12 replies to this topic

[Kit'sOwner]

Hello. New to this area of the site. I have a 16 month old female Cairn by the name of Kit. I think she would love agility. My question is whether or not she is ready to start. The website of our local club states that if the dog is in good health, knows basic commands, and has good recall, it is ready to start. My Cairn is healthy, we have completed puppy kindergarten, Beginner obedience (twice) and Intermediate obedience (twice). The problem is that although she knows the commands, she DOES NOT ALWAYS COMPLY! Again, it's not for not knowing, it's pure stubbornness. How do you decide when they're ready to start; must they be 100% consistent on their basic commands and recall?

[eastofeden]

The answer is it depends: On the class, the instructor and your goals (fun or do you want to compete). Talk to your obedience instructor & interview the agility instructor. Once you speak with them and understand your goals, you should be able to determine if now is the time to start.

Observe a few classes and see how they are conducted. That will give you a baseline to compare Kit with the other dogs in the beginner class. Have fun and keeps us posted on Kit's progress.

[Kit'sOwner]

Excellent point. What do I want out of it? Bonding with my dog and fun for her. Exercise for the both of us; body and mind. The obedience part scares me. Some days she is so stubborn and won't do a thing for me. Will start off with the goal of "fun" and see what happens from there! She's lightning fast in the dog park and corners on a dime. I can see her excelling in the sport competitively, provided that she complies always as opposed to 'when she feels like it'.

[cairnsby3]

The basic commands will be important later, so they will be something you will need to continuously work on, but for a begining agility class not so important. Most of your work will be done on lead, as Kit and you are taught how to safely and properly do the obstacles. There is alot of positive reinforcement, no negative, and toys and treats involved. Have fun!

[Zekey's Mom]

Zekey and I started agility this spring, right after he finished his obedience classes. He was then about 18 months old. We did it just for fun and bonding, and had a blast! We continued with another agility course, but dropped out due to time constratints.

Don't worry about the "not obedient" part. Even the "golden boys" (retrievers and labs) don't always comply! And an eye opener was going to a demo of one of the instructors' dogs. One of them stopped right in the middle of the course, and another almost completed the course, but took a time out to do his business! So, even the most experienced trainers and dogs are not perfect!

Sometimes Zekey was spot on, eager, and performed well. Other times it's like he had never been on the equipment! It was a lot of fun to be in a class with a variety of dog breeds. I'll never forget the great dane who was scared to to through the tunnel, and had to be coaxed inch by inch with a treat, on the first round. Fifteen minutes and several rounds later, he was zipping through!

[Islander]

This is all very encouraging! I've registered Gus & me in beginners' agility starting next month (he is 2). It's supposed to be a fun, non-competitive class with the same trainer he did puppy school and obedience with. I think he will like it, on hikes he goes out of his way to walk along tippy logs...his recall is not bad for a Cairn, but I was hoping he would be on leash for the beginners class...Glad my assumption was right. Can't wait for our first class!!

[Holly&me]

I went to watch a display of agility/obedience and they were all labs/retrievers - the showed off really well but then one dog decided to do his own agility performance in middle of demonstrating "stay" and ran off and jumped over the fence they had put round the course!! The owner was the leader of the group too..............

[Kit'sOwner]

Well, sounds like no one expects first timers to be perfect. We're going to our local annual "Pawlooza" tomorrow where there are going to be lots of agility demos by the local clubs and if we like what we see, we'll sign up for the September course! I'm soooooooo afraid that she'll take off and never come back - she is a Cairn after all. Will have to arm self with delish array of tempting treats....

[cairnsby3]

The demos might not be in fenced areas, but I bet the clubs have their classes in fenced areas. The club I belong to starts beginners inside in the building. As you are watching the demos, just remember that is the end result, sometimes after years of classes. That's not mean't to be a downer, but the top agility handlers are always striving to be better, faster, give clearer signals, teach their dogs to read the slightest body movement, etc. When you start beginner class, you won't go run courses, you will teach your dog to do each obstacle safely, then moving on to putting 2 or 3 together and depending on the dog you still might be on lead. After many years, I am still in class with both of mine. My girl can read my mind and if I move too early she will pull off an obstacle. My boy on the other hand would like to have the information much earlier, so I am usually late with my cues. The important thing is, it's a game we play with our dogs, so have fun and make sure the dog has fun.

[Kit'sOwner]

I'm on a wait list for the session starting in January! It's very popular in these parts, I guess! I watched a demo at our annual local dogfest yesterday. Great fun to watch! The first three dogs were deaf. Amazing!

Was going to make joke about my dog also being deaf to me sometimes as it's a Cairn but that's probably not very funny.

[eastofeden]

A wait list is not so uncommon. Beginning classes are scarce and people tend to retake them until they are ready to move to the next level.

I would take the time while you wait for a spot to continue to work on the obedience and build those skills up. Have fun! And enjoy your time with Kit.

[Zekey's Mom]

The training facility that I went to was indoors, so off lead wasn't too much of a problem (although Zekey of course, did not always come when called). One really nice thing about the place is that they offered "open sessions" on 3 Saturdays/month. You don't have to sign up, just pay as you go, and practice on whatever equipment you like. Then on the 4th Saturday, they have "run" sessions, where you can practice running your dog through the entire course, one dog at a time. Really helpful for rainy/winter Saturdays!

[Kit'sOwner]

We're brushing up on our recall skills in the dog park in anticipation of Agility in January (well, if we get in. we're on a WAIT LIST for goodness' sake...but then again, not much else to do in JANUARY in CANADA). She's good when there are treats involved....