Guest donatella Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 (edited) I'm just watching dog tricks online and I really think agility is something Lucy would thrive off. She already knows quite a few tricks and it took me only a few minutes to teach most of them as she's just so clever! I would love to enroll her in something like agility but is it as easy as finding your nearest club and making contact? Or should I get her into Obedience first so she has those basic skills down pat and then go for agility? One of the girls at work here does agility with her Shelti's so normally i'd get advice from her but she's been off on long term sick leave and I don't want to bother her with all the questions :D Oh and if you know of a good one on the south side of Brisbane i'd love to hear rec's! Edited November 14, 2012 by donatella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DobieMum Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I go to Qld agility and jumping dog club and we have our training on Thursday night at Durack starting at 7pm. After this month we're finishing for the year and will be back in end of Jan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Oh Durack is handy. I'll definitely be looking into the new year. I'll have a google now :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Formal obedience training isn't necessary for agility and can sometimes actually make it harder. Just make sure that Lucy can work well under distraction and has a solid recall and a desire to work for you :) I'm sure you guys will have heaps of fun! In sydney, there are often summer camps run for all levels of dogs, I'm not sure if your area would have similar, but it may be something you could look into if you want to start now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 go on youtube and look at some of the puppy foundation work. There are a heap of 'tricks' you can teach until you can get to a class Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I second Jumabaar's suggestion - lots of stuff you can do before classes and will make classes much easier when you do start most clubs are just about to finish for the year and have a break over summer until February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Donatella Do look up the foundation skills for agility. My club insists a dog passes grade 5 (or demonstrates equivalent skill) before they can start agility. What we really need is a dog that can hold a stay in front of a jump - with lots of other dogs running around and maybe the occasional possum running by (ok - most dogs I know can't hold the stay with the possum going through the course but that doesn't seem to sink in with the possums). And a dog that will come to you when you call it - no matter what. Off lead. It's also really handy for training if you can reward your dog with a quick game of tug. But that they also like food rewards. If you like trick training - you might want to look at some of the tricks that go with "dances with dogs". I'm pretty crap at timing stuff to music but the trick training and fancy heel work is fun. for agility foundation - I like the Greg Derrett DVD. For the agility stuff - I like the Susan Garrett Stuff (which depends on the Greg Derrett stuff for the basics on how you tell your dog which way you want it to go). There might be some agility competitions on this weekend in your area, that you could go watch (with your dog) to get an idea of what it's all about and what your dog needs to be able to do if you want to compete. Some people just do the training and never compete in our club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 ADAA also have clubs on the southside. Check here. While formal obedience is not required, there are elements of obedience I think are necessary. These include stay and recall. Also you dog will need to be able to work off lead in an enviroment with alot happening. I have seen people come to agility lacking the above and it can be very frustrating for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 (edited) Also work on engagement and build this up into a distracting environment - recall is good but if you have to recall your dog in class then they're not working with you. Playing games like the two food game, and having something like LAT up your sleeve to get your dogs attention. Edited November 15, 2012 by megan_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Ohh thanks peeps all good tips! We will start with working on stay and recall then. She's a smart dog who is eager to please and doesnt have a huge value for other dogs so I'm confident she'd do well off lead. Might even be worth getting through obedience just so I'm confident she has the basic skills + recall I know a great club near me for that :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 If you do decide to do regular obedience - and not all the clubs have the same obedience qual requirements as mine - do all the heelwork at home - on both sides. Cos you need your dog to work equally well on both sides of you, and away from you - depending how much you like running. Ie getting your dog to send out from you and run around a pole is handy foundation for distance challenges where you have to stay one side of a line on the ground and get your dog to go over jumps on the other side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Yikes I've got a bit of learning to do by the sounds of it! I'm going to watch a few vids on Youtube and see if I can get my head around it. It's good that I have a few months up my sleeve for 'homework'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 ADAA also have clubs on the southside. Check here. While formal obedience is not required, there are elements of obedience I think are necessary. These include stay and recall. Also you dog will need to be able to work off lead in an enviroment with alot happening. I have seen people come to agility lacking the above and it can be very frustrating for them. Thanks for that link! I found a club that is exactly what I need and I think we will be able to start on the Foundations class which is: this course is not designed to teach pieces of equipment to dogs and handlers who in many cases have not worked in such an exciting environment before. Instead we will focus on the basics of dog training. ‘Foundations’ is a course where handlers are taught the importance of their relationship with their dogs, the importance of drive and their dogs body awareness. It will be suitable both to the owner who traditionally goes along to the local obedience club to train their dog initially but also to people interested in starting on the exciting path that agility can take you down. At the end of the six week course dogs and handlers will need to pass a small assessment designed to make sure their dogs are ready for the more stressful and distracting environment we have with a lot more dogs on the field. Handlers and dogs that do not pass the assessment may choose to repeat the class. Once dogs and handlers have passed this assessment they then have the opportunity to continue on to our Elementary and Starters classes respectively. this is exciting I'm going to wish the year away now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 (edited) Thanks for that link! I found a club that is exactly what I need and I think we will be able to start on the Foundations class which is: this is exciting I'm going to wish the year away now! Sounds like an excellent class to start with. Often people at too eager to get on equipment instead of working on foundations. Edited November 15, 2012 by buddy1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 While you're waiting... http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2009/02/idea-list-for-shaping/ And if you can't quite wait - there's this... but this maybe for those of us who already know we love the sport. http://www.agilityclick.com/category1_1.htm you probably only need the building blocks and foundations. But the rest would be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 While you're waiting... http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2009/02/idea-list-for-shaping/ And if you can't quite wait - there's this... but this maybe for those of us who already know we love the sport. http://www.agilityclick.com/category1_1.htm you probably only need the building blocks and foundations. But the rest would be interesting. Ohhh you're a legend! This should keep us busy! thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now