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Dog agility is a competitive sport in which a handler directs his or her dog over a timed obstacle course. You will teach your dog to run across boards of varying lengths and widths, jump through a tire and over standard jumps, weave their bodies through a series of stationary poles, and to demonstrate control by lying down on a table. At BRAG they will learn to do all of this in a fun but safe manner. Dog agility also offers a recreational activity for you and your pet that is fun, challenging, and very rewarding. Not all of the students training with BRAG have the desire to compete, but our aim is that all will enjoy the time training and working with their dogs. At BRAG you will find that your dog is excited to come to class each week There are many organizations worldwide that sponsor competitive agility events. The primary groups in the United States are the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA), the North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC), the American Kennel Club (AKC), the United Kennel Club (UKC), and Canine Performance Events (CPE).All of these, with the exception of AKC are open to dogs of any breed, as well as mixed breeds (All Americans). While the different organizations have some variance in rules and regulations, the basic concept is the same. Below we have provided answers to some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about our training program. FAQ: Do I need to have done obedience before doing agility? Although you do not need to have attended a formal class, your dog does need some basic skills. The most important behavior your dog can know before starting agility is Come. After that Stay, Down and Sit in that order are good behaviors to know as well. He need not be 100% reliable on these behaviors but some understanding of what is expected of him will make your agility training easier. Positive obedience training is the best way to have your dog happy to work with you and to learn these behaviors quickly. We can suggest a couple of good places in the area for basic obedience training if you are interested. Will my dog be off-leash? YES. While our Introduction to Agility class is primarily on leash, there are times when your dog will be off-leash. More advanced classes require that your dog be off leash. It is important that your dog has a reliable Come command as he may be distracted and want to run over to other dogs. YOU must be more interesting to your dog than all of the other dogs in class. What makes me the most interesting thing to my dog? This takes work to accomplish. Now is the time to find out what works for your dog. Each dog is a little different. Generally, however, animation, interacting with your dog, toys and treats are key to keeping most dogs interested in you. Keep a really favorite food just for training e.g. cheese, hot dogs, bologna. Try a favorite toy to tug with. Make exciting noises. Don’t nag your dog. Be excited and practice, practice, practice! How old does my dog need to be to start agility? Dogs can start in BRAG’s agility program as young as 4 months but the class must be tailored to the age of the dog. Young puppies can learn many important skills for agility without being introduced to any of the obstacles. Your dog needs to be physically developed to jump & weave and mentally developed to understand the obedience skills already discussed – this age will be different for every dog. Young dogs will have many more peaks and valleys in their training so patience is a must. Dogs need to be physically healthy. Yes, an old dog can learn new tricks! Is agility class about playing with other dogs? NO. Agility class is for you and your dog to play and learn together. Your dog should feel that YOU are much more exciting than any other dog in the room. This is not a puppy play session. Do I have to want to compete in agility to participate in classes? NO. Most students start agility classes just to have fun with their dogs. Some get bitten by the bug and go on to compete. Is agility easy? NO but learning can be fun. It is not just a question of telling your dog to jump. Do you know how to communicate with your dog? Performing each obstacle is not the most difficult thing to learn but how to communicate with your partner is much tougher. Your instructor will teach you how to be a team. Yes, it is difficult at times. That is why we use lots of food and toy rewards to help your dog. Yes, it can get frustrating and that is when it is time to stop and go and play with your dog. Do I need to practice at home? The more you can practice what you learn in class, the faster you will improve. Many skills do not require equipment, especially improving your obedience commands. Some things can also be taught using items that you have around the house, your instructor will tell you about this. Short quick training sessions are best for teaching your dog what you have learned and keeping your dog excited and interested in working with you. My dog is very nervous, is agility suitable for her? Agility can be a great way to socialize a dog. It introduces them to a new environment, new dogs and people, different noises and objects. It is very important to only progress at a speed with which your dog is comfortable. A nervous dog will take longer to get it’s confidence. You may even need to repeat the initial beginner class to overcome your dog’s fears. For particularly nervous dogs, class is not the place to work on this. With permission, you may be welcome to come to the BRAG facility to work on improving your dog’s behavior. My dog does not like other dogs, can he do agility? It all depends. If your dog is aggressive and attempts to injure or bully other dogs, a class situation is not appropriate. You should seek the services of a qualified behavior specialist to evaluate your dog. We can make recommendations as needed. Your dog may be able to do private lessons. We have several instructors who are willing to take on private students. My dog does not like strangers touching it or coming near them, can he do agility? In training, the instructor will need to hold your dog to help it learn so it must be tolerant of strangers. We are happy to help with suggestions for outside of class. If you are willing to spent time and be patient, many dogs are able to overcome this dislike. Again, class is not the place to work on this. With permission, you may be welcome to come to the BRAG facility to work on improving your dog’s behavior. How fast will my dog progress? That depends on many things and will vary from team to team. The speed of your progress does not matter. What is important is learning the fundamental skills at the beginning properly. Once you have trained your dog to make “mistakes”, it is very hard to go back and “fix” them. Remember, your instructor probably made those same “mistakes” with the very first dog they trained so learn from their mistakes! Do not compare the speed of your progress to other teams in your class. Can both of us train our dog in class? Eventually, your dog will be able to work for both of you. However, initially dogs learn better when one person is the primary trainer. This is because each trainer brings differences to the training process that can be confusing to your dog. Once your dog is more experienced and knows what behaviors are expected, you can each train your dog. This is usually not until at least Intermediate Handling or above and can still cause confusion for your dog. Additional members of the family are more than welcome to come to watch class from our non-working area. Can my child train our dog? Children and dogs can have a great deal of fun together in agility and our classes. This very much depends on your child and the dog. A large untrained dog with an inexperienced child is usually not a good combination. This combination is very frustrating for most children and not suitable for an agility class situation. Attending a small obedience class first will greatly help this team’s potential. Attending the Preview will allow us to assess your child’s ability to participate in class. How do I sign up for my first class? We hope this helped answer some of your questions! If you need further information, please email Pam at pam@bragagility.com. |