Agility is a fast-paced dog sport that relies on a solid partnership and excellent communication. But when you can’t use verbal cues to help guide your dog quickly around a complex course, your bond, body language, and nonverbal cues are all the more important.
This is the case for deaf All-American Dog “Aspen” and her owner-handler Kassie Schmid, who are competing at the upcoming 2024 AKC Agility League Championship. However, despite these extra challenges, Schmid is keen to show that deaf dogs are just as capable of competing at a high level.
A Lifelong Love and Respect for Animals
Schmid, who grew up in Wisconsin, has always loved dogs. She recalls her family fostering animals and having everything from goats to hermit crabs to snakes and porcupines in her childhood home. “I grew up with a healthy respect for nature,” she says. “I think my mom did a good job of stressing the importance of meeting your pets where they’re at, and being very respectful and aware of what they’re communicating in the moment.” This awareness is something she thinks helped her build her relationship with Aspen.
Selecting a Special Needs Rescue Dog
Aspen came into Schmid’s life as a 7- or 8-month-old puppy around four and a half years ago. She was looking to rescue a dog and put in an application to Speak! Rescue and Sanctuary, who specialize in saving Australian Shepherds and Border Collies with visual and hearing impairments. “I was impressed with their mission and dedication to educating and looking at dogs for their possibilities rather than their disabilities,” Schmid says. “These dogs can live full and enriched lives with their impairments.
In her application, Schmid noted that, assuming that no visual impairments could cause safety risks for agility, she would like to try the sport with the dog she brought home. Aspen and her brother came to Speak! as an accidental Australian Shepherd litter from a farm. Schmid says she has all the typical working and herding drives, making her an ideal agility prospect.
Unavoidable Delays in Aspen’s Agility Journey
The pair’s agility journey got off to a slow start. Although Aspen has been on heartworm preventatives since her rescue, she tested positive for the parasite and required nine months of activity restriction while undergoing treatment. Just as they started training again, clubs closed during the COVID-19 lockdowns. While this might have slowed their progress, Schmid isn’t feeling any pressure. “We might not be as far on in terms of titles as some people,” she says. “But, at the end of the day, we do agility first and foremost because it’s fun, and it allows us to keep building our connection.”
Adapting Training to Accommodate Aspen’s Deafness
Schmid initially took Aspen to introductory agility sessions at her local dog club. However, once it was clear how much the pair enjoyed the sport, she started looking for an agility specialist. “My coach right now is Rachel Evers, and she’s gotten AKC National titles and big events under her belt,” she says.
Under Evers’ tutelage, Schmid is focusing on how to best support Aspen during agility trials. “Where other people have verbal cues to support the visual elements, Aspen relies on me to give her the right visual information at the right time,” she says. “If I don’t know or anticipate when she’s going to check in for every obstacle on the course and I miss it, she’ll do the thing that’s most natural and right in front of her.”
Schmid had to learn how her body, positioning, and motion provide information to Aspen and vice versa. Initially, even the fact that she couldn’t call her dog when she was off-leash on the course was a challenge. “I had one example where we were at a trial, and my husband was recording it at the end. Aspen was so happy to see him and just took off to go visit him,” she says.
Their training is constantly evolving as Aspen gets faster and more confident, but for Schmid, it’s always about setting her dog up for success. She works closely with her coach to understand what Aspen is reading most effectively as visual cues and takes notes and videos to see her trends on the course and evaluate where their communication goes wrong.
Schmidt adds that it helps that Aspen is super smart and eager to learn. “I had a hard time getting a start line stay at the beginning of the course with her because I can’t say ‘go’ or ‘release,'” she says. “I do a lot of things with my hands on the course, so how does she know what’s a release versus not?”
After some trial and error, they landed on a simple behavior sequence where Schmid puts Aspen into a stay at the start of the course and then runs to her first spot without looking at her. “I turn back, and I make eye contact. Then anything I do after that point is a release,” she says. “Literally within three days of adopting this approach, she had a solid start stay line, which was incredible.”
Continuing to Showcase the Potential of Deaf Dogs
The AKC Agility League Championship is Aspen’s first major competition, and Schmid’s priority is to make it a fun and positive experience. “Obviously, I would love to go to big national competitions and be successful. But those are more my goals, not Aspen’s,” she says. “Having her feel confident on the course and having those moments where we are able to stay connected, have that communication, and everything lines up that we’ve been working on, those are the things that really make it exciting and make me proud of what we achieve together.”
Schmid hopes people will want to talk about Aspen and meet her at these competitions. “Aspen’s not the first, nor will she be the last, deaf dog running agility in these types of settings, but a lot of people just aren’t aware that they can go out there and do all of these things,” she says. “I want to be an advocate for deaf dogs in sports and show everything they’re capable of. It’s really awesome to be able to share and educate in this way.”
Expect to see more of Aspen on the agility circuit in the years to come, and look out for Schmid running another dog in the future. She would love to welcome another dog into the family in the next year or two and is open to it being another deaf dog.