Eva Behrmann I Obstacle racing

K9 biathlon Champion Eva Behrmann shares some tips on obstacle racing with dogs, as well as her experiences with this activity. Our host, Blanka, not only interviewed Eva but also joined her first obstacle race experience with her best training buddy, Koda!

Blanka

Today I'm here in Denmark at the K9biathlon event, which is a dog obstacle race. And here we have Eva Behrmann. Fresh FMBB World Champion in canicross, Danish champion and also K9biathlon champion. Welcome Eva!

 

Eva

Thank you.

 

Blanka

Today she will give us some expert tips on how to do obstacle racing and what to do and what to know about this sport So the first question is what equipment do you need for this race?

 

Eva

I think it depends because if you have a really hard pulling dog, I will probably use the Freemotion harness from Non-stop, but Trigger is more like a gentle dog, so I prefer to have like something, you know, close to her and with a handle so I actually can get really close to her and help her over the obstacles. So Line harness grip WD. And we actually had the same one as you have right there last year. So that worked perfectly as well. But I don't know, I think this is more our style.

 

Blanka

This has been my first obstacle race today. I found this is very useful to have the handle to help the dog through obstacles.

 

Eva

Yeah, exactly.

 

Blanka

Koda was not at all, a pro yet. He didn’t exactly know what to do. So, it has been very helpful.

 

Eva

So you can always, like, help and hold and guide the dog in the right direction.

 

Blanka

And I also noticed that there is a lot of mud. So maybe it’s smart with some good shoes with good grip.

 

Eva

Yeah. I don't know about you, but for muddy places like this one. I like it the really grippy shoes.

 

Blanka

Yeah, absolutely. For me it was new, but maybe I would have come with also a bit more grippy shoes.

 

Eva

Yes. Exactly, exactly.

 

Blanka

So we just came through a water obstacle, and Koda actually managed very well despite not liking water so much. But what if a dog is scared of water and they don't want to do the obstacle?

 

Eva

And then you can carry the dog and a lot of people actually do that, so they just, you know, teach the dog that you can carry it up and then you can walk over the water, or you can also just skip the obstacles and get it like time penalty.

 

Blanka

You also here sheep by and this was the obstacle I was the most scared of. So like oh my goodness Good that I trust my equipment I don’t want him loose here. This was an obstacle that for the first time it was a bit challenging. How can you prepare for an obstacle race because that’s not something you have in your backyard, maybe.

 

Eva

No, of course not. But I think, you know, in obstacle race, there is like a pattern. There is like, obstacles going up. Obstacles going down and obstacles going between. You know what I mean? So I think the best way to prepare is like up, down, between. And for this one, of course, always hold the dog close and guide them with your hand.

 

Blanka

Do you use a specific command for the dog?

 

Eva

Yeah. “Up, down, between.” So this will be “up”, “down” and “go”.

 

Blanka

Okay. Let’s see. He will now use this to jump up to the sheep, I think Uuu no. Koda!

 

Eva

“See you later. I want to sheep”.

 

Blanka

Let's see if you will want to continue with us.

There are waves and people start in pairs, but there are still, like, a lot of dogs out on the track. Is it okay to start with a dog that is maybe reactive or shy of dogs or something?

 

Eva

I think that's a hard question. And because, of course, I think it again, it depends, but I think Trigger is actually a shy dog if I can say and a nervous dog. But she is also a dog when I, you know, tell her we have this task to do. She totally forgets everything

about being a nervous and a little bit weird dog. So sometimes I think when the dog is just working, of course it depends, but then it will be okay. But of course, you need to know the dog, probably. Because there is a lot of challenges out here, like people, dogs, dog owners and, and the environment for sure.

I actually think that K9biathlon is a good place to start, just, because there's so many great people here and so many people who actually want to help you. So if you are nervous, reach out. To you known, and fellow friend or just a the closest dog trainer you can find in the dog trainer, dog handler, because everyone is so kind, they really want to help.

 

Blanka

So I saw a lot of these yellow ribbons, leashes and belts to show that the dog needs some distance. And we passed quite many duos out on the track. I don't feel like I saw any any accidents or anything. Yeah. Any interaction with the dogs. It is a very good environment maybe to start with, with a bit shy dogs, because it seems like that people are maybe not so competitive. They are more about just having fun with the dog.

 

Eva

Exactly. And I think also because, you know, obstacle races is unlike, canicross

a place where, like the small dog also can have like, you know, a good chance to do really well. so it's more like a, a really great community, but with so many different dogs. and I think that's great because everyone actually have like, more like the same, like, how you call it field to play on if you know what I mean?

 

Blanka

I absolutely agree. It's so cool to see all the different breeds that can try this sport and do this obstacles together and it's just almost like more fun than going to a canicross race and seeing the normal breeds course here every dog has a chance.

Are there any dogs you don't recommend to start, or try obstacle racing?

 

Eva

You said it before, like reactive dogs. So if your dog, if the dog is not, you know, If the dog don’t like other dogs and, will bite if other dogs go next to them then, of course, no, it's not the right place for you to be. Okay, but then maybe you could just come and be, you know, an audience in the beginning and check out how it's actually work. Because, of course, every dog can be trained for this. It's not it's not a hard task, if you know what I mean. You don't have to be an experienced dog trainer to do this. So maybe just check it out and get some advice. Yeah, talk with the people So everybody is welcome. But maybe for the first time come as a spectator and check out the field or take it walking. Tomorrow we have like this walk distance, where people don't have to run so they can just do it in their own pace and just, you know, go slow. I think that's a really good way for nervous dogs. Check that out.

 

Blanka

Very cool! So I did, yeah, obstacle racing for first time. I came sixth in my category and I was like, okay, where could I have done better? Where could I have like got a few extra seconds? If someone wants to get better at obstacle racing, what would you recommend for them to do?

 

Eva

What do you think, actually? When you take a look at, feeling the race today.

 

Blanka

I absolutely like because, the first race I did, I had to do two rounds. And the first round, Koda had no idea about obstacles. I didn't prepare him for it. I didn't know what to expect. And the second round, I could already see that he understood it better. Like, okay, here, I have to jump. Here we will go through. Sometimes when the water came he was like it was like, oh no, not going there that I don't like. so you know, maybe then prepare for the obstacles.

 

Eva

Yeah. Exactly. The obstacles. So you know communicate with the dog like “up, down” So you are able to like, say to the dog what we are going to do in like a second. I think that's the best way to do it. And of course, you know, get running.

 

Blanka

Yes. Yeah, I'm a canicrosser myself. so to be completely honest, I did not understand like, okay, obstacle racing is like, what is the big deal about it. Why is it so popular? But it is quite like, addicting, it’s different that it's fun. It's it's different. Definitely. I could probably gain some of the running parts, but still. Yeah, it's just, fun. But it's not only about the running.

 

Eva

No, no.

 

Blanka

And I was happy, even though maybe the result was… we had a great result. So it's not really about that, but, it was not only about that. It was about like, okay, with Koda that we managed this. He managed the water obstacle. I was so proud of that because I thought he will not do it.

 

Eva

Yeah. I think the best way to get better is to prepare your dog for so many environments as you can, because the obstacle can be, like, so different. as you say, there's water that can be heights, that can be like lower parts where you go under stuff. So if your dog is like mentally strong, they will be good at it. and then of course, as you say, to like,teach the dogs like understand what we are going to do if we are going to go on the line or we are going over. So just challenge the dog in so many different way as you can. And then of course, be able to run as fast as your dog can. And also because in canicross we have this kind of way where we like have a flow, you know what I mean? So we keep the same pace and again, again, again. And here you’re like run, run, run... stop. What the... And then have to like, keep up again. So it can be like a little bit harder. I think this is harder in some way. Because more going, stopping, going, stoping. So some intervals maybe to be good.

 

Blanka

Yeah that is smart. Are the obstacle is usually the same or it's just a lot of different from event to event and you never know what to face or what you will face.

 

Eva

I think this will be like like in two years from now. This will be insane. Because I say, like every year, you know, the obstacles just get wilder, you know what I mean? So I think this is like the story in this sport, and like two years from now, it will be like, when you go to the amusement park. Amusement park like where you just have so many crazy obstacles and colors and yeah, I think it's going to be like.

 

Blanka

For me, it was already like, whoa! Big thing. Yeah. But it it was very cool. Does one always get this dirty? Is that like a common thing in an obstacle racing, crawling through the mud, and water, and...

 

Eva

Yeah, it is. I think that the the people who do this events, they have like an evil thoughts. You know, how dirty can we make people something like that. So yeah, every time like, yeah. Be prepared for it.

We can talk about the belt because I think… yes, you have the zipper because I think one of the really good things about this is the way I started with my dog I was wearing a training vest. Because you are you are allowed to bring balls and rewards.

 

Blanka

Okay!

 

Eva

You are not able to do that in really many competitions You're not allowed to bring any treats. But you are allowed to do that here. I think that's quite nice because again, if your dog is new you just want to, you know, have a really good experience with a puppy. And so you can bring a ball and say hey good job and give them a reward.

 

Blanka

That's pretty cool. So you can use your first event as a training event.

 

Eva

Exactly. I did that with Kenobie actually where I was in, I was wearing Non-stop’s training vest with the one with all the holes because it was like really easy to breath in. So it was perfect for running and then like this belt you use like you have this zipper out here so you can have treats and stuff like that. That's actually a good way to start out.

 

 

Blanka

Yeah, that’s very cool. But that's not something you would do in canicross or in any other dog sports. I think in agility you’re not allowed to have, obedience neither, so that is pretty cool.

Are there any like obedience not tasks, but like commands that you recommend a dog to know, like for example, going behind you on the more technical parts or.

 

Eva

hmm, maybe. I like the idea about it, but I haven't used it I don't think we have been in any situation where we needed actually. I think it’s over the “over”, “under” and “between” have been like all need.

 

Blanka

So pretty simple. I think that we got, everything that a beginner can ask for. And then maybe people also have some more questions. So then in the future, if we see you, we'll ask about more questions.

Do you have some advice? Just some general advice for people that want to start with obstacle racing?

 

Eva

Yeah. Sign up. Actually just sign up for race. I think that's the biggest motivation to get your ass off the couch. So sign up for the race in the near future and get out there and get training.

 

Blanka

And don't be afraid, because it's actually, it's it's not that hard.

 

Eva

Yeah, if something goes wrong, make it right. Next time. You will be okay.

 

Blanka

I was surprised how how good it went. Koda is not fond of heights, he’s not fond of water and yet we we survived, so I think it's a good we say *in Norwegian* which is like the feeling of success, like you managed something.

 

Eva

And maybe that's the most important here. Both for the runner but also for the dog because I think like, in canicross for some breeds they really like to have something in front of them.  And this is actually a really lazy Malinois. But so every time she sees the obstacles, it's like like a reward, you know? So she's like, yeah, that's some fun. So she's actually running better for K9biathlon then she does in canicross. So I think doing this obstacle races can be a really good way to also motivate your dogs to run in front of you.

 

Blanka

And it's something happening almost all the time. There are some scratches by your only running and it breaks it up. Maybe makes it a bit more fun.

 

Eva

Yeah. So it can be a great sport for dogs that are maybe not so fond of the regular pulling.

 

Blanka

Yeah, exactly. Very cool. Thank you so much for the insight, Eva.

 

Eva

Thank you.

 

Blanka

Good luck for your future endeavors.

 

Eva

Thank you!

 

Blanka

It was very nice to see you too.

 

Eva

You too.