Obedience and agility newbie

[Jamie]

Hello. I would like to start the pugs in agility and obedience and have enrolled them in classes starting later this month. I was curious as to a typical training schedule for someone interested in the possibility of competing with them eventually (assuming everything goes as planned). For how long and for how many days a week should you have a one-on-one training session with your pug? Thanks for your help.

[TxAllieGrl]

I think it depends on the dog - how long of an attention span do they have?

Jessie - zero attention span. We did the basic puppy classes once a week for an hour, and then would work together for about 20 minutes at a time twice a day. That's all she could really handle before she'd lose interest. But she did pretty well learning the commands, and the only reason she's not a star at them is because I'm a lazy mommy.

I think most people follow the same routine - about an hour or more once a week, then a little bit every day to reinforce commands and polish.

[Blanche]

I'd have to agree with Allie--really depends on the dog. Pete has a really long attention span, bob has the attention of a gnat (I may be wronging gnats here). Scout (my BC cross) was an obedience star--loved it all. Lola hated obedience, but loved agility. I always say that the only thing Lola learned in obedience was to turn and look at me scornfully when I gave a command before going off and doing exactly what she wanted to. However, in agility, she obeys all the commands and acts like a really good dog. I took the pugs through basic obedience, Lola did level one and two and Scout did it all. Lola took to agility like a fish to water--but we don't compete as she loves agility, but only on her terms which means she occasionally sits down in the middle of the dog walk to give everyone watching adequate time to admire her and take pictures--she's thoughtful that way.

[ViralMD]

Cyril loved obedience (and is very good at it) and would last for the entire class. Training could be as little as two minutes, or as long as 20 in one session at home. And, of course, every walk is an opportunity for training. If I had a car, which would make it possible to get to shows, we'd be doing competition obedience.

[jwestoverpug]

Woohoo, more agility pugs in training!

Everyone is right, it will depend on the dog. Generally one class a week, maybe twice for some dogs plus lots of mini training sessions throughout the week, no more than 10 minutes at a time will be all you need. The trick is to always stop when they still want to do more.

I think most dogs go to agility classes for about a year before beginning to compete. Once they know all the obstacles, and are doing short sequences you can find matches and run throughs to get them used to different people, a new building, different equiptment etc.

Good luck and have fun!!
Jesse

[Lemon]

Aw, you'll have so much fun!

For Lemon, we usually do one class a week -- more is too much for us, not her! Obedience, especially, seems easy for her. She could go for hours, and as long as we have chicken, she's on. Agility class is a little different. She's still so afraid of the dogwalk. So whenever we work on that, she gets really drained. It's a shame because she's an athletic little spark plug. She *adores* jumping and weaving.

Beyond class, we do short bursts of training all day. 5 minutes, 15 minutes, every little bit helps. The repetition makes it stick, and the short sessions keep her excited. What Jesse said is so true -- we try to leave her wanting more. I love the look she gets, like, "Nuh uh! We just got STARTED!"

[Jamie]

Hi. Thanks for everyone's responses. Nixon is enrolled in agility and is going to take rally classes starting in a couple of weeks. Seamus and Missy are going to take basic obedinece classes, also starting in a couple of weeks. My goals are the following: 1. have fun, 2. get everyone's CGC, 3. have Missy do therapy work, 4. have Seamus and Nixon compete in agility and obedience (standard and rally). Hence my next question.....for those of you who do agility and obedience, do you focus on one discipline and then do the other? Or, is it okay to sign Seamus/Nixon up for agility and obedience classes simultaneously? Thanks for your help. And, sorry for the all the questions. I just want to do this right!

[ruebella]

How exciting!! I am also considering the CGC courses, from Smarty Paws (here in Vegas) although they don't really seem to have courses in the summer due to the heat, and that they are out doors. I am very excited about the process and I honestly believe the boys will love it. Jamie is going to handle Deoji, and I am going to handle Ping.

For some reason, Deoji is a little gunshy around Jamie, so I was hoping that them training together would reinforce some bond.. we'll see.

Good luck!

[Lemon]

Deanna, I think you're totally on the right track. I'd be really surprised if Deoji and Jamie didn't bond over training. Didn't some famous pug once say, "The man with the treats is the man with my heart?"

Jamie, you're going to be busy! That's probably the biggest consideration in whether or not to enroll the pugs in multiple classes. Will you feel too frazzled, constantly going from one class to another? Will you still have time for short training sessions at home, outside of class? I had Lemon in agility and CGC classes at the same time. This month, we're starting agility again as well as therapy certification. It won't be a problem for her. She can easily focus on whatever's at hand... much more easily than me. As long as I'm working, I know I'll never be able to do more than two classes at any given time. It would start to feel like an obligation, rather than fun.

You sound so excited. I can't wait for you to report back!

[jwestoverpug]

I don't think your pugs will have any problems switching back and forth between obedience and agility. I always use a buckle collar for obedience, and no collar at all for agility (many venues do not allow collars in competition) I don't know how much this matters, but I was told it can help the dog understand what is about to happen.

Jesse