What is a handling system?  Its the way that someone handles a course, the rules of what they will and won’t do on a course that the dog can count on.  For example once system may never do blind crosses, or one system may never layer an object.  We all have a handling system we just may never have labeled it .  And hell, we may not even own it!   lol

The two major handling systems are the Mecklenburg Method (APHS) or the Derrett Method.  These two systems were developed by individuals that perfected a rule of handling for themselves and were both successful in doing so.  Because of their success with the handling system that they devised for themselves they put out books and or videos explaining to other agility people how to do their methods and thereby become successful in agility as well.

I think that the information highway that now exists for agility and it’s students is a wonderful thing, however, I don’t feel that I have to give credit to everything I have learned, done or taught to another person because they happen to have a dvd or book out on it.  There are other ways to learn things – how about “trial and error”?  How about “doing what works”?  Seriously, how many ways are there actually to get around a course?

Please, don’t get me wrong – these people have done amazing things and will continue to do so.  I own their dvds and their books and I refer to them alot.  However, before they came along I did have a handling system of my own.  It was compiled of all the things that worked for me as well  as the knowledge of those things that did not.  I repeated what worked, stayed away from what didnt.  The system was (and still is) based on things that worked for me.  My abilities and the way I trained my dogs.  Thats why is works – all of those things put together make the system.  Take one of those things out and you no longer have a working system.    Take for example my ability to move around the course.  Lets say I was no longer able to keep up with my dog, I would probably not be able to move around a course built on front crosses.  Take another example, lets say my dog was not extremely motivated (yes, ive worked and worked on it but he is just simple not motivated) a system based on lead outs or rear crosses would probably not work for us either.

So when I have looked at these commercial systems I totally understand why they work for the people that use them.  But you have to look at the entire system and decide for your self what you can and cant do and you have to remember that these are “systems” they work as a “system”, taking bits and pieces of each or some from one will not be as successful.

Your system must be based on your strengths and your dogs strengths and as long as you are consistent with your “do’s and don’ts and wills and won’ts” it will work just fine for YOU.

As an instructor I try to guide my students to a style of handling that they will be able to do successfully.  A 90 year old woman that walks with a limp, running a really fast dog may not find Greg Derrett’s “6 front crosses in a row” method realistic.  Nor will the 20 year old woman running the tiny dog that likes to “walk” course be able to successfully use Mecklenburg’s method.

Be realistic in your choices, make choices based on your style and your ability, and by all means listen to your instructor!  They probably know a little better than you (if they don’t, stop paying them!).  Your system does not have to have a name attached -

My handling system?  The Katrina Scott handling system     Its never let me down. 

Happy Trialing!

Rush is hot at well, alm0st upright might as well be    butt she loves them.  He wraps are to die for because she gets them!   Two super lowered dogwalked 4 feet we;l in side the yellow.  the aframe

looked accidently but solid in – her second one – equally as good.

Baby, just as hot.  running all the things I give her.  Awesome training night!!!

I worked Ice first on his new teeter criteria, he did very well.  We then went over to bldg 2 and worked some contacts.  Greg game me the most amazing food for thought.  Since Ice has struggled so badly with his contacts, driving me to tears ALOT.  I know he is a briallant dog and I know that what he thinks he is doing is infact correct in his mind.  He has an awesome rear foot on the contacts but his criteria is running.  Nothing changes the way he takes the bottom and I think i know why.

As I previously stated he knows rear foot well!!!  Knows that his rear foot and the yellow contact make mom very happy somehow.  He knows that regardless of how many stride regulators, hoops, guides and whatever else will ever keep him from his job.  He doesnt know he isnt correct, he just thinks that we are trying to make his life harder to make criteria.

Greg and I were working Ices’ contacts last night around 10 or 11 and suddenly Greg say what if he IS doing it right.  What if he thinks his job is to get the front feet on the ground (2o/2o).  I thought for a moment and had to agree.  That is exactly what he is doing.  What he knows makes mom the happiest – 2.o 2/o  SO… a light went off.  I have to convince him that I want front feet only on this. Make the contact look different so he can open his mind to another options.

I took a towel and laid it on the gound and starting clicking front feet on the towel.  he was very happy!  Pounced several times with great enthusiasm.  Then I put the folded towel on the down contact of the dog walk.  He popped it several times, c/t/  yeah!  A little speed…  popped c/t/  yeah my baby.  And he was doing it like “its about time you helped!  Loved that work mode on the boy.  He just needed me to speak his language.  So, I will keep you posted.

I will be a better trainer for my dogs now – I know that.  I am very happy about that.  I realize that this is just a beginning of things to come if I can stay focused and moving toward my goal.  It really is the saying “what doesnt kill you, will make you stronger”.  What doesnt break you will make you better. here is to unexpected, unwanted kicks in the teeth – I mean a….      However it comes, just be thankful sometimes that it does.

Oh!  I got a second boost too (this was a planned one on my part however).. If you havent met Nick  Vujicic google him.  I just bought his dvd…  awesome, compelling speaker! 

Keep yourself motivated, make a goal, make a plan, build in ways to keep the plan moving toward your goal. 

The first one I attended was in Fort Collins and it was the Daisy Peel.  Katelyn and I stayed up there in our trailer at the local KOA.  We brought four dogs with us (although with Epic it felt like 10).  I audited all but the Running Contacts.  Lots of good information about handling and foundation through the four days.  It started with puppy, then advanced jumping (that actually turned into beginning jumping), followed by running contacts, master jumping and the last day was master handling for high drive dogs.  Took lots of notes and brought home some new drills.

Daisy was very upfront about the fact that her handling and training is based on her dogs and what works for her dogs.  So for those that were looking for the 1-2-3 of agility, keep looking.     She is a wonderful presenter and speaker and I was very impressed by that (and of course her skill).

That seminar was monday through thursday.  Friday morning Greg and I headed out for a weekend of agility in Wyoming (USDAA).  That ended on Sunday.

Monday I headed over to Latigo for a three day seminar with Laura Derritt.  She was teaching the Greg Derritt Handling System.  That seminar was also very well done.  It did however almost completely conflict with what I did the previous week.  My head is still trying to work out the details.

Home for three days then back to Latigo for the Helen King Structure Seminar.

Talk about overload!  But, learned alot.  I needed new information because I am having some trouble with my super smart border collies (especially Ice) and figured it must be me and I must need to train differently!  So I am!  I love the Derrett thoughts, most of them, and since my training and handling most matches them I am leaning that way.  Although, not convinced of some of the rules yet, but working on it.  I am glad that I have my handling system, and it has got me where I am today,  cant hurt to update your training right?  Since the sport is evolving so should I.

One of my best kept secrets.  I have always been interested in the work that a service dog performs.  It’s a private passion I suppose.  I am usually joining service dog lists, and buying service dog books and researching the laws for a service dog and trainer.  This work is the most amazing stuff.

Recently I had the opportunity to work with a client that was teaching their new dog to be a diabetes alert dog, really cool stuff.  I didnt realize that this could be trained, I thought it was natural.  A dogs smelling ability of course is a very natural one and so teaching it to recognize what it is smelling is just the next progression.  Cool, cool stuff.

Anyway, I decided to hone my skills and train Ice for some of this service work. Our focus of work is for mobility (picking things up, stabilizing a person etc.)  Our first “service outting” was in Clovis, New Mexico.  I was very nervous about the whole thing.  I prefer to sneak in and out of stores with only the clerk knowing I was there, but with a service dog everyone knows you are there.  The secret however is having a dog that seems to not be there.  They dont whine, cry, bark or act up.  Being that this was Ice’s first outting I had know idea what to expect.  He was absolutely awesome!  A total natural.  Our first stop in Clovis was Applebees.  We walked in and were very warmly greeted. We had a booth and Ice just dropped under the table like he had been doing it all his life.  He didnt move our intire lunch.  Everyone forgot he was there and newbies didnt even realize he was there. Through out the weekend he improved with leaps and bounds and he was more than welcomed everywhere we went -Hobby Lobby, Albertsons, the movie theater (he was awesome), the mall, WalMart, elevators…

I did start remembering all of the commands I needed (from my first service dog dabbling in 2001). The list is huge.  For anyone that thinks it would be cool to have your dog come along with you to stores, its ALOT of work and alot of pressure to make sure your dog is an ambassador for service dogs.  I would NOT stick a vest onjust any dog because they can not all do the work, there is just WAY too much involved in it and its not worth it.  This training that I am doing with him is priceless, and I am learning alot.  Ice knows exactly how to act when the vest is on, what a wonderful baby he is.

We are learning retrieve now since he has passed everything else with flying colors.  I get stuck here, but feel determined.  We continue going on our outtings here in Colorado – he has been to JoAnns, WalMart, Safeway, Home Depot (the one that doesnt allow dogs), Subway, as well as all the usual doggy places where he doesnt have to where his vest.

I will continue to educate myself of what these dogs can do for people and maybe someday I will be able to train a service dog for my mom.  I know she could really use the help picking up dropped items and stabilizing her walking.

Ill keep you posted.

There was a time in my household right after we brought Epic home that it seemed everyone “held” it until they got in the house.  I realize that change of dynamics in a house will cause a lot of house issues from defecating to urination to fighting.  We had is all when Epic came home.  I wont say that he caused it; but he caused it!  An unstable presence in the house turned my entire house upside down.  He was nervous, upset, unstable, irritated.  He peed in the house every time we turned around, he was aggressive and possessive over food and toys.  He tormented my son, he tried to bite me for trying to trim his nails.  He would pick fights with almost every dog in the house, and the list keeps going.

We brought him home in October of 2009, so many of the bad behaviors are subsiding.  However, he does hold on tight to one.  No, it’s not what you think. .. He refuses to settle whenever the t.v. is on.  He gets very agitated regardless of what is on but some sounds like babies crying, dogs barking or people booing or cheering/clapping really set him off.  Lately we have been locking him upstairs when we watch t.v. at night (between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m).  It’s after everyone has eaten dinner, they have gone out and pottied and have come back in for the night.  By locked upstairs I mean that he does not have access to the t.v. room.  He can see us but cannot get to the t.v.  Sometimes this lock out just has a baby gate across the doorway, but on really bad nights I actually close the door.  The door is glass so he can see through it, but sound is blocked.  He also has friends upstairs loose with him and some that are crated,  he is never alone.

So here is the problem.  Over the past week one of the loose dogs has gone into the entry way in the hall and peed about three times.  Not marked, peed (like a lake).  It has never been on something but we have never excluded a male (Epic squats most of the time).  One night the smell was so bad I  had to Shark steam twice with ammonia to remove smell.

So, last night I was going to bed, walked into the entry way (with my bare feet) and stepped right into the lake!  Thank goodness I had on a life-preserver. My first thought (right after I want to kill a dog) was “damn dog was mad and peed”.  I know this is not what happened, but I did think it and I now know what my clients are feeling with they say this same thing to me.

Many people will come home to find a mess on the floor, things chewed up or missing, carpet pulled back, sheet rock eaten (well, you get the picture) and they say the dog was “mad” because they got left.  Under this same scenario I could say that Epic was mad because he was left upstairs so he went to the hall and peed.  But for this to be true it would mean that dogs are capable of making “calculated” decisions – feelings hurt – revenge, that sort of thing.    It simply is not true.  They are just not capable of such thoughts. Have you ever known your dog to show anger?  I mean the kind of anger that happens after the fact, moments after an event?  Remember this is the same creature that when you step out of the house, realize you forgot your keys and go right back in that they are so excited to see you that it appears you have been gone for a month.  Do you really think this creature is capable of a grudge?

The real reason is most likely stress.  By locking Epic upstairs away from his people I placed him in a state of constant stress.  That stress is what caused the body to have to eliminate.  Sometimes this stress comes out in the form of chewing or destruction, other times elimination.  In either case the cause is not that he was mad at you or that he knew eliminating would make you mad and the answer is not  anger and punishment. The answer is reducing that stress;  more mental and physical stimulation from me, possibly confinement (after sufficient exercise) during the times when he cannot be with his people.

Epic’s t.v. issues (sound issues) are a very difficult problem to solve.  Most of you will have much smaller issues to deal with and easier ones to solve but, you must remember that your dog is not “getting even” with you, they are simply trying to alleviate the stress that has been put on them.  You will have to find the solution for your dog to fix the problem.

Provide your dog with a good diet, mental and physical outlets and lots of companionship!  When an issue arises, look deeper into the cause, don’t assume and don’t put human emotion on it.

Happy Training!

Ice was waiting for me with all his friends, and when I stepped forward he spun to the right and smashed his little nose into the cement wall.  Poor baby.  Its gotta hurt.