Agree with Rune there
I think the basics are a must - and really good to get started with a puppy - that way you can start bonding and get to know what makes the dogs tick

I play agility with my pair - but I totally believe they are so good at it because of all the tricks I teach them - they are aware of their whole bodies - back feet and all, confident and fit

I even use the command 'weave' to weave my legs and to do the weaves at agility - no confusion

I can see how some things you might have to be careful with - like the retreve - but your dogs are special J&C lol

I hear all sorts of rubbish - like agility dogs shouldnt even be alowed to play with other dogs, show dogs shouldnt be taught a sit
It depends on you and your dog - but if it was true that the dogs shouldnt play with other dogs to do agility then I would give up the agility

Hahaha or more like my dogs are perfectly normal and it's their owner who's a bit "special"

lol well true about you - but I have seen Jet begging to get to dig he is special

Ha true where on earth did he get that from? He still takes hand signals from Glen to mean what they should mean, and still i do it and he frantically digs on the spot. 017: Ah well i trained a brilliant heel with his weird love of digging up fields!

haha fantastic - it does seem to be his best reward in the whole world - seriously you could train your dog and landscape gardens at the same time

Haha aye we are going to start renting his services out!

It's actually good for recall too - shout Jet and hold your hand up and watch as he bombs back in order to dig a hole at your feet

The bit i don't get is why not just do it yourself if want to? Why offer behavhiours in the hope i'll do the signal instead of just digging in the first place?

I know its crazy wish mine would have something like that like 'pls can I chase the deer' instead of bombing off

I have dog who compete in multiple disciplines - my mal competes in obedience, shows, sled dog racing, weight pulling and has also done agility.

My border collie was trained on sheep and also competed in obedience and agility.

Lots of people successfully do more than one discipline.

I would think handler time rather than a dog's ability was the biggest limitation in training and competing.

To me, dogs are like little sponges. They soak up all we can teach them, but whether or not we teach them well is up to us.

I imagine teaching in two separate disciplines to the highest of standards is just about a full-time job.

Well since Mary stopped agility (she stopped HTM years ago) she has won about 14/15 tickets---so concentrating her talents on one thing only, whilst I am sure she still trains for the others, has paid off in an amazing way.

rune