Agility
We took Ruby to obedience classes from 12 weeks which was brilliant for socialising and teaching her basic good behaviour. Ruby was a really lively puppy and after a year it started to be a little repetititve - I wanted to find something that would enable me to build on the basic training that we had learnt but woud be a more active form of training. In September 2011 Ruby and I joined Paws at Play to begin a foundation agility class. Ruby loved it - and so did I!
We followed the same pattern with Pepper, beginning obedience classes at 10 weeks and joining a foundation agility class in February 2011 when she was 6 months old.
While training obedience, I was able to enter both girls to be tested for their Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze Awared and was very proud that they both passed!
It has been interesting doing agility with both of them. They have such different characters, it is interesting for me to have to learn how to get the best out of each of them
When I started training I had never expected to start competing in agility - it had begun as a hobby that would incorporate training, activity and building a bond between me and and the dogs, but in 2013 we ventured out into the scary world of agility competitions.
We followed the same pattern with Pepper, beginning obedience classes at 10 weeks and joining a foundation agility class in February 2011 when she was 6 months old.
While training obedience, I was able to enter both girls to be tested for their Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze Awared and was very proud that they both passed!
It has been interesting doing agility with both of them. They have such different characters, it is interesting for me to have to learn how to get the best out of each of them
When I started training I had never expected to start competing in agility - it had begun as a hobby that would incorporate training, activity and building a bond between me and and the dogs, but in 2013 we ventured out into the scary world of agility competitions.
Hoopers was introduced into the UK in 2017 having been established in Europe. It evolved from the Agility world as a sport that had less impact on a dogs joints and promoted the use of verbal queues and distance handling.
The equipment consists of Hoops, Tunnels, Barrels and Touch 'n' Go Mats and courses are designed to challenge your ability to handle your dog around the course at a distance using verbal queues. There may be distance lines or boxes that gain you extra points if you can handle part of the course, or all of it, from behind them (or in them).
There are a few different versions of Hoopers in the UK - we're still trying to work it all out - but the underlying aims are the same, as this the focus on having fun and developing a great relationship with our dogs.
I started training Ruby & Pepper in hoopers in February 2020. Ruby had not been enjoying agility, particularly the contact equipment, and she was almost 10 years old. With Pepper I had reached Grade 7 and knew that we wouldn't be competitive against the full time agility handlers so hoopers would be something new for both of us to learn.
The low impact nature of hoopers was a key factor as it will hopefully give me the ability to continue to train and compete as they get older.
The equipment consists of Hoops, Tunnels, Barrels and Touch 'n' Go Mats and courses are designed to challenge your ability to handle your dog around the course at a distance using verbal queues. There may be distance lines or boxes that gain you extra points if you can handle part of the course, or all of it, from behind them (or in them).
There are a few different versions of Hoopers in the UK - we're still trying to work it all out - but the underlying aims are the same, as this the focus on having fun and developing a great relationship with our dogs.
I started training Ruby & Pepper in hoopers in February 2020. Ruby had not been enjoying agility, particularly the contact equipment, and she was almost 10 years old. With Pepper I had reached Grade 7 and knew that we wouldn't be competitive against the full time agility handlers so hoopers would be something new for both of us to learn.
The low impact nature of hoopers was a key factor as it will hopefully give me the ability to continue to train and compete as they get older.