Wight Agility Group

15/04/2026

Beginners Agility Spaces available
Starting Saturday (18th)
5 week course
2pm till 3pm

13/04/2026

EASTER AGILITYSHOW

What a fabulous day we had. Huge congrats to all that came and gave it their all. There were some great runs. Makes the training so worthwhile. I think we need to mention little Eida, who has recently lost an eye, it doesn’t seem to have affected her at all. Amazing work. Also Bren the standard poodle, who came first in Large Steeplechase and 3rd in Agility, she absolutely loves a crowd and clapping 🥰 Joanne and Oscar placing in agility, while his younger sister Lilly did the fastest time of the day in Agility. We had some first timers too, young Elsie with Milly being our youngest pair.

I’m planning on more fun shows throughout the year, please message me if you’d like to know when the next one is planned. Xx

26/01/2026

BEGINNERS AGILITY GROUP WITH Jo Jenkins, starting
SATURDAY 14th FEBRUARY 2-3:00. From 6 months, covering foundation skills for Agility. Costing £55 for 5 week terms. Your dog needs to be ok with other dogs as it’s group lesson. Please comment below, if you would like to come along and have some fun xx

09/01/2026

PUPPY TRAINING COURSE STARTING MONDAY 12th JAN 5-6
A 6 week term for £75. The course will cover, all the basics, focus on handler, how to read body language and understand your puppies needs. All reward based, at our venue in Godshill. Please comment below or message the page to confirm your space. X

22/12/2025

This years Annual Awards were as hard as ever to pick, so many of you have made huge progress, so it’s always a difficult decision.

Best Beginner is Ria and Luna, they have worked so hard on focus and listening and it is all coming together so well. Their beginner Group have bonded so well and become friends. Huge congratulations to Ria and Luna 🥳🎉

Best Improver is Dawn, Lucy and River. Anyone that has a Beagle will understand the extra challenges you face in disengaging the nose, to allow you to get round a course. But this team has accomplished that and more this year. Dawn has also excelled in TD Rally, with River, I really do believe it has all clicked into place, for excellence progress to be achieved. Well done 🎉🥳

Best Junior Handler is Elsie and Milly. They started in Puppy class with me earlier this year and have continued their Training with Abbie Fishburn and we both agreed that Elsie has the makings of a great handler. She listens and applies everything with patience and kindness. What a great start, long May it continue 🥳🎉

Best Puppy goes to Alice and Brie. They started Puppy training with Abbie earlier this year and have completed all 3 Levels of Puppy class. They are continuing on to Foundation Agility. Abbie tells me how amazing they both are, so huge congratulations for your success. 🎉🥳

Best Team goes to Mark and Arthur. Fora tiny little dog, he is incredible at agility. They make an amazing team. Hopefully we will see them at the next t levels show, to show off their skills. 🎉🥳

Best Veteran goes to Laura and Bessie. Bessie is now 11 and continuing to do amazingly well at agility. Laura and Bessie have had to learn distance handling, as Laura’s knee are no longer cooperating. They have been training with me for almost 10 yrs, which I love 🥰 well done to both of you.

Finally we have a Special Award, that goes to Anne and Tilly. Tilly has just retired from Agility training at the grand age of 13. Tilly started agility almost 11 yrs ago, which is an incredible achievement. We miss you all very much, it’s definitely an end of an era. Only Kathy remains of that original Thursday afternoon group, with Flicker and sometimes young Chase. We wish Tilly health and well being for as long as possible 🥰🥰🥰

01/12/2025

This is spot on advice and will hopefully give you some insight into how symbiotic dogs are with us.

.How Human Health Can Affect Dog Behaviour

Dogs are incredible observers. They pay attention to our tone, posture, scent, movement, breathing, and daily rhythms. When a human in the home is experiencing physical or mental health challenges, dogs can pick up on these changes.

Here’s how human health can influence canine behaviour:

1. Changes in human scent

Illness, hormonal changes, stress, or medication can alter a person’s natural scent. Dogs rely on scent as one of their primary ways of interpreting the world, so these changes can create uncertainty or concern.

2. Shifts in human routine

Health challenges often disrupt daily structure, walks may become shorter, feeding times shift, play decreases. Dogs thrive on consistency, so sudden changes can lead to anxiety, frustration, or restlessness.

3. Changes in human mood and body language

Pain, fatigue, depression, and stress all affect how we move, speak, and interact. Even subtle shifts are meaningful to dogs, who may respond with behaviours ( but not limited to)

increased clinginess

guarding behaviours

reduced confidence

agitation or pacing

withdrawal

4. Reduced engagement or communication

When a person isn’t feeling well, their ability to offer clear guidance, cues, or affection may change. Dogs can become confused or begin to test boundaries simply because they are unsure.

5. Empathic or mirroring responses

Some dogs, especially highly attuned or bonded individuals, may actually mirror the emotional state of their human.

If the person is stressed, the dog becomes stressed. If the person is sedentary, the dog’s energy and behaviour may shift too.

Our health and wellbeing matters!!

Now can you imagine a dog processing the emotional and or physical information from thier humans and then trying to " train" this out of the dog!

Training a dog using kind methods could still potentially add more stressors in some situations. My goal is always to seek ways to decrease demands and pressures not add more expectations.

Now think about someone using harsher methods to stop the behaviour, I find it very sad to think about how those dogs might feel.

Why Professionals Investigate the Whole Picture

A dog doesn’t exist in isolation. Their behaviour is shaped by:

the home environment

the relationships around them

daily routines

the emotional climate

and yes, even human health

A skilled and ethical dog professional investigates all aspects of a dog’s life because behaviour is rarely the result of one simple cause.

By understanding and identifying stressors the dog is responding to. Adapting support plans to the family’s capacity, and supporting both dog and humans more compassionately.

We can better avoid mislabeling behaviours as “problems” when they’re actually symptoms, and can encourage better lines of communication and understanding and work towards long term change..

A good professional investigates, we dont simply turn up, train and leave 🔎

02/11/2025

💭 What If It’s Not a Problem… But a Purpose?

When we talk about “problem behaviours” in dogs, we often start from the idea that something is wrong.
That the dog is sick, unbalanced, too much, or needs fixing.

So we try to suppress.
To quiet.
To stop.
To control.
To prevent them from rehearsing the very behaviours that make them who they are.

But let’s take a step back for a moment.
Dogs were not created to be pets. They were designed to be partners.
Every breed, every type, was intentionally crafted by humans for a purpose — a job that served us.

The herder that gathered the flock.
The terrier that cleared the home of vermin.
The gundog that retrieved our game.
The guardian that protected our homes.

Their instincts, their energy, their passion — all of it was by design.
It wasn’t a flaw to be fixed. It was a purpose to be fulfilled.

But as society evolved, those jobs disappeared — or were replaced.
The flocks that once needed gathering are now moved by quad bike.
Homes that needed guarding are now protected by alarms and cameras.
Vermin that once required a tenacious terrier are now kept in check with chemicals and pest control companies.

The dogs, though… haven’t changed.
They still carry their purpose — in every cell, in every line of their DNA.

Now, imagine this.
Think about the thing that gives you purpose.
The thing that makes you feel alive.

Maybe it’s helping others.
Maybe it’s teaching, creating, caring, running, building, painting, singing.
That thing that fills your heart and gives your life meaning.

Now imagine being told you can never do it again.
You can’t sing.
You can’t paint.
You can’t help.
You can’t move.
You can’t express who you are.

How would that feel?
Frustrating? Empty? Sad?
Would it affect your mental health? Your self-esteem? Your sense of worth?

That’s what it’s like for a dog who’s been bred for a purpose — but has nowhere to put it.
It’s not a behavioural “problem.”
It’s a purpose left unfulfilled.

Our job isn’t to suppress that drive.
It’s to honour it.
To find healthy, meaningful ways to let it shine.

That’s why I talk about the Five E’s — the daily ingredients for a fulfilled dog:
💚 Enrichment – mental challenges that engage their instincts.
💚 Exercise – movement that satisfies their drive and energy.
💚 Entertainment – fun and play that builds connection.
💚 Emotional Stability – safety, predictability, and trust.
💚 Education – learning that gives structure and purpose.

When we invest in these, we’re not “fixing” dogs — we’re allowing them to become who they were meant to be.
We’re not managing a problem.
We’re meeting a purpose.

So maybe the next time you see your dog display that unstoppable drive, that intensity, that passion — instead of asking “How do I stop it?”, try asking…
“How can I fulfil it?”

Because when we meet dogs where they are — not where we wish they’d be — something magical happens:
Calm.
Confidence.
Connection.
And a life that feels right.

Maybe it’s time we stop seeing behaviour as a symptom to cure…
and start seeing it as a story waiting to be understood. 🐾

💬 Now I’d love to hear from you:
Does your dog have a purpose that’s being fulfilled?
How do you help them live it every day?
Share your ideas below — you might just inspire someone else to see their dog through a whole new lens. 💚

05/10/2025

FULL, new group starting soon xx

NEW PUPPY GROUP Starting Saturday 18th OCTOBER 10:45-11:45 for 6 weeks at a cost of £75. We will cover everything you need to know to raise your puppy, with reward based training. Please comment below if you would like a space 🥰. Feel free to ask any questions in the meantime x

22/09/2025

What a fabulous day we had at the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary Dog Show. Yesterday. It’s an annual event that we put on to raise money for the lovely Donkeys. It was well attended and all the dogs and the owners behaved impeccably. 🤣

I want to say a big thank you to all my helpers, Lucy, Sue, Kerry, Sarah W, Sarah T and Trish. Not forgetting Kim and Elaine who are Donkey Sanctuary team as well. I could not run this without you. I also want to Thank our lovely Judge Shirley Stable and a huge thanks to Kathy Williams at Tigsisle Rosettes for donating all the rosettes for the show.

24/08/2025

CLICK AND TRAIN WORKSHOP was the last of my August Workshops this year. I must say, I love teaching different stuff. My heart is very much with Agility, but so much of what we’ve worked on, applies to most dog sports. Thank you for coming to join in and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. Well done to Lorraine and Peter, Julie and Molly, Claire and Izzy, Louise and Dougie, Trish and Seco. Not forgetting little Ripple for also learning about clicker training 🥰🥰

22/08/2025

MOVEMENT PUZZLE WITH TWO BOWL GAME was fabulous. Dogs are so clever, they all got it. Well done to Lucy and Ondula, Sarah and Acorn, Trish and Seco, Nicola and Peggy, Charlotte and Ruby and of course my Dogs Ripple and Thornton. None of the dogs had ever played this game before, but I’m sure they will continue at home xx