Really getting started!

[TxMom]

So far, I've been training Livi at home and just "around" (local parks, on our walks, friends' houses...) on a sort of DIY basis (following Sue Ailsby's training levels and taking nosework classes online). Next month, we're stepping things up! Starting April 1 we'll be doing an agility foundations class (online through Fenzi), which I'm super excited about. It's geared toward puppies and developed by a highly qualified instructor, so I'm not afraid of it being anything physically inappropriate for Livi (at 8-9 months) and I think it will give her a great head start on agility when we start that eventually. I've wanted to find a class like this for a while but I wasn't confident about anything I could find locally being truly puppy-appropriate. As someone whose knees still regret high school track, I want to be very careful about joint maturity.

 

Also, we just got a bonus and my husband suggested we use part of it to pay for Livi to take an obedience class locally. It looks like a really solid program (I visited a class way back before we got her), but it's a 5-month course and you have to pay up front so it's a big chunk of money. (Per lesson, it's actually a great price compared to other local options that don't appear to have the same quality of instruction.) I kind of wanted to do it right when we got Livi, but now I'm thinking we may get more out of it this way since she already knows the real basics at home and she and I are learning to work well together. I think this way, during the first several weeks of the class, it may work in our favor that the behaviors being asked will be old hat while she's adjusting to a very distracting environment. She gets SO excited about other people and dogs that she just can't think. Working on that is my primary motivation in doing an in-person class, although I think I'll also get a lot out of the instruction. And this is the instructor I hope for us to start agility with down the road, so either we can start building a relationship or I'll realize she's just not for us and know to start looking elsewhere.

 

On our training, we've just about completed Sue's (old) level 2 (http://sue-eh.ca/page24/page26/styled-2/) and I feel like we're really starting to make progress. Early on I got the feeling I needed to let Livi settle in and just be. We did some basics (sit, down, come, leave it, be mannerly in the house...) and we did nosework because it was a lot of fun for her right out of the box without much pretraining necessary. But recently she seems to be more open to learning more complicated things and I think we're communicating more clearly with less frustration on either side. I'm really excited about the new few months.

[Cass C]

I think at that age a beginning agility class should be fine. The majority of a good starting agility classes is ground work and not a lot of jumping, running, and climbing. It may seem a little slow paced, but it's much better in the long run for you and your dog to have the basics first.

 

Also if you can find a good local obedience/agility class you won't regret it, as it always helps to have a trainer to help you if something isn't working for you or you're just lost on something. A lot of times they see things that we miss or don't realize is a problem. If you are nervous about being 'stuck' with a trainer you don't really like you can always ask to sit in on a few more classes before you commit. Most trainers are happy to answer questions you may have while observing a class too.

[TxMom]

I think the obedience class we'll be taking also includes some intro to agility. I just know there are places that do puppy agility classes that are all about impressing the owners with the big equipment, and I want to do something that's actually going to be age-appropriate and useful skills. The slow-paced stuff, like you said. I think a good foundation goes a long way in any sort of education.

 

I'm not really nervous about this trainer; I think I'll like her, and I know she prefers to have long-term relationships with her students (it's why she doesn't offer a standard 6- to 8-week class). But you know, there's always a chance it just isn't a good fit. I don't think that'll be the case, but by the end of five months I figure I'll know pretty well.

[Cass C]

I would avoid any agility classes that immediately start on equipment. My understanding is until a dog is over a year old they should not be jumping repetitively higher than their knees. Introducing equipment that is age appropriate like tunnels and low jumps shouldn't be an issue, but that shouldn't be the main focus. Having a puppy climbing a full height A-Frame or such seems pretty irresponsible.

[alligande]

There is really no reason for a dog to do any jumping until it is growth plates have closed. All the handling skills can be learned with no bars.

[TxMom]

Yes, that was my fear -- the places that would try to put a puppy on full-sized equipment or starting real jumps. I know the online class won't do that, and I think the agility skills covered in the obedience class will also be age-appropriate -- jumps without bars, or walking along a board on the ground or a few inches off. If I'm wrong, we'll just excuse ourselves politely from that portion of the class.

 

I'm just excited that we're starting to get beyond the basics. When she first came home I had such big plans that I had a hard time remembering she was just a puppy who'd been taken away from the home where she'd lived for the last several weeks, with a rocky start before that, and that while I might have been planning for her she certainly wasn't expecting me. She's been with us five months now and I feel like she's settled in and we've figured out how to communicate. It's a good feeling.