# Agility VS other sports question



## LuckySarah (May 3, 2010)

I have a working bulldog and I think my options for dog sports are quite open at this point, he is high drive, athletic, confident ect.

Agility is a sport that runs competitions in my area a lot, also a lot of trainers to pick from when choosing this sport in my area.

My question is though if I go ahead with the agility (for fun essentially) does that hold us back from any other sports I may be interested in pursuing once my dog is more mature? (ie weight pulling/bite work/competitive obedience) the later sports are what really interest me the most but comps are far and few between, in fact I think there is only one competitive weight pull in Ontario a year.

So I like the idea that with agility there are comps all the time.


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

LuckySarah said:


> I have a working bulldog and I think my options for dog sports are quite open at this point, he is high drive, athletic, confident ect.
> 
> Agility is a sport that runs competitions in my area a lot, also a lot of trainers to pick from when choosing this sport in my area.
> 
> ...


No, your dog is his own limit on how many things you can do. There are many people who do weight pull, agility, obedience, retrieving, rally, dock diving all at the same time. It's all a matter of how well you train, how much money you have, how much time you have. If your dog starts struggling with retaining everything he has to do, then you might want to slow down or be less ambitious in other sports. Or not. It's up to you. Many dogs (if not most of them) can do all of it at the same time.


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## MissMutt (Aug 8, 2008)

I don't see why it'd hold you back at all. My dog trains in 3 activities in addition to all the time we spend doing doggy things like hiking.  I say go for it - it's great for relationship building!


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

Agility is not something you can really do until your dog is mature. You can do the groundwork but actually competing in Agility cannot be done till they are at least 18 months old. Right now you should be starting in on Obedience training first and all the other competitions once he is well trained in Obedience.


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## LuckySarah (May 3, 2010)

why 18 months?

They have agility classes for puppies, in fact that's the next class I was going to sign up for.
My bulldog is not a large breed.


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## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

The class is probably mostly foundation work, which is basically glorified obedience. It's fine to start training with a young dog, but most (all?) agility venues require the dog to be 18 months to compete. Additionally, there are obstacles that would not be recommended for a young dog, such as weaves and jumps (although you can put the jump bar on the ground for a young dog). 

You don't have to be ready for formal obedience competitions before you start agility training, but it REALLY helps to have done a basic obedience class or two and get the groundwork solid before moving on.


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## Indigo (Mar 31, 2011)

With my dog I did agility, flyball, obedience, herding, disc dog, weight pull, sledding/carting, skijoring, and pack hiking. Some competitive, some for fun. He knew the difference and if anything flyball made him more motivated to do agility and strengthened his send-outs.

Most of the dogs I knew through dog sports competed in multiple sports as well. They were fine.

Training wise, as long as he has a good recall, can sit and lie down on command, will follow you off lead, and isn't aggressive to people or dogs, you will be fine to start agility.

They recommend waiting for 18 months to do jumps and other high impact obstacles like a-frames because the puppy might not yet be finished growing and can damage its soft growth plates. Basically that means the ends of its growing bones are softer and susceptible to damage. The heavier set the dog the more susceptible they are. Damage to the growth plates could stop the bones from growing normally and then you have a problem...


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## LuckySarah (May 3, 2010)

Thanks 

I have started OB with him (he is 15 weeks now) there is a video on my blog for anyone who wants to critique (always open to suggestions)


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

I wholeheartedly agree wait until he's more mature to introduce agility equipment. But, there is so much you can do foundation wise with a pup. Clean Run which is one of most well know sources for all things agility has some fantastic foundation/puppy agility DVD's which you will find invaluable. 

Mary Ellen Barry is awesome and my good friend's Dobe puppy is in this one.  It's new and it's been getting great reviews - http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=2625&ParentCat=215

I have this video and it's great for teaching groundwork and introducing handling skills to pups - http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1729&ParentCat=215

If this is your first agility dog, think about getting a subscription to Clean Run itself. It's not just a magazine, but reference books that show up in your mail box each month. 

I've never heard of a Mammut Bulldog before! I tried to google them and didn't find much. From the few pics I found, they are very cute (and fuzzy.) Good luck with him!


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## LuckySarah (May 3, 2010)

Thanks 

They are a German breed so there are not many in North America, but he is pretty much an athletic renesance bulldog.
Very high drive, confident, high stimulus threshold I am actually having his temperament evaluated for SchH, failing that I will try and involve him in as many sports as possible, agility being one of them.


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## LynnI (Mar 27, 2010)

Hey Welcome, I am in Ontario as well. Be careful of any puppy agility classes, if it foundations and the places you are looking at do compete successfully in agility then you should be fine. But sadly there are too many places that offer puppy or fun agility classes that are scary and should be avoided 
Maybe we'll see each other at a trial some time, cheers. On another note, Rally classes are also an excellent continued education for pups.


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