Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sophie's Agility class starts on tuesday... guess who's excited! LOL.

Any tips, pointers, or FYI's you guys suggest? What should I expect? It's her first time and just a Beginners class, but it will be lots of fun
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Lesya & Sophie

A Dog Owner's Prayer

Author unknown
Thanks to Pattie Lawler
http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm

Make sure you talk with your vet beforehand and ask what kind of pain killers you can give her (but only if you need to). Go slow and low on the jumps. Cheyenne WOULD NOT go onto the dog walk after the first three times, I think that her body was too wide for her to feel secure on it. And she refused to even try the teeter-totter. But she did have a great time at the class.
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sue, cheyenne the American bulldog bully, and nehi, her long suffering border collie mix

why pain killers? I don't see why she would need them.

Sophie has experience walking on an elevated plank. During her puppy classes it was a confidence exercise (just on top of milk crates).

I can see why the teeter is a problem, we'll see how Sophie does. I know she loves the tunnels (had a tunnel for her to play with when she was a pup). One of the things I can see being the biggest challenge is the weave... but that's the most difficult for all dogs.

exciting!
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Lesya & Sophie

A Dog Owner's Prayer

Author unknown
Thanks to Pattie Lawler
http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm

The pain killers are just in case she overdoes. Sometimes puppies are just too eager. She probably won' t need them. I was talking about aspirin vs ibuprophen vs tylenol. I know that dogs can't take one of them, I'm not sure which one it is, though.

Cheyenne did great on the weave, but she was also wering her head halter which made it much easier to coax her head around it.
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sue, cheyenne the American bulldog bully, and nehi, her long suffering border collie mix

I think it's Ibuprofen that is poisonous for dogs. Saw a weim OD on some at a vet. Tylenol, Advil, and Motrin are all Ibuprofen if I'm not mistaken (I know Motrin and Advil are, but not positive about the Tylenol).

Oh, and she's not a pup anymore, per se, she's 13 months old (14 at the beginning of Feb). I know dogs keep growing, but she's pretty much done for the most part.
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Lesya & Sophie

A Dog Owner's Prayer

Author unknown
Thanks to Pattie Lawler
http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm

>>I think it's Ibuprofen that is poisonous for dogs. Saw a weim OD on some at a vet. Tylenol, Advil, and Motrin are all Ibuprofen if I'm not mistaken (I know Motrin and Advil are, but not positive about the Tylenol).
>>
>>Oh, and she's not a pup anymore, per se, she's 13 months old (14 at the beginning of Feb). I know dogs keep growing, but she's pretty much done for the most part.
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>> Lesya & Sophie
>>
>>A Dog Owner's Prayer
>>
>>Oh Lord, don't let me once forget how I love my trusty pet.
>>Help me learn to disregard canine craters in my yard.
>>Show me how to be a buddy even when my sofa's muddy.
>>Don't allow my pooch to munch postal carriers for lunch.
>>Shield my neighbor's cat from view--guide my steps around the doo.
>>Train me not to curse and scowl when it's puppy's night to howl.
>>Grant I shan't awake in fear with a cold nose in my ear.
>>Give me patience without end--help me be my dog's "best friend".
>>
>>Author unknown
>>Thanks to Pattie Lawler
>>http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm

Acutally, large breed dogs are considered puppies until after 18 months. You cannot compete in agility until they reach this age.

Anyway, as far as big dogs going over the dog walk and teeter, its a matter of confidence. My Carson is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, he weighs 95 pounds and is 28" at the shoulders. At first he had no confidence at all, I found that pushing and pulling didn't work, coaxing him with treats one step at a time worked wonders!

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Charlene

My Email

Adopt the pace of Nature
Her secret is patience

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

>> Sophie's Agility class starts on tuesday... guess who's excited! LOL.
>>
>>Any tips, pointers, or FYI's you guys suggest? What should I expect? It's her first time and just a Beginners class, but it will be lots of fun
>>-----
>> Lesya & Sophie
>>
>>A Dog Owner's Prayer
>>
>>Oh Lord, don't let me once forget how I love my trusty pet.
>>Help me learn to disregard canine craters in my yard.
>>Show me how to be a buddy even when my sofa's muddy.
>>Don't allow my pooch to munch postal carriers for lunch.
>>Shield my neighbor's cat from view--guide my steps around the doo.
>>Train me not to curse and scowl when it's puppy's night to howl.
>>Grant I shan't awake in fear with a cold nose in my ear.
>>Give me patience without end--help me be my dog's "best friend".
>>
>>Author unknown
>>Thanks to Pattie Lawler
>>http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm

Wow! You should be excited! The best advice I can give you is to have FUN FUN FUN with your dog! Don't be intimidated, focus on yourself and your dog. Have the attitude that you both can do no wrong and its all about fun. Be able to laugh at yourself and your dog and you cannot go wrong. Belive me, even after 6 years of being in agility, I laugh at myself all the time! Also, remember that NO ONE knows your dog better than you do, so, if you or your dog does not feel comfortable with an instructor or an obsticle, do not force the issue. Its best to use positive enforcement, tons of treats, and coaxing. . .Believe me, a positive attitude is the key. I hope everything goes well and enjoy! I cannot wait to hear how things go!

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Charlene

My Email

Adopt the pace of Nature
Her secret is patience

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Charstuff is absolutely correct! Make agility all about having fun, especially for the first time. If something negative happens to a dog even the first time they're even around the agility equipment, they could be fearful for quite a while. Also, if your dog happens to fall off any obstacle (such as the dog walk), get really excited and happy. It sounds funny but most of the time, the dogs are alright, they just need some confidense and reassurement from you, so give it to them!

My dog fell off the dogwalk the first time, and I did my best to get happy and excited even though it looked bad, and he got really excited and happy too, and was just fine anyways.

Overall, don't worry on "training" for agility right now. Just have fun with your dog and the obstacles and don't push the dog too much if it is stressed. If you do, it's just learning that you put them in uncomfortable positions, in this case in agility.

Good luck and have fun, fun, fun!!!!

Class was Cancelled tonight because of the snow that was coming up to us in NY but didn't arrive until later in the night, after class would have been over. *sigh* So much anticipation and anxiety just to be let down. Gotta wait for next Tuesday now...
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Lesya & Sophie

A Dog Owner's Prayer

Author unknown
Thanks to Pattie Lawler
http://www.behaviour-problems.freeserve.co.uk/2/Poems/dogownerpray.htm