Blind dogs can jump
 Stevie
loves doing agility – he is bright, fearless and has been blind from birth. He is also a
rescue. His owner Alison wanted to do something to exercise his body and mind. Agility trainer
Ann-Marie Froggatt was recommended and it wasn't long before she started working her magic on
Stevie.
 Alison
adopted Stevie him from the Irish Retriever Rescue UK team in March 2007. He'd
been kept locked up in a dilapidated shed for the first year and a half of his life until he
was rescued by the ISPCA.
Stevie is very inquisitive, full of mischief and a complete cuddle-monster.
Although very affectionate, physically Stevie was not in the best of health when was
rehomed. He'd had an eye removed, and he was underweight and quite lame due to underdeveloped
muscles and ligaments.
Regular
hydrotherapy helped him build muscle in his hind legs and he was soon enjoying longer walks and
runs off lead.
As Stevie had always lived outside and was completely untrained, Alison also
decided that some one-on-one training, rather than distracting classes, would be helpful. And
that's how they were introduced to Ann-Marie.
She suggested that they try agility with him as as he is
very very bright and loves working things out. Agility would provide good variety for him. He
loved it immediately and they found he would do anything for a piece of liver! Teaching him
agility allowed him to use some of that brain power. He’s never likely to compete though, so
you top handlers can rest easy.
 They
taught him to jump through the tyre first as it supported his weight as he worked out where it
is. Now, once he's touched it with his chest, he does a nice little pop through it. He then
went on to apply that little pop to jumps. Weaves are coming on nicely. Once he's in, the
handler can move forward and use their voice as a lure/guide. You can see his understanding and
confidence growing week by week.
Alison and Stevie don’t do the contacts as a rule as
Stevie can be a bit too adventurous and they don’t want him bimbling over the dog walk while no
one is looking!! He loves tunnels. He comes out looking really smug - as smug as when he does
his left or right turns.
Ann-Marie and Alison make sure to give him a lot of 'down
time' to mooch about in the safety of the field. It is fascinating to watch him navigate around
the equipment by 'smelly vision.'
 People
are mystified as how you train a blind dog, but Ann-Marie says that she forgets that he is
blind when she is working with him and Alison as he's so willing.
There are a few rules that have developed like
don't go quiet and stand down wind of him as then he really is blind. He relies heavily on his
sense of smell. Don’t ignore him for too long otherwise he'll sit, throw his head back and
bark... and bark and bark. Touch is really important. It can be really touching that he is so
trusting after what he has been through.
I’ve no idea
what Stevie’s limitations are but they certainly have little to do with him being blind!!
 About
the Author...
Ann-Marie Froggatt
has
been around dogs all her life. She started Agility in 1996 with rescue collie, Twist. He won
Starter Dog of the Year and went Senior in his first season. He's now 14yrs old!
Between the next two - Jen and Scud, both Advanced
- she's qualified for all the major finals over the years including the Worlds in 2005. Now
there's Scud's son Red - big, goofy and utterly charming. Let's see what the next
chapter brings!
Ann-Marie loves training other people and their dogs. She
says, 'It's great to share in their achievements and offers as many opportunities for
learning for me as for them!'
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