Beginners Agility Question

As many of you know, we've been doing 'fun' agility for awhile now.

I really enjoy it and think that even Stumpy is beginning to, though she is still the slowest collie you have ever seen

I have started to think about competitions following last weekend when they both did an outside course in front of lots of spectators at the Dogs Trust Open Day (not a formal course, but nevertheless the both paid attention well going round it despite all the distractions).

The trouble is :

Hoki is really enthusiastic. She can do all the equipment (albeit our dog walk is only a low, training one) BUT because of her knees she can't jump very high (knee height is probably about her comfortable limit).

She's average height for a collie and probably 8-9 years old.


Stumpy can also do all the equipment except for the seesaw which she is still petrified of (they don't use it very often at our fun club as just the noise of it banging on the ground really upsets Stumpy). Although there is no physical reason why she can't do the higher jumps, she lacks confidence but I think this will come with more practice (I usually just do the 'medium' height jumps with her - though I don't know how our 'low medium and high' compare with competition heights.

So the question is, at beginners levels, is there any competition classes that they would be able do bearing in mind their limitations?

There are allsorts/anysize classes that are for dogs just starting out, older dogs or dogs returning from injury that are over lower jumps, they are special classes and not all shows put them on, you'll just have to read the schedule to see if they have them.

Hi Hali

Yes the allsorts classes and special classes mainly at unaffliated shows are worth looking out for.

Also not sure what age the veteran classes are from - think they may have lower height jumps.

For the sea-saw problem there are jumping classes which don't have any contact equipment - Max much prefers these classes for some reason even though he enjoys the contacts!

Have you looked on http://www.agilitynet.com

They have all the schedules and comps so it might be a case of looking through them and seeing what sort of classes / shows are out there which might suit.

Am sure you know you need them activity registered hun? Unless they already are - sorry my memory on these things is pretty bad

Hugs to you and the woofers

Rach
x

Thanks to you both...so it sounds like we might be in with a shot.

Typical that I've just decided this presumably as the season is just about finished. Still, it may give us something to aim for over the winter.

Rachel, yes, I was aware that I'd have to register them but thanks for reminding me. . That's something I'll look at next .

I should've also said I've been pleasantly surprised by just how much OH is enjoying it too - I think he's becoming a closet agility addict

It is really addictive!
With getting up to full height - that just takes a bit of time
I actually built a seesaw in the sitting room for Ben to get his confidence in it
All these things take time, our trainer said to expect to take about 18 months training to be able to compeate

Cant wait to see you guys at shows

I say well done to your OH for having a go - think its not easy for the chaps to take part in things that are predominantly female - having said that we have prob. just as many male in our club as female - different with the showing totally! minimal men at ringcraft and few in the rings too.

OH did build a seesaw in the garden, but it wasn't very sturdy and I was worried that I'd make her worse by using it. But I do need to do something to get her used to it.

What did you make your indoor one out of please?

Well we've been doing it for 6 months now so still another year to go Perhaps in that time I'll have got Stumpy used to the seesaw!

It does help that our trainer is a guy and his dogs are really good.

OH enjoyed a companion show we went to a few years ago (probably because he won best veteran with Kip ) but once he realised that there were no other men in the ring he decided that it wasn't a manly thing to do (mind you, its not something we could do seriously anyway seeing as as none of ours would be eligible for proper shows)

I dont know if my indoor seesaw would be sturdy enough for a collie but I used plumbing plastic pipes cut to size on to a plank of wood (all painted with sand on it) using the brackets you attach the pipes to the wall with
It is a little shaky, think it made ben happier on the real one cos they are better
and all I did with him was one week every time I was taking him out for a walk we did the seesaw once, lots of praise and then straight out for the walk, then he started to do it himself to hurry me up out for the walk

Max took a very long time - forget how long to get used to the sea-saw some take to it better than others. In fact think I posted on here for advice as he hated it that much - he just couldn't distinguish between the dog walk and the sea-saw at all. Now he loves it and will got to it as he knows he gets a big reward each time!

If she is that worried I would suggest that they do get it out - but she is just able to sniff it and be near it maybe rather than going on it? Just get rewarded for being in close proximaty to it.

I wasn't brave enough to compete til 2 years after we started! Now we are still very much the entertainment - in fact a lady said to me at a show - oh you don't see many Gordons competing - I told her stick around and you'll see why

A lot of the beginner grades don't always have the sea-saw in anyway - if she really isn't liking it stick with the jumping classes.

That is the sort of way that Stumpy learns - anything which becomes 'routine' becomes acceptable. I think I will have to try designing something small scale to start with.

She can walk past, round it, under it, no problem. But once it starts the banging noise, that's it, she just shuts down and isn't interested in doing anything else - she would just head for the door (to get to the car) if she could. Then after that, the next week she is deeply suspicious of the dog walk and takes quite some persuading to get on it.

Sometimes I think the seesaw will be a step too far, but then when I think of everything else she has overcome in the past year, I do think she will get there in the end.

The sad thing if we had to stick to the jumping classes is that she is that she loves the other contact pieces and is really reliable as she never ever misses a contact (she doesn't go fast enough to )

I so wish we were nearer so I could come and watch Max (and you could laugh at Tip - they'd be a pair of class clowns together )