We tryed agility today it was a lot of fun. My boy friend took Dexter and I Harley. I had offer him Harley but he wanted the slow boy.

Harley is just so willing to try any thing as long as there is some fun game after. He loves to jump and run in the tunnel.
Dexter is exhusted, Harley is ready to go again!

http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee412/donnerschweer/262175_1411544744835_1719022798_698924_3820583_n.jpg

Fun! Good for you!

Agility is a blast, glad you had fun! BTW, your dogs are absolutely beautiful, I love Dobes.

How awesome for both you and the beasts that you tried this!! I hope you get to keep at it!

Sounds like you guys all had fun.

The hard part now is getting your significant other to build you some equipment of your own.

I have some backyard equipment that we goof around with. Makes for great fun and I love the combination of mental thinking and physical exercise that agility gives my dogs. I am currently taking a formal class with my youngster to get him used to the contacts which I do not have. My sister is running my other GSD. It's a great evening outing

I may go again. Just has this is my second neibour. She just drop in and ask for volonteer for the testing of new instructor.
She ask if it would be possible to use the indoor arena in winter. I may just have easy access to training help in agility.

See Ariane, you've got the DREAM position of agility people in the NW. Where I was raised we had to BEG horse people to let us use an arena one day a week. It rains so much here agility in the fall-winter-spring can really suck. An indoor arena is almost a must.

You should see about renting out your facility to the agility club!!! I'm jealous! Fantastic opportunity for you and your boys! (Love the pics, btw!)

Well Ariane, you and a few others, with all your agility talk, pushed me over the edge. Echo is signed up for a pre-agility class.

It’s going to be a heck of drive mid week but I think he’s ready for something a little more challenging and there’s just too many unknowns in this venue (for me) to keep dabbling with it in my back yard. If I’m going to train it, I might as well do it right.

Registration was last night but it doesn’t start for another couple of weeks.

Any tips on what to expect? They were pretty vague, just wanted some basics and the “touch” command, which he performs like a trooper. They didn’t even ask for the stand. A few folks had to sign up for their obedience classes first but he got slotted right into pre-agility.

They said to bring him hungry with lots of treats and a toy. I noticed you have a water bottle in your hand Ariane. Is that your toy? Echo loves empty water bottles.

CJ, Harley suffer massive toy ADHD, I had to change toy and treat all day.

I used treat for slow stuff and new things like the tunel and chute. Toys when we needed more drive.
A good marker base will help a lot. I had brought a tug, a squeeky, hotdog, cat food and dried liver. The water bottle just turn him on and they wanted some fast running for some picture but we lost some control in the turns.

They did not permit any other collar then flat collar during the fun day. I am permited to use what want now but don't really need any thing on him.

We started with the tunel as it is for many dogs a very hard and challanging obstacle. Then we did some body awareness excersises. Walk over a ladder or stand on a rocking disc. Jumping was the last thing as it was the easy thing.

I had the dogs with the most training in ob and could see the benefit of a good trusting relation with my boys. Dexter was haddle mostly by my boyfriend but I had to help him get through the tunel at one point. Harley is crazy confiend and just want to try anything his hardest obstacle is the slalom as he has so much drive. We were on grass and we were last to go so he first bounce around then he drop a treat and found all the lot treat and got in tracking mode. They had to move the slalom for us

Every body said how exhausted their dogs were after, well I had to run my crazy boy at night but that's just him, Dexter was wiped out

It was a lot of fun and I am going for semi private lesson (more practical for me)