# How old



## Feldenak (May 8, 2011)

Is 2 years the age for everything? My wife wants to do agility with Izzy (after she finishes the prerequisite obedience classes). The only reason this came up tonight is while Isabel was zooming around the house she jumped over the couch from the back and if she hadn't turned in mid-air to land on a cushion would have cleared the whole thing. Needless to say, I was stunned to see that.


----------



## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

Agility can be started younger than 2 but prior to a 1 year a dog shouldn't be jumping in order not to injure growing joints. 

Having said that, Agility is a lot more than being able to jump and run. There is a lot of handling, teamwork and focus that is required because a course needs to be followed. There are contacts that need to also be done (A-Frame, Dog Walk, Teeter for example) etc. The fastest dogs are not always the best ones on a course. 

It will be interesting to see if your dog enjoys agility.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

^ Seconds Rhonda's post. With agility the dog will be off leash the entire time and needs to follow the course. You need that dog to be able to jump, but there is also obstacles like the dog walk and aframe and teeter which can be worrisome for a nervous dog. 

If you want to compete with your dog in agility, I think the earlier you start, the better. There will be jumps, but they will all be low until your dog is old enough.


----------



## Feldenak (May 8, 2011)

rhondas said:


> Agility can be started younger than 2 but prior to a 1 year a dog shouldn't be jumping in order not to injure growing joints.
> 
> Having said that, Agility is a lot more than being able to jump and run. There is a lot of handling, teamwork and focus that is required because a course needs to be followed. There are contacts that need to also be done (A-Frame, Dog Walk, Teeter for example) etc. The fastest dogs are not always the best ones on a course.
> 
> It will be interesting to see if your dog enjoys agility.


Oh yeah, I realized it was more than just running & jumping. I was just floored to see her do that. My wife's been talking about doing agility since before we got Izzy. Seeing our pup do that just prompted the question tonight.

As for avoiding the jumping. I think it might have been worse on Miss Isabel if I tackled her in mid-air.


----------



## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

I agree with the above as well!

You need to wait until the pup is done growing before tacking the grown-up things like big jumps, full sized contacts and weaves. But there is a LOT to do with a puppy that does not include the above.

Sounds like your wife is in obedience class already, that is a great place to start. Teaching your pup to learn and especially focus on her around distractions will be very helpful. A puppy agility class or dog sports foundation class would be a good next step.

Have fun!


----------



## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Oh trust me... your dog can "jump" now without too much risk. Puppies being puppies will jump things. Even big things. Teddi used to jump Belle all the time, and Belle is 27" tall. Ask Teddi to jump a 12" jump and she stands there. LOL Gabby has jumped a 20" agility jump. I had them set in my back yard, she was running around with Quinn and it was in her way. She jumped it quite beautifully. But like others have said 'repeated' work is hard on developing joints. So you do want to keep them small for the early stages. 

I do agree with the other posts. Gabby is 9 months, she is taking puppy performance agility. She jumps 8" in class. She will jump 20" when she is old enough. The contacts are low, it for training the dog to work with you. The only thing Gabby does that I probably started too early is the teeter. We have one in our back yard, she has been doing it (at 8") since she was 8 weeks old. She has really good teeter behavior, with a nice bow at the apex, and a sit at the bottom. She did the full height one in class on her own. It makes a bang the one in our grass does not that made her cautious, but she is getting over it. I do not do it a lot only once or twice in class. The one in our back yard is now 16".

Agility is a TON of fun!


----------



## Feldenak (May 8, 2011)

I appreciate the info folks. My wife & Isabel are in obedience classes. She's got 2 more after this before doing agility work. It was mainly a curiousity thing for my sake. We don't let Isabel jump over things onto hard surfaces so I'm not really worried about her joints.


----------

