Course Design Safety Concerns
It is refreshing to see more and more handlers speaking out about safety of agility equipment and surfaces. Many improvements have been made in the last couple of years and I see more on the horizon. Safety issues in course design are somewhat more difficult to address than equipment design. Why do courses with safety problems still find their way …
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Update on Early Takeoffs in Dog Jumping
For those interested, we’ve been making some exciting progress toward understanding what causes dogs to take off for jumps inappropriately early. When I wrote the first article on “ETS” I stated that I suspected that a vision was a causative factor (please refer to my articles on this site for more information on ETS). At that time, that theory was …
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Made in the USA
The electronics industry is constantly bombarding us with amazing new gadgets. There are so many choices these days! Joe Public is easily enticed by hype and its not difficult for the clever techno geek sales guy to make Joe believe that the latest, greatest new gizmo, with all the bells and whistles, is something he can’t live without. The techno …
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Equipment Safety Concerns
I don’t post unless I feel I have something worthwhile to say. Well, I think this is an important topic. I’m writing this blog in response to the excellent podcast posted yesterday by Daisy Peel. You can listen to it at www.daisypeel.com. The topic was equipment safety. Daisy made many excellent points, which I would like to reiterate, and I’d …
Read MoreMake It Happen
In dog agility there are many ways to achieve “success”. It might be earning a qualifying score with your novice dog, achieving a confident performance by your shy dog, or standing on the podium with your dog at the World Championships. Each can be a meaningful and significant accomplishment, and each can be a very challenging endeavor. I’d like to …
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Call me old fashioned
I have been quiet lately, very busy and really no time to be writing blog entries. But something that has been on my mind: the future of our sport (dog agility). This is an important topic <grin> One thing that I’ve always been somewhat opposed to is prize money. It is fun to earn some cash once in a while, …
Read MoreJudge Dread
Judge Dread video Another Judge Dread video A little bit of trivia….many many years ago I was a USDAA agility judge. Being an agility judge is not an easy task if you are a perfectionist. First, it is tough to stand out there all day and be *sure* that you make all of the correct calls. I would lose sleep …
Read MoreKeep looking until the answer is yes.
Several years ago I got a little frustrated when looking for my next puppy because I just couldn’t find a litter I felt comfortable with. So, I decided to buy a female and produce my own puppies. I don’t necessarily think that approach is appropriate for everyone…but it worked for me Even after breeding three litters of my own, I …
Read Morethe best gift I could’ve asked for
My friend Vicki often dogsits for me when I’m away. She sent me the following for Christmas; it is one of the best gifts I have ever received. Needless to say, it touched my heart. Its amazing the effect that one minute of video can have. Some of you may not understand, but those of you that know me will.
Read MoreA ‘star’ is born
Back in 2001, I got a new Border Collie puppy. He was of course adorable as all puppies are, but as time went on it became obvious that he just was not enthused about agility. I could get him revved up but he was not like the other puppies I had raised and trained. He simply wasn’t that excited about …
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