I am a not ashamed to say I am addicted to agility. This dog performance sport takes dog training to the next level, creating athletes out of the human handler and their canine partner. For personal reasons, I have been on a long hiatus. In the meantime, Tricky and I have been working on our conditioning to get into shape–well, Tricky mostly kept momma company while I huffed and puffed and she barely broke a sweat, so to speak. 🙂
We’re finally heading back into the competition ring and seminar circuit and I’m super excited!! I have recently registered for a several workshops with instructors & competitors from around the world who will be coming to my neck of the woods. They have competed successfully for years at the international level. Some people take a vacation and sit on a beach all day in the Bahamas…I drive 5 hours upstate and play with my dog in a field full of obstacles. Don’t get me wrong–I’m all about lounging on a beach, but there is a certain kind of ‘high’ that I, like so many other agility competitors, experience when running an obstacle course with my dog. We are truly ‘dancing’ together.
Tricky loving up on Tracy!
I will also be hosting my awesome instructor and friend who introduced me to this sport 9 years ago. I am lucky to have the opportunity to host this international competitor and agility instructor ,Tracy Sklenar, a couple of times per year. As the workshop date this November approaches, I decided to share pictures from our workshop last year with all of you. We had a lot of laughs as we were learning about how to best handle our dogs through various sequences.
Tracy Sklenar has been training dogs and competing in dog agility for more than 15 years and is one of just a handful of handlers/coaches in the world who has appeared in international Finals as a coach for her country and as a handler with her own dog, at different world championship events in the same year!
She is the Training Director of Leader of the Pack (www.lotp.com) in central New York State and on the faculty of Agility University (www.agility-u.com). Tracy also travels throughout North America to teach seminars and compete.
Tracy has competed successfully in agility with a variety of dogs of all shapes, sizes and temperaments. Currently, she shares her life with 7 dogs: 2 Dalmatians (14 year old Pierce and 13 year old Samson, both retired from agility), a Rat Terrier (11 year old Rebound), 3 BC mixes (7 year old Export, 4 year old Matrix and 5 month old Voodoo), and a Papillon (18-month old Crusher). In the ring, their runs are noted for focus, accuracy, consistency and speed!
Besides putting numerous titles on the dogs, Tracy and her canine partners have earned multiple National finals appearances (in both individual and team events) as well as wins and placements at local, Regional and National events in both the USA and Canada. Most recently, Export won the New England Regional Grand Prix Finals! She has also represented the USA at the European Open with Export in 2009, 2010 and again in 2012, making their first EO Finals appearance for the USA in 2012! Samson and Export have also appeared in national advertising campaigns, in print and on TV.
Tracy also has extensive coaching experience, ranging from local competitors to international teams. In 2012 and 2011, she was the Coach/Manager of Team USA at the World Agility Open in Belgium and the United Kingdom , and in both years was proud to see the US team bring home more medals than any other country both times! She served as the Manager/Coach for Team Canada at the IFCS World Agility Championships in 2008, 2010 and in 2012. These teams were very successful, ranking high in the Individual medal count and bringing home medals in the Team event.
Outside of international competitions, Tracy’s local and national level students have achieved great success with a variety of breeds, including championship titles, national finals appearances, top five finishes in their breed, Invitational appearances, and more! Tracy uses positive reinforcement, games and shaping to build brilliant behaviors in the dogs while teaching the handlers to be consistent and positive in their handling and dog training. She emphasizes teamwork, connection, consistency, mental focus, play and fun for both the handler and the dog. She also has extensive experience teaching and coaching, instructing local classes, teaching clinics & seminars throughout North America.
I was lucky to meet Tracy early on in my dog training career years ago. In fact, I rescued Charlotte from a shelter just a few weeks after I met Tracy, working at the same shelter. Tracy took one look at Charlotte and said “You should do agility with her.” Who knew that this many years later I would be fully addicted to this adrenaline-pumping, dog performance sport. Not only does the game of agility provide an outlet for my dogs in terms of exercise and training, it also has taken our relationships to the next level. Agility is all about teamwork and that can only happen through partnership with your dog.
Agility has also enhanced my skills as a dog trainer, allowing me to bring a plethora of tools into behavior consultations and training shelter dogs. The game has taught me how to really lighten up in dog training as well as life overall. And finally, the community of people that participate in agility are amazing in their support and enthusiasm for each another. It’s a great way to spend weekends and talk dog (shop)!
Hope you enjoy some of these pictures as much as all of the participants, including myself, enjoyed the clinics!
 Tricky is a blur as she attacks the sequence. |
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 Walking the course after analyzing it, to memorize the sequence. |
 “Let’s run this sucker already!!” – Tricky |
 Getting valuable feedback. |
I recently attended an intensive two-day dog training seminar that featured animal behavior guru Kathy Sdao. I had an incredible time learning about how and when to label behaviors. Like a kid in a candy store, I couldn’t get enough. Guess I’m an “applied animal behavior science geek”! 🙂 which is the fancy way to say I love learning about and observing animal behavior and manipulating it. Tricky was my working partner at the seminar. I had a great time working with her and we both learned a great deal.
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The topic of the seminar was: Improve your “I Cue”: Learn the Science of Signals. Here’s the description of the seminar: “Instructors, trainers and owners want compliance. They want their dog to respond to “commands” accurately and quickly. People often attribute a dog’s failures to do this to dominance, stupidity or stubbornness. It’s more likely that these mistakes result from confusion (or insufficient motivation); the dog doesn’t know what the trainer wants because the cues are unfamiliar, inconsistent or unclear. Understanding the basic science of cueing will help you improve the process by which you choose, add, change and maintain cues. You will be able to minimize the amount of static in the signals you send your dog, providing a clearer channel of communication. An understanding of behavioral cues will also pave the way for the creation of conceptual cues that go beyond eliciting simple movements. This hands-on workshop combines lecture, video examples and several exercises with your dog. It will walk you through the steps to build strong meaningful cues whether you are a pet-dog instructor, competition- or working-dog trainer or an owner who wants a more reliable and responsive dog.”
I came away from this seminar with a deeper understanding of the importance of being very clear to my students (both dog and human) about what behavior I am expecting. This seminar gave me advanced tools to hone my ‘be clear’ communication skills. Suddenly I ‘got’ the ‘aha’ of human-dog communication in a much deeper way.
When the dog is not clear on what you are asking of him, that can result in confusion and frustration, which can lead to anxiety. Sometimes the dog is unclear because their person gives mixed signals and sometimes the environment can give mixed signals.
This kind of anxiety can show up as reactivity (leash lunging, barking at people/dogs/objects), a sudden spike in arousal, leaving or running off, and behaviors that look like the dog is ignoring…the communication is, “I don’t get it and I’m upset or worried as a result.”
Imagine living with someone who is constantly giving mixed signals. Look at the world of dating! I dated a man for a bit who seemed like he had one foot in and one foot out of the relationship the entire time. I often felt disappointed, confused, and frustrated–at one point it felt like I was losing my mind! Imagine how a dog feels when his human isn’t clear about what he or she wants in that moment. I don’t blame the human because there is a language barrier that prevents him or her from effectively communicating with the dog–we speak human, NOT dog! One of my jobs as a dog trainer is to bridge the gap and be an effective translator.
Something else I already knew but I was reminded of in a powerful way is that the dog is always right! Dogs do what works! The behavioral way to describe this: Consequence drives behavior. Dogs repeat behaviors that get them good things and avoid icky things. And while I’m on the subject of dogs doing things that work for them, dogs DO NOT do things out of spite–they DO NOT work against their own self-interest. Dogs simply do not have the cognitive capacity to be mad at you and chew up your shoe or poop on your bed because you left him alone all day.
Let’s look at a famous sports figure…what makes Apolo Ohno skate so fast or Michael Phelps swim so fast? Money, fame, gold medals–all of the consequences that drive behavior to skate or swim. Years of shaping and building behavior created it. The buzzer telling Apolo and Michael to GO! is simply a cue to say NOW might be a good time to skate/swim. So if that’s the case, as a dog trainer, I can shape and build behaviors that create a more civilized canine companion, including walking politely on leash, sitting when greeting guests, and weave through 12 poles in the game of aglity–it all depends on what’s important to me. And I can teach the dog that cues, whether said out loud (like “Go to your Mat” when people visit the home) or exist out there in the world (like walking calmly past another dog on the street) are behaviors worthwhile of rewarding consequences. An Olympic athlete might be competing for a title or money, but dogs prefer chicken and hot dogs.
I thought a lot about my dog Charlotte during the seminar and the way her anxiety about new people and the hectic pace of the city manifests itself. In the past, when Charlotte saw a dog, that dog was the environmental cue to freak out. Through training, Charlotte now sees a dog and the cue is “look at momma for chicken.” To put it simply, behavior is a function of its consequences. Because I gave Charlotte several pieces of chicken or hot dog every time she saw a dog, she now sees the dog as a good thing instead of something out of order. The consequence of seeing a dog is chicken! Not a bad deal for Charlotte. 🙂
Clarity & Harmony…a better way of living with your dog.
It’s been a humbling experience, as a dog trainer, moving into New York City and walking down the street with a dog that is barking and lunging at other dogs. My dog, Charlotte, is generally a little anxious, and life in the city was quite an adjustment for her. I know I’m really good at my profession, but suddenly I was able to empathize with my city clients and all that it takes to support a dog that is upset or anxious outside. I also did not wear any clothes with my logo on it for the first month I lived in the city, horrified that people would see this dog trainer with a “bad dog.” Who would hire that person?! It was a tough month of acclimation for all of us.What is reactivity?
“REACTIVITY? What are we talking about here? When I use the term I am talking about what we usually think of as “over reactivity,” or “reactivity” that we see as inappropriate. After all, a loose body greeting is a “reaction” to another dog, right? In this case, I am talking about barking, lunging, snarling, snapping, stiffening etc… in other words, doing things we humans don’t like that makes us nervous that the behavior might be followed by aggression or trouble of some kind. It’s not a great term, but it’s better than “aggression,” since so much of behavior that we consider problematic is not aggressive at all.”
Why are dogs reactive? 
Dogs can be reactive towards other dogs for many reasons. Some fear or dislike other dogs because they had a bad experience or were under socialized when younger (lacked positive experiences with other dogs). These dogs are barking and lunging to keep other dogs at bay. Some dogs LOVE other dogs so they bark and lunge out of frustration of being restrained by the leash. These dogs are desperate to meet every dog and tend to do well with dogs in off leash situations. Dogs like Charlotte want to control the space around them and the actions of other dogs. The leash prevents her from doing so and therefore she is reactive.
In all cases, it can be embarrassing and stressful for the human partner as well as the dog. A dog trainer, such as myself, who uses reward-based techniques and has training in behavioral science can help you transform your dog’s behavior. I am a fan of finding such trainers who have CPDT status (Certified Professional Dog Trainers). I have CPDT status and am happy to work with you or to recommend an equally qualified peer.
In a future blog, I will give you some management tools I used to help Charlotte from reacting to things that bothered her. Management is important because it helps to create an environment in which the dog has little or no opportunity to practice the behavior you want to change. I heard a trainer recently say that allowing a dog to practice a behavior that you are trying to change is just like pouring water into a bucket with holes. That metaphor definitely made an impact on me.
Clarity & Harmony…better way of living with your dog.
Small animals experience different stressors in relation to human handlers than larger animals, and handling them involves different considerations. Many of the dogs that end up at animal shelters and rescues are sensitive about handling. Sometimes this is because of mishandling by eager children, abuse by owners, or simply a lack of positive human interactions. Small dogs also experience the world very differently because of their size.
During this lecture, we reviewed low-stress techniques commonly used for engaging with and handling other small mammal species, and considered how they might be successfully applied to working with small dogs – particularly those who are reactive to human hands. Participants honed their body language observation skills and learned new approaches to working with and being sensitive to the needs of small dogs.
Our presenter, Mary Cotter, M.A., Ed.D., LVT, is founder and president the of NY-based nonprofit, Rabbit Rescue & Rehab, which administers the widely acclaimed rabbit adoption-program at NYC Animal Care and Control. She is a long-time Board member of the international House Rabbit Society, where she currently serves as vice-president and Education/Outreach Director.
Involved with rabbit rescue since 1982, Cotter offers talks and workshops regularly on rabbit-related topics, addressing owners, veterinary professionals, and shelter personnel. Her articles have appeared in both peer- reviewed journals and general interest publications. She is the author of the ASPCA’s rabbit care flyer, and the producer and director of “Rabbit Handling and Nail Cutting,” a teaching video that has been sold in hundreds of locations and is currently being used to train veterinary students at Utrecht University Veterinary School in the Netherlands.
Cotter maintains a telephone helpline for rabbit owners in the NYC area, and co-owns a 7.000-member Internet mailing list focused on rabbit health, care, and behavior. She has lived with a rotating population of two dozen rescued rabbits for the past 20 years, and has been solely responsible for their husbandry and
nursing care.
Cotter holds a master’s degree in psychology from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research and a doctoral degree in education from Columbia University, and is a NY State licensed veterinary technician. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the veterinary technology department at LaGuardia Community College (City University of New York), with a special interest in animal behavior, and is a member of the Association of Veterinary Technician Educators, the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians, and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.
For me, the amazing thing the workshop was how so much of behavior issues that develop as a result of handling is often just a lack of understanding. Animals of all species communicate the need for space, which offers them safety and security. When animals feel trapped (no opportunity for escape), they will often resort to aggression because there have no other option. For dogs, this can manifest as cage aggression in a shelter or lunging on a leash when seeing other dogs.
Understanding the language of the species you are working with can allow a very special bond to develop. And with the bond, trust. This is the basis of the work I do with dogs in shelters as well as with clients.
Clarity & Harmony…better way of living with your dog.
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