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Lottie
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09-09-2006, 09:24 AM

Can we do agility? - I'm disabled

Hi,

I had written off doing agility with Takara - even though I know she'd love it - until I saw something about someone in a wheelchair doing it.

I can walk but I can't run. The impact is too much for my joints and they bleed internally.
Is there anyway that we can still do agility even though I can't run alongside my dog?

I know Takara would love it but I never thought we'd be able to do it.

Also - how old does a dog (dalmatian size) have to be to start agility? I always thought it was 18 months but someone told me 12 months.
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Shadowboxer
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09-09-2006, 09:32 AM
I don't see any reason whatsoever that you should not give it a go Lottie. As long as you have good verbal control so that Takara keeps focused on you, no matter how slowly you go round, you can do it Accuracy and control are as, if not more, important than speed.

I think it is 18 months to compete? You can start training prior to this if your dog has physically matured.
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Lottie
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09-09-2006, 09:36 AM
Thanks for that SB

Might look into it in that case!
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muttsrus
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09-09-2006, 10:00 AM
there is a league for disabled handlers, i know of two ladies one with sticks and one that does the handling from a rough terrain wheel chair, she has also been picked for the disabled handlers agility abroad so yes there is no problem you doing agility
carolann
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colliemad
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09-09-2006, 03:02 PM
I can walk but I can't run. The impact is too much for my joints and they bleed internally.
Is there anyway that we can still do agility even though I can't run alongside my dog?
There are a fair few people that can't actually run alongside their dogs (me included). I do run more with Deef than with Sol but he was trained differently and competes at a higher level so it does involve more work. There are several people that train their dogs to work away from them independently but they do run a little bit. If you cannot run at all it would be harder for you but there is no reason why you wouldn't be able to do it.

You could start training your dog properly at 12 months but there are lots of things you can teach her to do at home like left and right and most importantly in your case GO. You can also do target training at home for the contacts and teach her a good "in" command. I use my dogs name to get them to come in towards me but I also use "in" but it means something else. The first thing you need to do is find someone in your area that can actually train you to work your dog this way and that is going to be harder. Whatever you are told don't give in, stick to your guns and make them understand that you have to work your dog away from you and that it just isn't possible for you to do it any other way. It will take a lot longer to train her this way but there is no reason it can't be done.
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Patch
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09-09-2006, 04:58 PM
Just to back up what the other guys have said, give it a go !

A good trainer will find ways to help you work with you dog especially with working ahead for you and direction changes when you cant possibly be alongside. I was at a show today where a lady I know quite well was competing and her younger dog is coming on well for her - she has a problem with her knee`s so can`t run [ her dogs are both collies ], but she doesnt let that stop her.

Where theres a will theres a way as the saying goes

Some info here for you :

http://www.philotus.co.uk/news/paraagility.html

[ I must get around to joining the association ! ]
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metz
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17-10-2006, 09:58 AM
there was a show in edinburgh last year where this woman was able to do agility and very good at it i must say with a dog who was deaf it was amazing to watch. i want to do either agility or flyball with cocoa once she has done a bit more obedience training not sure which one yet.
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Patch
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17-10-2006, 04:10 PM
I have three deaf dogs, one of whom has been competing in Agility for many years [ he`s 12 now ], and my newest deaf girl is training at the moment . [ She had a cracking training session yesterday ].
She will also be doing Flyball, [ which I have to brush up as I`ll be teaching it ], as our club got two Flyball boxes a couple of weeks ago, yay

There are many deaf dogs in Agility these days, and its really *much* easier for them than people would think as so much of aglity is visual cues / body language anyway. I make my students do a lot of `silent running`, [ with a bit of leeway to use clapping or finger clicking if needed for dogs early in training ], exercises and courses with their hearing dogs and they are usually much better at it without handlers giving unadvertantly ill-timed and toned verbal cues :smt001
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Lottie
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18-10-2006, 04:18 PM
Thanks so much guys!

As soon as I've started my new job and have a bit of money to throw at a trainer, I will find someone who can help me train the 'untrainable'!

I am trying to teach her left and right at the moment with a target stick but really have no idea if I'm doing it right, I'm hoping that teaching distance commands in agility will help with steering her away from left over food in the park...

Of course it might not...
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Patch
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18-10-2006, 06:31 PM
You can also use her natural behaviours to help her learn left and right

On walks, whether on or off lead, if she veers either way, say left or right as she does it then praise. You can do this on close work and at distance, and its a nice subliminal and positive way for her to learn something useful while she thinks she is just going to sniff a blade of grass and does`nt even realise training is happening at the time. When it works and if the timing is consistant, its amazing just how well it can be slipped in to a dogs thinking
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