Ultimate Handling

Always at the leading edge of technology, Greg Derrett was one of the first to produce a series of training DVDs detailing a coherent, consistent system of handling and training for the agility partnership. His four videos have become essential viewing for the serious agility competitor. Clarity, consistency, and constant evolution have been his watchwords and the level of competition the world over has increased as a result of the steady application of these.

Now, 10 years on from Agility Foundation Training, Greg & Laura Derrett have teamed up together to bring you ULTIMATE HANDLING – a pioneering project that makes the most of leading edge technology to bring you a comprehensive internet agility training programme designed to walk dog and handler through the ULTIMATE HANDLING of the modern agility dog.

ULTIMATE AGILITY is going to offer a six week on-line course with 5 lessons a week, videos and FAQs which aim to give you clear, consistent steps to help you improve your own training and handling from the ground up. Amongst other things, the course will discuss:

• Acceleration and deceleration training.
• Positional cues: what they are, how to teach them and how to use them in training and competition
• Detailed explanation of the key handling manoeuvres. Front cross, rear cross, serpentine, threadle and 270.
• Daily exercises to practice to improve handling, timing and dog training skills for these key handling manoeuvres.
• Foot work training:
• Drills to incorporate the skills you have learnt
• Troubleshooting: how to spot problems before they arise – and what to do about them.
• The daily updates will contain text of the day’s lesson plan as well as daily video footage of each new concept. The online resources will contain a FAQ, updated as we answer your question, top tips from Greg and Laura on training, handling and competition, fact sheets and links to other online resources.

For those who sign up, the online access will be open for up to 6 months so you can look back and check on your own progress.

Biogs for Greg and Laura

Internationally acclaimed agility trainer, competitor and tutor, Greg Derrett has been involved in dog training since a young age. At the age of 12 Greg started his career in obedience and quickly moved on to agility. By 1991, he was Junior Handler of the Year and he has never looked back. Since then, he has won ‘Handler of the Year’ on numerous occasions, has won Olympia finals, and Crufts, won 12 Championship certificates with 4 different dogs and represented Britain in the European Opens and FCI World Cups winning a bronze and silver medal.

As a trainer, Greg produced a series of 4 training videos/DVDs which outline his training and handling system in a way that makes sense to everyone from beginners to championship standard competition handlers. As his techniques have evolved, so has his teaching and his students have always had the benefit of his latest ideas and concepts. Greg has taught people who have won at all levels from the beginners level classes to national champions in several countries to FCI, IFCS & WAO world Champions

As competitors, Greg & Laura saw the need for an additional set of competitions and began UK Agility and UK Agility International: a competition circuit that offers training and competitive opportunities to novices and advanced competitors alike.

Laura Derrett began training dogs at the age of 9 and immediately after graduating university, began teaching pet obedience for several years before beginning her agility career in 1998 when she opened her own agility training centre in California. She qualified all three of her dogs at Masters level in the US before moving to the UK where she has progressed to the highest levels in both KC and UKA competition. She has competed at the Olympia finals and at Crufts, won the UKA Grand Prix Final in 2008, represented the UK at the European Opens in the same year, and competed on the IFCS British team in 2009.

Like Greg, Laura continues to teach all levels of competitive agility throughout the world and has continued to help other agility training schools to reconstruct their lessons and classes to incorporate the Greg Derrett system of handling into their program, from their Foundation classes to top competitive Level classes.

Greg and Laura were the Team Manager/Coach(es) for Great Britain’s team at the IFCS World Agility Championships in 2006 & 2008. Both teams brought back an impressive array of medals and have been the most successful GB teams to ever compete abroad.

Both Greg and Laura will be involved in ULTIMATE HANDLING and will be on hand to offer advice, answer questions and demonstrate techniques.