# Basil is starting Agility classes!!



## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Next week we have an appointment with a trainer to evaluate Basil for her "Agility for Reactive Dogs" class. I'm very excited! I can't wait to start doing agility with Basil! I think we're both going to have a blast. I've already dehydrated my special "puppy trail-mix" training treats for the class, lol! 

I decided to go with the "Agility for Reactive Dogs" class because even though he's not at all aggressive and I've been having success managing his reactivity, he still can sometimes have a lapse in focus and won't pay attention to me because he's hyperfocused on another dog. I'll see what the trainer says after his evaluation, though.

I wanted to ask, those of you that do agility, what should I expect from doing these classes? I'm VERY new to agility! What did you learn in your first few classes? Also, I'm wondering about the kind of state of mind I should get Basil into before class. Like, how much should I wear him out before class? If I really want him to listen and focus, I tend to exercise him quite a bit so he's very calm. But I also want him to be energetic enough to be enthusiastic about the training. But would it be a bad idea to walk into class with Basil bouncing off the walls? What would you recommend? 

I certainly intend on updating you all on how Basil does with his classes! :biggrin1:


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## LynnI (Mar 27, 2010)

First, congrats on your new adventure, but here is a warning........agility can be VERY addicting 

What you should be learning in those first classes is focus and on the flat handling skills i.e being able to work your dog on both sides in a heel position working to inside and outside (dog on the outside, dog on the inside turning), auto sits, downs and stays and recalls with distractions. Target work, wobble boards and plank work in prep for the contact equipment. The classes should also be trying to find out what motivates your dog, so bring a trail mix of food rewards that are small, easy/fast to eat and that don't crumble along with any toys/balls or tugs.
Most places recommend not feeding your dog before a class, exercising them but not to the point that they are too tried to play. Expect him be distracted especially at that first class. You may be requested to bring a crate or ask if you can bring one for down time.
Cheers


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## nikkiluvsu15 (Jun 18, 2009)

Awesome!!  I hope you and Basil have fun - I know you will  We started Agility a few months ago and it is SO fun... I've just got to find a way to keep up with Harleigh, she is so fast. LOL

You'll have to let us know how it goes!


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Wow that's great!! I wish we had a class like that here! I'd enroll Nia in a heartbeat! 

Let us know how it goes and how the evaluation goes!


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

What you should do before-hand depends on the dog. I always feed Kit before class because she would spend the entire class begging if I didn't. Most dogs come hungry, though. I used to exercise her (at least a walk) before agility class, as well, but as we get into more energetically demanding stuff in class, I find that's not necessary. For a beginners class where you're doing flatwork, you absolutely want maximum focus on you and the most energetically demanding stuff you should be doing in class is like a tunnel or two at this stage. I don't know if you've ever been to obedience class with Basil, but if so, this will be somewhat similar for a while. 

I'm trying to think back to our first few classes...
I know we worked on targeting. We did some heeling. I think we worked a bit on sending our dogs around obstacles, like a stool in the middle of the room. Many dogs were very distracted at first, and crating was pretty necessary at the beginning. One dog spent the first couple of months in the crate, just learning to watch calmly while other dogs moved around the room. The first obstacles that you will probably be introduced to are tunnels, hoops, and maybe a table. Teeters and weaves are probably the two hardest obstacles, so you won't see those for a while.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks for your advice and experience, guys!

I have a question; LynnI and GottaLuvMutts, you have mentioned that he might need to be crated during class. What if he can't handle being crated? Basil tends to panic when he's crated. Would it be okay for me, if Basil is being very distractible, to just stand at a distance and practice doing sits and downs and such, or pace around in the background?


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

Nargle said:


> Thanks for your advice and experience, guys!
> 
> I have a question; LynnI and GottaLuvMutts, you have mentioned that he might need to be crated during class. What if he can't handle being crated? Basil tends to panic when he's crated. Would it be okay for me, if Basil is being very distractible, to just stand at a distance and practice doing sits and downs and such, or pace around in the background?


Crates aren't used by many people in my class. For Cherokee, working on being calm, meaning not an overexcited idiot, while sitting next to other dogs is as much a part of the experience as the agility training. I am not just there to learn to get ribbons but to work on all of my dogs personality strengths and weaknesses. It has been a tremendous learning experience for both of us.


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## LynnI (Mar 27, 2010)

Nargle said:


> Thanks for your advice and experience, guys!
> 
> I have a question; LynnI and GottaLuvMutts, you have mentioned that he might need to be crated during class. What if he can't handle being crated? Basil tends to panic when he's crated. Would it be okay for me, if Basil is being very distractible, to just stand at a distance and practice doing sits and downs and such, or pace around in the background?


There are a few things you can do, however one thing that would benefit is Crate Games by Garrett, and just not for classes. Hopefully you never have to use it for this but what if he ever got hurt and your vet said you had crate him for weeks on end? Good idea to do some preventive training and get him comfortable in a crate, just in case.....
The other thing is placement training, again a very good tool to have. 
Not everyone uses a crate in classes, but being able to if needed is handy.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

LynnI said:


> Not everyone uses a crate in classes, but being able to if needed is handy.


I definitely agree with this. One alternative, at least in our class, would be a VERY solid down/stay. I do this a lot now, because Kit can handle it, but at first I needed the crate. The reason you need one or the other, at least in our class, was that the instructor often needed help getting out the equipment, etc. Later on, when courses become more complicated, you'll also need to crate, tether, or down/stay while you walk the course (to learn it).


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

UPDATE: Yesterday was Basil's first day of class! He was super excited at first, but after a while he calmed down and did really great. He was hardly reactive at all. I spent a lot of time working with him behind a fabric barrier while other dogs were running through the course, giving him treats and praise every time he was calm and made eye contact with me. We also started learning how to go through jumps. Basil kinda sorta got it, but it's a work in progress, lol!

My trainer did recommend training him to accept the crate, though. Her method of training him in the crate was to put him in and let him freak out and ignore him until he laid down. Then as soon as he laid down, she opened the crate and let him out and gave him lots of praise. I personally think I'd rather take less of a "tough love" approach and just wait out his anxiety because IMO he has enough of a negative association with the crate already, so instead I'd prefer a more "this is a wonderful place to be!" kind of approach to desensitizing him to the crate. For instance, I've been feeding him inside the crate and as soon as he's done, I let him out, so he never panics and learns that the crate is a place where tasty treats happen. What are your opinions? Anybody have any resources to help guide me in training him to accept his crate?


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## doggiecrossing (Jan 13, 2011)

That's so cool. I thought about doing this with our queensland mix Mattie. She has more energy then she knows what to do with. Even after walks she still wants to run around the backyard and runs from fence to fence to spy on the neighbors chickens.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

Nargle said:


> My trainer did recommend training him to accept the crate, though. Her method of training him in the crate was to put him in and let him freak out and ignore him until he laid down. Then as soon as he laid down, she opened the crate and let him out and gave him lots of praise. I personally think I'd rather take less of a "tough love" approach and just wait out his anxiety because IMO he has enough of a negative association with the crate already, so instead I'd prefer a more "this is a wonderful place to be!" kind of approach to desensitizing him to the crate. For instance, I've been feeding him inside the crate and as soon as he's done, I let him out, so he never panics and learns that the crate is a place where tasty treats happen. What are your opinions? Anybody have any resources to help guide me in training him to accept his crate?


Not sure which way I'd go. Definitely depends on the dog, though. 
One small warning: I would be very careful about WHEN crating happens, especially if you're planning to practice this at agility class. If Basil only gets crated at agility class and never at home, he's not going to want to set foot in that building. He's going to associate the negative crate experience with agility. I think to be safe, I'd work on this only at home, at least until he gets the idea that crates aren't evil.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Hmm.. what about an anxious, soft dog with SA that totally freaks out when crated..? :biggrin1:

Also, I intend to do most (or all) of his crate training at home for now.


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## LynnI (Mar 27, 2010)

What about using an x-pen at classes instead of a crate until you get his crating issues solved?


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Could an x-pen be used totally instead of a crate in Agility? I've thought of using an x-pen, but if I'm going to end up needing to crate him in the end anyways, I might as well skip the ex-pen. Right now in class we're focusing more on the reactivity aspect, so we're all with our dogs (behind barriers some of the time) working on focus and calmness and there's not a big need to crate him right now during class. But if and x-pen would be a suitable permanent replacement for a crate, that's something I may definitely be interested in.


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## RaeganW (Jul 14, 2009)

Nargle said:


> Could an x-pen be used totally instead of a crate in Agility? I've thought of using an x-pen, but if I'm going to end up needing to crate him in the end anyways, I might as well skip the ex-pen. Right now in class we're focusing more on the reactivity aspect, so we're all with our dogs (behind barriers some of the time) working on focus and calmness and there's not a big need to crate him right now during class. But if and x-pen would be a suitable permanent replacement for a crate, that's something I may definitely be interested in.


I've seen both at a trial, usually x-pens have more than one dog. And it's going to depend on the trial location and crating space. An x-pen takes up more floor space. I'd be a little ticked if someone used an x-pen for a single dog at an indoor trial like Oshkosh where the crate space is pretty cramped to begin with, but at an outdoor trial like Fondy's where there is plenty of space I wouldn't mind at all.


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## MissMutt (Aug 8, 2008)

X-Pens are usually banned from indoor trials in my area. No reason why you can't use one in class, though.

Marge is somewhat resistant to being crated but does LOADS better when the crate is covered. I've crated her for up to an hour straight at my training club and she's been fine.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Alright, thanks guys. I've decided to order Basil a soft sided crate, because he seems to tolerate being inside of soft sided crates better than plastic or metal crates, and continue to work on crate training him. I'll keep you guys updated on his progress when he goes to his second class on Monday! :biggrin1:


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Update: Today was Basil's second day in class. He was really good about reacting towards other dogs! We worked on tunnels today, and he seemed to enjoy it! Though when I tried to run up to the tunnel and send him through, he seemed a little suspicious, and tried to follow me on the outside of the tunnel. But while the trainer was holding his leash on one end of the tunnel and I was on the other, he did really well! Even when the tunnel was curved! He also did surprisingly well on crate training during class. We brought his small soft-sided carrier to class (His larger one that we ordered hasn't come in yet) and I kept throwing treats in and he went in to get them. After a while I'd give him more treats while he stayed in his crate with the door open (he was calm and obeyed my "Stay" well), and then I zipped up the crate and walked away. He barked a bit, but as soon as he was calm I walked over and gave him treats through the zipper in the top of the carrier. So all in all the class went pretty well! He did have some anxiety because I was standing a short distance away from my boyfriend standing on Basil's leash, and Basil couldn't get to him, but I ignored him and gave him treats as soon as he was calm, and he calmed down very quickly! My homework for this week is to continue with the crate training, work on loose leash walking, work on his sit-stay and down-stay, and use shaping to train him to stand in a small box so that he learns that he has back legs, lol!


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## LynnI (Mar 27, 2010)

X-pens are very common, even with one dog in them at most of the indoor trials up here


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