Thanks for talking with me Phyllis! So your dogs are two Golden Retrievers, and their names are?
Henry and George. Henry is eight; George is going to be two on Saturday.
So what age did you start training with your dogs?
They both came here for Puppy Kindergarten, Henry went to puppy kindergarten, he did the CGC class. Then he did agility and we’ve been doing agility here ever since. George did puppy kindergarten and the basic class afterwards. He went to Rally, then agility, and now he’s been doing agility ever since.
What are benefits of agility training?
Well, Golden retrievers need a lot of exercise so its good for them that way.
But I also do it for me, because I don’t like aerobics, i don't like going to the gym! But this is really fun and its really good exercise. I look forward to the classes, I like the exercise, I like the movement--you don’t feel like your forcing yourself to exercise, you’re just having fun.
Any accomplishment that you’re really proud of?
Since I started agility with Henry, who is a very driven, very impatient dog--a border collie in a golden retriever’s skin. Its hard for me because I’m not young, and I’ve actually had several surgeries--one for breathing and the other for total knee replacement. I was out an entire year, so when we got a CATCH after that, that was a major accomplisment.
What is a challenge you’ve had to work through with your dogs?
Contacts! (In agility, the contacts are the dogwalk, a-frame and see-saw). I probably wasn’t as good with henry as I should have been, but I learned a lot by the time I got George, so George has a very solid contact performance.
Has agility affected you and your dogs in other ways?
Once you do agility, it keeps the dogs fit. I don’t have overweight dogs. They listen to me, they pay attention to me. I do other things with them, I’ve just started nose work for example. I think part of what agility what it teaches you, is enormous amounts of patience! It is hard, it is a real sport. You have to have fun with your dog, and it definitely helps you to be patient.
Any thoughts for people who want to start doing agility?
Have a good foundation in obedience, and don’t rush it! Take it a step at a time, make sure you have a solid foundation on the equipment and if you’ve never done it before, you’ll do it in baby steps. Your movements, your handling of the dog in agility and all of that. Don’t look at the agility field and say ‘“I’m gonna race my dog around!” I hear so many people say, “my dog could do that.” Your dog could do that--but its going to take practice and at least a year before you can think about competing!
Cool, don't rush and stick with it! Thanks Phyllis.
