Not sure how to explain it … exactly … but for the last few months, it seems like I have been “taking a break.” Even though my dogs aren’t getting any younger and a recent foot injury is reminding me that I’m just getting older, I guess I should ask WHY I am taking a break and from what … exactly? Dog agility? Guess so.
The heat in NW Florida and some upgrades to the facility where I teach/train has caused me to stop teaching and because I’m not obligated to go to the facility, I’ve also stopped practicing and because of various lifegettingintheway stuff, we haven’t attended an agility trial since early May. Not gonna lie … the heat thing has definitely been a factor. It’s hard to “enjoy” running drills when the heat index is over 110. For the most part, my dogs have not done much that resembles dog agility since that last trial and interestingly, I’m ok with that. Actually, I am better than ok … I am really enjoying the time off.
“So what HAVE you been doing?” you ask. Well, we walk every single day, morning for an hour and evening for about 30 minutes (see my article about walking here). We need the consistency, but lately I was thinking we were kinda getting in a rut.
My solution? Simple as it may sound, we are going for variety so in addition to walking, we try to add something different each day. Late May, I started keeping a journal of our daily late afternoon training sessions. Some swimming repetition, but hey, it’s summer, it’s hot and my retrievers simply LOVE the water. But even working all three dogs, these extra training sessions might be 30 minutes total … including set up. Pippin likes the thinking games, Cassidy likes the runasfastasIcan games and Darcy just plays along and is happy if she can retrieve a few toys and tug with me.
Here’s a snip from some of our recent activity:
- July 7 – swimming/diving off dock
- July 8 – worked on 6 behaviors on platform in hallway at 12′ away
- July 9 – tricks! Back ups, 6 behaviors @ 12’, balance on peanut
- July 10 – tricks! Drop on recall, bump drawers/door, outdoor find it game x2
- July 11 – tricks! Spin on small block, 3-cone work
- July 12 – swimming/diving off dock
- July 13 – movement puzzles in hallway
- July 14 – Susan Salo straight line grid 2x / toy retrieve
- July 15 – find it game, ball retrieve, balance on peanut
- July 16 – movement puzzles in hallway, balance games, SPIN on little platform
In June, in the absence of “agility training,” I was inspired to work on a few more tricks and we set our sights on the AKC Trick Dog Performer title (level 4). What happened along the way? We had a blast learning some new tricks and polishing up some old, my dogs enjoyed our special time together and my mechanics and timing with marking and rewarding are now much better. Team building magic happened in my kitchen, in the hallway, in the yard and on our walks. No 100’x100’ special field with lots of expensive agility equipment necessary. Oh, and both Cassidy and Pippin earned their AKC Trick Dog Performer titles, so there’s that.
I normally do research on the topics I write about, and this article is no different. I found a dog agility/training blog where one of the author’s takeaways while she was on an agility break was realizing that her agility training was “Swiss cheese.” What a great analogy.
Interestingly, one of the things I have been doing for almost a year now is offering a monthly 3-hour workshop where we really focus on a small set of foundation skills. These workshops are offered at Pets Behave in Niceville, Florida, where I teach/train and August will be the last of a 3-month series of foundation games that can be done inside or outdoors for short sessions. My indoor workshops have covered balance exercises for dogs and humans, 1-jump drills, bowl to bowl games and 3-4 cone drills. Most are great foundation skills for any sport.
What’s in it for me? Besides spending the time with some great, like minded people, my dogs and I are working on a nice variety of skills throughout the week so that I can offer more help about how to train and what to look for when things go right … and wrong.
“That’s nice” you say. “What’s your point?” you ask.
Years ago, before all of the indoor facilities that now offer agility classes during the week and an agility trial each weekend, we, as a collective group, took time off. Sometimes months off. Our bank accounts grew, our spouses/significant others enjoyed our time together and our dogs went for walks, played fetch, got to swim and play and just enjoyed being a dog. And the humans didn’t suffer from FOMO because everyone was missing out. Crisis averted.
And it was ok. Good, in fact.
If your agility practice (or pick your current dog sport obsession) seems like an unwanted obligation and the agility trials seem like a grind, maybe you should consider taking a break too. The dog sport world is expanding every year. In addition to tried and true like agility, formal obedience, rally, hunting/retrieving/field, herding, go to ground, bite/protection or conformation, how about exploring dock diving or scent work or tricks or fetch games or lure coursing or disk dog or flyball or barn hunt or fast cat or Treibball or even learning to dance with your dog?
Some may ask “Why?” And to that I say, “Why not?“
And besides, when (or if?) we finally do return to our dog sport of choice, we will enjoy a fresh perspective, new-found enthusiasm and special appreciation for each practice session, each trial weekend visiting friends and each of those oh so fleeting moments in the ring with our teammate and best friend.
Resources
Taking a break from dog agility
Can sport dogs suffer from burnout
Dog Sports*
*Many are AKC but they do offer links to some other organizations
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