It was a long road to my first agility competition. After sitting watching the agility at the Royal Show about seven years ago, I decided I really would like to have a go. At the time my dog was a Collie cross who hated other dogs (slight problem!). However, I explained the problem to Su at Trentham. After about a year of obedience classes we started agility and, though we could never trust her enough to go to competitions (she particularly hates Collies!), she enjoys her weekly training sessions and it has helped with her anti-social problem. Then along came Tess, a Dalmatian. I think the general opinion was that I was mad. Sadly, Tess had health problems and died when she was only 20 months old.

 

So we came to Abi (Honey Bunch), another "dotty Dally". We started agility training at a year old and, after many ups and downs, Lorraine decided we were ready for our first competition when she was approaching 3 years old. This was an interclub [April 2000], ideal for a first outing. Help! This was when I wondered what on earth I was doing! What did I have to do? - what would Abi do? - would she run off? It was great having so many friendly faces there to point us first-timers in the right direction.

Then we (sorry, I - Abi thought it was all very exciting) couldn't put it off any longer. I was extremely nervous and very worried about leaving her sitting on the start line, all of which gets through to the dog who was wound up enough with all the new experiences round about her. Abi decided to visit the cadets sitting round the ring, then she came back and did her round. I think we ended up with ten faults. Great, we got round! Okay, she went off during each of our rounds to explore, but she never left the ring and somehow managed not to be eliminated.

Now for the first proper competition. Thank goodness we had gone to the interclub! We had a rough idea what to expect, though I thought it was a bit cruel when the running orders had me first in one class. One of my major worries was that I would forget the course, but I found that walking the course a few times helped a lot, and hints as to how to run it from more experienced members of SAS were great.

I went first, although now I realise I didn't really have to, got it over with and collected about 15 faults, all due to nerves on my part and overexcitement on Abi's part. Our third run (or was it the fourth?) saw us clear with only the weaves and a jump to go - could we do it? Of course not! I was so wound up I made a right mess of the weaves. Never mind, five faults wasn't bad.

 

The next two or three shows went much the same, then we had a couple of demonstrations and Abi discovered food stalls. We couldn't keep her in the ring! For the knockout at the end of one display we raided Amanda's cheese supply, and it worked! We came in second. The next show was Rugby. In the first class we managed to get round, but then she decided to visit the stalls round the rings. After this happened twice I couldn't face my fourth class. I was feeling pretty dejected and didn't know what to do next. My ambition for this summer had been a clear round, but after the Saturday at Rugby I began to wonder if I would ever get round another course.

Sunday: another four runs. I didn't really want to do it; it wasn't just Abi and me, I had this feeling that I was showing people that Dalmatians couldn't work, that they are just scatty. The plan of action was to tease her with the cheese and make her believe I still had it while we were running round.

First class, Novice Jumping. We were clear, I couldn't believe it, we had done it! Next class, Starters Agility, clear again and into third place, but with a hundred dogs still to run we couldn't really expect a place, could we? Next class was the team, relax slightly, she is working. Oh ****, two children at the ringside eating their dinner - there goes Abi! And the next class ended in a search for pigs' ears.

Somehow it didn't matter so much, we had got our clear round and we actually ended up 9th in Starters Agility, which was something I really hadn't dared to hope for! I think doing agility with a Dalmatian is not going to be easy, but the sense of satisfaction when it goes right is indescribable.

Copyright © Staffs Agility School. No parts of this publication are to be reproduced without prior permission from the editor.