Noordelijk Enterprises, Inc. ~ Professional Dog Training Services

K9 PERFORMANCE SPORT TRAINING
NOORDELIJK ENTERPRISES, INC.

Updated: March 9, 2007

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to answer some of the most popular questions I get asked by my students, fellow trainers, competitors and any one interested in dogs. Also included in the FAQ's page are my opinions on the sport, living with and training dogs and how they have made my life what it is today. Please keep sending your questions and as I get them, I will update this page with my answers.

HOW MANY DOGS DO YOU HAVE AND WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MANY? I think this is one of the most popular questions I get asked. Currently, I have 10 dogs. Their ages range from 15.5 years down to 12 months. As to the latter part of the question, the answer simply is: Because I love them. Dogs are my passion. They have been my passion since I was a little girl. My parents are avid animal lovers and instilled in me the love I have for them today. I have never lived my life without lots of animals.
Growing up, my parents had an average of 20 dogs of all different kinds of breeds and rescues. They also were German Shepherd Breeders. In addition to dogs, we had cats, rabbits, birds and even a monkey. So, I guess I would say, living my life without dogs would be impossible for me. While attending the University of Delaware, I lived off campus and worked full time just so I wouldn't be without my dogs. I still have one of those dogs today. I purchased him while in college at a mall pet store for $100 dollars. He has been a faithful friend and companion for the last 15 years and with me every step of the way. His name is Randall and he was my very first Keeshond.
As to the amount of them, I love a big pack, although 10 dogs isn't that big compared to what I grew up with, it's big by most people's standards. However, nothing fascinates me more than pack behavior and watching my dogs interact with each other and learning the social order they establish is always interesting even when their is unrest in the pack. My dogs have been my greatest teachers and I think you can become a great trainer if you experience living in a multi-dog household. I have arranged my life in order to take the very best care of them and I try to give them everything possible within my means.
WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MANY NORTHERN BREEDS ESPECIALLY BEING AN AGILITY TRAINER? Why not? Northern breeds are my favorite type of dogs. I know Northern Breeds are not the first choice of most agility trainers like Border Collies, however, it's something about that wolf look I just love. I guess I would train Wolves if I could, but Northern breeds are easier to live with :)
Keeshonden are my favorite of the Northern Breeds. From the first time I saw one in a pet store when I was in college, I fell in love. That's obviously why I have 4 of them. I also have American Eskimos, Pomeranians and my Alaskan Malamute who looks enough like a wolf that I sometimes wonder how much Malamute, Draco, really is. Draco is my first Malamute and boy is he a challenge. He's extremely smart, to much so for his own good. He's so protective of me and is the most perceptive dog I have. He can read dogs like an open book and sends me signals to be aware of my surroundings of both dogs and people.

Northern breeds also have been my best teachers in my training. They are not the type of dog that needs to please you every step of the way and therefore training them is very interesting to me. I love training challenges and figuring out how they think and why they do certain things. They do not allow you a learning curve. Either figure out how to communicate with them quickly or stop trying. They can't be bothered with you if you take to long. They have made me the trainer I am today and I can't thank them enough for that.

BORDER COLLIES ARE NOT NORTHERN BREEDS, WHY DID YOU GET THEM? The honest answer is that somebody told me that I couldn't train one because I only ran a small, scared Pomeranian in agility, named Rushka. I know, not really a great reason to get a dog, but this was how I got started with them. Something to prove, I guess. Not knowing I had trained big dogs all my life and had loads of experience with dogs in general, this person just assumed I didn't know much beyond the one little scared dog I had in agility.

So, I got my first Border Collie, Lochlan, 7 years ago. Wow, what a breeze he was. So willing to learn, so full of energy, so willing to do whatever I wanted. I couldn't believe how quickly he picked up everything I taught him. Now he isn't the type of Border Collie that could take endless repetition, he is the soft kind, but having so much experience with dogs that gave you 3 chances to teach them something, Lochlan was like a dream to me. That's why so many people have them in agility because they are easy to train, they can handle repetition, therefore, allowing you a very large learning curve and they are very well suited for the sport, physically.

I now have 2 Border Collies. Lochlan is 7 and War, his half brother , is 3. Both my boys are soft and sweet even though their personalities are very different. They are so totally devoted to me and want to constantly please me. I also train one of my parents Border Collies named Flame. I am doing her service dog training as well as training her in agility. My parents work her on stock.

HOW DO YOU MANAGE 10 DOGS AND DO THEY GET ENOUGH PERSONAL ATTENTION? I have absolutely great help :) I am also lucky to be able to have so many of them with me when I train my students and travel to different locations. As for personal attention, they may not get one on one attention for hours a day like a single dog household, but they don't lack for exercise and attention from me.

Anyone that knows my dogs knows what great physical condition they are in and how attentive they are to me. They are used to working in a group and will do anything to get my attention. The one thing they don't get is a lot of agility training, but that's ok, I work very quickly when I train and teach concepts to my dogs in very short repetitions. I seem to manage a lot of quality training in a very small amount of time. Besides, I can't do tons of repetition training. To me, if I can't train the behavior quickly, I then need to rethink how I am training it. Besides, repetition is very boring to me so it seems to work well for all of us.

ARE YOU AND YOUR SISTER TWINS? No, Kim and I are not twins. We actually look very different and have very different personalities. I'm the shy one and Kim is definitely the comedian. Kim is also an incredible artist. I'm in awe of her unbelievable talent.

And no, we are not the same person. Seems like a strange thing to say, but so many people think we are one person that runs 1000 dogs in agility. I often get complimented for Kim's run and she gets complimented for mine. That's fine by me, we both strive to be the best trainers we can. We are, however, extremely close and the very best of friends and we are lucky to enjoy our dogs and this wonderful dog sport together. I just wish we lived closer.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU COMPETE? I have to say, I don't compete a lot compared to many agility enthusiasts. I compete about 6 months out of the year and in that 6 months about 2- 3 shows a month. It might be more if there happens to be a lot going on in a particular month. I take 5 months off in the winter and 2 months off in the summer. I like to give my dogs and myself a break and let them just be dogs. They are so much more to me than agility dogs.

I have 5 competitive dogs, but I also have 5 dogs that are not competing either because they are retired or not ready so I can't justify being away every weekend. However, I try to pick the shows that are most beneficial to my goals and accomplish as much as I can within that time frame. I will try to do the big events and often they require additional time and travel away from home so I will forgo more local shows.

HOW MANY OF YOUR DOGS ARE RESCUE'S? Of my current dog's 3 Keeshonden, one Pomeranian and one American Eskimo are rescues. One of my keeshonds is from a pet store. My latest rescue is a 3 legged American Eskimo I call Tatiana. I rescued her last year at 9 years old. She is an awesome dog and is completely agility trained. She just loves agility and love to train. When I got her, she had a different name and did not know any commands. She will never be able to compete in agility, but that doesn't matter to me. I wanted to rescue her after losing my 16 year old rescue American Eskimo, Tia, that passed away in 2005. Tatiana is very inspirational to my student's dog. They see what she can do with only 3 legs and now being around 10 years old and see the possibilities for their dogs. Giving dog's a good life that probably wouldn't be given a chance is very important to me and I will always have rescue dogs in my life.

DO MALE OR FEMALE DOGS MAKE BETTER AGILITY DOGS AND WHICH DO YOU PREFER? I know many people prefer one sex over another, but I love them both. I alternate between the sexes so I keep the numbers even. My next dog will be a girl. There are qualities I love in the boys and qualities I love in the girls. I don't think it matters one way or the other and it really boils down to personal preference. My girls happen to be very sassy and full of themselves and my boys just love their Mom.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU GET A NEW DOG? One of the very first things I do with my dogs is to teach them how to run. It seems simple enough, but whatever age I get a particular dog whether it be 7 weeks or 9 years, I teach them how to run with me. Then I teach them how to run with the other dogs. Melba and Lochlan were puppies together and I spent a lot of time at the park having them run after the other dogs. Lochlan was all legs and Melba was only about a pound, but she learned to run from early on and Lochlan learned how to be coordinated. I definitely think this has helped in Melba's agility career since she always runs in full stride. This allows her to cover the maximum amount of ground for her size. Then I incorporate running and playing games. I love to chase my dogs and grab their tails. They love it and it makes them crazy. They must think I'm nuts most of the time, but we have a lot of fun together. By then I have usually come up with a name for them so I start teaching them their name recognition. The next thing I work on is body awareness and flexibility. To me, this is one of the most important aspects of my training. This not only benefits them in agility, but in every other aspect of their life. To date, I have never had an agility related injury or any other injury for that matter. My dogs are kept on a very regular fitness program and I think this is the key to their overall health. The downside is, they are always hungry and they don't have an ounce of fat on them.

WHY IS FREE SHAPING SO IMPORTANT TO YOU AND WHY DO YOU TEACH IT IN YOUR FOUNDATION PROGRAM? Firstly, I free shape everything. I never get tired of finding things to free shape with my dogs and I train this more than any agility behavior. All I have to do is show any one of my dogs the clicker and they know exactly what game we are going to play and they can't wait. They love to free shape and they love trying to figure out what I want. I'm fascinated by watching dogs think and problem solve and free shaping is the best way that I have found that maximizes this. The more I free shape, the better they get and the more complex behaviors I can train. Since I have a lot of fearful dogs, I truly believe this builds their confidence. I see their personalities change, they become bolder in situations that before used to make them apprehensive. As for my students, it's sometimes hard to get them to be patient enough to free shape. They want fast results and they often fall into the luring trap and then their dog doesn't really ever begin to think on their own or develop problem solving skills. You must be patient when you first begin and reward the tiniest behaviors. I can't stress enough to my students that free shaping is an amazing training tool and it strengthens the bond with you and your dog.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I REWARD MY DOG DURING A TRAINING SESSION? Every trainer is different, but for myself, I am extremely generous with my rewards, whether they be verbal, physical, food or toys. I never stop rewarding even my most experienced dogs even though I know that for them the reward is working with me. When I train, I have clickers and toys attached to my body and I have fistful of food in my hands. I work extremely quickly so I can get right back into the training after I give the reward. I never want my dogs to think that their efforts are not appreciated by me. Often people with high drive dogs don't reward enough in my opinion because the dog will keep working for them, however, I think this is counter productive because I believe the dog will then start to learn that rewards come from agility and not from you. I never want my dogs to think agility is more important than me and if they never did it again, they wouldn't care either way.

WHEN SHOULD I START TRAINING MY NEW DOG OR PUPPY IN AGILITY? I start my dogs right away. If I get a puppy at 7 weeks, I start introducing very basic agility behaviors. I remember introducing weave poles to War at 8 weeks. There is so much that can be done with puppies that I would never miss the opportunity to use this time wisely. This does not mean I am drilling puppies over full sized equipment at 8 weeks, unfortunately, sometimes this is the assumption people make. I don't even drill my adult dogs and I sure wouldn't do it with a puppy. However, the more foundation work you can do, the better. As for older dogs, the same is true. All my rescue dogs were started the day I got them. I wanted to establish a relationship with them that working with me is fun and that it's going to be our new bond together. Each dog is an individual and I treat them as such so I tailor my training specifically to each dog.
WHAT ARE THE BEST KIND OF TREATS TO USE? It really depends on your dog and what they like. The key is they should be crazy about what you are offering. My dogs will work for absolutely anything, but then again, they will eat just about anything. What I like to stress is variety. Don't use the same old treat all the time. That's about as boring as working the same exercise all the time or becoming predictable in your training where your dog knows precisely what they are going to work on because you always start your training sessions the same way. That goes for toys too. Use your dogs favorite toy, but then introduce new toys and make those toys just as rewarding. Remember, the reward really isn't about the food or the toy, it's about you and your dog.

WHAT VENUE SHOULD I START COMPETING IN? I really think it depends on the student and their individual personality, confidence and skill level. I usually recommend to a first time competitor venues that allow them to train in the ring. This way if they need to fix a particular sequence or obstacle performance they are still allowed to complete their run. So my first choice for students ready to compete for the first time is Nadac, CPE or DOCNA. Although I never have personally competed in CPE or DOCNA, I hear that these are very friendly venues for the new competitor and they allow some training in the ring. I have competed a lot in NADAC and really like the venue for novice competitors and novice dogs. My venues of choice are AKC and USDAA. Neither venue allows training in the ring and the courses tend to be more challenging and competitive. There is no reason you can't start with one of these venues as your first trial experience, just know that training is not allowed and if you attempt to redo part of the course you will be asked to leave. Eventually you will find the venue that suits you and your dog.
WHAT TYPE OF CONTACT POSITIONS DO YOU TRAIN AND HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT'S BEST FOR YOUR STUDENTS? Firstly, I let the dog determine what contact position to assume in which they are most comfortable. I would never make a dog do something that was physically difficult for them. So much of contact training is based on the dog's structure and natural physical abilities. Some dog's naturally stride into the contacts and very little training is required when you have this type of dog, however, most of us don't have these kinds of dogs and therefore a lot of training is put into the contacts. Routinely, I like to see the dog's develop physically before the decision is made on the most appropriate contact performance. The next part of the equation is the handler's physical abilities and goals for the sport and their ability to practice. For 2 on 2 off, a set of stairs will be enough, however, for running contacts you need to have enough space to work stride. I generally recommend a stopping contact for students just starting out whether it be a 2 on 2 off contact position, 4 on the floor or lie down position or a 1 rear toe on. I do not like the dogs targeting to a particular slat on the equipment because I believe this position is too general for the dogs to maintain and it's a hard position for the dogs to get into at speed. For head heavy breeds they are definitely trained on a running contact since their ability to stop is more difficult than other dogs. Most of my student's with small dogs are trained with a running contact unless they are strongly opposed to it.

As for my dogs, Melba has running contacts on the dog walk and A-frame, however, due to her square structure and size, she often leaps them. Yes, a 3 pound dog can miss contacts just like a border collie and she's a bit on the crazy side so leaping seems fun for her. As for the seesaw, she needs to run all the way to the very end of the board and lie down just to get enough momentum for the board to move. If she doesn't, it's a slow ride down. As for my keeshonds, 2 of my girls do 2 on 2 off positions, however, one of them, Hermione, maintains the position in a stand and Nadja does hers in a sit. They chose the positions so that's what I trained. This is for all contact equipment. My other keeshond who is trained by my apprentice, Dr. Nancy Lubell, is doing 4 on the floor due to a weak shoulder. I don't want to put any extra pressure on this shoulder since he has rehabbed very nicely from this injury. My Alaskan Malamute does a lie down on the A - frame and a 2 on 2 off on the seesaw and dog walk and they are in the stand position. Again, Draco decided what he was most comfortable doing and since he is a very large dog, his stride is tremendous and running contacts would be constant maintenance for him. As for my Border Collies, Lochlan started his career doing running contacts, but as he got faster on course, his huge stride started to carry him right over the yellow zones. Then I went to stopping him with a 2 on 2 off in a lie down position. This worked for awhile until I decided that I didn't like the force he was putting on his body. Lochlan has a tremendously powerful rear, but a very angled front and a very long back and I was afraid he was being to hard on his body so currently, Lochlan is doing a running on the A-frame and striding contacts on both the dog walk and seesaw. Although the up dog walk contact continues to be the one that requires the most maintenance. As for his brother, War, does running on the A-frame and dog walk and a stopping 2 on 2 off lie down on the seesaw. He's dead on in practice, but when he's high as a kite at a show, his percentage of accuracy is only 80% at this point, but that's ok, I am in absolutely no rush with him.
WHY DO YOU DO SO MUCH FLAT WORK AND WHY DO YOU CONSIDER THIS SO IMPORTANT? I guess one of the reasons is that I love flat work. To me, all agility boils down to flat work. If your dog doesn't understand your body movements, then you really have no partnership with them. I can't stress enough how important flat work is, but then again, I love the art of movement and I want my dogs to know exactly what my movements mean. Another reason I love flat work is because I don't like talking on course. I really like to be as quiet as I can and let my body do the talking. I will use a few key cues, but I really like to let my dogs figure out their job without me constantly yelling in there ears, besides, it's not my personality any way. I train all my flat work with a clicker and it's how I communicate with my dogs besides giving them verbal markers that they've done a good job. So, yes, I teach a lot of flat work, I do a lot of flat work and I think it's one of the most important agility skills to be taught. Once your flatwork is done, you don't have to teach any handling because your dog already knows it.

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