top-ranked agility Kerries for the past four years and earning the honor of top Kerry Blue Terrier at both the 2013 AKC Agil- ity Invitational in Orlando and the 2013 Montgomery All Terrier Agility Cluster in Kimberton, PA last year, Topper fin- ished his conformation championship, owner-handled, with specialty majors, and is a very popular reading dog at the local elementary schools. Campbell has clicker- trained Topper to do a wide variety of fun “tricks,” which she uses not only to keep him focused and “up” while waiting to compete, but also puts them to good use in the many photographs and videos she posts on Facebook and elsewhere, mak- ing Topper one of the breed’s best-known ambassadors. With the addition of his recently earned novice Barn Hunt title, 7 year old Topper, already a Silver-level Versatility Award recipient for previously earning titles in three categories (confor- mation, agility, and rally), is now eligible to join just a small handful of Kerries so far that have earned the Gold-level VA (titles in four categories) from the USKBTC. Th ere are a few things I have learned from training Kerries over the years.
First, Kerry Blue Terriers do much better when their minds and bodies are engaged, and they are included as part of the fami- ly. Like any relationship, you will only get out owning a Kerry what you put into it. Second, they do not respond well to “drill- ing” (repeating the same exercise over and over again). Short, fun, and frequent training sessions, with no more than two or three repetitions of any given exercise are best. Second, the trend towards using increasingly positive training methods (as opposed to the traditional military- style training, or “jerk and praise”) has really benefitted Kerry Blue Terriers along with many other breeds. In fact, I believe this is the main reason we are seeing an increasing variety of dog breeds success- fully competing in obedience and other sports! Please note, however, that by posi- tive training, I do not mean pure positive or correction free. Corrections, though milder and less frequent, are still used when necessary, but the emphasis is on reinforcing desired behaviors with praise, food, and play rather than correcting or punishing undesirable behaviors. For example, a moment’s inattention may be
corrected simply with a verbal reminder to “watch me,” and only followed with a mild collar pop (on a buckle collar) if the dog doesn’t respond to the verbal correction. Positive training does not mean wishy-washy; you still need to have clear expectations, and be fair, firm, and consistent in your training. How well you do this will determine whether you end up with one hellava dog, or the Dog From Hell. BIO Lisa Frankland got her first Kerry Blue Terrier in 1990 and quickly got sucked into an ever-expanding involvement with training and showing dogs. To date, Frank- land and her now college-age daughter have trained and competed with the fam- ily dogs in conformation, obedience, agil- ity, junior showmanship, rally, tracking, coursing ability, and Barn Hunt. Remi is Frankland’s third Kerry Blue Terrier; the present menagerie also includes a Papil- lon, a German Spitz “grandog” who comes home during college breaks, and a couple of cats to maintain order. She and her husband currently live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J UNE 2014 • 273
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