Agility_Freak

i agree with you sidoney. it's better to wait untill your dog is ready than put them in a trial right at 18 months. like you said the dog needs mental and physical maturity, and not only that, you'll be giving money away for no reason. i made the mistake of starting Foxy a bit too early. he was nearly 3 but we had only been training for about 6 months. and i can tell you that it wasn't that much fun going in the ring and your dog running out of the ring. So i guess what i'm trying to say, is don't start trialiing as soon as the doog turns 18 months. wait untill they're ready.

No age limit to my knowledge lol there is an age limit for trailing. i don't know what it is up in vic or nsw, but down here in tas your dog has to be at least 18 months old until you can trial with them. and also, most clubs will have an age limit for beginner classes. the club that i train and also teach (hobart canine obedience club inc.) has an age limit for beginner dogs (the dog has to be at least 12 months old). this is because we start jumping from the second week. but if you have all the equipment at home i don't see a reason why you can start training on the contacts and tunnels before. i would leave jumpung and weaving till they get to 12 months.

it's always harder with your first dog (lol i know, Foxy is my first dog) because you have to learn how to do thing aswell, but i'm sure you'll get there and maybe i'll see you one day at the nationals of something if you have any other questions feel free to ask

Personally I don’t think the chicken has anything to do with it. The only chicken that my guy gets is chicken wings or necks and he is 44cm (which is about 17inches) and he was bred by Shirley Fox (Shelmanna) who is one of the most successful sheltie breeders in Australia. He’s mother was from Shelmanna who was aus ch and he’s father was from Ancorha who was grand ch. So when you think about it, it seems weird that he is so big, but there might have been a bigger dog back in one of the lines and it only takes one big dog’s genes to come through and you have a mixed litter. Anyway I couldn’t care less about his size since I do agility with him. It actually really like his size because he can go faster :rolleyes:

when it comes to raw meat, i feed him chunks of beef (usually), and he also gets a few chicken wings every week, but also might get a large marrow bone when/if he’s teeth are getting bad. With dried food, he gets 1cup (if I only feed him dry) a day, which usually consist of ¾ of supercoat and ¼ of advance energy. The night before a trial or a long training session it’s reversed (1/4 supercoat and ¾ advance energy). He also gets the same thing the night we get home (after we’ve finished training or trialing). Apart from that he also gets pasty, veggies, rice, chicken necks and heaps of other stuff.

Simply just to protect the dog from injury

could agree with you more, Barb. one more thing to add though. when you get more experienced and start trialing, find what work for you and use it, but at the same time don't be affraid to try other things. that way you can see if a different technique will work better.

i also agree with sidoney, but i wouldn't let her keep doing it because it might become a bad habbit. i am going to traing on friday and i will get some pics to show you the way i do it.