storminthenight Posted September 13, 2008 Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 I just wanted to share that me and Lootah will be starting a begginer agility class october 8th. We are both new to agility, ive never tried it before so im pretty excited, lol. We have to go next wednesday to see the instructor so she can evaluate Loo and make sure he can do basic obedience (since we did his first obedience class at a smaller facility closer to home) But i'm pretty confident he will pass with flying colors. He has to be able to walk on a loose leash, come, sit and stay. Anyway I just had to share and if anyone has any advice they would like to pass on to a begginer I would love to hear it, lol (Lootah is my first of 2 BC's, he has a little sis, Sakari) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsofmenace Posted September 14, 2008 Report Share Posted September 14, 2008 Wow, he is gorgeous! Good luck in your class! The best advice I could give you is always trust your own judgment when it comes to your dog. Don't do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable just because the trainer told you to. Do what is right for you and your dog, and most of all, have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 Having fun and bonding with your buddy is the most important thing. Don't push to "get it". Everyone (especially the dog) learns at their own pace. What looks like they aren't getting one week, they may excell at the next week and vise a versa. Have fun and let us know how it goes. It's very addictive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storminthenight Posted September 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 I will definitely keep you updated, and thankyou guys for the advice. The thing that 'worries' me is he is not exitable at all, he has a very laid back personality. Dont get me wrong he loves to run and is pretty speedy but I wonder if I will be able to get him to apply it to the agility. But I know the speed doesnt come till later anyway, I think it will be alot of fun wether he's good at it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 LOL.....don't worry about him being laid back. Lucia is a VERY laid back BC. I joke about her being decafinated The first couple lesson we had I thought it was all going to be a waste of money She was very half hearted about it all and then it all kicked in. We were competing within 8 months. She's completely different during agility than anything else she does. Most people look at me funny when I tell them she competes, but out in that arena, whether it's lessons or competition, she is really turned on. When we qualify, we usually place in the top 4 out of 20 or so dogs. So don't worry.....this could be his thing and you just don't know it yet. I think it's as addictive for them as it is for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinah_kay Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 First, have fun!!! Second, just keep an eye out for fixations. Some herding dogs tend to fixate on the other dogs while they are working, which can get out of control if you don't watch out for that behavior. Of course not all dogs do this, but I wish it was something I had noticed with my dog much earlier. I was busy watching the other dogs take their turns, meanwhile my dogs was starting to fixate. If I had caught it earlier it would have been a much easier fix. So just keep an eye out for it, and if you notice it start working different tricks/behaviors while waiting in line for your turn (sit, down, look, tug, ect.) Have fun, it is so addictive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storminthenight Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 in2adventure, I hope Lootah will enjoy it as much as your doggy does, since the important thing to me is finding an activity he will enjoy doing. Whatever happens I really think he is my doggy soul mate so whatever we do together will be fun. dinah, Thank you for that, its not something I would have thought to look for. Lootah does get a bit 'transfixed' on things sometimes, the cat for instance (well the neighbors cat that lives at our house) he will just stare at forever, he doesnt want to touch it, just stare at it, lol, if it comes too close he backs off. He does it aswell with a certain sheep toy, if you through it he will run after it but then lay a little ways away and just stare. (I dont encourage either one, especially with the cat) Im not sure he will do this watching a dog, but now I can keep an eye out for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinah_kay Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 dinah, Thank you for that, its not something I would have thought to look for. Lootah does get a bit 'transfixed' on things sometimes, the cat for instance (well the neighbors cat that lives at our house) he will just stare at forever, he doesnt want to touch it, just stare at it, lol, if it comes too close he backs off. He does it aswell with a certain sheep toy, if you through it he will run after it but then lay a little ways away and just stare. (I dont encourage either one, especially with the cat) Im not sure he will do this watching a dog, but now I can keep an eye out for it Well my class was taught by nonbc people, so no one was there to clue me in on the fixation/possible fixation, lol. So just be aware, and keep the time in line waiting for your next go fun for your dog. You can use toys, treats, ect - even crate your dog between goes if needed. You probably won't have this issue, just keep an eye out for it. In fact in my class they were surprised that my dog's behavior got worse instead of better since they felt that agility helps dogs start to check in with their handler more. Well that is probably true unless you have a high drive type dog like mine. If that behavior is allowed to go unchecked then they just get worse and worse in that enviroment. I was too green at the time to realize what was going on. Thankfully we have worked through a lot of that behavior junk, but I still won't/can't put him in a group class setting like that again. Live and learn, but just be aware. Of course my female doesn't have half the drive/talent as my male, but she is super easy to handle and is on her best behavior in group classes, go figure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storminthenight Posted September 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Small little update, we went and got evaluated tonight and Looty passed with flying colors, I think the instructor was actually kinda suprised/impressed at how fast he did his sit/down. So now we are all ready to start in october. It was also really funny coz he is such a one person dog, the instructor asked him to sit a couple of times and he totally ignored her, lol, but he is (almost) always a perfect boy for me. She also tried giving him a treat, which he spat out and would only eat when I gave it to him. I guess this is one of the reasons me and him have such a special bond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storminthenight Posted October 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Well we attended our first class last night, and it went really well. The instructors are really nice, small class and we get alot of individual attention. Lootah didnt really have a problem with any of the equipment, nothing seemed to scare him. We hit a little speed bump with the tunnel, when we extended it he would go in, but wouldnt go all the way, turning around to look for mel. But after a few tries we got him to realize I would be waiting for him at the other end and he was fine after that, lol. I do have a question about registration, should I go ahead and get him registered with akc/ukc so that he can compete in competitions later, or should I wait and see how he does first? Im thinking I should probably wait, incase we get half way throught the course and he ends up not likeing it, and then having wasted the money on the papers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Well we attended our first class last night, and it went really well. The instructors are really nice, small class and we get alot of individual attention.Lootah didnt really have a problem with any of the equipment, nothing seemed to scare him. We hit a little speed bump with the tunnel, when we extended it he would go in, but wouldnt go all the way, turning around to look for mel. But after a few tries we got him to realize I would be waiting for him at the other end and he was fine after that, lol. I do have a question about registration, should I go ahead and get him registered with akc/ukc so that he can compete in competitions later, or should I wait and see how he does first? Im thinking I should probably wait, incase we get half way throught the course and he ends up not likeing it, and then having wasted the money on the papers. Excellent!! I'm glad it went well!! Pretty soon the tunnels will probably vacuum him up!! LOL!! I would hold off on registration. You can do Agility with a lot of different venues and, if you decide to compete, you might find that one suits your needs more than another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storminthenight Posted October 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2008 well we had our second class One thing we noticed with the tunnel this week is that when I send him through he will stay at the one end until he hears me at the other end, and then runs. The instructors had never seen a dog do this before, I figure after he gains more experience/confidence that he will just start running through, but does anyone have any ideas how me might encourage him to stop doing it? Also this week we ended with the weeve poll start again, both classes he has done it a few times for me and then just lays down and doesnt really want to do anymore. The instructor asked me if he was tired or nervous (well he may be laid back, but he was not tired) I told her I thought it might be his way of shutting off, and telling us he has had enough. what do you think? I will have to make sure we dont end on the weeve next week, just to make sure its not that particular obsticle. On the plus side he did remember everything we taught him last week, we didnt have to back track on anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storminthenight Posted October 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 Couldnt figure out how to change title, so just a little bump for the above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 well we had our second classOne thing we noticed with the tunnel this week is that when I send him through he will stay at the one end until he hears me at the other end, and then runs. The instructors had never seen a dog do this before, I figure after he gains more experience/confidence that he will just start running through, but does anyone have any ideas how me might encourage him to stop doing it? I'm surprised the instructors haven't seen that before. I've seen it quite a bit. I'd keep the tunnel short until the dog was comfortable shooting through and then gradually open it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb Scott Posted October 17, 2008 Report Share Posted October 17, 2008 I'm surprised the instructors haven't seen that before. I've seen it quite a bit. I'd keep the tunnel short until the dog was comfortable shooting through and then gradually open it. Maybe get one of the intsructors to hold him at the opening until you get to the other end and call him through a few times. We also throw a toy as soon as the dog emerges to get a quick tunnel. Barb S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storminthenight Posted October 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2008 we started off with the tunnel being very short, and then gradually made it longer the first week, and then the past class we started curving it, thats when he started pausing at the one end. Do you think we should go back to making the tunnel shorter or see if he stops the pausing with more practise? He has no toy drive, doesnt like to put things in his mouth, but I do give him lots of praise when he goes through. I think praise from me is the best reward for him, I do have to remember to not feed him as much the day of class so hopefully he will have more food drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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