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An
international experience...
 One
of the scariest things in life must be is to be diagnosed with something for which doctors have no cure. It
was in 2007 when Dave Maylam was told that he had Parkinson's disease. Four years on and he's
had to fact the fact that his days of dog agility may be numbered as Parkinson's is a
progressive disease and it's begun to affect his memory and balance - the two essential
requirements for doing dog agility. But hey! Enough of
the sympathy vote. It didn't him from representing his country at PAWC 2011.
This year IMCA/PAWC 2011 was to be held in Nijmegen, Holland.
It would prove to be even more emotional this year than last as we were to meet up the old friends
we had made in Switzerland last year.
Before we left, I knew that if I was going to compete in Holland that I would
have to find a new strategy to help me overcome limitation with my mobility and memory.
Simple tasks which would
take an able bodied person ten minutes to do were taking me twice as long.
In the end, I realised that it's the dog that works the
agility course and the handler who gives the directions. Being at the right place at the right
time is all we need to do!
Calling on the skills of a most amazing dog agility teacher
in the world - my wife Dianne - we started to re-school my dog Jess so that she could be worked
from a distance using more verbal commands and shoulders because more often than not my arms
and hands do not work. We've lots of help from many trainers including Audrey Weekes at Stour
Valley Agility Club, Dave Munnings, Nancy Hudson, Leah Gardner, Toni Dawkins, Dianne Talbot and
Rosie Pilbeam. Their contribution has been so helpful.
I keep referring to my dog without
explaining who my dog is. Jess is a self- assured, super-fast Belgian Shepherd x WSD who
likes to
travel at 90mph and takes shortcuts wherever she deems necessary. At two years old, she
had to learn to recall through weaves, know her left and right commands and jump whatever is in
front of her unless, of course, I say otherwise.
 Preparing for PAWC
Before I started re-training, I did a little homework on training collies to work sheep
so I could understand how to handle a dog from a distance. When it all comes together, the training
can be quite impressive to watch as the dog works purely to voice commands. I was sure that it
would not prove to be too difficult a task for me.
Dianne used the
internet to see how other people with disabilities managed their dogs and she came across the article by
Sue Drew from Jersey on Agilitynet. That is when we decided to contact Richard Partridge
regarding Para-gility, and I was asked if I would like to join the UK team!!
After a brief
meeting at Cranleigh show and a letter to Susan Rekveld, we were both accepted onto the team.
The invitation included Dianne with the two young dogs Max (Maysar Maximum Damage) and Fudge (Little Miss Fudgecake) who, in years to come,
will take Jess's place as she is now seven years old.
 PAWC show
The opening ceremonies,
when all participating countries parade around the arena with with their national flags was very emotional but also daunting
as we were introduced to who was whom - including those who had won or been placed in the European Champs.
Back in the UK, we
had assumed (wrongly) that this competition would be of a lesser standard than other
International events only to discover that most of the other countries run qualifiers and their teams
include their top dogs and handlers for the IMCA. Even though there were only four competitors from the UK, we were
welcomed warmly.
To see the dogs
working with competitors who had artificial limbs, were in wheelchairs or amazingly were blind
was incredible! It made my disability seem quite mediocre. It really was quite moving. Everyone
got the greatest support by cheering right through to the end of each round.
My dog was
fantastic! I had some
real high moments but, with Jess as fast as she is, it was inevitable that I would be caught
out by the some of the traps. Nevertheless she was amazing !
Yes, I made mistakes, but will never forget the last round I
did in Switzerland
in 2010 when I really did get it all together and just called too
late for a tight turn so that Jess put her foot on the off-course A-frame. As the round had
progressed, I could hear the excitement building followed by a huge aaaahhh! as I made that mistake! But I was still cheered to the
end.
The PAWC 2011 Competitors
 Team success
The UK was not let down by the IMCA team either and, although not in the medals, the
handlers did some lovely
rounds. We even had a few clears. Dianne gave her two dogs up to Jennifer
Bannister and Stacie Irwin so that we had a large team while she ran Jess in the IMCA. This team
along with Nick Clarkson and Daisy managed a very creditable 6th place in the Team Jumping
! Jess was a little difficult as she always looks for me but Dianne achieved a 21st
in the Individual Agility, just missing the dogwalk contact. Stacie and Kim Pennels were also
high in the overall placings.
Team Leader Richard Partridge said, 'Although we did not
manage to run off with any medals the team did exceptionally well, completely eclipsing any
previous efforts. Taking into account that most of the members had no previous experience in
this type of competition, with all of the razzmatazz, tension, very high calibre competitors
and difficult courses, not to mention a pretty busy social diary, we are very proud of their
achievements. Most got at least one clear round, a great effort over full blown International
courses, and the teams in particular, won satisfactory places.'
PAWC has really brought it
home to me that dogs have no barriers and give pleasure to many and bring a smile to those who
have little to look forward to. The courses are flowing,
but not easy, plenty of traps and a true test. I felt so proud to
represent the UK - a little disappointed that I did not achieve better results but ecstatic
that I will be able to do it all again next year in Belgium!
And to any company out there who
would be willing to sponsor the UK Team and enable more disabled competitors to take part,
please do not hesitate to contact Richard Partridge, Team Leader by email to
perdixcott@uwclub.net
 About the author...
Dave Maylem has been working with sheepdogs since he was a child at home on the
farm. He worked a brace as part of his working career as a Nature Reserve Sites Manager with
Natural England where they had flocks of unruly Beulah sheep which were used for
grassland management. The dogs had to work out of sight in scrub land.
Dave took
early retirement at the age of 54 years after being diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2007.
His wife
Dianne started agility with the working dogs at home in the mid-eighties and joined Stour
Valley Agility Club in 1996, but the dogs were usually working for Dave at weekends so shows
were not an option as he could not work without them.
Photos:
Dave Maylam, Blaszyk and Susan Rekveld
First
published 02/12/11
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