Help i just found a Agility class i want to get my dogs into but since i wont be able to take all 3 together which one do i choose , i know it sound bad and i feel awful leaving any of them out but i just want to get started with one dog then in a few weeks my OH may be able to come with others ,
my Rottie of 4 years old would be my first choice but only because he is better trained and listens more than my typical Bullys,
i have Ellie whos 4 also and her son whos just turned 1, i know ther youngster would love it infact they all would ,
i was wondering if it would be ok for my Rottie to do it as he is a big boy would it be safe for him im thinking hips and that , anyone else do Agility ? and how hard is it for a bigger dog,
hope i dont sound to silly asking and i hope you know what i mean, thanks x

i wouldn't worry to much about injuries as he's an adult but definately have a chat with the trainer as i think larger breeds need special equiptment. i have seen pics of mastiffs doing agility so i should think a rott would be ok.

pretty sure suejaw was looking into it for her berners so she might be good to message? (i will search to check)

here you go

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?pid=1011887;hl=agility#pid1011887

thanks Astarte Appreciate that iv found a class in Rainham Kent its about an hour to 40 mins from me but its also very near to my mum whos stays in here holiday home all season so i could pop into her on the way their dont seem to be any classes near me at all London seems to be lacking in alot of things for dogs iv noticed, but then it would probley be quicker to drive to kent than to fight the London traffic to get to one here,

Hi,

I was looking for big dog agility but there wasn't anything local to me. I located a club which used a sand school so a little better on their joints for landing.
He loves it and was fine going through all the equipment.
I had a scare of him on the high frame(is that what its called?) and he jumped off, which is 4ft and then jumped back on it again. That panicked me, but he loved it and was none the worse off as such.
I had to travel about 30-40mins away for mine. This is in Slinfold. Is that closer to you than Rainham? I know there is one somewhere near Haywards Heath if that is any help. The closest one to me which is 5 mins away has been fully booked for a long time.
I may go back to it..
One thing i would personally take a Rotti, think you'll find it easier to learn yourself with a responsive dog. I am potentially thinking about getting a Rotti in a few yrs time just for agility..Maybe..

Hello.

I've done agility for 15 years and have trained both the breed you've mentioned.

All breeds can do agility.

All breeds enjoy doing agility.

Don't write your bullies off, the face their a little crazy at times is a very good thing for agility(As long as you can motivate them through play, you really wont have any issues).

I have 3 border collies, but If I had a Rottie I'm not sure if I would do agility their so heavy to be banging down on their joints, I'm really not sure If I would do agility with one myself. I have trained them in the past but really not sure if it's the best thing for them.

If you never ever want to compete in agility, I would honestly suggest just talking to the instructor telling them that and never making the dogs jump Large sized jumps(just medium), avoiding the A-Frame and not doing stopped contacts under any circumstances. If you do want to compete theres really no reason why you couldn't train on lower equipment and compete over higher.

Also remember to ALWAYS warm your dogs up before agility, it signifcantly lowers the risk of injury.

Just an thought:

Sand may be worse on the joints than grass, If you think about a dog running they really flow over the ground when they run, all that pressure does not go into the joints the same as with a human, where as sand is a bit more stopping the legs and sending pressure to the joints as oposed to regular ground where all the pressure is used for foward motion.

Sue at our club there are three rotties - all are very enthusiastic and nearly trash the equipment with their speed and force !  The tunnels have to be sorted after they have gone through, weaves straightened!  Very energetic and all of them absolutely love it!

I'm surprised you did the a-frame or dog walk (not sure which one you mean) at full height straight away - most clubs start them floor height so the dogs get used to placing feet (esp. on the dog walk) before its gradually put to full height.

I take it our club was full or is it the Henfield one you were talking about.

We used to compete with our Rottie bitch who was 47kg (so pretty big for a bitch) but she was just all muscle....the speed she went round the course was unbelievable and in one competition got a clear round coming only 6 seconds behind the winning collie....so don't rule your Rottie out.

We used to have a Great Dane do agility aswell and they didn't use any different equipment for her.

I do agility with a Golden Retriever - he is very fit and very well muscled and really enjoys it :-)

thanks all for your replies i would want to take my Rottie first really for the reason suejaw said he would be much more responsive as he is alot better trained than my Bullys and not as easily distracted,
he is quite fit and jumps like a horse and he is very fast i always say he's like an overgrown kid and a bit of a nutter (think it runs in the family lol),,
i was concerened about joints and hips but it does seem that afew rotties do Agility likes been said,          i think its just what my boy needs i checked out the links and i have found one in sidcup to which is not far i would take my bullys also but first want to get to know what im doing myself and it would be easier with Zeus my bullys would just want to run off and explore as soon as we got their, where as i know my zeus would sit and listen more, my Biggest problem will be me keeping up with him lol :-)
i looked at the slinfold one and like the sound of it but think it may be bit far, i would like one near the A2, M2 as im in London on the A2 so would be up to blackheath and anywhere from their is ok,
i would like to do compete but think im a long way from this yet as i have not got a clue myself as to what half of you are on about

avoiding the A-Frame and not doing stopped contacts under any circumstances

at a guess id say Aframe the one they go up and down the otherside? , but you lost me totally with the  stopped contacts ?
any clue to what this is please,

Yeah the one in the shape of a giant A :D

If you watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfBhD0tb83s

You can see what I mean by a stopped contact, imagine all that dogs force slamming into it's front shoulders to stop all of a sudden, all the pressure goes straight to the dogs two shoulder joints.

If you have found a class that you like I would give them a ring and have a talk with them as to which dog is best for you to train with. Most agility clubs require a basic level of obedience and request that dogs are sociable with other dogs and humans. The club I belong to has a really long waiting list and I was on it for well over a year - in fact nearly 2 years - before starting my first dog so it would be just as well to ring them and put your name down asap in case they too have a long waiting list.

Hi Rach, guess what i got a phone call today saying they have a space after nearly a year of waiting for the one at Henfield. Jumped on that and will be going, shame its on a mon as this clashes with ringcraft - oh well.

I personally feel sand is better to play about on than that of a hard floor in a hall as many are. Don't know of any which are on grass as this would be weather permitting? This is in response to the OP.

What Kai fell off and jumped back on was the dog walk, we did start practicing on it at floor level and then it was moved up, Kai can stay on it as he proved at the fun show the other week, just gets over enthusiastic about it all.

What i'm going to have to do is Agility with Kai on mon, Obedience with Kai and Bosley on tues and then ringcraft with either of them on wed. Just need to find something to do with them for the rest of the week. hmmm, any ideas?

I've never heard of agility in a hall?