Best Dog
- Thread starter hockeychk44
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What you SHOULD be asking yourself first, is what kind of lifestyle do you have? THEN, pick a dog accordingly. If I remember correctly, you were JUST about to start taking agility lessons. Isn't it a little early to be looking at a dog specifically for agility?
You must remember, all of those suggested breeds are high energy, velcro (excluding the JRT) dogs, that need a lot of stimulation and training.
I have been doing agility for about a year and a half and am hesitantly buying my first perfromance bitch/dog.
Why dont you tell us what your lifestyle is like, and we can suggest breeds?
Off the top of my head, Papillons, BC's, Shelties, JRT's, ACD's, Aussies......
DEFINATELY not dogs for everyone.
~Tucker
You must remember, all of those suggested breeds are high energy, velcro (excluding the JRT) dogs, that need a lot of stimulation and training.
I have been doing agility for about a year and a half and am hesitantly buying my first perfromance bitch/dog.
Why dont you tell us what your lifestyle is like, and we can suggest breeds?
Off the top of my head, Papillons, BC's, Shelties, JRT's, ACD's, Aussies......
DEFINATELY not dogs for everyone.
~Tucker
Around here the 22" divisions which most border collies and aussies compete in is super competitive.If a person cares just about winning, getting a 22" dog might not be the smartest choice My bc measures to jump 26" if he was a hair shorter he'd be in the 22"'s. There's a pretty big difference between 22 and 26 for him and that means he's competing with some dogs who are MUCH taller and will jump 26" easily.(this is a pet peeve of mine)
I've always thought belgians might be a fun agility breed and have some real advantages-- all the brains, speed and athleticism and they SAIL over 26" jumps.
You need to be a certain kind of person and one who wants to put a ton of time and energy into training for those breeds though. Shelties excel at agility and they are much easier to live with for most people.
Pretty much any healthy dog can do agility : bichons, terriers, labs vizslas, poodles, dobermans. I actually train with some cockers and springers that LOVE agility and are really good at it. Dogs that like to work with a handler are the easiest.
I have a friend who has a bunch of agility titles on her shiba and one who does with a husky-- but it's much harder with those spitzy or hound breeds.
I'd pick a dog breed you really love and can live well with 1st. How well your dog does at agility has more to do with your abilities as a trainer & handler than it does anything else and if you own a dog you really connect with and love to train that will be the biggest advantage.
I've always thought belgians might be a fun agility breed and have some real advantages-- all the brains, speed and athleticism and they SAIL over 26" jumps.
You need to be a certain kind of person and one who wants to put a ton of time and energy into training for those breeds though. Shelties excel at agility and they are much easier to live with for most people.
Pretty much any healthy dog can do agility : bichons, terriers, labs vizslas, poodles, dobermans. I actually train with some cockers and springers that LOVE agility and are really good at it. Dogs that like to work with a handler are the easiest.
I have a friend who has a bunch of agility titles on her shiba and one who does with a husky-- but it's much harder with those spitzy or hound breeds.
I'd pick a dog breed you really love and can live well with 1st. How well your dog does at agility has more to do with your abilities as a trainer & handler than it does anything else and if you own a dog you really connect with and love to train that will be the biggest advantage.
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Also, forgot to add....
Half of the time, the dogs success is dependant on the handler. YES, BC's (for example) have a much higher chance of being better then a lab. HOWEVER, at the trial I was at on Saturday, the lab outclassed, outran, and was much more intuned then the bc.
From what I understand, you have very little experience handling agility dogs.
My first dog, I lucked out because he was on the slower side, and SO easy to run. Thus, my handling is much better. I tried out new techniques, and have discovered ways that work and dont work.
I feel ready to take on this new dog because I have had practice on an easier, less drivey dog and have had success. My next dog will be THAT much better because of me learning and not jumping in too quickly. I am SO happy I waited!
My suggestion is to try it out with your current dog. Or, if you dont have a dog, go watch some classes. Examine your lifestyle, then pick a breed that fits you.
~Tucker
Half of the time, the dogs success is dependant on the handler. YES, BC's (for example) have a much higher chance of being better then a lab. HOWEVER, at the trial I was at on Saturday, the lab outclassed, outran, and was much more intuned then the bc.
From what I understand, you have very little experience handling agility dogs.
My first dog, I lucked out because he was on the slower side, and SO easy to run. Thus, my handling is much better. I tried out new techniques, and have discovered ways that work and dont work.
I feel ready to take on this new dog because I have had practice on an easier, less drivey dog and have had success. My next dog will be THAT much better because of me learning and not jumping in too quickly. I am SO happy I waited!
My suggestion is to try it out with your current dog. Or, if you dont have a dog, go watch some classes. Examine your lifestyle, then pick a breed that fits you.
~Tucker
The best dog for agility is the dog that you can love and live with on a daily basis, and who you will continue to love when or if it can't do agility anymore.
When I was looking for a dog, I knew I wanted a dog to do agility with. Somehow I ended up with a 18 month old hunting breed. She is the perfect dog for every aspect of my life, in the house, at work, and in agility. I spend quite a bit of time on agility; 1 - 2 classes a week (1 hour each), one three-hour practice a week, plus seminars and practice at home. But that is still a tiny portion of my life. No, Meg will probably never out-run those BCs, but neither will I
. But she's very accurate and incredibly focused, and that will get us far.
Go out and find the perfect dog for you. Barring any serious physical deformities, any dog will be able to do some agility. The bond between you and the dog is one of the most important things in agility, and it's not going to be a great bond if 22 hours a day you want to kill your dog .
When I was looking for a dog, I knew I wanted a dog to do agility with. Somehow I ended up with a 18 month old hunting breed. She is the perfect dog for every aspect of my life, in the house, at work, and in agility. I spend quite a bit of time on agility; 1 - 2 classes a week (1 hour each), one three-hour practice a week, plus seminars and practice at home. But that is still a tiny portion of my life. No, Meg will probably never out-run those BCs, but neither will I
. But she's very accurate and incredibly focused, and that will get us far.Go out and find the perfect dog for you. Barring any serious physical deformities, any dog will be able to do some agility. The bond between you and the dog is one of the most important things in agility, and it's not going to be a great bond if 22 hours a day you want to kill your dog
.
Do a lot of research before hand. These are incredibly smart, active dogs and they will get themselves into a heap of trouble if given the chance. For a first time Aussie, I really would get an older (over a year anyway) rescue from those sites I gave you earlier. I would never have survived an Aussie puppy...mine had just enough left in him at 1 1/2 years to give me a taste and make me thank God that he was on the tail end of his puppyhood!
I would STRONGLY suggest that you do agility with your current dog as opposed to getting an Aussie right off the bat. Not necessarily because an Aussie wouldn't be right for you, but because every bit of experience makes a difference in agility training. I made idiotic mistakes with my first agility dog that I learned from with my second. I've made mistakes with him too, but he's at least better off than my Papillon.
If you train the dog you have now (you have a Lab? They can be quite good at agility.) not only will you get a feel for agility but you'll have the opportunity to learn what it's like to handle a trained agility dog and, as a result, you'll understand how to better train your "competition" pup.
Aussies are awesome dogs, too, but if you already go to school full time as well as train the guide dogs, you'll be pressed for time for an Aussie puppy. Of all breeds, I think Aussie and BC puppies can be the most intense and the most mischevious -- and the most demanding. I would agree with Zoom here that an older rescue might be the way to go. As a BIG bonus, you can start agility training almost right away with a rescue over 18 months old. With a pup, you do need to do quite a bit of waiting.
If you train the dog you have now (you have a Lab? They can be quite good at agility.) not only will you get a feel for agility but you'll have the opportunity to learn what it's like to handle a trained agility dog and, as a result, you'll understand how to better train your "competition" pup.
Aussies are awesome dogs, too, but if you already go to school full time as well as train the guide dogs, you'll be pressed for time for an Aussie puppy. Of all breeds, I think Aussie and BC puppies can be the most intense and the most mischevious -- and the most demanding. I would agree with Zoom here that an older rescue might be the way to go. As a BIG bonus, you can start agility training almost right away with a rescue over 18 months old. With a pup, you do need to do quite a bit of waiting.
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