Agility in France No.2

Another post for our friends at Aimhi Coaching.

We are starting a new chapter of our agility training in France. Last week, we signed up for one-year membership at Club du chien de défense et d'utilité located in Saint Etiénne-de-Crossey, about 40 minutes away from Grenoble. Here are the reasons we chose this club.

• Public vs. Private

We learned that "club du chien" in France is a public entity, and the trainers are qualified but they are all volunteers. There are some private clubs, such as the one we signed up in February. We pay €120 for 12 sessions at the private club, but with our new club, it costs us €120 for a year, no matter how many lessons you take. They offer three agility classes a week, and various levels of obedience, Ring, RCI, tracking, flyball and dog dancing.

• Team spirit

When we went to see the club, all five participants of the class were very very welcoming. It reminded us of our experience at Aimhi. They were informative, supportive, and we felt very comfortable being with them. Four of them compete, and we appreciate the mentality of polishing skills and working towards higher goals. At the same time, they were really enjoying this sport with their dogs. They all had one aged dog besides their current partner, and the 13, 14, or 15 year-old dog had a chance to run a bit of the course without jump bars. I saw a good balance of labour and joy. 

• Environment

Although this place is about twice as far as our current agility training, there are no rocks on the ground, there is a nice stream in the wooded area where dogs can go for a swim, and a big field to run around off leash away from the road. Chana's performance is better in this field. I guess her paws are not sore from running.

And lastly, the coach is there to guide you. She focuses a lot on motivation and efficiency. My new trick to master is "l'avion=an airplane" which seems to be a blind cross? Gradually, my agility knowledge and vocabulary is becoming bilingual, but Chana does not seem to mind. She is a happy dog who all of a sudden completed a 12 weave poles one day, when we were still working on the entry with 4 poles. I guess going through 6 and 12 is the same thing for her. I should never underestimate Chana.

The members are planning on going to see FCI World Agility Championship in Liévin. Nathan and I have bought our tickets. All we need now is a Team Canada shirt and Team France shirt!