Young Handlers Course

Today, Earl and I attended a Young Handlers Course led by a Crufts Agility Qualifier. It was all about me brushing up my techniques and skills, about Earl getting faster and feeling the wind in his fur a little more, and basically having loads of fun! All this was achieved in just the short period of a couple of hours and beyond! I also got him to take an interest in a toy whilst there which he never does when we are at agility! I am extremely proud of him! We practiced straight jump lines to tunnel entrances and exits, and swapping over in front of your dog to complete a circuit. We also covered bases including finishing a course then running a little longer to encourage your dog to carry on running fast before giving the reward. Earl was super speedy! I was even more impressed when my little man went for it at agility training afterwards! We were just after the nick of time for our 2 weekly class and decided to go and say hi to our fellow club members. We weren't going to run anymore courses but when we were asked if we wanted to give it a shot, my mum said 'they will!' so up we went and had 2 final clear round runs which was excellent. Earl did so well! Afterwards we just watched the others, sitting and basking in our glory and achievement while the others aimed for theirs. Everyone agreed it had been a lovely class, and Earl and I agreed that it has been a lovely day! The sun was shining, and we were extra lucky to get such weather in the October autumn month! Next Sunday, we have an Agility Nuts competition where we will be real go-getters and we will be having more of a serious time than today. We will still have our upmost fun though, because anything that Earl and I do together we have it. Competitions are just fun fun fun!! We will keep you PUPdated! Now for the photos of today's experience...

The early start...

Behaving like an angel when I did some obedience training there

Looking gorgeous as usual waiting for our turn 

The first set up - we used this to build our speed. It was easy for Earl to go fast because of the simple and straight layout.

Tally-ho!! You can see on his face how much confidence he was experiencing.

There's me bending down near the tunnel, giving bags of praise to my superstar!

More tally-hoing...

Giving a perfect example of the 'Watch me' command.

Relaxing!

Playing and rewarding!

SMACK those lips! Cheesy treats!

The journey back - so satisfied with today's progress.

I would highly recommend young people to attend a course like this one in the future. There is so much to do and learn and so much experience for your dog and you to put under his/her/your belt! It is also such a confidence builder too for both you and your dog. It gets you going out in front of like minded people off your age group and showing what you and your dog can do and what you can achieve. We came home today truly shining with happiness!

Earl and I.