Agility ?'s

[simplymisty]

I have an almost 6 yr old GSD and an almost 4 yr old Golden.

Are they too old to start them in Agility?

Can you tell me anything about Agility that I might need to know (I know very little). My GSD is LAZY and hates to go outside, but if you're outside doing something planned and organized with her she has fun. My Golden, that boy has so much energy! All 4 of his 4 can easily clear my 6 ft fence and he just jumping around for the fun of it.

We do have a 3rd dog, she's a mix of the 2 breeds. She's full of energy. She's actually only about 50 pounds but she eats about 6 cups of food a day per the vet because she's just always looked sickly with EVERY rib showing. So we're trying to pack on the food because she's so active everyone says she needs a lot more food than the others. She will be 3 this year. I'm sure she'd also love agility but she is crazy skiddish. She was attacked by a pit (actually saved my sons life) and after that her personality changed. So I'm assuming since she's so skiddish that it wouldn't be a good fit for her??

Thanks for any advice/help!!

 

[Dekka]

No as long as the dog is healthy there is no age limit. And many people do agility with skittish/nervous dogs to give them more confidence. A good trainer will help you with that along with classes.

The best thing is to find a good agility instructor. (they will compete, at least a few of their students will compete) A good way to do it is to go to a trial..and start asking people who look like they and their dogs are having a great time where they train.

 

[BostonBanker]

And many people do agility with skittish/nervous dogs to give them more confidence.

Absolutely. My dog has never been skittish around people, but was terrified of little things when I got her (she wouldn't walk over little wooden footbridges or do stairs), and was very easy to scare and shut down. Agility has given her an enormous amount of confidence and has improved her ability to "deal" when presented with a problem. I was very lucky to wind up with the trainers I did; I've seen others who would have put Meg off of agility for life by putting her on the equipment too fast. As it is, I have a happy, confident dog who has started competing quite successfully.

There are some fantastic agility people here - you should get great information! Good luck.

 

[agilityretrievers]

All three of them can do agility. The Golden would probably be the easiest to start with. The mix might not be able to compete because of her nervousness, and the GSD is a little old to just start competing with a big dog, but they can learn the obstacles and have fun too.

http://www.agilityability.com/ is a good web site. If you PM me where you live I can try to help you find a good agility instructor.

 

[tessa_s212]

My latest dog started agility only months away from beign 6 years old. He's now 7 and competing. Your dogs certainly aren't too old!

 

[adojrts]

Agreed, no dog is too old to do agility, as long as it can still see...........
6 is not too old in my opinion, I have many dogs start training that are 6-7 + yrs of age. Their people may or may not compete, but age does not limit when a dog can compete or when they start to compete, as long as they are not lame.
Agility is an amazing sport for making lions out of non confident, nervous dogs. Dogs like that are one of my personal favs, I love watching them grow in confidence and love seeing them become so proud of themselves.

Find a good trainer/school, one that trains agility obedience, foundation skills and uses positive reinforcements.

Good luck
Lynn

 

[simplymisty]

Thanks so much!!! I'm not sure if I'd compete or not, maybe with the Golden if I had to pick one. I'm hoping to just find a fun way to exercise them and get them more involved in activities.

Can you tell me how expensive it gets?

I've heard people at my groomer talking about buying equipment, where do you buy it at? I'm sure that's expensive but if we really love it, I might want to get some items slowly to also work at home.

 

[Dekka]

Take lessons first. That way you can find out if you really like it (usually only die hard agility addicts buy their own ) and you can learn the proper and safe way for your dogs to perform them. (you also will learn how to tell if equip is safe/worth the money)

 

[agilityretrievers]

It's not that expensive. The class I take is $75 for 6 weeks, you don't need any of your own equipment yet, and if you decide you want your own equipment you can build a lot of it with PVC.

 

[Dekka]

about pvc..wood can be cheaper. PVC is light though. (I love my aluminum stuff)

 

[agilityretrievers]

I was talking more about jumps, weave poles, that type of thing. Other than maybe a PVC dogwalk and teeter base, wood is good for the contact obstacles.

 

[milos_mommy]

all three of them can do agility. it would be great for your skiddish dog, as it builds confidence, but ESPECIALLY with a skiddish dog you need to make sure you're using the appropriate training methods.

 

[milos_mommy]

i did agility with my american eskimo starting when he was 10. it was just some backyard stuff, jumps and tunnels, and nothing serious at all, but he had so much fun and was very capeable up until he was almost 14.

 

[Dekka]

I have seen some very nice wooden jumps (PVC pole) much cheaper than pvc standards.

 

[Kathy29]

Do dogs have to be purebred and AKC/CKC (for Canadian) registered to be able to compete in agility shows?

 

[BostonBanker]

Do dogs have to be purebred and AKC/CKC (for Canadian) registered to be able to compete in agility shows?

Only in certain venues. AKC trials only allow AKC dogs; I'm not sure about CKC. Most other agility organizations (USDAA, NADAC, CPE, UKC, AAC) allow mix breeds and unregistered dogs.

 

[Dekka]

In Canada the most popular trials are AAC. No your dog does not need to be purebred, or registered. Same with CPE and NADAC. Only for UKC and CKC do they need to be registered. (hehe snobs) I have a non kennel club recognized breed, Jack Russell Terriers, and we have great fun competing in AAC trials.

 

[BostonBanker]

I thought someone told me UKC allows mixed breeds as well?