which agility organization?

T

therwilBbarkng

Forums Regular
I have been training my dog for agility for close to 2 years, he's shy and lacks confidence. He does pretty well with the exception of the teeter (which he did once). I feel he's slowly gaining confidence and entering him in competitions which do not have a teeter may be helpful. Which organization would you choose? Or would you choose more than one? It looks like NADAC and CPE have several trials close to me throughout the year.
 
I think that honestly, unless you're in it to be the best in the world, the best thing to do is what's close to you (within reason). If you have a lot of different things all near you, then it's a different decision, but if CPE and NADAC are close, I'd go with either one.

I don't have experience in either, so hopefully someone who has done both can weigh on how they are different.

From what I know, NADAC offers different games (like Hoopers and Tunnelers) that are not as physically strenuous (or stressful) so that might be good to build confidence.
 
I will echo what many many many people in my agility club say, because I believe its true, CPE is one of the BEST venues to get started in.

Level 1 does NOT require Weaves or the Teeter. It is also set up so you can achieve Level 1 titles relatively quickly which usually leaves you with a positive feeling. You DO NOT have to move up to Level 2 (which has 6 weaves and a teeter) until you feel your dog is ready for it.

You can also have faults in your runs and still Q. Levels 1-4 allow for 10 fault points, Level 5, 5 fault points , and C level must be clean.

I LOVE CPE, personally. I think its a fun venue. The people and judges are rather laid back and like to have a good time.

I would recommend trying the venue at the very least.


I don't know much about NADAC, however. I do know that you MUST run clean to Q regardless of level.
 
With a shy dog, they may benefit from you taking them to trials now to watch, and get used to the environment. For a shy dog, a trial can be an overwhelming experience when they have never been to one before, and often, it is too much for them to compete and see the trial setting for the first time in the same weekend. I would make sure your dog is really comfortable at trials before starting to compete, especially since you've worked so long to try to help your dog.
That said, CPE is probably the easiest place, as like Silaria said, you won't see weaves or a teeter in level 1. Since you know your dog has teeter issues, starting in a venue where your dog doesn't have to stress over it would probably help your dog the most.
 
I am not sure about CPE, but I do know that NADAC does not use a teeter, chute, table or tire jumps in any of their games at any level.

Either way, I agree that with a shy dog, taking him to trials and getting him comfortable in the trial environment is important to desensitize him. I was also told that when entering a dog that has not trialed before, to only enter them in one or two events, otherwise it may overwhelm them.
I've never trialed yet, so I have not come to this hurdle yet, but I will be bringing both of mine to the next few trials to desensitize them. I plan on making it as much fun for them as possible while there.
Good luck!
 
Thank you everyone! I think I'll try CPE first and see how it goes. I agree with everyone's shy dog assessment, I have been taking him to trials to watch about every 2 or 3 months (which were usually AKC because I didn't know about all the different organizations). CPE sounds fairly relaxed and maybe that's best for me too because he picks up on my moods.
 
Good luck :)
I am also joining CPE. I was at their last agility trial for the season last weekend and took Toffee with me... He was VERY good and didn't react too badly or too stressed out! It is in a place where most indoor trials are taking place in this province. It is also where all Farm Exhibitions are held and it has residual smells of a lot of barn animals.. I want to get him used to those distractions as MUCH as possible before I bother trialing.
 
My suggestion was going to be CPE for the reasons Silaria stated...it gives you and your dog a lot more confidence because Level 1 is pretty easy. You can Q WITH faults. And yes, from what I've heard/seen (although I only did one trial), CPE is laid back, the people are really nice and supportive.

For a shy dog that lacks confidence, I'd start off trials that lean towards the things they are confident in. i.e. I did Jumpers and Tunnelers. Koji loved it, and yes, had tons of issues too.

And as someone stated (and I know I have in the past), NADAC doesn't have the teeter at all in their venue. It also has non-jumping games and non-contact games. But yes, in order to Q, you have to be clean. However, you can pass obstacles, as long as they don't do anything else and you go back and do it correctly, you can have refusals, you can try the weaves 3 times w/o any faults, and you can train in the ring although this will get you an NQ, but sometimes, training in the ring is great.

So, since those are close by you, I'd try CPE first and if you want to try something with contacts, but w/o a teeter, go try out NADAC and their games. Both venues run about 5 runs per day (different games). read about the games and see which will suit you and your dog to give him more confidence.
 
Shy novice dogs

Before you take your shy dog to a trial, go to a trial of one of the venues yourself, ALONE. Volunteer to jump set, and watch how a trial runs. Get familiar with what your dog will encounter. Look to see what the judges are doing. Listen for what they will hear. Is there a lot of traffic? are there lots of non-agility observers? lots of kids? See how people set-up in the crating areas. Then, plan to take your dog to a trial to get used to a trial situation, knowing what your dog is sensitive to and are able to deal with them. Plan on spending the entire time with your dog the first time, but make that time at the trial short and happy. Slowly increase the time spent at a trial, and decrease the time spent with your dog (crate train your dog at a trial setting). You will have to leave your dog in a trial at the very least to walk the course, so getting your dog used to the fact you will leave them for a short time is a great thing to practice. Depending on how shy your dog is, it could take many practice runs before you feel comfortable to try a real trial. The most important thing for you to do, though, is not push your dog too hard. A shy dog will shut down quickly, and take a long time to re-emerge, so the best thing to do is take it slow, make it happy, and let your dog tell you when he/she is ready.

Qing at your dog's first trial should be secondary for you... getting through the trial with a happy dog that has gained confidence should be your goal. The Qs will come.

I run in both CPE and NADAC and love them both. CPE (no teeters or weaves in Level 1) or NADAC (no teeters, ever) are great venues to start in. Both are pretty laid back, the judges are really nice and supportive of newbies, and there are different games to play that give you a choice of putting your dog in something that they like doing. In CPE, Colors and Wildcard are very short courses that require the handler to direct the dog on the correct course. They are great to start in since they are so short. If your dog loves to jump, Jumpers is a wonderful game, too. In NADAC, there is Jumpers, too, but there are other games that don't use jumps but might use hoops so they are ground speed games (tunnelers, weavers, touch 'n go). They require good handling for fast, clean runs. If your dog loves tunnels, Tunnelers is a complete rush! The course is ALL tunnels, and it is amazing how fast dogs get when they realize they don't need to slow down to do weaves or contacts, or collect themselves to jump.

Go to the venue websites and read about the different games. If you have any questions, just ask... I love all of the games, and can help interpret the rules for you.

good luck to you both! Keep us updated on how things are going...
-Dayle
Mom to: Alva--CL2,CL3-F,H,S (CPE);
O-NCC,S-NJC,NAC,S-Tn-N,Tn-O,O-Wv-N,Hp-N (NADAC); CGC
Orville--CGC
Wilbur,Misty--sweetest shelties waiting at the Bridge
 
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