The recipe for success? A little bit of Scottish sunshine, a group of enthusiastic handlers and some lucky dogs! Well done to the 20 participants of Canine Pawsibilities first agility camp! There was definitely some happy handlers making some very happy dogs over the two days! The final bonus are the beautiful photos taken by Iain on the Sunday in-between his own runs. Enjoy and see you all hopefully for the next camp!
I thought you may be interested by this very nice article from Scott Rigg, Manouk’s orthopedist surgeon from Bridge Vets, who managed the rehabilitation program of Manouk prior to Crufts: Click here to read Scott’s article – Manouk in the news.
For those of you who were not aware, in Octobre, Manouk fell from height and came lame. After 6 weeks of trying to help Manouk recover on my own, I realised that if I wanted to have the slightest chance to compete at Crufts I needed to involve Scott as soon as possible.
At the time I went to see Scott I was actually convinced Manouk’s agility career was definitely over this time.
What I really liked by working with Scott was that he was totally opened and supportive to complementary therapy, I made sure that myself, as the canine massage therapist, and Manouk’s physiotherapist were communicating actively with Scott and that the 3 of us were working as a team under his advices.
This short article is the summary of a success story highlighting that collaborative work from multiple disciplines is beneficial for a faster recovery and rehabilitation after injury. We worked on a extremely tight deadline, the chance to make it Crufts were slim and I really needed to keep my focus on the objective.
It is also an acknowledgement that sometimes we are waiting too long before getting a specialist involved with our agility dog. I wished I had taken Manouk to Scott much earlier in the process. Also, the reeducation program that we sometimes try to put in place ourselves using our personal knowledge and understanding does not always suit the dog’s condition. I must admit I have learnt a lot over the few last months!
Well that was just some paws for thoughts that I hope may help some of you too. This “adventure! made my participation to Crufts very special as even just one week before the show I was still unsure if we would really be able to go!
After battling with an injury for the past 5 months, today is a special day. We have been given the go ahead from Manouk’s orthopaedist, Scott Rigg from Bridge Vets in Aberdeen, to compete in the agility championship at Crufts on Sunday!
This has been a long but interesting journey and I have learnt a lot, especially in how patient we have to be to rehabilitate an injured sport dog. The rehabilitation included a cross discipline program, with lead walks, canine massage therapy, core stability exercises, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, with Scott regularly assessing the progress. In fact we have done barely any agility.
So that’s it then, I now have 4 days to remind myself how to run an agility course. This is definitely a scary thought! And unless something unexpected happens, in 5 days we should be heading to the arena. A dream come true, an even more special dream after having to fight so many odds this past few months.
Scott, thank you for your patience and support in getting Manouk back on track, I realise the journey with Manouk’s rehabilitation is not over but we would not have been where we are today without you. I really appreciate how available you have been for us (in addition to your expertise of course!) despite the busy schedule of your clinic.
Finally, good luck to all my friends participating to Crufts, especially my Scottish fellow competitors. Even if I have a weird accent, I am a Scottish agilitist after all and proud to be!
PS: Some of you asked if it was possible to watch Crufts online. There is an official YouTube Crufts channel and in the past year there have been a good coverage of the main arena. If you have time, I would advise you to watch the international agility which is held on the Saturday and support our Scottish Agility Dog of the year (2014) team Alan Short & Bruce. There will be 3 rounds, 2 qualifying rounds and one final round, running respectively at: 11:30: qualifying jumping round; 14:00: qualifying agility round; 17:10: final
The championship agility is held on the Sunday: 09:00: qualifying jumping round; 11:00: qualifying agility round; 16:55: final
On Monday 29th of December, we had the first ever Christmas party and I would like to thank everybody who participated (and brought their sense of humour) to make it such a success!
You may think that a lot of agility work was required to achieve these exercises but it is not the case. In fact, for some of the exercises, you are witnessing Mehwi’s first attempts.
Background work, what we call “puppy foundation” and fun, with no agility equipment, is what helped Mehwi understand so quickly my body language and verbal commands.
Well Manouk, aka Mr Perfect, surprised me again last Sunday and won the Championship final at the 2014 Scottish Kennel Club Show, qualifying us for Crufts 2015. See below some pictures of his run to victory!
Starring Ava, Skyler, Clova, Doodle, Patch and Rum, enjoying their time!
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Well that’s it we have now moved outdoors for the spring and summer season!
All the (winter) agility equipment has also migrated back from the indoor school to home so they can be cleaned and repaired before the next winter season.
I now have opened an agility foundation class for junior dogs, two agility beginners classes and a competition class. A new puppy class will be starting in May.
I also provide some one to one sessions on request.
If you are interested by any of these classes don’t hesitate to contact me!
I just would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I am now heading back for France for a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to train you all next year!
If you need to contact me, please drop me an email, I will answer to all communication when I get back, week of the 6th of January.
I am organising a training week end with Dianne Talbot at my house on the 29/30 March. I have just a few spaces left so if you are interested please contact me as soon as possible.
For people who do not know Dianne, She has been my coach for the past 12 years and will continue to be when my new pup will be joining our house hold.
Being the first person winning 2 Agility Champion titles in the UK, Dianne is in my eyes one of the best trainers in the North East with numerous of her trainees winning Championship tickets and Agility Champion titles. She has been a major influencer for agility training and handling style in Scotland and Northern England
Should you be a beginner or an experienced handler, you will benefit by the training sessions.
If you are interested, just drop me an email.