Agility Questions - Page 1

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gwendydoll

by gwendydoll on 20 May 2009 - 13:05

I posted this in the general boards and realized it is most likely getting lost in all the chatter over there.  So I hope you all don't mind me reposting it over here.

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I have decided to try my little girl in Agility. I have looked at some trainers, and the one I am going to go with for starters requires level I and level II of obedience training first, which I am absolutely fine with and looking forward to (because she can use it). She starts this training next month (after her puppy classes).

My questions are, is there a certain age I should wait for before the agility training itself? Do I need for her to be full grown before we start working on this? She is 20 weeks on Thursday. She runs laps around my livingroom like crazy! And she loves fetch!

Also, does anyone know of any good GSD or Agility clubs in or near Toronto Ontario? I have been looking but not having much luck. I must be missing something.

Thanks in advance!

DebiSue

by DebiSue on 20 May 2009 - 15:05

Sorry, not from around your area so no help on the trainer.

Most of the agility will be fine at any age and good for her. I would be concerned about the jumps more than anything at her age. Jumping should not be encouraged until she is mature as it can affect the hips. I would encourage you to take her slow also. Running 90 miles an hour and cutting corners like the pros could be hard on her at this age. Just take it easy, have fun with it and when she is mature you can kick it up a notch and go for the speed. Working agility really helps the dog bond to you and forms great trust between the two of you. I think it is great that you are considering this.

Deb

gwendydoll

by gwendydoll on 20 May 2009 - 15:05

Thanks Debbie.  My pup is crazy hyper, so I am hoping the Obedience and Agility will be good for her.  Thanks for the tips about the jumping and running.  Luckily the two levels of obedience will take about 4 months total to complete before we even start the agility, so that's nice.  She needs the obedience as much as the agility.  She's quite the handful!  Last night my son left the table for a second to put something in the garbage and came back to his plate being licked clean...oh my...

DebiSue

by DebiSue on 20 May 2009 - 17:05

Sounds like she needs to learn "leave it" pretty quick.  My husband left the lid off the trash for a few moments after tossing the remnants of a yellow cake.  When he came back Echo had licked a fair sized hole in the cake.  Now she cruises by the trash in hopes of finding the lid off.  So far she hasn't helped herself to anything new by way of the trash but we watch her pretty closely too.  Good luck with the obedience training...we're working on that too.  Our main objective is to learn how to behave on a leash.  She's pretty good otherwise. 

by LynOD on 20 May 2009 - 17:05

 Most puppy agility classes start with the poles on the ground.  There should be no jumping.  Get them used to obstacles etc..  It teaches them to stay with you too.  Keep it simple and fun.  Learn to work on your handling (read books watch videos).  Once she is older you can really kick in the agility training.  But a word of advice really learn alot about handling especially if she is as active as you say.  If you can not provide a fast dog with the information quickly you will have one frustrated dog and more than likely she will take it out on you by biting you when you make a mistake due to frustration.  I say this from experience my first agility dog was a nut and I was a novice handler, she became extremely frustrated with me.  It is important to get the data to the dog early!!!!

gwendydoll

by gwendydoll on 20 May 2009 - 18:05

Thanks KynOD - can you make any good reading suggestions?  I would really like her not too be more bitey than she already is...she is very bitey and we are working on it...she doesn't seem to be getting it yet...

Liesjers

by Liesjers on 20 May 2009 - 19:05

I was told that puppies should not be trained to jump higher than their pasterns.  Our club allows dogs to start in the Beginner level when they are one year old, and even in this level the jumps are low, there is no weaves or teeter, and the angles of the dog-walk and a-frame are more open/lower.  The twisting motions while weaving and the weird angle of training the contacts can be bad for a growing pup.

So I would not start formal agility classes until the dog is at least one (and should be cleared by a vet, preferably have hip/elbow prelims done).  But there is plenty you can work on before that!  In order to do agility your dog needs to have a good relationship with you.  It is so much easier if your dog can work off leash.  You could train your puppy to follow you on the left AND the right side.  You can put a ladder flat on the ground and have the pup run over it, to train awareness of the hind legs. 

Also, DRIVE is really important for agility!  Find ways of motivating your dog, like certain tug toys, so you can build these in as rewards for a great run, or training speed and drive off each obstacle.

It's a lot like training Schutzhund, basically at this age you want to be developing a close bond so the dog wants to work for you, and finding ways of bringing out drive in the dog.

gwendydoll

by gwendydoll on 20 May 2009 - 19:05

Thanks Liesjers that is very helpful to know!





 


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