"Trust, positive reinforcement, and redirection are the solution" 

 Ken Blanchard

 It's a Dog's Life

By Martin Jimenez

Cooper, a Chihuahua mix, jumps over a series of bars during the intermediate agility training class last Thursday at Workin' Paws.

Photo by: Martin Jimenez

Dayna Dias beckons her rat terrier Maddie during last Thursday's foundation class.

Photo by: Martin Jimenez

Barbara Rawson of Gilroy has a moment with her Australian terrier, Sydney, at the end of the foundation class last Thursday at Workin' Paws in north San Benito County.

Photo by: Martin Jimenez

Nick Crane of Morgan Hill leads his Queensland mix, Bailey, out of a tunnel as Susan Paulsen gives direction.

Photo by: Martin Jimenez

Susan Paulsen raises her hands in victory after a dog finished a series of jumps last Thursday.

Photo by: Martin Jimenez

At first glance Susan and Kraig Paulsen's yard - filled with brightly colored see-saws, flexible tunnels and A-frame climbing structures - makes you think they are really great parents. Watching them play with Konner, Kolbe, Surely, Kaz and Kipper leaves no doubt.

On certain evenings the Paulsens share their toy-filled Hollister-area yard and playfulness with others, encouraging healthy relationships between visitors and their best friends - their dogs.

The Paulsens teach dogs and their owners the ins and outs of dog agility, a sport in which dogs complete complicated obstacle courses off leash, guided by commands from their handlers. Typical courses include tunnels, teeter-totters and - excuse the expression - catwalks.

During classes Susan Paulsen transforms her personality from a stern drill instructor to an enthusiastic cheerleader and ultimately a prideful mother.

"Stop and play with 'em," yells Paulsen, reminding the owners to reward the dogs. The owners are so engrossed in practice that only one or two stop.

"Stop and play with 'em!"

Slowly, most of the group becomes aware that she is talking to them, as they are spread all around the yard running with their dogs.

"STOP AND PLAY WITH 'EM!"

At this point everybody catches up and are down on the grass connected to their dogs by chew toys or by scratching their backs, everything a slobbery mess.

"Quick, somebody love Leo! Remember the dog is never wrong! Oooohh, look who is toy motivated!"

Paulsen seems to never quit encouraging, coaching and engaging the owners, especially when it comes to loving and encouraging their dogs.

"The first thing is building their relationship," said Paulsen about the goal of the classes. Periodically she pauses the class so that everyone can give their dogs' deep tissue massages and tell them they are "good dogs." On one recent night a visitor could hear choruses of people cooing "good girl" to their dogs.

Paulsen's favorite part of teaching others about dog agility training "is when [the dogs'] eyes twinkle when they get it."

"At first dogs are like, 'why are we doing this?'" Paulsen said. "You need to show them that it is fun."

"It is just like school," continued Paulsen. "Sometimes you need to get them motivated."

Paulsen lives out this analogy nine months a year as an eighth grade ecology and biology teacher at Britton Middle School in Morgan Hill.

"Training a mammal is training a mammal," she said. "It is all the same: motivation and positive reinforcement."

The Paulsens moved to Hollister a few years ago after being frustrated by the lack of room in Fremont for their dog-agility aspirations. "I didn't have room for full sized equipment," said Paulsen.

But it wasn't just the open space that attracted them.

The Paulsens were introduced to San Benito County by George Costa and Julie Carreiro who helped the Paulsens train their dogs to compete in herding at ranches around California during annual trials. Though dog agility and cattle herding both require good dog-owner communication, the two skill sets can conflict.

"A lot of the agility stuff is on tight courses where herding usually requires the dog to make wide turns to keep the cattle together," Paulsen said. "If you want to be a national winner in either one, then I don't recommend doing both."

Despite their cow-dog past, the Paulsens now put their free time exclusively into dog agility and their 9-month-old agility training service Workin Paws, where they impart their nine years of dog-agility experience onto other dog lovers.

Nancy Borger, a professional pet sitter/ex-zoo keeper and her 6-year-old boxer-mix named Friday, were at last Thursday's (no relation to Friday) foundation class that stressed a lot of the positive reinforcement-based clicker training.

"I thought it would be kind of fun and wanted to see if she would be interested," Borger said. "I think she was impatient with the training, which is good because she needs to learn to focus."

Friday was adopted from the Humane society in San Jose and had a "funny and naughty" personality, Borger said. She is grateful for how the agility training has helped to occupy Friday. They sat together on the well-manicured lawn, Borger with treats, a clicker and a plastic container lid in one hand.

"It is another way to keep the animal busy, to cut down on barking and digging," she said. "It is called enrichment. That is what I did at the zoo, keep animals' lives as interesting as possible."

"I can leave her off leash a little more and when we get in the car and start heading in that direction she gets excited and starts whining," said Borger, describing how Friday anticipates the training.

"I love it because it is a great way to train your dog; they give you a lot of tools to train in the basics because the basics help you to advance in agility," said Sue Newell of Hollister, who brings her golden retriever-poodle mix, Precious, to the training classes.

"I've had three other dogs in my life who were major family members and we used the traditional training methods with a certain level of success," Newell said. "The clicker training is more effective and more about bonding. The tools that I've learned in that last few months have given me such confidence."

"The interesting thing is since that one lesson, I have been home with my puppy and my older Labrador is getting jealous," Newell continued. "The big picture message is the bonding comes pretty quickly and I need to be careful to not alienate my older Lab."

Dog agility training can also be therapeutic.

Vickie Casey of San Martin brought her Chihuahua-mix to last Thursday's intermediate class where they spent the night practicing the "go" command. Despite other people milling about, the tiny Chihuahua was completely focused on Casey while it navigated a series of three, 4-inch jumps.

"Cooper was extremely fearful when unknown humans would approach him. He would just cower and try to flee," Casey said. "It has completely brought him out of his shell. Agility works their minds as well as their bodies."

"The problem with the dogs that sit at home all day are their minds are not stimulated," Casey said. She should know as she runs Four Paws Dog Daycare out of her home. "The owners love them but dogs need jobs. The beautiful part of it is that dogs are learning some self control skills."

"Dogs just love to please, but with agility you can tell those dogs are having a blast."

Today and tomorrow Workin' Paws will be holding an ASCA (Australian Shepherds Club of America) All-Breeds Agility Trial. The event, which is free to watch, is at 690 Tevis Trail in North San Benito County and will run from 7:30 until about 4 or 5 p.m. depending on how fast the events go. For more information about Workin' Paws or this weekend's trials visit www.workinpaws.com.