Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my 7 month boxer puppy has recently successfully completed obedience classes and has now been given the option of continuing on to agility. of course we'll be going because i know he'll just love it. he'll be in a group of 6 or 7 other dogs. these were the same dogs in his obedience class so he's familiar with all of them and it's in the same location so i'm not worried about him being nervous or anything. i was just wondering what i should expect for our first class. what is usually taught first? i'd assume jumping because that looks like it would be the easiest thing to do. in that case we've already got a head start. i trained georgie to jump over obstacles when he was 4 months. not high jumps, only a couple of inches off the ground. i'm well aware that if i make him jump to high he could damage his joints. i'm just really interested in knowing what i should expect for our first class. if you've taken your dog i'd like to here about your first class and your experience with the sport.

>>my 7 month boxer puppy has recently successfully completed obedience classes and has now been given the option of continuing on to agility. of course we'll be going because i know he'll just love it. he'll be in a group of 6 or 7 other dogs. these were the same dogs in his obedience class so he's familiar with all of them and it's in the same location so i'm not worried about him being nervous or anything. i was just wondering what i should expect for our first class. what is usually taught first? i'd assume jumping because that looks like it would be the easiest thing to do. in that case we've already got a head start. i trained georgie to jump over obstacles when he was 4 months. not high jumps, only a couple of inches off the ground. i'm well aware that if i make him jump to high he could damage his joints. i'm just really interested in knowing what i should expect for our first class. if you've taken your dog i'd like to here about your first class and your experience with the sport.

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If the instructor allows a 7 month old Boxer to jump, get out of that class fast. His growth plates on the long bones won't close for another year or longer, and he could suffer terrible damage from jumping now. At 7 months he should be going on in obedience class.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

i trust my trainer. she wouldnt do anything to hurt my dog. shes very knowledgeable about dogs. shes bred many champions in the show ring and in agility. it won't hurt him to jump a couple of inches once a week. even if it would be that high. she may just start on the flat. i dont even know if we'll be doing jumping. we could be working on other things like getting used to the teeter or dogwalk. thats why i was asking what other peoples experiences were like. you don't need to criticize her because you dont know her. you can't just assume the worst of people.