[k8nkane]

I'm going to get Kane into a sport as he gets older. He really loves to work, loves training his commands and tricks, and I want to pull that into giving him a sport and "job" to do.

But I'm really not sure which sport would be best for him. I'm thinking Rally, Obedience, and Agility specifically.

How do those differentiate from each other in terms of strictness of performance?

Do each of those require a specific quality in a dog that you like to see before starting the sport? When you look at a dog, how do YOU know which sport would be good for them?

Please help me out here, lol. I can't do all three.

edit: just wanted to add that he's highly food- and toy-driven as well.

 

[performanceknls]

If he is toy and food driven that is all you need! So why can't you do all three I do several sports with the dogs. since your new start with one at a time. Find a good club or training center to work with. Rally is the easiest, Obedience competition is pretty strict and picky on what your dog. Agility is hard but you need obedience first before you do agility. Agility brings out prey drive and can lead to dog aggression so if you do not get a handle on that quickly I do not suggest agility.

 

[k8nkane]

Awesome!

I guess my concern on doing all three is a combination of cost and time. Cost in terms of classes and entering him in trialling and time in terms of getting him titled and watching his age. I know he's only a little over a year, but time flies by fast and I want to get him as far as I can before time runs out. Of course, this is without knowledge of how you go about titling him in any of the three, LOL. I still have to look up info on all of them.

I was just looking for pointers from you guys with your experience and knowledge that I can't get from reading a website.

What do you mean that Obedience is picky on the dog?

And I assume by that the "obedience" you're talking about for Agility is just basic obedience, not competition Obedience?

 

[bahamutt99]

Can't do all three... puh. Once you start in one, you'll probably find yourself wanting to do the others. Watching your dog grow and develop with good work is like a drug. You keep coming back and wanting to do more. I just wanted to do weight pull with Loki when I first got her. Fast forward some years, she ended up titled in obedience, rally, agility, weight pull, and got her CGC and other stuff.

A lot of what you do in rally and obedience is interchangeable, save that once you get to OB competition, you're not allowed to talk to your dog through the whole thing. I did obedience first with Loki, then agility. Then we came back and did Rally, and I think it helped to perk up her obedience because it was fun for her to have me talking and clapping to her. It is definitely important to do obedience before agility because you want a solid recall and for the dog to understand that he has to listen to you even when he's off-leash.

 

[performanceknls]

yes your dog needs basic obed for agility but if your dog is already 1.5 yrs old then I would not do agility. You can but i would worry about DA coming out in an adult dog and I always start them young for that reason.

Obed competition is picky on you and the dog and you can lose points quickly. It takes a lot of work here is Trinity in her UCD in UKC

Rally is fun and easier for newbies here is Trinity's Rally run

 

[k8nkane]

Okay, wow. The Obedience one blew my mind. I just lovelovelove that focus. The only time Kane ever has that focus is when I have a toy or food though, lol, it'll be hard to get him to maintain that.

 

[performanceknls]

No it is not hard to maintain but you have to train it. Baby steps and a lot of time. You need to find a dog club like an AKC club to train with or a good training center. Trinity is 8 years old and does not have as good obedience as my other dogs. She was my first competition dog and I started her all wrong and had to retrain her. If you start with small steps and have the guidance of a club or trainer you would be amazed what your dog can do.
Here is Crush when she was 14 months old and I had only worked with her for about 2 months

Here is how you start teaching the watch before you even start heeling.

FOOD FOOD FOOD is the key

 

[k8nkane]

Thank you so much!

I've got him enrolled in a basic obedience class to make sure those are as good as possible and then will go from there. I think I'm going to take an intro to each of the three and then go from there depending on how much Kane and I enjoy them.

 

[performanceknls]

Competition Obed is different than pet Obed. If you are interested in Competition Obed try to find a competition class, you can learn REALLY bad habits from a pet Obed class that you will have to retrain later. Trust me it is easier to learn competition first if you want to do that and rally than retrain later.

 

[k8nkane]

The club I was looking at going through (Obedience Training Club of Greater Lansing) cites their beginning obedience class as a prereq. for their novice obedience. From their website:

Beginning Obedience: Our basic obedience class for owners who want a well-behaved house pet. Owners will learn to train their dogs to walk on a leash without pulling, sit, down, stay, and come when they are called. This class also addresses basic pet care, grooming, and behavioral problems.

Beginning Novice: Prerequisite: Beginning Obedience or instructor approval. Introduces novice exercises including: proper heel position, heeling with attention, and footwork; also includes proofing of sit and down stays.

Should I be looking for another club if this is the case?? Even though he already knows a lot of what they will be teaching him in Beginning Obedience, I'd really like to run through it and get some trainer input -- especially on the loose leash walking which we are still working on.

They also cite their Novice Obedience (Novice: Prerequisite: Beginning Novice or instructor approval. Introduces novice exercises including: stand for exam, recalls, fronts, and finishes. This class will include proofing exercises, showmanship, and discussion of rules and regulations.) as a prereq. for taking their beginner agility and rally classes.

And yet people have been telling me that I should take a class of all three (Obedience, Agility, and Rally) to see which one Kane and I like the best and go from there. Are the beginning classes I would take here going to be the same as other places or are there small differences depending on the instructor?

I'm so sorry if these questions are stupid, lol.

 

[performanceknls]

I would call them and tell them what your interested in. Pet Obed is NOT the same as formal Obed. Walking on a loose leash is pet obed, Heeling is formal and not the same. You should not even be trying to heel if your dog does not have a watch, all heeling is, is a moving watch. Do you have the link for the training club? Maybe I can find another club that might fit you better.

 

[k8nkane]

Here is their link: OTCGL

 

[performanceknls]

after reading the site just call them and ask if you can just go to the novice class if not take the pet class and just go through the steps they want you to go through.

 

[k8nkane]

Okay, awesome.

Thank you so much for helping me out. I'm really excited to start doing all this with Kane.

 

[Elvisfink]

Lindsay nailed it on the head. Watching your dog grow and develop is very addicting. Earl is the first dog that I've actually gotten serious about training and my wife and I are having a blast. I can't agree more with Lisa, it's amazing what these dogs are capable of with the right guidance. I think one of the key ingredients is finding a trainer or a club that you enjoy working with. I've done basic obedience classes with all my dog except Ivy and never really enjoyed them. This time working with Leri and meeting some of the other people in the club has really been great. Every week we look forward to Sunday's training to see what we're all going to learn that day. Earl really enjoys the training sessions so that just adds to the fun. We're doing Competition Obedience right now and it's going great. The only think that will prevent us from trying Ring Sport is not Earl, but our commitment and dedication to the time involved in training. Here's a video of Leir Hanson and her dog Casey doing Ring Sport. I wish I could post the video Leri put on Facebook with me and Earl working on healing. Good luck.

 

[Sadie]

Nice video Doug why did she put a Muzzle on the dog? What is the purpose of that? Just Curious?

 

[performanceknls]

I was wondering the same thing I have never done or seen ring sport since we have no clubs in my area. Ring sport is easier than Schuzthund in some way and harder in others from what I have read and been told. I could think of a few reasons for the muzzle but I am not sure on the rules or Ring or mondio sport. Doug does it say what level she is at in the video?

 

[Sadie]

It would be interesting lisa if maybe doug knew or could ask Leri why it was done. I know muzzles can be used for different things and I thought of a few things myself but I don't do this stuff with my dogs so I am just curious. I was just kind of stumped when I saw it as to why she used the muzzle in this situation and what the reasoning was behind it . Doug if you can find out or if you know please let us know

 

[Elvisfink]

I honestly don't know. I know it's one of the exercises. I'll ask Leri what the purpose is for the muzzle. Lisa I think the video is of Ring 1.

 

[Sadie]

Thank You Doug I appreciate it!