Agility Dog Association of Australia Ltd

From the ADAA Chair ... July 2010

Congratulations to Pine Agility Dog Sports Club Inc (PADS) on their 10th birthday as an ADAA affiliate. What a great milestone….it seems like just minutes ago that Steve and I went along to their inaugural meetings and helped with instructing. I remember various discussions with Frank, Marion, Neville and Wayne in those early days. And none of us should ever forget the 000’s of volunteer hours that have gone into bringing it all to fruition. It has been wonderful to see the community of people grow and the club evolve to its current grounds and clubhouse.

For those a little newer to ADAA and Agility, we have created a document (PDF) with Tips for your First Competition. We hope this will help with some insights into what to do to begin competing through to a somewhat humorous look at Agility.

All of the details for the SE Qld Training Day to be held on 22 August 2010 are now available (registrations close on 12 August). There are sessions suitable for dogs (and handlers) with no experience, including puppies, through to those with their AAD title and currently competing at Intermediate level. The ADAA Training camps are excellent value for money with instructors from the ADAA clubs coming along and providing their guidance and experience to help you on your Agility (and dog training) journey with your dog.

Early bird entries have now closed for the ADAA Grand Prix (1-4 October 2010). If you missed out on that, make sure you don’t miss out altogether.....get your entries in by Late Entry close on 13 August 2010. It is great to see that the change of venue seems to have been embraced by our members and the planning Sub Committee is working hard to ensure you have a great prize table, a really great Sunday night Bash... and all in all a memorable, DRY weekend without prickles underfoot!

It seems to me, there are just as many different reasons to embark on a journey into Agility as there are breeds of dogs. Whether your journey into Agility started as an energy outlet for your dog, as part of your relationship with your dog, as a means to express your competitive desires, and/or just to have some fun, is really moot.... it is whether you and your dog are enjoying your current journey that is important. As a Judge and instructor I am saddened to see handlers getting frustrated, and unhappy to see them blaming their dog, when things go wrong. I think we have all experienced the situation of sending our dog in one direction with our body language but intending something else – no big deal as long as we acknowledge that we are the source of the error. When things go wrong with what the dog does (on course or in training), there are a myriad of causes and precursors.....sometimes I see the dog getting rewarded for something other than what the handler intended, not rewarded at all, inadvertently rewarded for doing a different behaviour, the dog may be sourcing its own rewards and/or doesn’t have understanding/skills to achieve the handler’s expectations. So, if things aren’t going according to your plan, take a step back and take stock – have you built all of the foundation layers/behaviours for your dog? Which behaviour(s) is your dog being rewarded for? Are you being consistent? Hopefully, you have a training buddy or instructor who will help you make these assessments. If not, grab your video camera and use that to help you make a more impartial assessment.

Finally, a reminder that it is the end of our financial year and renewal of memberships that expired on 30 June 2010 are now overdue and, if not renewed before 31 July 2010 you will cease to be a member of ADAA. Please check your last membership/renewal advice for your membership expiry date. If still unsure, or if you cannot locate the details, please email admin@adaa.com.au and we will confirm when your membership expires. Remember, only Financial Members of ADAA may enter ADAA competitions and all Owners of dogs entered in ADAA competitions must also be Financial Members. If you are not a Financial Member, not only will you be in breach of ADAA’s Regulations, you will also forfeit all Clear Round, International and/or Qualifying Certificates earned, so it is definitely in your interests to ensure that your membership is up-to-date.

May you cherish your time and enjoy your training with your dog and achieve your goals.

Cathy Slot
ADAA Chair

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