# My Afghan Taboo in Agility!



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I REALLY enjoyed watching that! Love the shots of her as well! Greatjob!


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## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

Love this!

My mother and I were just talking about sighthounds doing agility this weekend... great to see a gorgeous afghan doing it!


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

That is fabulous! She looks like she is loving it. What a good girl!


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## PonkiPoodles (Feb 25, 2009)

Oh I love it... I've always admired afgans! Do they shed a lot?


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## Ixion (Jun 23, 2010)

Thank you everyone! She is a fun dog to have around and train!  

PonkiPoodles - They loose coat at a similar rate to our a person with long hair does. Only time they shed a lot is when they either go through their puppy coat blow or if you have an intact bitch and they blow coat after their seasons. With bathing/brushing them weekly you take care of most of any loose hair that will/would have fallen out.


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## Birdie (Jun 28, 2009)

LOVED that video! Thanks for sharing that. Taboo is incredible to watch. 
I love the way sighthounds leap up from a standstill; it just makes me smile every time! Something about the way they move & jump is so unique.


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## Ixion (Jun 23, 2010)

Birdie, it's one of the reasons they like to say that if you want to own an afghan you need a 6 ft fence....they can jump really high if there is a desire to. Taboo more so then my other afghan seems to have always acted like she has springs for hindlegs, LOL!! To watch both my afghans run and move around the yard has always been a favorite pass time. Then watching Ella (toy poodle) try and be in the thick of it, adds extra laughs to it!

Glad everyone enjoyed it!


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## PoodleMomAnew (Dec 22, 2010)

Wow, that was amazing to watch. I can't even imagine the hours you have put into training and working with Taboo which I now appreciate having started a beginning agility class with Hunter. You agility people make it look so easy!! I figure we will be there in about 10 years...... maybe......


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## Ixion (Jun 23, 2010)

I've been training for 2 yrs with a class a week and some some mini practices with jumps and weaves at home.  Training the obstacles were not too hard.....what got me and took awhile was the sequencing.....I still make screw ups which if you look in the video you can see my handling oopies, LOL!

Good luck with training Hunter! ^.^


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

You are much to be commended for even getting an Afghan to the point of competing!

We tried and tried with our Borzoi and, though they reached a level of competence with each obstacle and short sequences, they never got to the point where they were interested in--or could be trusted to!--perform an entire course, and so we never competed. I still have one of those Borzoi today, 12-year-old Flame. I had possessed such high hopes that we would be this cool and rare sight in the Agility ring, and with positive methods, any dog can be trained, right? Well...maybe by someone out there, but not me!

On the other hand, my Italian Greyhound is a stellar Agility dog, making me wish I was a little better handler! She's so very fast and attuned to my body movements; we have a lot of fun in the ring.

Do you consider your Afghan typical of the breed, or do you think you "lucked out" and got one particularly good to work with? I think both my Borzoi were typical: no interest in food or toys, pleasant but aloof, no strong desire to work with me. But my IG is unusual for her breed: She has a strong work ethic, loves food, loves to get out and play, is sensitive but not so sensitive that she crumples under pressure.

There aren't many (any??) sighthounds besides Pixie competing in my area, so wow--you must really draw the crowds with your fine-working hound. And I bet you'll always get to be the "marker dog"! =)

--Q


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## Ixion (Jun 23, 2010)

Taboo I new from a puppy would make an awsome performance dog. She's a little senitive which in the end made lure coursing really hard for her. She loved it but seemed to always pull the bad apples who were more interested in trying to intimade her then run, which in her way of thinking was not fun so she would stop whenever one of the other dogs just looked at her funny....sit on the course and wait for me to come get her. While I did run her she earned 6 points towards her FC (including a 5 point major!) and also has her SC....keep hoping one day I can bring her out...she'll have 2 days awsome runs and she'll finish that FC, LOL! She's a gorgeous runner when she doesn't feel threatened....it's just sad.  Anyways because of the lure coursing not working out....I had always wanted to train one of my afghans in agility and with my free time away from the conformation ring and coursing field i had PLENTY of time to focus on my goal. I actually started training both my afghans at the same time. Taboo started off slow but eventually picked it up quickly. She's a very quick learner and has self taught herself a lot of things I wish she hadn't (desk drawers, trash cans, sliding glass doors, etc). I think one of the biggest things that has helped with doing agility with both my girls is they LOVE the time to be able to run with me and have fun! Calypso, my other afghan, I haven't started competing yet...had a couple set backs with her getting really sick with pneumonia this year (almost lost her) but have started working with her again now and hope to compete with her in the fall....she's 7 yrs old but thinks it's a lot of fun....I'm just afraid to see her tally on knocked bars because she's can be a tad lazy and doesn't always put as much effort into her jumps as she should, LOL! The only reason I hadn't competed with her yet is because of the teeter and weaves....she's been very stubborn on both but have finally had a breakthrough with her weaves! 

Anywho you asked if they were typical? I'd say they are in a smaller percentage of afghans that could....and I know several other afghans that easily could be agility dogs if their owners took the time. I think it takes a certain type of personality, usually the more outgoing, more pushy personalities. In my area there is one lady who is competing with 2 afghans and there is also a lady with an IG....have also seen a whippet run also but that's it here. I do get a lot of strange looks when I show up....people seem surprised when I walk my dog around the trial site and find out I'm actually competing and not just watching...**sigh**


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

Great comments, and thanks for the insights. It sounds like you've got a couple of good hounds--also quite a testament to yourself as a handler!

In my area I've seen a few other IG's now and then, so I think they must be one of the more tractable of the sighthound-types. There was a Whippet who competed for a while, another at my training center who's coming up. At one show I spotted a Borzoi and was very excited; the dog performed in the desultory way I expected, and I haven't seen the handler at any other shows.

LOL on the surprise when they realize that you and your Afghan are contenders. That deserves a :aetsch:, doesn't it? 

Cheers,
--Q


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## Ixion (Jun 23, 2010)

Thanks Q!  I do think I got lucky, the breeder I got both my girls from has some really happy outgoing personalities. Now I'm spoiled, LOL!!! Hopefully when I get around to breeding Taboo in a year or so I can get that awsome puppy to show/lure course/agility train. ^.^ 

I agree with you, IG's seem to be a little more people oriented then some of the other sighthounds, I think the whippets are a bit that way too. I've been around several borzoi and they all seem to be a lot more laid back then my afghans are, then again that maybe just because I hadn't spent enough time around them either.  Loved the one up close and personal experience I had with one lady's male borzoi, I was at the Palm Springs show and hanging out in her motor home and he crawled right up in my lap.....didn't realize how loveable they were before then...was like having a 100 lbs lap dog, LOL! 

And I agree they definitly do deserve a :aetsch: LOL!!! I think what surprises people the most is how easy it is for them to jump vertically over something 24 inches high with no effort. They are an awsome breed, don't ever forsee myself with out one! 

Here is a shot of my other afghan, Calypso.


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

Great shot! ^^^^

Oh, yes, the Borzoi are great big love sponges! Mine loves to do the "Borzoi lean:" she'll come up to you and just lean comfortingly against your legs, usually not even looking at you, just letting you know she's there and ready for scritches.

Even when we were trying to do Agility with them, there was no malice in them; they'd just calmly wander away from the equipment with sort of an air of, "Silly humans! Why ever would one jump and climb over random objects when one can easily walk around them? I have now humored the people-types enough. Where's that couch?"

As much as I love my Borzoi... my next dog's going to be a (hopefully more cooperative!) spoo!

Take care and have fun with the hounds!

--Q


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## Ixion (Jun 23, 2010)

LOL my next agility dog is Ella, our resident toy poodle.  She's about 15 months old now....just waiting mostly until she finishes her CH to really start training her. With her going to as many shows as she is right now it's hard for me to really push the training I want with her. She can jump though, dives into tunnels and we have the beginnings of our weaves started, LOL!

Afghans though, just are my main heart breed. I'll probably have the random toy poodle around since other then the powder puff chinese cresteds, they're the only small breed I care for, 

My brindle afghan, Calypso, above is interesting at my classes, she is one of those sighthounds that get the zoomies and....just....keep....doing....the....A-Frame. >.< You block it but she'll take the next oppurtunity to climb it, LOL!!! Although the best one was at a group practice with a preset course, it was in a horse arena, so #1 think dusty....lol! She started zooming in circles around the equipment making a huge dust cloud which made everyone laugh and they were impressed how fast she was....what was funny to watch though is when I told them she was only LOPING that was barely half as fast as she can go when she wants to, LOL!!


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