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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
0714 Dog trainer
Verbal commands and body language are key for DeLucas because she cannot run around the course with Radar. This has not stopped them from becoming nationally ranked and achieving three Masters Agility Championships.
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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
0714 Dog trainer
DeLucas and Radar have competed in agility trials for 10 years. They have gone to nationals six times, and Radar was once ranked the number one Brittany spaniel in agility.
When Radar is in the agility trial ring, he always has one eye on owner Kathy DeLucas. She does not run by his side like most trainers, but from her place in the middle of the ring DeLucas can guide the 11-year-old Brittany spaniel using just words and body language. Their style may be unconventional, but it has taken the pair all the way to national agility championships.
DeLucas, a Vestavia Hills resident, trained her first dog when she was about 13. She had saved up $75 and a Brittany spaniel was the only dog she could afford. With her new pet, DeLucas attended obedience classes at the Birmingham Obedience Training Club. It was the beginning of many years of obedience training.
In 2000, DeLucas’ children were leaving the nest and she was looking for a new hobby. Agility was a new sport and almost unheard of in Birmingham, but she bought a book and started practicing with the German shepherds she owned at the time.
A few years later, she bought Radar. As she grew more passionate about the sport, DeLucas knew she had to create her own training style. Physical disabilities kept her from the traditional method of running next to Radar through the course, but she refused to let that keep her from competing.
“I had some physical limitations, so I knew that I would need him to make up for me. So I trained him to do distance work,” DeLucas said.
She gradually trained Radar to work on his own while she stayed mostly in place. DeLucas also taught him the names of each obstacle and words to maintain or change direction. It was difficult work, but she kept it fun to encourage the dog’s enthusiasm.
“Playing is a very important part of agility training,” DeLucas said. “Right from the beginning, he loved to play and he just wanted to know, ‘How do you play the game?’”
As it turned out, Radar was a natural. At seven months, he earned his Companion Dog obedience title from the American Kennel Club. By the time he was a year old, Radar was competing in agility trials and had made it to the Excellent level of competition by age two.
“This is a genius right here,” DeLucas said. “He’s just been an incredible dog.”
Since then, Radar has gone to the national championship six times and has twice gone to invitationals, a breed-specific agility trial, and placed first and third. He has earned a variety of agility titles including three Masters Agility Championships (MACH), which require a certain number of perfect runs and repeatedly coming in below the standard course time. Accomplishing a MACH is always a huge celebration at an agility trial.
“You get to take the last bar that they jumped and you run around the ring,” DeLucas said. “Everybody cheers and claps, and you get this huge ribbon and they sign your bar.”
The titles, however, are not what make Radar a “once in a lifetime” dog. Their strong nonverbal connection and the personal benefits DeLucas has seen count for more than any number of ribbons and trophies.
“He’s given me a lot of confidence and a lot of self-esteem and a group of incredible friends,” DeLucas said.
Since she began training Radar, DeLucas has seen a lot of growth in agility’s popularity. She was one of the people who first brought agility training to the Birmingham Obedience Training Club, and now four trials are held in Birmingham every year.
“It’s grown tremendously since I started. When I started you could just mail in an entry and get into every trial. Now you basically have to overnight it or you won’t get in. It’s really, really grown,” DeLucas said.
DeLucas has also had the opportunity to train hundreds of dogs and their owners through Excel @ Agility, which she runs at her home in Vestavia Hills. A border collie named Spirit and a rat terrier named Oscar have also joined her family and are making their own agility careers.
DeLucas said she has no intention to quit training or competing any time soon, and Radar seems to feel the same way. He always “has a big smile on his face” in the ring, and both dog and trainer are having a fantastic time.
“Absolutely it’s an addictive sport. Once you get started in it, you can’t stop,” DeLucas said.
