# Agility



## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

I've been doing some research into getting Haeden started with agility training. I think it would be a good outlet for his endless energy and would help build his confidence with new things as he's recently started to act weary/skiddish around new things (our vet told us most Vs develop fears as they age). Anyways, the one thing I cannot seem to find through any of the agility clubs is what a good age to start agility training is or what skills the dog should have prior to starting. Most programs that I've found have puppy classes, then progress into agility. Being an outsider to their programs I will have to jump in and would love to receive some advice prior to starting any of this about when the best time to start is. Can anyone share their experience and knowledge about getting into this, where your dog was at with training prior to starting and how old?


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## Carolina Blue (Sep 20, 2012)

I started Kiya in obedience class when she was 3.5 months, then started puppy agility around 4 months. You will want to stay in puppy agility or a low impact agility until the dog is fully developed to ensure they avoid joint issues in the future. And you are correct about the confidence! Kiya is not shy at all but was a little unsure about the texture of some of the equipment, now she flies over it! I also use the agility time to work on focus..lots of watch me's!


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Boris is 13 months now and still goes to obedience training. He also started puppy agility at about 8 months. The first two sessions I wasn't sure that he or I really enjoyed it, but all of a sudden he got the idea and he just loves it, and I love seeing him enjoy it.

I think the most important training you need for agility is a wait command. Boris was very good at this before he started agility and is fine on his waits except at agility. His sense of anticipation just doesn't allow him to wait so my trainer has to hold him. We don't worry too much about it at this stage as it is good that he is thinking ahead, but will have to sort it out soon.

The rest will come as you both learn together - and I do hope you are better at being in the right place at the right time. Boris's biggest problem is me, as I am continually in the wrong place!

It is great fun and there is a lot more skill to agility than most people (including me) realise.


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## littlelulu (Jun 21, 2011)

Lulu and I started agility when she was a year old, but we would have started our foundation work much earlier had we got her earlier (we got her when she was 8 months old). We've been taking agility classes for 2 years now and we both love it. 

You can start agility foundations at any age! Foundations don't involve any equipment at all but makes a great deal of difference once your dog is older and ready for equipment. This part of training is crucial but many people rush through it to get to the "sexier" stuff  that most of us associate with agility (jumps, weaves, contacts). Foundations include building tug drive, basic obedience (sit, stay, down, recalls), crate games, start line games, circle work/shadow handling, 2-on-2-off's (technique used to get your dog hitting the "contact zones" of contact equipment like A-frames), body awareness exercises, etc. If all of that sounds like greek to you, check out some agility blogs/website's like Susan Garrett's. When we started agility class, Lulu didn't see an obstacle for months because there is so much other stuff to work on first. And like Carolina Blue pointed out, you have to be very careful introducing pups and young dogs to equipment and keep the heights very low. Dogs shouldn't be jumping at their height class until about 1.5 years of age. 

You didn't say how old Haeden is, but before starting a class I would make sure he has a great sit-stay, down-stay and recall/name response. Then I would find a great agility club that offers agility foundations classes and go from there! Good luck and let us know how things go!!


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## Miles (May 18, 2011)

Agility is great fun and it helps improve the communication between you and your dog. I agree with hotmischief- I think I'd only worry about the "wait" command, the rest you will get. Just be sure you are ready to RUN!! The trainer kept telling me I needed to go faster - Miles was ahead going through the tunnels with me at my top speed. Enjoy!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Thanks, all, for the wealth of knowledge on this. I've contacted two different people about getting into "pre-agility" classes which introduce the dog to the equipment and do a short introduction to agility. It's only two 1 hour classes so I think that would be a good intro for us and to get a feel for what basics we need to work on. His obedience is good while we're at home but when you throw other dogs into the mix it starts to get iffy. We definitely will need to work on "wait" before we get too far ahead of ourselves, as well as his recall/off leash so I'm going to work harder at that myself. If we can get into the pre-agility class (starts next week) then I think we'll do it, otherwise I've found a good training center that has classes specifically on recall/off leash and then another that helps prep the dog for their Canine Good Citizen (CGC) that I think we'll try to do over the summer to boost his overall training and hopefully get him to pass the CGC. We've been through two classes thus far (a puppy class and an intermediate obedience class) but I will admit that we haven't been 100% on reinforcing that training. I'm going to work with him tonight a bit and my hope is that by the fall we'll be able to get into some real agility classes. Crossing my fingers, at least!

If we get into the pre-agility class I'll let you all know how it goes. I'm excited to start something new with our pup that I think we'll both enjoy!
Miles, maybe I should start running now to get ready for this 
littlelulu, thanks for the tips on what basics he should know. I'm definitely going to get working with him more on his stays and recall. I really need to get him into a routine of waiting for cues from me before he does things. At this point he will not budge when I put his food down until I tell him "you can eat, good boy" and point to his bowl so I know he has the ability but I need to reinforce it.


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## littlelulu (Jun 21, 2011)

I just wanted to add that I totally agree with this statement by hotmischief:

[It is great fun and there is a lot more skill to agility than most people (including me) realise.]

In our club, we have a saying, "Agility IS rocket science" . If you want, training can be very involved and there are a number of "handling systems" that ascribe to different ways of handling/maneuvering obstacles and courses. It can get pretty crazy and I def get overwhelmed in class sometimes as my head and body want to do different things while poor Lulu is desperately trying to figure out what I want her to do! ;D 

That being said, it's all great fun (why we do it!) and we don't take ourselves too seriously! It can be as light, fun, and un-competitive as you want. I, like you, KB87, started agility as an outlet for my crazy girls energy and to help build her confidence. But then, like many, I got addicted and can't stop . It's very rewarding and an amazing bonding opportunity between you and your ginger ninja.

I hope I didn't take this thread on a tangent, but I do love agility and talking about it. I was wondering if maybe we could start up a Dog Sports (other than hunting) thread here so people could talk about agility, disc dog, rally-o, obedience, etc., if the interest is there. There are only a few Vs competing in agility where I live and I'd love to connect with and pick the brains of other V owners who love the sport.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

As I'm reading more and more I'm realizing that there is a lot of skill that needs to be developed (especially communication between owner and dog) to do well at agility. I think we have found a good program that's relatively close to home which offers a lot of training classes- from beginners classes to competition classes to specifics like weaving, jumps, stay, etc. Our boy will need to get his CGC before he's able to enter any of the agility classes which works out because there's quite a waiting list to get into any of the agility classes. I think we are going to take their "foundations" class that builds the dog up to testing for their CGC and then the followup foundations class which works on off leash training/communication. Then we'll be ready to start into some agility hopefully at the end of the summer!! I think at first it will be fun but I can see this turning into something we really enjoy, especially with so many class options to get into!

I can't wait just to get our pup back into a "classroom" setting to get him working on training again. It's like as soon as he walks in the room he gets serious and focuses. I think we have a lot to learn but I want it to be fun, not work, while we learn.

I like the idea of a dog sports thread. I didn't know so many people on here had experience/knowledge about agility because most of what I read about is hunting and a little show. I think sharing that knowledge would be great- especially for beginners like me!!


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## Miles (May 18, 2011)

Well, if you do train yourself with running- train in sprinting, not long distance. 

I am very very far from an expert but I'd also say don't forget to just have fun- I saw some people in the classes take it really seriously and really stress out- seemed to defeat the point. Maybe it's just cuz our V's are so smart and fast- it was easy to make progress once he wasn't afraid to go through the tunnel. 

If you want to see a dog maybe not really meant for agility, this video makes me laugh- starting around 1:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezObAHki6u8 Sorry if off-topic but hopefully this gives you confidence in you and your V.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Miles, I'm still young (25) so running around that course better not kill me or else something is seriously wrong!

That video is awesome but agility has to be **** on that dog's joints! I started to watch it at work and had to stop because I was laughing too loud so I'll have to finish it at home tonight. That dane's heel work leaves A LOT to be desired from Haeden, however, I think he'll fit through the hoops a little better . I totally foresee myself having to go through hoops and tunnels first so he'll follow hahaha


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## roxy2011 (May 21, 2012)

roxy and i began agility when she turned 1 only because of weather difficlties were we late 
my preperation was taking her out running with me she learned quickly how to go under stys and over fences where the need arose 

lots of comments about running quickly ... i agree the nice thing was she didnt take her eyes off me or my hand signals so she took to it wonderfully 

hated the see saw so we dont do that loved the rubber ring and the tunnels she was super fast all the jumps were easy to her and it trained her brain thus knackering her 

i basically did an 8 week course in a group session and then every so often maybe once twice a month we have a one on one together (about £8) 

it actually helped in getting her to jump in and out of the boot for our car journeys so i love agility ;D


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

We have signed up for the Intro to Agility class which starts next week. It's only a two week class, meeting each week for an hour. I think it will at least give us an idea of whether or not this is something to jump into or not. Right now it's just Haeden and another dog so it's nice and small which I like. We're really excited about trying this. Can't wait for next week now!


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Good luck and I hope you both enjoy it. I do a private class with a friend and that is good. I need all the help I can get, but having another person there removes some of the pressure.

I think it took about 3 sessions for Boris to really start enjoying agility - now he anticipates and won't wait at the start of a course.

Have fun and keep us posted on how you and Haeden get along.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Class 1 thoughts: holy $h!t! How do people get Vs to do agility???

Additional thoughts: my dog needs some major training around other dogs. Tonight was a little embarrassing to say the least. Once I got a high reward treat he focused better but he needs A LOT of work. He was able to jump a bar on the third peg which was impressive considering that be was scared of it at first. At the end I got him to jump 3 bars in a row off leash. But wow do we need to get him to listen off leash.


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## Rufus Tiberius (Dec 18, 2012)

I'll just and my .02 cents on agility. I think it's one of the best activities and training you can do with your V, next to hunting, field trials and hunt tests. Gives them a job and totally stimulates them.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

KB87 - why are they starting you off at such a height. I know later when they are near competing they need to be up higher , but for the past four months we have just been getting the idea of jumping over the fence on command. As we are still learning the basics(after 4 months). bring them round and sending them out - 1' to 18' is fine - less wear and tear on your dogs joints and also no room for him to go underneath.

It is not about the size of the fence, a vizsla will jump a 6' fence easy peasy. As you are finding out it is about jumping and turning and going through tunnels on command. It is all about the relationship between man and dog.

Sounds like you and your dog enjoyed it.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

This class (I'm using the term "class" loosly since it's more like an open gym for dogs) isn't exactly what I expected. I was told that it's supposed to be a fun environment where the dogs are able to interact with the equipment which is all I had wanted just to see if my boy is able to do this, I'm able to do this, and if it's something that he'll enjoy. As of late he's begun to get spooked by a lot more (vacuums, his treat jar, rabbits in the back yard) so I wanted to find something that we could do to build his confidence. Last night they introduced the jumps and he was VERY hesitant at first. We started out by him checking it out, then progressed to taking treats near it, then off of it, then finally we walked through without any bars, then he stepped over a bar. As it turns out, the other two dogs in the class compete so this was really quite basic for them. By the end of class they set up 3 jumps for those dogs to go over and our teacher asked if I wanted to see if Haeden would do it. We started with just running through them, then he had 1 bar to step over, then it progressed and when he was more confident I put the bar up higher to see if he would actually jump since he was basically just stepping over the bars at lower heights. He really surprised me and did jump the bars and you could tell that he was very proud of himself. Next week I think we might be investigating the tunnel or maybe the ramp. Not sure how that will go.

Anyways, this class is just getting comfortable with equipment and I decided to push him a bit last night while I had the chance. Next week is the last "class" and then it's over. I wanted to use it to make sure that this is something that we can do, since he's so skiddish about new things, without paying an arm and a leg for a full agility class and having it go terribly. I also wanted to get a taste of what basic commands/behaviors he needs to get better on before we take a full class. As it turns out he has a hard time watching me so we're going to take another basics training class to work on that, off leash and to get him used to training around other dogs since he wanted to play with them last night instead of work. He won't get into a full agility class until later in the year- maybe late summer. I really enjoyed it and think he can excel at this...once he gets his basics mastered. He's still a baby though.


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