Something New This Way Comes.

They say that it's never to late to teach an old dog new tricks. Well, guess what?  That goes both ways.  Its never to late to teach an old handler new tricks either.

          Let me start at the beginning of this story;

  Many years ago in a land not so far away, My husband got a new puppy. He was so excited to have this new little bundle of energy and I wanted him to have all the success in the world with this new addition to our family so I did my very best to stay hands off the pup for the first two years.

          But, alas, time got away from my husband and life got in the way as well.  Work, home, family, all these things did not leave time to work with the puppy, Jack, and fully bond with him.

          Jack had his first 2 levels of basic obedience training and his first puppy class for agility and at 2 years old he was still a sponge. Jack wanted more than what my husband had time to give him. 

          So I stepped in. Jack was a dog with so much potential!  He already had his championship in conformation, and was still going strong there, but he needed more to keep his brain active.  I started working him ten minutes a day, three times a day, and got him to listen to me better.  After a few weeks, it was time to take the next step in training and get him some more exposure.  Classes!  Structured classes.

          I don't care how good you are at training a dog, they can always learn more with a class and so can the handler.  Other people watching and seeing a dog and handler work together may catch small things that can help them work better as a team.  In the beginning we went to class one day a week, every week.  Just a simple group obedience class.

          Structured classes did a few things.  It gave us a chance to work together as a team.  We learned to pay attention to each other.  We learned each other's signals.  We got to work with distractions in a controlled environment and it taught us to trust each other.  We learned to believe in what we could do together.

          From there we went to a competition obedience class. Jack did quite well but he also let me know that some of what I was asking of him in this class he was not ready to give me yet. OK, so we moved on to rally.

          In rally Jack bloomed!  Our interaction in a less structured environment with more body cues made him come alive.  After four classes we had our first competition scoring a  96 and a 94.  Just a month later we scored 100!  I was elated with him and how much he wanted to work.  Jack liked the action, movement and the connection we shared in rally.  That connection was different with Jack than it had been with my other dogs.  Since I had not started working with him until he was two years old, I was thrilled at how fast he picked things up.

          I paid attention to his signals and worked with his needs in mind and knew that we needed more. This dog was just plain fun to work with and really wanted to learn.

          This is when an old friend came into our lives again at just the right time.  She offered to let us come to a beginner level agility class that she was starting up.  How could I say no?  We were both up for new challenges.  At 68 years old I had my doubts that I could do this with a young Malinois but it was going to be what he needed.  As it turned out it was what we both needed.

          We started with agility classes one night a week.  Five months later we are were up to two or three nights a week and learning to work as a team.  Jack is starting to slow down and watch me and I am learning to cue him earlier to keep him moving.  Our teamwork is one of the great joys in my life right now.  We are a ways off from our first competition but that's OK.  We are both having the time of our lives.

          We have bonded.  Training goes a long way in establishing that bond.  Training builds trust, connection, and a bond that is like no other. When you work with a dog, instead of against them, this bond happens more quickly and is a stronger and more lasting bond.

           Jack is still doing his conformation.  We are still working on rally and hope some day to get over our quirks in obedience and continue there. In the mean time we stepped into a whole new world with agility and I can not say enough good things about how much fun we're having together. 

          Learn and take the basic steps with your dog first.  Develop a good recall and a good heel. Learn to trust and believe in each other. You need these basics before you can work in a high energy sport like agility.  Without this base, you will both feel frustration and that  will not be fun for either you or your dog.  Once you have these basics there will be no limit to what you can do together.

          Enjoy training and know that its never to late to start a new sport.  For me this is the first time I have ever had a true partner when working in agility.  For Jack, at nearly three years old, he's learning to trust his handler, listen and know that there are firm and fast rules. He's also learned that if those rules are followed, they open up a world of fun and enjoyment. 

          Train on and learn to enjoy each other! 

           I would like to shout out a big thank you to my husband for letting me steal his dog.

Also to Jack’s breeder, Kathy, for having such well rounded dogs with good structure and desire.

And thank you to Jack's trainers, one and all.  You know who you are.