Joy Posted August 14, 2000 Report Share Posted August 14, 2000 I have a 6 month old BC that was on his way to the pound! I have no experience in training and am wondering how to get into an Agility or Obedience class with my dog. I have watched the Agility contests on TV and they look like great work and fun. I am just not sure how practical it would be for me to try this. "LUCKY" lives in our fenced in backyard and seems to be bored, whereas he is chewing and eating EVERYTHING not moving. Our wooden stairs, door frames, and bannisters are ruined. He goes through chew toys extremely fast. He does NOT care to chase after balls or any other retrievable type toys and this baffles me since all i read is what kind of playful dogs they are as far as wanting to retrieve for you??? Any suggestions on the eating of the wood, retrieving interests, appropriate toys, and who can i go to about agility training? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntley's Mom Posted August 15, 2000 Report Share Posted August 15, 2000 Hello Joy, Your profile says you are a corporate trainer. How much time do you have for your pup? How much time do you spend with your pup each day? Can you take him with you to work? Is your pup supposed to be a pet, or do you want to do herding? Why is your pup in the back yard alone? If you are not with your pup, which should be most of the time, he should be safely kennelled. He needs lots and lots and lots of time with you, training with you, living with you, being with you. BC's are typically slow to mature (read maybe up to three years). They are considered "nursery" until 36 months old in herding circles. Have you trained other dogs before? They are a great deal different from people you would train corporately! Why did you get a BC? These dogs are not your average back yard pet, and whatever you heard about "loving to play", that is a gross generality from someone who doesn't know squat(not saying I do!). Our guy was a rescue, and we would not have a BC except that we had no choice. We fell in love with him, and it was us or death for Huntley. Now, we are hooked on satisfying his every need! We will not purposfully get another one, although we have been approached to rescue a couple of other BC's in our area. Please, please don't send him to the pound! Contact BC rescue, and the very best of "Luck" to you and "Lucky". Sincerely, Patti Jo ------------------ quote: Patti & Wayne McAhren 2264 Fairway Drive Mobile, AL 36606 USA (334) 479-1777 (H) Master Printing Company (334) 476-6979 (W) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntley's Mom Posted August 15, 2000 Report Share Posted August 15, 2000 Joy, I re-read your post and saw that you rescued your guy on his way to the pound. No good deed goes unpunished! Can you contact other BC owners in your area? Sincerely, Patti Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy Posted August 15, 2000 Report Share Posted August 15, 2000 Joy, BCs are time consuming. They need a job of some sort with physical & mental exercise. Agility is great for them. I have no idea where you are but check with your vet or the yellow pages. Be sure to go and check out trainer and be sure you are comfortable. Also check out dogpatch.org-there you can find out more about agility and it also lists places to train by state. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkupshaw Posted August 18, 2000 Report Share Posted August 18, 2000 Joy, One thing that worked great for me was the Buster Cube. You put his food in the cube and let him work to get it out. Especially if he's going to be in a kennel all day, or sitting in the yard. When he's bored, he'll chew & dig. And about 100 other things. He needs to keep busy. Another good thing is to put peanut butter in a kong toy. He'll get better with age & training, but it takes patience & work. Agility is a good way to keep him mentally & physically fit, but if you don't have time for that, he'll be happy if you take him to parks & on daily walks. Also, most trainers will not take them for agility until they are well trained in obedience. Get a book on BC's. They help a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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