Remember Wendy
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Miracles do happen and any dog can do it...When I tried to dry her feet, she Hannah Walton started agility with her mam's Flat Coated Retriever Ivy. At their first show, Ivy refused to jump, just sniffed the ground and wagged her tail. Then she then jumped the ring rope, ran to the toy shop and stole a turkey neck. She came back to Hannah, looking very pleased with herself. When Hannah got Wendy, she thought she knew about the breed, but she went from a slow and steady dog to a 'devil dog.'In 2021 I got my beautiful Flat Coat 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, she stressed everyone out. She was a little sod - mainly with me. It was like she was attempting to play with me as if she thought I was another dog. On day 2 she was hanging off my dressing gown. When I tried to dry her feet, she jumped at me mouthing. On walks with my Mam's dogs whilst I was at work, she would fling herself on the floor and refuse to walk
I am making her out to be a complete little bugger but honestly she is a sweet heart. She was just more full of life than any of my Mam's Flat Coats. I just had to learn how to handle her. She is hilarious stubborn a bit of a wuss who loves to cuddle on the sofa and and suffocate me in bed. I started agility with her in 2022 at Wilton AC and a year later joined Stardom ATC as I thought that going to a different venue might help Wendy's performance and boost my confidence, too. Our first show was a disaster. Ironically, it 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.
Training the 'devil child' She would only do 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 in a habit of refusing to jump that 'scary' first jump. 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 wasn’t for the support from my own club, I would have walked away. Deep down, I knew Wendy had it in her. I spent 2024, traveling all over to different shows in an effort to improve Wendy's confidence.
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.
A changed dog Wendy has now achieved her Bronze and Silver Agility Warrants. We also won our section in the Gundog Agility League. The results are not out yet, but we have also done tremendously well in 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.
In the beginning, I tried to run Wendy the same way I did 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 realise that me waving my arms around with Wendy was just 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 what she wanted. She was frustrated, excited and unsure what she was suppose to be doing.
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.
in 2017 she travelled to Ohio (USA) as part of a nursing placement and stayed with a nurse and a doctor who had 13 dogs. So as well as working in the hospitals alongside them as a student nurse, she got introduced to dog agility. She went to a number of shows with her hosts and even had a go with one of her dogs. As soon as she I 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 20th April 2025 |
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She
was a very clever pup and her recall was letter perfect from the get go etc.
I
will never ever forget the day in February 2024 when Wendy 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, forgetting for the moment that I actually
had to leave the ring.
What
changed...
I
also think it was maturity. Flat Coasts 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.
About
the author...