So exited ! Registerd my pup for agility training !

Sounds like you found a good class with a well qualified trainer, I'm very excited for you guys. I fell in love with agility and had simply started out with the same mind set as you.

As for Romeo, I believe this will be an awesome experience to get him used to new situations. You seem to have done very well by not pushing him and letting him look around and take his time in this first class.

As for training, 10 min a few times a day sounds like a good start and then as he starts loving it you will be able to add more time per sessions. Kyara could train non-stop so I need to limit our time. You'll get used to knowing when he his getting tired and less focus. As mentioned above, always end on a good not. Best of luck in your next class!
 
roxyllsk said:
Well, it went okay ... Romeo is not exactly shy or fearful, but he does get 'reserved' when he's not sure of the situation.

He was excited to have other pups around - he does get along well with other dogs. He was not so sure about all the 'stuff' . He just wanted to sit back and watch what was going on. So we worked on some stuff to start with - 'place' on a piece of carpet, which he is already getting, and walking on some peices of wood on the ground, stuff like that. He was warming up as the class progressed and I didn't push him too much. He was fascinated with the other dogs doing stuff.

He is a sweet cuddler of a dog - his breeder loved on the pups a ton, and it really shows. But they didn't get exposed to a whole lot outside the home. I got him as an older pup, 7 months old. He is getting better/less standoffish all the time, but last night's behavior is typical for him in new situations. He's not exactly fearful, just unsure of himself. Does that make sense ? It's like you can see the wheels turning ...

He will def come around, so I'm not worried at all. No rush, I don't mind giving him the time he needs. :wink2:

Toffee, I do think it's a confidence thing with him.

So, I have some homework to do with him ... I'm thinking maybe a few sessions a day of 10 minutes or so each ? I don't want to overwhelm him, and I want him to enjoy working.

Another thing - this was the 'beginner' class, but all of the dogs in there had done this stuff before ! Which was surprising. But the trainer was really good at explaining stuff, pointing out what I needed to fix in what I was doing, and breaking things down into smaller steps.
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Sounds like you well on your way! Small word of advice-if you do 10 minutes sessions make sure there is at least 5 breaks when you do lots of fun/ in your dog's opinion/ stuff like chasing, playing fetch, tugging whatever else your doggie likes. It is really important to make sure your puppy is having fun.
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He loves to play tuggies and fetch tennis balls !

I'm only 10 minutes or so from Allen's. They came recommended by some local dog people for training so I thought for starting out they would be a good place.

Romeo gets car sick too :ick (perfect smiley for that LOL) and doesn't much like the car, so I am trying to do lots of short trips to get him acclimated - so being close is a bonus because of that. He is doing better than he was a few months ago.
 
Sounds like a good first day. And good for you for allowing Romeo to acclimate to the new place, situation, training, and other dogs. :) He'll warm up to it in no time. I also found that agility gives dogs lots of confidence, so maybe this will help him with his "reservations" at first.

As for the other students, don't worry. I'm sure many of them could be experienced handlers, so they know what foundation is needed. Try not to compare, it's what makes the agility bug stick (darn competitive side - I too started out "for fun" to burn off some of Koji's excess energy - then got addicted at my first trial).

I think short 10-min sessions are great. I used to use Koji's dinner to train him, and it would go pretty fast. Heck, I still do it and it still goes fast. I think I train with him for maybe 10-15 mins. But we do a lot more running around, sitting, waiting, etc.

Can't wait to hear more updates as the class progresses.
 
I spent some time these last few days working on a few things - I hope to get to Home Depot this weekend and have them cut down some planks for me to work with too.

But in the meantime, I have Romeo 'Place'ing on a small throw rug - he's got that down well. And he was afraid in class of walking on the planks and stuff like that. But I have him stepping on a solid box now, and even sitting on it.

Just trying to keep things simple for now - but he is really liking this and he tries so very hard for me ! I can't help but be proud of our tiny accomplishments.
 
roxyllsk said:
I spent some time these last few days working on a few things - I hope to get to Home Depot this weekend and have them cut down some planks for me to work with too.

But in the meantime, I have Romeo 'Place'ing on a small throw rug - he's got that down well. And he was afraid in class of walking on the planks and stuff like that. But I have him stepping on a solid box now, and even sitting on it.

Just trying to keep things simple for now - but he is really liking this and he tries so very hard for me ! I can't help but be proud of our tiny accomplishments.
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Simple things are the best! It is such a warm fuzzy feeling when your puppy wants to offer you the world:smile2:
 
This sounds like a perfect start, I am liking the sound of that Instructor and class, and you're very right to let the dog set a pace for now what he is comfortable with.
It's very fun to train in agility, but go slow and listen to the Instructor if you trust him/her. Don't be afraid to back off if need be, nobody knows your dog as well as you do :yes: But it sounds like it is going at a great pace.

Also I recommend Cerennia for carsickness if you have to go on a road trip, omg best thing I ever did. Toffee had only had to have about 4 in his life for a couple of longer car trips and he hasn't thrown up since!
 
Toffee, I did get meds from the vet, but am saving them for the longer rides - my parents live in MD and I live in NJ. I pack up all the 'kids' and head down there quite often for the weekend.

I'm trying to do lots of shorter rides, 10 minutes or so, and doing fun doggie stuff when we get were we are going. He's still not really crazy about the car but he is def getting better about being car sick. He seems to do better in my truck, because he can sit on the seat next to me and hang his front legs over the back of the seat. He seems more comfortable riding backwards.

My other shelties (including Romeo's big 'brother', Buddy, who is still with us) always LOVE LOVE LOVE car rides. It would be nice to get Mr. Romeo to that point eventually. As with everything, no rush !
 
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