I signed up miss “P” for dog agility classes at the local high school. First class is tonight!
I can’t wait to see how she reacts to things. Should be interesting! 
Penny, my heart dog!
Have fun!
How old is she?
Give her lots of time & space if she leans toward timidity. Hopefully the instructor/s have small dog experience. Be da momma bear if you need to. Soft dogs can rock agility!
Can’t wait to her the report of Penny’s first class :yes:
[QUOTE=Bicoastal;6566789]
How old is she?
Give her lots of time & space if she leans toward timidity. Hopefully the instructor/s have small dog experience. Be da momma bear if you need to. Soft dogs can rock agility!
Can’t wait to her the report of Penny’s first class :yes:[/QUOTE]
She’s 2 years old. 
I’ve had her for a year (got her off Craigslist last October). She was very timid at first, but is much (much!) bolder now and extremely athletic. She really looks up to (worships) me so as long as I’m supportive of her, I think she’ll be ok. Don’t worry, I’m very protective of my little “P”!
The instructor welcomes dogs large and small, although I don’t know if they’ve done agility training with small dogs before. They seem to be really laid back and fun/relaxed. It’s a 6 week course and an introduction to the sport for both of us!
I think if she can pick up on it as a game, it could be something she’d really be good at! I’ll be back to let you know how the first class went.
Have fun! I really love agility…
Oh she’s gorgeous! Have fun with it, agility really helped my schnauzer poodle mix with her stranger danger reactions and an added bonus, she LOVED the agility stuff too!
Have fun, it is a wonderful way to build a strong bond with our dogs.
This is one of my dogs having fun:
http://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab10/clm08_photos/?action=view¤t=20120901-094841_zps485d82de.jpg#!oZZ1QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs844.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab10%2Fclm08_photos%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3D20120901-094841_zps485d82de.jpg
I just started my younger dog and he is picking up pretty quickly, unfortunately I had an ankle injury and cannot do agility with either of them for several weeks. 
It is a lot of fun ! And if she’s timid, don’t push her too much, you don’t want her to end up being scared of the equipment. My sheltie pup was a bit afraid but he came around really quickly and now he loves it !
Back to check in.
Miss “P” was a rock star last night! There are 7 dogs in the class, none of which have prior agility experience.
There’s a Rottie, a Golden, a Basenji mix, a Mini Schnauzer, a Bishon, a Sheltie, and of course, Penny the Italian Greyhound.
It took “P” one try on each obstacle and she was owning it. We did a small A frame, an open tunel and a few weave poles.
By the second try she was running up and down the A frame. Flying through the tunel all by herself and with a little “treat in hand” guidance, was doing the poles too!
She was so pleased with herself and very, very brave.
I’m really glad we’re doing this. She doesn’t get out much, so socializing with the other dogs and engaging her mind with learning the obstacles is really good for her! (she’s a problem solver by nature. )
Glad you both had fun ! Agility is a lot of fun to do, even if you have no intentions of ever competing. I do a little every day with my young sheltie and he loves it !
Glad you had fun at your first class! She sounds like she took right to it. You’ll have to keep us updated on your progress.
I’ve been doing agility with my 13 month old sheltie since he was about 6 months, and we’re having a blast!
The amount of skill that goes into handling well is really remarkable. I had no idea! (It doesn’t help that my dog is insanely fast. We have a lot of fun, but some days I feel like a beginner rider who has purchased a hot yearling grand prix prospect. :lol:)
Glad you and P had fun! Isn’t it a blast? You will find lots of agility competitors are or were riders.
What is the method this class uses to teach the weaves?
it’s good you had fun.
I wonder what contact behavior they will have you teach, though, and how successful you will be in teaching it, if they are encouraging dogs to just “blast over” the contact equipment? what dogs do first is what they revert to doing in times of stress and excitement, namely at trials. And “blasting over” the contact zone isn’t what you want.
I have a kind of pet peeve with these “intro” classes that just throw dogs on the equipment without any preparatory training or any thought as to how this kind of introduction will mess up their future performances or could even lead to injury. Know lots of people who did this kind of “intro” class and then struggled for months to retrain the dogs properly afterwards.
I compete my Aussie in agility and am so grateful I have it. My Friesian was retired as of last week and I am no longer riding. Thank goodness I found the agility and we have a lot of fun. I find the agility owners are very supportive and not as self centered as the horse show crowd.
[QUOTE=wendy;6569963]
it’s good you had fun.
I wonder what contact behavior they will have you teach, though, and how successful you will be in teaching it, if they are encouraging dogs to just “blast over” the contact equipment? what dogs do first is what they revert to doing in times of stress and excitement, namely at trials. And “blasting over” the contact zone isn’t what you want.
I have a kind of pet peeve with these “intro” classes that just throw dogs on the equipment without any preparatory training or any thought as to how this kind of introduction will mess up their future performances or could even lead to injury. Know lots of people who did this kind of “intro” class and then struggled for months to retrain the dogs properly afterwards.[/QUOTE]
I did wonder about that a little… I think it’s fine to have an intro lesson that is just about letting the dogs check out the new equipment, but I know that my trainer goes reaaalllly slowly with contacts. I can’t remember how quick the progression was with my dogs, but I’m doing a starter class with a friend’s dog now, and after two classes all we’ve done with contacts was practice coming down the A-frame/dog walk and waiting in the yellow and getting treats. For teeter, they’ve just gone across one where there are tables under both ends so it barely moves. Tunnels and jumps, fine, but contacts should probably go slow. So for the OP, just be aware that, as Wendy said, what you’re training for now is going to tend to stick with them, so make sure that contacts don’t get rushed just because they’re fun. (:
Wow, some of you guys seem really into agility.
For Penny and I, it’s just a social exercise and a fun time for her to get out of the house and do something different. I really have no aspirations of competing or training her even close to the point where I could compete her!
No one was rushed in the class. In fact the Golden didn’t want to do the A frame, so just walked around and watched until the very end when the dog was more relaxed, they tried it again. (successfully)
Penny “blasting” over the A frame was her confidently trotting up and then trotting down. (as opposed to some of the other dogs skirting around it, and hesitating to set foot…I guess compared to that it seemed like she was blasting…) So maybe I was a bit over enthusiastic in my description.
I’d never make “P” do something that scared her or rush her through something just because someone told me to.
Regarding the weave poles, there really wasn’t much direction on how to guide them through, other than you should always begin from the same side of the first pole.
It sounds like this class probably isn’t something that a serious agility prospect would be satisfied with, but since “P” and I are just out for a social adventure, I think it’s pretty cool. And even cooler that my little IG was showing more bravery than dogs many times her size.
I’m doing a series with my dog and we’re going very slowly. Instructors are experienced, long time dog training pros and are doing all of the foundation work. It would help if some of us ahem were better about our homework between classes, but they explain their approach and it makes sense. Lots of things to teach to make sure that when they get around to the actual obstacles, you don’t make the kind of mistakes that can come back to get you later, or in a show situation.
A lot like training a horse, but also different. Reminds me what it’s like to be a beginner again! (not always so much fun … )
[QUOTE=Daatje;6570304]
Wow, some of you guys seem really into agility.
For Penny and I, it’s just a social exercise and a fun time for her to get out of the house and do something different. I really have no aspirations of competing or training her even close to the point where I could compete her![/QUOTE]
I didn’t think I would ever plan to compete either. Now I have a taste for it. It’s pretty addictive. 
