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To blog or not to blog...
 Cathy Withall never had any intention
of writing a write a
blog. She'd has never considered herself as a creative writer in any way,
shape or form. In fact, she used to hate having to write stories at college. Her heart
would sink when faced by nothing more than a title and a blank page. At one
stage, she did
keep a diary, full of the usual teenage angst, but as she grew older, a
diary became just a way of tracking appointments and events. But then she got
Storm, a Husky X and now it is a
mission...
I think my blog
#AgilityHusky actually started in my head when we lost our first dog, Gypsy, over four years
ago. I had always wanted a pet as a child, but had to be content with goldfish
and stick insects. So when my then fiancée and I moved in to our own house, it
was only a matter of months before we welcomed a small bundle of black Labrador
fluff into our family.
Most of you reading will already know this, but there is
nothing that can prepare you for the loss of your first dog. For almost 14
years she was my constant companion, and I didn't realise how interwoven into
our lives she was until she was gone. My head swam with stories and memories of
her.
I couldn’t cope without a dog, so we were soon joined by a new
puppy – Storm, a Husky x Northern Inuit. I had always wanted a husky - probably
because I realised I wasn’t going to be allowed to keep a wolf. I can now say
that I’m glad she wasn’t our first dog!
A very steep learning curve began
I
was told several times in our first year that Storm wasn't a suitable breed for
agility.
I would never be able to let her off lead and that she wouldn’t be
trainable. Well, three years on, we are now in Grade
4, Storm has her Bronze Agility Warrant and we’ve just
taken
part in our
first finals.
I
never intended to compete - sound familiar?
But
Storm loved agility so much, I was just along for the ride. It hasn’t
been an easy journey, but the doubters have been proved wrong, and I have been
dragged into and drowned completely in the wonderful world of agility.
I never intended to
compete - sound familiar - but Storm loved agility so much, I was just along for
the ride. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but the doubters have been proved
wrong, and I have been dragged into and drowned completely in the wonderful
world of agility.
A sucker for punishment,
we now have a youngster as well - a Husky x Rottie x GSD.
 #Agility Husky
A few months ago, the stories in my head became
overwhelming, and I felt I had to write them down.
I didn't want to clutter
my personal Facebook page with long rambles about our dogs which most of my
friends wouldn’t read or appreciate.
I started first with Wordpress, but I found
it a bit of a tie, and I couldn't load videos on the free version. So I shifted
it onto Facebook, but created a new page, #AgilityHusky. This gave me the
freedom to remain semi-anonymous - or as anonymous as you can be when you compete
with a husky - and also to tag the people who were part of our journey and let
them know how much I appreciated them.
I don’t plan my posts – they come purely
as a result of our adventures with our canine family.
Basically #AgilityHusky
is ongoing story of an independent dog and her humans in the world of agility.
Writing as #AgilityHusky,
rather than as myself, allows me to write more easily. I don't have to explain
the excitement of getting great running contacts in training, or mastering a
difficult handling manoeuvre. My audience understands. The support I get from
followers gives me confidence, and I'm happy to share our highs and our lows.
 Perhaps
the hardest part now I've started writing is to keep writing but not to ramble
on about nothing. I know from following other people's blogs that I like to
hear from them fairly often. I want to write regularly, but I also want our
posts to be interesting. I like to add photos and videos to my posts - after
all, a picture says a thousand words, and a video often more so. So along the
way I'm learning to edit videos, add filters and slow motion - which has the
handy side effect of being very useful for training!
I rarely edit what I’ve
written, except to read through and check for typos. I do use the blog to thank people
and the businesses we use. As the wife of a small business owner, I know that
good publicity is priceless, and I believe that good service deserves
recognition.
I’ve had some wonderful comments over the past few months, both from friends and
strangers.
We even
have followers from as far away as South Africa! People share their stories and
videos with me, and I love to hear about their dogs. Though I started
writing mainly for my own benefit, just to be able to record all the wonderful
memories, I also hoped it would help and inspire others, particularly those with
Northern breeds. In addition, I wanted to reassure anyone who has hit setbacks
on their agility journey - and who hasn’t - to show that things sometimes happen
for a reason. Just when you think you’ve hit a brick wall, a whole new path can
open up ahead of you.
I follow a few blogs,
but I’ve struggled to find many agility-related ones. The few that I follow are:-
-
Victoria Stillwell –
General positive dog training articles by various authors
-
One Mind Dogs – A UK
agility training company, some useful information can be found here
-
Eileen Anderson – A
well-known American writer, this includes lots of positive dog training and
some really entertaining stories
-
Bad Dog Agility – An
American agility company, mostly videos of training tips
-
Denise Fenzi –
Another American writer, really good articles covering behaviour, general
dog training, obedience and agility
Other blogs
-
Mark Laker -Agility Team GB International
Team Manager shares interesting stories and observations about his work with
top UK handlers and clients.
-
Boomer's Blog - This is a Puppy's Blog -
the puppy belongs to an agility handler
-
Susan
Garrett - Say yes to dog trainer Susan Garret, one of the most
successful AMerican agility competitors of the last two decades
-
Yellow Hound -
Chris Tarling is a keen photographer with a deep love of dogs and animals
-
Win
Agility - A top competitor
Bonnie Quick and physiotgherapist Nicky Grant vive you an insight into the
best movement and fitness for you and your dog.
So now over to
you – do you write a dog or agility blog? Whose blogs do you follow? I’d love to
read your stories, and those you enjoy, so please let us know!
 About the author...
Cathy
Withall was born in Devon and still lives there with her husband and two husky crosses
- crossbreeds when they’re good, mongrels when they’re bad! She is a relative
newcomer to agility, having only started competing in 2015, but has found that
it is taking over her life with frightening speed.
When
occasionally not doing something dog-related she is also a Scout leader, a
member of the local amateur theatre society, and handy with a sewing machine as
several of her friends can testify when it comes to mending dog coats.
First published 2 March 2018
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