# Agility beginner blues



## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

She is just a puppy. We are not doing agility yet, but are doing conformation. Sailor is two years old and just understanding what is not acceptable behavior in the ring. We do 1 to 3 classes a week, so she has gotten used to not playing with the other dogs. That just comes with practice and practice. When it comes to agility, I don't think you can really compare different dog breeds against each other. They all have their own personalities. Border collies need a job, and put their full concentration on it. Golden retrievers love people, other animals and food. When I was helping at an agility trial, it was very common once a golden was done with their run, they would come running to me to say hi, instead of their owner. These were titled dogs.

Don't give up, everybody has to start at the beginning.


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

I was in a class like that and ditched it after two sessions. Then I took a Control Unleashed class, where we learned a lot about dealing with off leash dogs and things were much better! Of course, doing that set us back about a year because of the way classes are scheduled. We did get to a point where I would lose him less than once per class session.


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## goldy1 (Aug 5, 2012)

Please don't give up. Agility is so great for the dogs and Amber will improve her focus with training, practice, and maturity. She is still so young.

We started Chance in agility young also. Concurrently he did other puppy classes in obedience. But agility was where we had the most fun. 
And Chance was the class clown. One class he ran out of the ring and grabbed someone's unattended purse. He thought it was a great feat.

Anyhow, he outgrew his antics and became a joy to team with. Some of my best memories were these early times at agility and rally-o.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Agility is supposed to be fun for both your dog AND you  If you are the type personality who wants to do things the "right" way (I am like this) then you might enjoy the journey more if you spend the next several months focusing a little more on building your dog's focus, recall and some of the foundation skills. I promise you won't really be missing out or 'getting behind'. One of my good friends has multiple MACH dogs and she always says the hardest thing about starting in agility is having a totally novice person learning to handle with a totally novice dog. 

I spent a year or so working on agility with my rough collie but I ended up dropping it because he barked like a fool through out most of the class (collies are very vocal). I didn't enjoy it because he barked when it was his turn because he was happy and excited and he barked when it wasn't his turn because he wanted me to give him treats and he was impatient. I had to engage him the whole time and I felt like I was driving the other people in the class crazy, even though the instructor insisted that it was ok. I just wasn't enjoying myself. The idea is that both of you would enjoy it, so do what you need to do to build the foundation your dog needs so that you enjoy yourself. Talking to your instructor about your concerns is a good idea. She can give you suggestions on things you can do to make this a success and fun for you and your pup


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

"you might enjoy the journey more if you spend the next several months focusing a little more on building your dog's focus, recall and some of the foundation skills"

Nolefan nailed it. 

It is the time before (this actually starts getting out of the car, all the way to your turn at the start line), in between each piece of equipment, and after the run in the ring all the way to the crate or your seat, that needs to be made lots of fun so you have a dog that wants to play with you. 
So basic obedience needs to be even more rewarding than the other dogs and equipment.


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## NicoleGold (Dec 8, 2015)

Agility is hard, but it is fun! We did rally obedience before starting agility classes and I do think that helped with focus. You also cannot compare herding dogs to sporting dogs when it comes to agility and working styles. My Aussie is a very handler focused dog whereas my goldens are naturely more environment focused (its what makes them good hunting dogs), so it can take them a little longer to learn they have to focus on you in a ring setting.

Don't give up and just make sure you're having fun with your dog


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

I'm glad to read this, more to know I'm not alone, and I'm definitely a novice handler with a novice dog. My challenge was keeping Noah's nose off the ground (I'm convinced he's half bloodhound! LOL). 

So, we also stopped, and we are working on focus and engagement. I've learned with his Rally, that I need to get to class at least a half hour early to allow him time to acclimate. His nose still gets the best of him, but I'm hopeful with consistent training and maturity that will improve. That, and I hope to get him involved in nosework and possibly tracking, since he seems to revel in "gathering intel" with that nose of his. 

We'll re-visit agility at a later date.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

FWIW my Brady is scheduled (i have not yet paid) to begin agility class tomorrow. He is 3 and I am hopeful he is mature enough  Faelan who is 8 and has his excellent titles will be joining him so he has an anchor as needed.

Some dogs need to mature some before they go into an exciting class with an exciting atmosphere. Brady does know some agility but has never been to a class since his dogality is not that of a dog that learns well while being over excited.

ETA: Looks like the Thursday class has more room  Should be fun!


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Focus activities definitely help: teaching him to look at you, producing treats at unexpected times, lots of 5-minute training sessions (tricks, basic obedience, whatever). 

When my daughter's toy poodle first started competing in agility, he was very upset that someone else (the judge) was in the ring, and would run around barking like an idiot, to try and drive them out. He would also jump up onto the laps of ring crew halfway through his run. In one particular run, he knew the judge well (my daughter's agility coach), and he simply stopped and stared at her, trying to figure out what she was doing there. He couldn't be moved, and in the end my daughter picked him up and carried him out of the ring. We wondered how we would ever turn him into an agility dog.

Last year, at age 4, he won the Canadian Junior Agility Games in Barrie, and finished second in the adult division of the Provincial agility championship (my daughter was 13 at the time).

When I first started competing with Ruby, it was about a year before she realized the obstacles had to be done in some kind of order. Each time we entered the ring, she would just go off like a rocket and do random obstacles until I caught up with her and sent her in another direction. She was known as "Crazy Ruby", with good reason. I'm not a quitter, but there were times when I actually considered it.

When she died last year, aged 8, of cardiac hemangiosarcoma, she was the reigning Canadian agility champion in her division and had won the Provincial championship three times. She had transformed into the most amazing partner.

Agility, in the early days, is mostly a question of digging in and not giving up. Have fun with your dog's antics, train him to focus, and know that this too shall pass!

Best of luck!


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

Thanks! I had a good laugh at some of the stories. I knew I had to be somewhat fit to also survive the course but factor in mud (we train outside as long as field is not too wet and slippery) and a happy dog...I feel like I look like hell ran me over after each training session...even though this is just an intro course. lol. We do have fun though especially when Amber learns something new . Last week was the tunnel which had to be shortened just for her. What an achievement that was when she got over her fear and ran through it. I think her happy face matched mine.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Thought I would check back in with my results with Brady's first class 

Please know that I have basically taken the past year and worked focus, ring games and building Brady's confidence and set of games.

Tonight he sparkled!! His eyes were alight, he was focused and totally energized!

He was crated until a few minutes before each turn. Once out of the crate we played warmup (physical) and focus games getting him revved and ready to roll. Walking to the line were more moving focus games and he had my complete attention from the time he came out of the crate until we did his cool down and rewarding routine. He rocked the class (so did Faelan  )

So, I guess I can say that allowing time for maturing and giving time and effort for focus and engagement work might just see you through - no practicing of bad behaviors can really help - I am thrilled with how well Brady did, Hoping it bodes very well for his future !


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

congrats! i hope to get to that point too...


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## Wilbur'sDad (Feb 19, 2014)

I recently started my very first beginners outdoor agility class with my 22 month old boy. We've had several series of obedience classes and decided to give this a try since it looked like a lot of fun. He's a bit of a barker, but once given a task really seems to take to it. _Very_ basic at this point - and no big jumps since he's so young - the highest has been 4", which he could easily walk over. Loves the tunnels though. We'll see how it goes - sometimes it's hard for me to keep up with him since he's having so much fun. And I confess, so am I. I wish I was as fast as he is!


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