Agility???

[mr.chiwawa]

I was thinking of enrolling Mister (chihuahua) into agility classes its an ALL chihuahua calss only. Any ideas or questions I should be asking the teacher before I deieced wheather I should of not? All help is greatly appericated and new pics will be comming soon Hes a whole 10 months old now

[Freedom]

Hi, what a great idea! I wanted to do agility with Sugar, it seemed like something fun we could enjoy together.

Can't do it, not yet anyhow. Sugar is terrified of other dogs. So she needs more socialization before she can get into a room with another dog, let alone a whole group of them.

I went in and spoke with them, took Sugar with me so they could meet her. I didn't get too far in my questions, as she was shaking like a leaf. For her own good, I took her back out to the car and went back inside to continue our conversation. Sugar and I were at the reception counter in the entrance lobby. The dogs she could hear were through a closed wood door, down the hall, and through another closed door into where they were working.

Maybe go in when the chi class is meeting; Mister's reaction to a large dog may not be an accurate test of his reactions, not sure.

Ask if he has to have any basic commands known already. I think they said the dog has to know it's name and . . . there was one other thing at the place I went. Sorry, I can't remember.

Ask what you need to have with you. I think small bits of treat, maybe, and a certain length of leash? Maybe a harness v. collar? As I say, I didn't get into all that, it was much too obvious I wasn't going to be taking the class any time soon.

Oh and ask if the class is for competition, or for bonding, or for confidence, or a mixture of all of those things. If you may not be competing, you don't want to be in a group who are serious as all heck about it!

Good luck!

[mr.chiwawa]

Thanks I think hell be ok on the fact of groups. Once a month we go to a chihuahua group and thats where this women approached me and asked me if i would be intrested. he gets along well with the chi group so i think i might. Its only chis and a beginnger group for bonding and fun i made it clear we arent in it for competion. thanks for your input and i will keep you updated on weather we do it or not

[agilityk9trainer]

You may want to ask how they teach the teeter. Very tiny dogs have trouble making the teeter tip. Therefore, it's good to have the chis run to the very end of the teeter and ride the board down. A good trainer will know this and be able to tell you how they get your dog to go to the end and ride the teeter down.

You'll also want to ask what type of contacts they train. With a chi, you probably will want to do running contacts instead of a 2 on/2 off. Your trainer should know the difference between these two methods, even if you don't. If your chi is rather large, your trainer might suggest a 2 on/2 off (most of my students learn this method) but a running contact should suffice.

Also, ask the trainer about their titles. How far have THEY gotten into competition. If your trainer hasn't gotten very far, how can you expect them to train you well either? Look for titles like elite, masters or champion.

And, most importantly, ask them about their training philosophy. Do they use corrections? if so, what types? Do they clicker train? Do they use treats, toys and praise? In agility, you're going for the most positive, fun trainer you can find for the best results.

Just a few tips...

[agilityk9trainer]

In addition, check out this video of a student of mine on You Tube. It's her chi doing agility. This dog has real potential, and this week learned the teeter in one session. It normally take several sessions to learn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7C5WNF1Eb4

[mr.chiwawa]

Mister is a whopping 3 pounds----FULL GROWN is that bad for agility?

[agilityk9trainer]

It takes three pounds to tip a properly weighted teeter. You should be OK, but you will want to train you pup to run to the very end. The further down (or rather up) the tteeter your dog goes, the more quickly the teeter will fall.

It's fun to watch tiny dogs do the teeter because they run to the end and just stand there. Then, slowly, the teeter begins to make it slow decent to the ground. Very cute!

[critter crazy]

In addition, check out this video of a student of mine on You Tube. It's her chi doing agility. This dog has real potential, and this week learned the teeter in one session. It normally take several sessions to learn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7C5WNF1Eb4

OMG!!!! That video has to e the cutest thing I have ever seen!!! at the end, where he/she is just running in circles was cracking me up!! Loved it!!!!

[finn's mom]

I think it's a wonderful idea and that is awesome that they have a group for you to join! Go for it and have fun! Post photos!

[Freedom]

Oh my, if that video doesn't convince you to sign up, nothing will! I am still laughing out loud!

[agilityk9trainer]

Yep. There's not much cutier than an itty, bitty chi doing agility!

[mr.chiwawa]

Well its officail I signed Mister and I up for agility I will take tons of photos i promise thanks for all the advice and helpfullness that clip made my mom and I laugh soo hard and Mister was watching it like I am going to do that? Too cute