Agility (or any competitive dog sport) is generally considered a want. A human want. The competition piece of it at least. Enriched environments and mental activity is a need and want for many dogs, and agility training in generally can…
Lead Outs
In dog agility most folks are familiar with the concept of a lead out. For those uninitiated, a lead out refers to the stay that you ask your dog to do at the beginning of the course, before the 1st…
NADAC Agility trial recap
Yesterday morning we stopped in at the local NADAC trial for a few runs. As my life this month has been swamped with things other than training my dogs, we entered only 4 (out of 8 offered for the day)…
Buy In
Last night I taught an agility workshop, kicking off the start of agility lessons here. It was a nice small group of competitors preparing for this weekend’s trial. I had a lovely time with them all and we had good…
Rehearsal
Practice: verb perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency. carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly. When was the last time you…
How to Be Bored
Often times life for dogs involves a fair amount of “hurry up and wait.” Waiting for meals to get prepared, walks to happen, car rides to end, owners to return home, balls to be thrown, for neighbors to stop chatting…
Pawzazz NADAC Trial Recap
This weekend the dogs and I headed down to Maryland with a friend of mine to attend the Pawzazz NADAC trial. It was great fun, and I’m glad I went, it’s been well over a decade since I’ve been to…
What Does Your Leash Cue?
What does your leash cue to your dog? Have you ever thought about it? Or noticed? Does it depend on which leash, what environment? Dogs have an amazing ability to learn environmental cues. The leash will often trigger a reliable…
NADAC Agility Trial Recap
This past weekend we entered a new mid-winter NADAC trial here. Usually we have a break from agility competitions from either Oct to late March/early April, or New Years to late March/early April. It was nice to get a chance…
Connection
Connection: the relationship of a person, thing or behavior to something or someone else. Connection is an all the rage buzz word in the current world of dog training. In years past the word instead was “Attention”. Attention: the act…