Foundation Classes for Agility

[Sarah_42]

I am putting Moko in a Foundation Agility class for puppies in a couple weeks and am wondering:

What should I expect from this class?

What kind of work will we be doing?

Has anyone done a Foundation class before?

 

Thanks!!

[in2adventure]

I've never done a foundation class, but have Greg Derrett's "foundation agility" video. Since the pups can't do alot with the equipment yet, it's mostly a desentitizing kinda thing.

 

The classes should teach the dog the trainer is the coolest, not the equipment. Dogs should not self reward with the equipment. It should also teach them to focus, desensitize to sounds the teeter makes when it hits and learn some basic commands. I currently walk Grady through the jumps, walk him on a wobble board and he's learning tunnels are fun. He's only 7 months.

 

Good luck with class. I wish we had access to one where I live.

[Pat W.]

I am currently doing foundations classes with my young dog, I cannot recommend them more, lots of ground work for you and the youngster, familiarization on very low equipment one or two pieces at a time, targeting, ladder work, and so forth. I love how my youngster Whim (3rd agility dog) has come along through foundations training, by the time we are in foundations 3 he will be ready for trialing on a small scale ie jumpers or tunnelers, or even touch and go

[MaryP]

Dogs should not self reward with the equipment.

 

Could someone please explain this concept to Charlie.

[Root Beer]

Dogs should not self reward with the equipment.

 

Not to digress, but running a dog I have to "drive" through the course with my own momentum . . . I seriously wish she wanted to self reward with the equipment!!

 

Tangent over!!

[Tassie]

Could someone please explain this concept to Charlie.

 

That made me smile, Mary. My dear late Fergus had exactly the same problem. I kept meaning to work on it - got the Crying for Control DVD, and Control Unleashed - and we were making some progress - but of course I wasn't consistent enough.

 

But I know that lots of people would really like some of the obstacle focus and drive that Fergus had.

[Root Beer]

I guess I'd like a happy medium. Speedy has so much obstacle focus that he can't even do Agility because it overstimulates him just to see equipment in the ring. We've been doing some CU stuff with it at home and he's improving, but he'll never really do more than play with jumps, tunnels, and weaves in the yard. He might have done more had CU been around when he was young, but it wasn't, so we dance, and just dabble a little in Agility stuff at home.

 

On the other hand, I wish Maddie had some obstacle drive of her own. She enjoys Agility and she's a good dog to run, but I really do have to provide the momentum.

 

Dean seems to be a somewhere in between and I have to say that it's nice. Even though he sometimes takes the wrong piece of equipment or goes ahead when he's not supposed to, he's out there giving it his all and I think that with experience he'll have a nice balance of drive and control.

 

I'm glad to have the ability to work with what I've got, of course, but sometimes when I see the dogs out there "self rewarding", I just wish Maddie wanted had just a bit of an inclination to do the same!

[Root Beer]

Double post - Deleted!

[in2adventure]

Not to digress, but running a dog I have to "drive" through the course with my own momentum . . . I seriously wish she wanted to self reward with the equipment!!

 

Tangent over!!

 

 

I never thought about that. Lucia would run across a dog walk (without hitting a single contact correctly ) all day if I let her.

[WildFlower]

I have my dog in puppy foundation agility. (She is 8 months old.) We have been to two classes so far and I don't know if she thinks that it is as much fun as I do!

 

No, but honestly, I think that it is wonderful. Daisy is a bit on the shy side and needs some more confidence and I think that this is and will continue to help with those issues. We have worked on contacts by using a touch plate (putting a treat on a plastic lid) and getting the pups to "go touch", they run through the tunnel, learn to sit/down stay on a table (obviously very low to the ground), work on the "side" commands (teaching the pups to go to the appropriate side based on body posture and where the treat is for now) and practice running through the jump posts (with the bars on the ground).

 

It really is a lot of fun. Just remember that they are puppies and the attention span is only so big! Daisy caps out right at about 45 minutes - which is perfect since that is how long the class is.

 

Have fun!