Opinions regarding agility

Tonight in agility there was an issue with a golden retriever in another level getting away from his handler and running over to our class. He did it 3 times in one night. His focus was on the 2 pomeranians in our class (they weigh 3 lbs at most). Because he was so focused on the poms in our class his handler had the worst time getting him to do anything even in his own class.

So here's where I'd be curious to hear different opinions:

Opinion One - The owner of the golden was upset saying small dogs like that should not be allowed in agility because they seem like prey to larger dogs (which make up the majority in our group) and are a distraction.

Opinion Two - The owners of the poms were upset because they felt their dogs weren't doing anything and had as much right to be on that field as the larger dogs.

I'd be curious to hear what everyone thinks and why.

Dogs are dogs, I believe all breeds and all dogs no matter what size they are have equal rights and should be allowed to participate in the same agility, flyball, obedience etc. classes together.

I think it has nothing to do with the breed or size of the dog. In my agility class their is a chichi and she does very very well. I think to real issue is the lady with the GR needs to work of her recall and focus. Lady will do the same thing when my mom goes to the agility class, she will run over to her. When the GR does run over to your class it should be completely ignored and not be allowed to play with any dogs, then it may realize that coming to your group isn't that fun. When the owner gets her GR to come back she needs to reward it either by treats or tuggie.

I don't think it should be determined on breed either. Dogs are dogs and they all have the same rights. I don't think it would be fair that the small dogs our banned from agility because the big dogs prey on them.

I have to agree with everyone else in that the little dogs have as much right as the larger ones and the Goldie owner needs to work on her dogs recall. I also have a problem in that in each of the 3 times last night she never once corrected him, instead she was upset that the pom's were there "distracting" her dog.

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Opinion One - The owner of the golden was upset saying small dogs like that should not be allowed in agility because they seem like prey to larger dogs (which make up the majority in our group) and are a distraction.

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She was probably embarassed and was trying to cover it up by blaming the poms. I think she is completely in the wrong, agility should be fun for everyone involved, big and small.

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Originally Posted by pnance

I have to agree with everyone else in that the little dogs have as much right as the larger ones and the Goldie owner needs to work on her dogs recall. I also have a problem in that in each of the 3 times last night she never once corrected him, instead she was upset that the pom's were there "distracting" her dog.

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Thats when you roll your eyes & say I'm sorry your dog doesn't listen to you & turn your back on her & ignore her.


When I watched flyball with Audrey in PEI last summer there were ALL kinds of small dogs, some slow & some fast. All the dogs were quite behaved & I thought it was really neat watching tiny & HUGE dogs playing the same game. It was great :)

The owner of the Golden was totally in the wrong blaming the poms. If she can't gontrol her dog she needs to do some more work on recall and focus before bringing her dog to agility.

I understand agility is a fun sport. My pet peeve with it though is letting the dogs do agility before they have reliable obedience commands down. If the Golden had a reliable recall non of this would of happened.

Definitely the Golden owners fault! -_-

It's not only very rude for her to *allow* her dog to go after the Pom's, it's dangerous! People with large dogs have the greater responsibility of being certain that they have control around smaller pups, because a GR could really injure a tiny Pom. He shouldn't be off-leash if he chases other dogs, especially due to prey drive.

Dixieland hit the nail on the head. Guess thats why they were in AGILITY and not OBEDIENCE! LOL

I think they should all have the rights...Don't dis the Poms, when it was the owner's fault. :p

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Originally Posted by Cataholic

Dixieland hit the nail on the head. Guess thats why they were in AGILITY and not OBEDIENCE! LOL

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I'd have to agree..lol ;)

I say the golden owner just needs to learn to control his dog...