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#AgilityHusky
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... |
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Akitas & Agility - Think Again
Billy
Walsh was introduced the Akita as a breed about five years ago when he met another dog walker
with a lovely Akita girl. When the bitch became too much for the owner to handle, she was
rehomed to another family. Billy was devastated as he would have jumped at the chance to
give her a home. A while later, he got his Akita puppy Otis and now they can be seen
frequently around the agility rings in the North West. We asked his to write a short
article about his experience with his running partner Otis (Musn't Grumble)
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Big Dogs Can Jump
Although Great Danes are not usually known for their agility, Blake, a 70-kilo Harlequin
Great Dane, is ever ready to spring into action. When his owner Jill Gibson took him
along to her local agility club, they said he was too big to cope with the obstacles.'
Undeterred, Jill decided to set up her own agility club for giant breeds. |
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The Bracco Italiano
& Agility
Anne
Brierley has owned at least one Bracco Italiano since 2002. They are a rare breed of dog in
this country and were even rarer in 2002. She was first introduced to the breed
at Discover Dogs and fell in love with them immediately. As they are high energy
dogs that need to be well exercised and their minds kept occupied, Anne thought of
doing Agility with them. Well, why not... |
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Competing with a Kooikerhondje
When Mark and Gill Duggan spotted the
Kooikerhondje in a dog breed book and it was like a eureka moment. They
had finally found the dog they were looking for. When they started their
agiity journey, they did not realise how much it would change their
lives. |
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Competing with a Xolo
If
ever you’re doing a pub quiz and get asked to name a dog breed beginning with X,
the answer is Xoloitzcuintle. Also known as the Mexican Hairless, it certainly isn’t the first breed
you'd think of as a sports dog! Sarah Hamblin has kind of fallen in to the world
of agility and dog sports - as many of us did! It certainly wasn’t a
consideration when she became a Xolo owner! She gets a lot of questions about
competing with such an rare and unusual breed when they're out and about so she
was more than happy to share some with the Agilitynet community! |
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Cosmic Sammies
It
was in 1988 when a friend named Jill Crawford introduced 11 year old Jason Loper to the sport
of dog agility. Little did she know that he would be hooked for life! Jason likes to share his
insights and stories with other Samoyed owners and people who do the sport of Dog Agility. He
believes it's helpful for beginners to learn about other people's 'First Times' at an agility
trial. With that he is going to tell you about his first show with his boy Quazar! |
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Dee-Fer
Determined
Saluki
X Lurcher Deefer (10) has been training with her owner Amy Lawson at Chippenham Agility Club
for nearly nine years now. For the most part, she really enjoys it except when she'd prefer to
sunbathe. During that time, she's had
quite a few clear rounds in Jumping and the occasional clear in Agility. There'd have been more
Agility clears if Deefer hadn't insisted on jumping the Up contact. But that was before the
accident. Now she gets nearly all of her contacts! This is her remarkable story... |
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Frenchie
Flyer
Jack
Fenton would be the first to admit that he is not the quintessential agility
handler. His dyspraxia means that even basic handling techniques are ones that
he struggles with. What makes it even more complicated is the fact that the dog
he wants to run with is not a sleek Border Collie nor a lightning fast Spaniel.
It's a two year old French Bulldog named Kevin who, perhaps just like him, might
not ‘belong’ to traditional agility circles for a number of different reasons.
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Gorgeous George the Boston Terrier
Having
run two Collies and a GSD in agility, Katie Gurney decided that she wanted to
run a smaller dog so she began to look at breeds such as Working Cockers,
Poodles and various crosses. She decided that none of these were quite right for
her so she kept looking - and then she discovered the Boston Terrier! |
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Greyhounds in Agility
Jennifer Bachelor is
partial to Greyhounds and she's had quite a bit of success on the agility circuit with them.
She's learned a lot from them and she never misses a chance to tell people about them.
(26/10/09) |
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Herbie Sausage
Think of an
agility dog – we guarantee no one would think of a Miniature Dachshund! That is
until you meet Herbie Sausage – he LOVES agility! Unconventional as he may be as
an agility dog, Herbie is out to show the agility world that, no matter what
their breed or stature, any dog can have fun doing agility! Haylie Mabe is very
proud of her little man. |
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Mabel Mabel
Renée Heginbotham and her husband were suffering from empty basket syndrome when they
decided to get another puppy. They chose Mabel who ma be the fastest Westie in...
agility. Oh yes, don't mention her ears! |
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Niko AW/B
Niko secured himself an early Christmas
present recently as he jumped, ran and weaved his way to his Bronze Agility Warrant,
making him only the second Pug ever to have achieved this award. |
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Paddington's First Holiday
It's Dogs in Need time and the Smith family
are off to an agility show in Suffolk with their three bears - Big Max (GSD)
and Schipperkes Rupert and new puppy Paddington. Baby bear Paddington reads from his diary... |
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Pancho the Pug
Usually when you say agility dogs, most people think
'Border
Collies or Poodles' but when you say Pugs, you should see their faces! Pugs have a reputation
for being fat lazy dogs who can only jump onto the sofa. So when we met Laure Metairie and her
all black pug Pancho at the Axstane show we were pleasantly surprised. So charmed were we that
we asked Laure to write a few lines about their agility goals and experience thus far. |
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The
Plummers' Tale
Diane Boreham started agility lessons with her JRT but soon realised that it
wasn't that interested so she decided to look for another small terrier.
While out walking her GSD, she happened across a Plummer Terrier and was
immediately attracted to this flashy little breed. A year later
she was ready for her second agility dog and found herself searching the
Internet for more information. |
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Pugs & Jugs
Pugs are
eager to display their intelligence in a playful and energetic manner. They
have been bred to be sensitive to humans which
means that traditional agility training methods used with working dogs don't
always suit the pug temperament. They are so much fun to train that it is easy
to become addicted to both the breed and agility which can be frustrating,
exhilarating and hilarious all at the same time. We talked to some Pug, Pug X
and Jug handlers about their experiences. |
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Ridgebacks
Rule
Kerry Rhodes started her agility
journey with two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Initially it was meant to
something they could do together - just as a bit of fun with no
intention of ever competing. She looked for quite some time for a club
who would allow them to join them but, as soon as she mentioned the
breed, people weren't interested. Eventually, she found East Yorkshire
Agility Club (EYAC) and invited them to come down to one of their Sunday
morning club sessions to have a go. She has been competing with her
Ridgebacks now for 6 years – one managed to get his Agility Warrant
title and the other is currently Grade 5. |
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Scrappy the Standard Poodle
When
you have poodles in your home, you have fun loving dogs that are too intelligent
for your own good. As everyone knows these days, the Poodle are a non-allergenic
dog breed and because Chris Stamp is allergic to dog hair, he was brought up
with them, which means he is well placed to write something about them. |
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Training Tiny Dogs
Chihuahuas
are known for their tiny size and huge personalities. They can be feisty and
sassy - and sometimes aggressive - but one thing they are definitely not known
for their sporting abilities or trainability. While they are an intelligent
breed, they can also be incredibly stubborn. Naomi Hosker admits they are not
the easiest breed to train, but she wouldn't have it any other way... |
