[Ayoka]

Originally Posted by nlavett

I'm curious as to others opinions on this. As I stated, my husband is really looking forward to agility. Our breeder is ADAMANT (sp?) that we do not start it until 2 years of age. According to her it's too much stress on the hips before they are full grown.

Are there ways to start training for this without the stresses on joints that she is addressing?

A lot of the games I was mentioning before are walking over a ladder, getting a dog used to changing sides while walking/running beside you, getting a dog to go out and around a pilon (no juming here) teaching your dog Left and right. teaching your dog to pay attention t you while other dogs are working around you.

NONE of these inolves the jumping/contact (ANY more than obedience training) that would make one worry about hips and or other stress on growing tendons and ligaments. Is your breeder involved in agility?