Agility..where do I start??

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Snowman81

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Hello,
I'm slowly getting there with my cheeky 11month terrier-collie cross ....and am thinking that I would love to try agility with her. Only thing is, I haven't a clue where to start. What sort of obedience standard do the agility clubs expect and are there any games or exercises I can do with her to prepare her? She is a little monkey and happily jumps over stable doors and styles and I'd like to try and channel this behaviour if possible as I think she will be a handful if I don't give her something new to think about soon!

I have trained her with treats so far, and this has worked really well. Are treats allowed in agility training?

Anyone know of a good club in Bucks or Herts?

so many questions!!.....
 
Yes, treats are used in agility and are a good way to motivate a dog.

Useful things to practice:

- the command 'jump' over small, small jumps as she is still quite young

- 'sit, stay and come to call' as you would at the start of a course

- foot targeting, where the dog places its feet in a specific spot, this is invaluable for accuracy

- hand targeting, where the dog follows your hand, this is a really good way to teach weaving

- also practice heel work on the right and on the left

It's really good fun and I am sure she will enjoy it loads!
 
This ^^ you do need basic obedience under control before you go on the field as well as jumping prowess
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I know it is not so important in smaller dogs but I don't like bigger, heavier-built dogs leaving the ground much before 12 months to avoid impact wear and tear and I wouldn't overdo any dog of any size before 12 months - just quick bursts every so often.

(Says the paranoid who's dog still managed to banjax himself
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When we tried to join the local agility club they wouldn't let us until he could run to heel both sides and not get distracted by other dogs. We were ok for the first part...
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I will say in addition though, however badly behaved/trained your dog is, there's usually someone else who is worse! I'm hoping to start doing agility again this spring and I'm on the herts/beds border. There's quite a few places near here. I've been going to Little Revel End near Hemel Hempstead which is a small informal place but has some very experienced peeps. The main drawback is it's outside so I've taken a couple of months off! Before that I went to Patchetts EC which was very professional and indoors but very busy and my class finished a bit late in the evening for me.
 
club where I train in in ashley green on the herts bucks border called 'fracas'. you'll need basic obedience such as a sit, a bit of a wait/ stay and recall but my dog certainly doesn't heel! They plan to start a new beginners course on the 11th may i believe - if you google them you should find some contact details on their website somewhere - its in the process of being redone - if you can't find it could get it for you should I PM it though. we are very friendly and only small club. Also two of the instructors also run terrier collie crosses so that might be helpful for you.
 
Thanks for all of the replies, the beginners class at Ashley Green sounds perfect...and it starts in May too so gives me some time to try the ideas above.
 
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