Do you think she could do it?

[JuniorxMyxLove]

I'm thinking of training/entering/whatever it is(hehe I'm not to smart about dogs)Sadie in some sort of agility....my mom says maybe if I think she could do it and if I'd take responsibility for most of it. Miss Sadie is a 2 year old(turning 3 this summer) Border Collie x Beagle x Black Lab(and maybe more). She's 47 lbs. When I'm bored, I go into our backyard and set up 'jumps' (loose branches, this random plastic box I found, the things at the bottom of gutters) and she goes over them. She's quite good. She jumps over things higher then her shoulder (she comes up to near my knee at the shoulder..I'm 5'4") easily. She's also very agile..she can bend quickly and easily(found that out when she got out of the yard..fun time catching her!) and I think she might be good at it. The only problem(s) are that she doesn't like listening to me when she's off the leash in our yard. Also, she goes CRAZY when she's around other dogs. It's not aggression, she just goes crazy. When she barks, everyone in the neighborhood assumes she's aggressive and never even let her sniff my puppy or even nod hello. I know its not their dogs, I see them meeting up and letting the dogs sniff all the time. Only one old man has let his dogs meet mine, and she was fine. ANYWAYS....

I'll try to get pictures and maybe a video of her jumping...but from what I've told you...do you think she might be good at it? Also, does anyone know a website or something where I can find a place relatively close to my house that does agility?

Thanks in advance!

-Melanie

[lute]

Any dog can do agility to some level. It sounds like she just needs to be socailized with other dogs more. Before taking her to agility classes I would enter her in Obediance classes. Always get the basics done before moving on to something more. If she already knows her basic commands go ahead and take the class anyway. It will help her with her crazies around other dogs. Look for dog clubs in your area. Ask your vet if he knows of any in your area.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

hehe obediance classes....been there done that. She was fine in the class...very good. She can sit, stay, down, play dead, roll over...inside. Outside she's hopeless. Except for sit and stay. Sometimes. I guess just work on that. If she wasn't so crazy with other dogs, I'd take her to the park with me. But I don't want to get in trouble if someone thinks we're crazy/dangerous...that would be bad. I'm making my mom look into some dog parks....maybe where she can run around and play with them. And MAYBE be less crazy.

-Melanie

[agilityk9trainer]

While you may have already been to obedience class, your dog obviously hasn't REALLY learned the basics or she would do it in distractions, including dogs running around, toys being thrown around and food being dropped right in front of her.

Many people get their dogs to obey indoors where there is little distraction, but the dogs go nuts when distractions are present. This isn't a trained dog. A truly trained dog will obey even if the world is caving in around it.

To get to this level, you need more obedience class work. Look for a trainer who is more advanced and can do more with you and your dog. Then, "proof" your dog's behaviors. Proofing is a word that means you slowly add distractions until your dog can do the behavior with any distractions present. Your trainer can teach you how to do this correctly.

Also, have your dog evaluated by a trainer. Many people also describe their dog as "not aggressive. He just goes nuts around other dogs." This behavior may not or it may be aggression. There are various forms of aggression that the average dog owner would recognize (traffic cop, fear aggression, herding aggression, etc.) "Going nuts" could be a type of aggression that would need to be handled. Only a trained professional could tell you the difference.

I have a student with a Canaan dog that is a traffic cop. She's doing very well in agility, but she does have a special type of aggression. Last week, this dog ran from it's owner over to another dog that a student had pulled from it's crate (even though I had told him not to do this). The Canaan dog ran up to the other dog and got in her face. The Canaan dog did not growl. In fact, she wagged her tail a bit. But, make no mistake, it was aggressive. The owner said, "Oh, she just wants to play." After seperating the dogs (there was no fight), I had to tell her what her dog was doing and why it wasn't "play."

Her dog was basically bullying the other dog. She was getting into the other dog's face and egging her on. This is what traffic cops do. They're aggression is subtle. Her tail wasn't really wagging. It was short, fast wags indicating high excitement and aggression. He ears were erect and her hackles were up. Her legs were stiff. It was very much an aggressive, bullying stance. Fortunately, the other dog wasn't up for a fight or one would have developed. The owner, not versed in doggie language, looked at the tail and thought, "she just wants to play."

People so often do not read dog body language correctly. I have another student with a dog with fear issues. It came to my yard with the tail tucked barking excitedly and loudly. This owner, too, didn't see the aggression in the problem. I had to point out to her all the signs that it was far aggression. She agreed, and is working with the dog.

I'm not saying your dog is or isn't aggressive. But, I am saying you'll need to get the situation looked at by a trainer before going to agility. Even if it's just over exhuberance, it's not acceptable on an agility field. The dogs are off-leash in agility and must be under complete control at all times. You get this by first going to an obedience class.

The long and short of it is, you need a lot more obedience before agility.

Could your dog do agility? Yes, she probably can. But you'll need to work hard to even reach the stage of starting agility. Get with a good obedience instructor who knows the obedience requirements of an agility dog. Then, get good control. Then, go begin agility!

To find an agility instructor near you, go to cleanrun.com. Go to the info center. Click on find a school or club in your area.

Good luck.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

Kay thanks for the website. I understand what you mean about the aggression thing...I'm just *almost* positive she's not truly aggressive. Once she meets the dog, she's hyper but not in their face. And its only when their passing our yard that she gets all growly and the fur on her back sticks up. I'll try to get her checked out by a dog trainer. Her obediance classes were taken at petsmart :D I'll try to get my mom to check and see if we can enroll her in a more...special? obediance class.

Yea...Sadie isn't a truly trained dog...she'll sit and (most of the time) stay outside...if she's on the leash or thinks I have a treat. It's hard to get her to pay attention to me...haha she has the attention span of a fly. 'Come' is the worst. I have to pretend(I know...bad) to have a treat to get her to cime to me....I can't get her to learn though. She'll play dead fine inside, sometimes from across the room...but she won't come. I've got such an odd dog :] She's got what seem to be smart dogs in her...obviously she didn't pick up on it :rolleyes:

-Melanie

P.S.- Uhh....if anyone has advice on getting her to listen better....I'd love to hear it :]]

[lute]

P.S.- Uhh....if anyone has advice on getting her to listen better....I'd love to hear it :]]
You have to let her know you mean what you tell her. Again, I would take her to Obediance classes or get a personal training sessions with a trainer than can help you with this.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

I was outside with her today...NO LEASH and I actually had her 'come' ing when I called her....*sigh* she won't remember any of it tomorrow though...

I'm going to talk to my mom about getting her in obediance classes tonight

-Melanie

[lizbud]

I was outside with her today...NO LEASH and I actually had her 'come' ing when I called her....*sigh* she won't remember any of it tomorrow though...

I'm going to talk to my mom about getting her in obediance classes tonight

-Melanie

That sounds like a start anyway. :) Could you play more one on one games
with her? Get her to fetch a ball or something. Anything where you can get
her watching you for clues.More one on one interaction will keep her more
intuned to you outside & inside.

[Flatcoatluver]

Good Luck!

I have been doing agility for four years and just started teaching. One of the most important things like agilitytrainer said is the dog has a recall. I can't tell you how frustrating it is in class when the dogs won't come back to there owner. Sit and down automaticly are important and stay are important too!

Another thing is the dog needs to already have a bond with you. I have had a student before and the dog sometimes would work and sometimes he woudln't even want to be with the owner, and instead wanted to be with me.

Take a couple more obediance lessons and you will be ready I am sure.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

Oh, Sadie definitely wants to be with me :] Se's a bit.....clingy.

The problem ith fetch is that she never brings it bak. Except for my dad. She listens perfectly to me dad. She's a little scared of him, I think.

But yesterday, I was throwing this big stick and she was getting it. I called her back to me, and she CAME! But she ropped the stick halfway.....She's so stupid! But I love her! <3

-Melanie

[Flatcoatluver]

You need to get over calling your dog stubid. That is a bad additude. Dogs arn't stubid. Sade just doesn't understand what your asking. I hate it when my students call there dogs stubid.

[JuniorxMyxLove]

Haha I don't mean it. I love Sadie. She's so silly. It's my term of affection for her.

Today I was outsidewith Sadie lots, just playing and running with her. (I got a blister n my foot from not wearing socks, but who cares!) She's pretty consistent on coming when I call her. And, the old guy across the street was otside fixing up his yard and Sadie growled a time or two, then ignored him! How amazing! We were getting bored so I made some baby/not too baby "jumps" (random things I find) and we were having fun with them. I was also getting her to run up the slide, turn around, and come back down (why? I dunno.)

:]

-Melanie