We had a great opportunity to have a young energetic agility enthusiast to visit OneMind Dogs as his practical training period from school. Find out what does a young agility trainer have in mind?
Kim is a 16-years-old student from West coast Finland. Kim is a real agility enthusiast who actively trains and competes with his two dogs. Kim also aims to be a professional dog trainer in the future and last October he arrived at OneMind Dogs to see what it is all about. He spent one whole week helping us and getting to know the ropes. In Finland, students have the opportunity to spend time working in a field that interests them as a future career. Kim travelled nearly 400 kilometers to Turku to do his practical training section at OneMind Dogs. We will now find out some of his thoughts and follow his week at OneMind Dogs. The importance of young agility trainers cannot be understated, as they are the future of agility itself. Through a series of blogs, Kim will guide us through the world of agility from a young enthusiast’s point of view.
Introduction 
I’ve been into agility for about three years now with my Shetland Sheep Dog called Spike, and we compete in third class. I also have a Border Collie puppy, Ra’nes, with whom I plan to compete with mainly in obedience and agility. My involvement with agility started by coincidence, but I can now say it means everything to me. Through agility, I’ve gotten to know people all over Finland and even people abroad. I truly enjoy training and competing with my dogs. I also really enjoy helping others train too.
Young Trainers Are the Future of Agility
Young people should be encouraged to become involved with dog activities, especially because they are the future of the sport. Unless the picture they’re given of the sport is positive, they might not have the motivation to take it up as a hobby. Young people should be shown agility as a fun sport in which a bond between handler and dog is formed through team work and cooperation. This applies to all activities with dogs, not just agility. It can be another sport like obedience or as simple as taking their dog jogging or throwing a ball for them.
Agility is meant to be fun for both handler and dog. Your dog should be rewarded and praised even if something didn’t go as planned. Failure and mistakes should not be marked with punishment. The handler should instead adjust their training to give their dog a better understanding of the obstacles. In the end, 99% of mistakes are caused by the handler’s misdirection or timing. Agility is a demanding sport despite how easy some might think it looks. People rarely understand how much training is involved to compete successfully.
Sport of Two
There are many elements to the sport that aren’t always taken into consideration, such as the importance of keeping the dog in good physical condition. This can be achieved by proper exercise such as running or swimming. This will help reduce the chance of injuries. Another important aspect to reducing the chance of injury is providing the dog with a proper warm up. I suggest at least a 15 minute walk before a training session or competition run. This still applies in the summer when it’s warm. In the winter, I suggest at least a 25 – 30 minute warm up. To make sure they are getting a proper warm up I recommend letting your dog run off lead rather than on lead. A hundred metre hurdler doesn’t come to the starting line straight from the bench, and neither should your dog.
From personal experience I can tell you how important a proper warm up is. For example, once in an unofficial competition, we didn’t warm up and Spike fell on his side coming out of the tunnel. We didn’t notice anything special until we went to a masseuse who immediately asked us what happened. It took us a while to remember the tunnel incident, but it turns out Spike was really tense from the mishap. We continued regular visits with the masseuse and osteopath all throughout the spring to insure his recovery.
Dog massage therapists and physiotherapists are available in most places now. I recommend that every dog visit one regularly, depending on the breed. It’s good to have the dog checked out, especially if they take a tumble or have hurt themselves recently.
Exciting Sport
Agility is a very intensive sport that requires many skills and younger generations should be given an understanding of the sport that will show them how rewarding it is for both themselves and their dogs. In Finland the junior handlers have the opportunity to compete at major youth competitions every year. I’ve have personally been able to attend three times. In 2012 I won gold in the medium dogs and in 2013 I wan gold in the medium dogs and also bronze in the large dogs. On a larger scale, there are also competitions like the Junior European Open and the Open Junior Agility Championship. I recently participated in the 2013 Junior European Open in Switzerland. To be eligible to compete in the JEO, your 15 best zero fault scores from last year are taken into account. Those who apply may have one, some have 15 or more.
In a growing sport, young people have the advantage of learning fast. With this in mind, trainers should always be aware that their attitude is very influential to their students. Agility should always be a motivating sport, from beginning to end. If you find a trainer you like, you should seize the opportunity to learn from them. Every trainer is different and methods vary. In the end it’s your responsibility to apply what you learn.
Written by Kim Berglund
