Cocker Activities > Other Activities

Advice on agility

(1/3) > >>

Ernies mum:
Hi all

Ernies almost 6 months and is a working cocker spaniel . My aim has always been to Chanel his active little mind and body into something fun . I joined puppy classes for socialisation , to do some basic training and picked a particular trainer and class as she also does agility classes . During the puppy classes we encourage the puppies to go through the tunnels and around the cones and ernie loves it . Last week I was discussing with the dog trainer more about agility . At the moment she doesn't have any outdoor space for the agility class so holds it indoors in a village hall . She's said that the few dogs that attend the agility class get very excited and are very vocal whilst the other dogs are going over the equipment. She's advised me to think about whether I defenetely want to attend the class as she's said it could turn ernie into a much more vocal dog ( currently he sits nicely in class whilst the other puppies practice their turn at obedience etc .

I'm looking for some advice from others on the forum that attend agility classes and what their experiences have been and what to look for in a class ?

Ernies mum:
Wanted to add, I have no problem with ernie barking during agility whilst he's having a good time , I'm just a little confused by the trainer implying that it could become a learned habit and make him more vocal generally and I'd prefer not to have a dog that barks at everything  :005: !!

HelenS:
Firstly I didnt think it was advisable for a dog to do agility until 1yr old at least (until they have stopped growing and their bones have developed)
Our agility trainer doesn't start them until they are 18months
Cupar does agility and must say he barks all the way round the course (as do a lot of dogs) I dont think it makes him any more vocal  :dunno: A lot of spaniels are "vocal" dogs anyway  ;)

Patp:
I too agree that he is a little too young yet, although it might take 12 months to find a good agility class near you.

In the meantime (and I wished I had done this with Jinley) why dont you find a good gun dog trainer and have a couple of lessons?

You and Ernie will benefit tremendously and it will open all sorts of activity opportunities in the future (and help with obedience when you do find a class)

elaine.e:
Agility clubs don't usually take dogs under at least 12 months old unless they have foundation courses that don't involve jumping, just groundwork.

Personally I wouldn't attend agility classes in a village hall because the floor is going to be slippery. Even if your trainer has some rubber mats I doubt if there is a way of making a village hall floor a suitable surface for agility.

If you are hoping to compete in the future you'd be better finding an agility club in your area and contacting them. Many of them have long waiting lists, so the sooner the better. This website http://www.agilitynet.com/ has a clubs and trainers section where you can see if there's anything local to you. To me it sounds like your trainer does fun agility classes, which is fine if you have no intention of competing. But most trainers who train fun agility don't train to the same standard as those who compete and making the switch from fun to competitive can then be tricky because you and your dog probably won't have been taught how to do weave poles etc. properly. Apologies if I've got that wrong about your trainer, but from what you've posted she sounds like a dog trainer who does a bit of agility training for fun rather than an agility trainer. There's a big difference between the two :D

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page