Agility - here we come!

[TxAllieGrl]

Jessie is enrolled (finally!!!) in an agility class begining on Thursday. I'm excited, but honestly not sure what to expect. It's a puppy/beginner class, and it came highly recommend (thanks Karen!). We're doing it for fun, to see how Jessie likes it, and to give her an outlet for her boundless energy (she's a very intense little girl!).

So tell me, please about your experiences??

[SairaLV]

No advice but I'll be watching your experiences! I've been wanting to get Indy in it, I think he'd do well (once he learns to listen ). I was thinknig about this summer. How exciting for you!

[Newsie96]

Just make sure you bring REALLY good treats. Go Jessie, you can do it!

[TxAllieGrl]

I'm thinking cheese and dried liver bits...

good treats are a MUST! lol

[KiwisMom]

I've wanted to do that with Kiwi. She's just not reliable about coming if off the leash and she is EXTREMELY distracted by other dogs and people. I think she's take off running for the first child she saw and begin licking happily..... Who cares about things to jump over if there are people around!!! Good luck with Jesse!!

[jwestoverpug]

Have fun. More than likely you won't start off on too much equipment, maybe some scrunched up tunnels or a really low jump. I'd say 99.9% of agility trainers are very positive. Everything is taught without any type of force and only using treats, toys or a combination of both.

You'll have lots of fun, and it really improves the bond with your dog and their focus and attention on you!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Jesse

[bugs]

I'm thinking cheese and dried liver bits...

good treats are a MUST! lol

Jill is on level 4 now and we have yet to use anything but plain old pet smart training treats. If I used anything better she would never pay attention to me, she would be fixated on the treats the whole class.

Have fun and enjoy your self. Its so much fun and exciting to go each week to see what new things she can do. Jill and I are on a break this winter and miss it so much. But really enjoy your self and don't get frustrated if something is going wrong. The last 4 weeks of level 3 Jill decided that she didn't want to jump the wing jumps at 12. I got really frustrated that we had to go back down to 8, I look back and wish I would have never got frustrated and it upsets the dog and makes the class not fun for either of us.

[Snifter]

Snifter has just completed his first six week agility course.

He hated the first lesson. Would not jump, would not go on the dog walk. No siree! Not for anything. In the end I was physically lifting him over the jump and onto the dog walk. This might sound horrid but the trainer said to persevere because in her experience dogs that don't do things initially tend to think a bit more about what they are doing and once they see it is actually OK they settle down and can often become very good at it.

The first 2 sessions were on lead and then we started letting them off. I thought Snifter would rush away from me and mess about but he didn't.

He now loves all the things he was scared of. The only thing he is not too sure of yet is the tunnel with the fabric "windsock" at the end.

It is amazing how quickly they progress. On our sixth lesson we had a little competition and the dogs had to do:

Jump
A frame
Curved rigid tunnel
Dog walk
3 jumps on a tight turn
Fabric ended tunnel
Tyre
2 jumps
Long jump
Jump

All that after only 6 weeks!

Snifter absolutely loves it. I tell you what, it is pretty tiring for the handler, though.

[TxAllieGrl]

Thanks Bella! that gives me a great idea of what to expect.

I'm hoping I get a little excercise out of this as well.

[jwestoverpug]

Bella, That really surprises me. All of the agility clubs I've worked with go very slowly, gradually working up to obstacles. Dogs begin by walking on planks on the ground, and stepping over ladders on the ground. They also learn targeting behavior before doing any contact obstacles. I've never seen a dog placed on any equipment.

Pugs generally are pretty fearless, so I'm not surprised Snifter got over it, and began to enjoy himself.

Jesse