> If you want to compete at advanced levels and place in your class, you HAVE to > have a dog with drive or you will not make time which means a disqualification > in Excellent B - maybe even A too. I think Cavaliers have the ability to > enjoy Agility but not too many of them have the ability to be the very top > competitor. The good thing about Agility is that everyone can run and have > fun, whether you and your Cavalier are spectacular and gain a MACH like Josie > or if you are old and decrepit like me who trundles around the Agility ring, > hoping to be in the right place at the right time for my dog!! > Excellent post Anne, though I do have to laugh at the thought of you "trundling" around the ring with that super-fast Jewels! For those that don't know Anne, she is neither old nor decrepit!!
> Unless you actually compete in Agility and manage to get as far as Excellent, > you will not understand why many of the couch potato Cavaliers with perfectly > fine temperaments are not good contenders for the sport. > I wholeheartedly second what you say. What was missing from Laura's excellent synopsis of a good agility dog was speed. Agility is a timed event. The problem with many Cavaliers is that they are nice, consistent workers but they don't have the speed that allows them to compete at the top of the game. Speed is the difference between being a nice agility dog and being a great agility dog. Speed is the difference between Border Collies and Goldens, between Shelties and Cocker Spaniels, between Jack Russells and Cavaliers. No offense to the fast Goldens, Cockers, and Cavaliers out there--they are the exceptions. The best agility dogs are the ones that seemingly understand that speed is the name of the game, and then have handlers that can get them around the course clean at top speed. It isn't an easy challenge. Speed causes its own mistakes. I saw a quote by Mario Andretti recently that went something like this "If you feel like everything is under control, you aren't going fast enough". I plan to find the exact quote and have it put on a t-shirt! It will sell like hotcakes at agility trials. What I DO think they > need more than anything is good structure, especially front and shoulder lay > back. Yes a good front is paramount, or they will spend their entire agility career compensating for it. I also think a critical element is self-confidence. A self-confident dog will overcome a lot of issues that will shut down, or slow down, a dog with less self-assurance. Josie is quite sure that *she* is never wrong, and I go to great lengths to keep her believing that. She is pretty sure that Mom messes up a lot though. :) Luckily she tolerates me and we end every run, good or bad, with a big celebration and lots of chicken. Don't let this dialogue discourage anyone from doing agility with your Cavaliers. They are fun little agility dogs and it's a great game to play. And who knows, you may have the next super star! I will warn you though, the sport is highly addictive! Betsey Lynch > > Laura Trunk wrote: > Natural ability to me means fearlessness to approach and take the > > obstacles, to have the structure to easily run the course, the intelligence > > to learn what to do and when to do it, the ability to focus on the handler > > for direction and showing pure joy throughout the whole thing. According to > > their standard Cavaliers should have natural ability and I find that those > > with the proper Cavalier temperament do. ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
