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Comment by Cheri on September 27, 2013 at 2:56pm

I also tend to start my dogs with NADAC rather than AKC. The atmosphere at NADAC trials is more low key. There are fewer obstacles and the courses are usually more flow-y than AKC courses. Much better for baby agility dogs. Plus, while you can stay in Novice in AKC after you earn your Novice title the norm is to move up as soon as you earn your title. In NADAC there are multiple titles at each level. You earn your regular title after earning 3 qualifying runs, just like in AKC. However you can continue on at that level and earn two more titles. I keep my dogs at each level as long as possible, earning all the titles, for maximum fun and experience. Plus in NADAC you are not eliminated for training in the ring, as long as it is not excessive. You'll not qualify, but you can train. Very novice friendly.

Comment by carolyn matassa on September 27, 2013 at 12:46pm

Comment by carolyn matassa just nowDelete Comment

Cheri, I like your training methods.  For me, both training and competitions need to be fun for both me and my dog.  My dog is my pet and friend first, if he never places, we still had a lot of fun in agility classes :-).  That being said, we worked the agility demonstration for our training club last weekend.  When it was my dog's term for the beginner dog demonstration, he got excited (first time outside, big area, people and dogs watching) and ran to the middle, took some jumps he liked best and than ran back to me to begin.  He took most jumps, missed a few and did the tunnels. That's all we could set up due to a very rainy day.  My dog just turned 14 months, so I assume he will settle down as he gets older. 

Comment by Cheri on September 26, 2013 at 3:06pm

Well I don't beat all the shelties, but I can beat some of them! I think there are several things that contribute to speed. First the dog has to be driven. My boy Dudley loves agility and is fast. However my baby dog Gordon, while bigger and heavier than Dudley, is even faster! I think it's like people, the dog has to naturally have speed in their genes. Then you have to keep your dog in top condition. My dogs run with me. I can't run fast, but I have endurance so that's what we work on when they run with me. I also take them to an off leash dog park that had hiking trails where they can run like there's no tomorrow. We also do core work as that's a big contributor to good form while running which helps with speed too. I work a lot on trying to shave off as many seconds as possible during runs by executing tight turns and setting good lines. I work with my dogs so they can recognize pre-cues so they know before they take the current obstacle where we're going next so they run as efficient a path as possible (still working on that one big time). Plus, when it's appropriate, I handle from a distance. When you start distance handling it frees up the dog to run as fast as they can rather than having running as fast as you can. And lastly I work on MY running. I run hills, I do sprinting drills, I run trails for knee and ankle strength and I take a boot camp class twice a week to work on my core, stability and balance. Between my dogs being driven and me working on my handling, sometimes it all comes together and we get second (or third or fourth)! We seldom get first because the sheltie who went to worlds always gets first. But hey, I'm good with just doing a good job! As long as I did the best I could and my dog did what I told him to do that's success in my book! :)

Here's Dudley jumping close to that upright. Good dog! And following that is one of my favorite shots of my legs. See those running muscles? :D

Comment by Beth on September 26, 2013 at 3:03pm

Reading this makes me really miss agility. :-(

We simply have so few trainers doing any kind of performance in this area. We are very much behind the times in that regard.

Comment by Cheri on September 26, 2013 at 2:27pm

It totally depends on you, your dog. and your goals. Some handlers won't compete with their dogs until they know that the dog is 100% on all equipment, handling cues, etc and will qualify without issue. Then there are others who have a different perspective and goals for their dog. I don't view competitions as competitions until my dogs are in Ex/Masters. Until that point I view a trial as another training class. I start my dogs trialing early just to get them used to the trial environment. My thinking is that if I go ahead and "compete" when I have no expectation of them qualifying, then the pressure is off both of us. I'm more relaxed, the dog is more relaxed and it's a way to get them used to the trial environment in the most non-stressful way. However for it to be non-stressful you have to be okay with things that would embarass other competitors. The first time I put my baby dog on the start line at a trial I put him right in front of the first jump, I led out to the other side and called him over and he ran right around it! It was clear that he was quite excited to be off leash and FREE! He did a sum total of 0 obstacles that run. However his 4th run at that trial he did 14 out of 17 obstacles correctly before I lost his attention. I thought that was a great experience for him. Some highly competitive folks sometimes frown on my methods but I don't let that bother me. I have my training methodology and they have theirs. Mine works for me and I'm certain theirs works for them. You have to discover what will work for you. Examine your goals. Think about the things that could happen and truthfully evaluate how you would react to them. If you get embarassed or disappointed when things aren't right you probably wouldn't be satisfied with what I do. 

Comment by Bax & Zigs & Rosie on September 26, 2013 at 12:42pm

Welcome to the community, Carolyn! I trained for a year with my first agility corgi before we entered a competition. He was just over a year old when we started training, so he was a little over 2 years old when we started. My second corgi started learning agility basics when he was a puppy, went into jumping after turning a year old, and he started trialing at 18 months old.

I'd say when you are comfortable running an entire course, have solid weaves and contacts, go for it. Weaves are a challenge, but at Novice in AKC you'll get three tries at them. Novice allows for mistakes, so you do not have to be perfect!

Cheri, that is a great picture of your pup! Are you jumping 8" or 12"? Also, how do you beat those shelties? We have been working on beefing up our speed, but it is tough! Do you have any suggestions?

Comment by carolyn matassa on September 26, 2013 at 12:12pm

How long does it usually take to be able to do your first competition?  ...Going once a week

Comment by carolyn matassa on September 24, 2013 at 3:32pm

I love the way they look when they jump :) .... and they ALWAYS smile when they do it!

Comment by Cheri on September 24, 2013 at 3:15pm

I think all corgi's have the potential to be very fast. They are herding dogs after all. They're not as fast as border collies, but their legs are 1/3 the length of a BC! Frequently my boys place at agility trials and they're up against those fast Shelties! I think it's pretty good that they're rivaling the Shelties for speed when my boys easily weigh 2 to 3 times what a Sheltie weighs. And just you wait, once your corgi starts getting really confident, the speed tends to increase! The game is constantly changing. Distance handling is a must with a fast dog. You have to be able to send them to an obstacle and be confident that they'll do it while you reposition yourself. Fun stuff!

Comment by carolyn matassa on September 24, 2013 at 2:38pm

This is my first corgi.  Are they all sooooo fast?  We were doing a back and forth pattern last night.  weave weave tunnel/turn, jump jump tunnel/turn, jump jump tunnel/turn.  We collided last night because he shot out of the tunnel as I was crossing over to be on the other side.  I'm pretty fast and in pretty good shape, but he is MUCH faster than me.....yep.. "guided missile" is a good description.

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