Sandy in CT
Premium Member
I am not sure what the experts here will say, but we did puppy classes, then obedience 1 and 2 which are not competition training classes but cover the basics; sit, down, stay, heel, recall, leave it, look, etc. We then moved on to Rally 1 and are now Rally 2. I did multiple Rally 1 classes and somewhere in there started an agility 1 class. When we started, 'jumps' were simply a bar set about an inch or two off the ground. Hoop was set to ground level when introduced. Table was set at lowest level, as was the dog walk - you get the picture. The trainer resets heights in between runs for us depending on the dog. Beginner agility was more about introducing the equipment, the commands, at beginner level Brodie was on leash, everything was down at a slow pace, 'jumps' were more walking over than jumping. He sat at the end of the end of the dog walk and the end of the teeter and the end of the a-frame (he started with a small one). Our beginner agility was more introducing equipment, learning commands, learning to correctly enter and exit a piece of equipment and learning contact zones. At the beginning, classes for Brodie were often just practicing on 1 single piece of equipment; as he learned another one would be introduced, than maybe a class where we worked on both of those two in combinations. Meanwhile, the person who followed me might be running obstacle courses after me so every dog is treated differently. It was quite a while before Brodie was off leash, then for a bit he was back on to slow him down. We still do not fly around the courses set up - we are learning to incorporate sending to the left, to the right, we twist around and about the course at our level to learn to respect the commands and directions given, not just go around a course in a circle. In our classes we do 3 - 4 courses in a session, heights are still adjusted per the age of the dog, we get 2 runs per course. I do a slower run on my first go and if he is listening on the first go, I let him fly on the second.
Don't discount an agility class, but do question how they deal with ages and abilities. I will say, I feel the Rally first then Agility came in handy for us because we both learned commands and listening skills that are vital to agility. We learned to work together which is a skill you really need in Agility. I see owners come and go with dogs where they start an agility class, get frustrated becuase their dogs doesn't 'obey' commands (the weren't taught and practiced) and then they drop out. If you have the option to take daytime classes, I have found that they have a much lower number of attendees than the evening ones.
Don't discount an agility class, but do question how they deal with ages and abilities. I will say, I feel the Rally first then Agility came in handy for us because we both learned commands and listening skills that are vital to agility. We learned to work together which is a skill you really need in Agility. I see owners come and go with dogs where they start an agility class, get frustrated becuase their dogs doesn't 'obey' commands (the weren't taught and practiced) and then they drop out. If you have the option to take daytime classes, I have found that they have a much lower number of attendees than the evening ones.
). He had two people he liked and less than ten that he will tolerate. Oh and kids are vermin to him. He let one little girl pet him, freaked me out as he went over to be petted. And one more that he had fun being chased by (a friend's daughter) and she was not allowed to pet him.
