Hi I'm Jenny who owns and runs Dogmanics Dog Agility Training. I formed Dogmanics agility club in June 2005, the club has developed from a small membership of approximately 20 handlers and dogs to reaching its maximum to date of 50 members, most of these have gone on to be extremely successful in competition from very young dogs, and are still training with the club, also I have some who started out with me and have never competed but still enjoy their training, everyone is trained to competition standard regardless. I have 20 years experience of competing and instructing dog agility, also I am a KC qualified judge and have judged at all levels for the last 5 years. The equipment we use is of a very high standard and complies with the Kennel Clubs regulations, it is also maintained by my husband Derek to a high standard on a regular basis as it stands out in all weathers.
I got hooked on agility through another good friend of mine Lin Abbott (who is now an advanced handler with her wonderful sheltie Hattie), she introduced me to it in the early nineties. In those days, I owned a fabulous rescue collie cross called Muffin, but as she was already 6yrs old when I started out with her we didn't have enough time to get to grips with competitions, those we did do, she did well, if I had her now things would be so different.
I then took on another rescue dog called Benson who taught me so much. He was a Spaniel cross so we had quite a few times when he said yes I will run for you today, and other times when he thought blow this, let me find another squirrel to chase! He won me lots of rosettes when he had good days, he is now sadly no longer with us but enjoyed a long retirement which included his hydrotherapy swims, which he loved, with my good friend Caroline, who is one of my links on this website... See my hydrotherapy page.
In January 1999 I bought my first Border Collie and very aptly named him Razzamataz, Razz took to agility like a duck to water, so much so that I didn't think I would ever get him round a course. He had an electric speed which is good, but shrieked his way round so much so that he couldn't hear my commands half the time! So control was out of the question.
He was diagnosed with renal failure at nearly 8yrs old, but sadly we lost him just before his 10th birthday in November 2008. Razz won me out of elementary, starters and novice and into senior level. I still wonder how we did it! He still competed right up to 2 months before his illness took him, Jon Szegota handled him for me as he could run with him and did really well too, Razz so enjoyed his runs a lot more. I got more out of watching them than I did running him myself. Also, he had a junior handler who in 2004 qualified him for Crufts, Claire Parks ran him in YKC classes for a couple of years and they achieved a 5th place in the jumping, poor Razz slipped on the flooring and hit his nose on the flat tunnel but he didn't even feel it, it was a very proud moment for us. In our last competition which was two months before we lost him he won two classes as though to say there you go Mum this is to remember me by.
In February 2005 I got my second Border collie and named him Deacon, he couldn't be more opposite than Razz. He was a dream to own, right from the start.
I named him Deacon after John Deacon from the fabulous Queen, as his registered name is Laetare Kind of Magic. His breeder chose song titles from Queen for all the litter and to me he is magic.
I took him to his first competition at 18 months of age and we didn't disgrace ourselves at all, he worked so well. There are three trainers I have to thank for his progress, firstly Natasha Wise for his puppy training, and since, I have been to Jo Fraser who is another of my links on this site.
Deacon on his third competition achieved a 12th place in Novice agility, which was a bit scary as I wanted him to stay in the new grading system which starts next year which will be Novice Graduate. To date he has won me into grade 4 and also in December 2008 we qualified for the KC Novice agility stakes at Olympia, he unfortunately knocked two poles down and incurred 10 faults so we didn't make the final in the evening, but I was so proud of him to qualify.
In February 2009 we brought our third BC pup home and named him Guvnor, and we think his name suited him as he thought he was in charge. His KC registered name is Raeannes Falcon and he is half brother to Natasha Wise's Dizzy who became a world champion last year, so he has a lot to live up to. I started his foundation training almost straight away, this is all at ground level and prepares the dog when he starts agility proper, as pups joints are very soft usually they don't train on the equipment until they are a year old, I introduced Guv to the equipment at about 6 months but it was all at ground level. He started his obedience training with Andrew and Carol Dicker and is doing really well, they are fantastic instructors and good friends also. Guv and I were due to start our agility training with the Thames Agility Club after Christmas, but this has had to be delayed as early in January 2010 we nearly lost him as he was seriously ill with tetanus, this is a very rare illness in dogs we went through a terrible time not knowing if he would survive, thankfully he did and is expected to make a full recovery, he is recovering so well we hope to start agility training in two weeks time.
The club trains outdoors and as we rely on reasonable weather and daylight hours the classes are adjusted accordingly. During winter months from October through to April we train every Sunday from 10am to 3.30pm, this does depend on conditions, if too wet or weather too extreme then we cancel, also the club is closed from December through to march unless February is dry and ground conditions are safe then I like to start back sooner.
I now have with me several experienced instructors which without their help the club would not have achieved such a high standard and membership. They are Sheila and Jon Szegota who take the Tuesday evening groups through the summer, Ava Holloway Wednesday evenings also through the summer, Lin Abbott, Andy Wells and Don Curtis on Sundays through the winter.
Other links for information for other dog training etc are as follows.
Reading and District Dog Training Club
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