Is agility frightening for the dog at the beginning

I started new classes last night, and agility is a part of the whole training regime, it is some thing I want Inka and Kain to do but I felt soooo bad last night because Kain was very nervous of the tunnels and things, because I've not done this before I was wondering if all dogs are like that in the beginning am I being over sensitive ?

Roxy is doing very little bits now so she will be used to it by the time she is old enough to do agility. She still gets scared, like on the wobble board and going under things, but ignore that and reward them for doing it and they will get less and less nervous, they are bound to be a bit scared

Thanks for that Dobiegirl.

Mine were not nervous but were very used to being put in unusual situations and walking on different surfaces etc - how old are your dogs? It is something you can practice at home

They are 20 weeks, I will be getting some stuff so we can practice at home.

Ahh right, then yes its a good idea, like Muddi said to start to basic things, dog cannot actually do agility till they are over 1 year old.

We had a piece of board resting on a brick and get the dogs to run over it, they get a bit of a shock when the board moves but after a few weeks they get used to it. Or like Roxy - they'll 'surf' on it

You can buy tunnels from PAH but we piled chairs up and persuaded Roxy to run underneath them, just basic at first, then we put a few more chairs out and made it a longer time she had to run underneath them. you can add in commands here, so I usually say 'under' so that no matter what the obstacle is she now knows to go under that thing and not over or round.

We also use the laundry bin and chair to teach Roxy to do figure of 8's round them shes getting pretty good, and were not forking out on too much stuff.

It is normal for puppies to be slightly nervous of new things and situations, that is why it is really important to socialise your puppy to as many different invironments as you can possibly think of. The more they see and learn, the easier it will be for them to accept new situations and challenges for the rest of their lives.
Practicing the first steps of agility can be really good, but make sure your pup does not feel pressured to do things he is not ready for. Give him lots of praise and encouragement, and let him do it at his own pace.
If you get hooked on agility and want to get more into it later on, make sure you find a class where they take things one step at a time, and don't rush you and your dog. The dogs need to really understand the different obstacles before you start putting too many things together, and shoul, in my opinion, not be expected to do whole courses from the start.

DanishPastry :smt001

Hi
I've been reading this with real interest. I hope to start Molly on agility in the summer, she will be 2 in April.
I had been wondering if Nudge would be old enough, and I see that she may not be, she is one in early June.

DanishPastry
You talk lots of sense I think about not having them do too many different things to start with, get used to something and practice them move on.

Thanks for starting thread.
x

As Dobiegirl rightly says, dogs should not do *any* impact elements, [ jumping, see-saw, A-frame and absolutely no weaving ] until at least 12 months old so please don`t allow any of that in your youngsters.

Open tunnel is fine but I would avoid the flat tunnel unless the fabric is held up as it can be very heavy for a pup to try to push through and more frightening as a result of just not having the physical strength to do it easily - getting that one wrong can lead to a permanent phobia of it for a dog.

What I often do with new dogs at class, [ I`m an agility instructor ], if a dog is nervy of any equipment, I have a confident experienced dog do it first for the new dog to follow as that gives more confidence than humans cajolling dogs into things, and with the Open tunnel I have often had handlers go partway in themselves so the dog can see its safe.

Usually, once a dog has overcome initial, [ and very sensible ! ] caution of the unknown, they tend to decide its fun after all.

I do encourage potential students to bring their dogs along before they join a class so their dog can get used to the atmosphere and noises and especially so they can get to see other dogs happily doing things which usually gets a new dog inquisitive enough to want to join in.

I certainly welcome and encourage people to bring puppies along as much as possible for the socialisation, familiarity to equipment/sounds aspects, and to get used to seeing and hearing often very happily excited dogs doing it, even though I won`t allow them to do anything more with pups than Open Tunnel, held-open flat tunnel, dog walk / see-saw planks on the ground, and walking between jump wings with pole on the ground, [ under my supervision ], and I am more than happy to start them off with simple directional cues, recall, waits, motivation, etc etc, which can be a huge head start for when a puppy is old enough to train agility-proper when old enough - and no they don`t pay a class fee for that at my club
Some larger breeds can do some equipment at 12 months, [ all start on low heights for some time so they can build up required muscle and stamina gently ], but still have to wait before being allowed to do certain things if they appear to still have more growing or filling out to do, I`m very strict on that.
I also have all newcomers do a six week induction during which dogs are introduced to one or two pieces of equipment each time so as not to overload or push them and to ensure they are confident with each thing before they start on the next. IOW, I take a very gentle softly-softly approach to beginners agility for the dogs benefit.

So, with the pups, for the open tunnel, throwing a favourite toy or treat in / through, or going part way in yourself with someone else guiding the pups at the entrance, and/or using a dog they like and would want to play with go through first, can all make it intriguing instead of frightening for them.

HTH :smt001



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I think agility is a great way to boost confidence and the bond between owner and dog - I did it with Murphy ( dobe ) when he was younger and he loved it ( we only stopped because our trainer died and I've never found one with the same outlook ) but recently I have been thinking of it for Macey ( terrier ) she is very nervous and I think a bit of agility would do her the world of good .

at our previous class i saw a few dogs very nervous and wary tails between their legs but after a few circuits they were more than happy ..very waggy ..but I think you have to pick the class that suits and not do too much too quick