# Age to start agility?



## outwest

I just searched the board and there are some other threads about this. Most say over 12months old to start. I am going to go to the school and see if they have puppy classes.  I will let you know what I find out. I am so excited this place is within walking distance of my house! It is called "The Zoom Room". It appears to be a franchise. Have any of you heard of it?


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## Quossum

There are many, many Agility skills which have nothing to do with jumping and stresses on bones. A good training center will have a puppy class available where these skills are started, so definitely explore what they've got. She's definitely not too young to start the foundation skills.

Good luck! I'm partial to Agility, showing in it right now with my IG, but my "someday spoo" will start the skills as soon as she/he comes home. 

--Q


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## outwest

She is signed up for an evaluation next week. After that we should have a better idea. They have classes on teaching tricks.


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## Jility

We start all our young dogs on basic foundation skills. Things like recalls, circle work (heeling at side - dog is shaped to stay next to us), nose presses for contact position, sit stay, etc. We use tugging to reward behaviors of motion and food for stationary behaviors. Our dogs never get on the equipment until they are 15 or 16 months old at the youngest. Not only do the growth plates need to be closed, the soft tissue has to be mature or you run the risk of injuries or breakdown. We use the 2x2 method (Susan Garrett) to train weaves. Our youngest standard Poodles were trained at 19 months old to weave.
Agility is great fun!


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## CT Girl

I know my trainer wont train until the dog is at least a year old - it depends on the size of the dog - bigger dogs need to be older. She also stresses foundation training and she has always said she can tell when dogs in agility competitions have not had enough foundation work - they can only progress so far before these deficiencies show. Reading Jility's post I wonder if I should wait till Swizzle is older. I think Swizzle stopped growing between 7 and 8 months. I was going with a year before starting agility because that was what the vet told me. My trainer told me at a year we would see. You have to be invited to her agility classes. I know we will be, she has indicated we would be, but makes an individual assessment if the dog is ready. She does have some pre-agility classes that I plan to enroll in next and keep up the obedience and long distance recalls and stays. I love regular classes but I am chomping at the bit to start agility - it looks like so much fun and the dogs just love it. I look forward to hearing about how Bonnie does in class - she sounds like a natural.


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## outwest

We go this afternoon for the evaluation. When we went to find out about it, I got a little confused. I think I take her to see the equipment and try it and they make sure the dog is okay to be around other dogs temperment wise? I need to bring her vaccination records. The person there was new since it just opened, so I will cut her some slack in not explaining very well. Hopefully my questions will be answered today. I will let you guys know what it is all about. 

I have been looking for something to do with my dog other than the dog park. I think she will be happy to do some 'work'. It seems all indoors? They have a big room with all the stuff. 

They did have puppy classes.


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## Zoom Room

Puppy Agility training can be wonderful, but only if your trainer is using adjustable equipment so that there is no emphasis on jarring jumps and leaps and bounds, but instead places all focus on balance, coordination, and communication. Generally speaking, nine months is a good age to start regular agility training. But so much depends on the individual dog. We have one amazing standard poodle in agility who is fourteen!

The evaluation, by the way, can serve two purposes. One is if you need some help deciding what sort of training class would be best for your dog, the trainer can help. The other is if you already are experienced in agility, and just want to use the gym to exercise and practice the obstacles. The evaluation will make sure your dog is ok on the course, and social around other dogs, prior to being granted Open Gym access.

We hope you, Echo and Bonnie have a wonderful time!


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## outwest

I have watched agility and have obedience trained dogs, but have no experience training my own dog in agility. I have never had a dog that I thought could do it before this one. She is so smart, responsive and athletic (and energetic, oy vay). I can't see the couch potato whippet doing it. LOL 

I thought the class on tricks sounded really fun. I taught her to smile (if you want to call it that).


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## outwest

I signed up for Agility 1 after her evaluation. She didn't want to walk up on the wide ramp, even with treats. She got nervous. I just wanted to stick her up there, but the trainer said not to and it might frighten her. She jumps up on all manner of things and isn't afraid of heights. I didn't understand what was worrysome about the ramp. I wanted to sign her up for Puppy Agility, which seemed more appropriate since she has no experience with any of the equipment, but she just turned 9 months old and puppy agility is only to age 8 months. 

In the evaluation she tested her basic obedience skills. She did fine. At first she said she wasn't ready for agility because she was nervous about the ramp. Well, if she wasn't ready then they should have a foundations class, shouldn't they? It was still a little confusing, but I will try the group Agility 1 class. I could also do private lessons, but I want to try the group first. 

Standard poodles are not like working dogs such as shelties and border collies, labs and shepherds that are completely in tune to humans. Poodles are thinking dogs,which is what is so cool about them. If I ask her to do something, often she is like, "And why would I do that? What's the payoff for me?" She doesn't blindly follow my lead whereas a lab will do whatever you want without question. At the same time, Bonnie is smarter than any dog I have ever had. I had an Australian shephard that was a close second, but Bonnie learns faster. I admit to not having to do much at all to teach her obedience. She is also sensitive and hyper aware of what is happening around her. A loud NO! from me and she will hold a grudge for an hour, so I withold those "NOs" unless absolutely necessary. 

The place was surrounded with glass windows above her eye sight. She was trotting around and checking everything out and then noticed the windows. She popped up like a Meercat going from window to window checking out the scene below. It was so cute. 

She doesn't lack curiosity, but she may not be cut out for agility, especially if she won't walk up on a ramp. It sounds like a fun thing to do with my dog on Saturday mornings. I just hope the trainer knows what she is doing and understands the different temperments of dogs. 

My husband is putting a board on the ground up on a brick so we can practice walking on it before Saturday.


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## Jility

It is best to train your end behavior (2 on 2 off and your instructor will teach you what that is) BEFORE the dog ever gets on the equipment (contacts - A-frame, dog walk & teeter). We spend months and months perfecting the dog's understanding of the end behavior before they ever see contacts! WE NEVER PUT THEM ON THE CONTACTS IN THE BEGINNING!
We have SIX standard Poodles that do agility. Two are retired now and two are just starting (they are 2 years old). The young dogs have only been to a couple of trials but all of our other Poodles are multiple agility champions.


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## outwest

Thanks. Yah, I didn't understand why walking on the ramp was important at this point. She is willing and happy to learn things. I am going to go and see what it is really like. I am assuming she starts at the very beginning. If she doesn't, I'll switch the tricks class. I asked how the other dogs were and she said that they would all be new, so hopefully it will be okay. We shall see...


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## Jility

There are some great books and videos out there. If you go to Dog Toys, Dog Treats, Dog Agility Supplies, Dog Training Supplies you will find some good things to help you.


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## outwest

Thank you for the link!


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## Quossum

Don't worry about your girl not wanting to get on the ramp her first time seeing one. That isn't at all uncommon. I've been through several of my center's beginners' classes, and there are always dogs cautious about something--the ramp, the table, even the tunnel! It's amazing to see those same dogs weeks later, flying through the tunnels and dashing across ramps. With patience and the proper teaching methods, they do learn. 

Good luck! Agility takes work, but it is so much fun!

--Q


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## CT Girl

I have not had an agility class yet but I have done foundation classes to prepare for agility. My instructor always sets it up so the dog has a success. Swizzle has done a lot of weird stuff - walking over a tarp, climbing through a folded up ladder lying on the floor, walking (jumping) up a ladder and climbing down, teeter boards, weaving chairs, small jumps, tunnels. Last time he had to do a course off lead with squealing toy pigs and halloween cats that make horrible noises and he went up and down an A frame and up and down a slide (I had to help Swizzle up - it was very steep for a toy). There was no way in the world we could have just jumped into this. We worked up to it gradually. Swizzle is a little on the nervous/cautious side and overcoming these obstacles really has built up his confidence. I have reservations about the place you went. Just throwing a dog into going up an A frame and if he does it he is ready for agility class does not make sense at all. A lot of smart dogs are going to refuse that - they will make the executive decision that that looks dangerous and I am not going to do it. Those are the kind of dogs that will excel at agility. They are not refusing just out of fear but a healthy dose of common sense. The stupid ones that just charge right up will only go so far. Confidence must be built. I would take the trick class and look for another instructor/place for agility. They could wreck your dog for it. The class should be challenging but fun for your dog.


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## outwest

Thanks, CT girl. I went to the first class. I do think they go about the training differently. The class is to get used to the equipment, the targets and learn to focus on us. This class is all on leash. By the end of the one hour class Bonnie was flying over the A frame with her head flipping around looking for the contact and her treat (she is very treat driven). She got the connection between the contact spot and a treat right away. 

She was cautious of the small tables they were to be on. They were a few inches off the ground. It was cute because she tried to look under the table on ALL sides before she would get on it. I guess she wanted to make sure there were no ogres to grab her.  By the end I said 'table' and she popped on it. The weave poles were set with a low height on one side and those didn't bother her at all. She preferred to trot through them fast so she could get the treat on the target at the end. There is, of course, no weaving at this point. The intructor said it was to get used to the feeling of the pole brushing by (muscle memory). They jumped over a stick set very low, too. The tube was squished together for Bonnie so it was only a couple feet wide and she could see the target. She went through that and wasn't stressed, but refused going through it any longer than that. Nothing was forced on her. 

We were told not to put them on the dog walk or do the hoop and a couple other things when we had free time to practice at the end of class. 

The instructor seemed like she knew what she was doing. Bonnie had tremendous fun learning about the equipment. I swear she had practically an entire meal with all the treats she was given. 

I don't think there was anything wrong with her learning about the equipment, focussing and the targets. It was all fun by the end of the class, but she did have to throughly check out the stuff before she would do it. She watched the other dogs with intense interest as they went over the A frame. I think that helped her realize it was okay. Also, the intructor said to let her jump off it if she wanted to the first couple times. When she understood she wouldn't be forced, she relaxed about it. 

She is a hyper aware dog and the smartest dog I have ever had. As she is having fun and we are doing something to occupy her mind, I don't see an issue with it. We may or may not take this further in the future, but for right now, it is a fun class on Saturday mornings. Also, if I miss a class (I work some Saturdays), we can make it up one one of the other classes during the week.

During the free time, she spent a lot of time going from window to window popping up like a meercat like she does and peering down at the happenings on the ground (it is on a second story). This is a thinking dog. Because of that, I need to keep her mind busy or she can be a pain in the rear.


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## CT Girl

I am glad to hear your class went so well. Bonnie does sound like a natural for agility and she is definately a thinking dog. The more obstacles she overcomes the more confident she will become in doing in agility and also in your judgement - that you wont ask anything of her that she can't do. My concern was that she would be forced and that would reinforce her fear. Hearing that she was not forced or pushed to do something she was not ready for makes me feel a lot better about your class. Sounds like you both had a great time in your agility class which is the whole point for me. Does the class work up to off leash later? To me, the leash gets in the way. It is heavy for Swizzle to drag and I am not very coordinated so it is another thing to have to deal with.


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## outwest

We had a second class. Again, Bonnie was not forced to do anything, she just didn't get a treat. She flew over the A frame jumping half way up one side last week. For the tunnel, the teacher squished it short for her and she got a treat on the other side. No problem. We made it longer and she did it, too. I didn't want to make it any longer and stopped on a positive note. 

We tried the dog walk. She walked right over it the first time without hesitation. The second time she decided not to do it. That was fine. No punishment, only positive feedback. That time she got a treat for just putting her feet on it and we stopped. 

She walked through the poles without going out of them. No problem there. She wasn't stressed. 

She will now go on the tables easily and will sit on them. She doesn't want to lie on them yet, but that's fine. 

We are keeping it fun and as stressfree as possible for her. She gets good treats when she does it and no treats when she doesn't. Simple. It is a class to introduce them to the equipment and have them not fear it. So far, I don't see an issue with how it's being done. The teacher makes a huge deal out of allowing them to jump off if them need to and not forcing anything so that the dog feels in control. It seems to be working for her. She is hunting for the target after flying over the A frame. I am lucky that she is so food driven. I also bought some Stella's freezdried treats that were expensive, but really high value to her. 

Basically, we are having fun and it is tiring her brain out, which is what she needs.


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