# Agility pictures!



## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Dusty doing agility


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

Excellent pictures...
...at last there is someone else on this forum who has an agility dog. Our Sidney just started his agility 'career' back in July/August but unfortunately we were rudely interrupted by Old Man Winter. In another couple of months we'll break out the agility equipment and see if Sidney even remembers what that stuff is.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Those pictures are just wonderful. He is such a beautiful dog.


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## Goldndust (Jul 30, 2005)

There all beautiful action shots, my favorite though is the second. That is a neat shot.

Looks like he's have a fun time! My Kody could do agility very well, but I don't know as I could keep up with him. lol


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

That looks like so much fun......I'd love to get into that...

Rick


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Thanks everyone  It IS fun, I definitely encourage anyone to give it a try! Even if you don't think you can keep up with them, because there are excellent trainers who can train your dog to work farther away from you so you don't have to run so much.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Hey Monomer, Brandy's also an agility dog. Our fun got sidelined when she ran into me and screwed up my knee. I hope to start back next month.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Dusty ran into me once, it was after a run and he was really excited and he ran into me and sent me flying, only I didn't land on my knee I landed flat on my face 

I think there's someone else on here who does agility, isn't Goodtimn on here?


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Katie.....I asked in chat, but I don't think you saw it....

How young can you start training for agility? And can two different people do it?

Thanks,

Rick


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

Brandy's Mom said:


> Hey Monomer, Brandy's also an agility dog. Our fun got sidelined when she ran into me and screwed up my knee. I hope to start back next month.


Sorry 'bout that... I forgot, it's been so long since anyone's talked agility on this forum.


A few months back I was in Grand Rapids watching the AKC trials for the excellent advance group and there were lots of handler's who couldn't keep up with their dogs... but that's part of the strategy in the sport, figuring out how far away from your dog you can work and then positioning yourself just so you can be at the right place when need... and as Katieanddusty said, you train your dog so you can work further and further away on some obstacles. There was even a woman in a wheel chair and her dog qualified... quite well too. There were very large people, very small people, very old people... virtually almost anyone can participate in agility... well, provided you have a dog of course. 

Watching those handlers and their dogs gave me hope that Sidney and I could succeed in the Novice class this coming spring.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

You can start doing basic foundation stuff as soon as you get the puppy. This would include basic obedience particularly a really fast sit and down and a solid stay, teaching him to spin to his left and right, teaching him to touch a target (I use Pringles lids) with his nose, teaching him to follow your movement while you are walking and later running, walking through the rungs of a ladder (it makes them more aware of where their back feet are which is good for the narrow obstacles and jumping), stepping on different surfaces, stepping on a board with a small ball secured to the bottom so it wobbles, playing with toys, and teaching him to respond to different handling maneuvers.

I start obstacle training at around 6 months. Jumps with the bars on the ground, tunnels, tiny A-frame dogwalk and teeter, short sequences, weave poles spread out so they form a wide channel, basically all of the obstacles but lowered or modified so it's safe for their growth plates. Until 14 months they shouldn't jump above their elbow height, and they shouldn't do straight weave poles until 12 months.

Two people can definitely run the dog, there are dogs who have different handlers for different types of courses, and a lot of people have someone else run their dog if they're injured, and some people just like to trade dogs once in a while. Your instructor might want only one of you to run the dog until the dog is fully trained, but there's no problem with both of you doing it.

If you'd like to find an agility trainer near you let me know, I know a lot of people all over the place


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

monomer said:


> There was even a woman in a wheel chair and her dog qualified... quite well too. There were very large people, very small people, very old people... virtually almost anyone can participate in agility... well, provided you have a dog of course.
> Watching those handlers and their dogs gave me hope that Sidney and I could succeed in the Novice class this coming spring.


The past two shows I've been to there was a handler with a broken back. She walked through the course and her little dog was so great about doing obstacles when she was far away. ANYONE can do agility!

Do you have any videos of Sidney doing agility Monomer? Have you done any show-and-go's or fun matches? I have a fun match for my baby guy tomorrow but I'm taking his ball into the ring, it's his first time doing agility in a trial environment and I want him to have fun


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

Yeah, we got to do 3 fun matches before the winter came to stay. Sidney's really amazing at the start... I can take a really big lead out to the first contact or weaves when its all jumps from the start... he's an absolute bullet but then he loses focus after about a half-dozen or so obstacles... so he runs off to visit the judge or the photographer. I can get him back by voice command but he will then break at least one more time before we're finished. I think his main problem is his age... he just can't seem to keep his focus for the whole course... but then again he was only 16 and 18 months old during those fun matches... this May he will turn 2-years, so maybe with a little more maturity he'll be able to focus better... if not, I don't really care as long as we're laughing and having fun (some of the other agility folks don't get my attitude towards agility but then I don't really understand their's either).
Nope, no videos... just hadn't occurred to me I guess.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

That's great that he has a good start line, most of the dogs at the highest levels of competition don't stay well at the start.

Dusty went to see people when he was first starting too, I won't be impressed until Sidney knocks over a judge (been there done that  ) I think most of it is just a maturity and experience thing. It helps if you recruit people to stand and sit in chairs in the middle of the ring during training and make sure they never react, so he learns that they won't pet him. Then praise him a lot when he's with you and give him a treat once in a while.

You should be allowed to take food or toys into the ring, so you could reward him between every few obstacles to keep his attention. I like to hide treats under the table and under the contact obstacles so that way they're not on my body, but pockets work too as long as you don't let him see you put them in there. If he usually takes off after 6 obstacles I would reward every 1-4 to start, then 2-5, then 3-6, etc. Make sure you vary it, dogs can count and you don't want him thinking you will give him treats after every 4 obstacles or so. Like reward after 4, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 1, then 3, etc ...

That is also good to get him going faster if he ever starts to slow down, that's what I did with Dusty. He'd gotten food at the end of a course so many times that he started being pokey until the end and then turning it on, so I gave him treats during the run so he never knew when they would come ...


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

Thanks for the tips...
I purposely did not bring treats into the ring (even though it was allowed... being just a fun match and all) because I had begun limiting them in the backyard and he would charge through the whole course just from energy and excitement alone... however in those fun matches with all the people and dogs about and that stranger (the judge) in the ring, it was just too much distraction for him I guess. So far motivation doesn't seem to be his problem (though I do suppose that could change at any time) its just the amount of puppy left in him... and he really loves people.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

You might want to use the treats in fun matches just to keep his attention until he realizes that you are more fun than the other people. I used a lot of treats in the beginning but now Dusty has FUN just running around with me and bouncing around at the end of the run, and I don't think he'd really care if I skipped the treats but I give him treats anyways because giving dogs cookies is fun  

It is GREAT that you can get him back! That's more than half the battle!


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Maybe I should have used a wheelchair so that Brandy could continue. My luck, she would have ended every trial by jumping on my lap and knocking the wind out of me! But it's loads of fun and we plan to start up whenever the next class begins.


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