Agility Training with Johanna

Johanna Allanach – Bluewhyle Shelties & Border Collies (Denmark)

Johanna is so much fun to train with … always interesting with different ideas, her comments and feedback flows continually whilst she works with you. Her suggestions are always “do-able” and she communicates easily and clearly what she wants you to do. I still have her voice echoing in my head with advice she gave me when last visiting, two years ago …it is invaluable.

Whilst Johanna was here this time I was lucky enough to be able to steal her away from her family for a couple of training sessions. She worked with me and Ticket on some interesting sequences, asking (no, actually telling) me to do it this way and that way – my initial response was “Ticket won’t do that! …” but I gave each one a go and low and behold after a short time Ticket and I were working some sequences that I would never have thought possible, and if I’d come across them on a course I would have struggled with how to handle them.

Now I have lots of training to do … firstly to teach Ticket the skills she needs in order to confidently perform the moves that Johanna taught us and secondly to practice/perfect my own handling skills. I have so much flying around in my head and I can’t wait to get back to normality (after Christmas/New Year) and get stuck into it!

“Thank You” Johanna for sharing your knowledge with me once again and brightening my Christmas … you are a pleasure to train with and also great company! I look forward to catching up again, be it here in Oz or on your side of the world! Good Luck at Cruft’s this year!

Last Agility Trial 2007 & friends from afar!

Saturday 15 December was the last Agility/Jumping Trial for 2007 … the middle of Summer and the weather delivered us a different kind of night with a damp, cool evening with gusty wind. We also had the company of our good friend (and agility enthusiast), Johanna Allanach, all the way from Denmark. Johanna borrowed Cash for the evening, running him in both Masters & Open, Agility & Jumping classes. Cash thoroughly enjoyed himself … after the first run (call it a practice run) they tuned in to each other beautifully … some lovely smooth runs followed and they managed to place 6th in Open Agility!

Johanna’s company is always a pleasure and it was fun to share notes, catching up on the last 2 years since she last visited. Johanna is a very constructive, positive person – she is fun to be with and her agility experiences in and around Europe are always fascinating to hear about. Johanna has been lucky enough to compete at the World Agility and also qualified three of her dogs for Crufts next year. As well as Agility, she is also very successful in Rally Obedience and Heelwork to Music. All of this reminds me of just how isolated we are here in Australia.

Saturday night also saw Ticket compete in three classes – doing some very nice work, well tuned in to me and very focussed. We qualified in Excellent Jumping on a lovely open course and “flying by the seat of my pants!” … we also won First Place! That was the best way to end the trialling year … looking forward to some training time with Johanna over the next week and now, I can’t wait for next years trials to start again!!!