Agility Classes

[sammy101]

just wondering,how old do dogs have to be to start agility?I would really like to get Lucy started,she's really fast and can jump pretty high and i think she'll enjoy too.and also,do they have to be really good in obediance??

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

I'm pretty sure you can't start any agility obstacle that involves jumping until the dog is atleast 7months-1 year old. I could be wrong but I think that's the best age. You can however, start training her wiht the tunnel and other things that don't involve any jumping. An agility dog should know and listen well to all the basic commands (come, sit, stay etc.).

[jenfer]

Gigi started when she was 7 months old. I would talk to the trainer.

[sammy101]

thanks.She'll be starting beginners obediance soon,so i'll ask the trainer to see what she thinks.I probably dont want to start her on the jumps when she's still growing anyways.

[Crikit]

It's best not to start a dog to young but really after the age of 6 months or so they can start to go on the equipment as long as they aren't jumping the full heights. There should be no jumping of full heights until the dog is at least 18 months old 2 prefered.

The place that I volunteer at has puppy classes where the dogs learn foundsation training and some of the basics and some of the equipment as well and then from there they go on to a beginners class where we continue on with what they learned in the puppy class. However we never let any dog jump any more then 4".

[vinjashira]

I suppose it varies between training schools... At Snowy's school the age limit for agility classes is 1 year old. Good luck with the obediance class!