# Agility Question



## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

My son has been talking about teaching Max agility and has even been going to the extreme of making little obstacles for him. This weekend, he had the very cool oportunity of helping Max run a real if smaller version of an agility course. The lady there said that Max was super sweet and that she thought he could be quite good at it. Well, maybe she said that about every dog!  Anyways, so here's the question: Max will be a very big dog. He is big for his 5 1/2 months, he'll be big for a golden. Does that mean that he would not be able to do agility for real? My friend said it's a small to medium dog sport. Maybe a petite golden could do it....but monster Max? There is an agility club 50 minutes away in Reading, and I was thinking...maybe this would be a great thing to get Max and Leif into? But....is he too big?


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## DCPakaMOM (Feb 15, 2009)

I am by no means an agility expert - but I do know that I have seen large dogs do agility. I watched a great dane do agility, granted he was a lot slower than some, but he did the tunnels and everything.

He should go ahead and find a puppy agility class, puppy obedience so he learns the basics!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I've seen massive dogs running agility - Great Danes, Leonbergers etc. If your dog is truly tall they might have issues with the tunnels (ducking their heads and maybe needing to kind of crawl) and possibly on the narrow contact equipment unless they learn to single track.

But .. I must say when you see these dogs running it is truly awesome and everyone enjoys it.

Max probably will not grow that large so as long as he is in good shape and has good joints, there should be absolutely no problem  I say, once he matures out go for it!! Until he is more mature, stick to puppy agility and obedience.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Sunrise knows what she's talking about. I'll just add that keeping him trim will be really important if you want to agility with him. A trim dog with a big frame will do a lot better joints-wise.


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## hawtee (Nov 1, 2006)

What do you consider to be monster size? ...No agility is not just for small and med dogs...I have seen everything from an Irish Wolfhound( picture this going thru a tunnel) to a chi dog run..If you are concerned about his possible weight/height and impact you can always run perferred classes which are a lower jump height..


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## glddog04 (Sep 19, 2009)

Yes Yes to all the posts! Keep jumps low untill around 18 months, also channel poles should remain wide enough so there is only a tiny tiny wiggle. No formal weave poles until after 18 months! You want all the bone plates to close. HAVE FUN!!
glddog


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Ah thank you!! Heartening posts and so much useful information to know! I am thinking about building a little ramp and figuring out how to make some poles (or broomsticks) stand up so the two can practice.  Thanks again!!!


EDIT and oh, his dad weighed between 90 and 100 pounds and he was trim. So I am thinking with him being so much bigger than other goldens his age, he is going to shoot for that weight as well. 
He can already jump a 4 foot gate with ease, sadly for us, but for sure sure we will know to keep the jumps he is supposed to be jumping low low!!


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Any dog can do agility. My lab is 27" tall and weighs 85#. She is a BIG girl. Because of her size we run he preferred, lower jumps less impact on her joints. My advice is if you want to play in agility which I HIGHLY recommend because it is a blast, is keep Max's weight down. That will help him. To me the only dogs I see "struggling" with agility are the ones who are overweight for their breed. 

Unfortunately you will see the speedy border collies, but that does not mean you can not play and have fun doing so! It is very addicting! 

Don't progress too fast if he is only 5 months. You want to wait for his bones to finish growing to reduce injury risk. There is stuff you can do while he is growing.


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Maxs Mom said:


> Any dog can do agility. My lab is 27" tall and weighs 85#. She is a BIG girl. Because of her size we run he preferred, lower jumps less impact on her joints. My advice is if you want to play in agility which I HIGHLY recommend because it is a blast, is keep Max's weight down. That will help him. To me the only dogs I see "struggling" with agility are the ones who are overweight for their breed.
> 
> Unfortunately you will see the speedy border collies, but that does not mean you can not play and have fun doing so! It is very addicting!
> 
> Don't progress too fast if he is only 5 months. You want to wait for his bones to finish growing to reduce injury risk. There is stuff you can do while he is growing.


 
Examples please? Examples would be great!! Leif would love to read them and do them, I'm sure!! 

Max is a speed demon himself though for his size, he can really get moving running with his puppy friends. He goes so fast that when he turns in a circle to change direction he leans bigtime into the turn. Once, he had himself going so fast he pretty much was almost laid down but still managed to right himself and continue. So maybe he could at least, not be totally hopeless.  I would be into doing this because it would be fun for our family and it would help Leif learn to communicate and get in sync with another living being, things he needs to work on in general.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Aww, I'm so glad your son wants to do agility with Max! I started out the same way, building the little obstacles in the backyard, and it's really nice that you're supportive and willing to get him into classes 

He can definitely do agility, but it'll be a lot harder on him if you don't keep his weight down to agility standards - you should be able to feel the last few ribs and the bones above his tail while pressing down very lightly. His ideal weight for doing agility will probably be less than his 90-pound dad, and he might not even end up that big (puppies just grow at different rates - my Lab seemed giant as an 8-week-old puppy and ended up only 22" tall).


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

So how big is Max now? He is only about 3 wks older than my pup who weighs just under 40 lbs. Everybody says "HE'S GONNA BE HUGE!!!!" and I'm thinking, he looks like a little squirt to me


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## jimla (Oct 9, 2008)

Our 4-year old golden boy Elliot is 28 inches tall and 89 lbs. He has no problem with the agility tunnel. We have completed 18 agility class sessions and hope to enter a trial soon.

Jim


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

K9-Design said:


> So how big is Max now? He is only about 3 wks older than my pup who weighs just under 40 lbs. Everybody says "HE'S GONNA BE HUGE!!!!" and I'm thinking, he looks like a little squirt to me


Your puppy is little!! He's gotta weigh 60 pounds at least - I have no way to know for sure but I know little Scout puppy was over 40 and he towered over her when we last saw her AND she was 3 weeks older than him. That was last month and he's grown a lot in this past month....so maybe even 70? He's quite a bit taller than my 80 pound Will will but must leaner / less bulky. All I know is that my Max would dwarf your puppy.


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## Mighty Casey and Samson's Mom (Jul 16, 2008)

If you take a beginner or puppy class you will get very good guidance on what you should do or not do for Max's age and build. In Canada many larger dogs do "specials" with lower obstacle heights. A beginner class really focuses on the dog's safety and teaching techniques (such as on the Aframe, dog walk and teeter) to keep the dog from getting injured. You do need to be careful with a big framed golden--my guy is 24" and a long, lean 85lbs. If you are going to do any obedience/agility activities requiring jumping it is essential to keep them lean and fit. They are athletes!


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