Clean Run - February 2011 - 3

Cover
The magazine for dog agiliTy enThusiasTs
PHOTOs © ann clayTOn PHOTOgraPHic imaging,

february 11

Volume 17

number 02

Helpful Tips for Running a Great Trial Gone are the days where you could expect competitors to enter a trial just because you were the only show in the area. With so many different venues and trials for competitors to choose from every weekend, clubs and organizations need to look for ways to draw people to their trials. By Tinna Brown

Instructing Outside the Box: Handling Games to Get Students Thinking and Having Fun Rather than always doing the same thing in your agility classes, shake things up a bit by playing games that are designed to get students thinking outside the box and get them involved in class. By Tracy Sklenar

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NADAC Tunnelers Strategy and Tips Tunnelers is a NADAC game where teams run a course consisting of tunnels, tunnels, and more tunnels. While we’ll discuss game-specific strategy in this article, we’ll also look at strategies for handling and training tunnels that can be applied to any agility course that includes tunnels. By Andrea Dexter

12 Balance in Training Balance in agility training is important. Not only do you need balance in the actual behaviors that you work on with your dog, but you also need balance in the philosophical way that you approach dog training and agility in particular. By Daisy Peel 22 You Know Your Dog Is Aggressive If... Part 4 Once you have built your foundation skills to a high level, you can add them into your daily life. Here are the most common ways to set up desensitization sessions for you and your dog. By Pamela S. Dennison

Features
5 Editorializing: When Is Enough Enough? When a dog has an injury, at what point do you look in the mirror and ask yourself who you’re really doing agility for? Does your dog really care if he only needs one more Double-Q for a MACH5? And does earning that title change your relationship with your dog? If a dog needs medication for pain, then he does not need to be trialing. By Debbie Brooks, DVM 53 Agility Organization Leaders, Part 2 Many competitors don’t know anything about the people who help organize and orchestrate most aspects of this well-loved sport. This month you’ll meet Linda Eickholdt (CPE), Jim and Mary Kay Mills (DOCNA), Laura Derrett (UKI), and Carrie DeYoung (AKC). By Brenna Fender 72 Sera’s Story: Musings from An Agility Journey All of us have to face that our dog’s agility career is going to end. But how do we know when it’s time? Maybe when it’s time, the moment will present itself; so perhaps it’s better to focus on the journey and day-to-day living. By Carolyn Canizaro-Orlowsky, DVM 78 Shelter Champs: Panic While many competitors dream of earning titles, animal shelters continue to house dogs that were relinquished because they are too energetic, too smart, or too busy for most pet homes. Many of these dogs are great agility prospects. This month, meet Panic, a mixedbreed dog. By Lisa Barrett

16 Challenges at CR Central Weave pole foundation training often neglects to thoroughly test a dog’s understanding of entries early in the process. Instant recognition of entries at speed, given any circumstance or set of variables, should be trained and tested long before a dog is weaving 6 or 12 poles. These drills all have challenging weave pole entries and exits. By Annie Pyle 30 Challenges for Rising Stars This month’s exercises concentrate on the handler’s and dog’s ability to rapidly shift from obstacle focus to handler focus multiple times. They also provide the freedom for handlers to create their own courses rather than dictating a set exercise pattern. By Stuart Mah 45 Ready, Set, Trial! How to Find and Enter Trials Finding and entering trials requires attention to detail and can be confusing for newcomers to the sport. Here we discuss the basics of finding and entering agility trials in the U.S. By Jamie McKay, CPDT KA

38 Early Takeoff: A Program for Managing the Problem There are no fixes for early takeoff problems. But with hard work and going back to square one with foundation jumping grids, you can manage the problem and increase the dog’s confidence, making the game of agility fun again for both handler and dog. By Susan Salo 47 How Overtraining Affects Us and Our Dogs Too much training can decrease athletic performance and cause physical and mental stress as well as injuries in both humans and dogs. Learn how to avoid overtraining so that you and your dog can compete at your best and also enjoy what you’re doing. By Debbie Gross Saunders, DPT, MSPT, OCS, CCRP

Columns
6 7 8 Tip of the Month By Diane Weisbrodt Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility… By Brenna Fender Backyard Dogs By Mary Ellen Barry

Cover Dog
Tribute’s Return Engagement NAC, NJC, NGC, TAM, TMAG, TSAD, TACH, AX, AXJ, NF, PII, CL4-F, CL4-H, CL4-S, CL4-R, a.k.a. Chip, a 7-yearold Chihuahua owned by Linda DesMarais of New Hampshire. Photos by Lesley Mattuchio, www.pbase.com/lesleylou.

19 Bloopers By Brenna Fender

Clean Run (ISSN 1089-8506) is published monthly by Clean Run Productions, LLC. Principal office: 17 Industrial Dr., South Hadley, MA 01075. Periodicals postage paid at South Hadley, Massachusetts 01075-9902 and additional offices. © Copyright 1995-2011 Bud Houston and Clean Run Productions, LLC. All world rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Clean Run, 17 Industrial Dr., South Hadley, MA 01075.

February 11 | Clean Run

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Clean Run - February 2011

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