Anyone do CPE agility?

[Carlasl]

Just found out there is a trial not too far away in a couple months.

 

I was just curious what it is like especially for a novice dog. I noticed that level one has no teeter or weave poles and that the dogs only have to be 15mo old not 18mo. Maya will be 15mo that month, I was thinking it "might" be a good first trial, but I don't want to push anything yet, as she hasn't even been on a full size dog walk or A-frame yet. I am not in a hurry just curious at this point, might see what my trainer thinks.

 

This is the first CPE trial that I know of in our area.

[Mariji]

I'm from Australia so I can't comment on what it is like, as far as I know here we don't have anything like that. it is 18 mo. across the board for your first trial. I wanted to enter my puppy in a trial as soon as I could and tried to enter her at 17mo. but wasn't allowed. I think If I was allowed it would have been a huge mistake. She had contacts and weaves to rival advanced dogs and although she had never been on a full size dog walk I thought she was ready. I was so wrong there was issues to climax of her drive, choice of reward and how long I would spend warming her up. If I had gone to a trial I would have found out faster but I think it would have led to a negative experience. This resulted in her entering her first trial when she was about 20 mo. if not a touch older. Even then when I look back it may have been mentally too early. I can learn all those things from club training.

 

I couldn't advocate enough especially if she has issues with shutting down to wait a bit. I would wait until your dog is comfortable on all equipment and can complete it to your satisfaction and her confidence then I would perhaps try your first trial. It isn't just the obstacles but her mentality and your bond. Trialling can be a huge deal for some dogs and you don't want to make it a negative experience. I wish they did have something similar here as I'm sure it would help many people but make sure you know your dog before you do try. I had no idea about when to take her out of her crate and warm her up. If I took her out too early her drive would climax and by the time our run came she had no interest. She would stress by sniffing and not completing obstacles safely by throwing herself over jumps and such. I have since learnt that while she shows a huge drive for toys I won't be using them at a trial only at home for a bit. I have too take her out one or two dogs before her run and give her a quick warm up and all other times she must remain in her crate. If she is out walking her brain seems to fall out as she is always waiting even when walking to have her turn so tends to tire herself out just thinking about it. She is now almost 2 and made a huge improvement at competitions and it is only now I see what a big effect entering her earlier may have made.

 

With my now puppy (11 mo.) she is very much puppy like and doesn't have the mature edge my first dog appeared to have at that age. Her agility is phenomenal as she got all the training my first dog didn't get but her maturity just isn't there. Unless she shows some maturity she won't be entering a trial as I don't believe she would cope. Saying that her drive for obstacles may be all she needs as she has wicked focus. So I suppose you never know. But it is worth making an informed decision and not taking lightly. Make sure the relationship you have with your puppy is strong in all aspects and you really know how she works. Although I would say it is worth learning all the obstacles first for her confidence. And then perhaps just one trial to assess where she is at and if she shows she can handle it by all means go onto agility fame! Sorry to carry on a bit

[Blackdawgs]

In my opinion, CPE is a good venue for an inexperienced dog or handler. Having said this, at level 1-2 the courses are very easy and dogs can qualify with faults, so I think that it gives handlers a false sense of accomplishment.

 

The times are very generous in CPE and I've seen dogs and handlers who would never in a million years make time in other venues earn championship titles.

 

Because each class has several levels, the shows tend to run forever.

 

Some of the courses are horrifically tight with obstacles very close together. My dog finds this very de-motivating (as do I)

 

If I had a young dog and was serious about agility, I would wait until my dog was running open courses in practice and then start in novice in another venue. After I had some success, I'd then start CPE at level 3. If you start at CPE level 1, it is easy to get stuck at the lower levels for several shows.

 

I started an experienced dog at CPE level 1 because she was recovering from an injury. I regret this decision because it did take some time to work our way up the levels and it was very boring.

[pammyd]

I wouldnt rush a baby

Can you take dogs to shows over there when they are not running?? I take my dog just to get used to the atmosphere. My trainer even brings along some jumps and stuff so we can have a wee practise in the show environment but make it really fun and rewarding

[Root Beer]

CPE is awesome!! CPE is truly an organization that understands that Agility is a game and there is a real emphasis on keeping things positive and fun for both dog and handler.

 

I would recommend it as a first time venue to any dog and handler team.

 

And the games are an absolute blast!! I've been doing CPE with Maddie for several years and we have worked our way up from Level 1 into Level 4 and I'm nowhere near bored yet.

 

You can avoid the A-Frame and Dogwalk by entering Jumpers, which has no contacts. You can also play Fullhouse. There will most likely be a Dogwalk and A-Frame in Fullhouse, but you can avoid them because you make your course in that game. There is a rule that there must be at least one non-contact 5 point obstacle in Fullhouse, so there is always at least one double or triple jump.

 

Another cool thing about CPE is that the table is only used in games and the only requirement is that the dog make contact with the table. The dog can just jump up on it to end the games.

 

If you want to have your dog jump lower than measured height, you can enter Enthusaist and take a 4 inch jump height reduction, or you can enter Specialist and take an 8 inch jump height reduction. If you choose to do this now, you can always start running at your dog's regular height at any time, and you can enter your dog at Level 2 or 3 because you have the option of starting at 1, 2, or 3 whenever you change jump height categories. Once you have a Q at 1, 2, or 3, you are locked into a progression in that category only.

 

I'd say go and have some fun with it.

[Carlasl]

Thanks for the opinions, It is about two months away so I have some time to think on it. I am still not sure and probably won't be for a while. I was thinking about doing it to expose her to a trial, but in a very very relaxed way, you guys have given me a lot to think about. Some of the trials here have a "fun run" at the end of the first night and it was sort of that mentality that I was thinking of, exposing her to the trial environment without the stress of really wanting to move up like I will with NADAC and USDAA ( the two venues I plan to trial in the most).

 

At the very least we will probably go and check it out so I can see what it is about, it is only about 20min away.

[SecretBC]

I used TDAA in that manner for my little guy -- I started him at 15 months to get him some "ring experience" before his first NADAC trial. TDAA actually allows dogs as young as 12 months in the ring. Crazy.... So does UKC, but that's beside the point.

 

Looking back, my dog was so not ready (mentally) at 15 months. It created a lot of stress in him that he might not have experienced had I waited until he was a little more mature.

 

I believe that there is a reason that the "big" organizations say 18 months. Trials are stressful environments that put a lot of demands on our young dogs. Don't push them, be patient.

 

And FWIW, I agree with Blackdawgs assessment of CPE as a whole.