# Beginner Questions for Agility People



## pinksand (Dec 11, 2013)

I've never done agility with a dog before so bear with my ignorance. My only agility experience was going to competitions when I was a kid to watch our Beardie's sister and mom compete. Honestly, I don't remember much. 

Charlie is still too young for agility (only 8mo), but I'm interested in how you knew it would be a good activity for your dog, what steps you took to prepare, ect?

He took a level 1 obedience class but we haven't gone any further. Are more obedience classes recommended as a starting point or is that not necessary?

The main reason I am interested in giving it a try is that Charlie loves to learn and is very agile. He's fast and loves to jump so it just seems like something he'd enjoy. 

So where did all of you get started? Any tips or advice? I'm really just exploring the idea at this point.


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## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

Your dog is not too young to start foundation work! I would suggest this book. It will give you everything you need to start playing!

http://www.amazon.com/Agility-Right-Start-ultimate-fastest-growing/dp/1890948411


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

He isn't too young for agility. The starting point is not jumping, it is working to understand how to run and play with you and make the various turns. Find local agility schools and see about a puppy class now!

My dogs learn obedience better in agility than in a plain obedience class as it is so much more fun to stay if after that stay you get to run and jump with your favorite human. Just the basic sitdownstaycome plus being comfortable around other dogs is all that is needed to start a beginning agility class.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

First, 8 months isn't too young. Most places will have foundations and beginner classes geared towards young dogs. There is a ton a dog can learn without needing to do a lot of equipment or jumps.

The level of obedience varies by place. Some want the dogs to have a basic sit and stay, while some will teach you that and don't care what level the dog is at. I think off leash control is far more important than a sit or stay. My dog has a fantastic sit and stay and I could lead out across the entire ring, but his off leash control sucks - the sit/stay isn't really helping me. Of course, lots of dogs don't have great off leash control when they start and that's part of what you build in a beginner class, though I have seen classes that want some basic off leash control from the start.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Just make sure you find a good trainer. I just started because it looked like fun. It's addicting though so watch out.


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## pinksand (Dec 11, 2013)

All of the agility places I've been able to find near me have a 12 month age limit, even for the beginner classes. I might have to get the recommended book and start some foundation training on my own in the meantime. 

Charlie has a pretty good sit/stay, but I'd imagine he'd be a wild man off leash with other off leash dogs around. That was the hardest part of obedience class. He'd be good for the first few minutes of working on a command and then get bored and look around like, "Hm what else is there to do around here!" I need to work more on self control and focus exercises. I work on sit/down stays on hikes when mountain bikers pass in tight sections of the trail and he's done great, so I'll have to extend that work around other dogs. We do work on "look at me" when passing leash reactive dogs on walks. Again, off leash I'd imagine is a whole different game! 

How have you worked on off leash control? What types of environments should I work in?


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

In a good class imo one dog is off leash and the rest are crated. It's a safety thing. Most places I've seen require dogs that aren't being worked to stay in their crates.

I've always just had dogs off leash from day 1 because we had no fence (well we had a fence that papillons can fit through). But my dogs are naturally very sticky. It will build up in agility very slowly. We started basically with 'this is clicker training' and 'this is shaping'. By the end of the foundations class we had only done tunnels and jumps and sending to targets off leash. You have to make yourself and the game more valuable than everything else outside. 

But dogs will run around and be distracted at first. Or they'll get zoomies or potty on the field, etc. Trust me they've seen it all before. 

Hell, my dog ended up in the ring crew's lap a couple trials ago.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Too bad the schools don't have foundations classes for puppies. Ground work is fun and really important stuff. 

My school has four fenced fields and one dog is allowed off leash as well. Dogs do go zoomies and beginning classes generally don't have dogs put up as you get lots of short turns so it is up to the handlers to be aware and block access. Zooming dogs are usually just running around crazy and not actually interested in playing with other dogs.

How about putting a long line on and going to the park? Tie the line to something if you are really feeling paranoid and play and train him away from others. I took Ginger to a local off leash area for short hikes armed with lots of treats and rewarded her for looking at me every time. If I was worried I would have her off leash for a couple minutes at a time instead of trying for a whole 1/2 hour hike off leash. Tired dogs might be more apt to stay close so I might do more off leash tryouts closer to the end of the hike as well.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I agree that waiting dogs should be crated. At my facility they wait on leash across the ring, which is very distracting for my dog. As I said, sit/stay and stationary impulse control don't help him one little bit. Once he's in movement and off leash, his ability to ignore things goes way down. In my limited experience, most dogs get the hang of it though. Even the wild ones seem to figure it out fairly quickly and aren't running off every second. Generally your turn should be very short and focused - you know what to do, you set your dog up, you go out and do it, and then you put your dog away. I think there's less opportunity for dogs to get bored than in some obedience classes I've done.

My dog was off leash at home from day 1 and then hit 9 months and said "goodbye", so I haven't mastered the art of off leash training yet. I think part of it is finding places to practice and rewarding your dog for choosing to focus on you. If the dog can focus on you off leash in a fenced in area with no other dogs, then you can start adding in dogs. Ultimately, as others said, it's about building up the reinforcement for the game and for working with you. Kathyy had some really good tips for off leash work, or work with a long line.

All of that is stuff that a good training facility should be able to teach you. If they expect you to come in with perfect off leash control, then they just aren't interested in training beginners and you should find another place.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I know in our area the only real Agility trainer does not allow big dogs till they are a year old. We went with our smaller dogs at 10 months and really the Foundation class did not do anything a big dog could not have done younger too. Any jumping was basically just a bar six inches off the ground and it was more of an Agility handling class, learning front and rear crosses, etc. The teeter was just off the ground to start and gradually raised as were the dog walk and A-frame.

I am glad we have all our own equipment now and can practice at home. Most of it is down at my sisters but I have weave poles, teeter, tunnel and A-frame plus jumps at my place.


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## Robbi (Nov 19, 2013)

I'm kind of in the same situation as you!! I'm brand new to agility but would love love love to learn more. Sonic is my first dog ever, he's a pomeranian and extremely good at agility. He's still young, but like other people mentioned, you can start agility without drilling jumps and courses. Sonic started learning patience and how to focus on me, he learned new sensations like going in a tunnel or having the ground beneath his feet move a bit (for the teeter) He's currently working on sends (around a cone or overturned bucket and back, to help us work together at greater distances and help navigate a course easier. 

He started in "puppy agility" and even though he's now in the regular class we are still working on absolute basics like two in two off contacts (on a flat plank on the ground) to help once we get on the a frame or dog walk, we do exercises to teach the dogs left and right and we learn different techniques to do things like change direction or turn around.


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## pinksand (Dec 11, 2013)

Thank you all for the helpful information and insight! Robbi, I had no idea what any of those terms meant so thank you for the explanation! I have a LOT to learn


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## Tjrsports (May 11, 2014)

Too bad there aren't puppy agility classes where you live.. Maybe invest in a tunnel and just start working on foundation at home... Establish good recall, good distance obedience, etc.


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