I'd like to introduce you to my agility dog, a two-year-old deaf and visually impaired catahoula…read morenamed Fleur. We've been enrolled in the agility course at Urban Pooch for the last few months, and in that time, Fleur has gone from scaredy-cat to confident, curious dog.
Agility is an amazing activity to get a dog involved in. It bolsters confidence, increases communication, and engages dogs on many levels. I wanted all these things for Fleur and knew, despite her physical challenges, she'd love agility if given the right chance.
Fleur cannot hear me call to her, so we must stay visually and energetically connected every time we work together. Her vision is not good, so I have to stick close and always be in her sight-line. I needed a training facility and trainer that would work with us at her level and comfort.
Enter Urban Pooch Training Center.
Having gone through basic obedience, Fleur and I had already developed our own language, which Jim Bahr from Urban Pooch Training Center immediately understood and helped us deepen. Seeing how we interacted, Jim coached me on how I could best support Fleur on the course, and wow, did she ever need support at first.
Fleur's visual impairment means that she is not always able to see an obstacle well enough to understand what's going on in front of her. Dark areas make her nervous. Sudden movements can make her jump. She's a playful, loving goofball, but these challenges left her very scared of most obstacles on the agility course when she first encountered them.
I couldn't make soothing or encouraging noises she could hear, so Jim taught me how to encourage her with well-timed treats and clear body direction.
The first day, she took one look at a short tunnel (which was more of an arch, really) and decided it was going to eat her. I was worried I'd made a huge mistake -- that agility would only terrify and traumatize her -- but Jim assured us that wasn't the case. We never forced her into or through it, and instead worked on changing her association with it and building her comfort around it.
The care and patience with which Jim had us approach each new obstacle means Fleur only ever had positive experiences at Urban Pooch Training Center.
If we had pushed Fleur past her comfort level even once, she would have left afraid. Because Jim works with each dog and trainer based on where and who they are, Fleur's gone from a nervous scaredy-cat to a dog who bounds onto the course when it's her turn and can't wait to get to work.
Now, if I don't tell her what to do, she runs to loop the tunnels over and over again. They are her favourite obstacle on the course. And because she had an opportunity to develop confidence when she faced her first fear, she knows she can trust us. That we would never ask her to do something that could hurt her.
After she conquered the tunnels, Fleur looked on obstacles I expected to terrify her without fear; she runs over A-frames, bounds across dog walks, and leaps onto teeter-totters without hesitation because Jim gave us the tools we needed to develop trust and communication.
I can not recommend Urban Pooch enough. The facility is excellent, and the staff is outstanding. They have the knowledge, patience, and passion to help you and your dog reach your training and communication goals.
