# question on puppy agility class



## kpence (Jun 25, 2009)

Could someone give me a run down on which pieces of equipment are ok for a 9 month old golden retriever. We have begun an agility class mainly to get a little excercise and learn to work together. I told our instructor we would not be doing the weaves because I heard that until her spine was fully developed (1 1/2 yrs) it could cause too much strain. Also no jumps over 4 inches or so. She seemed to think I was being too cautious (which I disagre with, I don't think you can be too cautious, especially with a puppy). Anyway, would love to hear from you all. 
What about the other pieces that are off the ground? We are certainly careful and they have spotters to help us but just wanting to hear from some folks who have been there. 
Thanks!

PS. Maggie is 9mts and this is my first time in agility class. Our 13 yr old Golden that we had to put down in Jan 09 never did any of these classes. I'm green! thanks!


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

You're right about the weaves. Most people will do jumps up to around the dog's elbow height between 6 and 14 months, but I don't like that. I don't think much about jumping can be learned by running sequences over low heights - it usually ends up with a dog that jumps really flat because they've been as tall as adult dogs but jumping 12" for several months.

The A-frame and dogwalk should be very low. Some dogwalks adjust to 2 feet tall, and she shouldn't be doing the full height one for a few more months. Most A-frames will only go down to around 4 feet, but I don't have much of a problem with that unless the dog likes to bail off. It's wide enough that she's probably not going to fall off unless she intentionally jumps. Teeters with puppies scare me, I just don't think they can really handle all that movement and loud noise, and even if they can there's no reason to make them do it until they're older. Very low teeters or wobble boards are fine.

You ALWAYS have the final say in what your dog does. Trust your instincts and your instructor will have to learn to respect that.


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## kpence (Jun 25, 2009)

*Thanks!*

Thanks Katie and dusty! I really hate to say it but I probably should not have taken the class.....oh well, live and learn. We orginally enrolled in the advanced puppy obedience class but it was really full so we decided to switch and do the beginners agility. 
Honestly there is not much that I feel is set to a level that we should be doing. All of the other dogs in the class are older and I don't feel right having all the equipment reset just for us. 

She enjoys the tunnel...the teeter, she is afraid of....does the A frame well....

Thanks for the help!


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

What you want to watch is repeated motions/stresses on her. Depends on your pup and how 'insane' she is. Storee is very wild so I have just done a lot of control, things like the last few feet of the dogwalk and having her sit there for reward, or sending to a tunnel. I haven't worked her on a lot of twisting and turning until now simply because she is a maniac and I don't want her killing herself (she will, at times, get on the dogwalk on a funny angle and at full speed and almost veer off sideways as she goes....). If she was calmer and not as fast, I'd likely have done more with her younger, but she lacks the common sense to not kill herself in the process of doing things. 

Low jumps for sure, aframe lower, no weaves yet.... if you can get her running a smooth course at a low height and work on your handling as well as her skills and distance, raising the jumps and teaching weaves later shouldn't be too hard to do. 

Lana


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## goldengirl09 (Jul 23, 2009)

I don't know much about agility but Harvey(5 months) and I are doing a puppy agility class- just for fun and bonding. Our instructor doesn't use any equipment that involves jumping and she has a special aframe and dogwalk that are puppy size. She has the weave poles out but the dogs don't weave through them- she has them set up in two rows and the dogs just walk straight through them and get used to the equipment. Other than that, it's mostly tunnels and shoots so far- she has different equipment out each week. There is a teeter but I think it's different than a normal one. I think it's been a good bonding experience and has helped me with training in other areas.

If there is something you feel uncomfortable with, I don't think there would be anything wrong with refraining from that part of the class. Hope you enjoy it!


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## Payton (Jan 23, 2009)

I did a puppy agility class, there was no jumping, We walked on a small board that we put food out to target..
The weave poles, we went straight through it but just to get him exposed to the equipment.. We did foot patterns and learned how to turn before we hit beginners.
We did the tire, but it was a puppy tire low to ground so height might have been 4 inches.

I also heard never weave a young dog ever!
We did not do any jumping, but we had ground on the bar and encouraged the puppy over... thats it.. 
I had a hard time cuz my pup wanted to watch me instead of going straight ahead, but I rewarded him to look at me on walks so he liked to do it..


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

It's difficult to be in a regular beginner class with a puppy, especially when the instructor isn't supportive. Since she's already afraid of the teeter, I'd recommend keeping her off of it completely until she's older (go buy a scrap piece of wood and put something under it to make a board that tips just a little bit, and use that to get her comfortable with the motion until she's physically and mentally mature enough to learn a full-height teeter).

This doesn't sound like a class that is really teaching any of the dogs to do agility correctly. "Spotters" are no substitute for starting with low equipment and building the dog's confidence gradually. If they're training the dogs right, the equipment won't be tall enough to make a spotter necessary for several weeks, and once it is that tall, the dog will be confident enough to know where its feet are and do the obstacle quickly without falling or jumping off. So it sounds like they're using less-than-wonderful training methods on a puppy that is also not physically ready for full-height obstacles. Not the best situation. But since you've probably already paid for the class and can't get out, I would just try to let her play in the tunnels and low jumps as much as possible, but avoid everything else.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Sorry about the loss of your older golden.

If your instructor is doing any handling (front cross, rear cross etc) these would be very safe for your young one - it is called shadow handling or working on the flat. 

Another thought is to work your puppy on the sidelines, treating each bang of the teeter, getting attention while there is so much activity, etc. Doing very low jump work is fine; I kept my Casey at low jump heights until he was 18 mos (started at 6 mos) and he was a beautiful jumper; long/flat or short/rounded as needed. 

I am kind of assuming that you cannot get your money back at this point,


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## hawtee (Nov 1, 2006)

When I teach puppy agility this is the equipment I use..tunnel, chute, tire (on the ground) weave poles (2 sets parallel to each other and 24" apart) I use this to get a fast run thru the center with the handler on the other end waiting with a toy lol. This also teaches them to get used to something on either side of them. Table top on the ground, good time for learning sits and downs..adjustable teeter that sits about 12" off the ground, A-frame that is flat on the ground, wobble board and lots of working on the flat. As they progress and become confident the equipment gets higher bit by bit..because my dog walk is not adjustable I use a 12"x6' board on 2 bricks for them to learn on.
Lilli's jump height at 8 months was only 8" at 11 months I put her up to 12 at 14 she went up to 16 at 18 she was jumping 20, When I was moving the heights up I did not do all of them at once I would put every other one the new height, to make her think lol..
hope this hlps some..


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## kpence (Jun 25, 2009)

Thanks everyone for all the answers and great suggestions. Last nights class was the best we've had so far. So glad I went, I had almost talked myself out of going. Anyway, we did the tire (new to us) on the ground, dog walk (very low this wk), 3 jumps in a row but all very low (2-3 inches) and the A frame. Much better class, everything more organized, dogs did better and all seems more in line w/a true beginners class. Thanks for all the support, it really gave me the confidence to say no thanks to any of the equipment I didn't feel comfortable trying (although last night we didn't have to pass on anything). The Golden Retriever Form is such a wonderful resource!


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## kgiff (Jul 21, 2008)

My puppy started foundation agility classes at 4 months old and here is some of what I allowed him to do after consulting with my breeder, vets, and my instructors:


Jumps elbow height or lower
running over lowered contacts, no stopping or 2o2o position
tunnels, chutes, ladders, board work, buja board, weave entrances
table work at 8 inches
weaving, contacts, and full height jumping not until the growth plates close

He's now 13 months old and has done up to 10 obstacle sequences. Most of what we've done so far has really been to build confidence and drive.


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## The_Artful_Dodger (Mar 26, 2009)

Dodger started an agility class at 11 months. We did a lot of targeting on the ground. We worked up to the dog walk, starting with a board on the ground. We did jumps and the tire set low - Dodger being the tallest in the class could just step over them...but he ussally knocked them down instead! And we did the tunnel and the chute. No weeve poles or teeter. It was super fun. We start the next class in October.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

I started Mira in agility classes at 6 months old. The class was not just for puppies, but focused on foundation training for dogs of all ages. Everyone did low jumps (8 in), walking on a plank, ladder, wobble board, tunnel and chute. If you can find a class that spends a lot of time on the basics, I think it is suitable for a puppy.

I did a lot of training with Mira with low jumps. She learned front and rear crosses, as well as common AKC handling sequences with low (8 in) jumps. I think she was able to learn a lot of her basic handling before working with big jumps.


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