# Yay for Jackson's FIRST agility class!



## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

The first class went great!:rockon:

There was a "Goldendoodle", some sort of Spaniel/Beagle mix, a little Corgi, a German Shepherd mix, a Golden Retriever and Jackson, so 6 dogs total. Which is perfect for a class, I think! Jackson is the smallest, ha. And all the dogs are friendly.

The trainer is super nice and seems pretty young but very knowledgeable. Definitely all positive trainer!

Jackson took to everything right away. She just went over the basics for the first ten minutes and we got a sit and a down from every dog - no problems. 

But then we started with low set jumps and I guided him over with a leash... he did fabulous with no hesitation! 

Then we practiced the tunnel and it took him a second just because the trainer had to hold his leash on one end of the tunnel, while I walked to the other, and I think he thought I was leaving him. So the trainer made friends with him first with pieces of hot dog, _then _we did tunnel. Once he realized he was coming through the tunnel to get to ME, he was super happy to do it, and he began going through the tunnel like a champ within 60 seconds and even ran directly to the trainer on the other side and did it multiple times in a row! We also started the a-frame and 'touch' making contact with it.

He, overall, REALLY seemed to enjoy it. He kept looking for more and he kept solid focus on me the whole time (I think the hot dogs I had in my pocket had something to do with that.... :wink but I loved that he was very interested in what we were doing and was constantly ready. The class was an hour long and he never became disinterested. 

Oh, and at the end, he got the ultimate reward. He got to RUN RUN RUN off-leash with Baxter, the Beagle/Spaniel mix, for about 15 mins. before packing up. The trainer couldn't believe how fast my 15lb dog was, he looked like a Greyhound running around that agility field.

Overall, GREAT class, and I am so glad I signed up!

New agility addict in the making......


----------



## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

It sounds like a lot of fun. I'd like to start agility with Buffy but I feel that I still don't have enough control over her to do so (we are doing miserably in Obedience 2). We did do the pause table, tunnel and A-frame in puppy class though. I'm also not sure she's old enough (8 months).

Anyway, good luck with it.


----------



## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Jacksons Mom said:


> The first class went great!:rockon:
> 
> There was a "Goldendoodle", some sort of Spaniel/Beagle mix, a little Corgi, a German Shepherd mix, a Golden Retriever and Jackson, so 6 dogs total. Which is perfect for a class, I think! Jackson is the smallest, ha. And all the dogs are friendly.
> 
> ...


Welcome to AA! (Agility Addicts)! 
That's great he did the tunnel right off the bat, it seems like the stuff Tag got a treat for EVERY SINGLE TIME in the first intros turned into his favorites. He sounds a lot like Tag, and if I'm right eventually you'll be able to randomly treat during class; the course and the obstacles become rewarding. (If your sequence is jump, tunnel, A-frame, the reward for the startline stay is the jump, the reward for the jump is the tunnel, the reward for the tunnel is the A-frame, etc).


----------



## Tavi (May 21, 2010)

Oh sounds like so much fun! Make sure to take some pictures if you get a chance! I'd love to see Jackson flying around the course with you! Or getting lost in the tunnel, whichever he has more fun doing! Hehe


----------



## Entwine (Jan 14, 2009)

Woo, go Jackson! It's great to hear he's taking to everything so quickly--especially the tunnel! Keep us updated. ;P


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

Tavi said:


> Oh sounds like so much fun! Make sure to take some pictures if you get a chance! I'd love to see Jackson flying around the course with you! Or getting lost in the tunnel, whichever he has more fun doing! Hehe


Yes! I will. I am going to bring a friend (or maybe my mom, haha) with me to a class or two and hopefully they can get some decent pictures. I'm sure over the next few classes, I'll make friends with some people too so we'll see if we can take pix of each other, etc. 



melaka said:


> It sounds like a lot of fun. I'd like to start agility with Buffy but I feel that I still don't have enough control over her to do so (we are doing miserably in Obedience 2). We did do the pause table, tunnel and A-frame in puppy class though. I'm also not sure she's old enough (8 months).
> 
> Anyway, good luck with it.


Well, in this class, everything is on leash until the very end (it's 8 weeks long total). So the control is not necessarily an issue. I do believe one year of age is the general time to start agility.  but I think you should give it a try!




LazyGRanch713 said:


> Welcome to AA! (Agility Addicts)!
> That's great he did the tunnel right off the bat, it seems like the stuff Tag got a treat for EVERY SINGLE TIME in the first intros turned into his favorites. He sounds a lot like Tag, and if I'm right eventually you'll be able to randomly treat during class; the course and the obstacles become rewarding. (If your sequence is jump, tunnel, A-frame, the reward for the startline stay is the jump, the reward for the jump is the tunnel, the reward for the tunnel is the A-frame, etc).


Great! Yes, I used a TON of treats in the first class. But he seemed to, like you said, get rewarded just by doing a good jump.



Entwine said:


> Woo, go Jackson! It's great to hear he's taking to everything so quickly--especially the tunnel! Keep us updated. ;P


Thanks! I will.


----------



## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Yes! I will. I am going to bring a friend (or maybe my mom, haha) with me to a class or two and hopefully they can get some decent pictures. I'm sure over the next few classes, I'll make friends with some people too so we'll see if we can take pix of each other, etc. 

*No doubt you will. If you or anyone else in the class has any equipment, you could do a get-together and pool your obstacles and practice taking action shots. Our class is planning to do that this Sunday. Do you have a video camera, or does anyone else in class have one? I got a combination digital video/picture taker at Walmart for around $250. Not the highest quality but it's a nice little camera with a memory card that holds like 500 videos, lol. *

Well, in this class, everything is on leash until the very end (it's 8 weeks long total). So the control is not necessarily an issue. I do believe one year of age is the general time to start agility.  but I think you should give it a try!

*Tag and I did everything leashed for awhile, then we graduated to offleash once he was into it enough that I didn't worry about him taking off (the whole outdoor field is fenced, and in the winter it's indoors, so it's not like he's going to go anywhere). Last week it got dark halfway through the class and the stadium lights kicked on. In the middle of a course, he froze, staring into the dark field, let out one "WOOOO!!!" bark, and then continued on. Dork *


Great! Yes, I used a TON of treats in the first class. But he seemed to, like you said, get rewarded just by doing a good jump.


*I think in a lot of cases the obstacles become self-rewarding. I will occasionally stop in mid course and jackpot Tag for a really good effort, keeps his interest up. Plus, he's an adrenaline junkie.*


----------

