How old was your dog?

Thanks for all the replies! It was interesting reading all the different times and ages. We won't trial until my instructor thinks we are ready. We are training at a master level right now in classes. Last week we did the akc national course. It was so fun to do. Potter is doing really good and has his weaves perfect unaided. We just need a little more work on contacts. This is our weaker point because I don't have contact equipment at home. We are training with my stairs right now, but it just isn't the same :smile2:.
 
Justicemom said:
I learned long ago from obedience that you can enter trials when your dog can do the behaviors over 90% of the time, first time with distractions.

I have applied that to agility and is has worked pretty well. I also like to get them into several different locations for practice.

Justice trained for 6 months and I trialed him. He had his UD by the time I stated training agility o he was very used to working in public. He never NQ'd before he retired from agility because of injury in either UKC or AKC.

Ember trained 4 years I think she had issues with lots of things in agility. She has only been doing well the last year or so. She wasn't ready before that.

Diva started at 19 months, got 1 Q in 1 day/trial and went into season, was bred and had puppies so she didn't get back to it for over a year. I did obedience(got her cd and cdx in 4 months) the next summer and then got back to agility when she was 3.5yrs and she went straight though to Masters in 6 months. She is on break again.

Birch is 18 months in 6 days. He is running excellent courses in class with minimal mistakes. Contacts are down(best of any of my dogs) and he is doing 12 weaves with no aids. He knows all the basic skills just needs polishing. I have started taking him to other places(3 so far) for run thoughs and he has done great. I am hoping to start in UKC end of next month and AKC in May if all goes well.
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This sounds like great advice!
 
Noregrets said:
Thanks for all the replies! It was interesting reading all the different times and ages. We won't trial until my instructor thinks we are ready. We are training at a master level right now in classes. Last week we did the akc national course. It was so fun to do. Potter is doing really good and has his weaves perfect unaided. We just need a little more work on contacts. This is our weaker point because I don't have contact equipment at home. We are training with my stairs right now, but it just isn't the same :smile2:.
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mmm, I am missing something here... is your dog 1 year old? and you doing weaves and training at Masters level?
 
I kind of wondered that myself. It's either highly unlikely, or the dog was started on everything WAY too young, which isn't good for them physically. They shouldn't be doing weaves, full height contacts, or any jumping until they are 12 months old. It's bad for their bodies. And, in just 7 months time, most dogs aren't at masters level. Sure, maybe they can handle the course, but there are generally going to be a lot of training holes that someone new to agility may not realize are there. There is so much more to it than just getting around a course.
When you said you'd been training since August, I assumed you meant low equipment, foundation classes. A young puppy shouldn't have been doing more than that. The dog should just NOW be ready to start any weaving, jumping, or full height equipment.
Also, which nationals course? There were several. Warm up, T2B, standard, jumpers, hybrid, challengers, finals.
 
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It has become very common to hear the "not till 12 months" or "not till the growth plates close" or not till <your choice>.

What some "experts"/trainers/top handlers say in public isn't necessarily what they do in private. I've been surprised more than just a few times as to the differences, and by whom.

There are differences in opinion & approach - there are trainers jumping their dogs before 6 months of age and up. There are handlers who can start their young pup at 15 months & stride through novice to Masters with few if any NQ's. There are some who have taken their pups & won Regionals Tournaments before doing Starters. There are some who regularly train at international level before their pups are 2 years old.

Not saying any of this is right or wrong, just that it does happen & there are different opinions - and so it is plausible that some students are doing things earlier than what others consider to young.

In some ways I think it is sad to be pushing pups too young knowing or disbelieving what others might offer as advice.
 
And as a horse person who has seen the damage done by too much too young, I'd say they are wrong to be doing so. It is not what is best for the dog.
 
It was the standard course from nationals.
Yes, we have been doing weaves since our very first puppy foundations class. We started just running through the jumps first and the next class or two had jumps set very low. We do not jump at full height in practice still.

I have read that there are differing opinions on when to start your dog on certain equipment. I completely trust my instructor and believe she would not have my dog do something unsafe for him. Most of the dogs in my class are similar ages to my dog and we all started weaves well before a year old. We use guide wires to train weaves.
 
Not all instructors are knowledgeable enough. I know several who lack the knowledge and jump and weave puppies. Just because they hang out their shingle as an instructor/trainer does not make them safe or that they know what they should. I knew of a horse trainer years ago who broke the necks of two young horses in a short time. He hung out his shingle, and charged, and claimed to know what he was doing. Clearly, he did not. There is no consistency across the board, or specific training/knowledge required of trainers/instructors to offer training/instruction. There are many out there training/instructing who really shouldn't be for one reason or another. I know of plenty of horses shown as 2 and 3 year olds in 3 or 5 gaited classes, and who are done long before they would've been otherwise. My last horse had to have monthly adequan injections to stay sound at 12 years old due to being worked too hard at 2, and 3 years old (acquired him at 8 years old and know a lot about his past).
Just be warned... you are doing this at the risk of your puppies health. You may not see the damage today, or tomorrow, but there are likely to be consequences down the road.
I personally would rather have my dog sound into old age than being someone who's dog was started at 6 months, and has physical problems due to unnecessary strain put on their bodies too young. I have yet to meet a vet who would encourage you or your trainer to be doing what you have done. That, paired with 17 years of performance horse experience, and 4.5 years in dog sports, and having dealt with early performance induced injuries is proof enough to me that it is a bad idea.
 
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Running open channels is fine for puppy but I would highly caution against developing true weaving pattern with any dog under 1 year old.
Just go ask chiro vets what it does to the dogs body. There is common sense and lack of it.
And HopeShelties, so agree about instructors. There is no standard across the border and lack of knowledge is evident in many I have come in contact with.
 
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other than the purely physical issues with training weaves as a puppy- there is the relearning issue when the pup is full size- the body does not move the same way as an adult that it did as a pup.
My Cranberry is 18" as an adult and bends back and forth to weave- when he was a pup, the motion would have been totally different since he was small enough to just run through the 24"weave pole spacing......
 
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