I'm currently using a modified 2x2 method http://www.kineticdog.com/Files/2%20x%202%20PDF.pdf based on a recommendation from this sub. We're on step 2 right now.

How essential is it to call your dog to your right side and get it to sit in between each time it passes through the poles? I find doing this confuses the dog/ breaks her focus. She is otherwise able to correctly enter the poles and does not pass through the poles when getting ready to go for the next attempt. When I don't call her back to my right she naturally heads back over to pole 1 ready to wrap around it.

Hi! I have a 16 month old BC that I started training as a puppy in agility. I have an already trained Aussie mix so I’m not a beginner handler but the BC has quite a bit different drive. He’s a strong herding dog, that’s his sport all the way so he’s being trained in both and he has very different work ethics for the two sports. He is so focused on the sheep at herding I can’t actually get him to look at me which is great! When it comes to agility he ONLY wants to stare at me, he runs into jumps and such because he’s too busy staring at me. I think I partly messed this up because I was using a toy in the summer with him and he was way too concerned with when I would be throwing it. I took the toy away and just use treats but now he just wants to run in to me and bark and jump up at me. His head is always turned to me which I know is good and helpful in some ways but I’m hoping I can get more drive on the equipment. Anyone have any tips on getting him to drive forward or focus more on the sport itself vs just me? I might be just overreacting because he is still “young” but I’d like to nip it the bud before it’s too late!

Hi all !

We have just started doing some ground work with my 9mo schipperke at my trainer's place. Actually we are working on his fear of going onto obstacles, but our main objective is to do some dog parkour.

Any of you doing some? I have looked into the two main organisation (international dog parkour association and all dog parkour), can't decide which one we should commit into.

Cheers !

Sorry about my English, not my first language...

The agility association that I run in has an optional category for disabled handlers. You can register in the category per trial; it doesn’t need to be a permanent registration. You as a handler get extra time, it doesn’t affect the dog’s time. I fractured my wrist on Tuesday and have a surgery consult next Friday. I’m wondering if I should register as a disabled handler for the two trials that I’m running in January. I’m presently in a sling with a cast on up to my elbow. Opinions, suggestions? I don’t want to take advantage of something that’s perhaps not meant for me. There isn’t specific criteria in the rule book as to what constitutes a disability.

Edit- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aLFsdAukMf5MSTiZpwdrG-r8l0SM5rva/view

AAC rule book version 9.1 section 2.7.2.6 Accessibility

Hello everyone!

I am currently the only active moderator for r/Agility and I would like to add at least one more person who regularly uses the subreddit, is familiar with the sport, and is at least a somewhat familiar with moderation on reddit (or willing to learn!). The sub has a very low moderation load. It's a super easy job!

If this is something you would be interested in, please send a quick message to r/Agility mod mail, and let me know how long you've been around the community, your level of experience with the sport, and your experience with moderation on reddit. Thanks!

Edit: Thanks everyone! I have gotten several messages and should be good to go! I'll reply to all of you who sent me a message this weekend.

Hi everyone, for the past year I have been trying to get my dog into agility at all of the neighbouring cities. We have been denied time and time again because she is dog reactive. She is a frustrated greeter and often wants to say hello or wants to run away. She just needs a one on one learning environment and she can excel. I have contacted numerous places and stated that I will pay whatever the cost is for private agility. I often get ghosted. I imagine it is because the places in my area likely find it more profitable to run large group classes than to take up their time and profits with having one on one private classes.

How can I teach her agility on my own? Are there online courses / guides I can follow?

I found One Mind Dogs as well as Shape Up Agility. I wanted to ask before I spend my money because they are also group classes but online. Shape Up Agility also seems to do jump work and I am trying to not teach my dog to jump more than she already can because I don't want her to jump fences.

Thank you

My girlfriend loves watching dog agility and has been wanting to go see it in person for some time now. I'm having a hard time getting consistent information online.

Is there a specific organization that is known for agility events that allows spectator tickets? Am I looking in the wrong places? Seems lots of qualifying events are closed-door.

Happy to do research on my own, just need some help getting oriented in the right direction. Thanks all :)

Edit: In USA - we live in Texas.

Thanks a ton for advice so far. The community sounds like a great place!

We don't have our own dogs to bring, don't worry lol

Please delete if this isn’t allowed. Does anyone have any Christmas gift ideas for an agility instructor? I seriously love our instructor. Without getting into too much detail my dog and I stayed at a toxic and abusive gym for the first three years of his agility career because I didn’t know any better. I’ve spent the last year undoing all of that and building his confidence back up with her. Her skill, commitment, and genuine love for what she does is unmatched. The progress my dog has made in a little less than a year is unreal and I can’t thank her enough. I’d like to get her something nice for Christmas but am at a complete loss. I feel like any dog related stuff she already has or would just buy for herself.

So I've enrolled my dog in an agility class. There's 3 other dogs. We spend in total 50 minutes of the hour siting on the bench watching the other dogs have their turns.

My dog has never seen a bridge before in his life, and he only gets 2 minutes each turn getting familiar with the obstacle. I'd love to do something productive while we're waiting, like getting him used to an obstacle that's currently not part of the trajectory the other dogs are using, but that's not allowed.

Do any of you have better experiences?

So my mostly obedient spitz has decided that as soon as she gets in the ring she’s no longer interested in listening to me and would rather either zoom around or just sniff around looking for horse poop. She doesn’t do this that much in training (and I try and stop it when she does as much as I can) and her recall is 98% on walks even with distractions. What’s the best way of stopping this when most of the time on walks she’s absolutely fine? Especially if I can do it outside of agility training time. I don’t think I can show my face at another show if she does this again, she never used to but did this at the last 2

Hi all! They’ve been working to revise and better clarify the curriculum where we train and help teach. We have a solid foundations skills class where the focus is on flatwork and body awareness. The next levels of classes are not as clear cut as over time they’ve sometimes shifted due to backlog of dogs moving up. We have an improved registration system now and some more instructors and are working on strengthening and clarifying the curriculum across the club.

Looking to understand what kinds of things are taught in classes at other training facilities and what kinds of qualifications they expect before moving students up? This could help us find more clear boundaries between the class levels.

My Australian Shepherd and I are new to agility so I am using treats in class to encourage him. Sometimes he gets excited and bites my fingertips accidentally if I am not holding my hand the proper way and I think that is causing me to get swelling and infections in my cuticles from the bacteria in his mouth and probably the barn environment.

Are there any dog training gloves that can help protect my fingers from my bitey alligator that allow for enough tactile precision to pick up small training treats?

Bonus, our class is in a freezing cold barn so I think I need these anyways.

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.

https://preview.redd.it/ko72a5r3863e1.png?width=1469&format=png&auto=webp&s=97569843725dc80d1ee9015983b764aa2599db7e

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!

https://preview.redd.it/p0i09ar1d23e1.png?width=1715&format=png&auto=webp&s=91c0693d829814116b9eab13664600a635fb6a9c

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 :)