Met someone interesting...

[Lisa]

Today, at a USDAA trial, I met Lucy Long, owner of the very first MACH Brittany. She was running her Border Collie today, and stopped me while I was walking Buster around. She said that her first performance dog was a Brittany and that he was infact the first MACH Britt. She liked Buster, said he had potential!! It was cool to get encouragement from someone that's done so much with her Brittany! Buster did okay at the trial - his Standard run was pretty pathetic, but he actually got on the dog walk and teeter, so I count the run a success. My trainer was the judge, so Buster kept trying to go visit, which just made things difficult! His Jumpers run was nice - not a Q, but he did place 3rd. He only missed the Q by 1.36 seconds - just killed me. It was incredibly hot and humid and I was very proud of my boy for working hard in icky weather.

[Alifaire]

How fun to have met the first MACH Britt owner! I've been keeping track of the current AKC agility Brittanys and would love to meet any of top 3 (Julia, Dixie, and somene named Top Shelf's Crown Royal).

Enjoy every run with your dog and remember the fun things. Hot and sticky - yuck - no thanks. We're running indoors this Friday - thankfully!

[Lisa]

Lucy is a really cool person - I talked to her some more today.

Buster ran Snooker and Gamblers today - no Q's, but 2nd in Snooker (really, really hard course) and 4th in Gamblers (just a second or two shy of getting that gamble). It was another hot, humid, icky day. Buster was okay in his crate with his fan and ice water.

I've decided to stop doing AKC for a while - I don't like AKC trials, Buster doesn't like AKC trials, and we just aren't having fun in that venue. I'll do the trials that my club sponsors, but that's it. We're going to stick with USDAA and maybe a few NADAC for a while. We have much more fun at those trials.

[Alifaire]

Did Lucy have any words of wisdom?

As long as you're having fun with your dog - the venue doesn't really matter!

We started in AKC and the trials in this area are predominately AKC. There are only 2 USDAA trials in this area per YEAR! Haven't even checked into NADAC so I don't know where they're offered.

Run clean! Run fast! Run HAPPY!

[Lisa]

Did Lucy have any words of wisdom?

Yup - she said to keep a sense of humor and remember that Brittanys are easily distracted and to have fun!!

[rtropeano]

I'm glad you said that "brits are easily distracted". Because during camp, I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on with Daisy. As I mentioned she started refusing the a-frame, she was probably tired/sore. Then she was sniffing the grass, looking back to chew at her rear (I check the area thoroughly) and very very distracted.

When it was time to run through the obstacles, she did fine - but I had a heck of a time just getting her to pay attention to start. LOL.

Any words of wisdom for the beginner. I'm desparately trying to find indoor training - so at least I can eliminate bug catching during training

[Lisa]

Any words of wisdom for the beginner. I'm desparately trying to find indoor training - so at least I can eliminate bug catching during training

Couple of things I've learned with Buster -
1. Britts don't do well with constantly drilling a single obstacle. They get bored quickly! So, if you're working, say, the a-frame, do 3 or 4 runs over the obstacle, then reward heavily, then move on to something else or take a short play break, then go back to whatever you were working on.

2. Teach a really good "leave it" and some kind of command to tell the dog to lift their nose off the ground and pay attention. For Buster, I use the command "Nose" which means stop sniffing the ground and pay attention to me.

3. Teach a really solid, whiplash head turn when the dog hears their name.

The more I work with Buster, the more I realize that Brittanys can be great agility dogs, as long as you understand that they are simply going to work differently than herding dogs.

My trainer is going to run Buster for me this Friday evening, as I can't get away from work early enough for his runs at a night trial. She's been working him to get used to him, and she's really enjoying running him! She's used to working herding breeds, and has to keep reminding herself that Buster has a different temperment and totally different handling style than her Belgian Turvuren.

And just for fun...here's a pic of Buster "flying!"

[Alifaire]

they are simply going to work differently than herding dogs

They certainly do. My trainer ran Victor for the 3 months I was recovering from an injury. She originally ran a Terv and currently runs a Sheltie. She is running someone else's Sheltie and admits to miss running Victor. She says Victor is much prettier to watch than the Sheltie and has a much better send and jump style. I couldn't agree more!

I agree with the quickly getting bored. A few reps and move onto something fun. We are working on a sound (rather than command) to look at me quickly. I use a 'chh' and give him a treat when he looks. It's taken a few months and isn't 100% when he's found something tasty on the floor, but we're making progress.

Has Buster ever run with someone else when you're not around? Victor ran well for someone else as long as he knew right where I was sitting. He always checked to see where I was before sitting at the start line. If he didn't know where I was, he was looking for me the whole time he was on course. Best wishes for a great fun run1

[rtropeano]

Thanks - we are already working on a "watch" command and also the whiplash turn - so we'll just have to amp that up. I appreciate all the great advice.

Lisa, your picture of Buster is priceless - I love seeing him fly!

Rose

[Lisa]

Has Buster ever run with someone else when you're not around?

That's actually the only way he'll run for someone else - if I'm not around. If I'm there, he's constantly looking for me. I have to go hide when my trainer runs him at practice.