# Training Agility but no competitions? Is it worth it?



## FishMina (Mar 28, 2017)

I live in Inner Mongolia, China, where competing and shows are, let's just say, a no-go never-ever. Even if I could find something to join, it would be 10+ hours train ride away down south. That being said though, I am a massive fan of dog sports, specifically agility; I love the bond it creates, the work you can do with your dogs and how much fun and exercise it is!
I have two dogs, a Schnauzer and a mixed breed, both pretty small, and soon to have a 5 month old greyhound added to the pack. I have the time and energy for training (haha I'm 22, I gotta burn some energy somewhere), and live on a university campus where I teach with a lot of nice open spaces. I also think no matter the breed, agility is fun for all with enough effort.

I guess I just wanted people's opinions - if I homemade some jumps and other stuff, but with no hope of competitions or sharing it with anyone in the future, do you still think it's worth training agility for the sake of fun and bonding? Or is there something else active and bond-creating I could be doing instead that you could suggest?

Thanks so much, 
Fish


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

It's really up to you and how much time you want to invest in making equipment. If agility is your thing and you and your dogs will enjoy it more than anything else, go for it. If you're simply looking for some activity for fun and bonding, other sports that don't require as much equipment would be easier. 

Also, do you know about Fenzi Dog Sport Academy? It's an online dog training school with classes in a variety of activities. My second class is starting on Saturday and I'm already hooked. There is also a competition-type option; I'm not super familiar with it, but it's all done at a distance.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

I absolutely think it is worth it for the sake of exercise, continued training, and bond - and communication. I also think things like freestyle, tricks, rally, and 'parkour' (there are online programs for all of these) are very worth it. Basically, whatever gets you out, active, and training your dogs is worth it.


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## LeoRose (Aug 20, 2015)

You could compete via video. http://teamworksdogtraining.org/VirtualAgilityLeague/VALOR_home.html

There are actually several sports you can compete in via video, including rally and freestyle, obedience, tricks, and doggy parkour. If you are on Facebook, check out this group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CyberDogSports/

Most of the alphabet soup in my dogs' names in my signature is from online venues.


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## FishMina (Mar 28, 2017)

Wow guys thanks so much! I didn't know online training/video competing existed!

@cookieface You said about other sports maybe being easier. I like agility because of the energy, focus on you required and cool skills learnt, BUT you're right, there is a lot of equipment and living out here I'd definitely have to make it all myself without a garden. So haha can you or anyone recommend any other sports that require very little/if no equipment, but still have all the training, focus and energy of agility?


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

FishMina said:


> Wow guys thanks so much! I didn't know online training/video competing existed!
> 
> @cookieface You said about other sports maybe being easier. I like agility because of the energy, focus on you required and cool skills learnt, BUT you're right, there is a lot of equipment and living out here I'd definitely have to make it all myself without a garden. So haha can you or anyone recommend any other sports that require very little/if no equipment, but still have all the training, focus and energy of agility?


Freestyle!
You can choose the tempo of the song (so pick an upbeat one if you want a lot of energy) and you only need any equipment that you choose to incorporate into your routine, or none at all.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I absolutely think it's worth it. I take weekly classes with one of my dogs with no plans or desire to ever compete with him. Who cares? If you're having fun and the dog's having fun then it's worth doing. It's not hard to make a couple jumps and work on some handling.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

if you have dogs that enjoy it with you , yes its worth what you both learn in fine tuning your team work, and focus doing a mentally stimulating interaction. I've used kitchen chairs for figure eights and weaves, and two mop buckets with a mop laying on the top of them for jumps.


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## Dogsignalfire (Nov 17, 2015)

If I were you, it's worth it for me! All dogs want to do really is interact, play, exercise, get rewarded, and learn from their person. They don't know what titles and rankings are. If it's worth it for you, then it's worth it for them! 

For other sports/activities that don't require a yard, there's obedience (competitive type) and nose work. You can register for Fenzi online courses and they're well-reviewed for people who want classes.


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## Sprocket2016 (Feb 14, 2017)

When my puppy gets a bit older( he's 7 months now) I want to start putting him in dog sport classes just for fun I have no desire to compete I just think it would be another fun thing we can do together and gives us more to keep working on 
I originally wanted him to be a therapy dog but it's obvious he wouldn't enjoy that so I'm hoping he will like agility and flyball they both look like a lot of fun 
I will wait until he's fully grown to go to sport classes he does obedience classes now and he loves them so I think he will enjoy sports classes next year I can't wait  



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Sprocket2016 said:


> When my puppy gets a bit older( he's 7 months now) I want to start putting him in dog sport classes just for fun I have no desire to compete I just think it would be another fun thing we can do together and gives us more to keep working on
> I originally wanted him to be a therapy dog but it's obvious he wouldn't enjoy that so I'm hoping he will like agility and flyball they both look like a lot of fun
> I will wait until he's fully grown to go to sport classes he does obedience classes now and he loves them so I think he will enjoy sports classes next year I can't wait


Many agility foundations classes allow puppies as young as 6 months! You just have to find the right class that's focused on foundations and not equipment for young dogs (though foundations is great no matter what age they are when you start)


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## islanddog (Dec 29, 2015)

I won't be doing competitive agility and I can only afford a few classes a year, but I'm back into setting up jumps in my yard.
Here's why:
I was trying to get my dog to play in a parking lot (forest lot, he often wants to play there--likely knows it will extend fun time), but he was seriously 'meh' for the toy. There was a gate, that, with imagination, could be considered 3 in line jumps. I pretty much flubbed everything in spontaneously 'sending' (or calling in) him through 4 times, and as he came out of the last he was completely pumped for the toy. 
Then I tried to just throw the toy, and 'meh'.
So I sent him through the gate jumping again, and he was excited for his toy....which tells me something about agility, obviously he loves jumping and the challenge of having to puzzle things out.
So YES to non-competitive agility; if the dog loves it (and many do), it brings out something different than other dog sports, so see how your dog feels about it. Mine votes yes.


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## crysania (Oct 1, 2010)

I totally think it's worth it. I went to classes for YEARS with my older girl and didn't trial. We tried some. She stressed out SO BAD and I just didn't have the money to sink into going to trials to get her used to them, so we went to classes once a week for years. We trained from 2010 to 2015 (when she got vestibular disease), about 5 1/2 years. We went to a small handful of trials and finally quit in April 2013, so had 2 1/2 years where it was just classes. And she had SO much fun and did so well and it took the pressure off us.


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