Crazelpup Dog Training- by Jodie Forbes

17/07/2025

Why do they do it?

Is it for the clout? Is it for the money? The popularity? The ego? The control over other living beings?

Or the love? The connection between species that transcends anything else. The joy of learning with their best friend. Of teaching others how to get the absolute most out of the short time they have with their dog.

Why does that person train dogs? Why is it their chosen profession?

Things to ask yourself.

13/07/2025

Agility is unlike any other sport. You’re working fast-paced in unison with another species, your equal teammate, relying on them to complete a course as they rely on you to guide them. There’s no collar and lead. You’re not riding them. You can’t discuss tactics. Both sides of the team need to be in total synchronicity for it to go right. Which means, more often than not for a lot of us, it doesn’t.

For all its highs and brilliance, agility can be bad for our mental health. From winter to a few months ago, I was actively telling people I hated it. I really did. Competing had totally drained me, and I frequently was leaving runs in tears, breaking down to fellow competitors and feeling like I was wasting everybody’s time. Over winter I was spending thousands on entries, driving hours across the country to try to move up the grades with wins that constantly evaded us. The more I needed that win, that boost, the more it felt out of our reach.

It’s the 3am starts, the driving in the dark, the standing in freezing cold fields, soaked through by the rain. It’s the hopes and dreams pinned on 25 seconds in the ring. The adrenaline and fatigue. The shattering moment one tiny thing goes wrong, a pole drops, a contact is missed by millimetres, and the whole thing was for nothing.

That is not what agility is about.

Winning isn’t what agility is about.

That is not why we started this.

When we start out, a clear round rosette is like a champ ticket. It’s like winning at Crufts. Our dogs complete the weaves in the ring and we are on cloud nine. And at some point along the way, we lose sight of that. We get used to the clears and the winning, and it no longer gives us the buzz it once did.

One dog getting to the top isn’t enough. The next one needs to be even better. We need to leave a legacy. Grade two, grade three, grade four. Grade seven. One ticket. Three. More. More. We need to be on the national team. We are a failure if we don’t qualify for Crufts this year. If our first dog was a champion, the next dog must be too.

And we don’t stop to see that our dogs are our legacy. Not the prizes they win, but the lives they lived. Their short lives.

Most dogs get 15 summers. Maybe 8 competing seasons. Our time together is crushingly short. And isn’t that part of the problem? That clock ticking in the background- we are always aware that if not now, when?

Running my fifteen year old dog in anysize is one of my biggest joys. I never used to see the point in anysize classes, they felt boring. Now they’re my favourite. The old dogs that still think they can clear their old competing heights as they jump over 20cm. They don’t know it doesn’t matter. It’s a champ final to them. It reminds me why I started: because I love playing this silly game with my best friends.

It breaks my heart that I have often allowed my ambitions to eclipse that. And there it is- the reason why dogs jumping over sticks is so bad for our mental health. The person who started this dumb sport all those years ago, just so they could have fun with their dogs who they love so much, is still in there. And, more than anyone else, we are letting them down when we lose sight of what’s truly important. But we don’t have to.

Your wins do not determine your worth.

Do it for your dog, and the person you were when you started off in grade one. Not for anybody else. Not for the whisperers or the need to get to the top and never fall from there.

I don’t hate agility. I never hated running around with my girls. I hated the pressure I had put on myself in competition. It doesn’t make the way I felt any less valid, it just helps to understand it. And I know so many people are feeling the same way. I’m seeing it in person and online more than ever, people are feeling disillusioned by the sport.

Understanding helps. It doesn’t fix it, but it helps me to recognise why I’m feeling the way I am. It helps to give me perspective. It doesn’t always have to be this way. Right now, agility is so good for my mental health. But it’s also not the most important thing. Scrapping runs and going for walks, supporting friends at shows, rewarding the dogs even if it goes horrendously wrong. That’s good for mental health.

I’m not pretending I have all the answers, because I don’t. I still do, and probably will always struggle with this to some extent. But it’s good to talk about it.

12/07/2025

Lots of congratulations are in order for many of my students- from one person finally biting the bullet and competing again after several years (with a lot of gentle bullying to get them there😂), one being brave and getting back in the ring after a bad experience, one getting their first win, one getting their first clear after a long string of Es, and one getting their most recent of many wins…

However my biggest congratulations goes to Verity and Lilly, who are my first ever students that I’ve taught from scratch to win into Grade 2!

They have worked SO hard for this. Lilly is a collie, but she certainly hasn’t been easy, and it’s taken so much dedication from her mum to get her to this point. They got not one, but four clear wins this weekend. Just amazing!

I could not be prouder of this partnership.

03/07/2025

When you’re looking for a good dog trainer, look at their receipts.

The dog training industry is completely unregulated, somebody with little to no experience can set up and give out useless, uneducated and outright dangerous advice. That goes for puppy classes, behaviour work and dog sports.

Qualifications are a great way of understanding what knowledge your trainer has, but for dog sport training, proof in the field is the best way of knowing the level of excellence you’re getting. It’s true that not all top competitors are any good at teaching others, and not all great teachers are out winning awards each week, but if a trainer is constantly getting high places and recognition with different dogs, with different personalities, backgrounds and struggles, that’s a pretty sign they know their stuff.

Dog trainers’ dogs are rarely perfect. Mine fit that rule. They can be very naughty at times, but they have a hell of a paper trail when it comes to the sports we teach. Namely, I’ve had 3 dogs reach Grade 7 (agility), my dogs have competed and won at Crufts in agility and freestyle to music, every single dog I’ve owned has done media work (tricks) and we are competing at the WHOC World Championships (hoopers).

I’m a strong believer in offering what I’m competent in. It’s the reason why I have the equipment to teach several other sports but haven’t yet gone through with it- flyball, rally and obedience come to mind. They’re sports I’ve dabbled in, competed a little in and could teach at a baseline level. To me, personally, that’s not enough. I can do the occasional workshop, but until we can prove ourselves in these sports, I’m going to leave it to people far more qualified. I never want to be in a position where I’m teaching a student something I’ve never worked through with my own dogs, because that hands-on, practical experience is so crucial and how could I advise on something I’m not adept in?

Why is this important? Firstly: safety. The number of ‘fun’ agility classes I’ve seen where dangerous and outdated equipment is used is scary. Where dogs are jumping too high or doing age-inappropriate stuff.

Secondly: clarity. Clarity helps avoid frustration. Having lived-experience lends itself to foresight and understanding of how to build proper foundations to avoid issues in the future. The number of people I’ve met who are ‘absolutely not interested in competing’ and go on to be the most competitive people you can come across- it’s so much easier for dogs and owners to learn things right from the start.

Thirdly: a bit of snobbery I guess. I’m a perfectionist, and I want my own dogs and the dogs I train to be the best they can be. I want to push them and their owners to do amazing things, because I understand just how exhilarating it can get when things come together. I want to share that feeling. I live and breathe the sports I love, and I want to give the best possible version of that to the people who learn from me.

These are the standards to which I hold myself. Keep pushing, keep learning, keep accountable. We never reach the bar, because it’s always rising with our goals and our experiences. Although it is nice sometimes to reflect on how well my own dogs, my students’ dogs and (screw it, because I never cut myself any slack!) I am doing at the moment.

28/06/2025

After that wobble a few days ago, my girls have well and truly boosted my confidence!

5x hoopers wins
4x agility wins and a 2nd

Today alone they got two wins, a 2nd and a clear between them.

Plus being perfect girls on a commercial shoot mid-week, and Prim being an angel both with the photographers dogs and in pairs agility today where she was running with another dog in the ring.

Maybe we don’t suck after all 😅

24/06/2025

24/06/2025

Oof imposter syndrome today is hitting hard.

The girls have a hoopers competition today, and so far, amongst the four of them, we’ve only had one clear round. Thank god for 15 year old Bramble holding this thing together.

I’m trying to rationalise with myself that:
A) I’m going above and beyond with distance handling Willow. I’m not just standing behind the furthest line, I’m doing that and restricting myself to the spot I’m stood in, the way it’ll be for the World Champs.
B) I’m also attempting the furthest distance line with Tulip, who up until recently was like Velcro, and she doesn’t really understand directional cues yet. And she’s still doing some really cool stuff.
C) Prim is an idiot (I say this with love but if you knock her on the head you hear an echo)

I feel well and truly humbled by my dogs and any self confidence I had is currently in pieces. I’m tempted to scratch our last run and go cry in the tent. But I’m not going to.

What I’m learning is, no I’m not the trainer I thought I was. My dogs aren’t as good as I ‘knew’ they were. That little confident bubble I had has been burst.

So that means we have to work harder still. Which is tough because I already put my heart and soul into dog sports. But there’s always things we can do to improve.

This is my fourth day in a row that I’ve walked over 10 miles, I’ve been sleeping in a tent, the weather has been horrible, I ache. The dogs probably ache. We are all tired. This is not our peak performance and we can’t always be on form as much as I’d like us to be.

Relax, reframe. Train harder. Come back better.

Screw days like this.

22/06/2025

Bramble says heatwave shmeatwave it’s freezing and rainy here! ☹️

19/06/2025

Started as agility, ended like this 😂

13/06/2025

Today is the fourth anniversary of bringing Willow home.

She’s truly everything I could have ever hoped and dreamed for in a dog. From getting to grade 7 in agility, getting the opportunity to represent the country in hoopers, winning her first heelwork to music competition, winning rally competitions as a baby, nailing her first media performances and being such an intelligent, robust, incredible dog at everything she puts her paw to.

Accolades aside, she’s got the perfect personality for me. I just love everything about her. Her cheekiness that always tiptoes the line of real naughtiness, but is always saved by her brilliant sense of humour. The way she smiles when she plays a joke, how she understands every word I say and the way she loves me, her family and her sisters with every fiber. She’s bold and fun and sweet and soft.

I feel like she takes the best bits of her sisters and she’s an amalgamation of the best bits of my other girls. She has Hazel’s fire, toy drive and strong character. Bramble’s brain and loyalty. Tulip’s need for love and sweet character.

It’s sheer luck that a little farm dog that came so covered in mud and farmyard muck that it took weeks to shake the stink could become such a star.

Looking back at baby photos of her today, I found this one. I’ve always loved this picture. But, looking closer, I noticed something today that I hadn’t before: Hazel peeking over my hand.

Willow was just a baby when we lost Hazel, and I really think having her as a focus and a much-needed distraction helped me from spiraling. I couldn’t fall apart because I had a crazy, cheeky baby that was always keeping me on my toes.

I feel like Hazel being in this photo signifies something. Maybe it’s her passing the flame along. Maybe it’s her watching over. Whatever it is, it brought me a great deal of comfort seeing her in the picture. After all, it’s Willow’s gotcha day, but we owe everything to Hazel.