Thank you to everyone for some very generous donations of dog treats - they will be taken to Brize Norton 19th Dec so there is time to bring treats this Wednesday if anyone else wants to make a donation :)

Workshops 16th Dec

If anyone would like to come along to a workshop on weaves, contacts or Olympia-style courses, Sunday Dec 16th, please let me know!

Collection of treats for RAF dogs

Thanks to everyone who has contributed dog treats, these and any more donated next week, will be delivered to Brize Norton for the 49 RAF Police dogs who have just returned from duty in Afghanistan.

New term!

A new term starts this week. Looking ahead, we will not be training Christmas week, Wednesday 26th December.

A full weekend of training!

Thank you to Matthew Goodliffe our guest trainer for last Saturday, for giving us a brilliant day of training :-)
We also had two workshops Sunday morning; one for those clever enough to qualify for Olympia, and one building weave skills for those dogs working towards independent weaves at who are not quite at the upright pole stage. In the first Olympia workshop we worked on some things that are specific to that final. Everyone was looking really good and we had a really fab couple of hours, some people came away with some specifics to work on that we will hone in the second workshop in December, but overall a very positive bit of training. Great to welcome Dave Munnings and Dan Shaw who were working their young dogs there as well. In the second workshop we worked on weaves using channels and 2x2's, made some really good progress, with all the dogs building motivation and drive for the weaves and showing some really nice (and fast!) weave action. A great weekend of training, and thank goodness we have an indoor venue, the rain lashed down!! I feel so much happier knowing there is less risk of dogs slipping or falling in our lovely indoor venue, especially now that winter is upon us (of course it is much more pleasant for the handlers too!) :-)

Technical difficulties

It seems that some emails that I send are not getting to everyone, and some emails that people are sending are not getting to me! Sorry about this, until it is resolved please resend emails if you do not get an answer!

Kennel cough

There is a lot of kennel cough about at the moment. Please do not come training if your dog is coughing! Please do not come training if your dog has been in contact with other dogs that have kennel cough!

This week is week 9 of the current 10 week term. Yesterday was the last open show of the year for me, I saw some nice work from club members and was really pleased with my two dogs as well, Deece bought home two trophies and Zazzy had three top ten places in the North Downs show. I greatly apologise for the delay in booking solid dates for our training plans, it seems there are many pheasant shooting days planned in the woods nearby and obviously I don't want to be running any training days when that is going on! If I cannot get a definitive response this week we can either move the weekend training to a different venue or hold some classes after dark (assuming the shooting has to stop when they can't see what they are shooting!)

Crucial Keys to Agility Greatness

From Susan Garrett's blog:

'The Three Crucial Keys to Agility Greatness'

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

So you want to know what I view as the three most important things in creating a great agility dog? Foundation, foundation, foundation.'

From Dave Munnings: 'The more I learn and the more I teach, the more I realise the importance of foundation.'

From the Olympic British Cycling coaches:  'the ethos has been to make small gains in all areas, which result in major gains in performance... the devilishly fast times are in the detail.'  

Thinking back to the competitions over the summer, the kind of questions I am asking myself now are; are my contacts fast and accurate enough? Is my wait rock solid and my dog driving out at full speed when I release? Is my dog driving as fast as possible round the course? Are my dogs' weaves reliable no matter where I am? Is my distance handling and verbal cueing up to scratch? do my dogs' understand what obstacle I want them to take next? Are my turns tight enough? Is my dog knocking too many poles? Have I got the right balance of drive and control? Does my dog come to me when I call rather than take what is in front of it? Does it drive on when I am lagging behind?

With these thoughts permeating through my mind, I thought I would offer five more one hour workshop dates on Sunday mornings, offering an opportunity to focus on some essential skills. These will include:

Building more drive and motivation in your dog (speed workshop)

Creating more self control in your dog

body awareness (co-ordination and balance)

jumping skills (grids and turns workshops)

weave skills (for dogs just learning to weave, and also advanced weave skills for experienced dogs)

contacts, speed and proofing

distance control

obstacle discrimination

handling choices

In December there will be a day to practise Olympia style courses, and a charity event (courses, games, cake stall etc. - thank you to everyone who has already offered to help!)

Dan Shaw's workshops

We had an excellent workshop with Dan Shaw last night, Dan is a behaviourist and the work he does to help dogs become calm, relaxed, focussed and happy, balancing drive and control, is really excellent. One of my first blog entries was an article published in the Agility Voice magazine and the diagram above is taken from it. I believe that one of the fundamental keystone qualities required for good agility competition performance is the relationship that you have with your dog. Your ability to develop a happy, motivated dog that is in the right frame of mind to work with you is developed by the kind of games and exercises that Dan went through in his workshop. I am hoping that Dan will be able to come back regularly over the winter for more workshops, if you would like to join one of his puppy or one life skills workshops let me know!

New term this week

Just a quick note, if anyone has come across an interesting course at a show this year that they would like to share with everyone or train on, or have found over the summer there are particular things they are having difficulties with or would like to improve, or if there is anything that comes to mind that you would like to spend more time working on, please let me know now and I will work it into this terms training plans. It may be particular sequences, but we have also talked a bit about the right frame of mind and thinking positively, or perhaps you might think your waits need more proofing, or there may be something else you want to work on.

If you have a dog that is anxious or gets nervous or stressed, don’t forget Dan Shaw is coming to Effingham this Thursday evening for a life skills workshop (I will be there with Zazzy!) He is a very good and positive trainer. He will also be doing a puppy workshop this Thursday. I have already mentioned the training days with Toni Dawkins and Matt Goodliffe over the winter, if there is any other sort of workshop you would like to have (Mark Laker runs presentations on sports psychology, Kamal Fernandez runs workshops on developing a very motivated working partnership with your dog , Jez Rose is a dog behaviourist and a very effective and funny presenter,  we could get someone in to check our dogs’ backs and fitness, etc) let me know!

We have also mentioned  bringing in a kettle so that we can make tea and coffee at the venue, and how about getting together for a Christmas meal near the end of the year?

Finally I have made a resolution to keep a training diary, it is a very useful thing to do and something I would encourage everyone else to also consider!

Hannah J

New Term next week

I am looking forward to another term with some exciting training ahead.

 

 

Thank you to everyone who has picked up after their dogs, but could I please stress that you must dispose of your bag straight away, there are bins around the yard, please do not just leave them lying around!

 

 

Workshops with Dan Shaw 20th Sept

There will be two workshops with Dan Shaw Thursday 20th Sept. At 6pm there will be an hour and a half with puppies. At 7:30pm there will be a workshop for an hour and a half for life skills, for those dogs that are anxious, nervous or reactive. Both will be small groups and will cost £20.

Penultimate workshops on Thursday

One hour Grid workshop at Effingham, 6:30pm Thursday 13th Sept, turns workshop for one hour at 7:30pm, max 6 in group, £10 or £9 for Effing members.

Congratulations to Colette and Rocky

Huge congratulations to Colettel and Rocky for qualifying for Olympia! :-)

Planning two new classes

I am very excited about planning two new classes, one for life skills for dogs that have problems with other dogs, people, noise, movement etc, and the second a puppy class for life skills, building motivation and control, training shadow handling and verbal cues, co-ordination and balance, and all the important foundations for pre-agility dogs. I am hoping that Dan Shaw will be able to come in every other week to teach each class, each of which will be an hour and a half long. We have struggled a bit to find the best night and decided that through the winter Friday evenings might be the best option. Let me know if you are interested!

Last two workshops

There are two Thursday evenings left for workshops, these will be Sept 13 and Sept 20. On Sept 13th at 6:30 there will be an hour of gridwork. I could also do an hour of either distance handling or tightening turns, let me know if you are interested in either of those! On Sept 20th I could do an hour of more contacts and another hour on obstacle discrimination, again let me know if you are interested in either or those! Or alternatively I could do a workshop on waits, and teaching motivation for self control. (That's for the dogs) :-)

Two more weeks left of the current term

Next week, 5th Sept, is week 9 of the 10 week term.

Congratulations to Janice and Tigger

Huge congratulations to Janice and Tigger who have just won into grade 2 :-)

No training next Thursday 6th Sept!

The Thursday 8:30pm class will be 8:30pm Wednesday instead. The Wednesday 6:30 and 7:30 classes will be as normal :-)

Anyone fancy a long weekend?

Fab deal on late availability of Ivy Cottage this weekend - 4 nights for the price of 3 (Fri 24th Aug, Sat, Sun and Monday nights): http://www.hillcrestpark.co.uk/cottages.php
Fantastic area to holiday, lots of beautiful walks, close to the A1, and you could always do a bit of indoor agility training to at http://www.freewebs.com/comebyanaway/agilityarena.htm which is only 20 mins away

Puppies anyone?

Is there anyone interested in pre-agility puppy classes; co-ordination and balance, drive and control, shaping tricks, life skills?

Workshop Thurs 23rd August

There are a couple of spaces available on a workshop next Thursday August 23rd, 7:30pm, one hour workshop on verbal cues and distance handling :-) Now full :-)

Congratulations to Colette and Rocky!

Huge congratulations to Colette and Rocky who have won into grade 6 :-)

Congratulations to Donna and Sid!

Huge congratulations to Donna and Sid who have just won into grade 4 :-)

Training days with Toni Dawkins

I am pleased to announce that Toni is able to do some training days for us over the winter. Toni is an outstanding and experienced trainer, now taking on many new ideas alongside tried and tested handling methods, I am really looking forward to her training days. The first two dates I am hoping to secure are Sunday 16th September and Saturday 13th October, to be held indoors at the Effingham venue. If you would like to register your interest in training with Toni please let me know.

Thursday workshops

There is one space available on the weave workshop this Thursday 16th August at 7:30pm :-)

Workshop next Thursday eve

Thursday August 16th, 6:30pm, one hour grids workshop. I can also run a one hour weave workshop at 7:30 if there is enough interest? :-)

International Agility Festival URGENT UPDATE - RELOCATION

Due to the ground conditions at Kelmarsh Hall we have taken the decision to relocate the International Agility Festival to Rockingham Castle, Great Park, near Corby, Leicestershire.
As far as possible we expect to run the Festival as normal, please bear with us while we amend the site plans, etc.
Directions to the venue can be found at http://www.rockinghamcastle.com/ post code LE16 8TH.
Another update will be provided later today (Tuesday).
Thank you

Congrats from the Agility Club show

Huge congratulations to Steff and Fizz for winning grade 3 agility

Thursday workshops

I am pleased to be able to offer 4 more workshops on Thursday evenings, August 23rd, Aug 30th, Sept 13th and Sept 20th. If there is anyone not going to DIN I could also offer one in August 16th!
These will cover gridwork, weaves, verbal cues/distance handling, and contacts. It may be possible to hold other bespoke workshops or small group training sessions on Thursdays, just let me know what you might be interested in! The workshops will be limited to 6 in the group, and will cost £10 (or £9 to Effingham members) for an hour. These workshops will need to be booked in advance. I am also organising some special winter training days with twice World Champion trainer Natasha Wise, please register your interest if you would like to train with her and I will keep you updated.

Advance warning!

Due to the Olympic cycle time trial event Weds 1st August (which will involve road closures and no doubt traffic chaos for many of us trying to travel), there will be no training at Effingham that evening  :-(

This week!

Grid workshop Thursday 19th July 8pm for one hour, max 6 in the group, £9, one space left :-) Now full :-)

Workshops

Grid workshop next week - Thurs or Friday eve, let me know if youwould like to come and what eve you would prefer :)

staying in to train!

During this awful weather, you have a perfect opportunity to do some training indoors at home! Why not play some of the games that teach your dog self control that I emailed round a couple of weeks ago?

Lungworm!

Due to the very wet summer we are having, there are loads of slugs and snails around, so I have decided to give my dogs a 7 day course of panacur. Zazzy has had a very nasty neurological reaction the night after treating her with advocate, she had the same reaction when I left her untreated but applied it to my other dogs, so I will not use it again. It does concern me that other dogs may be reacting in a similar way, but it may not be seen unless you sleep in the same room as your dog. Anyway, here is a very interesting article on the blog of Nick Thompson, a vet http://blog.holisticvet.co.uk/2012/07/13/are-we-lungworm-aware-or-lungworm-advertising-aware/
'
You can’t move at the moment for pictures of cute puppies looking at snails on their artificial chewy bones. The consequence of this multimedia onslaught is that I’m frequently asked what the actual risk of getting disease from lungworm, Angiostrongylus vasorum, is. I didn’t have any accurate figures, so I thought I’d do some research.
It seems, after extensive investigation, and talking to industry insiders, that there is ‘no hard science on the actual level of infection in the UK’. The industry also don’t know how many dogs with lungworm get clinical disease (breathing, circulation, neurological or gut problems). i.e. if 100 dogs had evidence of lungworm on poo samples, they don’t know how many of those would go on to get actual disease, and how quickly.
There is one scientific paper on the subject, published by Bristol University in 2010 (see Ref), part funded by Novartis, who make Milbemax, a lungworm-active wormer, describing a study that looked at sick dogs in the South West area (an area known to be endemic for lungworm) whose diseases were not a ‘specific non-parasitological diagnosis’, i.e. unclear cases.
Of these, 16% of the dogs were found to be positive for lungworm on a single stool test (more would have been found had they used the best test – a 3 days’ stool, non-pooled sample). They don’t say that the diseases they found were definitely due to lungworm as we don’t know what happened after the dogs were treated for lungworm, unfortunately.
So that’s it. A solitary UK study in an endemic area, part-supported by a worming company, and we don’t know if any of the diseases in any of the dogs was actually due to lungworm.
Everything else we see in the media or hear from professionals is opinion, conjecture or extrapolation from other countries. You wouldn’t think the evidence was so flimsy if you looked at all the television, magazine and internet advertising, would you?
Treatment
The conventional recommended treatment is to use Advocate spot-on (pesticide) continually, and use Milbemax pharmactutical worming tablet every month. A pesticide and a drug every month, ‘just in case’ you get a disease, the incidence of which, in the whole of the UK, we have not a clue and the incidence of subsequent disease we know even less; a bit hit-and-miss, I feel.
In my practice, I’m going to take a pragmatic view. I’m in Bath, in the South West, so I’m going to assume all dogs coming to me from this area may have exposure, therefore I’m going to advise all my dog clients to get a Baermann worm egg count done on 3 days’ stool samples every six months to see if lungworm is present. If it is, I’ll recommend they have a seven day course of Panacur. If they don’t, I’ll recommend they use a herbal product prophylactically (my preference is Verm-X crunchies daily) for intestinal hygiene control between tests.
I will not, unless absolutely necessary, be using monthly pharmaceuticals until the evidence becomes a little more convincing. We are, after all, a profession led by EBM, Evidence Based Medicine, not glossy adverts.'

Ref: Morgan, E.R., et al., Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in dogs: Presentation and risk factors. Vet. Parasitol. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.06.037

Changes to classes

As people's training needs are changing, I am considering making some changes to some of the classes. This may mean there will be extra classes on Thursdays. I will be consulting everyone who will be affected to make sure that that it is the right thing to do for everyone. The aim is to improve  and progress!

NO TRAINING NEXT WEEK!

Sorry everyone, training next week has had to be cancelled. Back to normal Weds 4th July

Champion!

HUGE congratulations to Suzanne and Keane who won the championship ticket for small dogs today at Axstane - BRILLIANT!!! :-) :-)

Weave workshop next Thurs

I will be running a one hour advanced weave workshop next Thurs, concentrating on more difficult weave entries, proofing against the pull of nearby equipment and handler movement, to improve and increase weave independence. :-)

End of term

Sorry everyone, but this is week 9 of the ten week term, so we are fast approaching the last week. I would be grateful if you could let me know if you would like to continue training next term. Please have a look at the email I have sent to everyone! If you have not had an email please let me have your contact details so that I can check I have the most up to date and correct contact details for you.
Please do continue to suggest things you would like to work on, if there is something that will take longer than we have in a normal class I can arrange workshops to focus on specific things such as weaves, turns, going on, contacts etc.
Well done on some great results and keep up the good work!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Janice and Tigger who won their games class and got 2 x seconds in jumping and 2 x seconds in their steeplechase classes. More congratulations to Suzanne and Keane who won their invitation jumping class at the Supadarl (Supadog agility rescue league) final :-) Even more congratulations to Stef with Buzz, Colette with Rocky, and Rosie with Woody, who all qualified for the JDA finals. In addition, Stef won G4 agility with Buzz :-) and Colette and Rocky won G4/5 agility and G4-7 helter skelter :-)

Workshops!

I am planning to run a few one hour workshops on Thursdays. Proposed dates are June 21st, July 19th, August 23rd, on weaves, grids and verbal cues/distance handling. Also I have not been idle while on holiday, and have written an article on waits as I have been asked to cover this topic. I will type it up as soon as I have time, and if requested spend some time working through it with anyone who asks.

Teamwork!

Just a gentle reminder that, when it comes to putting out the equipment and putting it back away again, many hands make light(er) work, please do whatever you can to help. It is very much appreciated. Thanks everyone :-)

Thursday training

I am pleased to announce that I hope to start Thursday classes not next week but the week after (June 14th). If you are interested in joining a class on Thursdays please let me know! :-)

Fantastic weekend

Huge congratulations to Donna and Sid who won Grade 3-4 jumping last weekend :-) In fact Effing Agility members had a fantastic weekend; Glenda and Billy came 3rd in grade 3 agility, Colette and Rocky came 2nd in grade 4 jumping, Colette and Rubble came 6th in G6-7 agility (even after getting lost on course!), and Stef and Buzz got a 2nd. Well done everyone! :-)

Thursday training

Sorry for the delay in starting with Thursday training, I just need to iron out all the equipment problems before I can start the Thursday training :-S

Thank you for your patience everyone, for bearing with me until all the problems with the equipment are sorted. I really appreciate all your help and support :-)

Start of term!

Thanks to Lynne and John for inviting me to judge last week. I set some testing courses and was impressed with the high standard of ability displayed; judging has also given me ideas for areas to focus training on. Thanks everyone for a really enjoyable evening!

I am really looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday for the first day of the new term :-)

Parvo alert

I have been contacted about a parvo virus alert as follows:

The owner of a young dog which attended the TAG Easter Show (4-9 April, West Midland Showground in Shrewsbury) has reported that the dog has been positively diagnosed as suffering from canine parvovirus. This is a highly contagious disease which is especially dangerous to puppies and younger dogs.

If you are aware that any of your Effing Agility members were at the TAG Easter show, please ask them watch their dogs for any symptoms. Incubation is typically 3-10 days.

Please ask your competing members to consider whether they should attend agility shows in the next couple of weeks. As owners, it is our responsibility to prevent the spread of diseases, especially such a dangerous and contagious illness. Please remember that the standard KC show entry form requires you to promise not to take your dogs to a show if they have suffered from or been in contact with contagious diseases in the preceding 21 days.

More on this on the Agilitynet Facebook page

Thank you for your attention.

ELLEN ROCCO


I understand that there are reported cases of parvo infection in our area, and there are rising numbers of cases around the country. Please be particularly viligant as this is a deadly disease. Check that your dogs' vaccinations are up to date, and if any of your dogs look ill, vomit and/or have diarrhoea, please do not come to training or go to any shows until your vet is certain that it is not canine parvovirus.

Thanks everyone, take care out there!

Effing training address

Thornet Wood Stables, Effingham Common Rd, Leatherhead KT24 5JG

This link should give you a street view of where you turn left off Effingham Common Road into the lane to the stables (go down the lane following the hedge on your right until you see the stableyard and indoor school):
View Larger Map

Wednesday evenings

The Wednesday evening classes have now been sorted out and I have emailed the details out to everyone involved. I would be grateful if all involved could let me know if you have received the email (or not!!), and also if you would like to take up your space (or not!).
I am pleased to announce that it looks likely that there will also be training on Thursday evenings in a few more weeks, although a few more spaces still need to be filled in order to cover the cost of hiring the venue! While waiting to see if that will happen, we have an opportunity to hold a small number of one hour workshops on Thursday evenings at 8:30pm, if enough people are interested. If you are interested in any of the following, or have some other specific topic that we could work on over an hour, please get in touch! The workshops will be £10 although Effing members will get a 20% discount.

Here are some ideas:

Weaves: working on independence, no matter what other equipment is around or what the handler is doing; crossing infront or after the weaves, difficult entries.

Contacts: obstacle discrimination, proofing to nail those contacts, independence.

Grid work: improving jumping style, athleticism, and working on with drive and power.

Verbal directional cues: advancing your dogs' understanding of what direction you wish them to take.

Working on turns: handling for tighter turns, improving your cues, and schooling your dog to get tighter turns

Obstacle discrimination.

Crate games (brilliant for start line waits, teaching dogs to have self control, and more)

I was asked to say a bit about myself, my dogs, and training for the Agility Club magazine at the end of 2011.... this is the result! I thought it might be helpful to give a bit of background - what I am about, and what I am trying to acheive, and this article, even though it was written a few months ago (long before I had the slightest inkling that I might be suddenly taking on Effing Agility training), seems like a reasonable place to start!

'During the week days I carry out research on the evolution of pollen structure at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The rest of my time I try to spend with my dogs!
This year (2011) has been a year of highs and lows for me. I was devastated to lose Becky (‘Wildkap Wannabe’) to cancer in May when she was only 11 years old. She was my loyal shadow and my special little princess. Becky grew to think that agility is the best fun a dog can have! Due to Becky, agility took over my life during the last decade, and I took to travelling around the country to go to shows, meeting some great, lovely and inspiring people, and seeing some beautiful parts of Britain along the way. Becky reached advanced status, won The Voice points and The Eye points for two years, won finals at Supadogs and DIN, qualified both for Olympia and Crufts twice each, and won one championship certificate plus many reserves. She taught me such a lot. Although I was very low after losing Becky, my other dogs needed me to keep going, and in time have very much lifted my spirits again. Unfortunately Kaydee (‘Waggerland Wildcard’) had recurring back problems by the time she was four, and therefore I felt it best that she retired from agility in 2008. However, I have learnt a lot about fitness and injury prevention because of her problems, and much of what I learnt from physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths has gone into the structure of my co-ordination and balance workshops. I currently compete with my two young dogs, Zazzy (‘Zazz Ma Girl’), who this year won up to grade 7, qualified for finals at Dogs in Need and Olympia, and won the grade 5 Agility Club points league, and Deece (‘It’s Deece’), a happy black and white collie cross (with a bit of beardie) who starting competing this season. Deece qualified for the Novice Cup final at The International Agility Festival and went on to qualify for Crufts, where he won the jumping section and won the overall competition. He also qualified for the UKA Grand Finals, and has won up to grade 5.
I am an Agility Club Approved Instructor (ACAI), and continue to have an avid interest in the ways dogs move, and how training methods, equipment, and competition courses can be improved. My hope is that our sport can continue to develop and evolve in a professional, intelligent, positive, objective and above all, safe way for our dogs, and that all competitors will strive to offer camaraderie and good sportsmanship.
I am really grateful to the lovely, helpful, fantastic people who have given me assistance, support, advice, and most importantly friendship, over the years.


I have been asked for a training tip, but have no single little magic trick to offer I’m afraid! I think a number of elements underpin a good agility performance, and the relationship that you build with your dog is the keystone! All great things come from developing a motivated dog that wants to work with you, and your ability to teach your dog what you want all hinges on how good you are at rewarding. You need to build up your dogs’ motivation, and be adept at delivering the right reward at the right time. I subscribe to the theory that ‘what you reward is what you get’. An important component of this is teaching your dog how it earns reward, for example by using tools like clicker training, recall games, and self control games (for example crate games). If you do a good job at getting your dog to understand ‘if you play this game by the rules, you get to have the thing you most want’, then everything else is easy and fun.
I also believe that before you start agility your dog should be physically prepared; by that I mean that it has a good level of basic fitness, has good co-ordination and balance, and has sound nutrition and health.
Your strong working relationship combined with your dogs’ physical capability underpins the next stage: teaching your dog how to do all the agility equipment correctly. This includes how to complete the weaves and contacts, and also how to jump, turn, and respond to handling cues. A dog needs to know how to do all the different components that might be needed on an agility course with no doubts about what is required. This is not only extremely important for safety reasons (for example understanding not to leap off the top of contact equipment which could cause injury), but also a dog that is not sure what is required of it may either go slowly to keep checking in with you, spin and bark in frustration, or charge off randomly, and in any of these cases it cannot take the best line round the course at its top speed. My experience is that it is worthwhile structuring your training, break everything down into small exercises so that you can reward exactly what you want, and be sure to cover everything your dog will need to know regularly. Keep building on, and improving, what you have; firstly teach with high reward, then practise, then test that your dogs’ understanding of what you want matches what you intended! Your aim is to always keep your dog happy and confident.
The final element is that your handling is clear and consistent. No matter how good the handler is, he/she will not be able to run a dog optimally before all the other elements are in place. Equally, inconsistent handling may cause confusion and undo all the work you have put into the rest of the training!
With all this in mind I have put together a diagram of the structure that I think builds competition performance. You can of course continue to widen your foundations throughout your dogs’ career, but if there are elements missing from the underpinning layers, the other elements relying on it will fail ...... and your performance in competition may not be everything you hoped for'.

New equipment

The new equipment has been ordered! It will be blue and yellow. :-)

Wednesday evenings

Classes from 18th April will initially only be on Wednesday evenings.

The feedback I have had so far indicates that 9pm is too late to start a class and no one wanted to start at that time. Therefore, from the 18th April the class times will be brought forward to 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30pm. If you let me know any time you really cannot make, I will try and cater for you.

There are a couple of spaces available in the classes for grades 3-5, grades 6/7, and small/medium dogs.

If there is enough interest there could also be a couple more classes on Thursday eves. I have opened a waiting list for various classes.

Effing Agility

There is training with Lynne and John Ward as normal next week - Monday, 26 and Wednesday, 28 March. The following week should have been the last. However, as they are heading off to Ardingly (Easter Celebration Show) early that week, there will be no training on Monday, 2 or Wednesday, 4 April.

Their last week will, therefore, be Monday, 9 and Wednesday, 11 April.

There will be training on Monday, 9th for the puppy class only (8 - 9 PM.) The people in the class training from 9 - 10 will be coming along on Wednesday, 11th when they will have a competition evening for their last night.

It will start at 7 p.m. There will be a 3-5 Agility, 6/7 Agility, 3-5 Jumping and 6/7 Agility - finishing with a pairs class to be drawn on the night, judged by Hannah Banks.

As you will all be there at the same time, can you please try and park carefully and watch out for horses moving around the yard. The stable owner will be coming along during the evening.

If anybody decides they don't want to join in the competition, can you please let Lynne know asap so that she can do the running orders.