I have a 1.5yr old Aussie mix who I think would adore and excel at agility- only problem is I have no experience and no idea where to start. The closest agility gym is relatively elite so they dont have any beginner opportunities. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Tia

My dog knows the word walk for going for a walk and I’m worried that using walk-it or walk for the dog walk could create some confusion. Anyone have some good suggestions for the command not including the word walk and is this an issue anyone else has run into? Not sure if I’m being overly cautious here.

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My first agility dogs ran naked. Rule changes though mean dogs can run in collars (We are in Canada and run AAC, CKC and UKI). Because I sometimes want to hold Edna after her leash is off, I have a narrow nylon collar with her name and my number on it (she is a slight flight risk and its just safer with my phone number on her collar). She's a puller though on the way into the ring, so I have a wide martingale leash that also subs as a tug in a pinch. I tried a wide collar and snap leash and found it more time consuming to clip on, than sliding her martingale over her head. Tell me, what, if anything does your dog wear?

Hello! Newbie here preparing for our first agility trial. What do yall bring to trials? For example at my club for classes, they provide crates for when we are waiting for our turn, but at a trail, would you bring your own? Curious what else yall bring that a newbie might not think of — thank you!

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This is from the CPE Members Group page today, and the comments section was quite interesting. The CPE mods turned off comments because, while I don't think it really was getting that heated, it was getting a little controversial--essentially the "train your dog for the trial environment" crowd against the crowd that seems to do minimal environmental training.

I totally understand the mods turning off comments there, but I thought this was a very interesting agility discussion, and provided we can all be constructive, would love to continue it here.

I realize this might vary by venue or organization but I keep reading mixed things. Does another dog enter the ring while you are still running? Are the rings fully enclosed or have an open gate or exit?

I’ll be competing in NADAC soon but would like to know for other organizations as well. My dog is usually good with other dogs but I’m worried if it will be different in a trial setting.

Are you allowed to request that the next dog wait?

Hello,
My dog is due to be officially measured but have done at home. He's a Whippet and has measured at 51cm when done at home and that means he will be jumping at 60cm. (UKKC).

The issue I have had is that when I put the bar up high his eyeline is under the bar and when we practice he runs straight under the bar. He is also SO fast and a long striding dog. We have done a lot of practice with only wings and no jumps or small jumps; so think that is part of it.

To be fair; we haven't don't any practice at this height in training class, only at home.

Just looking for some suggestions, other than practice with slow bar increasing, to help my boy with his learning. Thanks :)

This is my first year really into the world of agility and I was wondering if anyone knows of websites that typically have sales on equipment, etc. for Black Friday?

I have an All American Dog, likely a Pointer mix, who I've been doing agility with for 6 years. She loves it! But she's very inconsistent. She was found in a parking lot at 4 weeks old and had to be bottle fed. She exhibits many of indicators of single puppy syndrome including mouthiness and inconsistent social skills with people and dogs (one minute she's the life of the party and the next she acts like you've hurt her). These symptoms come out in agility when in one run she's perfect and moves ahead of me and in the next run she won't get 2 feet from me and jumps up at me trying to nip. I've tried no toys or treats before we run, running outside with her right before our run to tire her out (I was exhausted, she was not), both using the practice jump and not using the practice jump, leaving her in the crate until the last minute, taking her out for a walk before we run, crating in the car vs the facility, waiting patiently in line for our turn, only walking up to the gate at the last minute before our turn, and running a class FEO before JWW or STD. And no matter what I do she's still a wild thing in the ring! She's never gotten the zoomies in the ring but the spinning before jumps, jumping up at me, refusing to move ahead, etc. often results in NQs, especially in Standard as she loves the contact equipment. Weirdly she often has more energy and is more wild the more runs we do at a show. When she's done she gets silly and will try to grab the leash or jump off the table repeatedly. It's frustrating because, if we could get some consistency, she could easily be a MACH dog. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get her more consistent?

Me, my husband, and our two dogs started agility together 8 months ago. We're in a novice level now and really like it, and our dogs are great at it, but I get very confused with longer courses. We usually work our way up to 21 obstacles by the end of class and I find it challenging when there are more than 15 obstacles involved.

Between remembering the order of everything and also remembering whether I need to front cross, etc., I always end up getting confused and messing up part way, which then confuses my dog, and then we're both disoriented which makes getting through the rest of the course a challenge. 😅 Does this get easier with practice?

EDIT: Thank you everyone for all the helpful tips and reassurance! It makes me feel a lot better about my performance in class. Knowing I'll get better in time is also a nice thought haha. I also thought I was in the novice class and just found out I'm in intermediate 😂 Which actually makes me feel a lot better. No wonder it was so much harder this time around!!

My novice dog is signed up for his very first seminar later this month. This is the first working seminar ever I've had the opportunity to go to. It's 4 hours long. What should I expect from a seminar?

Has anyone ever had a puppy with an avulsion fracture of the tibial tuberosity that made a full recovery and was still able to perform in agility with no issues?

In my puppy's case, the radiologist stated: The changes associated with the left tibial tuberosity are concerning for an avulsion fracture: however, I do not see definitive evidence of displacement.

She has been limping off and on. Sometimes she uses her back left leg and sometimes she holds it up, especially after she's been laying down for some time. I'm trying to keep her from being too active, but it's hard w/ a 5.5 month puppy.

Edit to add that she does not seem to be in any pain.

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I have a taller mixed breed dog, just about 24". It seems detrimental for her to jump her official height of 20" in CPE. I noticed that all the "fast" dogs all jump 16". The 20" and 24" seem broken to me and not good for the dogs that have to run them and really blocks bigger breeds from competing. I don't think I am alone in thinking this. The trainers I have talked to basically advised me from jumping her full height. I know they can't really take into account body types but even with my dog being pretty athletic shaped, people have asked if she is part greyhound, i can't fully compete except in the "enthusiast" level.

Edit:

What I meant by the 16" being the most competitive was more that this seems to be the height that the height classes are optimal for. For a 16" dog it takes x amount of effort to get over a jump and it feels like for the taller dogs that effort for jumping a 20" or 24" isn't x but something noticeably higher making a single run harder on the body. Also if you don't feel comfortable with your dog jumping even 1 or 2 height classes lower than you can't really compete at all. My dog is right at the line of having to jump 24" (CPE) and I wouldn't feel comfortable with her jumping 20" for a whole career and it is my understanding I can't jump 2 height classes down until she is over an age to run veteran.

Hey folks - I have been in agility classes since my pup was about 2 years (we took a few years off because I moved and couldn't afford it). Now she is 7 and is working up her confidence on teeter and weaves. We have done level 1 CPE and passed both ACT 1 Standard and Jumpers.

This post really isn't about the actual trials, but more or less - this is more about the people who show at these trials. As a newish handler, I have been disappointed in the cliquiness of folks who trial at these shows. There is no mentorship - just a bunch of cliquey people who, at I see this more at level 5 and above, treat their dog like crap. Why do people have these big egos over a .25cent ribbon ? Why are there groups of people who think they are better than everyone else? This is just such a turn off for me ever wanting to do CPE (and yes - it happened even at AKC ACT).

Don't even get me started on the people who just sit around and don't volunteer to set bars, scribe, or time.

Could someone explain NADAC skilled vs proficient to me? I understand they would require different jump heights and one needs to be measured and the other not. But it looks like the points won are cumulative and go to the same title-so what’s the benefit to making your dog do the higher jump height if that’s the case? Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance!!

Hi! I have a first dog who does agility. I've had a local coach teaching us. So our cues are not directional cues, if that makes sense. They're cues indicating which obstacle is next and how the dog should approach it if it's a jump.

So I basically have :

• jump
• out, in, and come which tell the dog that he should jump backside and how, depending on where I am and where he is
• tic which is wrap on the "natural side" considering how the dog jumps
• tac which is wrap on the "opposite side"
• go forward
• cues to indicate the slalom, A-frame, tunnel, dog walk and see-saw
• and other cues like touching hand, stay, release, get your toy

I have a second dog who started agility not long ago. I recently had a special course with an international coach who told me to start introducing directional cues to my second dog (I don't meet this coach on a regular basis, maybe just twice a year). My local coach doesn't teach directional cues and it doesn't feel very natural to me to use them, because I don't have experience using them.

Do you think teaching directional cues is important? What are the cues you use for your dogs?

I’m going to a trial this weekend that I am crating out of my car because I’m bringing my puppy with. I am debating on brining a tent for the back of the suv since it it supposed to be 60s and raining off and on. Any opinions on this?

Hey everyone!

I am new to agility (I started training a few months ago), and with Christmas coming up I want to start making a list of gear needed for trials to give friends and family ideas.

I would love your suggestions on necessities, things you wish you had when you first started, helpful training tools, or unique items. I also want to get my dog and me a matching shirt/martingale leash with a personalized team name, so if you know of any companies or products you would recommend I would greatly appreciate this!

As I said, I am new to the sport and would appreciate all the help I can get in setting my dog and me up for success. Thank you in advance!

I’ve been doing group lessons with three people for over a year, and I want to get something for all of us at Christmas. I’ve thought about going with something like a customized mug from Etsy or something, but I’d like for it to be agility-specific if possible.

What would you be happy to receive in a situation like this?

Hey guys, Im about to get another dog - most likely an australian shepherd and i figured id get into agility with him. Does anyone have any good youtube channels i can look at to see the process from zero to competition? I have a general idea in mind but id like to learn more before the pup arrives

Just to clarify - i have a lot of experience training dogs and figured id dive into an area i didnt try yet. So far my dogs are fully off leash trained so this might be a fun outlet for both of us

Thanks!