corbinam
Moderator
Which came first, Agility or Shelties?
- Thread starter Phebe*DD
- Start date
Justicemom
Forums Celebrity
Sheltie than agility.
I actually wanted an obedience dog. Had a list of breeds and what I wanted in my head. Actually shelties were a ways down of the list. After much debate I went on a waiting list for a Doberman.
A friend of mine raised shelties and went to see the litter at 6 wks and fell in love with a sable male puppy. This puppy was so stable and outgoing and just looked at you with understanding beyond his age. I wanted him the second I saw him. Too bad, he was sold. Oh well. 5 weeks later, I find out the first buyer backed out and he was available. I snatched him up. Frankly, I would have taken this puppy(Justice) regardless of breed.
Justice is my Novice A obedience dog, my Novice A agility dog, my first breed dog and hopeful my first tracking dog. Never thought about the other activites before I got him.
I actually wanted an obedience dog. Had a list of breeds and what I wanted in my head. Actually shelties were a ways down of the list. After much debate I went on a waiting list for a Doberman.
A friend of mine raised shelties and went to see the litter at 6 wks and fell in love with a sable male puppy. This puppy was so stable and outgoing and just looked at you with understanding beyond his age. I wanted him the second I saw him. Too bad, he was sold. Oh well. 5 weeks later, I find out the first buyer backed out and he was available. I snatched him up. Frankly, I would have taken this puppy(Justice) regardless of breed.
Justice is my Novice A obedience dog, my Novice A agility dog, my first breed dog and hopeful my first tracking dog. Never thought about the other activites before I got him.
Agility Start Line
Go to youtube and where it says search type in Karen Holik and Ice and look for the recent 2010 JWW
Go to youtube and where it says search type in Karen Holik and Ice and look for the recent 2010 JWW
Silaria
Forums Sage
For me it was Agility first then a Sheltie.
Before anyone jumps all over me about choosing a Sheltie specifically for agility, that was definitely not the case.
I lost my Malamute nearly a year before I started looking for another dog. (We still had Melody who was 14 at the time.) During that year, I started watching agility competitions on Animal Planet and thought it looked like a LOT of fun. I also loved the look of joy on the dog's faces when they looked at their handlers. I wanted that sort of relationship with my next dog.
I took the time to research many different breeds and the sport of agility. I knew just about any dog could participate in agility but, I'll be honest, I wanted a breed that had more aptitude for the sport than others - basically, a better chance of WANTING TO and ENJOYING the sport. Having a high drive, super fast, championship level dog was NEVER my goal - just one that would enjoy running the courses with me.
However, the dog also had to have traits that fit with our lifestyle and, of course, have a better chance of going easy on Mel. I eliminated some breeds from consideration quickly because of the activity level or 'possessive' behavior based on those reasons.
The breed I chose had to be a family dog first and an agility dog second.
It came down to choosing between the American Eskimo Dog and the Sheltie. As luck would have it, our local kennel club's dog show was happening during our search and they were hosting an agility trial as part of the event. This gave me an opportunity to talk to people who owned both the Eskie and the Sheltie AND participated in agility. I could also talk to some breeders.
What finally settled me on the Sheltie was the higher chance of the Eskie having a stand-offish personality like Mel. I wanted a dog that wanted to be WITH the family. So, our search for a Sheltie started.
So, yes, interest in agility first then the Sheltie... BUT the Sheltie for reasons OTHER than agility. I believe I selected a Sheltie for all the right reasons - family and agility.
Before anyone jumps all over me about choosing a Sheltie specifically for agility, that was definitely not the case.
I lost my Malamute nearly a year before I started looking for another dog. (We still had Melody who was 14 at the time.) During that year, I started watching agility competitions on Animal Planet and thought it looked like a LOT of fun. I also loved the look of joy on the dog's faces when they looked at their handlers. I wanted that sort of relationship with my next dog.
I took the time to research many different breeds and the sport of agility. I knew just about any dog could participate in agility but, I'll be honest, I wanted a breed that had more aptitude for the sport than others - basically, a better chance of WANTING TO and ENJOYING the sport. Having a high drive, super fast, championship level dog was NEVER my goal - just one that would enjoy running the courses with me.
However, the dog also had to have traits that fit with our lifestyle and, of course, have a better chance of going easy on Mel. I eliminated some breeds from consideration quickly because of the activity level or 'possessive' behavior based on those reasons.
The breed I chose had to be a family dog first and an agility dog second.
It came down to choosing between the American Eskimo Dog and the Sheltie. As luck would have it, our local kennel club's dog show was happening during our search and they were hosting an agility trial as part of the event. This gave me an opportunity to talk to people who owned both the Eskie and the Sheltie AND participated in agility. I could also talk to some breeders.
What finally settled me on the Sheltie was the higher chance of the Eskie having a stand-offish personality like Mel. I wanted a dog that wanted to be WITH the family. So, our search for a Sheltie started.
So, yes, interest in agility first then the Sheltie... BUT the Sheltie for reasons OTHER than agility. I believe I selected a Sheltie for all the right reasons - family and agility.
Caro
Moderator
I would love to see a malamute doing agility though, how fantastic would that be.
k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
The crazy Sheltie came first, so I started agility, then got serious into it since I needed to keep him going until his crazies died out. Um, 2.5 years later, I've become an agility addict. 
Justicemom
Forums Celebrity
If my friend starts training her Malamute again, I'll take pictures. She is trying to get her Open obedience title right now so if she does too much agility at the same time, she gets the serious zoomies in the middle of training.
Her dog is on the small side and short coated so she washed out as a breed dog but is an awesome preformance dog. She is fast,fast,fast.
k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
I was telling hubby I wanted a Mal for our next dog. Um, yeah not going to happen. But I would've done agility. Should be interesting, no? lol
... It makes me sad to see some people who choose a dog breed solely on their chances of suceeding in agility. I've seen it backfire a lot and the dog (usually an extremely high drive border collie) ends up suffering....
I feel sorry for dogs in that situation. People who act like that are usually making it all about THEM and the dog is just a means to an end. I wouldn't want to play on their team, either.