I'm so excited! I've been wanting to get Jack into agility for awhile now. I was going back and forth between that and herding, but have been unable to find a herding instructor. So yesterday I e-mailed a local agility instructor. I had asked my vet for a referral to an agility trainer and was given her name, and she also happened to be our CGC/TDI evaluator.

It turns out she has a class that just started Thursday, so I only missed one. They use an indoor horse arena in the winter (in the summer she trains at her own facility). So today I dropped off the waiver form and check. It's $100 for 8 classes, which I did not think was bad at all, considering you need use of the facility and equipment. And she promised me she'd e-mail me what they did the first day and the homework so I can practice. (There is no class this week because of Thanksgiving (they normally meet on Thursday evening). She says the beginner group spends several sessions on groundwork before even getting on the equipment.

I can't wait. Jack is so much fun to train, as he's a very enthusiastic learner. I'm sure he'll be a bit distracted the first session or so til he gets used to the new environment.

Her own dog is an English Setter (bench style). I googled them and he's got his conformation championship and is titled in agility (multiple titles), rally, and junior hunter. She also gives seminars up and down the east coast. So here's hoping it all makes sense to me and Jack! I've never trained anything beyond basic obedience and tricks and stuff, so we'll see how it all comes together (or doesn't!) for us.

Even if we do well, though, I think we won't get much past the fun stage. Jack is oversized at somewhere between 13 and 14 inches at the shoulder by my measurement (I don't have an appropriate measuring device and am just using a large ruler, so I'm not precise). Unfortunately, that would put him in the same group size with mini Aussies and Shelties, so we wouldn't ever be able to compete against that! LOL And with his little stubby legs I just don't envision us doing 12-inch courses. But still, I mainly want to do it for the fun, not for competition. Jack is just so bored if he doesn't have something new to learn.

Wish us luck!

P.S. I just looked at the CPE rule book, and Pembroke Welsh Corgis are listed in the special breed list that can compete at the "veteran" height any time after 3 years of age. The "veteran" height is 4 inches lower, which is only 8 inches instead of 12. That sounds much more manabeable!

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Comment by Potus on November 22, 2009 at 1:09am
I'd love to get Potus into agility or flyball- I think flyball would be good for a Corgi- and they'd be an asset to the team as not only are they fast so they can hold their own with the Kelpies that dominate the sport but their being on the team would mean the jumps would be set low to accommodate the Corgi and therefore the whole team would only have to jump over small hurdles. Competing in flyball with Po is definitely a dream- just have to work on getting him to give the ball back :)
Comment by Sky and Lyla on November 21, 2009 at 10:44pm
Oh, how fun!! I started Agility with Sky a few months ago and he as realy excelled at it. Our instructor thinks he's going to be stellar if he can just stay focused on me while running a course. Have fun!!
Comment by Jane Christensen on November 21, 2009 at 8:05pm
Yes, I knew corgis could compete at the 8" height. Livvy and I went to our classes but she didn't enjoy them very much she was totally different there than the running, jumping dog we see at home. I think it was due to all the large dogs in the class and she would just look at me like "now you tell me to jump on this table and at home I get in trouble" very confusing for her so we won't be pursuing agility anymore. She also did everything in slow motion for this class which is so opposite her true self! Maybe we'll go back to obedience next summer as we have to drive 60 miles 1 way and with winter coming it just doesn't work! Good Luck from what you write about Jack he'll love it!

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