Whimsy Agility Vid

 Very nice!!

Nice vid, and nice dog!

Are you going to always use verbal cues in agility or will a goal to be to eliminate the verbals and have your body language be the cue?

Kim_MacMillan

Nice vid, and nice dog!

Are you going to always use verbal cues in agility or will a goal to be to eliminate the verbals and have your body language be the cue?

 Thanks :) 

  As for the verbal vs body cues - it depends on the dog for me and what they do best with. I don't tend to fade verbals totally as a rule but some dogs do best when their handler is silent. I tended to be much quieter with my GSD, who was very high drive and already overly amped up at trials. Her mother was the same way and she was eventually run silently without hand cues because talking or using your arms was just way too exciting (gotta love high drive herding dogs and their wackiness LOL). I don't follow any one method or "system" and sort of adjust based to what seems to work best with individual dogs.

Well, I guess I meant more along the lines of are you going to follow a particular handling philosophy or do you do your own thing?

For instance, I decided to go with the GDHS (Greg Darret Handling System) as the way to work my guys...I guess my question was unclear.

Kim_MacMillan

Well, I guess I meant more along the lines of are you going to follow a particular handling philosophy or do you do your own thing?

For instance, I decided to go with the GDHS (Greg Darret Handling System) as the way to work my guys...I guess my question was unclear.

 That makes more sense!

  Someone that is on another training board I'm on once said she uses the "Get'er Done" handling system - I think that might be the one I use too ;) It isn't that I don't see the merit of handling systems, they just aren't for me at this point. I tend to take bits and pieces from all different people and do my own thing, depending on what works for the individual dog. 

jennie_c_d

Happy, happy, baby dog!!!

She really is a very happy girl - in agility and in life. Always up for whatever I want to do, even if it's sleeping in and doing nothing.

 THAT is a treasure! It's so hard for some dogs to sleep in. My Jewel won't do it, and it drives me crazy!

jennie_c_d

 THAT is a treasure! It's so hard for some dogs to sleep in. My Jewel won't do it, and it drives me crazy!

 Really I can't believe how lucky I got, as Whimsy has slept in pretty much since day one. When she was real young on days I had to work, I'd go to let her out of her crate, she'd wake up, look at me, go to the back of the crate and flop down again - "five more minutes? please?". Who ever heard of a 3 month old puppy who wasn't demanding to be let out first thing in the morning?