what to look for

[debbiej]

I have questions about what to look for and what to avoid in basic obedience classes. I think I have only 3 choices of where to go, but in my past experience, there was a difference in 'philosophy' between them. also, an agility class will be available before basic obedience. for an older pup- 6 mo- who hasn't been through an obedience class, would that be wise?

[Brooke&Ryan]

Hmmmm, my opinion would be that a solid beginner OB class would be a must before I would start agility with my dog. We did the agility off-lead because we were in a contained space. But...it's very important, at least in my opinion, to have a solid recall for the dog. I think that the agility is a blast but the OB is a MUST.

But....do the agility after the OB. It's a wonderful time!

Just my two cents.....

:D

[danyp1]

The agility club here will not even let you in if you do not have solid basic obedience and actually you have to be examined in ob. before they even let you sign up for it. I wonder how you would do agility with your dog without it having basic obedience?

[Brooke&Ryan]

Well we actually witnessed that the last time that we had agility. Our trainer allowed a dog that had no OB training into agility & man....it was a struggle. The dog was constantly running away & racing around the building psyching up the other dogs. It was VERY frustrating & luckily the owner did not bring the dog back.

Brooke

[debbiej]

the same trainer offers both classes at different times. they are finishing up the ob classes and the agility starts first part of Dec. next ob classes start in Feb. when I told her I was really anxious to start classes, she said I could start Hilda in agility. I don't know anything about agility classes. I need ob classes to feel confident that she would come off lead, etc, etc. so maybe it's not a good idea. thanks.

[Rott-Wiley]

I agree, you do need a solid base in basic obedience before starting in an agility class. Unless the class is geared toward pups and will be taught obedience at the same time. Also, you don't want to take a 6 month old pup and force him to jump and do a lot of strenuos twisting turns, that's bad on his developing joints. That's not to say "No agility," but be aware that he has a lot of maturing to do before he can run a competition type agility course.

[debbiej]

I don't know if it is a puppy agility class or one that graduates of obedience class go on to. She did tell me we would be doing a lot of running. Maybe we will go watch a few times, but I'm convinced, I'll wait. thanks again!

[Luvs]

I would definately recommend taking an obedience class before the agility class if possible.

Have you done any obedience training with your puppy on your own?

When Akasha was 3 months old I was looking around for training classes to get her into once her shots were completed. The only class I could get her into at the time was an agility class. The class was geared towards beginners and puppies. She learned to "play" on all the equipment and really enjoyed the class. Everything was done on leash, unless you had a dog that listened while off leash. It was a great opportunity for socialization and it got Akasha used to all the equipment at an early age. She was not allowed to do any jumping nor alot of running. The jumps were placed all the way onto the floor so she could learn to go over them but didn't have to jump.

Since the obedience classes won't start until Feb, if it were me I would probably go ahead and sign up for the agility classes. At least for some early socialization (if your puppy knows some basic obedience already). If you do take the agility class make sure that you keep your puppy on leash and do NOT let it do any jumping. Make sure you do what YOU think is best for your puppy. If the instructor is asking you to do something you don't feel comfortable with, then don't do it.

Good luck whatever you decide:)

[debbiej]

the class you describe sounds good--it sounds like what the woman who runs the class was describing, but I think hers is geared more for grown dogs. I did ask her how we could start the agility without obedience and she said it would be no problem-they would cover obedience at the same time. I've been working with her, but I think I need an ob class to get more consistant and better attention from her. For socialization I've taken her to places where she meets people and dogs I know are friendly. I wish there were classes starting sooner, and I wish I had a few others to compare the methods they use. My pup is 6-7 months old but I just got her (rescued her), and we didn't know if she got the shots she should have, so just in case, we are getting them now, even tho she is older. thanks!