I have a Golden Retriver X Black Labrador Retriever. Her name is Snickers, she turned three on April 22,2007. She is realy,realy sweet and very entergetic. I’m still working with her to be more obidient, she dosn’t act too puppyish today, bu she has her moments. I’ve been interested in agility since I was around three years old, watching Border Collies and all my fav breeds. I’m going to join 4-H. I want to learn more of the rules of agility, and all about it. Snickers cna jump realy well, she is very collected and a neat jumper, I’ve set up little odd and n jumps in our garage and yard. But she is always on the leash. She isnt afraid of water, and very,very brave! (Though I don;t think their is water is agility…) Can anyone give me any information on agility, and any tips on agility training? Answers are greatly appreciated! Peace out! XD
See if there is a local agility club in your area. If there is ask if you can watch a session so you can see how they train the dogs. I trained both of my shelties in agility. I know there is an agility dog magazine and there are many agility websites. You can ask your parents to look into buying a few jumps for you so you can run and jump your dog. It is very hard to train for agility- but very fun. The person running the dog has to learn a variety of movements and turns- that is what the dog follows on the course to know what obstical to go to next. But if you just want to jump your dog in the back yard make sure your dog does not jump above 14 inches off the ground or he could risk injury. You can also get a play tunnel for him to run through. Use the same words “jump” or “over” a few seconds before he gets to the jump so he can register what you want him to do. Same for a tunnel- say “tunnel” just before he gets to it so he eventually knows what it means.
Greetings!
After you get Snickers thru a good obedience class and have a realiable recall, I’d suggest searching out local agility classes.
If there are none available in your area, you might try an online class like Agility Dynamite. There you can find online video classes that you can watch over and over. They are located at: http://www.agilitydynamite.com.
If Snickers really likes water (what lab doesn’t?) you might try the grand sport of dock diving.
Hope this helps and good luck!
I suggest first a good obedience class followed by the agility course.
First things first; she needs to learn to focus on and pay attention to you.
Our trainers at work keep small treats (bits of cheese) in their mouths to get the dogs to focus on their face and what they are telling them.
Teach your dog to play with you and earn rewards from you. Playing with you should not be a problem for a retriever mix. :)http://www.clickerdogs.com/createamotiva…
Work on your dog’s recall (come). http://www.clickerdogs.com/perfectrecall…
Find out what motivates your dog.http://www.clickerdogs.com/listofreinfor…
See if you can find a good pre-agility obedience class in your area. You don’t want a competition obedience class because they focus on control which can slow your dog down.
Make sure that your dog earns everything she gets. My dogs have to sit or down before they eat, go outside, etc. The motto is: NLIF or Nothing in Life is Free. This will accustom your dog to working for you.
Have fun!!!
I participate in agility with two of my dogs. In my experience, “Focus” is unnecessary. Agility is so much fun and rewarding because it encourages the dog to think for itself. You will guide the dog using very subtle body language. As well, the dog is encouraged to look straight forward and not at your face nor your hands. After all, the goal is to eventually get distance between you and the dog. Therefore, none of my trainers nor I stress “Focus”. It’s good for classic obedience, but not necessarily agility.
However, getting into an agility class is truly your best option. There is so much more to agility than clearing hurdles and weaving through poles. It involves knowing and understanding obstacles and executing them with accuracy and speed. Even though you don’t plan to compete, I highly encourage you to learn agility the right way. To do this, I suggest you find a professional trainer with several accomplished dogs. You’ll receive the accepted basics of agility and it will set the foundation for the rest of you and your pup’s sporting career. Who knows? If you get bit by the agility bug (as I have =P), you might even consider competing! And if you plan to compete, you’ll have trained your pup the correct way!
I recommend http://www.dogpatch.org for good general info, as well as USDAA and NADAC for info about competitive agility. For training tips on certain obstacles, simply type in the obstacle into Google. It’ll come up with a plethora of good sites and tips for you. Google, in conjunction with my trainers, have been lifesavers! Good Luck to you! Agility is much fun and you’ll love it!