Tiggy Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I was wondering for those who train in multiple disciplines especially obedience and agility how do you go about training both, would you train both together from the start, would you get a CCD title in obedience before starting agility etc. Just asking now before I start any "serious" training with my pup . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzledx2 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Lots and lots of little bits of everything! Get your foundation work done and its just a matter of joining the dots from there. For both you need attention, focus, recalls (restrained recalls at first) Stay/wait. Play lots of games. Probably the most important thing you can teach him is to love learning. I was wondering for those who train in multiple disciplines especially obedience and agility how do you go about training both, would you train both together from the start, would you get a CCD title in obedience before starting agility etc. Just asking now before I start any "serious" training with my pup . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Agree with bedazzledx2 once you have the foundations in place for both the rest seems to come very easily. Very early on it was suggested to me that one of the most important things you can teach a baby is to want to work with you and pay attention to you. So go to lots of difference places have a short game and repeat. Pays off for both agility and obedience . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Some of the foundations are similar no matter what the discipline so I tend to concentrate on those - as bedazzled said, teaching pup to love learning is the priority so focus, shaping, hand touches, human-pup play (with and without toys), give 'toy', ready signal, release, steady feet (for stays and stand for exam) and 2 food game all go across the board. With Em I am focussing on getting retrieving training right, because it's a new discipline for me - but there are lots of cross-overs with classic obedience e.g. heeling, sit (but more distance work), stay, steadiness, a neat present to front (used for retrieve or formal recall). I will probably trial her in Novice obedience before she starts retrieving because she will probably ready for it earlier. I don't tend to train agility handling until I believe the dog has a solid understanding of what a formal heel is - although some dogs and handlers might cope with that I think it's a bit much for both our brains! Her off lead control is pretty good though, so if I have the opportunity to do some puppy agility classes I shall. I have a tunnel on order so she will see that pretty soon too. Dogs seem to be pretty quick on picking up context - I use different leads/collars with Ziggy and will do the same with Em but for the moment everything is off lead. With Zig I started with showing and progressed to obedience and agility. Whilst I'm not the best handler in the show ring at least he never sits It depends a bit on the pup too - my approach with Em is much more busy in terms of training than Ziggy's was - partly because I know where I am headed with her but also because she is so damn keen. With Zig, half the battle was working out how to motivate him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I agree with everyone else - the next time I get a pup I will be working hard to train a good foundation, drive and focus and then teach bits of things. We started agility a couple of months ago and I thought we'd find it hard coming from an obedience background, but overall it's not been that difficult. I've done a fair bit of shaping so my dog does know how to learn, I have focus and drive, those are the hardest things to get down I've found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) What they said However I usually have a main focus with my pups. With my younger Vizsla it was agility, so although his foundations were about learning and focus it was with more of an agility slant. Contacts behaviour etc. was introduced from the start. He started competing in Agility, Obedience & Retrieving at around the same time though. My GSP had a much more Retrieve focus which set us up very well for obedience and he started competing in both around the same time too. However, I held off on agility training as I didn't even know if I would do it with him and he is a larger dog with little self preservation We are now struggling with agility, he just doesn't seem to 'get it', however I don't think it has to do with the lack of early agility training in favour of other disciplines, my older Vizsla who is my firs agility dog coped just fine. Polo is just special Edited January 6, 2011 by FHRP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I get the pup wanting to learn, get them focusing then train lots of little bits of everything I want to do ith them. Rommi started dumbell once she had mastered sit or standing still for any small length of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraNik Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Yep... Teach your pup how to learn and to love working with you and you shouldn't have a problem! As Bedazzled said, the foundation work is key! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Cider is my obedience dog. I have being doing little bits of agility along the way, but have started agility more formally in the last few weeks, including 2 x 2's. BUt like bedazzled and all the others have said - get the pup to enjoy learning and teach them as much as you can and then join the dots - so much of the learn is used in both disciplines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thanks for all the replies guys will definitely put into practice . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopuppy04 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'm sure others have said it (and I'm too lazy to read the posts ) but work on your foundations as these are similar and beneficial for both. I can't emphasise enough the importance of good foundations! After that I find you can train for both fairly easily. Because the agilty requires distance etc, I try and work a little more on agility first prior to getting really serious with obedience, but that's just me. I know others have been far more successful than me and have done obedience first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 What the others have said. Foundation, foundation, foundation ..... The agility foundation training I use (Moe Strenfel, Greg Derrett mostly with a dash of Mary Ray ) - works for everything (except probably stock work - although it doesn't really hurt for that either). I started off with lots of foundation training with Rory, and he was showing at the same time (still is). We've just been playing round with obedience up till now - getting more serious this year. Agility has been a bits and pieces - Susan Salo jump training once he was about 14 months old, and 2o2o on a training board. He's only really had access to other obstacles in the last few months - and a bit of sequencing. So far so good, so again, I'll try to be a bit more systematic with him this year. He's also been started in tracking, and we'll pick that up again this year. Oh - and a bit of playing with HTM - and now with Rally O. Yes - I'm a Jill of all trades rahter than a perfectionist - although I am trying to be disciplined. The only 'conflict' I've come across so far, has been that I've tried to follow the Derrett/Strenfel/Garrett no blind cross - but now I have to teach him a round the back LAT and finish for Rally O (and probably for DWD.) He looked at me at first as if I had lost my mind - - but he's getting it now. It's like the others have said - the foundations are pretty universal - and the context and equipment tell the odg where he's at. Even using the tracking harness when they're biking doesn't seem to be a problem - again, the context is totally different. Lots of foundation and lots of fun and enjoyment - will be great to see the babies coming on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkehre Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I have always been a bit of a "jack of all trades" with the dog sport disciplines. One of my current older bitches has 11 titles in 5 different disciplines, and she is still learning, training and competing. In my breed I used to try to do the more energetic disciplines earlier and the more easy going, less body taxing ones as they got older, as the beautiful rottis do run out of time fairly quickly. but nowadays, I just do what feels good at the time... what me and my dogs are enjoying. Just take it as it comes. It is nothing for me to be training and/or competing in 4 different disciplines with one dog at a time or certainly in any one year. Like others say - if you start with good basic foundations, train quality focus and drive, you can achieve anything. Dogs adjust super well if you keep your body language consistent and clear. You know when you have confused the dog, cause you don't get the results you want IMO dogs can handle multi disciplines very well without any issues. It is more about the handler than the dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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