.com Forum · Australian Forum

hi,

i have a male border collie who is 5 this year and i want to train him in agility.
i have taken him down to the dog park where there is a little agaility course but it's no good as the poles and jumps are all made out of steel, so if he misses a jump it's gonna hurt. [but for him missing a jump is hardly ever going to happen]

he (Harvey) can do any sort of jump or jump up on something, he is fine with the A frame, dog walk, jumps and little hoops ( he loves them) He is very agile and can jump almost anything

but he's not good with the poles and seasaw...

can someone please give me some tips or help??

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A bit more about Harvey::

Harvey has never been professionally trained, or been to obedience class. he has only had me to train him, and me well....im no where near being a pro lol!

Harvey isn't desexed...i'm not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Harvey is like always full of energy, but sometimes he gets to excited and attempts to jump on you

Harvey enjoys running alot, as when i walk him he's always running and not walking.

We also have another dog, Ned a 12 year old male border collie. sometimes harvey can loose constration even with him around.


he enjoys doing weird and strange stuff
examples::
*Getting in a milk create
*jumping on the trampoliene
*running up the slipperly side
*jumping on tree stumps
*jumping on the verandah posts
*riding on the back of my bike

stuff like that

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Harvey's Do's & Don'ts

If i was to train him this is what i'd have to take note to, and the same if anyone else was

Do's

Train Harvey with a tennis ball as he has more constration in a tennis ball, then anything else

ONLY reward him at the end of his session


Don'ts

Harvey can NEVER be trained with treats, he looses constration very easily, and takes more note to the food than what he's supposed to be doing.

Never have too long sessions, it already takes a long time to get his attention

He can NEVER do any tricks/training when there are other dogs around

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So does anyone think they can help me with harvey?
and does anyone think with some more training harvey could someday be an agility dog?


Lindsey

I have to ask, why can't he do anything with other dogs around? Is he dog aggressive? In agility you have to be in close quarters with many other dogs.

quote

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posted by Wildsyde
I have to ask, why can't he do anything with other dogs around? Is he dog aggressive? In agility you have to be in close quarters with many other dogs.

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well its the same with the treats, it's just an attention span thing. as soon as he sees another dog he wants to go over and sniff its butt and what ever else he wishes to do

Then before anything else you need to teach him to ignore those distractions. To teach that you need to train with those distractions around. I would get some professional obedience training to help work on his focus before moving to agility

Good that it's distraction. Yes, you need to get him to a basic obedience class. They teach attention there. Then I'd get to an agility class. Weaves and teeters are best done under knowledgable trainers. You want them to start right to do it right, or you can end up with slow or constantly skipped weaves, and teeter fear issues.

Where bouts in Aus are you?

NSW


you?

Perth.
Maybe google it and see what comes up in NSW. or look in the yellow pages
Rachael

Pehaps go to the dogsNSW website, and find your local club, i would say try to start with obedience so he can get the basic commands, sit stay, down etc, then move up to agility.

Even if he is food mad, you can teach him to be responsive to that,

Also I beleive you have to be a member of your local canine club to be able to participate in competitions, is he registered?

i don't think he's registered, but i know my other dog Ned is

where abouts can i register him if he's not?

i've just looked in his file, he's not registered.

does anyone know where i can get him registered?

Lindsey

Try getting in touch with one of these clubs

www.dogsnsw.org.au/regions-metro-training-clubs

Also here is some information on agility/ trialling from the CAWA site
www.cawa.asn.au/ then go to activities and event then to agility.


They will be able to tell you how to get started, also he would need to be registered as an 'associate' dog or something similair then, unless the breeder has registered him on limited register

Hi,

I agree with what other users have said about getting in touch with a professional club to help you with your training.

The other thing I would bear in mind is that contact equipment and weaves (poles) at these parks rarely resembles that used in competition. I know the dogwalk at my local park (in QLD) accommodates 5 dogs easily, and is more like a bridge than a walk.

It is possible to train a dog in agility with a ball as reward, that is how one of my boys is trained and he is currently competing in novice.

There is also more to 'agility' than just agility, there is also 'jumping' and 'games'. It might be a good idea to see if you can find club and go along. Then you might want to try going along to an agility trial and you can see competition dogs in action.

As you are in Australia, bear in mind that agility here is different to how it is played in the US.

If you need any further help you can message me privately.

Jessica