Agility At Castle Hill On Thursday Nights

[pennyw74]

Just wondering if anybody goes to agility at Castle Hill on Thursday nights...

If so, how does it work?

Do they have beginners classes to learn things and you move up as you learn?

We have two dogs and I doubt they would work if they're in the same class, so was thinking of starting one and starting the other later if you do actually change classes.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Edited October 9, 2009 by pennyw74

[Vickie]

I'm no longer a member, but can fill you in on structure.

Beginners - learn basic handling & basic obstacles

Green - start sequencing obstacles together & more advanced obstacles

Yellow - more advanced sequencing & obstacles, need to be able to weave to move up.

Blue - trial type seqences with an instructor

Red - for trialling people, no instructor, everyone helps each other

There are a few options for 2 dogs:

start one and as they progress up, start the other one

Divide training time equally between the 2 dogs

Take each one alternate weeks (this will be slower progress unless you are training at home or somewhere else as well).

hope this helps.

[pennyw74]

Thanks for that...

How long does it usually take to progress from Beginners to Green, Green to Yellow, etc...

As in, how many weeks do you usually spend in each class?

Edited October 9, 2009 by pennyw74

[Vickie]

It totally depends on you & your dog as to how long you spend in each class.

When I was instructing at the club, I would promote some dogs after a week & others would be 6 weeks. It really helps if:

you practice in between classes

your dog is operant

your dogs is food or toy motivated

has a good recall

your dog is not highly stimulated by other dogs

A big club can be quite distracting for lots of dogs, so some take a few weeks just to settle & concentrate in a busy environment...others settle straight away.

Yellow is often the hardest class to get out of because of the weaving. Again, weaving can take varying amount of time, depending on your method, your commitment & your dog. My best record so far is 0 to 12 poles in 3 days so it is possible to do it quickly but it is something most people seem to struggle with at a club.

Edited October 9, 2009 by Vickie

[pennyw74]

Thanks again...

How many dogs do they usually have in a class?

My two have both done obedience classes there and did quite well, so they know how "classes" work.

They are food motivated.

They aren't highly stimulated by other dogs.

Recall is good most of the time but better with food

Overall, they are quite good at learning. Izzy is very focussed but after about 20 minutes of obedience class, would kind of lose concentration.

I just want to get them out to do something fun. I loved obedience but thought something a little more active might be more fun for them.

[Vickie]

Sounds like they will be GREAT!

Class sizes used to vary (and I'm sure they still do). 5-15 maybe?

[Jumabaar]

When I began Abby was in beginers for FOUR months !! but after that she flew up to Blue within about another four months.

I liked Castle Hill (although have recently left ;) ) because they have small equipment for beginners, green and yellow and then went up to full sized equipment for Blue and Red. It is definatly FUN. Good luck!

ETA- Classes can get a little crowded however I used this time to do trick training and focus work which really paid off in the end.

Edited October 9, 2009 by woofenpup