lines of these wonderful breeds that I have chosen!

19 August 2011

Agility is FUN

For me.................. Agility is FUN...YES!

BUT.... I don't do it "for fun". The serious aspect will always overrule the "playing around" aspect.

A lot of people use the excuse FOR FUN, and I must say.. it is starting to bug me!

Why is it that when you go to an event, club or training session, and someone is faffing around, half-heartedly sending their dog to random obstacles, jogging up and down slowly, and seemingly not that into the whole thing... do they say "Ag, I'm just doing it for fun". Or when the dog cocks up chronically, they shrug, ag well, I am just doing it for fun...
So far, not a real issue for me, because I can turn away, as my goals are not the same as these people's goals. I don't have to draw their philosophy into my training ideals at all. Each to his own, you do your thing, and I do mine! (Although neither they nor their dog look like they are having fun!)

What I say is: what you put in, is what you get out.

Now the bit that bugs me is that you get some people, just like those mentioned above, that compete. And here is where it mingles within my realms of Agility. They compete without the forethought of what they are trying to achieve. What is success to them? Getting a prize, rosette or a placing?? Getting their dog around the course.. whatever it is, they are doing it on the level of COMPETITION and not JUST FOR FUN.

I saw this on the net:
What is your definition of success? Before you can achieve success, you need to define what success means to you. Unless you have a clear vision of what success is to you, you cannot work towards it.

I like this because it sort of describes what I am trying to say. And the below is MY FEELING on ME competing in Agility, with MY dogs.. (again I remind you all, each to his own)

Success for me is having FUN with my dog on an Agility course (my dog who WANTS to be there with me), and running the best we can according to the work I have put in. I find that I have the most fun after knowing what I have trained, and, having a clear plan in my head for a round, then just knowing that my dog and I will run well together. And the feeling continues until the end of the run.

Success is not about winning the round with the fastest time, clear, if I am not happy with something. (Yes, it sure can be - if I have enjoyed the round as well!) Success is a great feeling after a round, regardless of the faults or mistakes, it is just the feeling of achievement in one or more areas of the performance. And through the enjoyment, and the knowledge that you are doing something well, often comes the kind of success that the general population wants: WINNING!

If I have not trained something that I am presented with on a course, I formulate a plan of action in order to make it a success somehow - either by changing the route according to my dog's training (and then train that aspect in the next training session), or I decide how to attack that area with my dog so that she is asked, fairly, to attempt it. The success part comes in with a performance that is of the level of our training, or above.

I have come to a time in my Agility career when I can quite easily see problems and shortcomings while competing. Every single one is either lack of training in a specific area, unclear handling (and errors in handling), or external conditions (venue/ people/ etc). Knowing and being in control of the first 2 items, I believe, is making the chance of success much greater while competing.

Now, back to those "just for fun" people that decide to compete. More than half of them are the ones guilty of "losing it" in, or next to, the ring, the ones screaming and shouting orders at their dogs, the ones that have not trained the necessary skill and done the proofing to ensure that their dogs are ready to compete... the same ones that aim to win a prize or rosette!
Unfortunately it is also these ones that want to be given lower jumps, more time, easier angles etc etc.. why? Because their chance at success is so much lower because their training level and Agility outlook is "just for fun" rather than "for fun and success".


For me, I believe that doing something correctly is worth more than any prize or placing, and I will always aim to set my dog up for success and walk off with my dog knowing that she still loves me and still wants to work with me, and more importantly, still wants to learn more!





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