# Archie's first agility class



## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

So we had our very first beginning agility class on Tuesday night. It was an adventure - not so much because of the obstacles and actual training, but because of the other dogs. That is a wild group! I'm used to Archie being one of the most high-energy guys in the bunch, but he was actually fairly mellow about the whole thing.

Part of the problem is that it's a group of high-energy, curious dogs, and despite our teacher's speech about the "2x4 rule" (your dog should be no more than 2 feet away from you and no less than 4 feet away from any other dog while you're waiting to work), people kept lining up practically nose to tail while waiting to do the obstacles. Maybe the owners were as impatient as the dogs? I don't know, but it was a challenge. The dogs were very restless and all over the place trying to get to each other.

The class is right next to where we were meeting for the focus/advanced class we just finished (the training areas are within sight of each other at the same park), so that's probably a big part of why he seems so nonplussed by it. When we got out of the car and walked toward the agility ring, Archie's leash habits steadily got better. You could just see him going, "Ohhh, I know what I'm supposed to do here."

For the first night we worked on the Tunnel, Tire, and introduced Jumps. For the tunnel, they bunched it up really small, and then the instructor would hold Archie's leash on one side of the tunnel while I went around to the other side and encouraged him to go through. After doing that a few times, they slowly extended out the tunnel. Some of the big dogs in class were TERRIFIED of the tunnel, but once they tried it a few times they went through just fine. Archie was totally unbothered by it and didn't even seem to be in a hurry to get through the tunnel. He just kind of moseyed through, usually sniffing around for dropped treats. 

The tire was similar. It was sitting right on the ground, and all the dogs had to do was walk through it. Once Archie figured out how easy it was to get a treat there, he got pretty enthusiastic about the tire.

For the jumps, they actually took all the "jumps" out of them so they were basically just sitting on the ground. There was just one little bar that the dogs had to step over. We walked with them on leash through each jump. Again Archie was unfazed, though I'm pretty sure he thought we were just doing a heeling exercise.

He also kept trying to run up the A-frame, even though we weren't actually working on that obstacle. I had to be very mindful if we wound up anywhere near it because he would immediately jump on it. I'm not sure what that was about, but it does bode well.

It does seem so far that being a little dog has some advantages, at least in this class. The big dogs all seemed much more rattled by the obstacles, particularly anytime they had to walk through or between things. I'm sure the tunnel just seems a lot less claustrophobic when you're small.

Anyway, now I'm in the interesting position of trying to think of ways to increase Archie's speed and enthusiasm for everything, which I've never had to worry about with him before. At class he seemed sort of confused by everything, like, "Okay, I'll walk through this if you want, but I don't really see the point." I'm sure once he gets used to the obstacles and especially to the environment in class (and the other dogs, who all had a lot of nervous energy), he'll have a lot more fun with it. I'm going to pick out a tug toy just for class use as well, as he still has a hard time settling down while the instructor talks or we wait our turn for things.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Great start. Archie sounds like he's doing really well. It's good that he has learned to how to be a working dog in his focus class and is taking this behavior into the agility class. 

BTW I always keep a distance between my dog and I and the other handlers and their dogs. I'm friendly, talk to the other handlers but I also explain to them that my dog does competition obedience and rally and I can't allow her to interact with other dogs inside the training building. When I'm in class I want my dog focused on me and not worried about what other dogs might do to her...........and I don't want her playing or zooming with other dogs. It's too bad the other people in your class don't follow the spacing rule, but as you point out they are probably excited about being in class and most have not have much obedience training which would have instilled a little more discipline. Plus some people are drawn to agility because their dogs are high energy and even out of control. It also stems from the trainer - some are more careful to watch the dogs in the class and enforce the rules which are there for safety.

As for that A-frame - there have been so many treats tossed on every agility A frame that it is a huge beacon calling for dogs to come to it. My dog, before she had any training on an A-frame - ran up and down one when we were at a different facility getting her Trick dog testing. Their A frame was sitting against the wall near the weave poles so as she came out of the weave poles it was directly ahead and she ran up and over it while I was in shock and scared that something terrible would happen. Many dogs are afraid of it at the beginning so food is tossed along the path to encourage them to move forward.... leaving enticing smells.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

First official time on the A Frame last night! And I can see what Skylar meant about treats. In this class they use target training to teach the end contact (or whatever it's called - to make sure that they make contact when they dismount). Since Archie already knows how to hand target with "Touch," the instructor said we should use the same word for the plastic target they set at the end of the A frame. This was a bit confusing for Archie, though, as every time I said "Touch" he would whip his head around thinking it meant he needed to find my hand. 

I can't decide if I should come up with a different cue word for target training (like "Target" or something) or if I should start transferring "Touch" to mean that he needs to touch whatever target I indicate for him. But then I'm not sure how he's supposed to know what I want him to touch.

Do you guys usually use a specialized word for contact obstacles, or do you just use your target word? The instructor kept calling it a "focus word," which to me sounds a little different from what I've been doing with target training.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I've faced similar problems all along and I figure my dog is smart enough to deal with one class of confusion until I figure the best words/signals. 

I do use the word touch to mean touch my hand- and there is no food in my hand necessarily but I usually give a reward for this behavior. I use target for a plastic lid that I use in training. I like them to be separate words linked to separate behavior because the touching of the hand is useful for other things either now or in the future.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

The touch/target distinction makes sense to me - I tend to use "touch" as a way of getting Archie to refocus on me when something's distracting him, so it might be better to preserve that rather than generalizing the word. They used a round plastic lid for the target at class - I think I'll get one of those so we can practice at home. I've been wanting to teach him target with post-it notes at some point, but I think I'll start with the lid so it's consistent for him.

As a side note, I can see how being socialized to unusual surfaces and objects is a big help in agility training. Archie's generally unfazed by odd sounds and objects (that was the one section in CGC training that he aced right off the bat), and he never balks at obstacles either. For the other dogs who are a little more rattled by odd surfaces or shapes, there's an extra step they have to take in learning to just walk into the tunnel or the A-frame in the first place. If I were raising a dog for performance work, I'd make sure to expose them to lots of odd objects in puppyhood in addition to strange people and places.


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## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

quoting you, "Anyway, now I'm in the interesting position of trying to think of ways to increase Archie's speed and enthusiasm for everything, which I've never had to worry about with him before. At class he seemed sort of confused by everything, like, "Okay, I'll walk through this if you want, but I don't really see the point."

I'm interested to follow your progress and see if Archie's enthusiasm ramps up once he knows what's expected, and that it pleases you!

My Brown Clown LOVED agility, and if I had been younger we would have pursued it a little beyond the 2 classes we took together. The other spoo was exactly the opposite, and did what was asked of her by me - because she was obedient, not because she enjoyed it.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

For some tall dogs the tunnel can be a bit perplexing until the learn they have to duck into it. Early on Lily would approach tunnels standing up right and then get stuck when it was blocking her way, but she was too close to see that there was an entrance. Silly goose!

Archie will get speed as he gains confidence in the behaviors for each obstacle. I do use a separate order for the bottom of the contacts. Two on and two off is signified by "bottom," meaning touch your back feet on the bottom of that thing.

Have fun!


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

*Agility command*



lily cd re said:


> I do use a separate order for the bottom of the contacts. Two on and two off is signified by "bottom," meaning touch your back feet on the bottom of that thing.
> 
> Have fun!


I like your "bottom" command - I'll use that when Zoe starts agility. She just turned 5 months, so it will be awhile. That said, she starts puppy agility prep in a couple of weeks. Agility prep for puppies does not include jumping - it works on developing focus and attention to handler with games and exercises. I took the regulation teeter out of the back yard because I don't want Zoe to learn to jump off it. She does love to run along it until it bangs! She likes all kinds of moving surfaces - what a blessing that is!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Johanna you are lucky she loves the seesaw so much. That will be great later on. Bottom is for the A frame and the dog walk, for the see saw I just say see saw since it moves, even though we do a two on two off for it too.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I use the word "hit" for the two feet on, two feet off. Where my daughter trains agility, they use "hit" and I thought if she ran my dog it would be easier if I used the same word. I also like that it's easy and quick to say and seems to cut through the ambient noise. This is for the A frame and dog walk.

Babykins is a minipoo and weights about 15 pounds - so for the teeter totter she has to keep all four feet on the teeter, not the two on, two off - for safety. If she does the two on, two off, there is a risk the teeter could bounce back up and hit her as she dismounts - my teacher had it happen to her dog and it set her back months retraining. By stopping with four feet on - the teeter will have time to fully settle. For the Teeter - I say "bang" because that's the noise the teeter makes and again it's quick and easy to say.

Don't rush to get drive. He needs time to learn the apparatuses and to feel comfortable with agility. With Babykins the only apparatus we are working on drive is the weave poles and that started after she's been working on them for awhile so she enters from all angles and consistently weaves through properly. I can barely keep up with her running the dog walk or A frame without doing anything. I think you'll find that too - just give it time.


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