Dog Agility

[Lisa]

I'm wondering if anyone has done dog agility here. I've joined a club and I need some help and I would love someone to talk to about it!

 

[mininik]

I do Agility, Rally and Obedience with our dogs. I would love to chat! What do you need help with? Have you subscribed to Clean Run magazine yet? Click & Play Agility by Angela Steinker is good, too. Also check out http://www.silvia.trkman.net/

 

[Charlene]

i did some dog agility with both of my corgis, never got past intermediate level but it was the MOST FUN I'VE EVER HAD!!! would love to get back into it if i can ever find the time.

 

[Lisa]

It is a whole lot of fun!

I need some help with handling techniques. I want to know if there are exercises I can do without equipment which will help me and my dog.

 

[Charlene]

agility equipment is SO expensive to buy but you can make your own very simply. small jumps, a tire obstacle, go to toys 'r' us and pick up a kid's tunnel...the most important thing about working your dog without a knowledgeable instructor to guide you is that if you don't train correctly, it's hard to UNdo. much of agility is body position. i remember in my first beginning class, the instructor was on me a lot because i was confusing my dog by not keeping my shoulders in the proper position. the tiniest variance will send your dog off in the wrong direction. lucky for me, maggie had done some agility before she came to live with us so SHE was able to teach ME!

corgis are so quick, i sometimes had a hard time keeping up with her! with 2 artificial hips, i couldn't afford to crash and burn so there were a couple of times that she got ahead of me and practically ran the course by herself! lol

 

[gimp]

We've been doing pre-agility classes and start the real thing next week. I've been making gates and obstacles using pvc pipe. Very easy and very cheap...if you don't figure in the brain time needed to figure it out

. It is so much fun that all the dogs, and all their people, have big grins at the end of a run. I have a fearless corgi; he tends to run the "fun" obstacles a few too many times on the course. (He's great at turning in the tunnel as he gets to the end and running it a couple more times. OH! ) I got Henry an ILP number, but am unsure if I will ever use it. For now it is our fun together time.

I'd really recommend taking some close up shots of the obstacles and making some for yourself.

 

[Lisa]

Thanks everyone! I have a really great instructor. Her two dogs are world champions and she is very direct without being mean about it. I'm having a lot of trouble with the front cross, but I'm learning.

I have, at home, three jumps, a tire, two tunnels and a set of three weave poles.

lucky for me, maggie had done some agility before she came to live with us so SHE was able to teach ME!

That's the nice thing about the dog that I run too. He has done a few beginner classes, so he knows most of the equipment and that helped me a lot!

 

[Charlene]

oh those front crosses!!! LOL!! they make it look SO easy but the first few i did, i ended up looking like a human pretzel.

simon's favorite obstacle is the A-frame. i think he likes it because when he gets to the top, it makes him feel like a TALL dog.

maggie's favorite obstacle is the down/stay table. she's not fooling me, SHE'S LAZY! OH!

 

[Lisa]

Yes, it sure is harder than it looks. It takes a lot of practice. I still look like a human pretzel when I try to do it.

Andy's favourite is tunnels. He LOVES tunnels!!!

The down/stay table is taking a lot of work. I can't get him to do it without a treat, which is not good in an actual trial. Without a treat, he says forget it!!! I can get him to do a whole course without a treat, because of the adrenaline, but forget the table!