AGILITY

 Equipment Skills,Sequencing and Competitive Levels are ongoing. Contact us for dates and times.  These classes tend to have a waiting list.  Register early to avoid dissappointment. Registrations being accepted in January 2023.  Class lists/availablity will be sorted out in February and March.

And we have a lot to talk about in this sport. The result can be an amazingly well trained dog on the agility field, but perhaps more importantly, in your home and community. 

By-products of training include: increased confidence and less destructive or unappreciated behaviours. 

It is  fun and good exercise both mentally and physically for the both of you!

Agility is very welcoming to people and to their dogs – of all breeds and sizes. One of Gayle's favourite mental pictures is from an agility trial where two of her students were walking up to the gate, intensely discussing their strategies: one student was 18 and the other 76. 

People start in agility for all sorts of reasons: curiosity, wear off extra dog energy, get themselves a bit fitter, socialize ( dogs and people).  We are happy to have you join us whether or not you wish to compete – as long as you and your dog are enjoying the trip.

Breeds: the best breed is the dog you have – learn, enjoy, experiment and delight in the learning curve.

Dogs need to be able to work in a group setting.

Ultimately this is an off leash sport, but  we start on leash and build skills. Dogs must have some understanding of sit/down/stand, recall, leash skills and stay.  We improve on these skills and help both ends of the leash to have fun together.  Our Basic Good Manners program is a great prerequisite to the Agility Program. 

The Sexy Stuff!  Everybody wants to learn the equipment.  This is a progression of learning. All equipment is started on the ground or very low to support learning and  protect young joints.  The flat work is a wonderful start.  No need for expensive equipment to practice and you are building skills that will boost both your and your canine partners confidence as the classes progress.

We begin with Foundations and then progress through the various levels.  Classes are given the opportunity to progress together.

This level is akin to driving in the parking lot before going out on the roads. The dogs will learn:

• Move with You       Stay when excited
• Send                        Come
• Targeting                And Play, with rules!

Working with boxes, target plates, cones and other props provides a safe and fun learning environment for both you and your dog.  We start on leash.  As we progress through the levels and to off leash work dogs will need to be crated while waiting their turn 

Series run for 6 week sessions - Returning students are given priority as these classes tend to sell out.   WAITING LIST AVAILABLE FOR April 2023.

Equipment skills are started at ground or very low levels. We set the dogs up to learn to guess what we want and reward the correct choice. Wrong choices are just information - as the dog learns they will choose correctly more often  – builds a confident partner who is having fun and willing to keep trying.

• Jump Grids over Ground Bars
• Tunnels
• Running on Planks
• Continued use of Targets, box work and cones to assist us to ‘explain’ their jobs.

Finish teaching the equipment, and then start to add pieces together for short and then longer sequences. We  work on handling skills - this is how we communicate with our dogs to successfully direct them through a course. 

Growth in these skills is like any sport and provides a constant challenge to improve yourself and your canine partner. Challenging, rewarding and such a great way to spend time with your DOG!

Contact us for more details - courses run for six week intervals until late November/Mid-December. and resume the first week of April.  Note no Agility classes in July and August.