AgiNotes is the official partner of the 2023 Finnish Agility Championships and to celebrate our collaboration, we asked this year’s Finnish indoor agility championship medalists for tips on how to prepare for agility competitions and especially if you are heading for national competitions. Read how Marianne Sumela, Tiina Hasu, Einari Pekkala, Jessica Kock, Hanna-Lena Pelimanni, and Sanni Kariniemi prepare for competitions and use their tips to spice up your competition routines.
The Finnish agility championships are held in August, so just a few months from now. Whether you're aiming to compete in the national championships this year or just looking to find inspiration on how to prepare for competitions, these tips will definitely help you get ready and find the right vibe for your runs.
Especially for beginners, competitions can be quite nerving. There’s a lot happening all at once and excitement is involved. On the other hand, the scale of a prestigious competition can bring excitement in itself, as the number of participants and spectators is quite different from a basic competition. Here are six tips for handlers to prepare for agility competitions.
1. Check out the judges' course profiles and pick out themes for your training list
Hanna-Lena, Jessica, and Einari all mentioned that, especially when there is a judge they haven’t met before, they look up the course profiles of upcoming judges online before the competition. They pick up bits from the judges' courses for their own training lists and practice these skills beforehand.
"I might go and build a particular part of the course and try out how to do it, where I should be, and just test if I can do the pattern. Of course, if there's something in the course profile that I don't know, I don't start practicing again before the competitions, but instead, I try to find a solution that we already know," Hanna-Lena described.
Jessica, on the other hand, said that "always before the championships, I look at what courses the judges have done during the year and pick up themes from there. Judges often like certain patterns and skills. It helps a lot just to have some idea of what you're going to encounter and what kind of courses you might have."
In general, this is a great tip for anyone wanting to learn new skills no matter if you are going to competitions or not. Checking the courses of judges from different championships surely will give you a lot of training topics to practice.
2. Strengthen your dog's strengths
"It's important to know your dog, know his strengths and choose your handling technique accordingly," Tiina stressed. This idea was echoed by the other medalists.
"You should find your own and your dog's strengths and use them. You can build up weaknesses, but by using your strengths you can actually win those medals," Einari reflected.
Hanna-Lena urged handlers to focus on strengthening their dog’s strengths. "It's not a good idea to start teaching your dog something new, especially if you only have a couple of weeks to go before the competition. It’s better to focus on strengthening your strengths," she continued.
Jessica reminded us that a dog's own standard level is also sufficient for competitions. "It's enough to go there and do your best performance. Remember that your standard is enough. You make a plan for what suits you. Also, I encourage you to participate in the basic competitions, where there are several courses next to each other, so you can practice the feeling you get in the large championships. There's quite a lot going on at the same time."
3. Take care of your dog and remember rest days too
When it comes to large competitions, which include long days full of pressure, the medalists all highlighted that special attention needs to be paid to the care and rest of the dog.
"I think it's important that a week or two before the big competitions the dog’s condition is checked and for example, she gets a massage. It's important to take care of your dog's body throughout the year," said Hanna-Lena. "Otherwise, we go for basic walks and rest. A few days before the competitions, I avoid heavy exercise so that the dog's muscles aren’t drained," Hanna-Lena summed up her preparations for the multi-day competitions.
Sanni, too, said that she takes good care of her dog's well-being. "I take my dog to physiotherapy regularly throughout the season. Before big competitions lasting several days, such as EOs or World Championships, I don't do any training before the competitions, but instead, try to give the dog as much rest as possible."
"Already a week and a half before the competition, I take it easy with the dog. I might include a quick contact training at the beginning of the week, mainly to get easy success and a secure feeling for my dog and myself. But I won’t do a full course, but something really easy that gives us both a good feeling. The maintenance of the dog's body usually takes place in the week before the competition and the dog also needs a recovery period from the treatment," Marianne reminded.
Einari also advised that "massages and treatment should not be done too close to the competition days. Before a big competition, the dog has a physio or massage the week before."
"Nowadays, I plan my dog's and my own physio so that there is not too hard a period before the competitions. This way I make sure we are both in good shape and can get the best result," Jessica said.
Good muscle tone and body control are also important to Tiina. "With a sport dog, regular maintenance helps the dog to have a longer lifespan. Feeding is also really important and has a role to play in keeping the dog lean but in good muscle condition."
4. Focus and believe in what you are doing
"You shouldn't get too excited, the courses in the championships are not as hard as in any other competitions. Don't get carried away even if everyone is there. Try to do your own thing and your own plan. It's easy to start looking at what others are doing and then change your plans. Rather trust your own plan and go ahead with it," Sanni advised.
Marianne reflected on the same theme and advised: “Just do your own agility and what you do in training and in regular competitions. Go to the large competitions with the same attitude you have in other competitions too."
The same advice was given by Jessica: "Don't do anything new on the competition day, just do your own thing. When you're there and you see what everyone else is doing, focus on your own thing, just do your own thing."
Einari also agreed with his fellow medalists that it is good to focus on what you are doing. "One of the most important things in a competition is that it's the same as any other competition and you don't do what you don't normally do."
Tiina also stressed that "It's not worth going out to compete against others. You can only influence what you do. You should always rely on your dog's strengths."
5. Don't be afraid to make mistakes
Both Marianne and Sanni advised not to play it too safe in competitions. "It would be good to get rid of the idea that you have to make sure your dog is doing the right thing. Failures will happen and it doesn't matter if you get disqualified. Success is not the clean run, it's the fact that you run as fast as you can," Sanni encouraged.
"Don't think too much about the fact that it's a championship. Sometimes you can see that the handler is nervous and the handler goes to a lot of trouble to make sure the dog does what he is supposed to and then the handler loses time or isn’t fast enough. It would be good to be relaxed and brave. You shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes and you definitely shouldn’t focus on just making sure you don’t do a mistake," Marianne said.
"Think that everything is winnable, there is nothing to lose," Tiina suggested and told how she once went to a competition with the idea that she can't fail now but that didn’t help her. "If you go in there with the mindset that you need to win, then often that doesn’t help," Tiina laughed.
6. Dare to set goals
For many dogs, qualifying for the championships is in itself a goal and a dream come true. Jessica wanted to remind us to "enjoy the achievement of being there. You've worked really hard to get to the championships."
Sanni also urged people to think about the goal of going to the championships, even if it is their first large competition. "Even if it's your first time at the national championships, you can go with a goal and it doesn't have to be a big goal. For example, you want to run in the finals or you want to make a good performance. It's good to think about what you want out of the competition."
What could be your dog's goal for this year's national championships? Are you aiming for a good performance or even to qualify in the finals and hit the podium? Whatever your goal, remember to trust your dog's strengths and focus on what you're doing - and go all out rather than just making sure you don’t do any mistakes.
Here's a round-up of all the tips from the Finnish indoor agility championship medalists. Good luck to everyone heading to the national championships this year!
Check out the judges' course profiles and pick out themes for your training list
Strengthen your dog's strengths
Take care of your dog and remember rest days too
Focus and believe in what you are doing
Don't be afraid to make mistakes
Dare to set goals
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