Update on Lightning's agility lessons and a question

[silhouettestable]

I can't believe that we've already finished 5/6 classes, it seems like we just got started! Lightning's been doing really well and he's not afraid of any of the equipment. He's doing well with the tire jump, chute, tunnel and A-frame and he's coming along with the weaves and the teeter. Right now the instructor is using weaves that are spread apart into 2 rows, so he's learning to go down the middle, not really weaving around them yet. Last week was the first introduction to the teeter and he was unfazed by stepping on the end and making it bang. This week he walked all the way along it for treats. Next Monday is the last class and they will be graduating from "beginner". I'd like to take him further and get him really doing the weaves and the teeter, but money is an issue. The instructor would like to know soon who is signing up so she can plan her classes. I'm debating what's my best next step. Should I sign up for intermediate classes in a group of 4 (6 week sesson), or should I try a few private lessons? Private is $30/hour, group is $110 for the 6 week session (if I sign right back up, it's slightly discounted from the usual $115) Either way I would have to try to stretch the budget, any suggestions on what's the best value for my oh-so-limited amount of money?

[Kat's Dogs]

What you might want to ask about are some kinds of ways to work off classes (in case you have any spare time ). That is how I keep Dazzle is constant (not so cheep) agility classes (also, I get free runs at the clubs agility trials). I do things for them like photography/ad jobs, stuffing mail stuff, working information booths, cleaning the building (LOTS of dog hair!) and other stuff like that. My training center has a whole "student incentive points" program. So, that is pretty cool because you "feel" like you are getting "free" classes!

 

If not, I would go for the group. I find in Agility, it is harder to work alone (even if it is just you and the instructor). The more eyes on the dog/you the better. Also, things like loading targets and extra hands to help the dog or people distractions (later on) are REALLY helpful. So I would try to do group (unless you don't like the other dogs in the class).

 

I hope that helped a bit - I know agility is hard on the bank! Now that Dazzle is trialing, wow, not cheap.

 

Good luck! I was happy to see an update on Lightning!

[Pat W.]

Look at its this way too if you take 4 privates ($120) you've put out more than you planned for already..yes in smaller increments but still more. Also is your boy ready to work for an hour? Young dogs can become mentally fried well before your hour is up. There is a big difference of working a couple of minutes at a time with breaks in a group setting vs working for longer periods of time in a single setting.

 

I would talk to your trainer see if she would be willing to do a payment perhaps $60 deposit and then $60 at week 4.

 

I belong to a club that I would train with on a regular basis but then I started a second dog and then my daughter started. The cost of training 3 dogs was frightening 1100 for the year! Way too much for me to handle even if two of the club members did represent the USA in World team this year, now I am still a member of the club but train at a much less expensive fee. It also helps that one dog is retired. You may want to shop around a little, I currently pay 110 for 8 weeks ($15 a class).

[silhouettestable]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will talk with the trainer about it, since she now knows Lightning and how he's working. I honestly believe he could do an hour, he has a seemingly limitless amount of energy and a go, go, go kind of attitude. I can be out for hours in the morning doing chores and other stuff around the farm and the whole time he's bringing me his frisbee or kong to throw and chasing/wrestling with the other dogs. He's never ready to quit, ever. Plus, he's really muscled and in excellent shape. The dogsledding and carting really keep him fit. Anytime he thinks I'm going to ask him to "do" anything (whether it be dogsledding or any kind of training), he gets so hyped up. I think the only thing that ever settles him down is when I run out of energy myself and take a break. He's a velcro dog that's constantly with me, watching my every move and following me from room to room around the house (even into the bathroom), so when I sit he settles too. Actually, at the lessons he's getting bored with the breaks and that's something we're working on. He's becoming very barky, either demanding me to do something with him, or sometimes barking at the other dogs. We're working on it, working on other commands during our breaks, distracting and engaging him with other things, but as I said before, that sometimes gets him more hyped up and yelpy. He's like "Ohhh yeahhh, we're here to have FUNNN!!!! Me, me me, my turn!". I have just as much to learn as him (or maybe more!) on how to deal with the unwanted behaviour.

 

I do like the training facility that we're at now because it is indoors. I'm always too busy to do anything like this in the better weather (I work from home teaching riding lessons), so being able to go to an indoor facility during my off season is great. I had previously spoken to another trainer who's actually a lot closer to me, and her fee was only $80/6 weeks at the time (now gone up to $90). I was going to sign up with her last fall but then she postponed because of weather and packed away her equipment for the winter.

 

P.A. Wellheuser - the price you mentioned is in US dollars I'm guessing? I'm in Canada so I was talking about Canadian dollars. Considering the exchange there's probably not too much difference in price. I think my $110 Canadian works out to about $95 US

[Kat's Dogs]

That is cheaper then my classes! Mine are $125 (American dollars). Ug.

[Tassie]

Just wanted to say another advantage of small group classes - assuming people in the group are at the same sort of level - is that you can learn a lot by watching other people work, and by having them watch you. This is especially true as you work on sequencing.

 

Also, while a dog might be physically capable of working, they need to be concentrating hard, particularly as you progress past the initial obstacle training. That mental concentration takes a lot out of them, and frequent bits of down time during a class give them the chance to do some processing.

 

It's also good training for dogs to learn that being around equipment and not doing things themselves is normal - makes them more adaptable at trials.

 

We don't have private training here, but in NSW I had the chance to be part of a class of 4 for A$15 for a bit over an hour - about US$12. But that was outdoors at the trainer's place, so her costs would have been lower. Whatever, it was very well worth it.

[Rosanne]

A group of 4 seems like a pretty good class size to me. I used to help out with classes of 12 and that was way too large for an hour or so lesson.

 

With a beginner dog there is not really any reason to lay out the money per hour for privates, when it's mostly just repetition that they need at that point. Wait till you're working on handling, then save up some cash for private lessons, because you will find that then is when you will really need it. (You may need to find a better instructor if you really get bit by the bug then!) The hardest part of teaching agility is teaching the handlers how to handle. The dogs are the easy part!

[RaisingRiver]

My classes are $90 for an 8wk session with up to 8 dogs in the class, 1 instructor. (beginners get 2 instructors for a 4-1 ratio) The classes are an hour long. I'm very pleased with this setup as it allows some down time between runs or whatever it is we are working on. Also, we are allowed to work on w/e somewhere else in the barn that is not in the way of the activity at hand. Like go work on weaves until it's my turn again, etc.

 

We can also rent the barn for 1 hr, once a week at a monthly rate of $25. Get the whole barn to myself. Though, I'm not currently doing this w/ River, I might in the near future.

[Rosanne]

That's a great deal. Although I'd recommend not renting alone unless you're quite sure you know what you're doing, it can be a great way to get in the repetition your dog needs between classes with an instructor. I probably wouldn't recommend it until the dog is relatively confident on all the obstacles, at least from a safety standpoint; and till the handler is absolutely certain how to work on whatever it is they are trying to work on. It's great to have the freedom to move at your own pace, or even just to keep up if you don't own your own equipment!

Even I end up renting time, since I only have jumps and weaves, and I'm a 'national level' competitor!

[silhouettestable]

Originally posted by Rosanne D.:

The hardest part of teaching agility is teaching the handlers how to handle. The dogs are the easy part!

Don't I know it! That's actually one of the main reasons I signed up to classes. Before that I was putting him over some of my horse jumps, plus my husband built me a tire jump and I bought a short tunnel. Lightning was already doing all of those for me, but I got concerned that although he is so willing I might mess him up because I didn't really know what I was doing. My ultimate goal isn't to trial, but just to collect some more equipement and have fun with him at home. Plus, by going through some lessons with him and learning the proper way of doing it, I will know more about how to start my other dogs the right way. Lightning is just so intense all the time, always right by me begging to do something (anything! Please!!! Ask me to work!!! Ask me to play!!! Anything!!!) that I keep looking for new fun things to do with him. I'd like to try flyball too. I bought a box and jumps last year from a lady who was moving and clearing out some stuff she hadn't used for a while. She also gave me a set of regulation weave poles. She said her old dog used to be one of the Loblaws Superdogs, but then he got a brain tumour and had to be put down. After that she never got back into it with her newer dogs. I think if my timing had been better I could have gotten a whole bunch of agilty equipment from her, she had just given it away to a training center near her that lost a bunch of theirs when big tree fell on it. I haven't yet done any real training for flyball yet, but I did do some research and learned how to teach Lightning to trigger the box and get the ball. He is SO smart it only took him a few tries after I followed the instructions I was able to find in the internet. Last winter we played with the box in the basement now and then. Obviously I couldn't set up a course downstairs, so he doesn't know that part of it yet, but he had fun even just with the box. Wish I had unlimited funds to take him through all the levels in agility, plus do flyball (and of course, can't forget the dogsledding). He'd have a blast.