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Only 15 inches tall - agility?


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My one year old BC Bodie is ony 15 inches tall (he is a rescue but full BC). We've been in agilty class of 5 weeks and he's doing pretty well but if we do go on to agility games, which group/class competition is for his size?

 

He has a great deal of power and he's fast. If I can just control his attention span, we may have a good agility dog. We're also doing clicker tricks so if the agility thing doesn't work out he can always fall back on an acting career :lol:

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15 inches is a fine height for an agility dog (but what a TINY little collie!).

 

Each agility organization divides dogs into different jump heights according to their height at the withers. If your little guy only measures 15 inches, then I believe that he would measure into the 16" class in AKC, USDAA, & NADAC. These are the primary agility venues in my part of the country (Texas). Depending on where you are, you may see more or less of these venues. CPE, UKC, and UKI also have a presence in certain regions of the country.

 

As far as which venue to choose... they all have different games, and different strengths and weaknesses. Personally, I love USDAA. I think the courses are fun, and the strategy games are neat. AKC doesn't have as many games, but the courses are also fun. NADAC focuses primarily on speed and distance, and doesn't have all the equipment that the other organizations use. Your best bet will be to attend a few shows (as a spectator right now, since your dog is still training), talk to other folks at your training club, and see what appeals to you the most.

 

Good Luck! And have fun!

 

Best,

Danielle

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Yes, to what dmadrid said above ^^^ Agility is for dogs of almost any height. I would suspect that dogs around the size of a Great Dane would not enjoy agility, but I have seen dogs from Chihuahuas to Mastiffs at agility trials.

 

Your final height will not be official until after the 2nd birthday (at least in AKC). Once he is 2, he will be officially measured twice (or three times, I can't remember) to determine the jump height. He may grow a bit since he is only one, but he would have to grow to over 18" at the withers to move into the 20" jump class -- and you don't want to be in that HUGE class because that is where all those da**ed border collies run. :D

 

Jovi

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i do CPE and love it. a 15" dog could run at 12" jumps or higher. i've always wanted a pocket rocket-enjoy!!!

 

He is just around a year old so yes, he may get taller but he will be on the small side. He's a classic black and white, just adorable. We adopted him from two young guys who were keeping him in an apartment :rolleyes: they did get him from a full Border litter of ranch dogs that one of the boy's aunt's owned and there were several sizes in the litter.

 

Our last BC was 17 when she passed away last year and it's strange having a full tilt BC again. Last night he chased a possum up a 6 foot wall and nearly went over the top; lots of new stuff every day.

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Nice! Welcome to the 16in height. Any pics of your little man?

 

Agree with the above poster about checking out the different venues.

 

I love AKC and USDAA is fun. It gets a little difficult remembering the different rules but once you start competing game on. :)

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Yes, to what dmadrid said above ^^^ Agility is for dogs of almost any height. I would suspect that dogs around the size of a Great Dane would not enjoy agility, but I have seen dogs from Chihuahuas to Mastiffs at agility trials.

 

 

Interesting you say that actually, I have a friend with a Great Dane that absolutely LOVES agility :) They are only new to the sport but she has done incredibly well with her and even made it into a national final in June with this run (also features her 2nd agility dog, a Viszla, in his first comp).

 

 

Her first few trials

 

 

Mind you, in Australia the heighest height for ANKC agility is 600mm (24 inches) so it is not a huge effort for her to step over, its more the tunnels, chutes and weaves that cause the problems. She is a notorious weave pole snapper! Her handler is very aware of her size and impact on her and realises she is going to have an incredibly short career in the sport (started after the age of 3 and will likely be elderly by 7). She figures she may as well enjoy it while she can though :) She downsized to a Viszla (not something you hear too often), then after a fair bit of success running other people's BCs she picks up her new BC puppy in a few weeks.

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I loved watching the Great Dane. From this short view, he looks like he has an athletic build. A lot of the Danes I see here are huge giants, very gangly and quite clumsy. Maybe breeders are breeding for the larger size Great Danes here?? (which is too bad)

 

In my area, there are 2 or 3 handlers with a couple of Viszlas each. I see them quite frequently at trials. I like the looks of a Viszla and I think I would like their temperments, based on what I read. I wouldn't mind getting one. In fact, I was thinking about a Viszla before getting my BC. I am thrilled with my BC, but still think a Viszla would be a nice dog too - just different.

 

Good Luck to your friend in her agility endeavors,

 

Jovi

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My one year old BC Bodie is ony 15 inches tall

 

Just out of interest, has he been measured by an official measurer or is that your own estimate?

 

IME most people underestimate the height of their own dog.

 

The rescue we got our terrier from said he was about 12ins, and that was after I told them how to measure him before we ever saw him. He is actually more like 14.75 ins.

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I loved watching the Great Dane. From this short view, he looks like he has an athletic build. A lot of the Danes I see here are huge giants, very gangly and quite clumsy. Maybe breeders are breeding for the larger size Great Danes here?? (which is too bad)

 

In my area, there are 2 or 3 handlers with a couple of Viszlas each. I see them quite frequently at trials. I like the looks of a Viszla and I think I would like their temperments, based on what I read. I wouldn't mind getting one. In fact, I was thinking about a Viszla before getting my BC. I am thrilled with my BC, but still think a Viszla would be a nice dog too - just different.

 

Good Luck to your friend in her agility endeavors,

 

Jovi

 

Yeh she is pretty nicely built, only about 48kgs (not sure what that translates as). There was also a male GD competing at our nationals, he was from interstate so don't know much about him, but he was much bigger and didn't make the whole thing look effortless like Sash does.

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Oh and in response to the OP, which is why I came in in the first place LOL. There is a BC competing here that is incredibly tiny, she would be about the size of your fellow (I think, Im not too good with the conversions). She is purebred and KC bred, just the runt of the litter and has been tiny all her life. That breeder has bred many, many litters of the years and never had another one even close to her size, she was just an anomoly :)

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a>

 

Hopefully, this will show a photo of Bodie. He may be younger than we think he is but he does have his adult teeth. I may be holding the tape at the wrong site but he is small. I'll have our trainer see if she gets a different height for him.

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I may be holding the tape at the wrong site but he is small.

 

Without a prpoer measure, would do it with a long spirit level just touching the withers with one end of the measure against a wall or post, then measure from the floor to the mark on the wall.

 

Not easy single handed though and your dog must be able to stand still and square without scrunching down which will make him seem smaller.

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Without a prpoer measure, would do it with a long spirit level just touching the withers with one end of the measure against a wall or post, then measure from the floor to the mark on the wall.

 

Not easy single handed though and your dog must be able to stand still and square without scrunching down which will make him seem smaller.

 

I'm still getting about 15 inches with a rigid tape but at this point, he's only been training for 6 weeks and he may not be a full year old. He moves to level two next week so I think we're still a year out before he could be ready; who knows what size he'll be by then. Despite his height, he isn't delicate looking like say, a Sheltie with fine bones.

 

Still no luck with posting a photo, what am I doing wrong?

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