S01 - E06 - Dog agility competitions and dog idioms - Kathrine

In today's episode, I speak once again with my good friend Kathrine. We talk about "Dog agility" which is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. In addition, we cover some of the most important dog-related idioms.

Follow Kathrine and her dogs on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/indieeandjuno/

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SO1: E06  Dog agility competitions and dog idioms - Kathrine

Full intermediate level ESL podcast transcript

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/lovetolearnenglish)

Intro Music 

Rich: Hey Kathrine 

Kathrine: Hi Richard 

Rich: Welcome back. 

Kathrine: Thank you 

Rich: Thanks for coming again. So, today we're going to have a slightly different conversation. We're going to start by talking about your experience with dog training and agility. 

Kathrine: My favorite subject. 

Rich: Your favorite subjects. Yeah. Um, so first of all, what is agility in terms of the words, not the competition just yet. So, what does agility mean? 

Kathrine: I think the word if you're talking about humans. Agility is to be agile, to be able to move, to be quite athletic. And it is the same with the dogs. 

Rich: Yeah,  so dogs that can move um yeah. 

Kathrine: The sport of agility is essentially a test of the skills and the ability of the dog, the individual dog.

Rich: So, you're testing to see how the dog moves. 

Kathrine: Yeah.

Rich: More or less. 

Kathrine: I think like any sport, the most accurate runs that a dog does on a *set course combined with their speed is the winner. 

NOTE - A set course here refers to a predetermined set of obstacles for the dog to complete.

Rich: Nice. Um, so please tell me a bit about how you started with dog training and agility. How did you *get into this sport?

NOTE - “to be into something” means to be interested or involved in something.

Kathrine: So, when I started working at the dog groomers...I've got...um...I rescued Indie, my older dog around the same time. And she's, she's quite small. She probably comes up to my *calf, she's a small dog and she's really agile. And I noticed this when I first had her, I went to go and watch the Kruft show with my sister, which is a huge dog show. And they have an agility demonstration there. So, we were watching some of the small dogs. And my sister and I, we looked at each other and we just said, we just said, Indie has to try this. So, that's how I started. And she's a mixture of dogs. She isn't a specific breed, but she just has a natural ability. She's good at jumping. She learns really well. Um….so, that's how we started and why we ended up carrying on.

NOTE - Above is a picture of a calf muscle. It is at the back of the leg. Here Kathrine is using it as a reference to show how tall her dog is. 

Rich: There's specific words, right, for dogs that are mixed and dogs that are pure. 

Kathrine: Yeah. So, a mixed dog or a crossbreed has different parents. So, their parents may not look the same, or they might be a mixture of a number of different breeds. So like...

Rich: Like a mongrel…?

Kathrine: Yeah, but I don't think you really say mongrel anymore. You say like a mix breed, or a crossbreed whereas um...

Rich: Not politically correct. 

Kathrine: I wouldn’t...

Rich: The dogs get offended.

Kathrine: It seems really cruel to call them mongrels. Like Indie is a mongrel but she's...she's awesome. She's better than a lot of pedigree dogs. So, a pedigree is a dog that's been specifically bred for the way it looks or the job that it does, like a spaniel or an Akita or a Husky dog are bred specifically for a job.

Rich: Right. Okay. Got you. You started by just seeing a competition and then you wanted to jump straight in. 

Kathrine: Mhmmm 

Rich: What do you love most about it? Because it is your favourite thing, right? 

Kathrine: Yes, it is. I think the best thing is when you’re teaching a dog a skill, and they have no idea what you're expecting or what you want from them. And you put so much work and time in and you make it so fun for them...to then see them like a week or a month down the line and they know the behaviour and they love giving it to you...like they love performing. 

Rich: Yeah...

Kathrine: That's the best thing. They...it's so much fun for the dogs. They get treats. They get food, they get toys for doing the right thing, and they learn. And the bond and experience is very cool as well. I'm really close to both my dogs because we spend so much time learning together. 

Rich: What's a treat? 

Kathrine: A treat...like a little. A treat can be food or toys. So, it's a reward for the dog. So, for my older dog Indie her treats are food, bits of food. So, when she does something right, she gets the food. For Juno, my younger dog, her treat is the toy. So, when she was younger, I put a lot of work into playing with her and teaching her rules of the game, what she loves, which is usually a tug toy.  So, the toy is an extension of me, and that's her treat. Her number one reward is being able to play with me. 

Rich: Dogs are people pleasers.

Kathrine: Yeah. Oh, definitely. 

Rich: They just want to please.  

Kathrine: Indie for me,  is more of a pleaser for me. Juno is more independent. 

Rich: Yeah 

Kathrine: She's more sassy. She...

Rich: Sassy..? 

Kathrine: Yeah, she's sassy like.

Rich: What do you mean by sassy?

Kathrine: If she doesn't want to do something, she isn't going to do it. She will do things on her own time and she loves to learn. 

Rich: Mhmmm

Kathrine: But with her...sometimes I think she almost wants to skip the learning part and just know what I want from her, so she gets the reward. 

Rich: That's a great word, by the way sassy. 

Kathrine: Sassy….You can use it to describe anyone in your life or anything in your life. 

Rich:  Yeah. So, sassy is somebody or someone who doesn't want to do things...when you ask them. 

Kathrine: Does things on their own terms.

Rich:  Yeah. 

Kathrine: Yeah. 

Rich:  Nice. Great. What's the worst thing about it? 

Kathrine: I don't know if there is a bad thing about it. It's really tough. So, the agility competition season in the UK runs from around about April to October. So, I don't have a lie-in or a lazy morning any weekend...

Rich: Yeah

Kathrine: ...because a lot of the shows involve traveling. So, I have to drive one or two or three hours. So it's a lot of early mornings. That's...Maybe...that's not even a bad thing cause it is so much fun. So, it is worth it. 

Rich:  Well it's like any sport really. 

Kathrine: Yeah. It requires a lot of dedication. It's quite expensive too. 

Rich:  Yeah 

Kathrine: So, I've never sat down and worked out how much money I spend on agility.

Rich: I'm guessing you started. And then stopped. 

Kathrine: I got to a point where I thought, surely it can't be this much. And then I never looked at it again cause I wouldn't, I wouldn't not do it. It's so much fun and the dogs love it, so it's worth it. 

Rich: Nice. Tell me a bit about the dogs then. So, you have two dogs. 

Kathrine: I've got two dogs. 

Rich: Mhmmm..

Kathrine: Indie is a rescue dog. Um, she's a small, black terrier type dog. So, she's little...she has a short coat. Her fur is really short. 

Rich:  Just explain. So, when you say coat, you don't mean the dog's wearing a coat. 

Kathrine: She's not wearing clothes. Her natural coat, like the fur that covers her is…

Rich:  Yeah

Kathrine: ...short. 

Rich: Coat is also the name for the kind of 

Kathrine: A jacket 

Rich: The fur for the dog as well as, uh, as well as the jacket.

Kathrine: As well as the jacket. So, we call it a coat. It’s her fur like her natural coverings. It's short and neat. Um, and she's very...she's sensitive. She is a people pleaser, like you say. Um, she's really smart. She loves food. And then Juno is my younger dog. She's...she's so sassy. She's crazy. Or I always say she's bonkers. 

Rich:  Bonkers..

Kathrine: Yeah 

Rich: Bonkers…?

Kathrine: Bonkers might mean. You’re like a little bit wild, a little bit crazy.  Like sassy, you do your own thing. 

Rich: Mhmmm..

Kathrine: She's always up for anything. She...she loves training. She's still really young. She finds it really hard to relax. 

Rich: Yeah 

Kathrine: She always wants a job. 

Rich: So, you've got one sassy dog and one bonkers dog. 

Kathrine: Oh no. The sassy dog is the bonkers dog

Rich: Okay sorry..

Kathrine: I basically have...Indie is an angel. Juno you is not an angel. She's not a devil, but she's not an angel. 

Rich: Nice

Kathrine: She's crazy. 

Rich: So, they’ve both got great names, I think. 

Kathrine: Yes. 

Rich: How did you choose the names? 

Kathrine: They’re both named after movie characters. So, when I was younger, I would always watch the Indiana Jones films with my dad. And when Indie came to us from the rescue, they called her shrimp. 

Rich: Shrimp..? 

NOTE - Above is a picture of a shrimp. It can also be used to describe something small. 

Kathrine: Which is, you know, like the fish. 

Rich: That’s not a good name. 

Kathrine: No shrimp also could mean something really small...

Rich: Okay...

Kathrine: ...because she was so little, they called her shrimp or shrimpy. Um, and I didn't like it cause I wanted to, to have a positive new name for her new house. 

Rich: Yeah 

Kathrine: And when I would take her on a walk, I would always see let's go on an adventure and it really reminded me of Indiana Jones.

Rich: Yeah 

Kathrine: So, she became Indie and Juno is named after an American film...Juno. Where a young girl like gets pregnant. It's like a comedy type film that I always watched with my sister, when I was a teenager. We just could quote the whole film from start to finish. It’s so funny.  So, I always knew that I was going to call my second dog Juno.

Rich: How can someone start with agility then? So, some people….some of the listeners will be in the UK 

Kathrine: Mhmmm...

Rich: Um...a lot of them outside of the UK. Is it international or is it..

Kathrine: It is international. Dog agility is huge in Europe. In a lot of European countries, it is actually recognized as a sport which it isn't here.

Rich: Yeah

Kathrine: So, there are things like in one of the European countries...um...you can't like dope your dogs. 

Rich: Dope…?

Kathrine: Yeah. 

Rich:  So dope...meaning drug. 

Kathrine: Yeah..to like enhance. Drugs that would enhance your performance. You..they test the dogs to make sure that they have not been doped for that. 

Rich: Do you think that's common...because... 

Kathrine: I don't think it's common. I think that, um, I don't think it's common...but I think that a lot of people take it very seriously there. 

Rich: Yeah 

Kathrine: I think there's a few different types of people that do agility. Some people do it for their career. So, it is really important. You have some people that do it just for fun. So, competitions are not important. I'm somewhere in the middle where I want to do well, but also do it more for my dogs than for me. But the way I started was...um...online. So, through Facebook there's lots of Facebook dog groups. Dog agility groups, and then some people like commented the local clubs and things. So, that's how I got into it.

Rich: How can people follow your exploits online? So, just before you answer that...so exploits are kind of things you're doing. 

Kathrine: Yeah exploits could be like...um...the like the adventures you're going on or the things that you’d like...in this example, it would be like the way we train or where I'm taking the dogs and things.

Together: Yeah. 

Rich: So, how can people follow your exploits? 

Kathrine: The dogs have got an Instagram page just called IndieeJuno, so it's I. N. D. I. E. E. J. U. N. O. 

Rich: Okay. So, you get lots of new followers from..

Kathrine: Yes. Hope to see you there. 

Rich: Nice. So, we're gonna finish today by covering a few dog idioms, and we have lots of idioms in English about dogs. 

Kathrine: Yeah these have *blown my mind. Because like, until you really look into these phrases you don't realize how strange they are 

NOTE - If something “blows your mind” it amazes you. 

Rich: Oh they're very strange. This is just a short list as well that we're going to take a look at, but there are actually many, many, many, many more idioms about dogs. So...

Kathrine: Let's do these ones.

Rich: So, we'll start with the first one here, which is the dog's dinner. So, what is the dog's dinner? 

Kathrine: I think the dog's dinner is...is it when you have a bad meal? You tell me, I don't know. 

Rich: The dog's dinner...So the dog's dinner is when, I think it's when something that looks bad. 

Kathrine: Yeah. 

Rich: Right. So like, let me just see…Yeah. So the dog's doing is a situation, event, or piece of work that is chaotic, badly organized or very untidy. So, let's imagine that you have someone come to a house to repair the house and they just make a mess. 

Kathrine: Yeah 

Rich: Then you could say this house...

Kathrine: This is the dog's dinner. 

Rich: The dog's dinner. It just looks like, because obviously when you prepare a meal for a dog…

Kathrine: Yeah 

Rich: ...you know you're not, you know...

Kathrine: You don't look at it and think I’d love some of this...

Rich:  Yeah, so if something is the dog's dinner, it's just a mess. That's the...yeah...that's the first one. 

Kathrine: This is my favorite one…doggy bag. 

Rich: Doggy bag. So do you wanna...

Kathrine: This is like when you're in a restaurant and you can't finish your food, you ask the waiter to pack it up to take it home. 

Rich: Mhmmm..

Kathrine: And in the UK we call this a doggy bag. Cause typically it would be like you'd take your leftovers home for your dog.

Rich: Yeah although I don't have a dog. So when I asked for a doggy bag..

Kathrine: You are the dog. 

Both Laugh

Rich: This is not for a dog. I know it's not for the dog, you know it’s not for the dog 

Kathrine: The waiter knows it’s not for the dog.

Rich: It’s for me um. 

Kathrine: A nice, a really nice one. Let sleeping dogs lie. 

Rich: Yeah. Which is where if you just leave, you're so much better at it. I know what they mean, but you're better at explaining them than me. 

Rich: Right. So, to let sleeping dogs lie is when you have a problem that's not worth fixing or confronting. 

Kathrine: Mhmmm

 Rich: So, sometimes you may have an issue, but it could make the issue bigger.

Kathrine: Mhmmm

Rich: If you try and face it. 

Kathrine: Yeah 

Rich: So, let's imagine, let's imagine that you have a friend who's really annoying and you're living with them and they just leave the dishes out and it's a small thing, but it really annoys you. Well, you could say something to them about them being...and cleaning the house...

Kathrine: You're going to cause a drama

Rich: but if you do that you’re gonna cause drama and maybe they will say I hate you and leave the house. 

Kathrine: So, just let sleeping dogs lie...live a peaceful life. 

Rich: Yeah. The idea being that if you wake a dog up, it's going to attack you. So, sometimes it's better just for the dog to be peaceful and dreaming about bones or something..

Kathrine: Leaves the dishes in the sink.

Rich: Leave them...Yeah. 

Kathrine: Uh, this one is a dog eat dog world. I think it comes down to the idea of that...in that situation, in a situation where a dog has to survive, they would attack. 

Rich: They would attack. Yeah. So, but to translate the meaning from the literal...literal sense here, it means that we live in a world of intense competition. 

Kathrine: Competition yeah 

Rich: A world without a world that doesn't care. A world which is a world of fighting. Um, so a dog eat dog world is a world that doesn't care….basically. There's a lot of competition. 

Kathrine: Like you would do what you need to do to be on top or to win. 

Rich: Survival of the fittest. 

Kathrine: Exactly 

Rich: Win at all costs. That's what it means. 

Kathrine: Mhmmm. 

Rich: So, like a dog eat dog world, you could use this one when it seems the world is very unkind. 

Kathrine: Yeah. 

Rich: I would say 

Kathrine: That's a good phrase….Dog eat dog world. 

Rich: Sick as a dog. Do you want to do that one? Or shall I?

Kathrine: You do ‘sick as a dog’. 

Rich: Sick as a dog. Okay. Uh, you could do puppy love at the end.

Kathrine: Alright...okay. 

Rich: So, sick...sick as a dog just means very sick. That's it. I don't know. I don't really understand why. 

Kathrine: I think it means like an controllable sickness, like if a dog is going to be sick...

Rich: Right.

Kathrine: Is it? I'm quite literal with these. Is it like vomit sick, or you feel sick and... if a dog is not feeling good, they can't do anything about it. So, you're sick as a dog, you're dying in bed. You can't control what you do and you feel gross. You’re sick as a dog. 

Rich: I just interpret this to be very sick. 

Kathrine: Yeah. 

Rich: I don't really..

Kathrine: This one's quite literal. 

Rich: Yeah

Kathrine: And I think as well, because if a dog is a little bit ill , they get on with it, whereas, you know, if a dog is sick, so you're really quite ill. 

Rich: Yeah. Um, yeah. So if...if you're sick as a dog. You’re extremely ill. 

Kathrine: You feel pretty gross. 

Rich: Pretty gross. Gross, gross being disgusting. 

Kathrine: Disgusting...Can't teach an old dog new tricks. This is like...um...when, so for example, my mom cannot use her iPhone. I don't know why she owns it. 

Rich: Yeah 

Kathrine: She had like a really basic handset that she used. She got her iPhone. You can't teach that old dog new tricks. 

Rich: No 

Kathrine: She's only gonna call people. She's not going to download apps.  She's not going to do anything with it. That's an example. 

Rich: Yeah, my mum is exactly the same thing. As phones have got better, she's got worse at using them.

Kathrine: Yeah. Same as my mum. 

Rich: There’s just too many options. 

Kathrine: Yeah so. The idea being that when a dog is a puppy, they absorb...the same as a young child. They absorb information and things like a sponge. They soak it all up. 

Rich: What’s a sponge? 

Kathrine: A sponge is like an absorbent material. 

Rich: Yeah, when you use it to clean dishes and things..

NOTE - Above is a picture of a sponge. 

Kathrine: Yeah, when you, when you get a sponge wet, it sucks all the water and holds it in. And so that's the same as learning things. 

Rich: Mhmmm

Kathrine: Um, and as a dog gets older, they really can't *be bothered to learn as much. They're not as interested. That's the idea behind that one. 

NOTE - To be bothered is to care or to be motivated to do something.

Rich: His bark is worse than his bite. 

Kathrine: This is a good one. 

Rich: I like this one a lot. So, his bark is worse than his bite. Means that...mmm how to describe this. So, it's like when you get a small dog that can bark very loud, but if it actually attacked you, it would not be able to do anything.

Kathrine: Yeah. 

Rich: So, sometimes this is true of people as well. 

Kathrine: It's like if you meet someone who's quite confrontational or they wanna, you feel like they might want to have an argument, but actually then they don't. 

Rich: Yeah. Or if sometimes with people who, you know, maybe they threaten other people a lot and they make it seem like they're a very hard person...

Kathrine: Mhmmm 

Rich: ... a very tough person, but then 

Kathrine: They're not going to fight you… They’re not gonna bite. 

Rich: As soon as, as soon as things get intense, they sit down.

Kathrine: Yeah. It’s like...how much time have we got left? It's like bravado, isn't it? 

Rich: Yeah 

Kathrine: Where you puff up and you act like a big man or a woman, or really you just need a hug. 

Rich: Yeah. All right. We got one more, which I'm going to let you do. And that's puppy love. 

NOTE - There is a famous song called Puppy Love by Donny Osmond - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkn1kFmUW5E

Kathrine: Puppy love. 

Rich: Puppy love. 

Kathrine: This is a way to describe someone. Is it like a first love? 

Rich: Yeah 

Kathrine: This is when someone is infatuated with someone…

Rich: Infatuated…? 

Kathrine: This might be like…. You're infatuated...is when you're almost obsessed with someone, but not creepy, adorable.

Rich: Yeah. Yeah. That's a good...yeah. 

Kathrine: Obsessed with someone in a good way. So, puppy love might be the first time someone's in love and they follow that person around with...like...what we say...puppy dog eyes. That's another idiom where when you have a puppy and their eyes are so big and they're so cute, you want to do anything for them.

Rich: She just explained as well. So, a puppy is a baby dog...

Kathrine: A baby dog. Like a young dog. And they have like shiny eyes and they, they just. Ahhh...puppy love. So, that is what puppy love means. 

Rich: Perfect. All right, so thanks so much again for agreeing to do this.

Kathrine: You’re welcome.

Rich: and take care. 

Kathrine: Take it easy. Thanks. 

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