Email: Racindalz@hotmail.com
I’ll give you a little bit of background about myself. I got my first dog, Katy (aka Lady Katherine of Roosevelt) in 1993. Katy was my very first dog after being on my own, and my very first Dalmatian. Katy quite literally picked me when my husband and I went to see the litter of pups we heard about. There were 8 frolicking puppies running around me as I sat on the ground watching them. Katy promptly sniffed me and climbed into my lap and stayed there for the rest of my visit. That simple little gesture was the beginning of the most incredible relationship I’ve ever had.
I loved training Katy in a basic class and decided to try to compete in formal AKC obedience trials. I found that competing in the ring with Katy was a completely different type of training! Because I was an inexperienced handler, I didn’t know how to train without harsh corrections. When Katy would get too many of these harsh corrections, she would shut down and not do obedience at all. Slowly, she started losing confidence in the performance ring. Kate and I both started to dread the obedience ring, but I refused to give up on gaining a title.
Then, by chance, I met a girl with a Rhodesian Ridgeback at my training club. This girl, Pam, had once had Dalmatians and just loved Katy. So, she invited us over to her house to play with her and her dogs. That was the first time I’d ever seen agility equipment. What the heck was this girl doing with an A-frame, teeter, dog walk, tunnel, jumps and weave poles in her front yard? Was she crazy?
Over time, Pam taught Katy and I how to play the game of agility. What fun it was to RUN through all the obstacles!! Needless to say, we were hooked! After a few months of practice, I realized that Kate was actually MORE confident than I’d ever seen her. We tried doing obedience again, she did ok, but she really excelled at the agility. So, Pam and I would enter AKC agility shows and travel together almost every weekend to play agility with our dogs.
During that time, I rescued a little patched Dalmatian I named Maggie (Devil In My Eye Maggie Mae). Maggie put me through a terrible puppy hood. She chewed everything, dug holes in the yard, and barked ALL the time. Maggie had such a high energy level; I knew I had to do something with her. I put her into basic obedience classes which she promptly failed miserably – 3 times!! So, while I was still training Katy in obedience and agility, I started training Maggie. Maggie took to agility fantastically and surprised me by qualifying 4 out of 4 runs in her very first weekend AKC agility trial. What fun to run TWO dogs in agility!! I was completely, utterly, shamelessly addicted to agility.
Needless to say, Katy and Maggie are getting older and I worry constantly about their health. In 2001, I added another Dalmatian to our family, my first male and my first liver. His name is Sampson (Starwood's Gift of Strength). You can read more about him here.
One of the most important lessons I have learned from the game of agility - whether playing by AKC, NADAC, USDAA or any organization’s rules – have fun with your dog. I think all of us have had good shows and bad shows. In my mind, there are no bad shows in agility. Agility is a sport that is a team sport. While you and your dog are running around those obstacles, you are learning about each other. I ALWAYS learn something more about my dog when I run a course. Learning can be fun. My favorite thing to hear at a show is someone telling me that I look like I’m having so much fun with my dog while I’m on the course. Well, I am. There’s no better day than one spent playing agility with a Dalmatian by my side.
Have YOU played agility lately?