Sport Dog Training

How does one get involved in dog Agility Training?

I’m interested in getting involved in this sport, because I’d love to have that kind of motivation to excerise and, more importantly, because I’d love to spend time with a dog in that activity. The problem is, I have no idea how to get started…and what kind of dog would be good for this activity. I need one that would enjoy this sport but that could be good with kids (I have a little girl) and is affectionate! Can you help?

You’ve got the right attitude about this: agility success is about being a team and looking forward to working with your dog. And first it’s a pet before it’s an agility dog.

1. Tons of things you’ll need to be able to do before you ever tell your dog to take a jump or go up an A-frame.
–good obedience performance, especially sit-stay, down-stay, heel and recall (since agility is done without collar and leash).
–clicker savvy. It’s the best way to train agility dogs. I don’t know of a single top-notch agility trainer who doesn’t use a clicker.
–do tons of tricks work. Doing tricks builds a relationship with your dog. Your dog sees you as fun, you learn how your dog learns, and the tricks serve as agility competition warmups.

3. Picking a dog. AKC requires purebred dogs. Everything else, you can run any kind of dogs including mixed breeds of unknown heritage (I even know 2 people who compete avidly with deaf dogs). Any dog can enjoy agility and you can enjoy it with that dog. People will give you all sorts of advice about breeds but know this:
–having the “right breed” (like a border collie or sheltie) doesn’t mean you get a kick-ass agility dog.
–the dogs that do the best at agility (in terms of winning at the highest levels, that make the US World Team) they are really difficult to own as pets. Oh, they’re great dogs. But their handlers are fulltime dog people, the dogs are incredibly drivey, very stoic (so easily hurt), tremendous drive and focus–on the level that most of us would hate to have as a pet. In fact, since you have a young daughter, a herding breed is probably a terrible choice for you because of the amount of work it would require. They’re obsessive dogs (the ones that win championships at the highest levels).

Just get a dog that makes a good pet, is solid emotionally (scores all “3′s” on a Volhard Temperament test), has good drive (likes toys, chases balls) and likes being around people. Any dog with those traits will have fun at agility and you’ll enjoy working with.

Here’s my personal advice on picking a dog:
–don’t get a big breed (lab, golden, etc) because even if it’s well-behaved, it’s too easy to accidently knock over a young child or drag them on the leash when chasing that squirrel. I’d look for a smaller dog (terrier size maybe).
–you’re picking a pet first. So if you hate to vaccum, don’t get a long-coated dog that sheds a lot. If you live in an apartment, don’t get a dog that barks a lot.
–recognize every dog is an individual. Not all dogs of the same breed (or even same litter) are alike in personality.
That said, here are some dogs that are not big, they aren’t as demanding of attention or activity like herding breeds and all have excellent track records as agility dogs: corgis, rat terriers, poodles, pomeranians, cocker spaniels, and papillions. There are good and bad examples of each of these dogs and the real test of how good a dog is, is the fit to your lifestyle (I used to own an 80 pound Malamute when I was 10 and living on a farm, now I own a 17 pound terrier and live in the suburbs. The Malamute was perfect for me then and terrible for me now and the reverse is true of the terrier).

4. Getting started specifically with agility:
–go to www.agilityevents.net and find a trial near you. Go observe. Ask people “where is a local club? who do you recommend I take lessons from?” And once you’ve got a dog that is a year old, take agility-I. Even if you don’t take other lessons, take them to start out. It will save you so much hassle and heartbreak from the mistakes that complete novices make.
–get Ali and Joe Canova’s book on intro agility. Learning agility from books is like learning martial arts or dancing from a book. But this book is the best one out there for novices.
–you don’t need much equipment to get started: 2 jumps, 6 weaves and a board. As a novice, that is all you really need (because you’re working on technique and handling and focus before you ever get on a course).

Tom Dokken – Kennel command – www.sportdog.com

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