Options

Option 1: Who else loves super fast dogs in agility? They are so amazing to watch, wicked speed is also fun to run. The adrenaline rush of posting the fastest time, having weaves less than 2 seconds. Running each course knowing time will NEVER be an issue. Sounds great. But your dogs out of control, never Qs like ever. You don’t know how to handle any of it and your turns are super wide.

Option 2: Who loves getting through a course clean? Handling each turn perfectly, not a foot out of place every time. That dog who literally never gets disqualified, the one who looks flawless every time.  Doesn’t sound too bad either.  But your slow, have trouble competing at big events even though you can handle the hardest courses.

Alone speed will get you know where and accuracy does nothing unless you are reasonably fast. If you had to pick an option which on would it be? My answer is why should I have to choose? Everyone always wants drive in their dogs, but going out and never getting a leg isn’t very fun either. Sure agility is fun if you Q or not, but by entering trails aren’t you agreeing that you would like to Q, and be competitive? Well guess what if I’m spending $80+ a weekend chances are I would like to Q at least once. And yet constantly I hear people debating about having speed or accuracy in puppies and older dogs too. There really isn’t away for you to train both? Tightening your dog down will actually make them faster. Training for accuracy shouldn’t take the drive out of the dog; it should clarify which cues mean what and how to execute turns and such correctly.

So is there really anything to debate? The way I look at it is if you have a dog with natural drive train accuracy, if you have a dog that is accurate train speed. You can’t just say I want speed before accuracy with every dog; some dogs just need to be confident before they can be wicked fast. Others need to be completely out of control and super fast before they can run focus on your handling and take the cues correctly.

Sorry for the rant, but it bugs me when people say they have to have something like speed or accuracy because first off you get what you put work into. Speed and/or accuracy don’t just show up in puppies. Also I’m sick of people choosing speed over accuracy or accuracy over speed, the logical choice is both. Whoever is making you “choose” one, is a fool because you can have both if you train correctly!

News: Whimzy is 13 months today! :D     Watch :) >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIotaWi5PDI