# Starting agility - anything to know?



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I think you've done some good work in preparation with the CGC.

It helps if Archie has a good sit stay. You should be able to leave him in a stay, walk away, wait then call him to you. 

Plan to work on keeping his attention on YOU now and continue once you're in class. When I'm in my class I have no idea what the other students are doing because I'm working on keeping my dogs attention on me...........which means my attention is on her.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Foundation. Some trainers rush to get their students on all the equipment and into the ring, but the key to longevity and success in agility is foundation. The two hardest obstacles are the teeter and the weaves, so take your time with these. I'm amazed at how many dogs in open miss the weaves, especially. Some of my friends don't compete with their dogs at all for two or three years, in part to let them fully develop and in part to get a really solid foundation.

Soapbox aside, I like the 2x2 method for teaching weaves. Dogs get it quickly, but don't be in a rush to close the weaves (straighten them). With confidence comes speed, so take it sloooowly. Who cares if it takes six months to straighten the weaves if at the end of those six months your dog knows where to enter from any angle and is fast. That's going to help you down the road more than competing with a sloppy weave.

Once you get those two obstacles down, it's just confidence, crosses, and distance. &#55357;&#56841;

That said, I know plenty of people who would rather start competing earlier, even if it means that they are DQing 90% of the time. They just like to be out there competing. To me it seems like training failure, but for them it's a fun time with their friends and their dogs. Different strokes.


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

I'm Agility competitor, and my spoo, Sugarfoot, recently earned his second MACH title. He's not my first Agility dog, so he benefited greatly from mistakes made with my earlier pups!

Foundation, yes! Even as you begin, think ahead to how you want the finished product to look in the ring (your instructors will hopefully help you with this, since you might not know) and keep your criteria solid from the beginning. Self-control (play "It's Yer Choice" and Crate Games) is vital, and with Agility, you want to train in a positive and joyful manner. Encourage your dog to tug. Help him to be comfortable working away from you and minimize luring (since it tends to rivet their eyes on your hands).

You might enjoy some of the videos on my YouTube channel.





 - here are some things we worked on for the first 100 days I owned him.





 - I did the 2x2 method, and this is a very quick overview of the process.





 - I haven't made a video for the second one, but you can definitely see the progress!

--Q


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## galofpink (Mar 14, 2017)

Wow, amazing work with Sugarfoot, Quossum! She moves so gracefully through all of the obstacles!


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Yes, everything that has been mentioned. A good sit/stay and getting his attention are invaluable.
While you wait for the class to start, you can just put treats in your pocket while you are in the house and throughout the day ask him to "come" . Reward. Then have him keep his attention on you while you walk around, changing directions randomly. Feed him treats during this and do it with your arms at your side, and hand facing backwards, so he's encouraged to stay at your side or behind you, and not cross in front without being asked. Vary the side you ask him to follow you on. Hope that makes sense
Above all else, have fun! It's a great sport.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

A few more thoughts ...

First, to be successful, you will have to train at home, which means you will have to buy/rent/borrow/build some equipment. Agility can get outrageously expensive because you can easily spend thousands on equipment - not just the obstacles, but all the accoutrements, fads, and "must haves." Most of this is unnecessary, so ask first what you need. A lot of it you can borrow or buy used, or even buy human versions for much less than the dog version. For example, Clean Run sells a really cute bone-shaped wobble cushion for $180 (last I checked); or you can get a human version for under $15. 

Second, most mistakes are caused by the handler. Dogs are like computers - they do exactly what the handler tells them to do, not what the handler meant to tell them to do. Here's an example of one of my dumb mistakes that took a year and several trainers to figure out. One of the things you'll do early on is work on a series of three jumps, lined up in a straight line. I would run down the line of jumps and point to each individual jump, _pulling my arm back in between the jumps_. Consequently, Mia would run at the first jump, then pull off to the side and go around it, line up for the second jump, then pull around again, and do the same for the final jump. My conclusion was that "Mia doesn't like jumps," which was hogwash: she was following my arm movement that clearly said to run around in and out of the jumps. Someone finally suggested to keep my arm out while I ran, and sure enough, we never had the problem again.


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## Muggles (Mar 14, 2015)

I haven't been doing agility all that long but my biggest problem is working Rory on my right hand side. Doing obedience has given him a very strong habit of defaulting to my left no matter what we're doing, which can make sending him to equipment on my right more difficult. Any runs we can do where he's on my left we do significantly better at!


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Muggles said:


> I haven't been doing agility all that long but my biggest problem is working Rory on my right hand side. Doing obedience has given him a very strong habit of defaulting to my left no matter what we're doing, which can make sending him to equipment on my right more difficult. Any runs we can do where he's on my left we do significantly better at!


I was in the same position but it didn't take long to fix. My trainer suggested walking my dog for exercise or potty breaks halfway on the left then switch and walk back on the other side. I found taking one of her favorite toys (soft squeaking toy with floppy parts) and running holding it on my right and then left while I squeaked it and shook it. She was so excited chasing that toy on either side. In class and at home I train on both sides for agility. The trainer also had us do figure 8s on the right side as well as the left which felt so weird at the beginning- if it's weird for me it's obviously weird for my dog too. Anyhow found this really helped us.


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## Minnie (Apr 25, 2011)

If there is one thing I wish someone would have told me in the beginning or I would have been more open to... *do not* be in a hurry to get on the equipment. Teaching the equipment is actually the easiest part of agility. It is all the handling in the middle that takes the most work and all of this can be taught on the flat. 

Also enjoy the journey! The connection training brings to you and your dog's relationship is priceless. Best wishes on your new venture!


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## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

Minnie said:


> If there is one thing I wish someone would have told me in the beginning or I would have been more open to... *do not* be in a hurry to get on the equipment. Teaching the equipment is actually the easiest part of agility. It is all the handling in the middle that takes the most work and all of this can be taught on the flat.
> 
> Also enjoy the journey! The connection training brings to you and your dog's relationship is priceless. Best wishes on your new venture!


Yes! I've been training my dog for agility since the day he came home (Dec2015), though classes began 3 months ago. Every 'wait' at the door or outside his crate has been the foundation of a now solid start line stay, that wasn't learned anywhere near a start line. Focus and making training a positive experience seem the most important. 

Regarding equipment at home, with my first agility dog I taught sends around stools and my kitchen trash can. I've advanced to orange cones with my spoo! The board that I used to practice stacking is doing double duty to teach two on-two off for contacts. We started with an inverted food dish and he developed great body awareness. So much of the foundation work doesn't require real equipment.

Lastly, remember that this is supposed to be fun. When I become frustrated it is immediately transmitted to my dog. Here are photos from a puppy agility seminar--he was a BIG puppy--and with his favorite equipment at my local club. It was love at first sight!


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## rj16 (Jan 30, 2017)

This is a fantastic thread! Please keep the advice coming. I suspect Monty and I will dabble in agility at some point - it's really what our training facility is geared towards and our trainer seems to use puppy classes as pre-agility. But as someone who knows nothing about dog sports, it's difficult to see the big picture and work towards some distant goal.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

As others mentioned there's no need to buy expensive equipment. teaching your dog to jump into cardboard boxes helps them learn about being aware of their back legs. Start with a large box and work through smaller and smaller ones until they can get into a box where all four legs touch. Place a ladder on the floor and have them walk in between the rungs. A plank of wood can be used to teach two on two off contacts and you can raise it with heavy books or cans to prepare for the dog walk. I use my stairs to train two on two off contact for the A-frame and dog walk. The only special equipment I found helpful was weave poles which you can make your own or improvise. I found a cheap set at affordable agility and started with the two poles method as mentioned above. 

My dog was scared of movement and it took 3 sessions of the beginning class to get her to get comfortable with the teeter totter. I made a homemade wobble board from a large shelf and a ball. Many dogs don't have this problem and are very tolerant of movement in which case they may not need a wobble board to practice at home. My point is don't rush out and buy or make things right away. Wait and see what you and your dog needs in terms of equipment. 

Some people would argue why keep going if your dog is scared of the teeter totter. I've seen a big difference in her when we're out walking. She used to be scared of drainage grates and hated to cross them, now she just jumps over them. She could always jump them but now she has the confidence to jump them. She's more tolerant of movement in general such as in the car. 

While her problems with movement held us back on the teeter we did, with some help from the teacher, move forward and beyond the class in every thing else so if you do have to repeat because of one thing don't feel bad, just see it as an opportunity to get a solid base and grow in areas that your dog is ready for.

Most of agility is about you the handler, the flatwork between apparatuses as well as the connection you develop with your dog. Plus it's a fun activity so I hope you enjoy your upcoming class.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

This is all phenomenal advice! I don't know yet if we'll get serious about competition or just do classes here and there for fun, but the school we're going to does a lot of competition so we should have a strong foundation either way.

Great tips on things we can work with at home - we don't have our own backyard (just a shared courtyard that I only let Archie use off-leash late at night because of a neighbor who's scared of dogs), so it's good to know we don't need to buy a full agility setup just to practice specific skills.

When you guys refer to "foundation," is that general handling skills like sit/stay/following you, etc.? Or does that refer to something specific?


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

lisasgirl said:


> When you guys refer to "foundation," is that general handling skills like sit/stay/following you, etc.? Or does that refer to something specific?


When I say "foundation," I am talking about sit/stay/down, having impulse control, being able to focus forward and focus on handler, tugging. All the little "life skill" things that will translate to a better experience in the ring.

There's a great book called The Focused Puppy that delves into these skills for raising a puppy who will ultimately compete in some kind of dog sport. Great advice for all sorts of little things you can do at home that will foster a great working relationship down the road.

--Q


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## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

And from Susan Garrett, what to do before starting agility training.

Puppy One Hundred (and thirty five) | Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog


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