Beginners Agility Help

[ShellyBeggs]

Help for a newbie to the sport..........I have some basic questions.

Keep in mind I am just starting with 2 babies (10 month and 15 month) and that I have never done it before.

I'm still working on lead.......holding lead in right hand.

should I forget about any sort of hand indication, hold lead across body in other hand or try doing both with right hand?

how can I get my dogs to actually jump?

I am talking less than ankle height and they just run through the jump or knock it over with their back feet

How do you teach them to walk their back legs in line with the front?

the front go up the ramp onto the dog walk and the back go off in another direction.....or they fall off the dog walk about half way up the ramp.

And lastly.....how can i stop my stupid kelpie from throwing himself off the dogwalk backwards.......?

first time he did it everyone rushed over to see if he was ok.........now he is such a comedian he is doing for the attention! This all comes about because I wont let him run flat out across the top and leap off.

He lays there after he throws himself off, growling and doing the snapping turtle thing while acting like he is scratching his back! hahaha.....I just walk away and ignore his antics....but others feel they need to check he is ok, and rightly so for liability and all that sort of thing.... and so he has an audience.

[Reddii]

Hi there,

I'm not sure about the answers to all or most of you questions as I'm very new myself, but have just worked through the rear feet/knocking jumps thing. I taught my boy to walk along a ladder that had been laid on the ground - really teaches them where their hind feet are. The other thing I'm working on is feet on one point and walk around in a circle - just another way to give them awareness of where their hind feet are.

I also think you need to stop your boy on the dog walk before he hurts himself at it. Perhaps go back to a lower height or even contact planks on the ground and then work back up to it. I had the opposite problem with my girl. she got blown off the dog walk twice one night and was a bit scared of it. We had to drop the height, but she is now full bore at full height again.

With the lead thing - not much help there as both mine are pretty focussed on me or at least the treat I have for them so I've never really had much need to have them on lead - just lucky I guess.

Hope this helps get you started.

Tony

[t(AD)pole]

Hi ShellyBeggs! Agility is heaps of fun and really addicting. Im only a newbie myself

I'm still working on lead.......holding lead in right hand.

should I forget about any sort of hand indication, hold lead across body in other hand or try doing both with right hand?

Are you trying to run sequences with the lead on? Personally I wouldn't start sequencing until the dog knows all the obstacles well and has off lead control. The lead might get tangled on equipment and it makes it hard for you to concentrate on the dog when you are concentrating on keeping the lead untangled.

how can I get my dogs to actually jump?

I am talking less than ankle height and they just run through the jump or knock it over with their back feet

I don't really know much about jump training so someone else should be able to help you here but I'll have a go. If you line your dog up in front of the jump (at least a metre away) and call him over does he knock the bar? How high are you putting the jump? Maybe you could try only rewarding a bar that stays up. Stay with lower heights for now as your dogs are only young.

How do you teach them to walk their back legs in line with the front?

the front go up the ramp onto the dog walk and the back go off in another direction.....or they fall off the dog walk about half way up the ramp.

Get your dog to run through a ladder lying flat on the ground. That will teach him rear end awareness. You could also get him to run across a plank on wood on the ground to make she he stays on it. If your dog is falling off the dogwalk I'd stop doing it until he has better rear end awareness, you don't want him to fall off and have a bad experience.

And lastly.....how can i stop my stupid kelpie from throwing himself off the dogwalk backwards.......?

first time he did it everyone rushed over to see if he was ok.........now he is such a comedian he is doing for the attention! This all comes about because I wont let him run flat out across the top and leap off.

He lays there after he throws himself off, growling and doing the snapping turtle thing while acting like he is scratching his back! hahaha.....I just walk away and ignore his antics....but others feel they need to check he is ok, and rightly so for liability and all that sort of thing.... and so he has an audience.

What do you mean by 'throwing himself off backwards'?

[Vickie]

Help for a newbie to the sport..........I have some basic questions.

Keep in mind I am just starting with 2 babies (10 month and 15 month) and that I have never done it before.

ShellyBeggs, the best advice I can give is the name of a good trainer in your area with an established program. Where are you located?

The answers to your questions depend on your aspirations. While safety should always be number 1 priority in agility, from your descriptions so far, everything you are struggling with really needs to be done correctly in the beginning if you are thinking you would ever like to compete. There is also a few basic things you should achieve before you do too much obstacle training.

[kelpiechick]

ShellyBeggs

I'm not sure from your email if you are training in a class/at a club or not?

I agree with t(AD)pole - I wouldn't be attempting any sequencing until I had done a lot of foundation work first and I would not be jumping (even low heights) on lead.

Jump work also needs a good foundation taught first - it may be natural for kelpies to jump, but not always correctly. No foundation work and you will most likely end up with a dog that consistently bar knocks or even worse, has the potential for injury. As for attempting a dogwalk, again I would make sure I had done all the foundation work first - rear end awareness exercises, perch work, plank running, etc.

See if you can find a club with a foundation class where a good instructor will explain all this to you.

[ShellyBeggs]

What do you mean by 'throwing himself off backwards'?

He kinda chucks himself (a half jump half roll) and lands on his back......its very comical!

and lucky the grass is plush.

Help for a newbie to the sport..........I have some basic questions.

Keep in mind I am just starting with 2 babies (10 month and 15 month) and that I have never done it before.

ShellyBeggs, the best advice I can give is the name of a good trainer in your area with an established program. Where are you located?

Northern suburbs/north central vic.....

[JulesP]

We don't start agility at my club until the dogs are 18 months old. I know some places do it earlier but I was happy to wait until then. I would be very worried about my dog throwing himself off the boardwalk and landing on his back. He is going to hurt himself.

[pie]

At our club we start very early, 10 or 12 weeks, but they don't go on any high equipment and the jumps are just walk overs. Plus they don't weave until the next class up (12 months & over)

They focus more time on things like recall, sits, drops, stays, tunnels, flatwork and those sort of things. There's a baby a-frame, and a baby see saw, both usually about a foot off the ground.

[Sayreovi]

We don't start agility at my club until the dogs are 18 months old. I know some places do it earlier but I was happy to wait until then. I would be very worried about my dog throwing himself off the boardwalk and landing on his back. He is going to hurt himself.

I agree.

I wouldnt start any dog under 18 months, especially on contacts, a fall at that age can be very damaging both physically and mentally.

Alot of what you describe sounds like uncoordination!

Even more reason to wait they have grown up to start doing agility.

While i dont like babies doing agility, i agree with what Amypie has said in regards other things too train which is what i would focus on first.

[t(AD)pole]

What do you mean by 'throwing himself off backwards'?

He kinda chucks himself (a half jump half roll) and lands on his back......its very comical!

and lucky the grass is plush.

If he is doing this I would not let him on contact equipment until you have done some more training with him. Others have given some good advice here and I agree that you should try and find a club or trainer before doing any more yourself. As Vickie said safety for you dog should always be top priority.

[t(AD)pole]

You might be able to find a club here

[kelpiechick]

I agree that there is no rush to get on equipment but there is a lot of foundation training that 'babies' can do that prepares them for learning the obstacles later on. The beauty of foundation training is that you can work on it at home, with minimal eqipment. Plus you can start developing your handling skills at the same time.

I am located in the same area as you ShellyBeggs.

PM me if you want any further information.