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Agility For Dogs
I saw the advert: Agility For Dogs - "Fun agility classes for all levels of ability (not a competition club)" and knew Jessie and I had to go! As many of you know, we have two dogs - Jessie (black Lab-Cross, re-homed, high energy, intense, very intelligent) and Georgie (Golden Retriever, with us from a pup, laid back, patient, people-lover). I knew which one I was going to take! Last night (our first class) we were introduced to two agility exercises:
There were about 10 of us, in an indoor equestrian centre in Brighton, UK, all complete beginners. The dogs were kept on leads for the whole time apart from going through the tunnel. 
As an introduction to the winged jump we simply walked over a pole lying flat on the ground saying 'over' just before we stepped over it. As we took our turns to go round, the bar was raised slightly, the speed was picked up, and we had to alternate hands getting used to having the dogs on either side of us. Some dogs were naturals at this (the Weimerana and his owner stood out) - we probably held our dogs back somewhat since we had to jump to start with too. This takes quite a lot of co-ordination and a few of us came unstuck! 
The dog agility tunnel was in many ways harder to start with. The sausage treats definitely came in handy, although a few of us had to crawl through the tunnel to show our dogs where we were. I think all the dogs had trouble with the tunnel at first - Jessie backed off with such force the trainer was left holding only her collar and lead on two occasions - but by the end on the command of 'through' she zoomed through on her own knowing the sausage was waiting for her at the other end! We had a fantastic time - lots of giggles, whoops, support for one another. I'll definitely be going back next week. If you have an active dog and haven't tried agility for dogs, why not give it a go! This is how the course progressed over the weeks: 
Collapsed Tunnel (pic from Wiki)
Week 1: introduction to winged jumps and dog agility tunnel (see main text above) Week 2: introduction to the weave poles and A-Frame; consolidation of tunnel and winged jumps Week 3: introduction to tyre jump and the dogwalk; consolidation of weave poles, A-frame, tunnel, winged jumps Week 4: introduction to the collapsed tunnel (or chute); consolidation of weave poles, A-frame, tunnel, winged jumps, tyre jump and dog walk Week 5: introduction to the long jump plus consolidation of above Week 6: introduction to the pause table where we had to instruct our dog to lie down for 10 seconds and then continue with the circuit. Also consolidation of all of the above. Week 7: introduction to the seesaw (or teeter-totter) plus consolidation of all of the above. P.S. On account of the low lighting, dust from the woodchip ground cover, frenzied pace etc, I couldn't get any photos. The pictures above, as I'm sure you can tell, are profesional images! 
And finally, this is Emma Fotheringham's account of agility. Emma is a talented dog handler, previous judge on our photo contest, and a regular visitor to the site. I am 15 years old and I started agility 3 years ago with my labradoodle. She got to the advanced class and she started limping after classes, so I took her to the vets and we found out she had hip dysplasia which we believe she had since birth. My training school (Field Of Dreams Dog Training School, Scunthorpe UK ) realised I had a natural talent and so they let me run their dogs for a year until I convinced my mum to let me have another dog. 
A year later I got my red and white collie Jazz. I started agility with grid work from when he was 6 months obviously with the poles on the floor. He is now two years old in May and is doing great. I have every obstacle complete except weaving which with one more lesson I will have completed. Anyone with any breed can do agility whether for fun or competition. I know I am helping teach the puppy and older dog obedience/ agility classes and am also now teaching the fun agility class. We just have a laugh even if the dogs run off! I would recommend this addictive sport to anyone. 
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