# Taffy Runs a Short Course



## spoospirit

Taffy and I went to agility class last night. She is doing well considering the few weeks she missed. We ran a short course after working on the different obstacles and learning three new ones. We were a bit tired but gave it our best. She did well and I screwed up! On her exiting the tunnel, I did the front pass but saw the weave poles out of the corner of my eye and started to head toward them thinking it was the jump. I hesitated and Taffy lost momentum because she didn't know what I wanted. MY BAD! If not for that, she would have had a perfect run.
_
That is the instructor you can hear cheering us on._






_Taffy was second best in her class even though there were more seasoned dogs there. Guess who got a clean run?

I had Taffy do a shorter run so I could have her jump the double jump that was new to her.





_


----------



## KalaMama

So cool! Go Taffy Go


----------



## amerique2

Way to go, Taffy! Looks like fun. Keep the videos coming.


----------



## flyingduster

lol! very cute! They seem to be progressing you through things very fast without any real foundation though?? Doing whole courses when her drive isn't up to do even one jump seems odd to me! But it does look like you're having fun, so I guess that's the main thing!!! lol


----------



## Teffy

:cheer2:

Wooo hoooo! Keep posting videos.
I really liked seeing your black standard come in and saying hello. It looked like a "Oh hey there Taffy, thought you might need some company...no...oh..okay then.....I'll go now..." hee hee Keep em coming please!


----------



## spoospirit

Teffy said:


> :cheer2:
> 
> Wooo hoooo! Keep posting videos.
> I really liked seeing your black standard come in and saying hello. It looked like a "Oh hey there Taffy, thought you might need some company...no...oh..okay then.....I'll go now..." hee hee Keep em coming please!


_LOL...That is Grace; Dianne's gray girl. She wanted to join in the fun and Dianne couldn't video tape and hold her too so she came out to see if she could do something for treats._


----------



## whitepoodles

what a great day this was for your and your girl.. 
dont worry about screwing up.. the owner always does not the dog.. LOLOL.. things happen there is always a next time.. so enjoy .


----------



## jester's mom

Hmnmmm, wonder which dog had the best, cleanest run????? 

OHHHHH, that would be... GRACE!!!!    
Not the fastest, but a clean run without stopping.


----------



## apoodleaday

Looks like a blast! You two are moving right along. I hope you're enjoying it tremendously. Congrats to Grace and Jester's mom too!
I still pretty much look like a frog in a blender when I'm working agility with Lacey.


----------



## spoospirit

apoodleaday said:


> Looks like a blast! You two are moving right along. I hope you're enjoying it tremendously. Congrats to Grace and Jester's mom too!
> I still pretty much look like a frog in a blender when I'm working agility with Lacey.


_LOL!!! It is not easy to get down the runs and the right moves to direct your dog where it needs to go. Taffy didn't mess up; I did! I know I look really silly out there doing my thing because everyone is laughing when I come back to sit down! I think it is really funny myself but I don't mind. I am having the best time I have had in years!_


----------



## ArreauStandardPoodle

YAY Taffy!!!!!! Good for you both! What a team. I have to admit, this choked me up a bit. Even though she really would rather not have gone into the tube, she did it because you asked her to and trusted you would not send her anywhere dangerous. Loved this!


----------



## Olie

spoospirit said:


> _LOL!!! It is not easy to get down the runs and the right moves to direct your dog where it needs to go. Taffy didn't mess up; I did! I know I look really silly out there doing my thing because everyone is laughing when I come back to sit down! I think it is really funny myself but I don't mind. *I am having the best time I have had in years!*_


Spoospirit, I am impressed first of all!! The loyalty Taffy has to you is clear. She went and did everything you asked without fail. I was so excited when I seen this! I love agility and I am very much a newbie playing around with it. I like how they left you run the entire course too! COOL! 

I am happy for you. Your dogs make you come alive, and it shows. 

I'd say you looked pretty darn good too BTW!!!!


----------



## spoospirit

Olie said:


> Spoospirit, I am impressed first of all!! The loyalty Taffy has to you is clear. She went and did everything you asked without fail. I was so excited when I seen this! I love agility and I am very much a newbie playing around with it. I like how they left you run the entire course too! COOL!
> 
> I am happy for you. Your dogs make you come alive, and it shows.
> 
> I'd say you looked pretty darn good too BTW!!!!


_Thank you so much, Olie!! She is very much attached to me and tries her best to understand and please me. What a great temperament she has.

I happy to hear you are playing around with it too. It is, as they say, very addicting once you get started.

LOL....I look a bit like an older lady but am starting to feel like a younger one again thanks to all of the running around I have to do now!!
_


----------



## SECRETO

Thats so great that Taffy is working well with you at agility. You both did great!

I want to try it out with my boy Eli. He LOVES to jump through things, go down slides at the park and do jumps etc. He gets super hiped up and starts barking at me...its like Ive found his calling. lol


----------



## spoospirit

SECRETO said:


> Thats so great that Taffy is working well with you at agility. You both did great!
> 
> I want to try it out with my boy Eli. He LOVES to jump through things, go down slides at the park and do jumps etc. He gets super hiped up and starts barking at me...its like Ive found his calling. lol


_That's great, Secreto!! It sounds like he has the right drive for this sport. I hope you get into it with him. You'll both love it.
_


----------



## whitepoodles

Spoospirit:
I have a question since you seem to know alot about performance.
I admit that I do not participate in performance sports only conformation but many of my clients have finished CD, CDX and agility on the puppies sold to them as pets.
I would very much like to start doing some sort of performance activity with my boy Cole.. He has alot of positive energy which I would very much want to channel into productive sports geared for him and his temperament.
What would you suggest is the best performance field for a retired show dogs with alot of energy yet common sense and knows direction and very social.
Also in regards to puppies, given that the growth plates do not close to a certain age and I have heard much about not exercising or biking a dog before 2 years of age given hips, at what age would you suggest starting a puppy in agility, since Agility also involves jumps, hurdles etc.... 
Sorry to pick at your brain but you seem to know so much about this topic and I need some input.
Thanks


----------



## spoospirit

_I actually don't know a LOT about performance yet as I am learning as I go. But I am happy to offer you my opinion. And, no apologies! That is why we are all here; to learn form each other.

With a lot of energy, I think agility is a good choice. Once you get the dog focused on what you want it to do, the speed will come and I'm sure it will become a good competitor. There is a really tight bond between you and your dog. The dog depends on you to give it direction and you need to have eye contact with it at all times. That was the purpose of the front pass that you saw in the first video as Taffy came out of the tunnel. You need to cross over to be on the right side of the obstacles to send your dog in the correct direction but you can't loose eye contact with it or they may take the wrong obstacle, or as in Taffy's case, just stop! My Bad! Actually, I think the human needs more training than the dogs! LOL

Obedience is much more restrained physically of course, but then the bond between you and your dog working so closely is really special here too. Dianne finished one of her Brittany's in CD and maybe CDX as well. She really enjoyed the bond between her and her dog. It won't work off a lot of energy though as they need to be by your side nearly all of the time with a few exceptions.

Taffy is a year and half and is in training over low jumps and obstacles. She takes much bigger jumps running around at home just for fun! It takes a good year to get most dogs ready to start competing according to our instructor. So, she will not compete over regulation height obstacles until she is over two years of age. I think there will be some controversy over the age question. I have seen it before. But, I would definitely not start a dog before a year and a half for the reason you mentioned._


----------



## whitepoodles

Spoospirit:
Thanks so much for your input.. This will give me a good idea of what type of performance to start Cole in and also the age I can comfortably start other dogs in Agility. I think that given Cole level of energy and enthusiasm he will be best doing agility. Thanks again for your advice and info.


----------



## jak

Just thought I could input a bit here too 

You can really start training Agility as a young puppy at 4 months of age if you want to.
They only things I wouldn't train would be:

Weaves -because of the twisting

Jumps -not at full height, but you can at a low height, and at around a year old, nothing higher than their elbows.

But everything else like Focus Work, Tunnels, Contact Training etc. can be trained at a young age. You can also do lots of drive work, and distance control too, plus a good sit/wait can be handy lol!

As Spoospirit said above, most of Agility is actually about training the trainer! Sure you need to get your dog used to the equipment, but you need to train yourself in regard to handling the dog lol.

I would recommend you do agility with Cole too, as he sounds like an active dog, but I have found Obedience to be just as tiring for Saffy too, as it's not so much the physical aspect that tires them out, it is more so the mental aspect, of actually thinking about what they are doing that does. But again, IMO Agility is much more fun! but I still do Obedience too, it's just a different type of fun lol.


----------



## spoospirit

jak said:


> Just thought I could input a bit here too
> 
> You can really start training Agility as a young puppy at 4 months of age if you want to.
> They only things I wouldn't train would be:
> 
> Weaves -because of the twisting
> 
> Jumps -not at full height, but you can at a low height, and at around a year old, nothing higher than their elbows.
> 
> But everything else like Focus Work, Tunnels, Contact Training etc. can be trained at a young age. You can also do lots of drive work, and distance control too, plus a good sit/wait can be handy lol!
> 
> As Spoospirit said above, most of Agility is actually about training the trainer! Sure you need to get your dog used to the equipment, but you need to train yourself in regard to handling the dog lol.
> 
> I would recommend you do agility with Cole too, as he sounds like an active dog, but I have found Obedience to be just as tiring for Saffy too, as it's not so much the physical aspect that tires them out, it is more so the mental aspect, of actually thinking about what they are doing that does. But again, IMO Agility is much more fun! but I still do Obedience too, it's just a different type of fun lol.


_This is GREAT, Jak. Thanks for the input. As I said, I am pretty new at this myself._


----------



## whitepoodles

Jak:
Very good points as well and great info thanks for sharing you guys... will be very helpful and I do agree given Cole's enthusiasm and energy level I will do agility, but I have heard that agility is more involved than just obedience and that a dog has to have basic obedience if they are to excell in agility as they have to be focused on the owner/trainer.
So maybe it is better I complete the CD maybe CDX with Cole and then proceed to agility, any thoughts ?


----------



## spoospirit

whitepoodles said:


> Jak:
> Very good points as well and great info thanks for sharing you guys... will be very helpful and I do agree given Cole's enthusiasm and energy level I will do agility, but I have heard that agility is more involved than just obedience and that a dog has to have basic obedience if they are to excell in agility as they have to be focused on the owner/trainer.
> So maybe it is better I complete the CD maybe CDX with Cole and then proceed to agility, any thoughts ?


_Agreed. It is easier for you and your dog if it has at least basic obedience training before agility. I did this with Taffy.
_


----------



## whitepoodles

spoospirit said:


> _Agreed. It is easier for you and your dog if it has at least basic obedience training before agility. I did this with Taffy.
> _


Spoospirit:
This is exactely what I was told. I am glad to be on this forum. I may know alot about breeding but I am also learning quite a bit about performance here and I admit I am not savvy in this department. So thank you guys for teaching me the ropes.


----------



## Olie

The couple that we have here require the obedience class before moving onto agility.


----------



## jak

whitepoodles said:


> Jak:
> Very good points as well and great info thanks for sharing you guys... will be very helpful and I do agree given Cole's enthusiasm and energy level I will do agility, but I have heard that agility is more involved than just obedience and that a dog has to have basic obedience if they are to excell in agility as they have to be focused on the owner/trainer.
> So maybe it is better I complete the CD maybe CDX with Cole and then proceed to agility, any thoughts ?


Yes, some obedience training is necessary, but to the extent of a CDX, not so much!
You can still do CDX, but you don't need that level of obedience for agility.
As long as you have reasonable focus, a reliable sit/stay, a great recall, and little temptation to play with all of the other dogs while working, you should be fine!

You can always do both like I did!


----------



## whitepoodles

[ and little temptation to play with all of the other dogs while working, you should be fine!

You can always do both like I did![/QUOTE]



Jak:
LOLOL  You crack me up... I am very intense and nervous when I have to be on my dog, that is the main reason why I never ventured into the conformation ring.. but will do in performance as there is much less of the politics going around...I heard it is more relaxed and MUCH MORE fun.


----------



## flyingduster

performance dog sports are AWESOME! And yes, training can begin while still a pup for any of the performance sports, including agility. Just look at Vinnie and Flyer on here; they have both been trained in agility since pups, Flyer has just had his second (?) weekend out actually competing and Vinnie is still in training; they are both young and have been trained since young! Most of agility training isn't about the physical act of bounding around, but more about teaching the cues, body language, handling and drive. Dogs know how to jump and go through things already, we just need to learn how to tell them what and when, and to prove it's awesome fun! LOL!

And yup, you do need some level of "obedience" to be able to do agility. But by "obedience" they really just mean an obedient dog, not any formal obedience training! A dog that'll come when called, stay when told, and generally not cause total havoc around the place! 


I personally prefer formal obedience to agility though, mainly cos I don't have the room or money for equipment at home and training is an ass around here. That, and I'm not very good at running. LOL! Paris loves to run though, and I know SHE loves it, but I've not put the training into her agility so it's really just a free-for-all when Paris is out! LOL!


Obedience I LOVE, and cos I love it, so does Paris! I love watching that really amazing formal 'heel'; with the dog joined to the owners hip, and the amazing partnership in the obedience ring, but what I love most is that I'm figuring out how to do that too, and it's not as 'out-of-reach' as it appears!!! lol. Running around in, and watching, agility is fun, but I don't get the same buzz from it as I do seeing that incredible heelwork and stuff in formal obedience... I still remember first seeing that and thinking "wow! *I* wanna be able to do THAT!" It looks sooo impressive and it must surely be a real effort to get like that..... But it's not! It's AWESOME! 

lol


DO BOTH! heh. Both are awesome!


----------



## debjen

flyingduster said:


> performance dog sports are AWESOME! And yes, training can begin while still a pup for any of the performance sports, including agility. Just look at Vinnie and Flyer on here; they have both been trained in agility since pups, Flyer has just had his second (?) weekend out actually competing and Vinnie is still in training; they are both young and have been trained since young! Most of agility training isn't about the physical act of bounding around, but more about teaching the cues, body language, handling and drive. Dogs know how to jump and go through things already, we just need to learn how to tell them what and when, and to prove it's awesome fun! LOL!
> 
> !


Yes my puppies start training from the moment they are home..as Jak said there is a lot of foundation training for agility that can be done without stressing joints..when a puppy comes home there is a tunnel in the living room and a balance board out..we start obedience and agility training at the same time and for the first year or so we do a lot of both..unfortuantely our formal obedience is taking a backseat right now because with 3 dogs training for agility and teaching agility classes I've run out of time..LOL..Flyer has had 3 weekends out in agility and has his first two titles...(the next set won't probably be as easy but we'll see)..and he is about 22 months old..He is a minature..with a standard I would probably wait until there were 2 before jumping full height and competing but you could train so that you would be close to competing at that age if you wanted too..also it depends on the maturity of the dog..with one of my cavs I started competing to early and I stressed him and we are still paying for that stress 3 years later ... each dog is an individual.


----------



## Cdnjennga

Way to go Taffy! Agility is so fun. Darcy and I just began a puppy gymboree class, which is essentially agility for puppies. He's 5 months and it's SO FUN! We had our first class on Tuesday and did stretching exercises (got them spinning, twisting, figure 8s and stretching up our bodies) then focused on walking a board, jumps and recall. Darcy could not have loved it more, he thought everything was so fun. The board was pretty much flat to the ground for the first class, and the jump was about 1 to 2 inches. As Jak said earlier the rule of thumb is they shouldn't be jumping higher than their knee.


----------



## whitepoodles

DO BOTH! heh. Both are awesome![/QUOTE]

Flyingduster:
I tried once years ago and got "reprimanded" by my handler telling me if I do both obedience and conformation handling classes with my puppy than they will not show well in the conf. ring. I stopped. Some of these handlers... LOLOL can be SO intense about how the puppy shows for them.. 
I figured, oh well ok, I can always do the performance after they get their Ch. title.
Thanks guys for all the tips. Helps alot.


----------



## jak

Lol, it all comes down to the training 

We have a friend here in Dunedin that breeds Samoyeds.
She shows them in breed shows, and competes in agility and obedience with them


----------



## spoospirit

Cdnjennga said:


> Way to go Taffy! Agility is so fun. Darcy and I just began a puppy gymboree class, which is essentially agility for puppies. He's 5 months and it's SO FUN! We had our first class on Tuesday and did stretching exercises (got them spinning, twisting, figure 8s and stretching up our bodies) then focused on walking a board, jumps and recall. Darcy could not have loved it more, he thought everything was so fun. The board was pretty much flat to the ground for the first class, and the jump was about 1 to 2 inches. As Jak said earlier the rule of thumb is they shouldn't be jumping higher than their knee.


_Oh, that sounds like good fun!! I hadn't heard about anything like that at the training facility that we are using.

Enjoy!!_


----------



## spoospirit

whitepoodles said:


> DO BOTH! heh. Both are awesome!


Flyingduster:
I tried once years ago and got "reprimanded" by my handler telling me if I do both obedience and conformation handling classes with my puppy than they will not show well in the conf. ring. I stopped. Some of these handlers... LOLOL can be SO intense about how the puppy shows for them.. 
I figured, oh well ok, I can always do the performance after they get their Ch. title.
Thanks guys for all the tips. Helps alot.[/QUOTE]

_It really does depend on the dog as Jak said. Billy wears completely different collars and leads for each discipline and he knows the difference. I'm sure there are dogs that would be confused though and you never want your dog to do a sit by your side in the conformation ring! :scared:_


----------



## whitepoodles

and you never want your dog to do a sit by your side in the conformation ring! :scared:[/I][/QUOTE][/COLOR]

Precisely and this is exactely what one of my show dogs did in the ring some years ago when I did both conformation and performance (basic obedience) with him.. Got slack from the handler.. LOLOL


----------

