coralandruby Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 Hi! I have some questions. My boyfriend and I really want to get our two border collies involved in agility. However, we have never had experience in this field and do not know where to begin. Is it better to have professionals train the dogs or to try and train them ourselves? How do we begin with either options? Also, are some border collies not suited for agility? Our older border collie loves to fetch and run, while the other is more calm and would rather cuddle. We're not sure that she would enjoy agility, but since we have never done this, we have no idea. Thank you all so much for your time in advance!!! Jessica, Aaron, Coral, and Ruby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookcove Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 Agility is supposed to be fun for you and your dogs! So you do whatever you're comfortable with. But I think most people train with their dogs - it's a blast, most areas offer beginner type classes that work up to competition levels. I have a laid back dog - I thought he didn't like agility but I found out recently that it was his handler he didn't enjoy working with!! ME. I'm all uptight and he doesn't like it and goes really slow. He got to play a bit on a fun day recently with a really good handler (Hi Laura!) who revved him up and gave him precise signals and he looked like he could actually finish a course under time! A methodical dog is much easier to learn with. So you're lucky to have both. Everyone will have fun and I think that's the most important. I'm sure Laura or someone else will be able to address your specific questions about gettting involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpNatEm Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 Agility is a blast and I highly recommend learning as a team. I didn't know a thing except watching trials and around here any basic dog training school offers agility. In fact the key is learning as a team. I have a laid back girl who loves to please and just found by hit and miss what turns her on. My laid back girl now quivers in the truck when we go for rides as she thinks or just knows we are going trialing. All dogs are differant in learning and you will find some who say frick off,it's not for me. So I don't push it. As far as learning the sport- just like any dog competition,you start from scratch and enroll in dog schools to learn the basics. Next level is learning handler techniques. Aftr learning basics I was gung ho and started trialing. It may have been too soon but was fun. Next level of lessons I learned sequencing,body moves and how to teach a dog by moves or sound "go left,go right,get out,switch this way or that, and how to make a dog manuever by crossing in front or behind the dog. Many people think if they get agility equipment and set up their backyard they are fine. But actually it takes a school to tell you and watch you what you are doing wrong and correct it. So if agility is what you want to learn, check out your local dog schools and go from there. They are used to starting people from scratch. Then you get addicted.LOL Sue Barta Bartas Border Collies www.bartasborders.com bartasborders@webtv.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Jessica, Any type of dog can learn agility and enjoy it. Find a local training center and go watch some classes (W/O your dogs) or find a local trial and watch some of the competitors and ask around where people train. Go to www.cleanrun.com and look under Info Center to find local trials and training centers. Basically enroll in a class and they will teach you and your dog. Good luck - it's a blast! -Laura & pupz (who all LOVE agility) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Most definitely, you'd want to work with your own dog. Its helpful to have an instructor, but the whole idea is to develop a TEAM, and that would be you and your dog(s)! Other web sites that are helpful: US Dog Agility Association - www.usdaa.com North American Dog Agility Council - www.nadac.com Dogpatch - www.dogpatch.com The first two will list local contacts, and while those folks might not be instructors, they'll surely know who in your area does hold classes. The third has great information for beginners. Have fun - but watch out! You might just get addicted! diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralandruby Posted May 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2003 Thank you all for your information! We found a local training school. We have to go through obedience training before we can begin agility training. Coral and Ruby are scheduled to begin school in August. Hopefully, they have openings become available and we can start sooner. Again, thank you for taking time out to help us begin our journey! Jessica, Aaron, Coral, and Ruby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 Hey, congratulations and have fun! We've been doing agility for 5 years or so. I just started my middle kid about 5 months ago and he got his ADC title on Saturday. We have such a good time and classes are great because it will really help you with your handling. Have fun! RDM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted June 2, 2003 Report Share Posted June 2, 2003 Congrats RDM ? was that Tweed? You must be thrilled with him. My guys have just started competing in obedience ? just the bottom encouragement class, but Fergus got his first ribbon (2nd place) last week ? big thrill. It would have been 1st and qualifying, but he did the typical Border Collie thing of going down halfway through a 1 minute sit stay. (Do Border Collies in the States and Canada have that same thing ? or is it just a downunder thing?) We?re going to an agility workshop in a couple of weeks ? really looking forward to that. They had a bit of a taste at a workshop last September, and loved it, but they were too young then to do proper classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 Originally posted by Tassie:Congrats RDM ? was that Tweed? You must be thrilled with him. Yes, it was my non-herding strange beast Tweed. He just adores agility, which is a good thing as he's not much use for anything else (other than giving me migraines, of course). It took him just two trials to get his ADC title and though he momentarily forgot what he was doing when he saw Bear from the dogwalk, he still managed to finish way undertime and get his last leg with a first place. He has trouble working away though ... he always wants to come back to my knee and smile at me before heading off for the next obstacle. This will destroy us at the Master's level unless I can get him working on his away work. Recently a friend of mine made me several jumps and I bought a "tunnel" at Ikea. As I live in an apartment and don't have a yard, I haul all this silly stuff to the local park in a golf bag and we work there in public. You should see the looks we get! People gather and around and applaud after successful sequences. It's actually good practice for Tweed who has a people-looking-at-him phobia. But a friend of mine and I are opening up our own training facility, hopefully this summer, and then I can practice without Animal Control getting on my case. RDM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northof49 Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 He has trouble working away though ... he always wants to come back to my knee and smile at me before heading off for the next obstacle. This will destroy us at the Master's level unless I can get him working on his away work. Hey, that's easy to fix RDM - drop me a line sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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