About Agile Paws Training

Agile Paws - K9s & Agility is run by me, Christin Fritzler (Swetnam). I am a small town farmer's wife in Northern Colorado who has been training dogs and competing in agility for 10 years. I currently have 5 dogs of my own, 4 of which are active agility dogs. Cody, Indie, Millie, Aleo, & Yahzi.

This blog was created to show people the process of my training methods, thoughts and ideas I have, and general doggie fun. It will show day by day videos and/or blogs about what we have done and our progress. Here is a little bit about why I chose this method and what this method is about.

I first decided to completely change my method of training when my oldest agility dog almost completely shut down. She seemed very depressed and was not excited to run in agility. She started to slow down and would pass by obstacles and blow me off. I could see it in her eyes and she was no longer enjoying herself. This is when I decided to change the way I trained. (This was about 7 years ago with my first competitive
agility dog - Skye).

While researching, my friend, Hannah, gave me a link to Silvia Trkman's website to learn how she gets her famous running contacts. I was so inspired by all she has achieved and the dedication she has to her dogs that I looked further into her training. I was so amazed by her success that I began looking up more World competitors. I also looked on Clean Run for some videos or books by famous handlers. I came across Susan Garrett's 2x2 weave training. I didn't know much about it, but it really caught my eye. In February 2009, I got her DVD and watched the whole thing. The way she trains her dogs made so much sense to me. If you punish a dog for something they don't understand, it only makes them not want to work for fear of failure. Teaching them that failing is okay is something we teach children, so why wouldn't we want to teach our dogs that!?

The method I am using is commonly known as positive reinforcement and shaping. For some tricks, I may have to shown the dog what I want, but for others it is something that they can figure out on their own. It works by introducing the dog slowly and encouraging any kind of behavior that may lead to the final trick you want to accomplish. You then begin challenging their minds by asking for more. This teaches the dog to think through each process and keep thinking about what I want and how to get that treat or toy.

Instead of corrections when the dog makes a mistake, a laugh or a "whoops!" or "oh no, try it again!" with a still happy, but not praising voice will teach the dog that failing isn't bad, but it isn't what is wanted either. They then try again and if they make the mistake, do the same thing. This will teach them that training and working is fun and failure is okay. They learn that if they do something wrong, it's okay, just try again and when it is right, they will get the toy or treat. When they catch on, they will continually repeat what is wanted with joy and pleasure because the behavior was reinforced, not corrected.

I have been training this way since I first learned about it and have had tremendous success! All my dogs LOVE training and love me and it's so fun for all of us. I can have all my dogs off leash together on the farm and they are all looking at me for something to do because they know how fun and rewarding working with me is. This is so much better than correcting a dog for every little mistake.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Please vote

Please vote for Skye now through Sunday Oct. 25 (see below). If we win, all money will benefit her. Skye was my first competitive agility dog. She is now 4 years old and has an injury that prevents her from running. She needs corrective surgery and/or therapy to fix her ligaments in her front right leg. She becomes lame after too much exercise and is limited from jumping and running too much. We both want her out of pain and she wants to run again so bad! Any money won will benefit her. Please help us! Message me if you want to know more about our story. You can vote once a day every day until Sunday. Please and thank you!
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