Cadbury, Sparrow, Merlin, Swift and Me
How can it be the end of the year already? Seriously, feels only a moment ago we began our 2017 Beachside journey and now we have completed the last show of the year! At the start of 2017 Sparrow was in Elementary grade and Merlin was Starters grade, we have finished with both dogs in... Continue Reading →
One of the most prestigious agility events of the year, and one of the main qualifiers for Crufts, KCI is an event that attracts people from across the globe. This year was my second time at the show, though I was only running Sparrow on this occasion and concentrating on the Novice Cup qualifier. What's... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/iiilC4pHMF0 Sparrow's running contacts have been an ongoing experiment as I have adapted my training to suit her and to re-teach her what to do with contacts. We are reaching a stage of consistency that is very exciting, but I want to push Sparrow's understandings of her contacts, to discover if she is really grasping... Continue Reading →
Day 1 - Beachside! Going to a Beachside show is rather like coming home to a group of old friends. It's both fun and comfortable running, which is what I needed after a difficult week with Merlin. I was only running Sparrow, but she kept me busy and we had a great time testing our... Continue Reading →
Sparrow has come a long way since we started training her running dogwalk using a piece of carpet. She is now running a full dogwalk and we are incorporating distance, speed and other obstacles. She still has a lot to learn and a lot to proof, but already she is faster and more confident, which... Continue Reading →
For the third year running I qualified for the Beachside Finals at Waxham Sands. This year I had Merlin and Sparrow running, both in Novice grade but different heights. Beachside is the show where the journey began for us back in 2013 when Merlin started competing. I always feel at home with the Beachside team.... Continue Reading →
Shaping is a method of training using a clicker. Instead of luring or showing the dog how to do something, the behaviour is developed through clicking and rewarding desirable movements. The handler gives no verbal cues and the dog is effectively leading the trick training. To make things more interesting there are two types of... Continue Reading →
Easter weekend and time for the first big Kennel Club show of the year. I woke excited but then the nerves kicked in and by the time I was at the showground I had managed to knock my confidence by stressing about the day ahead. Not a great start and my tension fed straight down... Continue Reading →
Running contacts are not an easy thing to teach, but I am determined to succeed with little Sparrow. We have gone from flat work to now being on a full-size dogwalk set at a low height. Sparrow has been doing good, but on our Wednesday session I was concerned she was over-reaching at the contact,... Continue Reading →
This week at Broads we were working on various sequences. The first was a series of jumps that could be done in a variety of ways, and the trainers certainly found some inventive layouts! I have been working hard on my body language for Ketschkers. In all honesty in has taken me two years to... Continue Reading →
Team Jackson 