My name Jennifer Tuck and I have created this website to educate people in the sport of Dog Agility. I am located in Skowhegan, Maine. I quickly learned that the sport is not known to very many people in this area. With lack of trainers in the area, I began training my own Miniature Australian Shepard, 'Ripley' at home. With the help of Yahoo! Newsgroup's Agility-Equipment and Jim Hutchin's Book 'Do-it-yourself Agility Equipment', I built the necessary obstacles needed to set up a course in my yard. I took obedience and agility classes from Webapo Canine Center in Sandy Hook, Connecticut 9 years ago. In 2003, I also took obedience lessons at Positive Paws Training and Behavior Center, Bristol, CT. More recently, I attended an Agility seminar instructed by John MacKinley, and 'Cues and Behavior chains explained' seminar by Kathy Sdao. I have also studied Jane Simmons-Moake 'Excelling at Agility' series, 'Agility Fun the Hobday way' series by Ruth Hobday, Stride Regulators by Barb Davis, Julie Daniels 'Agility Fix It', Greg Derrett's 'Agility Foundation Training' , 'Flatwork' by Barb Levenson, 'Clicker Basics' by Carolyn Barney, 'In Focus Foundation Work' by Deborah Jones PhD. and Judy Keller, and 'Walking the course' by Kathy Keats.
I am a member and currently the President of the Eastern Maine Agility Club. Our members are among the greatest people I have ever met. As a newcomer, they were Helpful, Patient, and very supportive. I am also a member of Canine Performance Events. I cant say enough about trialing under CPE. The people at their trials are always friendly and helpful. I have always had a blast! I am also a member of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers. (APDT)
My Agility classes are based on but not exclusive to Clean Run's Agility Trainer workbooks. I use only positive reinforcement methods! Clicker training is suggested but not a requirement as long as the handler uses a consistent verbal marker. My obedience classes are based more for pet manners, not competition. I want to you have a happy companion that uses obedience to support nice behavior. If you are having trouble with keeping your dog focused, I recommend this class BEFORE starting an Agility class.
I hope you enjoy my site and if you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me!