Episode 61: Learning About Course Design

In today’s episode, Whitney and Elissa are joined once again by Sarah Baker, multi-time world team member with dogs at 24”, 16” and 12”. With Sarah’s experience as a guide, the trio discuss the differences between running and training large and small dogs. There are lots of things to consider and we fear we may have missed a few things! If so, let us know in the comments! Link to the treats Sarah mentions:  Pupford Sweet Potato Freeze-Dried Treats

Course design is ever a hot topic. Join us as we discuss with Ashley Deacon.

Whitney and Elissa talk about what they wish we knew sooner in our agility journeys.

Whitney talks about her experience at World Team Tryouts this year. Learn about how to qualify for WTT, what it's like to prepare, the atmosphere, scoring, and so much more. We talk at great length about the course maps and Whitney's performance on course. So here are all the links you need to follow along! Course maps, results and run orders: https://akccompanionevents.com/ *If it doesn't come up right away, there is a drop down where you can select World Team Tryouts. All four of Whitney and Sprite's runs: Round 1 - https://youtu.be/vNcOkvA8Zd0?si=iB2sAYxirsquU_CH Round 2 - https://youtu.be/BDN2rCyqJyU?si=GUWiFznz29itvqIj Round 3 - https://youtu.be/r9j47UaRfdc?si=dNAqXMLOZoSNWP2D Round 4 - https://youtu.be/9QIrFZhXQGw?si=Hqc9hxLc7Qhzemts

Today Whitney and Elissa talk about handler speed and if it is required to do well in agility. Below are some examples of handlers discussed during the episode: Example of distance: https://youtu.be/fNwhp6EbvYI?si=Jfg67BDgzUbjT70H Same guy running: 2019 AWC 3rd place: https://youtu.be/ZaJhJ2OCewU?si=YTZkIZOe9oAk5yVS   NADAC: Fluid Motion Agility – lots of distance videos at NADAC trials: https://youtube.com/@FluidMotionAgility?si=E873Z1218jBABhzi

Today’s tough question, how do you know if you should retire your young(er) dog from agility? We may wander off track here and there, but you know, it’s all about dogs and agility 😆 Resources referenced in this episode: Sarah Stremming - Cog-Dog Radio https://open.spotify.com/show/71GlfUQ2CvecAuVHAe6p5s?si=e961646d5dc9480e Liz Randall and Rachel Downs - Strategies for Resilience  https://www.patreon.com/strategiesforresilience Episode 38: Learning About Rehoming a Dog https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/BcC10nSMGIb

All about startlines!

Peyton Green, agility instructor at Corral Creek Dog Sport Center, talks through obstacle commitment: how to build it, test it and fix it when you broke it. We dive into the difference between sending, and opposite handler motion and what this means for distance handling. And...maybe why those verbals aren't the salve you thought they were.

Whitney and Elissa tackle a big topic...feedback. We get it from each other, our instructors, our dogs. We give it, maybe when we shouldn't. Listen in as we walk through many of the permutations of feedback and how we can maybe be a bit better at it overall.

It's here! Our long awaited episode that we recorded all the back in May of 2023. This episode has a bit of a different flavor since we are sitting outside under a canopy of trees surrounded by fellow agility competitors. We are so grateful to Sarah for joining us for this episode, so many pearls of wisdom in this one. If you want more of Sarah's wisdom, you can find her blog, Agility Odyssey, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/agilityodyssey For more on on this discussion, you can also listen to the podcast episode Sarah did with Megan Foster on her podcast, Fostering Excellence in Agility: https://fxagility.mykajabi.com/podcasts/fostering-excellence-in-agility/episodes/2147886802