The Crazymaesy Agility Dogs

CRAZYMAESY was the most strong-willed, opinionated and, quite frankly, stroppy dog I have ever had the luck to live with.

She learnt quickly and then did exactly what she wanted to do. She was fast, furious and she didn't suffer fools gladly. This was a real shame for every fool who ran her! She taught me so much about dog training. The biggest lesson I learned was that you cannot force a dog to do something just because you want them to do it. She also taught me that you should work with what your dog gives you and not try to control their behaviour and change it to suit your needs. Respect their individuality.

She was fast. I spent months trying to slow her down and the fun went out of it, so I let her be fast and she then let me teach her some discipline at speed. Trust became the key word. She trusted that I would tell her in time where she needed to go and I trusted that if I gave her her head then she would listen and react to those directions. Once we stopped fighting each other the fun was back.

Did I believe everything I had learned? Of course not! Maesy was my first agility dog. It's only now looking back that I see just how much I learned from her.

My next attempts at training new pups were interesting. I took all I had learned with Maesy but soon another lesson was learned. Not all dogs are the same. Not all are as clever. Some are too clever for their own good!

MADOC was a happy dog. No dog could be happier. But, brains? Maybe not. If you showed him once you showed him a hundred times and each time he would say: 'Oh, that's what you want. OK, I get it. Um... just explain it once more to make sure?' Repetition with him was the key to agility heaven!

SCRAG was fast over the obstacles and just as fast back into her kennel if you raised your voice or looked angry in any way. She taught me to keep cool under fire, which was the hardest lesson to learn. It still is but I continue to work on it and mostly I succeed. We all have expectations of these dogs and however much we say it's all for fun sometimes we forget so easily. Of all my dogs, she made me realise that it's no fun for anyone making a dog work unless it wants to.

Then came SHARK. With Shark I learned to pick a job to teach and concentrate on it until it's looking good and then move on. I took each obstacle separately and taught her her job surrounding it before moving on to the next. It was Shark who taught me that agility is, in fact, just a lot of tricks that we string together into a course. Once I had realised this, my job as a handler became easier. She taught me there is no rush. I didn't hurry to perfect the contacts. I let her enjoy running fast over them without any expectations from me to about the contact points. Another lesson learned. If your dog enjoys the obstacle, once you start adapting their behaviour on it they don't argue as much.

FATS was my biggest challenge. He hated anything that meant someone or something was dominating him. Just asking him to take an obstacle made him cower. He would walk over low jumps head down looking worried. What did I do? Well, I gave him to my daughter Emily who had as much skill as him in agility and together they laughed and joked their way to learning all the obstacles! Handling? No, not much of that to be seen. His commands are: 'Fats, Fats, Fats, Fats, FATS!!' He started to have a blast. He 'goes on' to die for. He woofs and he barks and he made it to seniors within two years and is taking top places for all who run him. He has so much fun that it's infectious and everyone who's had the pleasure of running him, whether at shows or at training, ends up having the best time ever. Can he be scruffed? Nope. You can't touch him or grab him, he cries and he lays flat as a pancake. Is he a great agility dog? Absolutely!

PINK came next. Pink never stopped. Unbearable in the house, on the go unless caged. She had more energy than a Duracell bunny. Pink learned quickly that it wasn’t worth repeating tricks for a toy or treat when there were plenty of objects in her immediate surroundings that could become playthings. If you denied her a toy in the hope of her performing to be rewarded with it, she would just go and find something else to use. Be it the smallest piece of dust on the carpet, she would just ignore your requests and bring something different to you.

I quickly learned not to fight Pink. If she wanted to face away from the start line because there was something more interesting behind her, then so be it. When I commanded the first obstacle she always went the right way. Pink showed me that sometimes you have to let a girl be. Giving her a little gave you a lot but if you tried to impose your order on her madness she would take your dignity and rub it all around the course. The one she had made up, obviously!

ALLIGATOR was the most incredible collie. She learned to do agility in a day. I don’t remember teaching her. I would ask and she would give and I would be left standing in shock. Nothing seemed to be beyond her understanding. Sadly, when I tried to raise the jumps from medium to full height, I found her weakness. Alligator it turned out had been born with deformed back legs. She was unable to attempt full height jumps, having been so amazing at medium. After a full set of x-rays we were told that all the ligaments in her lower back legs were attached in the wrong way and she was unable to stretch her back legs out enough to push off over the higher jumps. What did I learn from Alli? Well, I learned to be more attentive to my dog's body. I learned that it is extremely important to have a full medical on my dogs before they are asked to compete in such a physically demanding sport. I learned that not every dog is designed for agility and sometimes us humans have to make the right decisions for our dogs. Even if they are telling us something is fun, it might not actually be good for them.

Next came RAZ. I saw this puppy in the back of a Landrover and wanted her so badly. Raz is the dog I credit most in making me a more understanding trainer. From the moment she came home to live with me I knew she was different to all my other dogs. Raz is my joy and my sorrow. She makes me smile and cry. I have seen more experts with Raz than any other animal in my entire life. Raz is another story for another day but she taught me that training a dog isn’t always black or white (even though she actually is!). Raz is a full time job. She lives in her own world. She doesn’t interact with my pack or do doggy things. She doesn’t have a bad bone in her body and when she is in the real world she wins classes, but, within minutes, she can be back in her own little world once more. To go from winning to not even able to get her over two obstacles used to be extremely frustrating. Raz taught me to smile though my heart was breaking. Smile even though it's aching. When there are clouds in the sky you’ll get by. Raz is a very special little dog. She has made me a more thoughtful and caring trainer.

I am now working on my new pup, BRAN. A beautiful Working Sheepdog. It’s early days but Bran is proving to be a loyal, intelligent, hardworking young bitch. The ease of training is in stark contrast to Raz. I feel like I am on a holiday with Bran!

Agility became a hobby, then a paying hobby and now a full time occupation. I have had the pleasure of teaching in many countries and enjoyed the company of some extraordinary people!

I've met the softest of handlers right up to the criminally insane (no names mentioned!) and, for the most part, all have taught me something that has helped me to become a better trainer.

I like to think of myself as the Dawn French of the dog training world. There is a lot of fun and laughter, but my business is serious and the results are great to watch!

I am like any other product you may try. You should keep what's useful from it and throw the rest away (hopefully there won't be too much waste!!)!

Until then... Have fun and if I ever work out camera and computer you may even see my face in print. Not that I'm sure it will sell magazines.