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!