Miracles do happen
and any dog can do it...
 Hannah Walton started agility
by running with her mam's Flat Coated Retrievers. They were docile and slow.
Then along came Wendy who was very clever and full of life, and Hannah just
didn't know how to handle her. She thought she knew about the breed, but she
went from a slow and steady dog to a velociraptor.
At my first show with my mam's black Flat Coat
Ivy, she refused to jump. She just sniffed the ground and wagged her tail.
Then she leaped over the ring rope, ran to the toy shop and stole a turkey neck.
She came back to me, looking very pleased with herself.
I thought things would
change when I got my
beautiful Flat Coat puppy Wendy. The breeder told me that she was quiet, timid and
very calm puppy. She was quiet all the way home until I took her into the house.
She had a real fire inside her. She was a completely different dog from Ivy.
As a puppy, Wendy
stressed everyone out but she was worst with me. It was like she thought she
owned me. She liked hanging off my dressing gown and mouthing me when I attempted to dry her feet.
But on walks with my Mam's dogs, she'd would fling
herself onto the floor and refuse to move. Nevertheless, she
was a very clever pup and her recall was letter perfect from the get-go.
I started agility with
her in 2022 at Wilton AC where Andy Bacsa was my trainer. In 2024 when he
started his own club, Andlins I joined him. A year later joined Stardom ATC as I thought that
going to a different venue might help to improve Wendy's performance and boost my
confidence, too.
 Training the 'devil child'
For the next two years, she lived up to her nickname the 'devil
child.' She was brilliant at training but a complete monster at shows.
Our first show was a
disaster. Ironically, it was almost identical to my first experience with Ivy. Wendy
went through her tunnel four times, but then decided the tunnel in the next ring
looked even more entertaining. She then left the ring to go to the toy shop
where she stole a toy which she still carries around to this day. That show cost
me petrol, a stolen toy and entry fees - and I was only there half an hour. I
consoled myself with wine that evening.
She would do only the
contacts. At one point, I had to carry her off the dog walk and take her out of
the ring. On the start line, she would grab my arm. Then she got into the habit
of refusing to jump that 'scary' first jump.
It took a long time and
a lot of help and support to make me realise that me waving my arms around with
Wendy was encouraging her to jump up at me like a tug toy. The more I panicked
about what people were thinking, the more she jumped up at me and ignored my
commands and did whatever she wanted. She was frustrated, excited and unsure
what she was suppose to be doing.
In 2023 we had 78
eliminations. Surely that must be a record! A number of people told me that she
wasn't an agility dog and suggested trying another activity.
By October 2023, I was
ready to give up completely. If it hadn't been for the support from my own club, I
would have walked away. Deep down, I knew Wendy had it in her.
I
will never ever forget the day in February 2024 when she finally got round a
whole course at a Performance Agility show. I was that proud and so much in
shock that I broke down crying. I actually forgot for the moment that I
had to leave the ring.
 We ended
2024 going from Grade 1 to Grade 5. We won the Grade 2 Voltz League which was
run at the Phase Purple shows. And we won her section of The Agility Club
League, so it's off to the Invitationals in July.
What
changed...
Basically, I went from running a slow and steady dog who needed to be
mollycoddled to running a dog with a real fire inside of her. Same breed but
completely different dogs with completely different personalities. At the time,
I didn't realise how common it is for Flat Coats to mouth or nip when they get
excited.
In the beginning, I
tried to run Wendy the same way I had Ivy, and that just did not work. Just
because they were the same breed did not mean that they were the same dog.
Running Ivy had given me some 'bad habits'. For instance, I could not use high-pitched voices. If I did, Wendy would come at me like a raptor.
With Ivy, I used to have
to wave my arms around and try to make myself the most interesting person in the
world just to stop her from wanting to go say hi to everyone around the rings.
It took a long time and a lot of help and support to make me understand that me
waving my arms around with Wendy was just encouraging her to jump up at me like
a tug toy.
Thank
you to Suzie Hunter, a competitor I met at another show in 2023. She saw me break down
over Wendy's antics. Though I had never spoken to her before, she came over and
took me into the fun ring, calmed me down and helped me until I was ready to
walk. She made me realise that dogs who do agility can get over excited/frustrated and nip and not one person there was going to judge me.
After that, I began to
forget about everyone watching and, because I started to relax, so did Wendy. it
was a game changer!
My trainers at Andlins
and Stardom have both
helped me overcome confidence issues and made me realise all our faults were
actually down to me. Without them, I would have walked away from agility.
Once I fixed my faults, Wendy excelled. They taught me to
trust her in the ring and not compare her to Ivy. Wendy is totally different and
I had to re learn what I thought I knew.
A different dog...
I am sorry if I am making her out to
be a complete little bugger but honestly she is a sweetheart. She is hilarious
and stubborn at the same time - a bit of a wuss who loves to cuddle on the sofa
and and suffocate me in bed. She was just more
full of life than any of my mam's Flat Coats. I just had to learn how to unlock
her potential.
 At shows, she is now a completely different dog though she still
likes to give me the occasional 'love nip,' if I get in her way or do something
that she considers wrong. As soon as we get on the start line, her face lights
up and she can't control her excitement. It's like she remembers her past life
as a velociraptor and off we go.
Wendy has now achieved
her Bronze and Silver Agility Warrants. We also won our section in the Gundog
Agility League and won our division of The Agility Club League.
At home, she is the
laziest of dogs and would prefer to stay in bed on a morning than go out...
unless I say let's go to agility. She is a snuggle monster and is very quiet in
the house until I do something wrong and my god, she tells you. I should never
have taught her to speak. She is funny, stubborn, has a massive personality and
i swear she rolls her eyes at me. She is the love of my life, my baby.
 I
also think it was maturity. Flat Coats are known as Peter Pan dogs. I took her
to difference arena hires to get her used to different environments and indoor
venues. It took time and effort to just be patient with her. I always
tried to congratulate her on the little things she managed to do. I never told
her off and always cheered her on regardless.
And for my part, I
relaxed and got more comfortable and confident in the ring instead of worrying
what other people thought.
For anyone, who ever
feels the way I felt, remember Wendy. Every dog is different. Never compare
yourself to anyone else. All it takes is patience, perseverance, a good sense of
humour and lots and lots of wine.
Footnote:
If writing my story helps one person not to give up, it will mean the world to
me.
 About
the author...
Hannah Walton started agility at the age of 23 though she wishes that she had
done it sooner.
As part of a student
nursing placement, she travelled to
Ohio (USA) in 2017 where she stayed with a nurse and a doctor
who had 13 dogs. In addition to working alongside them in the hospital, she
was introduced to dog agility. She went to a number of shows
with her hosts and even had a go with one of their dogs.
As soon as she came
back to the UK, Hannah looked into agility clubs in the Middlesbrough area.
She is currently a staff
nurse at the James Cook NHS Hospital in Teeside.
First published
2nd May 2025
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