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Min Pin new to agility?

Running, catching, leaping; this is the forum to discuss dog sports and agility training with other active pups!

  
Brutus

Napoleon Complex		 
 
Barked: Sun Nov 13, '11 5:40pm PST 
My (almost) 4 year old min pin is a little bullet. My family and I got to thinking, "why don't we do agility training?" He's lived outside until about two weeks ago when he got fixed, and we haven't started obedience training yet. So my question is: where do we start?? Are there any nationwide organizations (or in upstate SC) that we could get involved with?
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Zephyr

1213425		 
 
Barked: Sun Nov 13, '11 10:01pm PST 
Most agility classes require that you have some solid off-leash obedience first, the main one being a perfect, or nearly perfect recall. The world could be ending and he needs to come back when you say his name. Some of the other classes want you to have a solid sit and down off-least as well both of which are handy.

That's pretty dog and training dependent so I'd focus on the basics first. In the mean time you can do a lot of basic agility type things at home/around where you live before you do any class stuff. Fallen logs (within reason), wood piles, picnic tables, park benches, tires, slides etc. Pretty much anything you can find in a park or on a hike can be used as makeshift equipment. Getting used to getting up and going and climbing and sliding is a good challenge for them even if you never actually attend a class.

There are also a ton of plans online for homemade equipment as well as some pre-bought stuff which ranges from very expensive to very cheap. Kids play tunnels for example won't stand up to a lot of hard use by hard running paws but may be fine for a toy breed.

It's really going to be your job to make everything an exciting adventure. It's pretty unusual for dogs to not like agility but portions of it can be scary because of height or movement. You really really want to keep it positive regardless of what you're doing. No experience is a lot easier to get over than a bad experience. It does take quite a bit of time to get a dog trialling ready for agility so taking it slowly in the beginning is not a hindrance.

As for getting involved there are a few organizations who run agility trials, the AKC and the USDAA are two of the bigger ones. While neither website is a joy to navigate you can find information (at least as to finding out which club is running a tournament) and go from there. Volunteering at a trial is fun and very educational, and they are usually very grateful for help.
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Forest AD AX- AXJ CGC

the Runaway- Bunny		 
 
Barked: Fri Nov 18, '11 6:17am PST 
Probably your best plan of action would be to find an agility trial in your area (you may have to drive an hour or more to find one--I am not sure how many there are in your state). Go to the trial, and observe and talk to as many people as you can. Find out where they train, what methods they use (hopefully positive only) and what they like abut their trainer. Hopefully you'll have more than one option to choose from in your area, but you may not.

Ideally you'd find someone with experience working with lots of breeds. Min Pins are not "easy" in the traditional sense of training--I know, mine is half Min Pin--but they are game little things and if you can convince them the game is fun they will play it!

In the meantime I would enroll in basic obedience, again preferably with a positive reinforcement-based school. Get your dog set on basic commands and used to working around other dogs and distractions.

Agility is a lot of work, but it is also incredibly addicting once you start "getting it". Good luck!!!
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