FRIDAY FUSION CONTEST…
This contest is now closed, but comments can still be viewed and added.
Today’s Friday Fusion contest asks you to tell us a story! Winner will receive a free Competition Adjustable Jump! (one can never have too many jumps, right?). This is a $60 value. The story can be short or long. To make this fair to everyone, we are going to collect all the stories, and I’ll be asking someone here in the office to pick a random number. If there are 50 entries, for example, they will pick a number from 1 to 50. Whatever # they choose is whatever story wins! Entry deadline is Sunday 4-12-09 at midnight.
Today’s Fusion Question:
Tell us your story! When was the very first time you saw or heard about dog agility, and what was your first impression?
NOTE: This contest is now closed. Winner’s name was announced in Monday’s blog entry. Thank you to all the participants! Check back this Friday for another give-away contest.
April 10th, 2009 at 7:42 am
I first saw agility on TV when I was a little kid. I sat with my eyes glued to the TV. At that time I decided that I wanted to have a career in dogs. I searched all the TV guides to find more. I never had a dog when I was little. Now, I have a a great young dog who I an training. I am having my yard fenced this summer, and will be getting agility equiptment to fill it. I have gone agility crazy.
April 10th, 2009 at 10:14 am
We first saw agility as an exhibition at an AKC breed show. At the time we had an Airedale, and wondered, “How the heck do you teach a dog to do THAT?” A few years later we got a Border Collie, not knowing much about the breed except that it is smart. After a couple of sessions of obedience, our instructor suggested we try agility. I was hooked after our first class. What fun!
April 10th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I first heard about agility from my friend Cathy. I had recently gotten a Jack Russell Terrier puppy, and she said that he would need a job and the job should be agility. The first agility I saw besides on TV, was an AKC trial that I went to with Stewie to see Cathy compete with her dog. It looked like so much fun, and I immediately wanted to do it! I started taking puppy agility classes with Stewie when he was 6 months old and we have not looked back since. We are truly addicted to agility.
Nancy and StewieJRT
April 10th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I have watched dog agility on TV for a long time and always tough that it would be fun, i was a breeder for 15 years of Springer Spaniel. One day in 2004 I bought this little tri color female for breeding of course, but she had soo much energy that I decided to start agility in my backyard just for fun and to give her something to do. I built some equipment, bought some vhs and books and started training her. I have never been to a club to train because there is nothing close to where I live, so it’s always been Me and Her alone. I right away loved agility and she did too, actually after 38 years of my life doing all kind of things I have findly found what i love to do. Sideway is my Pal, I have never raised my voice at her, we start getting pretty good so I decided to enter a competition and ever since that day I’m officially an addict to agility. She is the only dog i run and until she can’t run no more she will be my only agility dog. I’m not even interested in breeding anymore and anyway I had to spayed her because she has hip dysplasia. Now my backyard is full of agility equipment and I love it.
April 10th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
it was the start of march about 4 years ago when i was 10 and i was watching crufts i was amazed by this sport called agility it was amazing ,after i seen the dogs compete and win there trophies i was amazed by it all .
so the next day i decided to make a couple of jumps and brang my dogs out one by one to try them out they all loved it so after a year and i was 11 , i’d been to my nans house and found some wood and made two jumps for my dogs , took them home and started training my dogs.
since then i’ve got new dogs and got more interested ,i found some proper dog agility jumps ,so i bought them ,then took them home and started training more and more with my cavalier king charles spaniel he was great and he loved it ,then brought more equipment e.g tunnels and chutes , the cavalier is now 5years old and i now have another dog named rico hes a chihuahua and hes 2 i’ve done a years training with both of them at a training club ,i’ve bought new equipment e.g see-saw ,more tunnels jumps and weave poles and im now saving up for a a-frame .
im now competing and done my first show on the 4th january 2009 and my second show is tommorow on the 11th april 2009 and i just can’t wait.
i love agility and would recommend it to anyone with any breed of dog .people say i have the agility bugs and i geuss i do .
so if anyone has a small little dog out there or just any sized dog i would start agility with them , it’s the best sport every made and its brilliant.
hope you liked my story and thanks to whoever invented agility
roxanne and dogs
April 10th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
A long time friend had become involved in dog breeding, conformation and agility. She invited me to watch an agility trial nearby. I had a young aussie at the time who was in need of some focus and a job. After watching the agility trial, I thought this would be a fun activity to do with my young dog–just to get focus. . . not to compete. Yeah, right. That was 4 years ago and that dog has several championships and I am now training another dog who may be ready to trial soon.
April 10th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
My challenge was my age (63) and my dog Katy’s age (5 years). She is a small Corgi-mix, about 22 lbs. and 12″ on the nose at the whithers. But after about 2 years of patient training, Katy can maneuver accurately any course you can build and we both have a lot of fun. She clears 12″ with 12 to spare. Not super fast, but hardly ever makes a mistake (99% of the time mistakes are mine). Don’t ever count out the older dogs. Katy is quite skilled in Rally, too, on or off leash. Started that at 5 years, too.
April 10th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
first time I heard of agility? wow…not sure I quite remember…but I do remember the fun of it. How much fun the handler and dog had running around the course.
And I thought…if I ever get a young dog..I”M GOING TO DO THAT TOO!
and so …. I did. 
April 10th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Gosh, the first time I saw an agility competition was about 7 years ago while watching highlights from a dog show.
I was amazed at the speed of the dogs competing and the bond that was evident between the dog and the handler. It broght to mind the tricks my sister and I had taught our pet poodle way back in our grammar school days. We were so impressed with ourselves for teaching him to jump over a jump rope with each of us holding an end.
Back in 2005, after years of living on my own and having to travel quite a bit for work, I was finally able to be in a position to be a dog owner again. After rescuing two shelties my dream of learning agility began. Having rescued two senior dogs that dream had to wait a couple of more years. In 2007 my husband and I acquired a sheltie pup and Bailey and I began our training in August of 2008. Just last week we began our first Advanced class after sucessfully completing a Beginners and two Intermediate sessions. Bailey’s little sister (Tara) and I will be starting her Beginners class the week after Easter.
It has proven to be a lot of fun and indeed a great bonding opportunity for me and my dogs!!!
Mary
Tracy (9 yr old rescue), Bailey and Tara (myshelties)
April 10th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
The first time I heard about dog agility was from my sister-in-law in Australia about 7 or 8 years ago. She started agility with her GSD and quickly became hooked. I instantly loved the idea of doing a “sport” with a dog and started planning how I could get involved. At the time, however, we only had Tibetan Mastiffs who were not candidates for agility. So for years I followed her progress and started seeking out local trials to watch. Once we were in the position to get another breed of dog, in addition to our resident Tibetan Mastiff, our research included selecting a breed that could be trained for obedience and agility. After much research we selected the Belgian Tervuren and I am now completely hooked on the breed and agility
April 10th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
As a teenager I worked a summer job in a vet’s office. We had a client there that I knew “did agility” with her dogs, although I had only a vague notion of what that was all about. That client definitely seemed different from the other dog owners though: she was more knowledgeable, she had a great eye for detecting lameness, and although her dogs never wore leashes they were perfectly behaved. I didn’t know her very well, but she became an early role model for the kind of dog owner I wanted to become.
A few years ago, a friend started to get seriously into training. She encouraged me to drop by an agility trial her club was hosting. At the trial, I saw all kinds of dogs -large, small, purebred, mixed- and teams at all levels of training and performance. Still, everybody seemed to be having fun. I realized that agility wasn’t just for high-caliber competitors and thought “wow, I bet even *I* could do this too”.
April 10th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I first got introduced to agility through our dog club Allsorts Dogsports which is now disbanded. I thought it was awesome because of all the jumping and neat obsticles . I think it is one of the kewlest dog sports out there for the regular dog owner as it is something almost everyone can do. It isn’t as restrictive as obedience, or as demanding as protection sports or as repetitive as flyball and you get to see your dog FLY! I remember practising doing jumps over hedges and swings at the park as well as getting the dogs to walk the edge of the sandbox….it was so much fun seeing them gain confidence and teaching unique commands that now I do it with my cats too!
April 10th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I first saw agility in action in 1994 or 1995 when Nancy Geyes put on a demo at her facility in San Jose. At the time I only had a very large Rottweiler and thought we can never do this, but loved the idea. Many years later (13+) here we are as a much older person still laughing that I did not get started sooner, leraning the ropes and competing in 2 different venues of agility with ROTTWEILERS! I love it and am so sorry we did not get started sooner when we had the chace to work directly with Nancy.
April 10th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
The first time I heard about agility is when a friend took me the Rhinebeck Fair grounds in NY to see some friend competing in agility. I was amazed at all the different kinds of dogs competing in the event. My first immpression was I thought it was something I could really get involved with and sparked my competive drive. At that time my husband and I were considering adopting our first puppy. A family member was expecting a litter of Australian Shephards and we were considering that breed. Well we committed to a puppy that day! Now we are hooked on agility and adopting another dog soon.
April 10th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
I have been training dogs for many years, started as a youngster with my dad. Back then everyone did just obedience. Put several AKC titles on dogs, grew up,
got married and started to raise a family. But dogs never left my heart. I soon owned one, then several, and joined the local obedience training club. When I went back after being away for several years, the first thing I notced was all these dogs doing all this really cool stuff. I soon learned it was called Agility, the first time my dog went over the A-frame I was hooked, had have been doing Agility, ever since. Love it!
I now run 2 dog training clubs of my own and Agility is a big part of what we do.
April 10th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
The first time I saw agility, I thought to myself: where can I learn to do that? I was so impressed with the level of training the dogs displayed and how much fun they were having. I have since learned how to train dogs in agility and my own dog, Cooper is a superstar in my backyard.
April 10th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I first saw agility on television. I adopted a labrador retriever from rescue who definately needed a job. He washed out of pet therapy because he was too exuberant. We tried agility at a demonstration and he loved all the obstacles. 5 years later, he still loves it!
April 10th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I first saw agility trials on TV. I was hooked, and hunted for someone to teach ME and my Max. I went throuogh a few trainers, but WOW, now we have the right one and will probably add his brother Tito in this year. We love the fun and exercise we get, and all of the other students are great to be around.
April 10th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
The first time I saw agility in person (6 years ago) I was hooked. I loved the connection between handler and dog. It is the culmination of everything I want with my dogs!
April 10th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I saw agility for the first time on a cable television program (?Animal Planet) showing an agility trial. I said “WOW!!!” then grabbed a tape and hit “record.” I watched that tape a few times, kept my eyes open for more shows on agility trials, then began wondering if maybe, just maybe, it was something my dogs and I could do. The learning process began…and continues to this day.
April 10th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
When my dog was young and we were in a clicker /dog manners class, my instructor informed us about a local agility trial. I talked my husband into going with me to watch. After several minutes I told him that my dog could never be able to do this. She was the clown of the class as far as I was concerned. She was hyper and very very social in an uncontrollable way. After my husband past away, I decided my dog and I needed something to keep us both busy to get past this time in our lives. I signed us for an agility class. And another and another and another and another. Guess What! We are doing our first trial this year. She is still that hyper dog but loves agility. She is very fast and if she doesn’t get the zoomies, I think she will do very well.
April 10th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Mulligan is our family’s first dog. Trying to have a well behaved dog, we took the AKC CGC class. Mulligan was very obediant but when allowed to play with our instructor, during off leash recalls, his real crazy play drive was made very appereant. Everyone would howl when Mulligan would bolt back to me when called, sit accept his treat,, and then sprint back to the instructor for more play. Our instructor was impressed with his blazing speed for a little white fuzzy guy. She suggested I take Mulligan to an agility class. Being the dead of winter in Northern New England, I decided to take her advice, only for fun though. We were not going to be one of those crazy people who compete with their dogs. Well, a six week class of puppy agility class led to another conversation with an instructor. She said we should take agility classes with our local world-reknowned agility trainer. She thought Mulligan had too much talent for her “fun” classes. Well, Mulligan and I were having fun, and it was still very cold and snowy outside. We decided to move to the new instructor. I even had to change my work schedule to accomadate this new class. With in a month, I had purchased several hundreds of dollars worth of agility equipment and was hooked for life. It has now been over a year and guess what??? We are one of those crazy agility loving families traveling to the agility trials and having a blast. Agility has been the best accidental discovery of my life. Mulligan loves the game, and it has strengthened our bond. We have met some of the nicest people we know through agility. My husband and I love our new agility family. Now I am the one telling everyone I know that they should try agility with their dog.
April 10th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I first saw an agility competition on an animal channel on television about 10 years ago. It really looked exciting and I thought my dog would love this type of competition. We had competed in obedience and were working on our utility title and my dog was 8 years old at that time. I began building my own equipment and buying what I could afford. I took classes at my dog club and continued to practice for our utility title and also for our first novice agility competition. Until, my first agility trial I had never been to an agility trial. I was very NERVOUS worrying if I would remember the whole course and hoping that I would not NQ my dog. Both my dog and me had a blast! At her second competition, was obedience and agility. We ran out of the agility competition and grabbed our articles and ran down to the obedience competition. That was a very exciting day as she qualified both in agility and utility obedience. She was 9 & 1/2 years old at her first competition and she competed in agility until she was over 13 years old and always ran with her tail wagging. Yes, it was at first very scary but oh so much fun!!!
April 10th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I was first introduced to Dog Agility when I was about 10 years old. My Uncle Greg and Aunt Michele owned two Great Pyrenees–one who competed in Agility. I remember those Saturday afternoons, when my aunt and uncle would take me to an agility trial. It was so exciting for me to watch my uncle and his Pyr run a course, while my aunt and I stood ringside. At that time, we were also trying to find a dog for me, since I really wanted one ever since I was 4. Although I was young, my aunt and uncle knew that one day I would compete in agility–especially my aunt. She knew that my uncle and I would compete, while she would have the pleasure of watching us shine. Unfortunately, she never got that chance. In June of 2004, my Aunt Michele lost a well-fought 2 1/2 year battle with cancer. Around that same time, I rescued a 3 year old Cairn Terrier, named D’ogee. A few days after her memorial service, I took a long walk with my uncle. Right then and there I made a promise to him that I would do dog agility, because I really wanted to make my aunt proud.
After 2 1/2 years of training, D’ogee and I finally entered our first trial. We ended up placing 4th, and that was when I caught the “agility bug.” One year after that, D’ogee and I earned our Novice Agility Jumper Preferred title–our first title! My dream of finally competing in agility finally came true, and I knew that there was more to come in the future.
Even though my aunt isn’t physically at the shows to see how far D’ogee and I have come (being a junior handler, it’s NOT easy training a stubborn terrier!), I know she’s always in my heart. Sometimes I feel her next to me, offering some tips or techniques, whenever I’m walking a course, or training in the backyard. She’s taught me so much about the sport, even though she feels so far sometimes. The most important lesson that I learned from her is: It’s not just about the titles and ribbons–it’s something greater than that (those of you who are agility handlers know exactly what I mean!) If it wasn’t for her and my uncle (who currently still shows Pyrs), I would have never known about dog agility. A huge part of my hear would remain unawakened. D’ogee and I still compete today, and I know I will continue to compete in dog agility for the rest of my life. The Q’s and titles are always great. But I do this for something greater. I’m always running for her.
April 11th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Being an ex-equestrian and by chance seeing dog agility on ESPN’s Great Outdoors Games in 2003, I was hooked before I even tried it! At the time I had a 4 month old German Shorthaired Pointer that was going to need something to do to properly channel that legendary Shorthair energy. I immediately went to the internet and did a search. I found the website of an agility training club that was close to home and the webmaster turned out to be a former riding instructor of mine. I contacted her by email that day and the rest, as they say, is history. I have been totally hooked since that time and now compete with 2 GSPs almost every weekend. I never thought it was possible, but I am having way more fun trialing dogs than I ever did showing horses, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be having this much fun at 50+!
April 11th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
The first time I saw agility was in 2006, a trial outside of Olympia, WA. I had started taking classes already, but had never seen the whole thing put together. My trainers suggested I come out and watch.
My impression: I was in tears watching the beauty and skill of so many different breeds! Convinced me that my Miniature Poodle, Louie, was definitely on the right track, and we haven’t stopped since.
April 11th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
The first time I saw agility was on TV. I really enjoyed watching it! Everyone looked like they were having so much fun!
April 12th, 2009 at 1:38 am
My husband and I were researching different breeds of dogs for a pet. He had called someone and they suggested we meet then at a park. They were doing agility. This was in the early to mid 90′s. I remember thinking it was pretty cool but that there was no way I could ever train a dog to do that. Fast forward to 2003. We had a rescue dog that was having many issues. Agility was on TV and I turned to my husband and said I’m going to do that with Bailey. That was it, hooked ever since. I often wonder how my life may have been different if I had started the sport the first time I saw it!
April 12th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Saw agility on tv years ago and finally have a dog that is gifted and talented. Looking forward to many fun filled memories
April 12th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
The first time Agility really registered for me, was when our beginning obediance instructor was mentioning follow-on classes that might be good for each dog in our class. I had a very small and shy but athletic boston terrier and she suggested that agility might be good to help build Major Pete’s confidence. I had done basic manners/obediance with all my other dogs but hadnt done any more than that despite having herding and working dogs in my pack in addition to my little Boston. So off we went and the short story is that I got hooked. Major Pete was skilled but doing anything in public beyond class was too much for him. That was 9 years ago. Had I known then what I have learned today, maybe we could have overcome his issues. The amount of training info available today and great resources on line, like this one, have made it easier to reach out for help/ideas on training problems. Major Pete is happy to play on the tippy board or do some obstacles (will even show off his weaves!)to earn a treat but leaves the serious fun to my my new agility partners… but I always give him credit for getting me started in this great pasttime with my best friends.
April 12th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I first saw dog agility on TV many years ago and was entranced. It looked like so much fun. Then I bought a book about it and read it cover to cover. The funny thing was, I didn’t have a dog at the time. In fact, it was several years after that before I had one. When I went to pick out my Boston terrier, I was thinking I should get a sweet, gentle little dog since this was my first dog and I had no experience with them. There were three puppies in the litter I was choosing from. Two were very sweet and laid-back. I was trying to decide between the two when I glanced at the third and saw that she was trying to get my father to play with her. Somehow I knew that she would be a good agility dog. (Later I found out that a high play drive is the best indicator of agility ability in a puppy.) I did choose that puppy and she started agility class at the age of five months. I’ll never forget my first sight of “real” agility equipment. I was thrilled to think I was actually going to learn how to do this. That was almost four years ago. Before our first run of the first trial we entered, I leaned down and told her that she was helping me to fulfill a dream. We didn’t Q but we had a great time!
April 12th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
The first time I ever saw agility was on TV. It looked like so much fun, I could hardly take my eyes off the TV. I didn’t even know what it was called.
When doing obedience training the instructor took out a bright yellow tunnel, and mentioned she had a puppy pre-agility class starting when obedience was over. Our pupp loved the tunnel immediately. So we thought, what the heck, good way to keep the dog in shape.
Well, my back went out and my husband needed to take over and take over the class. He didn’t seem too happy after all this was my idea…
He didn’t seem to have any desire to compete, I always got the comment “we’ll see how he does”, if he likes it then maybe… Then, to my surprise he quit golf league to do agility training. He came to love this more than golfing. First he took over my class, then my dog, and now agility has taken over him.
They compete mostly CPE, but some NADAC and AKC. Our pupp (Fender)had a milestone this February, it was his first year of competition, during that first year he earned many titles…NAJ, CL1-S, CL1-F, CL1-R, CL1-H, CL2-F, CL2-S, CL2-R, CL2-H, CL3-F, NAC, NJC, TN-N, WV-N. Since then, he’s in CPE Lv 4 except jumpers he’s Lv 5 and in AKC he moved from Novice to Open.
All this from a beautiful American Cocker Spaniel!
And yes, we did get another pupp, another beautiful American Cocker Spaniel, “Bumper”, which I’m currently training so just maybe I’ll be able to try this sport myself…
April 15th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I was about 10 when I saw the AKC Invitationals. I was intrigued, and my dad suggested I try it with Savannah. I was too young to stick to it, though, and didn’t really try. Two years later, when I saw it again, I couldn’t stay away. I trained Savannah like mad, only to have her be very reluctant because she was no longer the young two year old pup. Now, I’m training a beautiful blue merle sheltie: Ziva. It’s an addictive sport. Once you see it, you can’t stay away for long.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
i first saw agility on TV and was amazed at what some dogs could do! i seached agility and read a little on it, so now i do agility with my border mix
we luffs it! =D
April 25th, 2009 at 8:43 am
I ran out of bird seed and at that exact same time so did my local pet store. Yep, that was the start of it all! It was ten years ago and a mistake turned into a blessing for me when I went to a different pet store and feel in love with a 5 month old Aussie. (I know I should not buy a dog from a store but didn’t know then.) Well, now I have 4 Aussies and a training field.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I had watched agility on TV and had also watched a local group do demonstrations at the fair. When my friend told me that they were starting a new class, I decided to take my Border Collie–at her old age of 9 1/2. She loved it. Since she really loved my husband, I thought that if I got her trained then he could take her to class and learn with her. I would then take our retriever mix and work with her. It would be a great family event. The problem was that my husband never bought into it.
My dogs and I became a part of the local club and went on Saturdays for the proactice sessions. The club also sponsored some fun meets in which we participated, and eventually we went out of town for some meets. Sorry to say we never had any perfect runs, but se had perfect fun.
Now my beloved girls are 16 and 12 1/2 and we don’t do agility any more. But I am looking forward to getting a new dog after they pass on–one that will start training at a young age.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Hi Marlene, Thanks for sharing your story! Nice to meet your acquaintence. Would you get a border again?
May 26th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
We have definitely loved our border collie. We would definitely get another if they didn’t shed. With two shedders, we have definitely decided to go shedless next time. The question is, What breed? Expecially after having had such a smart dog. (We would also like a lap-sized dog next time).
November 24th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
First time I saw agility was on TV. There and then I decided to do agility with my BC. She is great with all the jumps but the weave poles is a mightmare. She weaves, barks, weaves,barks. So we only do the jumpers class. Last July in a competition, she decided that she would not jump on the table but first GO UNDER then jump the table. Deductions? Believe it or not there areno deductions. Good for that or we would not have gotten a second place. Is there someone out there to whom it also happened?
November 24th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Lol, I can’t say that my dog ever ran under the table. I’m guessing the judge was amused, as I would think that would get point deduction as a refusal in normal circumstances. Hugs to your BC, and thanks for sharing your story!
April 19th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
My Aussie had a great way of showing what she thought about the table. A friend was taking photos at the time and caught her in a great “down” position. The next shot showed her with this look of disdain on her face as she stuck her tongue out at the camera. If she could’ve done a “raspberry”, that would’ve followed, too!
April 19th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
LOL that’s really cute! I always love when my dog makes faces.