Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: Dog Agility

Jump! Teeter! Climb! Weave! Go, go, go!



I've only been playing this fantastically fun hobby / sport for about 3 years and only with a single dog, so I can't claim expertise in every aspect, but certainly happy to share what I've learned to anyone that might be interested in giving it a go with their canine! (Or just generally interested!)

AMA

Aaaa what a good boi! Please tell me about your dog!

It looks like such a fun way to keep your dog fit and healthy, and for you both to make friends! Have you ever met somebody who was a little bit too competitive?

Perhaps surprisingly, no, I haven't. Overall, I've found there is exceptionally good sportsmanship. However, there are multiple organizations that host events and the one I run most often is considered "the fun one". It's very possible that once the stakes are higher than just racking up ribbons that folks might get a lot more upset about losing. (I'm speculating. I have no evidence of such!)

And it's definitely a great way to keep the dog active! Mine is a high-energy Yorkshire terrier / mutt mix named Popper. I live "in the sticks" and he got dumped on my road as a puppy that quickly made himself right at home chasing my poor cat up a tree!

He picked up on the basic obedience commands easily. So I thought it would be fun to teach him some tricks - he loved jumping over things! Almost on a whim, I signed up for a 'beginner agility' class and enjoyed it so much that we just kept going!

I love your doggy so much, such a cutie!!! Is training a dog for agility more complicated or time consuming than normal training (example: tricks, leash training, potty training, etc).

Not much more complicated. The obstacles themselves are basically just individual tricks. So in the beginning, it's obstacle, reward (treat, praise, toy, etc), obstacle, reward, obstacle reward. Then put a couple obstacles together, reward.

For us, the most challenging obstacle is the weave poles. That is NOT a behavior that my dog understood easily and it took at least 6 months (of 2-3 times per week 5-minute training sessions) for it to 'click' for him. Even now that he understands what he's supposed to do, it's his least favorite obstacle and he still messes them up frequently by skipping a pole. Some of this might be due to the fact that all of the other obstacles came so naturally to him that I grew a little frustrated early on that he just didn't seem to be getting it! I think he picked up on my frustration, which made it not so much fun for him.



Lesson learned: relax and keep it fun! For both dog and handler!


It can be more time consuming. Though it's really just an extension of basic obedience training. I go about 3x month for an hour-long group class. A lot of this is just practice, exercise, fun, and honing existing skills at this point rather than really learning new skills. And then 1 weekend a month, we compete! That part is an exhausting all-day affair! (Though some folks just enjoy the classes and never actually do the competitions since, no matter what, it's a good way to build a good, working relationship with your dog.)

omg, the struggle with weave poles is REAL. Venice carefully skips poles any time she thinks she can get away with it. She is so oooooover them.

Do you guys run agility too?! I've been following your Service Dog thread. That pooch needs a lifetime achievement award!

Just a tiny bit! I have a few of the obstacles in the yard. We do them for exercise on days I can't make it out to the park, or during the pandemic on days she is asking for work to do and I can't really think of anything to give her to do. I think Venice would be terrible in competition because she does not see the point in hurrying. She does all of them at a very gentle trot and won't be rushed.

Ha! I can totally imagine that from her pics in the other thread. But I would imagine she'd be very businesslike and do the course flawlessly, which is often enough to earn qualifying scores for titles!

Heck, some of the "games" courses even favor a more controlled dog. Check out the game called "Snooker". The fast dogs that are prone to taking whatever obstacle is in their line of site struggle with that one sometimes: http://pawsitiveactionagility.com/resources/CPE%20Games%20for%20Newbies.pdf

Oh wow thank you! I had no idea there was a category for this type of thing! I will definitely look into this more.