Who Runs Different Sized Dogs In Agility?

[Agility Dogs]

Just wondering if there is anyone who runs totally different sized/types of dogs in agility?

I've learned agility with my two BC's who are quite different, but essentially run in a similar manner (might have something to do with how they have been trained..... )

In the last week or so a friend has asked me to start running her miniature schnauzer. It has been an amazing learning experience for me.

Initial observations are that overall it is probably a touch easier to run a small dog (I can keep up with him) and have time to fix mistakes on the fly - with my two anything other than a really minor error means an off course because they are just gone.

BUT.....there are unique challenges. I'm finding I have to stay a LOT more connected with this little guy. I think this is because his commitment points are so much later than with my two. Handling cues have to be much more overt and accurate (feet and arms, not just arms), but the timing isn't as critical. With my two - they just drive hard to the next obstacle, the MS needs a little bit more direction - this might be because of the dog, not his size though.

All in all they are still fun to play with, but I think I like the challenge of a bigger, nuttier dog. That said I've learned heaps and I think running the little man will actually make me better at running my dogs. I know it will help me instruct people with smaller dogs.

Has anyone else changed breeds or run other dogs and found similar?

[Vickie]

I have run a few small dogs. The hardest thing I find is not to bend over when I am running them. It's a bit embarrassing really as I am always telling my students to "stand up". Every time I run a small dog, I get humbled a bit more as I realise how hard it is to stay upright.

I think it is odd to run another dog full stop, unless you have trained that dog, the dog is similar to yours or the handler has the same cues. The larger dogs I have run have had totally different timing & commitment points to mine. Some are willing to take me out if I get in their way. Some you have to be always pulling in as they are wider & others will take a 6 metre out command.

Another thing I struggle with is barking, when you are not used to it, it can be totally off putting.

Running other dogs is fun. I love it. My daughter is starting to run a few dogs for people & is really enjoying it. She seems to cope much better with change of size & speed than I do...but then again people are always telling me she is a better handler...I guess they are right. .

[pie]

I haven't run a bigger dog but I do have a 300 dog currently in Novice and a 400 dog in training and there are quite a few differences even between them, the 400 dog runs in longer straighter lines and is harder to 'steer' than the 300 dog but the 400 dog is much much faster in a straight line.

My 300 dog has some of the same issues as the MS you mentioned because sometimes we will be running for a jump and if I pull away too early he won't take it even if he is 30cm in front of it but I see this as more of a training issue and I'm trying to get him to head out in front more and 'go on'

On the other hand having a dog that can turn and stop so quickly can be very good if you are a bad handler like me because you can quickly send them over jumps you didn't realise were there He can turn 90 degrees without much warning thankfully :p

Yes they definitely watch your feet because they are at eye level and you have to be mindful if that (something I fail at )

[Agility Dogs]

Another thing I struggle with is barking, when you are not used to it, it can be totally off putting.

I struggle when I'm NOT being barked at. . My girl barks whenever I am late with a turn or even if she thinks I'm going the wrong way. The other night in novice jumping she had decided that the course was three straight jumps when it was 2 jumps, then a turn. She got the information in plenty of time, took the right course, but continuted to tell me off for the next jump, through the tunnel, then over the next jump. Turns out I was right though.....Q and a win.

I also run a couple of red BC's from time to time who likes to tell me off the whole way around, but they are both just big mouths.

Standing up - not something I've really thought about, althought I do tell a lot of people the same thing. I guess that might be because the MS's owner made me really aware of my feet from the word go so I'm not really trying to 'steer' with my upper body.

Aympie - I think what you are talking about with the difference between you 300 & 400 dogs is what I am seeing - only difference is I'm looking at dogs that jump 550 (500 in ANKC) and 250 (200? in ANKC). All good fun!

[Agility Dogs]

Another thing I struggle with is barking, when you are not used to it, it can be totally off putting.

I struggle when I'm NOT being barked at. . My girl barks whenever I am late with a turn or even if she thinks I'm going the wrong way. The other night in novice jumping she had decided that the course was three straight jumps when it was 2 jumps, then a turn. She got the information in plenty of time, took the right course, but continuted to tell me off for the next jump, through the tunnel, then over the next jump. Turns out I was right though.....Q and a win.

I also run a couple of red BC's from time to time who likes to tell me off the whole way around, but they are both just big mouths.

Standing up - not something I've really thought about, althought I do tell a lot of people the same thing. I guess that might be because the MS's owner made me really aware of my feet from the word go so I'm not really trying to 'steer' with my upper body.

Amypie - I think what you are talking about with the difference between you 300 & 400 dogs is what I am seeing - only difference is I'm looking at dogs that jump 550 (500 in ANKC) and 250 (200? in ANKC). All good fun!

[Nicole...]

I'm used to running my cocker which suits me fine as I'm not the faster runner out there I have run a friend's BC a few times and he is super fast. I find that when I run him I have to time my turns much more precisely or he knocks bars. I've also realised that I can turn my shoulders once Lomani commits to a jump and move on, but with the BC he will pull off the obstacle the second my shoulders turn. I find it interesting as if I run Lomani straight after him, it feels like I have all the time in the world and I run her much better, plus I am more aware of where my shoulders are LOL.

My OH has been training Bond as I have been instructing all the time when he trains but I am sure I will find the same thing once I get the chance to do some work with him... and then Lomani will reap the rewards!

[GoldenGirl85]

Im just learning with my JRT and I already cant wait to start my much bigger GR...still got a while to go though, what age do you guys recommend starting a GR who will hopefully have the same very small slender build as her mother?

[Agility Dogs]

Im just learning with my JRT and I already cant wait to start my much bigger GR...still got a while to go though, what age do you guys recommend starting a GR who will hopefully have the same very small slender build as her mother?

I think you can start on all your foundation work from 8 weeks, but would not be starting with jumps, weaving or full contacts until you are comfortable that they have stopped growing. (Not sure when Goldies stop so won't be specific.)

If you have done all the foundation stuff well it won't take long to progress from that point to full height equipment.

Foundation stuff = shadow handling, contact plank, jump bumps, jump grids (just with 1/2 pipe instead of jumps - that way they are only jumping about 50mm, but still get the understanding), recalls, stays etc etc etc.

[kelpiekaye]

I have competed in agility with a GSD and a ETT. They were very different to handle. I think your observations 'Agility Dogs' are very simular to mine. My GSD never put a foot wrong, the ETT kept me humble. He often didnt come out of tunnels, stopped at the top of A frames and had a good look around and very rarely went within time. The best round he ever did, he was showing off to Australian Terrier bitch he fancied on the sideline

[GoldenGirl85]

Im just learning with my JRT and I already cant wait to start my much bigger GR...still got a while to go though, what age do you guys recommend starting a GR who will hopefully have the same very small slender build as her mother?

I think you can start on all your foundation work from 8 weeks, but would not be starting with jumps, weaving or full contacts until you are comfortable that they have stopped growing. (Not sure when Goldies stop so won't be specific.)

If you have done all the foundation stuff well it won't take long to progress from that point to full height equipment.

Foundation stuff = shadow handling, contact plank, jump bumps, jump grids (just with 1/2 pipe instead of jumps - that way they are only jumping about 50mm, but still get the understanding), recalls, stays etc etc etc.

Thanks for that, Im starting her on basic things, she goes through a tunnel (straight not curved) and Im trying to get her to do cavaleti but she knocks the poles down, Ill have to find a way to weigh them down so she learns to pick up her feet

What are jump bumps and jump grids?

[smisch]

As you know I run jock the Little Sheltie (300) and Den (500) and surprisingly I didn't find it alot but I'm used to working with larger dogs as well as smaller ones..

The big difference I have found is adjusting my stride and my cues as Den takes less strides in between a jump than jock and exactly when to turn and how sharp it can be cos each dog has their strength and weaknesses... hahaha whatelse throws me of is the fact that wen jock jumps on the table he's at my feet... Den on the other hand is just about in my face lol and has been on several occasions...

And yes getting under the feet lol! Jock has been stepped on that many times lol and last weekend I had to sorta do a funny skip hop as he stopped to bark at me and I didn't notice until I just about stepped on him lol!

I Love working other peoples dogs.. One of my earliest memories was running Vickie's Trim at the school fate and that was such a change considering her speed and he committment points.. When my friend comes round we practice running each others dogs on the rare occasion that we may ever need to run one or the other for some reason.. Her dog is a little Chi X a completely diff dog again!

[Agility Dogs]

Im just learning with my JRT and I already cant wait to start my much bigger GR...still got a while to go though, what age do you guys recommend starting a GR who will hopefully have the same very small slender build as her mother?

I think you can start on all your foundation work from 8 weeks, but would not be starting with jumps, weaving or full contacts until you are comfortable that they have stopped growing. (Not sure when Goldies stop so won't be specific.)

If you have done all the foundation stuff well it won't take long to progress from that point to full height equipment.

Foundation stuff = shadow handling, contact plank, jump bumps, jump grids (just with 1/2 pipe instead of jumps - that way they are only jumping about 50mm, but still get the understanding), recalls, stays etc etc etc.

Thanks for that, Im starting her on basic things, she goes through a tunnel (straight not curved) and Im trying to get her to do cavaleti but she knocks the poles down, Ill have to find a way to weigh them down so she learns to pick up her feet

What are jump bumps and jump grids?

Jump bumps are just a fancy name for 1/2 a down pipe that we use instead of making puppies jump height. Jump grids are a set up of 4, 5 or 6 jumps in a row at varying distances to get the dogs used to looking for jumps and varying their stride. Most of the time we use low heights any way so they kind of work for puppies. Height is always the last thing you should add in when teaching a dog to jump.

[Casima]

I Notice some difference between my big 600 Belgian and my 500 Border, the 500 is way faster through tunnels and can turn much more easily, but they are still fairly similar to run, basically it feels like they are running and I am just steering their line in different directions. I've also run my Mum's 300 Corgi, he is not much slower than my big guys (and on a tight course can often beat the 600 time wise) but he feels totally different, more like hes chasing me around the course, commitment points are much later and hes nowhere near as good at independantly finding his line, turns brilliantly tho! I'm not fond of the barking

I plan on getting a Papillion as my next dog, to experience training and handling a little guy (I also think they are gorgeous )

[leopuppy04]

I think it is odd to run another dog full stop, unless you have trained that dog, the dog is similar to yours or the handler has the same cues. The larger dogs I have run have had totally different timing & commitment points to mine. Some are willing to take me out if I get in their way. Some you have to be always pulling in as they are wider & others will take a 6 metre out command.

I agree with this. I've run friends' dogs a few times and it's a completely different feel because everybody's handling can always be slightly different. I run a BC occasionally and she's a whole heap of fun, but handled with verbal cues etc. I'm also used to running hard in agility with my dogs and with this BC I have to learn to let her go and not race her

I've not run a pee wee dog through

I do notice differences runnig my 600 and 500 dog as the 600 dog has much wider turns, but also a much later commitment point

[Agility Dogs]

I've not run a pee wee dog through

I do notice differences runnig my 600 and 500 dog as the 600 dog has much wider turns, but also a much later commitment point

Pee Wee dog - you don't know what you are missing.

I ran my girl (475mm tall 500 dog) over 600 last week so she could play in SPD (late entry and the only friend I could find has a 600 dog). I actually forgot that the height was different - she usually runs over 550 so the extra 50mm didn't make a lot of difference (if any) to her and I only noticed/remembered after we had run. (In adaa the two of them run together over 550mm any way so it wasn't strange to be playing with that partner.)

Both my puppies are going to keep playing with this dog - at any rate I occasionally run them over 650mm just for practice. It slows the boy (540mm) down and widens his turns, but makes no difference to the girl who is considerably smaller. I guess it just depends dog by dog.

To my point - LP - is your 600 dog a 'small 600' or a 'normal 600' dog? I'm wondering if some dogs find it more challenging than others to run at greater heights.

Cheers