# The best Agility run I have ever seen!



## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

This video had me laughing in tears. This dog gets my vote for "best ever!" This is what competition is all about, just dogs having fun. He reminds me of another little dog I love so much.

Rickys Popi


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Really cute. Thanks for sharing!


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## Jojofergy (Jun 27, 2016)

lol I was laughing thru the whole thing so cute 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

Jojofergy said:


> lol I was laughing thru the whole thing so cute


The announcer had the right attitude and made the whole debacle even funnier! This dog was a rescue, nobody could see his potential. His new Momi must be a riot too!

Ricky's Popi


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

As funny as it was, I do hope that dog got a little checkup after the fact. Between the a-frame and that botched jump, I wouldn't be surprised if his back is a bit sore :laugh:

I watch Crufts agility religiously because there are so many wonderful handlers all in one place to get techniques from. A perpetual favorite of mine is Ashleigh Butler (who won Britain's Got Talent with her dog Pudsey). This was her other dog's first time at Crufts...amazing and a darn near perfect weekend until the second to last jump in the championship finals.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155100041839878&id=92252229877


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Popi - that brought a smile to my face!


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## Ollie"s Mom (May 23, 2014)

Oh gosh Popi, I laughed and laughed. That was an absolute riot. He was having an absolute ball, and the announcer was enjoying it so much it just made it all that much better. Priceless.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Absolutely hilarious! That is my favorite kind of performance.  And trust me I've put on a few with my dogs in the ring myself lol


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## Chi-Chi's Mom (Dec 10, 2015)

He was fresh out of caring about some "rules" LOL. I love him!


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## Bowie's Mom (Oct 1, 2016)

LOVED IT!!!!


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## Layla's Mom (Feb 1, 2016)

Pure joy!!! I agree with KarMar though, he was probably sore after that crazy frolic!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

You know, I've avoided responding to this video, because I KNOW you are all well-meaning, and are not that experienced in "reading" performance dogs. But this dog is NOT having fun. He is VERY stressed, over the top emotionally, and TWICE tries to leave the ring. If this were a "normal" agility trial with some low gating around the ring, he would have been out of there, and that would have been the end of the run.

Here is a video with commentary that I think explains exactly what is happening, as it happens, and even slows it down so you can really study it and see for yourself. Again, I know that Ricky's Popi posted this with the best of intentions and I know the rest of you responded, truly believing that this was a "silly, happy dog". But he's not. I feel very bad for him AND his handler that he had such a horrific start by mis-judging that first jump so badly. (because he was ALREADY way over-threshold) It just went down-hill from there. It's really lucky he came off the course in one piece. That, in itself, is a testament to a tough small breed terrier. If he were my dog, I would have left that ring in tears... She may very well have.






Please learn to be aware of an over-threshold dog, and what it means. Whether it's in agility, obedience or the dog park, a dog running around at high speed is very often NOT a "happy" dog.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

That is an interesting review of this little dog's run, Karen. Thank you for pointing out an opposing view, that this dog was behaving this way because it was stressed and not having fun...


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sheri said:


> That is an interesting review of this little dog's run, Karen. Thank you for pointing out an opposing view, that this dog was behaving this way because it was stressed and not having fun...


I think most of the experienced agility people who have seen it did NOT view this as a "fun" run for either the dog OR the handler.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

^Yep. Had it been my dog, he would have been out if the ring after that first jump. Knocking bars happens, but knocking one in such a spectacular fashion makes it clear that the dog is overstimulated and out of sorts. Not to mention the potential injury that could have occurred as the dog's spine compressed, which would have them been aggravated by the same pressure occurring on the a frame. With a dog over threshhold, pain doesn't slow them down. They ignore it and continue on. Zoomies happen quite often in agility, but this is very different.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> ^Yep. Had it been my dog, he would have been out if the ring after that first jump. Knocking bars happens, but knocking one in such a spectacular fashion makes it clear that the dog is overstimulated and out of sorts. Not to mention the potential injury that could have occurred as the dog's spine compressed, which would have them been aggravated by the same pressure occurring on the a frame. With a dog over threshhold, pain doesn't slow them down. They ignore it and continue on. Zoomies happen quite often in agility, but this is very different.


And even zoomies are most often a sign of the dog being over-threshold (sometimes anxiety/stress, sometimes "too much fun", bust still over-threshold, or they wouldn't lose control)... Just not as dangerously as this.


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## MNL (Jul 29, 2016)

That was so cute! Made my day. Thanks for sharing!


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

Now I feel bad . . . Wouldn't it be nice if people other than dog experts could understand what dogs are really thinking and feeling? I so often wonder what Shama is thinking. She's so cute when she does her zoomies in the back yard or in the living room/dining room/kitchen/hallway. I hope she's having fun when she's zooming . . . Thank you for the education, Karen. I really do appreciate it. (And thank you for the video, Ricky's Popi. It was fun while it lasted.) Here's a cute video which seems harmless . . .


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

ShamaMama said:


> Now I feel bad . . . Wouldn't it be nice if people other than dog experts could understand what dogs are really thinking and feeling? I so often wonder what Shama is thinking. She's so cute when she does her zoomies in the back yard or in the living room/dining room/kitchen/hallway. I hope she's having fun when she's zooming . . . Thank you for the education, Karen. I really do appreciate it. (And thank you for the video, Ricky's Popi. It was fun while it lasted.) Here's a cute video which seems harmless . . .
> 
> Doggy Picks Out His Best Friend - YouTube


Awww, absolutely adorable!!! :hug:

When our dogs do zoomies all on their own, there is NOTHING wrong with that... It's just dogs having fun!!! When a dog is asked to do a specific job, that they have been trained to do, and understand, and THEN they take off in the middle of their work, it is a sure sign of stress. You don't have to worry about Shama's household and back yard zoomies!

There are LOTS of dog behaviors that have to be looked at in context to figure out what the meaning is.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I have to agree that we should not endorse this video because of its dangerous nature. At our IAABC forum Olly was analyzed by a number of trainers . He's made the rounds lol The first quote was a detailed analysis and I wish I could have given you the whole thing but she didn\t want to post online, WE pretty much agreed that Olly was not stressed but definitely needs work before his next venture. here are two quotes ,,,
"I saw a dog with a great attitude that was poorly trained, a handler that got in his way and encouraged him to go faster than he could handle things and… he appeared to have a great deal of fun in the process."

"The dog looks like he’s having a blast to me. Training falling apart in competition is not necessarily a symptom of stress".


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Thank you for another analysis, Dave. 

We just need to really know our own dogs, don't we?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> I have to agree that we should not endorse this video because of its dangerous nature. At our IAABC forum Olly was analyzed by a number of trainers . He's made the rounds lol The first quote was a detailed analysis and I wish I could have given you the whole thing but she didn\t want to post online, WE pretty much agreed that Olly was not stressed but definitely needs work before his next venture. here are two quotes ,,,
> "I saw a dog with a great attitude that was poorly trained, a handler that got in his way and encouraged him to go faster than he could handle things and&#8230; he appeared to have a great deal of fun in the process."
> 
> "The dog looks like he's having a blast to me. Training falling apart in competition is not necessarily a symptom of stress".


It's true that training can fall apart in competition, but a dog trying repeatedly to leave the ring is NOT a happy camper. Among people who train for serious agility competition, I haven't seen ONE person who thought this was a happy dog.

Dogs who qualify for Crufts are already experienced dogs or they wouldn't be there. But no "normal" trialling can prepare a dog for that sort of crowd and atmosphere. There were examples of this kind of stress in dogs from Westminster too... Just mot as dangerous as this one was.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

krandall said:


> It's true that training can fall apart in competition, but a dog trying repeatedly to leave the ring is NOT a happy camper. Among people who train for serious agility competition, I haven't seen ONE person who thought this was a happy dog.
> 
> Dogs who qualify for Crufts are already experienced dogs or they wouldn't be there. But no "normal" trialling can prepare a dog for that sort of crowd and atmosphere. There were examples of this kind of stress in dogs from Westminster too... Just mot as dangerous as this one was.


This was actually a part of the rescue dog exhibition segment. No qualification here, I think the rescues they were adopted from just phone adopters who do agility. The majority of these dogs have less than a year of competing experience under their belts  They just go and run around the ring for a bit with low stakes and plenty of fun (I saw many treats and toys in the ring while watching the livestream).


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## Chi-Chi's Mom (Dec 10, 2015)

krandall said:


> But no "normal" trialling can prepare a dog for that sort of crowd and atmosphere.


I have rookie questions:

How could this handler (or any handler) have better prepared the dog for this type of arena (since trialing doesn't)?

Was there any way to intuit that the dog may not have been ready? Even at the point of entering the ring? Any indicators of stress a handler may have missed or was the first clue when he missed the jump?

I loved playing piano. I could execute a piece flawlessly in practice. At recitals, though I could still give a good performance, the size of the venue and the people would fill me with anxiety. There were times when I would not even remember what I had done. All I could feel was relief that it was over. I would be standing there with this fake smile while my heart was about to jump out of my chest. Yet no one ever knew. I would never want to put Chi-Chi through that. I am going to spend some time studying dog behavior in general AND playing closer attention to MY dog.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> It's true that training can fall apart in competition, but a dog trying repeatedly to leave the ring is NOT a happy camper. Among people who train for serious agility competition, I haven't seen ONE person who thought this was a happy dog.
> 
> Dogs who qualify for Crufts are already experienced dogs or they wouldn't be there. But no "normal" trialling can prepare a dog for that sort of crowd and atmosphere. There were examples of this kind of stress in dogs from Westminster too... Just mot as dangerous as this one was.


This was not a compitition but an exhibition for rescued dogs . Without going into the details we didn't see that Olly was bent on leaving. All I can say is I wish you could see the detailed analysis by two of the best trainers in the world , in my opinion. The point is people need to see the danger behind the wipeouts .and the risks involved.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

KarMar said:


> This was actually a part of the rescue dog exhibition segment. No qualification here, I think the rescues they were adopted from just phone adopters who do agility. The majority of these dogs have less than a year of competing experience under their belts  They just go and run around the ring for a bit with low stakes and plenty of fun (I saw many treats and toys in the ring while watching the livestream).


yes , and Olly is 6


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> This was actually a part of the rescue dog exhibition segment. No qualification here, I think the rescues they were adopted from just phone adopters who do agility. The majority of these dogs have less than a year of competing experience under their belts  They just go and run around the ring for a bit with low stakes and plenty of fun (I saw many treats and toys in the ring while watching the livestream).


Interesting to know. Even a poorer choice for the handler to continue in that case. But it may be that SHE didn't have the experience to realize how stressed her dog was either. I know SO many handlers who will say their dog "blew them off" in similar circumstances, when it has nothing to do with "blowing the human off and everything to do with stress caused by "Too far, too fast, too much, too soon."


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Chi-Chi's Mom said:


> I have rookie questions:
> 
> How could this handler (or any handler) have better prepared the dog for this type of arena (since trialing doesn't)?
> 
> ...


Unless they'd done it before, the handler may NOT have known until that first jump that things were far wrong. It would have been smarter for her to retire right then based on the severity of that fall. SOMETIMES you can tell before going into the ring that your dog is too stressed... for instance if they won't play with you or accept treats, but other times it can be REALLY subtle. The handler's job then (IMO) is to call it quits as soon as they DO realize the dog can't handle it. But it can be hard to do that in the heat of the moment, especially for an inexperienced handler.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> This was not a compitition but an exhibition for rescued dogs . Without going into the details we didn't see that Olly was bent on leaving. All I can say is I wish you could see the detailed analysis by two of the best trainers in the world , in my opinion. The point is people need to see the danger behind the wipeouts .and the risks involved.


It remains a matter of opinion unless it were someone who knew the dog and handler intimately, and had seen the dog run before. Whether you see it as stress or poor training, or stress brought ON by lack of adequate preparation and poor handling, the bottom line is the same. This dog could have been seriously injured. Being 6 years old is neither here nor there... A 6 year old in the right hands can be at the top of their game in agility... neither old nor young. But a 6 year old could also be in his first season of agility depending on his background and training. He certainly won't last long, soundness-wise, running courses that way!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

no doubt it was a dangerous performance and the trainer needs work. We basically all agreed the dog was not stressed and seemed to enjoy the process. We're still getting replies. So long as we learn from these viral videos thats the main thing.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> no doubt it was a dangerous performance and the trainer needs work. We basically all agreed the dog was not stressed and seemed to enjoy the process. We're still getting replies. So long as we learn from these viral videos thats the main thing.


Again, I don't know who "we" are, but this is NOT a consensus of the many performance trainers I know, including many who are tops in their fields, from around the world and others who are trained behaviorists, including veterinary behaviorists. There is certainly room for differing opinions.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

you'll always get different opinions on training . We were basically unanimous in coming to the point we didn't think the dog was stressed. No more no less.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Then again ,sometimes we all get it wrong and we should listen to the owner when she says ..." "I would love to say it's out of character but no it's not, it's normal behavior," Olly's owner Karen Parker said. "He loves running, he loves playing and I think it just shows how much fun he's had."


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> Then again ,sometimes we all get it wrong and we should listen to the owner when she says ..." "I would love to say it's out of character but no it's not, it's normal behavior," Olly's owner Karen Parker said. "He loves running, he loves playing and I think it just shows how much fun he's had."


If she thinks that's OK, she's got a LOT to learn about agility and dog training.


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