What's the minimum age for starting agility training?
My Corgi will be 9 months old in May and I was wondering if anyone knows how old they're supposed to be before starting agility training? (Not competition, just training.) The trainer I have in mind said that she can start training now, but I thought I'd see when others have started.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kate on
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I'm no expert, but I read that they shouldn't start jumping until they are at LEAST a year old. Their joints are still developing and can be damaged. However, that doesn't mean that you can't start training for agility. There are certain commands that will be necessary such as come, sit, stay (all the basics) plus things like out, over, etc. I would get a list of the basic control commands and start with them first. Also, you can probably train for things that don't require jumping such as tunnels.
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Permalink Reply by Charlie on
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Charlie and I want to do agility too, and I've been advised not to do any of the jumps or high (off the ground) exercises until 18-24 months. You can however work now on lots of other fun agility stuff.
The thing every agility dog has to have is a really solid off-leash recall. Charlie and I could probalby spend the next year on nothing but that! LOL
Anyway, you can work all you want on tunnels and weave poles (and anything else that doesn't require jumps, or that he might jump off by accident). I'm planning to build a wobble board for Charlie to work on to get used to the feel "teetering" without the height of a real teeter-totter. The wobble board can also be used as a Wait Table, just lower to the ground at first. You can also just take a 12" wide board that's 8 feet or longer and train the puppy to walk across it (without walking off) on the ground, that can later be raised higher when he's older
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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There are many things you can teach a dog to prepare for further agility training. The wobble board is a good one as the movement is difficult for some dogs to get comfortable with. Jumps 4 inches off the ground should pose no problem and a pup can learn the basics of jumping, going forward, going left or going right. Stays are most important as are recalls. Planks on the ground can mimic the dog walk....practicing touching the contact zones. Find an agility class in your area and observe. You may also subscribe to clean run which often has articles about starting a new pup.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Smith on
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There's a pre-agility foundation class that she's going to start in May which focuses mostly on the basic commands (recall, stays, etc.) My little monkey barely responds to 'come' unless there's something in it for her, so I'm also going to do some add'l obedience training even before I start that one. I'm interested in herding, too, and she's got an instinct test scheduled for May, so we'll see about that, but I'd like to get her in some fun classes. She gets bored sometimes and I feel like walks & dog park visits and games in the backyard aren't enough for her.
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I'm glad you brought up this topic. Since I got Charlie, I've tried to save the "C-O-M-E" word for times when he was already running to me, so that I would be reasonably sure he would succeed. When I have tried to call him away from a distraction, we have failed miserably on "come" most of the time.
Anyway you motivated me to dig a piece of lightweight nylon 18-20 ft rope out of my camping gear to make a long training lead (using the leash clip off an old leash). We started today to work on his distance recall. I let him wander off, them said "Come!". He looked at me like "Ha ha! You're way over there. I don't have to!" Teenagers! I gave the rope one quick tug. Charlie came to me looking like, "How'd you do that?" Of course he got a treat for "obeying". LOL Several repetitions, and he came to me about half the time without a tug.
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I'm glad I could be of help in motivating you to work with Charlie (who, by the way, is super cute - I love the pics on your page of him with the cat!! plus he's got great musculature and a lovely coat - really cute dog). The lead was an good idea. I need to get a little more creative with her training. I think I get overwhelmed -- when she "masters" one thing, I feel like celebrating and then we just sit around for a week. :) So, I'm hoping the agility training & obedience training will invigorate us both.
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I know what you mean about celebrating success and then sitting around. LOL For two months, I've been thinking "make a long training lead". I didn't want to buy one, or even buy "plain-old" rope, since I knew I had plenty of rope packed away. Just took me awhile to unstack some boxes to get to the camping gear to get the rope. Bad excuse for procrastinating, huh?
Oh and thanks for the compliments on Charlie! Mona's a total cutie too! : - )
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Permalink Reply by Megan on
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Typically, you can't compete until your dog is 15 months of age. This allows for the joints to fuse for the jumps. I'd wait until she's at least 12-13 months old. Dally and I started training last year, when she was almost two. They still have their "puppy brains" up to about age 3, so you want to make sure you're always having fun.
Until then, you can work on things like going through a tunnel, the obedience commands that previous posters have suggested, and even doing shorter dog walks, and the chute training for weaves. A solid obedience foundation is best before starting training. I can't tell you how many dogs couldn't work off leash in our intro agility class last summer, and it made for training to be real difficult.
Meanwhile, Dally and I have been off from trials since our awesome debut last month, but we'll be back at it starting May 10, so I'll keep y'all updated (she's one leg from her Nov STD title). If you have any questions, feel free to message me. Training a Corgi is a lot different than training other breeds--have patience! :-)
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Thanks for the info, Megan. I initially started thinking about getting her involved in agility because I want to make sure she stays stimulated & active, but then after some reading, the obedience issue made me a bit wary to begin. I can easily see Mona being one of the dogs gumming up the works in your training class! So we'll continue working on her basics for a while.
One of the reasons we decided to get a Corgi was because they're supposed to be highly trainable, intelligent dogs. I mean, EVERYBODY said those words, at the mere mention of "Corgi" - "so smart! so quick! they're so easy to train!" etc. And she is smart and she is quick, but you're right, it takes patience because she only 'gets' it when she's in the right mood. The rest of the time she just wants to goof off. :)
Question on the equipment: what size tunnel would you recommend to start? I've seen some pretty long ones, but I don't want to freak her out or ask too much!!! Would 6 or 9 ft. be okay?
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This conversation inspired me to start a group called "Agility Corgis" on here, so please, check it out!
As far as training a Corgi--they ARE super smart...that's the problem. "Too smart for their own good," is one phrase my family and I like to say about Dally. Every once in a while at training, she'll give me "the paw" and basically be like, "ehh...no...I don't think so today." And it's just their independent attitude. Herding breeds are mostly used to working ALONE, so building the team between the two of you can be difficult, but it'll be a strong bond once it's solid. I know if we train at the usual places, some times Dally will give me "the paw" because she knows the area, and the dogs, so that's when she thinks she knows best. But, I've found that at the trials, she's solely focused on me because it's all new (new location, new dogs), so I'm her partner there--which can be a good thing.
I've heard you can purchase tunnels for cheap in toy stores--kids crawl around in them. I'd start with a shorter one, and leave it in a straight line, only slowly adding a slight bend in the tunnel. Always start with a target on the other end, with some sort of treat they love (especially if you make it something she only gets when she's doing obedience/agility training).
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I'm planning to just start with cutting the bottom out of a garbage can (I think I saw an ad for the right size at Ace Hardware for $10) anchored with wood blocks, and getting Charlie to run through that. Then when he's running through just the trashcan, find some vinyl or canvas and attach a chute for a closed chute tunnel. I know a lot of people buy the kids' tunnel from the toy department...I don't know why I think Charlie would tear one of those up pretty fast...maybe they're tougher than they look.
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