The Australian Agility Nationals come around once every two years and are held in a different state of Australia each time. As some of you might know, Australia is a big country so making the decision to attend the nationals often requires a great deal of travel and vacation days!
This year my husband Nic and I decided to trek the 1,200 km to Normanville in South Australia with our 4 dogs, trusty Land Cruiser and loaded caravan. Nic’s parents also came along as support crew and helped out by cooking us dinner when we were exhausted at the end of each day, taking photos, videoing and just generally being an awesome support crew.
Nic and his young dog Po had a great time at their first ever nationals, they had some beautiful runs with clear rounds in Open Jumping, Gamblers and Strategic Pairs and a few ‘oh so close’ runs in Agility and Jumping which we put down to a lack of experience for them as a team. Most importantly though they managed to stay focused and connected despite the large crowds and multiple trialling days, double what they had experienced before.
For me, Flow was an amazing partner on the course, watching my handling carefully and remembering all of her criteria. We were very connected and I loved the fact that I went into each course with a clear handling solution in my mind, something I never had before OneMind Dogs. Flow ended up winning two of the agility heats and a jumping heat as well as getting clear rounds in Open Jumping, Strategic Pairs (2nd) and Gamblers (3rd). Unfortunately she knocked a bar in each of the finals rounds, but we still had great solutions for the courses and had the fastest time in both the agility and jumping final. My biggest lesson with Flow was that next time we need to work on our physical fitness and stamina, four days of mud running was a bit too much for her and I believe she was quite tired by the last day, hence the bars.
My proudest moment of the 2016 Australian Agility Nationals however, was with my little English Toy Terrier boy, Envy. Little Envy weighs only 7kg but don’t ever tell him that, he has the heart of a lion and the guts of one too. My gorgeous boy came to me from a breeder in Australia and from the day he arrived he worked his way into my heart. We have faced some serious challenges throughout our time together, both on the agility field and in everyday life. But, with the help of OneMind Dogs, we have developed a very strong bond and trust that makes us the team we are today.
Before OneMind Dogs I would run up to every obstacle with Envy and make him turn with me, I never actually ‘handled’ him because I believed he wouldn’t understand and wouldn’t have enough commitment. When we started training with OneMind Dogs we built up his obstacle focus and commitment and my trust in his abilities. I am so amazed at what we are able to do as a team today, I can ask Envy to do anything on course, knowing he will commit and do what I’ve asked no matter what I do next, that feeling has completely changed the way we run together. I am now decisive and clear in my handling with him and I feel confident every time we step into the ring. I believe it is this attitude that made our nationals so successful. Envy received a clear round in more than half of the events he was entered in, always placing in the top 3. Most importantly, he won Masters Agility on finals day and is now the 300 height Masters Agility National Champion! I’m so proud of my boy and how far we have come and I look forward to continuing to build our trust and relationship both on course and in everyday life for the rest of his years. When you believe in yourself and your dog, it is amazing what you can achieve.
OneMind Dogs Coach Niki Drage