# Goldens and Agility



## Melfice

Hello all,

Since I'm progressing in my agility classes with my pups, and plan on trials one day. How are Goldens in terms of competing in agility? I have been watching some good Large Dog Agility videos on YouTube, and you see so many Border Collies in agility. 

A few Goldens can be found, but they tend to be slower than the speed demons known as Collies haha

For all you Golden agility folks here, how does our breed do in agility over all?


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## Jersey's Mom

Goldens are wonderful partners in agility!! No, most of them are not as fast as the border collies and aussies... but that won't stop you from going far in the sport. Jersey is my first agility dog - he received his MACH last year. It has been a blast, even if placements are VERY few and VERY far between after reaching Master. You can check out some video of him on our facebook page below if you like. In those videos, he is 7 to 8 years old. We didn't really start competing until he was nearly 5 and I don't have any videos of him before he was at the Master level. My best advice, have someone tape your runs from day 1. Even the ugly ones. You'll be glad to have them someday. Good luck! Can't wait to hear you brag some time soon!

Julie and the boys


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## Melfice

Thanks for the information and tips! I'm having a blast in class, and so are my pups. Rusty has a drive from day one, and I was surprised at it really. 

I like the idea of taping my runs, and to tell you the truth...I mess up more than my dogs haha. Rusty is just starting out, but my Brittany watches my lead, and its amazing how if I mess up, she will stop or slows down during a run in class.

The handler is really an important part of the team I have learned fast.

P.S. I'll keep everyone updated on our progress


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## Jersey's Mom

I am pretty sure that every run we failed after open was entirely my fault. Jersey is very sensitive to my handling so if I did something "off" (accelerate/decelerate too early or late, turn at the wrong time) his attention would turn to me and down would come a bar. Another benefit of taping your runs - you can try to figure out where things went wrong. 

Julie and the boys


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## goldenca

I started my golden in puppy agility classes at about 12 weeks old. Everything was a process....jumps were only an inch or 2 off the ground, the weaves were spaced wide and as my dog progressed the weave poles got closer. She loved going to class. When she was almost two we tried our first AKC Jumpers with Weaves competition. We did not Q but we had fun and people said she was fun to watch.

She definately has the drive. She finished her Novice JWW title and now we are in Open JWW. We still need to learn alot, and I need to be able to RUN faster. Enjoy the journey....my dog has sooo much fun. I have seen Border Collies fly thru the course, but they don't always get a qualifying run.


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## Kmullen

I beg to differ ;-) I ran agility with my girl after two years off and she placed 1st in her class out of 8 dogs and she was the only golden in the class! She is super fast! Her son, Parker, who is doing well in agility is super fast also! I think it just depends!


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## AmberSunrise

I would say it depends on your dog .. my Casey beat almost any dog; border collies etc He was fast and driven. My Rowdy had nice times and was a consistent boy, almost always Qing but never a blazing dog.

Faelan varies; if he is thoughtful he will readily Q but not be a speed demon, when he is a speed demon he has a wonderful time but may not Q. My Towhee is very fast but ..ummm .. well she's never seen a lap that she wanted to leave empty so there is her challenge -- btw; my Casey would go off exploring corners etc and was still fast enough to beat other dogs.. empty corners were my nemesis with him.

It also depends on how you train - do you train independent performances or do you prefer running with your dog etc.

Don't sell a golden short, they can be awesome agility partners


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## Kmullen

And speed is not everything! Have fun!


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## TheZ's

_Sammydog _who's a GRF member has had great success in agility with her Goldens. She occasionally posts video which is always great to watch. An old one is _http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...nch-me-agility-weekend-brags-barley-mira.html 
_but you can find more by searching.


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## Loisiana

The goldens down here are very competitive against the Border Collies and I regularly see 1st place in the masters classes going to goldens. These are also goldens specifically bred for agility and are built light and lean.


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## Melfice

Thanks for all of your replies and help all 

Oh and I'll watch the videos too! I love watching dogs perform in agility. I go to local trials all the time with my pups, just to watch the teams compete.

I hope my dogs are taking good notes, when we go watch the trials haha


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## Loisiana

some of the goldens from my area


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## Jersey's Mom

kfayard said:


> I beg to differ ;-) I ran agility with my girl after two years off and she placed 1st in her class out of 8 dogs and she was the only golden in the class! She is super fast! Her son, Parker, who is doing well in agility is super fast also! I think it just depends!



Lol, the key word there was "most." We have a few light build, super fast goldens here.... But we also have a group of handlers that are above and beyond talented and fast (a number of them who are frequently involved with the world team) who all run borders. They take pretty much all the placements down here (trade off is they are remarkably fun to watch) so maybe my view is biased in that direction. 

Julie and the boys


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## Melfice

Loisiana said:


> some of the goldens from my area
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the videos
Click to expand...


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## sammydog

Agility is definitely a sport that is dominated by Border Collies, there is no arguing that fact! They are simply built for it. There are really no Goldens that can beat the best BCs if they each run their best. When you look at the speed rankings going into the National you still need to go down into the 40s before you will see any Goldens.

That said, Golden do REALLY well in agility and can still be competitive. There have been Goldens the last few years that make it into the AKC National (NAC) finals in the 20" class. A Golden even won in the 24" class last year, which has less BCs in it. 

You can also still have a lot of fun without being the fastest dog out there, most dogs absolutely love agility training and competition and it is a great way to bond with your pup.

Here is a more recent video of my 7 year old girl Mira
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rux4ZSHeCZI


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## TheZ's

sammydog said:


> Here is a more recent video of my 7 year old girl Mira



Thanks for another great video. I can't believe Mira is 7 yrs. old already and MACH6.


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## Melfice

sammydog said:


> Agility is definitely a sport that is dominated by Border Collies, there is no arguing that fact! They are simply built for it. There are really no Goldens that can beat the best BCs if they each run their best. When you look at the speed rankings going into the National you still need to go down into the 40s before you will see any Goldens.
> 
> That said, Golden do REALLY well in agility and can still be competitive. There have been Goldens the last few years that make it into the AKC National (NAC) finals in the 20" class. A Golden even won in the 24" class last year, which has less BCs in it.
> 
> You can also still have a lot of fun without being the fastest dog out there, most dogs absolutely love agility training and competition and it is a great way to bond with your pup.
> 
> Here is a more recent video of my 7 year old girl Mira
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rux4ZSHeCZI


Thanks and awesome video btw! She does not seem like a senior dog to me, that's for sure!

And you are right about dogs loving agility! Rusty my golden LOVES his class, and has a very good drive during the runs. Also, Kerrie Ann is going crazy and loving the agility runs too.

It's awesome to see them really enjoying their training, and it's a blast for me too. I have a lot to learn about being a good handler and agility in general...but I'm having fun with my pups


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## Maxs Mom

It's not about winning its about having a great time with your dog and building on your partnership. Fast or slow if you are having fun who cares. 

My Gabby can beat the border collies and has. However having one like her has its own share of challenges. Handing one like her you can't make a mistake or its end of the Q. I feel we are just starting to get together but the road is the worth every single bump.


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## sammydog

Melfice said:


> Thanks and awesome video btw! She does not seem like a senior dog to me, that's for sure!
> 
> And you are right about dogs loving agility! Rusty my golden LOVES his class, and has a very good drive during the runs. Also, Kerrie Ann is going crazy and loving the agility runs too.
> 
> It's awesome to see them really enjoying their training, and it's a blast for me too. I have a lot to learn about being a good handler and agility in general...but I'm having fun with my pups


Mira jus turned 7, I certainly don't consider her a senior! :

Keep on having fun with your class, that is what it is all about!


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## ceegee

Goldens can compete with "faster" dogs. I recently lost my beautiful agility partner to hemangiosarcoma; she was eight years old. At the time of her death she was the reigning Canadian agility champion in her division: the championship was a three-day aggregate competition and she beat border collies and Belgian shepherds to win. Her brother placed third in another extremely competitive division at the same championship. In regular trials we were often in the top three fastest teams across all height divisions, and she regularly out-scored every other dog in distance events. So goldens can do it! They're also wonderful dogs to work with.


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## Sydney's Mom

The great thing about agility, is that it's partly an individual sport. You don't need to beat anyone to get the Q - you only need to beat the course!

But that said, to compete at the kind of competition level (national, world) where placing 1/2/3 DOES matter, the faster and more agile the dog, the better. That DOES sometimes mean a BC is the top dog vs a golden.

It really depends what your goals are. If you want to compete at that level, you likely have a dog that was bread for agility, anyway... whatever breed it is.

.... and I STILL cannot believe Mira is 7 and not having any more puppies...


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## sammydog

Sydney's Mom said:


> .... and I STILL cannot believe Mira is 7 and not having any more puppies...


: I adore her! :


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## ceegee

Sydney's Mom (Kat): You sent me a PM but the forum won't allow me to reply by PM because I don't have enough posts. Could you please contact me by e-mail: gardnerc at videotron dot ca? Thank you so much!


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## Door

Sunrise: I don't know anything about agility. You said Towhee; "fast but ..ummm .. well she's never seen a lap that she wanted to leave empty". What does that mean?
I just don't know the lingo.


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## AmberSunrise

Door said:


> Sunrise: I don't know anything about agility. You said Towhee; "fast but ..ummm .. well she's never seen a lap that she wanted to leave empty". What does that mean?
> I just don't know the lingo.


LOL. In agility, there are 3 people sitting at a table within a ring, and 2 to 4 people sitting around the ring to reset bars, fluff chutes, raise and lower contact equipment etc. The people at the table Towhee can generally ignore, but oh the ring crew spaced throughout the ring are sometimes too much for little Towhee. She has gotten much better but she probably never seen a lap she didn't want to visit up close & personal.


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## Selli-Belle

How fantastic!





ceegee said:


> Goldens can compete with "faster" dogs. I recently lost my beautiful agility partner to hemangiosarcoma; she was eight years old. At the time of her death she was the reigning Canadian agility champion in her division: the championship was a three-day aggregate competition and she beat border collies and Belgian shepherds to win. Her brother placed third in another extremely competitive division at the same championship. In regular trials we were often in the top three fastest teams across all height divisions, and she regularly out-scored every other dog in distance events. So goldens can do it! They're also wonderful dogs to work with.


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## Selli-Belle

Sydney's Mom said:


> The great thing about agility, is that it's partly an individual sport. You don't need to beat anyone to get the Q - you only need to beat the course!
> 
> But that said, to compete at the kind of competition level (national, world) where placing 1/2/3 DOES matter, the faster and more agile the dog, the better. That DOES sometimes mean a BC is the top dog vs a golden.
> 
> It really depends what your goals are. If you want to compete at that level, you likely have a dog that was bread for agility, anyway... whatever breed it is.
> 
> .... and I STILL cannot believe Mira is 7 and not having any more puppies...




In order to compete at a national level, you have to devote LOTS of time to agility. I have a friend who went to the National Agility Invitational with the #3 Flat Coat. She had to compete EVERY weekend to maintain her placement. Can you imagine the level of competition in Border Collies? 



I love running my girl, but we both do it for the fun, not for the ribbons.


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## Maxs Mom

The #1 Border Collie invited to Invitational came from MI, and is a friend. I was floored to learn her position, there are a lot of BCs that play this game. How exciting. 

I won't ever make Invitational. I won't trial enough to climb that high in the standings with a Golden even if Gabby and I get consistent enough.


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## Melfice

Thanks for the good feedback, and my agility training with Rusty goes very well! He has a good drive, and the trainer says he will be a good agility dog. Well I hope at least, but Rusty is a bit unfocused like Kerrie Ann was at the start.

Kerrie Ann wanted to play and smell all about the place, instead of focusing on her training. Now, she is much more focused and we are doing great in agility training.

Rusty on the other hand, has more drive than Kerrie Ann did at the beginning, but he wants to PLAY and smell a lot. I hope Rusty changes his focus just like Kerrie Ann did after a while. Then again, there is a golden in Kerrie Ann's class, and he always runs around after running a course lol I can see my Rusty doing the same thing too!


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## Lucky Penny

It does depend on your dogs personality, but agility can be good for any dog. It helps with confidence and it is a fun activity for you and your dog to do together. I have seen goldens fast and crazy, beating the border collies! I have also seen goldens just casually running the course and having fun and get a Q! I love agility and my goldens have made great agility partners.


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