No more agility for us...

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No more agility for us...; warning- a rant!
Topic Started: Jun 19 2008, 10:00 AM (597 Views)
Red Rascal	Jun 21 2008, 02:13 AM Post #16
Chatterbox Posts: 860 Group: Full Members Member #646 Joined: April 15, 2008	Nic :stroke: , What Horrible, Rude, B*tchy people! :o Brands is a gorgeous happy healthy little dog. :wub: She is very fit, I saw the pictures of your weekend and how far she walked, having great quality time with you. :yes: Brands looks great with her new hair cut as well, how dare they rudely comment on it. :angry: Maybe try the other club, or maybe hire the local field, but maybe see if you could get a group of like minded people to join in and make it a regular thing, your own little NO :x: Allowed Club. ;)



boxerheaven	Jun 21 2008, 10:57 AM Post #17
Squeaker Posts: 11 Group: Full Members Member #686 Joined: June 4, 2008	sounds to me like they are jealous and were worried about the competition, your dog is beautiful and not a bit overweight, take no notice of these people, if you want to go back do it with your head held high, if not then your dog will enjoy whatever you decide because it has you as its owner :D



RJL	Jun 21 2008, 09:32 PM Post #18
Chatterbox Posts: 1,381 Group: Full Members Member #179 Joined: January 25, 2006	:stroke: that's really sad. I know what you mean about the atmosphere at some clubs. I used to really enjoy doing agility with Logan, until a new batch of people arrived and one lady just kept making comments about Irish Terriers being difficult (based on her vast :no: experience of having to help an elderly lady who had a very headstrong male) I ended up feeling she was scrutinising my every move with Logan, who was actually really well behaved! I think you have hit the nail on the head about some people having agility (or showing, or obedience) as the one big thing in their lives. I think Brandy is a real credit to you. The older I get (I'm 36 - so counting the days until my bus pass when I can wheel Dill round in a tartan shopping trolley) the more I realise that people who come over as stand-offish and anally-retentive are usually very shy and insecure (wheras collies are, sadly, just anally-retentive :P ) It's something that really annoys me about the world of dogs and horses in general that there seems to be an unwritten rule that people with a certain number of years of experience or ammount of success can approach complete strangers without introducing themselves properly, or even smiling, which costs nothing, and making really quite cutting observations about their animals - or giving un-asked for advice :( The best thing you can do faced with what is essentially a lack of manners, gumption, empathy and tact (now I sound like a real old biddy) is give them a big smile; ask them a question to flatter their fragile egos and imagine them forming an ABBA tribute band :lol: Just remember - they are probably more scared of you than you are of them, because you probably come accross as young, enthusiastic, with a brilliant relationship with your dog and are not (shock horror :yikes: ) crippled by the fear of failure and losing face in 'the group' and therefore constantly up tight. That's why I love training with the trials people and the search and rescue guys, as they are nothing like that :yay: .



Nic	Jun 22 2008, 04:37 PM Post #19
Competition Manager Posts: 2,385 Group: Competition Manager Member #484 Joined: June 20, 2007	Thanks everyone :) A little fun agility group would be cool actually, i wonder how I would set about doing this, would be lovely to get a group together who just want to do it as a diff activity for their dog to enjoy, rather than based on pure competitiveness! I will be using the field of equipment to keep Brandy going and do it instead of a walk every now and then to give her something different, and i hope I see some of the people from my group u there practising, as they will wonder why I dropped out of class and I can tell them why haha! I am also interested to hear others have had similar experiences with the dog and horse world, I only hack my pony, for the pure reason I know so many people who buy �5000 ponies who get them their 1st rossettes and then recieve big pats on the back. I am a meer hacker who broke my pony in, and he prob isnt up to winning 1st rosettes in anything, but I enjoy the huge pride I have in him for doing everything with me :) he's my boy with or without rosettes, we hardly enetr anything, and when I do i do it purely for fun. I thought the dog world was diff, untill I came to this class and realised all they do it for is to get a 1st, i seriously dont understand how u can do agility purely to win, dogs are such lively, fun loving animals, to be disapointed in them for anything is just sad, if they are having fun thats far more of an acheivement to me. Thanks again everyone, its really nice to hear your views and experience, and such a shame so many of u have been through what I have, it still makes me sad to think I wont be doing any classes unless I can find a fun one, but at leats I know u TT lot have backed me up :) means a lot :flower: PS RJL, what are the search and rescue guys? Edited by Nic, Jun 22 2008, 04:37 PM.



RJL	Jun 22 2008, 08:20 PM Post #20
Chatterbox Posts: 1,381 Group: Full Members Member #179 Joined: January 25, 2006	I've been a 'body' (pretend missing person) with the Lake District Seach and Rescue Dog Association (sardalakes.org.uk) for about 11 years. It's huge fun and very sociable. It also puts all the competition stuff into perspective as these dogs are being trained to save lives - not win rosettes :) Have a look at the website - I'm sure you will enjoy it!



zandd	Jun 22 2008, 08:56 PM Post #21
Moderator Posts: 22,620 Group: Moderators Member #48 Joined: February 5, 2005	Nic I missed this thread completely,so sorry you feel like this.Can you have a word with the club and ask to go back to the Class you were in.If not switch clubs,we had seperate groups for those who wanted to do competition and the other for those who like you and me just wanted a fun way to spend time with their dogs.I went to a couple of competitions and it just wasn't for me,same reason I stopped showing Duncan - too intense and if the sun came out or I wasn't in the mood I didn't go,would rather be on the Moors or Hills than having them on a lead awaiting our turn ;) Brandy is not overweight at all,unlike a cerain madame and even with her she gets masses of exercise - a 3 hour walk along the beach today for example so I know she's healthy.



Halfpint1775	Jun 23 2008, 12:29 PM Post #22
Chatterbox Posts: 1,547 Group: Full Members Member #284 Joined: August 21, 2006	Aww Nic - Sorry I missed this but ive been offline for a few days... I know exactly where you are coming from as I see this all the time. I'm very lucky in that he club I am in - although highly competitive - they are just such lovely people and totally understand if you dont want to compete. They are very encouraging and even with my slightly tubby Peggy - none of them ever told me she was overweight - it was always the judges in the ring that did! :lol: Anyways - there are too many people who take it too seriously - mostly Collie owners, 50+ who have nothing better going on in their lives - and they dedicate all their time to agility. I actually worry about the health and wellbeing of some of these dogs too. I would also question a club who lets their members shout at dogs who do things wrong - both clubs I was in always say its never the dogs fault, so never to shout or phsycially abuse the dog. It sounds to me like you you should look for another club, as there must be some others in the area? Not everywhere is the same!! I also have the option of going to a a 'fun' club every Sat morning where we just pay �3 to have a go, we pay on the day and if we dont turn up - then its not an issue. Hardly anyone who goes to this club competes as they all just want to do something fun with their dogs. The trainer is really good and has been doing it for 15 years or so and runs her own competitions 3 times a year. So - there are places like this around, but I was lucky to stumble accross it really as they are not always that easy to find! Have you gone on to agilitynet? Maybe there is something on there that can help you find a club or 'fun' club that people in your area can go to? I know Brands wouldnt miss it - but I think its a lovely activity to do especially if the dog enjoys it - and to be honest - my social life has improved massively since doing agility. I just ignore the people I don't like who can be insulting (i've met quite a few) and I just stick with the people who make me laugh and are fun to be around (mostly non collie owners :lol: ). And I certainly would never have thought Brands was overweight!!! She seems fit as a fiddle and slim to me, but she will never be the shape of a collie, so just ignore what these people said - they haven't got a clue what they are talking about :rolleyes: :wub:



roo roo	Jun 27 2008, 10:48 PM Post #23
Total Gas Bag! Posts: 2,682 Group: Full Members Member #479 Joined: June 8, 2007	ive quite fancied having a go at this for a while with razzle it might be a way to occupy her mind and giver her some exercise at the same time as i worry she might get bored with just walks and swims and want to use her brain as well.but i worry that id meet these people who live and die for their hobby i met them in dog showing and tbh to me its never been a matter of life and death,just fun and a nice way to socialise too.if i knew where there was one near us id take razzle and have a go at it.but like you id probably be made fun of by the serious types and that would spoil it for me too.why does everything have to be so serious?why cant we do a hobby just for fun anymore? :err:



Mattie	Jun 28 2008, 01:05 PM Post #24
One of the regulars Posts: 317 Group: Full Members Member #140 Joined: November 27, 2005	You can do this in your garden and make the equipment. Drainpipes are quite good, they are light and not likely to hurt your dog as wood will. You can use a big hoop and put material over it to make a tunnel. You can make other tunnels out of various materials. Slides are pieces of wood on a slope. etc. The only limits is our brains and how we can get them to work out the equipement. :lol:



roo roo	Jun 28 2008, 06:59 PM Post #25
Total Gas Bag! Posts: 2,682 Group: Full Members Member #479 Joined: June 8, 2007	thanks for that mattie!ive seen some plastic kids tunnels on the boot sale before now so i might invest in one of these and start to do a bit of agility with razz see how she enjoys it.i know she will cos she loves doing anything with me and taking part in anything im doing whether its pulling clothes out of the washer or helping me carry the washing out to the line in the garden or running off with toilet rolls :rolleyes: (well she thinks she helping me!) :lol:



Mattie	Jun 29 2008, 11:44 AM Post #26
One of the regulars Posts: 317 Group: Full Members Member #140 Joined: November 27, 2005	Teach her to help you on command, get her to fetch named items like the tv remote etc, she can load and unload the washing machine. The more you teach her the more occupied she will be and less likely to get into mischief. Weaving poles can be broom poles put into a block of wood, they can then be easily moved round to different parts of the garden. For jumps think of children on their ponies making their own jumps, I wonder how many of us done that when we were younger. :lol:



Nic	Jun 29 2008, 08:13 PM Post #27
Competition Manager Posts: 2,385 Group: Competition Manager Member #484 Joined: June 20, 2007	Thanks Lorna, I have had a lil look and I think the only one that doesnt look competitive is up n over, but its a sunday and I dont think i can do a sunday :( Glad you dont think Brandy is overweight, I dont think she is, i know its hard to admit it when they are but when you totally dont think they are it is upsetting, I just felt a bit picked on, and I just feel that you summed it up in this sentance Quote: Anyways - there are too many people who take it too seriously - mostly Collie owners, 50+ who have nothing better going on in their lives - and they dedicate all their time to agility. I actually worry about the health and wellbeing of some of these dogs too. I would also question a club who lets their members shout at dogs who do things wrong - both clubs I was in always say its never the dogs fault, so never to shout or phsycially abuse the dog. And so have decided unless somthing comes up elsewhere, I will be doing exactly as Lynne has...... Quote: same reason I stopped showing Duncan - too intense and if the sun came out or I wasn't in the mood I didn't go,would rather be on the Moors or Hills than having them on a lead awaiting our turn Brandy and me will be walking even more than usual, and I am sure she will love it just as much, in the winter when walks are not as easy as it is too dark I may re-consider. Thanks for your advise, and expireience, you are v lucky to have found such a nice club Lorna :)



roo roo	Jun 29 2008, 10:18 PM Post #28
Total Gas Bag! Posts: 2,682 Group: Full Members Member #479 Joined: June 8, 2007	Mattie Jun 29 2008, 11:44 AM Teach her to help you on command, get her to fetch named items like the tv remote etc, she can load and unload the washing machine. The more you teach her the more occupied she will be and less likely to get into mischief. Weaving poles can be broom poles put into a block of wood, they can then be easily moved round to different parts of the garden. For jumps think of children on their ponies making their own jumps, I wonder how many of us done that when we were younger. :lol: some good ideas there im going to get hubs building me some of these when hes got a spare minute!he says thanks Mattie!!! :rolleyes: :lol:



Mattie	Jun 30 2008, 06:25 PM Post #29
One of the regulars Posts: 317 Group: Full Members Member #140 Joined: November 27, 2005	The football has finished now so he should have plenty of time. :lol: You don't need anything special, put the poles on bricks, dogs can still jum them. :D



roo roo	Jun 30 2008, 09:53 PM Post #30
Total Gas Bag! Posts: 2,682 Group: Full Members Member #479 Joined: June 8, 2007	oh noooo thats far to easy for him. ;) i fully intend to have a showjumping course comparable to the horse of the year show!it will give the lazy beggar something to do ! :P :lol:



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