borasaurus

I actually do really love watching agility, even if we're not competing, but I guess only well-handled agility. I'll even look for videos on YouTube - and not just of famous handlers. I get the feeling that all the AKC trials in the area are like the one I went to, though. It looks like I should go watch a USDAA trial when there's one near me. Kingfisher, I get the age thing, too. I'm 26, and I think I was by far the youngest person there with a dog (and a mix, *gasp*). Even at flyball I'm often the youngest or one of the youngest, but everyone is so much friendlier. People will approach you to start a conversation, and I don't feel like I'm intruding when I initiate one. At the trial the only reason anyone would talk to me was if my trainer introduced me to them (which I'm glad she did). I get that people are focused on their runs, but the same is true of any other dog sport.

I thought I would dislike flyball because of all the barking, but it actually grew on me. You can see how passionate the dogs and people are about it and feel all the excitement. That's how I hope my experience at agility trials will be. I definitely got the "breed people" feeling at the AKC one. It didn't seem like a passion for them as much, although the trainer we're with definitely loves it. Also, I hate to say it, but I didn't see any particularly good runs. In the end, I suppose none of that matters, since I'll be there only for Kieran.

Are the USDAA trials pretty noisy? I've only seen AKC, and I was shocked by how quiet they are. And I hate to say it, but I felt a little...bored? I don't know if there is a word to accurately describe how I felt. It could also have been because we weren't there to compete.

I started Kieran with just spinning left and right, using gestures and voice. Then I just used verbal commands to see if he got that. After that, we moved on to going around a cone. We worked up to jumps, but then it turned into a mess, lol. He started taking the commands as a general turn without heed to the direction. We're still working on it on the side, but we haven't gotten to the point where we could use it on an actual course. The trainer we're about to take lessons from stresses directionals, so maybe he'll understand it better under her guidance. And I really need directionals because I'm too slow for him.

The Starter's courses look a little more difficult than AKC Novice or CPE Level 2. I would actually feel comfortable where we are now with the latter two venues, but if we were to do USDAA I think we'd need a lot more work. It also seems a lot more competitive.

Thanks for all the responses. Kieran is small - 20 lbs - and very quick. The struggle in training him has been if I'm behind him, which I usually am, sometimes he'll make up his own course. The trainer we'll be working with focuses more on distance control, so it should help. I went to an AKC trial last weekend, and yes, it's very slow-moving. The people are okay. It's like any other place, you have your nice people and your snooty people. The trainer knows everyone, so that helped because she'd introduce me to people. I'm going to watch a CPE trial next month when my friend competes. USDAA does seem a little intense to start off in, so it'll probably be AKC or CPE for us. I'll look into some of the alternatives people mentioned. I think NADAC is also common here, but it's a little too different for my taste.

I would if I could! But with flyball and grad school, it's not really an option.

Do they post CPE course maps anywhere? I was trying to look for some to get an idea of how the courses look - I was thinking I'd start Kieran off in level 2 or 3 if we went that route. I actually like the AKC courses, but I don't want to give them money if I don't have to.

These threads are so funny. I don't think this is the smartest thing Kieran has done, but it's hard to think of things. I think I might have told this story in another thread. I used to put some apple cider vinegar in his water for his yeast problems, which he hated. One night it was pouring. At three in the morning, he kept going to the door like he needed to pee. I took him out once, but he just walked around. So we went back inside. Five minutes later, he went to the door again. I got annoyed, thinking maybe he just didn't want to go in the rain. I watched him more closely as we went out, and he was actually dragging his tongue across the puddles trying to drink the water as we walked. When we got back inside I dumped his bowl and put regular water in it. He drank it so fast. Poor guy.

Hi, everyone. I've seen a couple of past threads/responses here and there on this, but I was wondering how you picked which agility program you wanted to do. I wanted to start trialing with Kieran sometime this year. I thought I wanted to do USDAA - the problem is that they don't really have many trials near here. AKC and CPE seem to be the prevailing venues. I'm not really interested in NADAC. I don't want to do AKC, but everyone I know in agility does AKC. It'd be nice to start off trialing with friends, until I'm a little more comfortable with the whole thing...but it's AKC

Not really a border collie, but I'm always that person who asks, "Can I bring my dog?" and will do things I don't normally do if Kieran can come (hiking, running, etc.). Now that we're more involved with dog sports, I have people who won't roll their eyes at me and encourage me to do activities with him.

Kieran already does a lot of these things on his own. I really want to get him to stand on posts, though. That looks really cool.

I've been taking Kieran to off leash dog beaches. Surprisingly, there aren't tons and tons of dogs at the one we usually go to (there is another one that's always congested). However, every dog there seems to like humping Kieran...and some owners are too busy chatting with their friends to take any responsibility for them. I would think Seattle would have dog beaches nearby for some reason.

I got teary eyed today on the bus thinking about how I'll lose Kieran eventually (a little embarrassing). He's only ~5, but the past few years have gone by so quickly...soon it'll be three more and then three more. He's taught me not to take anything for granted. Even my mom said, "You have to appreciate him every day he's here." I don't know how I'll carry on.

I was pretty shocked when someone suggested that to me for Kieran, as well.