Nobody expected that from an English Bulldog
February 11, 2019 4:29 PM Subscribe
Dog agility courses are typically associated with speed and agility. English Bulldogs are not typically associated with speed and agility. Nobody told Rudy.
Then there is Macaroni the pokey puppy.
Also, Dachshunds! Mo is fast. Megan? Not so much.
Almost 8 hours of footage there if you want more.
Rudy was fantastic! Macaroni was sublime.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 4:48 PM on February 11, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by ActingTheGoat at 4:48 PM on February 11, 2019 [5 favorites]
Oh, adorable!
The stars of most agility classes are usually the border collies and Australian shepherds, but one of my classmates has a pug who's going to be a star. He's such a speedy little fellow!
posted by suelac at 4:56 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
The stars of most agility classes are usually the border collies and Australian shepherds, but one of my classmates has a pug who's going to be a star. He's such a speedy little fellow!
posted by suelac at 4:56 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
So wonderful! Jump jump jump!
posted by mightshould at 5:27 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by mightshould at 5:27 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
List of unlikely agility dogs needs Diesel the basset from 'round these parts.
The stars of most agility classes are usually the border collies and Australian shepherds
Then there are shelties and papillons, the terrors of the 12 inch and 8 inch classes.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:32 PM on February 11, 2019 [9 favorites]
The stars of most agility classes are usually the border collies and Australian shepherds
Then there are shelties and papillons, the terrors of the 12 inch and 8 inch classes.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:32 PM on February 11, 2019 [9 favorites]
Rudy is WONDERFUL!
But the Megan link just takes me to wherever I left off in the 8+hr vid -- what's the time stamp because I need to see her! (I realize the answer is "watch the entire video!" which is a very respectable option but I'm now desperate to see what makes Megan not-so-much fast!)
While searching around, though, I came across Joker (around 6:15:05) who is a dainty ball o' fluff (the weaving is especially delightful!).
posted by paisley sheep at 5:40 PM on February 11, 2019
But the Megan link just takes me to wherever I left off in the 8+hr vid -- what's the time stamp because I need to see her! (I realize the answer is "watch the entire video!" which is a very respectable option but I'm now desperate to see what makes Megan not-so-much fast!)
While searching around, though, I came across Joker (around 6:15:05) who is a dainty ball o' fluff (the weaving is especially delightful!).
posted by paisley sheep at 5:40 PM on February 11, 2019
Mo needs goggles and an aviator scarf, he's such a daredevil!
posted by praemunire at 5:41 PM on February 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 5:41 PM on February 11, 2019 [3 favorites]
OMG then there's Rio (6:58:45) who's just delighted to be there and is having the time of her life (and she eventually got her weaves!).
posted by paisley sheep at 5:44 PM on February 11, 2019
posted by paisley sheep at 5:44 PM on February 11, 2019
Frack. I screwed up the Megan link. However, she runs immediately after Mo.
posted by COD at 5:46 PM on February 11, 2019
posted by COD at 5:46 PM on February 11, 2019
Lark was my favorite. Tiny little ball of feathers going light speed.
posted by Peach at 5:49 PM on February 11, 2019 [11 favorites]
posted by Peach at 5:49 PM on February 11, 2019 [11 favorites]
Thanks! I'll get back to Mo but right now I'm having too much fun skipping through the video looking for happy-but-not-quite-as-agile pups because those are the ones that bring me the most joy.
posted by paisley sheep at 5:50 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by paisley sheep at 5:50 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
I FOUND MEGAN! I already love her and she's barely made it through the tunnel.
posted by paisley sheep at 5:53 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by paisley sheep at 5:53 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
But the Megan link just takes me to wherever I left off in the 8+hr vid -- what's the time stamp because I need to see her!
I think Megan runs immediately after Mo, so it just LOOKS like it takes you to where you left off after Mo. But it is properly cue'd up to the start of Megan.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:01 PM on February 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
I think Megan runs immediately after Mo, so it just LOOKS like it takes you to where you left off after Mo. But it is properly cue'd up to the start of Megan.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:01 PM on February 11, 2019 [1 favorite]
Gabby the Papillon was the one I saw linked elsewhere. I particularly liked her regal pose as she came down the see-saw.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 6:11 PM on February 11, 2019 [14 favorites]
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 6:11 PM on February 11, 2019 [14 favorites]
But it is properly cue'd up to the start of Megan.
Hmm... maybe it's just my computer then? Because I didn't watch Mo at first (GIMME ALL THE SLOW PUPPERS) and when I click on it now (long after I watched Megan) it takes me to Pink (around the 8:00:00 mark) which is close to where I am in the other tab where I currently skimming through.
I've just gone randomly back and paused at 2:12:07 (Swirl!) and then when I click on the Megan link, it takes me back to Swirl (2:11:50). So it seems that the link just wants to go to where it assumes I've left off.
posted by paisley sheep at 6:16 PM on February 11, 2019
Hmm... maybe it's just my computer then? Because I didn't watch Mo at first (GIMME ALL THE SLOW PUPPERS) and when I click on it now (long after I watched Megan) it takes me to Pink (around the 8:00:00 mark) which is close to where I am in the other tab where I currently skimming through.
I've just gone randomly back and paused at 2:12:07 (Swirl!) and then when I click on the Megan link, it takes me back to Swirl (2:11:50). So it seems that the link just wants to go to where it assumes I've left off.
posted by paisley sheep at 6:16 PM on February 11, 2019
For the little dogs, I watch in fear that the trainer will trip over their feet and land on the dog and all you'll hear is a short, sharp HII!
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:21 PM on February 11, 2019
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:21 PM on February 11, 2019
They're all agile dogs Brink!
Macaroni knows how cool he is, no need to rush. And Gabby is a lightning ball!
posted by Windopaene at 6:28 PM on February 11, 2019 [7 favorites]
Macaroni knows how cool he is, no need to rush. And Gabby is a lightning ball!
posted by Windopaene at 6:28 PM on February 11, 2019 [7 favorites]
And check out two dogs past Swirl. Maddy I think? That's a happy, jumpy, girl!
posted by Windopaene at 7:41 PM on February 11, 2019
posted by Windopaene at 7:41 PM on February 11, 2019
Each and every one of them is the best dog, but Megan and her stupid tiny legs won my heart completely.
posted by merriment at 8:37 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by merriment at 8:37 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]
Let us always remember the triumphant agility run of Zeus the Ambling Mastiff.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 11:34 PM on February 11, 2019 [13 favorites]
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 11:34 PM on February 11, 2019 [13 favorites]
Now I'm really curious how and where you could train your dog to do all this stuff. Do you set up a duplicate of this course in your backyard? Are there dog-training clubs that have set up a duplicate of this course in some rented gym somewhere?
posted by Umami Dearest at 5:39 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Umami Dearest at 5:39 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Do you set up a duplicate of this course in your backyard? Are there dog-training clubs that have set up a duplicate of this course in some rented gym somewhere?
Yes, and yes (for the uber serious competitors, as I once was with my Aussies).
You should also know that courses at agility trials are not known beforehand. You train obstacles, not specific courses.* Handlers learn the course layouts when they arrive, and may do a walk-through before a competitive run. The dogs don't know the course at all when they cross the start line, and rely on their handlers to command/guide (and sometimes coerce) them through the obstacles in the correct order.
*There are several different types of agility competition courses.
posted by zakur at 6:18 AM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
Yes, and yes (for the uber serious competitors, as I once was with my Aussies).
You should also know that courses at agility trials are not known beforehand. You train obstacles, not specific courses.* Handlers learn the course layouts when they arrive, and may do a walk-through before a competitive run. The dogs don't know the course at all when they cross the start line, and rely on their handlers to command/guide (and sometimes coerce) them through the obstacles in the correct order.
*There are several different types of agility competition courses.
posted by zakur at 6:18 AM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
I think the camera operator fell asleep while Zeus was working his way through the weave.
posted by Mavri at 6:48 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Mavri at 6:48 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Dog training clubs have their own buildings oftentimes. I used to go to one that was in an old warehouse. So yeah, there's a bunch of the equipment and as you train your dog and yourself (because it is really a challenging spatial and coordination problem for the humans too--I was always the weak link tbh) you first learn the individual obstacles, then start putting them together in sequences, and your dog learns how to handle the obstacles and also how to read your body language and voice commands to get the sequence you want them to do them in. Dogs are way faster at running than people so a lot of the challenge for the human is getting the dog to be able to follow instructions at a significant distance and where you should maneuver to a) stay out of the dog's way and b) stay close enough to the dog that the dog can take its cues from you while also not attempting to actually keep up with a dog (at least if you have a dog of any size) because you can't. Also remembering the sequence of a course you only just saw and got a map handed to you of.
It's really difficult. I only ever did it for funsies with my aforementioned coonhound at our training club.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:13 AM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]
It's really difficult. I only ever did it for funsies with my aforementioned coonhound at our training club.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:13 AM on February 12, 2019 [4 favorites]
So yeah, there's a bunch of the equipment and as you train your dog and yourself (because it is really a challenging spatial and coordination problem for the humans too--I was always the weak link tbh) you first learn the individual obstacles, then start putting them together in sequences, and your dog learns how to handle the obstacles and also how to read your body language and voice commands to get the sequence you want them to do them in
Yeah. I started training my GSD in agility 3 years ago. I go to an outdoor training facility about 20 miles away, which has 2 rings set up with a variety of equipment, a bunch of dog crates to keep the dogs in who aren't in the ring, and shelter for bad weather.
My trainer starts with what she calls "foundation" work, and that's a lot of kind of repetitive work with the dog: learning to walk on a board, learning to back up onto a board, learning to go out and around something, learning to shift from one side of the handler to the other, learning to go over a jump. Every one of these things involves lots and lots of rewards: food is common, but toys are better if you can get your dog into it.
Slowly we started doing actual obstacles, again with lots of treats and praise. Jumps, dog walk, rings, weave poles. (Weave poles are hard, because the dog must enter from the right, even if you come from the left, and it takes a long time to train.) Teeter-totter is hard because it goes "bang" and that's scary, so we started with the near end propped on a table so the far end didn't go down so far. Again, lots of treats.
All of this also involves training the handler where they should be in relation to the dog, how to signal that the dog should go around to the back side of the jump, how to make sure that you let the dog know a turn is coming up after that jump, how to let the dog know to turn right instead of left coming out of the tunnel, and so forth. If there are mistakes, it's almost always "user error".
Eventually we got into full sequences and now courses, and now my class usually involves running 3 entire courses, anywhere from 10-15 obstacles each. Not all the dogs jump the same height, so we switch the jump poles for the smaller dogs. Some of the dogs are far more excited and driven than others: the best dogs in my class are a border collie, an 11-year-old mixed breed who also does therapy and SAR, and a very enthusiastic Rottweiler.
I am not nearly as dedicated to training as many other people, and I have no room for more than six weave poles in my yard. So our progression has been slow, but my trainer has approved me to at least go to a few fun matches to get my dog used to the environment. We went to our first last month, and she did pretty well, but she also just ran around in confusion too. We have work to do. :-)
posted by suelac at 9:48 AM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
Yeah. I started training my GSD in agility 3 years ago. I go to an outdoor training facility about 20 miles away, which has 2 rings set up with a variety of equipment, a bunch of dog crates to keep the dogs in who aren't in the ring, and shelter for bad weather.
My trainer starts with what she calls "foundation" work, and that's a lot of kind of repetitive work with the dog: learning to walk on a board, learning to back up onto a board, learning to go out and around something, learning to shift from one side of the handler to the other, learning to go over a jump. Every one of these things involves lots and lots of rewards: food is common, but toys are better if you can get your dog into it.
Slowly we started doing actual obstacles, again with lots of treats and praise. Jumps, dog walk, rings, weave poles. (Weave poles are hard, because the dog must enter from the right, even if you come from the left, and it takes a long time to train.) Teeter-totter is hard because it goes "bang" and that's scary, so we started with the near end propped on a table so the far end didn't go down so far. Again, lots of treats.
All of this also involves training the handler where they should be in relation to the dog, how to signal that the dog should go around to the back side of the jump, how to make sure that you let the dog know a turn is coming up after that jump, how to let the dog know to turn right instead of left coming out of the tunnel, and so forth. If there are mistakes, it's almost always "user error".
Eventually we got into full sequences and now courses, and now my class usually involves running 3 entire courses, anywhere from 10-15 obstacles each. Not all the dogs jump the same height, so we switch the jump poles for the smaller dogs. Some of the dogs are far more excited and driven than others: the best dogs in my class are a border collie, an 11-year-old mixed breed who also does therapy and SAR, and a very enthusiastic Rottweiler.
I am not nearly as dedicated to training as many other people, and I have no room for more than six weave poles in my yard. So our progression has been slow, but my trainer has approved me to at least go to a few fun matches to get my dog used to the environment. We went to our first last month, and she did pretty well, but she also just ran around in confusion too. We have work to do. :-)
posted by suelac at 9:48 AM on February 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
Dog training/boarding falls under "light industrial" zoning here, so we have two training facilities near each other. One just does obedience & puppy classes, and the other does obedience, puppy & agility training. They're both indoors, but the just obedience one is a yoga studio compared to the gym atmosphere of the agility facility.
We were doing agility with our lab mix dog, and I think he had a lot of fun, but then the baby came along, and the classes were sidelined. There's actually a lot of footwork that has to be done on the trainer's part, and there is a level of trust that you know your dog is going to come up and follow when you switch your lead shoulder from one side to the other.
Agility is fun, but our dog racing ability showed up when we got to try lure coursing (example video).
posted by Hermeowne Grangepurr at 10:02 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
We were doing agility with our lab mix dog, and I think he had a lot of fun, but then the baby came along, and the classes were sidelined. There's actually a lot of footwork that has to be done on the trainer's part, and there is a level of trust that you know your dog is going to come up and follow when you switch your lead shoulder from one side to the other.
Agility is fun, but our dog racing ability showed up when we got to try lure coursing (example video).
posted by Hermeowne Grangepurr at 10:02 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Why is nobody chanting "Rudy! Rudy!" He is an amazing doggo athlete. 14/10.
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:51 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:51 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
There are a couple of nice agility photos in this compilation of Westminster pictures at The Atlantic.
posted by suelac at 3:46 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by suelac at 3:46 PM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
The dogs are fantastic (<3 Macaroni!) but I'm most awed by the moment at 7:55:05 where the course techs reassemble a set of three jumping poles & get the red stripes to line up perfectly without looking like they're even trying.
posted by taquito sunrise at 3:49 AM on February 13, 2019
posted by taquito sunrise at 3:49 AM on February 13, 2019
the triumphant agility run of Zeus the Ambling Mastiff
ZERO FAULTS
posted by notquitemaryann at 8:31 AM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
ZERO FAULTS
posted by notquitemaryann at 8:31 AM on February 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
My friend got 3rd place in their class!! Trudi and Chip.
She's amazing.
posted by Stewriffic at 6:52 AM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]
She's amazing.
posted by Stewriffic at 6:52 AM on February 14, 2019 [4 favorites]
Trudi and Chip
NEGATIVE FAULTS
nobody told me that there were Miniature American Shepherds and, really, how dare
posted by notquitemaryann at 1:48 PM on February 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
NEGATIVE FAULTS
nobody told me that there were Miniature American Shepherds and, really, how dare
posted by notquitemaryann at 1:48 PM on February 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by soren_lorensen at 4:45 PM on February 11, 2019 [7 favorites]