More than a bit of fluff...
 The weekend of the Thames show was one that Ashleigh
Butler won't forget in a hurry. Her Medium crossbreed, Pudsey (Ashpen Pudsey Bear) won the Agility
graded class (Grade 6), and the Jumping Combined G6-7 class, giving her the last two wins
needed to take them into Advanced. She couldn't believe that they had done it, and that they
were now going to be able to compete against the best Medium dogs in the country in the Champ
classes. Ashleigh wrote this article for the Agility Voice which she has agreed to let
Agilitynet reprint.
I started competing in agility when I
was five years old with my mum's Papillon, Shamee. When I was seven, my nan said she would buy me a
puppy of my own. My mum found an advert in the local paper for Bichon Frise X Border
Collie puppies. She thought that this could be a good combination and a suitable puppy for me.
We went to see the seven puppies and came away with a little cream bitch which I called Buffy.
Buffy won me out of
Starters in her
first season competing and is now a Grade 5. In 2005, when Buffy was 3 ½ years old, we decided
to breed with her and used Donna Johnson's lovely Chinese Crested Powder Puff, Acer. Buffy is
only 12 inches and Acer is even smaller, so we were expecting them all to be Small.
Buffy
gave birth to six puppies, and it was amazing to watch these little bundles coming in to the
world. They were all lovely but I was especially drawn to the darkest, biggest one. He was an
unusual colour. Born black but his undercoat was light, he got lighter and lighter each
week. We now know this colour to be grey sable which comes from the Crestie side.
My best
birthday gift
I desperately wanted to keep a pup but
my dad was saying no way were we having any more dogs. When the pups were about seven weeks old I
had my 11th birthday. My mum passed me a wrapped up box which I shook! She told me to be
careful as it was very fragile. I opened the box and there was my little grey puppy. I have
to tell you that I did shed a tear and my mum has got it on video! He was my best present ever,
and I will never forget that moment.
The other five puppies
- aka the Ashpen fluffies - all went to
fantastic homes where they also get to play at agility. They are all doing really well, too.
 Pudsey was mine.
My mum said that if I wanted Pudsey to be completely tuned in to me and associate me with being
fun, then now was the time to put a lot of work in to forming a strong bond together. We had
never used clicker training before, but we decided to use this method as we had seen and heard
good things about this positive form of training. Pudsey picked it up really quickly, and I now
teach him everything using this method.
We thought Pudsey was going to be a
Small dog, but he just grew and grew, and didn't stop until he was 16 inches at the shoulder.
The other puppies from his litter all measured Small. It's quite unbelievable when you see him
next to his mum and dad, but then that's crossbreeds for you. You never know what you are going
to get. He is a real mixture of all three. His head is like a Bischon – round, fluffy and
with big brown eyes. His body shape is Crestie – lean, athletic with long longs. And his
brain is definitely Border Collie. I think he has the best bits from all three breeds – just
perfect!
Training
Pudsey's obedience training came along
nicely but when his agility training started we did have a bit of a problem. He would do a
little sequence of jumps and then dash off to see the other dogs or do a 'lap of honour'. He
had so much energy that I really had to work on the control for a long time.
I taught his contacts with clicker and
treats. My mum would put him on the dog walk, a few feet up. When he came and sat at the
bottom with his front paws on the grass and his bum on the plank, I would click and treat. He
soon learnt that the quicker he got to the bottom and sat, the quicker he got his treat. We
then back trained it until he was doing the whole dog walk and sitting at the bottom, and then
we swapped with me running him and my mum clicking and treating him at the bottom. We also
used the same method on the A frame and the see saw and he has always been confident on all of
these.
As his contact training progressed, my mum continued to do the clicker for me. She
could see at the precise moment when Pudsey got the position, whereas I could be running on,
and this seemed to work really well. We also used this method on the weaves with my mum
clicking his entry and exit of the weaves. To keep his speed up on the touch points I still
either use treats or a tuggy.
 Pudsey completely understands what is required of him, and I can
run on in front or to the side and expect him to run to the contact and sit and wait until his
release word. When we moved in to Grade 6 and I found that we really had to push it, I have
had to start to release him before he gets his sit, so it looks more like a running contact. But if we get 5 faults, I immediately go back to not releasing until he does the sit, and in
training I never release him early.
Last year was Pudsey's first full year
competing, and he went from a Grade 3 and finished the season as a Grade 6. Knowing that it
was going to be so much tougher in Grade 6, we spent the winter working on tighter turns,
harder sequences and faster contacts and weaves. I'm not sure how we are going to do in Grade
7 and champ classes. I might have to strap the legs together of those supersonic collies, but
I am so excited and really looking forward to it.
Pudsey is a real all-rounder and is
willing to try anything I ask of him, and give 100% effort. Not only does he compete in
agility, but he also does heelwork to music, show handling, obedience and flyball. He knows
lots of tricks and absolutely loves to learn new, harder ones. He is definitely not a couch
potato, and to keep him fit I take him on bike rides and jogging, as well as doing a lot of
work running up and down hills.
Thank you
I would just like to say a big thank you
to my mum who has taught me so much about understanding and training dogs. She puts in so much
time and effort to help me with Pudsey's training. Thanks also go to the rest of the
Wellingborough DTC instructors and members for their support.
Pudsey may never make it to
Agility
Champion, but he is a champion of champions in my eyes. My mum says that Pudsey is my 'once in
a life time dog.' I do know how lucky I am to have such a super dog, and each time I run him he
makes me feel so proud.
Stop press - since writing this Pudsey has done
extremely well in Grade 7, and has achieved two reserve CCs
at Rugby show and Dogs in Need. He was runner up at both the Burgess Supadog
Medium finals and the Discover Dogs Medium competition, and he also won the Agility Voice
Junior finals. To finish off the year, Pudsey and I received the trophy for gaining the
most points (380) in the Agility Voice Junior Over 12s category for 2009.
 About
the author...
Ashleigh Butler is 14 years old and she
lives in Wellingborough (Northants) with her mum, dad, 11 year old sister and four year old
brother. All together they have six dogs - three collies which are her mum's, an elderly
Papillon, and her two crossbreeds. Her sister Tayla is hoping to get a puppy soon. The whole
family enjoys dog training, except her dad who just puts up with it all and stays at home
watching sport when the rest are off doing dog shows. Even her brother Brett is looking like he
is going to be a little dog handler, much to her dad's disgust who thinks his son should be a
footballer or cricketer!
Ashleigh has been doing agility and
training dogs since she was five years old, and as well as agility. She also enjoys
heelwork to music, flyball, show handling and obedience. She has always trained at
Wellingborough DTC and says that they are just the best dog training club as they are always so
supportive of the juniors, and will always encourage children to participate in all aspects of
training dogs.
She goes to Wrenn school, and in her
spare time - when she is not doing something with the dogs - she also enjoys drama, dance and
singing.
Her mum Penny Butler has a website
www.freewebs.com/ashpen so if you are interested
in reading about the Ashpen dogs and what they have been up to, then please take a look.
Photos: Penny Butler & the Kennel
Club
First published by Aglity Voice
(September 2009)
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