Please forgive a little brag. Tonight Merry passed her KC Good Citizen Gold Test. Not bad progress for an ex kennel dog who is seven on the 13th. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? I am sooo proud of my lovely girl.
I'm not sure Tina. The Platinum is not a KC award, it is an unofficial one that has been devised by some trainers to fill the gap between the Gold and competition classes. I would love to do more heelwork to music, but there are so few trainers, which means a lot of travelling to train. I am currently trying to prepare her for the Hound Scenting Test - if possible - she doesn't really get the point of this aniseed thing. She thinks you sniff for food, smelly poop and quick furry things - Why oil? One thing that I have never taken seriously is Agility, and though I am not really fit enough to do it well, I may try a foundation course, and see how it goes. She has the speed and spring, not sure about the steering though.
Congratulations Carole! She is a beauty. We're in training for our Silver currently, and have a lovely Beagle bitch in our class. I'm always pleasantly surprised at her level of obedience as I had always heard them to be difficult to train and to scent orientated to do a high level of training! Obviously that is not true at all
You don't have to be super fit to do agility. A good class will show you how to get directional control without too much running around. I used to run fun agility classes and they really were great fun. I had every sort of dog and handler in the classes - handlers ranging from 7 years old to 74 years old. I also had a three legged collie and an overweight labrador who was trying to get his weight down. Obviously, the course changed dependent on dog and handler. For example, the latter two dogs had all equipment at floor level and basically walked through the course. The older handler did the full course but worked hard on directional control so he'd work basically in the middle of the course directing from a distance. Nothing is impossible with a bit of ingenuity and a trainer who works around their charges
I would never say Beagles are easy, but they don't half make you smile. They will try sooo hard to please, but they need to believe in the possibility of manna from heaven - even when you aren't carrying any. The best advice I ever had, when Eddie was running out of every ring in the Midlands, was to develop a thick skin and a sense of humour!
@Chris B That is reassuring as I am coming up to 74 myself, but I do not have a very good health record. We do have a really successful club locally with graded classes, all instructors are qualified.
You deserve to brag. Congratulations! It's a shame that she lived the first part of her life as a "kennel dog". You can definitely teach and old dog new tricks! Good job!
We finished our agility induction course just as the classes finished for the Summer break! As all training builds relationships, we are going to give the Starter class a whirl, when it commences, but I don't think I am going to have either the hips or the lungs to make great progress in this discipline. As it is The Houndshow this weekend, and Merry is to attempt the Hound Scenting Test, I thought we had better do a little practising this week. Though she is doing quite well at searching for articles, she has been a little slow to latch on to following a 1/20 aniseed trail. It is messy stuff to carry out to the fields, so yesterday I just laid her a S shaped trail round the bungalow and front garden. She was really excited when she saw the equipment come out, and she tracked it like a veteran, (which she is!). I'm really hoping the penny has dropped. Today I'm going to use the footpaths in our little road - I bet the neighbours must think I'm crackers, (which I am). Here she is coming towards the end of her track, and on course for her tripe stick reward!
Well done Merry and you Carole! Do give agility a try. I didn't think I'd be able to cope when my two started agility, because of my dodgy leg but find I forget all about it once we get going as I'm too busy concentrating on what the dogs are doing. We only do agility for fun and even the sugar plum fairy is now enjoying it. Surprisingly, although she's slower than Gwylim she's much more confident than he is.
Sugar Plum Fairy - I love it! Got an instant mental picture of Georgina in a pink tutu. Has she responded to her new AB's? I hope she is feeling much better now. I'm looking forward to seeing some more of her agility photo's - it's always great to see the more unusual breeds showing that they are capable of taking part too.
