The Papillon at Work in Agility
By Denise Welsh
I will try to give one and all an insight into the world of agility in general and the papillon at work in particular.Firstly, any papillon is capable of doing agility — from the smallest to the tallest. It helps enormously if the conformation is good. A dog needs to be able to get its hocks well underneath it to help it jump and manoeuvre the obstacles, but it does not matter if the coat is the wrong colour or texture.
When I start my Papillons in agility they are usually about eight months of age (KC rules state dogs must be 1 yr old to start training at a licensed club). All the poles are on the ground and the dog is encouraged to run through the jump wings on a recall. I must stress here that agility and obedience go hand in hand, a Papillon must be able to sit, wait and come when called.
I have found that Papillons are little Border Collies, they are very clever and itching to learn. Once they have done the jumping side I start them on the contact equipment ('A' frame, dog walk and see saw) with the planks on the floor so they can feel what it is like before they start the real thing.
When all this is mastered we progress to jumps being put up to between 4 and 6 inches, again recalling and sending on. The height for mini jumps in competition is 15 inches. If your aim is to just enjoy your dog and agility then sending on should not be too much of a problem, but if you wish to compete and win then it is an absolute must to be able to send your pap onto the next obstacle, my Papillon Harlie is normally two obstacles in front of me and I drive her on from behind.
Papillons normally take to agility like ducks to water, there are Papillons competing today that stand at only 10 inches high and are still able to get a clear round. I have found that a Papillon of around 11 to 12 inches is about right, not too slight in build either or it will not tip the see saw and it lessens the risk of injury.
Equipment
The equipment that a dog has to master consists of hurdles, a tyre, a dog walk, A-frame, see-saw, long jump, tunnels, rigid and canvas, table, weaves up to 12. There could be a wishing well or a wall, but you do not see many of these today.It should be mentioned here that an eleven inch papillon must negotiate the same size A-frame as a Border Collie which is 6ft 3", also the dog walk which is 4ft 4" high with ramps either side.
Success
There is no reason why a papillon cannot be an agility champion and a show champion, I await the day when a pap in the U.K. excels in both, not beyond the realms of possibilities.Never forget that agility is fun, I have found the paps are not workaholics, my Harlie will do two very good rounds and then would rather put her feet up. The golden rule as far as Papillon training is concerned is "You ask a pap and you tell a Collie."
Problems
I run an agility club purely for mini dogs (15" and under) and I have three paps who train with me. Six months ago a teenager and her mother came and asked to join, she had a little black and white bitch that had been training at another club, that also had standard dogs, collies and GSD's etc, the poor little pap had been dragged around in training, shouted at and jumped on by the GSD.
When she started her training the handler put the pap on the start line but kept the finger in her collar, the pap kept trying to evade this and kept spinning around, when I asked why she did this, the handler said if she let her go she would run away.
I asked the handler to let go of the pap, it immediately ran back to the girls mother, I gave the handler some chicken and told her to go and offer it to the pap, under no circumstances was she to touch the pap nor was she to be gruff in her voice, the little pap took the chicken and was told she was a fantastic dog, I told the handler to take two steps back and offer the chicken to the dog again, this she did and the little pap came willingly.
I asked the handler to go to the start line, call the pap ask her to sit, wait a few seconds and then give the pap the chicken. As soon as she had done this I sent them both away to a quiet corner to play for a few minutes before we started with a bit more training.
The pap is now working nicely, when she goes wrong and the handler starts to get frustrated training stops and play starts, her confidence has come on tremendously. Always remembering a happy handler makes for a happy dog.
Conclusion
Success in anything never comes easy you have to work at it, you must form a bond with your pap and it will do anything, within reason, that you ask of it. I have found that these little dogs are never happier than when they are with their person "doing something". It takes at least eighteen months to train a papillon for agility but winning your first agility class makes it all worthwhile.
