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The reluctant agility dog moves North...
Quite a few of you will have seen Google without realising it. A couple of years ago he was the 'poster dog' for the O2 launch of 4G, Yes, he was the shaking retriever with the apps flying from his fur. He has done a number of other photo shoots, including VW and James Wellbeloved to name a couple. He has also appeared on TV and was Sandy in a stage production of Annie in 2014. In addition, Google is the ambassador and demonstration dog for the charity Dog A.I.D. (Assistance in Disability.) Bred as an assistance dog, his gentle and calm demeanour was my greatest teaching resource for six years in Enfield and beyond. He demonstrated his assistance dog skill to in excess of 25 thousand in assemblies, has been a counsellor, teacher and fund raiser.
Now that Google has moved away from the North London area to the spectacular Lake District, he is just about to re-launch his school career in Cumbria and the North West. We regularly receive requests from all over the country for him to go into school, but he now will have to fit this in with his new job as the proprietor of Wheelgate Bed & Breakfast near Coniston Water, where he meets and greets guests! He is also the manager of Coniston Cottages, checking the dog friendly accommodation situated by the B & B.
Agility wasn't really his thing When we got moved up a class, it all became a bit more serious, so we decided to call it a day at Trent Park. However, I still wanted Google to do agility for fun, fitness and to exercise his brain as well as his body. We went for 1-2-1 sessions with Lynn Jamieson for a number of years, and it was great. On a good day, i.e. when Google felt like it and his drive and motivation were there, he was 'on it.' On another day, he couldn’t be bothered, so we did lots of straight jumping runs which he enjoyed. What really motivated Google was ‘ice cream.’ He would do anything, on the whole, for ice cream. The weaves fell into 'the on the whole' category. Basically we struggled to get him to do any equipment consistently. Thinking that Google couldn't do agility without much encouragement and coaxing from me was a mere fallacy! One year we stayed at a holiday cottage which had its own indoor agility arena. Chris Mancini was there with her camera, and Google morphed into an agility dog, jumping like a race horse and streaking through the weaves. It was as if he always did them like that! He was excited, motivated and having fun. Of course, ice cream was involved, but also posing for the camera!
Moving
to the country...
The biggest difference for me was his drive and motivation. If he felt like it he could do it; when he wasn’t on it, he wasn’t on it and it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to complete. He did it for fun, fitness and confidence. He is able to get himself over the ladder style unaided more easily and controlled than his 20 month old brother Jeeves. Also a Goldie, Jeeves comes from the working end of the spectrum, amd his drive, motivation and enthusiasm is off the scale by comparison. Jeeves is strong, powerful and athletic. He covers the ground like a race horse and can jump ridiculous heights. We've only had a couple of agility sessions at the same place Google went to before we moved and he loved it, but then again he loves everything. Maybe I will find somewhere up here to do agility, maybe not, but, as we develop our assault course, we will try and teach him some control. Maybe this will come as he matures? I hope so, I want him to get over things, through things, under things, but when I want him to. Agility has helped Google have the confidence to do that. It’s not all about competing. It is about having fun with your dog, building a bond and about trust. It has served me well with Google and I hope it will with Jeeves, albeit in a different way. We humans aren’t all the same and neither are our dogs. That would be boring.
There is a two acre field for guest use and walks from the doorstep. Dog sitting can be organised by prior arrangement for that day or evening out when the dogs may not want to go. In addition, two great pubs are 10 minutes walking distance from the B & B and Cottages, both dog friendly, or from the Lake. Don't take my word for it, come and see for yourself. Dogs welcome, owners must be kept on a lead and under control at all times. For more information go to www.wheelgate.co.uk or www.coniston_cottages.co.uk Or check out Google’s website at thebearbonesofeducation.org
Together with Google - and more recently Jeeves - she has been part of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Allstar team doing demonstrations at Crufts and Discover Dogs as well as a few other venues. Google also has a column in the APDT quarterly magazine and has had a number of articles published around education and the impact of dogs, more specifically Google.
First published 5 March 2016 |
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Eight
old Golden Retriever Google (aka Mr Bear) has never really been one for agility.
All that barking, screaming and tugging on a soggy rag is okay for those hyped
up collies but not really all that exciting for a mature, multi-talented dog
like Google! Those of you who know him you will understand why but, for those of
you who don’t, his owner Sandy Childs explains.
Bark
& Read
Google
attended agility classes for a short time at the Trent Park Club DAC. Sometime
he seemed to enjoy it and other times he just switched off and had more fun
digging a hole in the arena while waiting for his turn! He soon worked out
contacts were more fun and his cup of tea, as there were treats involved. All
that twisting and turning for jumping and the weaves, well ‘what is the point
when it’s quicker to go up the side?’ 
In
the two acre field which belongs to the B&B, we are developing an assault
course, made out of natural materials as far as possible and a few agility bits.
Jumping up, onto and over straw bales is much nicer and softer for his aging
body. His main activity which he enjoys is swimming, but Coniston Water is a
little chilly at the moment so we have been going into the field a bit more, not
too much as he would get bored, but when we combine this with a bit of scenting
and searching it becomes great fun. What is evident is that, while Google may
not be an agility dog in the true sense, he is athletic. 
Welcome to the
dog friendly Lake District
About
the author...