• Does your dog actually understand weaving?
• Is it only the weave poles they slow up on? (it may actually be less noticeable on other obstacles?)
• Weave pole spacing (especially since if you have a long-backed dog).

To answer the first, if your dog doesn’t get weaving, go back to the basics with him. 2X2 weaves seem to get consistently great results, but if you prefer another method, by all means, go for it! A personal favorite here is the weave wires. They set your dog up for success every time. If it’s an understanding issue, your dog will speed up naturally as he progresses learning the weaves. Remember, it is absolutely vital to make weaves as positive as possible. Corrections here MUST be of the ‘oops try it again’ in a cheery voice variety. If you use a harsh correction on weaves with your dog, they will be slow, trying to avoid the correction. Use small rewards for slower weaves, and awesome amazing rewards for fast weaves. Dogs do get the value of things! Good job = good job, boy! Great job= treat and good job, boy. AWESOME! = treat, tug, and good job, boy! Make the weaves the ‘new teeter’ and the best obstacle ever!

If it’s not understanding weave poles, take a long hard look at the rest of the obstacles. While Higgins loves Teeters, is it possible that he lacks overall drive? If it’s a drive issue, treat it as such! Give praise and treats and find something that motivates your dog. Use it! Work with your dog to find what he wants in exchange for whipping through weaves.

Try videotaping your dog going through the weaves. Does he seem to be bending his back a lot? Is his stride off? Consider moving him onto 24″ weaves and see if that helps him. Try mending the striding by doing a weave pole dance, or setting cavallettis before the weaves to get him entering on the right side, with the right foot. You’ll have to watch carefully to figure out which foot that is for him.

I have heard of dogs not liking weaves because they smack their feet on the support bar. Check the dogs’ nails to see if they are tapping the base painfully, or consider using stick in the ground weaves (if you do not want to compete). This issue can also be addressed by striding as dictated above. If none of this helps, take your dog to the vet and check to see if there’s an underlying physical issue that is causing his lackluster love of weaves.

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.

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.

The Jack Russell is compact; very intelligent, and very athletic. For the most part they jump twelve inches and train easily because agility uses their athleticism and intelligence. It is the two things they want and need to work the most, their bodies and minds. This is a dog that is so sensitive and so affectionate that they are easily offended. They will turn themselves inside out to please you if you are teaching them and you are an interesting trainer. Training them requires a most positive attitude and positive training techniques. They are praise junkies and love treats. Most will take the praise over the treats. They shut down if they think they have done something wrong during a run or even in a class situation. If you so much as exhale in disapproval they may walk off the course. There has to be great value in it for them. If you keep them happy and playful they will give you their all, running courses with great panache.

The difference between the Jack Russell and the Parson Russell Terrier is kennel club recognition. The Parson Russell group was a splinter club that broke from the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America {the JRTCA} and approached the AKC to be recognized. The JRTCA is the largest registry of Jack Russells in the world and continues to keep the diverse size of the breed standard for varied earth working situations. The motto of the JRTCA is “to preserve, protect, and work the Jack Russell Terrier.” Emphasis is less on showing then working. There are breed classes but the highest honor must go to a known working terrier. Jack Russell events include racing, earth tests called go-to-ground, agility, obedience, trailing and locating. They also love lure coursing and ball tosses. The highest honor is given to earth working in the field. This is to retain the conformation and ability of keeping the hunting instincts of the strain fondly known as the REAL Jack Russell Terrier. Other variants are approaching the AKC including the “Russell Terrier” which is the short legged version. The registry of the Jack Russell Club is the most valued registry because only mature dogs of a year in age owned by Club members may apply to register. The dog must be examined by a veterinarian to make sure there are no known defects present. Just because both the sire and dam are registered, it is not a guarantee an offspring will. Dogs with bad bites and other defects can upon being spayed or neutered by recorded and enter non conformation events. The registry helps keep known defects from being passed on from generation to generation.

A correct Jack Russell Terrier is balanced in appearance and athletic by structure to do the job of following the fox into tight earthen tunnels below ground. It takes drive and courage so the dog was modeled after the red fox of Great Britain. A good nature is the first thing mentioned in the breed standard. Because they worked with a handler and had to be touched when working, they had to be stable in temperament. The dominant color white was so the handler could tell which was the dog and which was the fox when covered with dirt! They were very popular in the 1990′s. People bought “Eddie” dogs and found they had a bored dog in city apartments that longed to run and play and not be confined all day. Some bored dogs made up games that were not what owners wanted to come home to. One time I got a call after a man had called the police thinking he had been robbed. His two Jack Russells had torn apart his apartment. Not many folks think digging a terrier out of a hole is their cup of tea so finding a place to aim this little action packed loaded gun is well aimed to targets during agility lessons!

Breeds they are best with: hounds. Best let them pick a housemate if you choose to keep two Jack Russells. Have them meet on neutral territory. Opposite gender is best as they sometimes will slug it out with the same gender. Containment is a must. Some can climb human style over fences. Good with cats? Rarely, cats most resemble foxes and the dog loves a good chase! Good with children? Yes, over five if respectful and gentle. Never let a Jack Russell out without watching them every minute. They can take off after something and never see a truck coming at them. Teaching the recall is VERY important. They can become instantly deaf if interested in a squirrel across the busy highway! For more information about Jack Russells visit www.terrier.com or for information about adopting a Jack Russell Terrier visit www.russellrescue.com .

Catherine Romaine Brown is the current Chairperson of the Jack Russell Club of America and is a Working and Conformation judge for the JRTCA. She runs her dog “Twister” in CPE and Teacup events and is addicted to the fun of agility. She founded Russell Rescue and has written three books on Jack Russells published by Howell Book House. She was recently awarded the Dedication Award for preserving the working Jack Russell Terrier in America. It is an award given by the Jack Russell Club of America from the Jack Russell Club of Great Britain. She lives in Livonia NY with her husband Charles Streb.