• 04May

  From Accessory to Agility

  Dog Agility Competing, Dog Agility Training 6 Comments

  Q. How should I train my small dog to do agility? Where should we go for training and competitions?

  A. Congratulations on not treating your teacup like a fashion accessory! Mini dogs ARE dogs, not children, not accessories, and certainly not toys. That doesn’t mean they’re not a lot of fun to play with, but there are some things to keep in mind when you start agility with your small dog…

  Equal, not the same Small dogs are still dogs, and behave themselves as such. Personalities vary so widely between all dogs that to say ‘this breed/size/color are all…’ is ludicrous. Some generalities can be made, of course, but every dog is individual. Some border collies don’t enjoy agility! Some Labradors don’t want to swim! (And, once upon a time, I met the legendary calm, laid back Jack Russell Terrier!) No matter the size or breed, if your individual dog enjoys agility, then they enjoy agility and can, and should do it! If a trainer tells you otherwise, find another trainer. Though small dogs do agility, there are some facts to keep in mind about them when you practice.

  Short legs Many small dogs have short legs, so they are often slower on course, though their paws are moving as fast as is doggily possible. Running a full course may be difficult for them, so keep obstacles closer together than you would for a tall dog. Don’t exhaust your dog.

  Angles Short legs means a short dog. A short dog sees things from a different angle than a bigger dog. Crouch down and put your head at your dogs’ height, and look around the agility course. Then look at the contact obstacles!  Keep that view  in mind as you’re training if your dog shows some apprehension on a full-height a-frame. It’s very intimidating to a small dog! They’re incredibly brave to try at all, and do it because they love you and want to please you.

  Cues And all those angles can mean that unless your dog is looking up at you, they may miss the way you’re moving your arm. Use low cues, or foot cues. For those who’ve never heard of foot cues, it’s possible to use your feet instead of your hands to teach a dog to do something. It’s fairly common in obedience, actually, as leading with the left leg means ‘heel’ and leading with the right, ‘stay’, and for my dogs, scuffing my right leg means stop. Your small dog can learn to watch your legs for directional cues especially, so try and be as blatant as you can.

  Rewards Agility dogs typically have high drive, and are frequently rewarded with food and play. Keep in mind that small dogs have small stomachs! Break high-value treats into tiny, tiny bits for them, about the size of your pinkie nail for the average treat, and bigger bits for their ‘jackpots’. Be careful not to overfeed! Use caution when tugging with a toy breed. They’re easier to damage than a larger dog, and a pull too hard can loosen teeth. Get appropriately sized toys for fetching rewards. Many teacup dogs’ mouths are too small to wrap around a tennis ball!

  Nature Many small dogs were bred for varmint or pest hunting.  That makes for extremely tenacious, energetic dogs, who often love going to ground, so to speak.  You may find you have a tunnel hound on your hands!  Encourage your dogs’ natural tendencies on course and off, and gently guide them towards doing things that don’t come as naturally- like weaves.  Use what your dog likes to your advantage!

  Competition! You’ve been training and practicing, and you’re ready to compete! Where should you go? The answer is simple- anywhere you like! Every organization has something to offer. My personal favorite for small dogs under 17” at the withers is TDAA- teacup dog agility association. The organization is dedicated to small dogs and their owners. They make agility easier, safer, and all-round enjoyable for miniature breeds. Their courses are smaller than average, so that shorter legs are accommodated. TDAA contact equipment is lowered, easing the angle anxiety some dogs may experience, and their equipment is designed for small dogs.

  Finally, remember that no matter your dogs’ size, agility is fun. It’s a sport where you and your dog learn to interact at another level, and become an inseparable, unstoppable team.

  

  Tags: agility competing, agility training, dog breeds

• 12Feb

  AgiliJack!

  Member Photos & Stories 3 Comments

  Jack Russels in Agility

  They are fun to run. When it is perfect, it is like flying a little radio controlled airplane or running with a feather on a silken thread. Those are the wonderful fun runs with the Jack Russell Terrier. They are worth all their quirky ways. They love to work and love to play. In fact if they don’t have a job they can be bored as unemployed dogs. They have been used for work for over a hundred years and kept with packs of foxhounds. Everything in the Jack Russell’s profile is life applied to work.Take this compact athletic dog and give it agility and you have one laser beam of a dog to play agility with. They have the capacity to be a true teammate. It is important to know that they were bred to have courage to face a fox below ground. They have the intelligence and the athletic form to be able to follow the fox to ground and dislodge it by barking at it so it would bolt. Their job was to eject the fox by its invasive presence or they would lunge at the fox and hold it at bay until the handler dug to the dog. The other technique to hunt the dog and the hardest, is for the dog to stay with the fox until the handler calls the dog out. Often they are not eager to come out, the fox having the dog’s undivided attention.

  Jack Russell’s name was given to define the dog apart from the popular show ring terrier the Fox Terrier. At one time the Fox Terrier and the Jack Russell Terrier were exactly the same dog. Soon the conformation of the show ring Fox Terrier changed. Russell’s known strain and others breeding working terriers worked their dogs and did not go in the show ring. Russell’s dogs were hunters. Russell himself said the dog should never be a murderer of foxes. He said the intelligence of the dog should prevent him from doing such a crime. Jack Russell was a popular figure in England and was a fox hunting man and a Parson. The dog has not changed in appearance over the years. It is never to be questioned this little dog has courage and needs to meet lots of other dogs early on and be protected from itself. They must be well socialized with lots of people in lots of places. Oddly they have very strong likes and dislikes when it comes to other dogs. Many have been known to go hunting alone because they are hard wired to explore. They will obsess over a caged bird or gerbil. To harness their compulsion and aim their boundless energy to agility can be a lot of fun.

  Continue reading »

  

  Tags: dog breeds, member stories

• 11Feb

  Great Dane Agility

  Interesting and Funny No Comments

  Seeing such a big dog doing agility always makes me happy! It’s fun for all shapes and sizes and breeds, since the competition itself is beating the clock, and having fun with your dog. The dog is obviously having fun here- but watch out for that wagging tail, it could knock down an unwary handler!

  

  Tags: dog breeds, videos

• 08Feb

  The Itsy Bitsy Doggie…

  Dog Agility Training No Comments

  ….goes up the big dogwalk! I hope you enjoy this video of Mixy the Chihuahua!  I think he’s probably one third the size of my cat! (I have a fat cat).  Never underestimate a small dog! What they lose in length of stride, they often make up for in precision.  TDAA is a great organization for anyone with a smaller dog, since USDAA course times especially can be a bit hard to navigate with a smaller, ’slower’ dog (slow is subjective and relative). There, the courses are designed for small dogs, by small dog owners! Since teacups don’t need as much space between obstacles, the courses are about half-sized! What do you think of TDAA? Have we got any happy TDAA-ers here?

  

  Tags: agility organizations, dog breeds, videos

• 20Jan

  Welcome Mat for Mutts at the AKC

  Dog Agility Competing 9 Comments

  Back in May we discussed the AKC allowing mixed breeds to compete with the purebreds.  There was a  lot of great feedback here at AgilityFusion, and elsewhere on the internet as well, apparently!  AKC has changed their stance on the Mixed Breed titling system and competing due to ‘compelling feedback’ from the community.

  AKC decided to allow mixed breeds to compete in any agility trial WITHIN the same classes. This is different than their previous ’separate class’ distinction that was obviously not accepted as well and clubs thought too confusing.  This means the AKC can now really compete with USDAA and CPE in their agility offerings (and rally and obedience as well!).  This’ll begin April 1st (I know, really?) So your mixed breed dog can now compete head to head with the purebreds, and may the best dog win!

  Clubs have the choice not to enroll in the Mixed Breed program (called the AKC Canine Partners Program), but it is anticipated that all will. Why limit your clubs’ venue by not allowing registered mix breeds? there’s money to be made in it, after all!

  You can register your Mix here:http://www.akc.org/mixedbreeds/listing_benefits.cfm and you can find trials that allow mixes at  http://www.akc.org/events/search/index.cfm?action=refresh_index&active_tab_row=2&active_tab_col=3&fixed_tab=8&mxb_flag=Y  I think this will definitely make it easier to get competitions in areas that don’t have a lot of venue options.

  

  Tags: agility changes, agility competing, agility organizations, dog breeds, Events & News

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