# Is a GSD a good candidate for agility?



## AlexMcG (Mar 23, 2012)

Jordan (younger brother) & Keanu

I was thinking about signing Keanu up for Agility Classes. He has this obession with balls. Like he has to play with them, he constantly wants to play fetch. its kinda like, he sees it, and its his, doesnt matter who it previously belonged to. I had to stop taking him outfront when the kids would play football, because he would steal it from them. 

So I was told my a trainer that i needed to find away to channel his energy, because it will not only help him bond with me, but make it more so I can....I dont wanna say control cause its such a strong word....more like listen when I request something of him. Anyway, Agility came to mind, and I was wondering if it would help?

Does the dog have to be trained? Obviously leashed trained, but i meant, like, basic training, cause Keanu, he listens, but he gets loud and distracted in the presents of strange dogs.


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## ChaosIsAWeim (Feb 12, 2011)

He would need to learn the obstacles, and learn to take directions from a distance. But if he likes balls so much, why not look into fly ball seems like that would be a good sport for him. Not to say Agility wouldn't be, because it would, just if you want a sport that involves balls, fly ball is your sport or treiball, but I don't know much about that sport.


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## AlexMcG (Mar 23, 2012)

Okay cool. I'll check it out. Thanks.


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## ChaosIsAWeim (Feb 12, 2011)

I believe there is a thread on here about treiball, and there maybe one about flyball that you can check out.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

Yes, a GSD can be a good candidate for agility. You see them at agility trials, but due to their size, they aren't too common. I saw two running agility at the trial I attended today. 

You can use a ball as a reward for doing what you want. So for example, send the dog over a jump and then throw a ball for him to fetch. Build on that slowly, adding obstacles until you can do a whole course and then reward with the ball.

As for training, you will want to sign up for a class. In general, don't attempt agility on your own, as it can be dangerous for the dog if you don't know what you're doing. If you're asking what kind of skills a dog should have before taking a class, it's nice if you have sit and stay, maybe some heel work.


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## AlexMcG (Mar 23, 2012)

okay, thank you all for the advice. I'll have to start working on that with him, as well as checking out those other two options.


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## luvmyfurballs (Mar 5, 2012)

I have a six month old german shepherd that is phenomenal in agility...she only does the small stuff now in her obedience class and her trainer that also works in agility calls her a bullet. She is in her 3rd obedience class and once she hits a year old she will be in agility...I haven't seen a faster dog then her yet, its amazing We don't even have to run it with her, she's at the start line just itching to go and boy does she GO!!!


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Yep, ball driven GSDs make great candidates- my GSD is exactly as yours is with balls and we train in Agility & he loves it. I do recommend staying a lower jump heights & if you get to trail- going for specialist or enthusiast if you can to keep the impact less extreme until you xray hips/elbows. My dog has started to show some tenderness in his rear after training for almost a year, and our trainer advised us to just do lower levels until we get his hips checked out, and continue doing that for a few years just to minimize impact.


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

I'm going to throw out there this piece of advice...enroll your dog in some basic obedience classes or a canine good citizen class. You had mentioned that your dog gets distracted and loud around the presence of other strange dogs. In agility and any other dog sport, your dog needs to have good focus and able to maintain a connection with you around other dogs. Using basic obedience classes will help you teach your dog to focus on you and the task you are doing at hand while being around other dogs/people/distractions. 

How old is your GSD?? 

I have seen plenty of GSDs at agility trials and they do well.


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