All phots by: Sandra Schneider - www.foto-schneider.com

Lisa Frick and Sonja Frick - Austria

Everyone that's been into agility for a while probably knows who Lisa Frick is. Lisa and her dog Hoss won FCI Agility World Championships in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014. Today Hoss is enjoying his olden days and Lisa competes with Cody, Jack, and soon with Taco. Lisa and Jack placed third at European Open in the Netherlands in 2019 and second at European Open in Austria 2018. Sonja competes with her Border Collie Tex and Sheltie Hash in class 3, with her retired Sheltie Yoshi she won 2017 the IMCA competition. Sonja and Tex qualified 2018 for the European Open. 

When did you get in contact with your first Out-n-out dog jacket? 

A friend of ours had a jacket for sale, as she bought it in a too-small size for her dog. We tried the jacket on the small Sheltie Hash. We have to say, that he never like any of the jackets we put on him. When we put the Out-n-out jacket on him, he was absolutely fine, not stressed, and definitely not bothered at all So this was the moment when we knew for sure, that the jackets are GREAT.

When and why do you use jackets on your dogs? 

We love to wear jackets on colder days for walking the dogs and before, while waiting, and after the training. Especially the oldest dog Hoss and Yoshi with his spondylosis in his back have to wear it almost every time when it gets colder (under 10 degrees). We can see that they are enjoying it a lot and are moving perfectly during and after wearing it.

What is the most important skill for an agility dog and why?  

We are not sure if it’s a real skill... but first of all the dog needs to have fun :). Without fun, they don´t learn so easily as they can. Another important point is the relationship between dog and handler, you have to love each other to bring out the best of you and your dog.
We are taking a lot of care, that our dogs have a great understanding of what they do, so they have a great obstacle focus and know-how to safely manage them.

 What is the most important skill for an agility handler/trainer and why?  

Having a good eye! You have to see what is going on in a course, see lines and see how the dog is executing and moving in the course. So if you can observe your dog and the course perfectly, all challenges should be possible :).

Also, we believe that you should be open-minded to get new ideas and inspiration from others and therefore you can improve your skills, handling and dogs skills.

When do you think it's time to end the dog's agility career?   

This is a hard question. Hoss ended his career very soon with about 8,5 years. I think my main point at this time was an incident with a same-aged dog right before I ran with Cody, so the dog injured right in front of my eyes, was for a week paralyzed. After talking to the owner, she mentioned the dog fell down on the back from the dog walk in a competition 1 or 2 weeks before. So there was already something wrong, but the dog didn´t show anything. Hitting the A-Frame at this certain competition caused a bad injury. The dog died a week later, not cause of the injury but because of asepsis.

So there I decided that Hoss definitely reached enough in Agility, and should stay as long as possible healthy by my side. Cody is a big and heavy guy, not having the best structure for Agility. He was running the last year a few competitions successfully in the senior class (lower jump height) and ended his career around 9,5 years. He is still training sometimes easy stuff. Yoshi had to stop with Agility around 6,5 years when we found out he has spondylosis and arthrosis in his front paws.

As long as the dog is fit and in great shape we will compete, maybe not at the same high level as before.

Lisa, Hoss is a Legend in agility, describe Hoss in three words?   

I have 1000+ words for Hoss! But if I am only allowed to describe him in three words (sorry Hoss): Grumpy, boring, genius!

What do you think is important for the old agility dog?   

We are walking each day for at least one hour, Hoss with his almost 14 years is still joining. I think regular walks like this, regular check-ups at the vet, and physiotherapy are mandatory for an older dog. And he still loves to watch Agility, of course, he is most of the time a part of the Agilitytraining and the happiest dog in the world, when he can run through a tunnel.

Does any of your dogs have a hidden talent?    

If they have one, then they are still hiding it :-P

All phots by: Sandra Schneider - www.foto-schneider.com