LisaCC Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) While waiting for my Aussie pup to hurry up and come along I've been reading lots of threads and watching lots of videos and I'm pretty much set on wanting to do agility! It looks like so much fun and just plain amazing. I have noticed that everyone wishes they knew more when they first started. Obviously a lot of this comes from experience but I'm wondering the best resource to have as a complete newbie. I've been looking at the Clean Run Foundation Fundamentals DVD set and wondering if anyone can tell me if it's worth the money or is there something better? So far I only have Control Unleashed: The Puppy Program, that was recommended by DOLers :) The last time I had a puppy was 11 years ago, and we did obedience but never to competition level. I would be interested in doing obedience with this new pup too. I'm asking now because I want to do the right thing from the get go. Edited February 20, 2013 by LisaCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I think the most useful thing is to find a good mentor or trainer or training club that can help you set off on the right path to achieve your goals. If you are going to invest money into getting more knowledge/experience I'd definitely suggest investing it in actual training with a professional is the best way to start. DVDs, books etc are all great to read and have on hand but sometimes having too much info on hand can be confusing and overwhelming for new puppy owners. Nothing beats having experienced people on hand to look at your dog and help you formulate a training plan that works for both of you. A lot of agility clubs will run foundation classes for puppies so may be worth looking if there is something like that in your area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) I just had a look at the Foundation Fundamentals set then - the content looks good One DVD I have found to be immensely helpful is Susan Garrett's Success With One Jump. Even if later you decide to use a different handling system, this DVD is fantastic for teaching obstacle focus, serpentines, threadles, rear crosses and more and they are all exercises you can do with one or no jumps so easy to set up at home. Out of all the DVDs I have I think this is the most useful. ETA: I love my club and they are great for help with how to walk and handle a course and they have some foundation work but most clubs do not have a lot of foundation work, and like obedience most top level competitors do a LOT more at home than can be encompassed by club training. This is partly because a lot of people who are just starting agility do not have an interest in foundation work and would not stay if they thought it was too boring. Edited February 20, 2013 by Kavik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Huski: That would be my first choice! Unfortunately I only have access to one club in my area and it does not do foundation classes. The club has told me you do basic obedience until you reach a certain level/age and then you are allowed to go to Agility classes. I have a friend that started this and they put her wolfhound x pup straight onto obstacles, she didn't take him back after that. She said most the agility people do their basics from home I am planning to go out to the club soon and meet some people, perhaps find an agility person that could give me some good tips to start up with. Kavik: I have heard good things about that DVD Is is suitable at all for pups under jumping age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 There are some exercises you can do without any jumps to teach focus forward/obstacle focus and front and rear crosses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Is that the Mary Ellen Barry DVD - I think it looks good - haven't gone right through it yet - story of my life. Before that one came out, I did find the Moe Strenfel ones useful - designed for puppies, but can be used with naive dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Is it the foundation one by Mary Ellen Barry? I'd recommend it for real definite newbies, as it covers a lot of good foundation games. Success with One Jump is also a good one, as mentioned by Kavik. Also agree with Kavik in that while training classes can be good for some foundations, they do tend to gloss over a lot of good foundation skills as the majority of the public that attend classes are just keen to get on with it and onto equipment, so unfortunately clubs tend to cater for these folk and skip a lot of good foundation skills. If you're serious about agility, and can't afford a one on one trainer who will show you all the basics, some of these DVD's are a great start :) I'd also recommend learning more about shaping if you don't already, so much fun to do shaping games with puppies, and it helps them learn how to learn a whole range of skills as they get older Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Is that the Mary Ellen Barry DVD - I think it looks good - haven't gone right through it yet - story of my life. Ditto Actually got out some of my training DVD's yesterday and was blown away by how little of them I have actually watched, either all the way through or not at all! I actually put the Mary Ellen Barry one on yesterday, and while I glossed over the first 2 DVD's as it covered a lot of what I've done already, I picked up a useful game to try with Pippa. Tugging in the face of distraction (ie. food!) She's a little piggy and while she loves to tug, would much rather the food!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I think the most useful thing is to find a good mentor or trainer or training club that can help you set off on the right path to achieve your goals. If you are going to invest money into getting more knowledge/experience I'd definitely suggest investing it in actual training with a professional is the best way to start. DVDs, books etc are all great to read and have on hand but sometimes having too much info on hand can be confusing and overwhelming for new puppy owners. Nothing beats having experienced people on hand to look at your dog and help you formulate a training plan that works for both of you. A lot of agility clubs will run foundation classes for puppies so may be worth looking if there is something like that in your area? While I agree a mentor is a great thing to have, sometimes it's very hard to find one, especially those new to the game and are unknown. Even once you've proved yourself, you still have to find someone who has the time and the "want" to take you on. A mentor is a priceless thing to have, so if you're lucky to find one, good on you! I agree with you about having too much info can be confusing and overwhelming, so that's why I would recommend only 1 or 2 DVD's that train in similar ways, as not to overwhelm the new puppy owner with too much info at once and conflicting ways of doing things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Is that the Mary Ellen Barry DVD - I think it looks good - haven't gone right through it yet - story of my life. Ditto Actually got out some of my training DVD's yesterday and was blown away by how little of them I have actually watched, either all the way through or not at all! I actually put the Mary Ellen Barry one on yesterday, and while I glossed over the first 2 DVD's as it covered a lot of what I've done already, I picked up a useful game to try with Pippa. Tugging in the face of distraction (ie. food!) She's a little piggy and while she loves to tug, would much rather the food!! Last night I did tugging with Kaos's dinner in sight to start I placed it a bit high outside so he couldn't reach it easily but definitely knew it was there. He went to sniff and check it out then chose to come to me to tug, with no verbal from me After a bit of tugging I then raced him to the bowl and gave him his dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Yes Tassie and Ruby star it is the Mary Ellen Barry one. Thanks for your input RubyStar, I am quite serious about doing agility, I loved training my lab, but being young at the time I was never allowed to do obedience trials. I still teach him little tricks when I'm back home. I think agility would be great for the Aussie and I, I've already talked to the breeder about this too and she was very encouraging. I'm not even sure if there are trainers around here that do private classes, and if there are they would probably charge a small fortune. So yes something I can learn from and do at home is what I'm after until I feel the pup is old enough and ready to go to the clubs agility classes. I will probably still go to the clubs obedience classes. Although I plan on not doing any puppy pre-schools as they are all terrible around here, basically just a play group with a few sits thrown in. I have been looking into shaping too :) I have done clicker training before but not with dogs! Wallabies and Tigers probably think a bit differently to dogs :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiechick Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Wasn't very impressed with the Mary Ellen Barry DVD in all honesty. I would rate Greg Derrett 'Agility Foundation Training ' and Moe Strenfel's 'Foundation for Agility' much higher as well as the book 'Agility Right from the Start.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 If you can afford Susan garrets online puppy peaks or recallers it would be well worth the money apparently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Here is info on Recallers :) Recallers 4 will start in a couple of weeks. http://www.susangarrett.com/recallers-4-0-webinar-questions/ http://www.brilliantrecalls.com/standby_pages/6380 Puppy Peaks (I haven't seen this one) http://www.susangarrett.com/puppy-peaks-2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podengo Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I really liked Susan Salo's puppy jumping DVD, in combination with SGs success with one jump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I really liked Susan Salo's puppy jumping DVD, in combination with SGs success with one jump. I really should get around to watching the Susan Salo DVDs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 :laugh: Kavik - now those ones I have watched - more than once even. I used her program on Rory as a puppy, and I use some of the grids in classes - for obedience trialling people as well - their dogs need to be able to jump correctly as well. Fingers crossed, the Salo training has helped with retrieve over the high - even if the DB goes wide of the jump, he seems to know to come back and take the middle of the jump. Now I've probably jinxed myself :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Susan Garrett now has a webinar describing Recallers V4: http://r4.brilliantrecalls.com/fe/42301-managing-vs-inspiring-your-dogs-behaviour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Thanks everyone, much appreciated. I'll look into everything as soon as I get a working laptop again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I just remembered Silvia Trkman also has a set of DVDs, some look really interesting, I haven't seen them though, maybe when I have more money :laugh: http://www.lolabuland.com/training-videos/ Her new foundations one about to come out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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