Agility - running another breed!

Last night in the beginners one of the ladies hurt her leg - I go and just watch Jess with Connor - who is coming along brilliantly - so I said I wouldn't mind running her dog if she wanted.

This is their 2nd lesson this term (but they have done a 6 week course before the summer break).

All I can say is I take my hat off to you collie owners - what a difference to running a setter - the speed and the difference in trying to think two steps ahead of the dog was so much harder and just having to alter the style

Whilst I'm not saying my setter ambles around but I can keep up! The collie was at the end of three jumps before I had time to move LOL! You certainly must be v. fit and think on your feet

Was certainly an different experience and whilst had fun - I don't think will be swapping my Gordon yet!

Was nice that the dog went with me though bless her - she was lovely!

Anyone else had a chance to run a different breed and noticed a difference?

Not in agility, but I have ran lovezois Pellow in the show ring which was strange as you can hear the rotties, but the borzois just glide along,,but gee they are fast, they have a massive stride, I have also ran wolfhounds, again fast, but its not too bad cos rotties are quite a fast breed, but I would say I defo had to up a gear with the borzois

Thats nice to hear Rachel, I think allot of people think that collies are easy and by getting a collie your taking the easy route to the rosettes!! they are just as hard especially when they are fast.. I've had a few weeks training with My len and he's gone from being a complete wimp with all the contacts to flying up them when he's supposed to be on a different course!! I've got lots of work to do yet.

It's not a problem I have as my collie is slow but I think my newer collie will be far faster once I get her started in the future.

Flynn (my GWPx) was a whole different ball game as he was probably just as fast and frantic as a collie is but he couldnt handle the excitement so I stopped doing it with him.

One of the fastest dogs I know at agility is a SBT and he's just cracking at it.

When i first started dog training i had an old resceud fox hound cross who was great but not amazingly receptive as he was already ten years old when i got him and had been badly treated to panicked easily and panicking meant loud persistent barking!

I then retired Lenny and used the trainers collie x, i used to say it was like driving a Porsche! Perfectly trained, glued to your leg...it was very difficult to make a mistake!

Yes we allways joke in class about swapping dogs
I know the collie handlers have a much harder time to get to a good level - but once they are there the dogs are soooo great and fast
I am thankful that Ben is building speed slow but I do love to watch how some of these rocket dogs can take 5 jumps in a direction you didnt want because you have put yourself 1/2 an inch out of position

I am always amazed at people who run lots of dogs
I didnt realise how much it is about your timing with that one dog, a different dog needs different things

That's brilliant when you have a fast dog, Collie or not, it brings a whole new different sets of problems, you don't necessarily have to be fit enough to keep up with them, but be able to give them distance comands and if you have a noisy one, loud enough to be heard over the din

Chris has run 3 other dogs apart from Jack, one is a Collie x Belgium Shepherd, and just as manic and fast as a Jack, but the other two, a Lurcher and a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and both were slow, which gave Chris the opposite problems to what you had

Having said that, you get used to what you have, for Chris he doesn't have a problem keeping up with Jack, he's known nothing else, and it's how he's learnt agility

People think that Collies are fast and the only way they will stand a chance of winning, but at our club show last weekend in the Grade 1 jumping, Jack did the course in 28.97 seconds (I think) and another Collie did the same course in 70 something seconds A slower clear round will always beat faults or an elimination having said that although he was clear he would have got time faults

Now I haven't shown another breed except a Setter and other peoples Gordons (never again I say each time then manage to get thrown in!)

I wouldn't have realised they were faster than the Rotts (who look pretty quick to me!)

I certainly have never thought that but didn't realise just how different it was!

LOL - think that is a slow or fast thing as Max likes to do his own course sometimes! Think he just thinks he knows better!

Can understand the excitement - that's why I have never even considered it with Angus he just can't seem to focus on anything long enough and would get so over excited about the whole thing.

Must admit not seen a slow collie yet!

Lucky to get to handle such a dog hey LOL! Will dream me and Max might get to that stage - mind you its his nuttiness at it that I enjoy!

LOL yes our trainer constantly is telling us its all about positions and arms!!! And to watch some of the faster owners have to be very careful about positions you can see it - for me I have to keep moving as soon as I stop Max will!

I agree its the thinking ahead that got me - I mean its bad enough isn't it thinking and running but thinking ahead and running and speaking (shouting - totally different!

My Irish Setter generally went clear - but very slowly too

As you say its what you are used too - I think someone with a collie would struggle with a Setter actually keeping moving and with the dog too!

Luckily this collie wasn't noisy - gosh couldn't deal with that either!!! Slow and steady and quiet is fine with me

We did a comp at the end of the July term and Max was a good 15 seconds slower than the collies but he wasn't the slowest either. Mind you as long as he is having fun that's all I worry about!

I would say, rotties look like they are doing more/going faster, but its the length of stride that blows it, the borzoi's have a larger stride so it looks less but your up 1/2 a gear,
its kinda hard to explaine, that said, I do far more with kaos than I do with holly so even dogs of the same breed can need very diff handling. Not sure that Im making any sense, lol