Well Mia and I have started something new a 10 week introduction to agility. What fun we had. Being so tiny she was a bit overawed (sp) by all the new people but the actual doing it bit she really enjoyed wizzing down between the poles. Done our homework and looking forward to next week

Yay you did it! well done you for joining up! :-) Mia will be just great, give her time to get into it, took Tiger a few weeks before he relaxed. Hope your feeling fit hehe agility just made me realise I'm the most unfit person ever!! :-O

Ah the fit bit ! emm yes Now that could be the problem need to start training me thinks. As I ran down the sand school I realised I couldnt remember the last time I had done any running I am sure there werent so many wobbly bits then LOl Oh dear. Mia loved it and the best bit is a couple of the trainers have older paps and a chi's who used to do agility so they were really pleased to see Mia

Wow really that's great! so they will know how different it is teaching such small dogs.
Gosh it's awful when you first start as well, having to run around in front of all these new people you don't know! just make sure you wear comfy clothes and trainers :-) I'm starting bike riding to try get my fitness levels up.

Well done :-) I am fairly new to agility but love it as does my dog. I love watching the small dogs and most of them are very enthusiastic. The great thing about running a small dog is the classes at shows are usually pretty small so there's not lots of time spent waiting around for your run. I have only participated in one show so far - next one is on Saturday- and as my dog is measured as large the classes are huge - over 200 in one of them whereas the small dogs had 37 in them. One of the girls who trains at our club won out of two grades in her last two shows with her wee dog who is such fun to watch as he loves every minute of it :-)

When you first start training you are very self conscious - well I was - and making enthusiastic encouraging noises I found really embarrassing but now I don't mind looking an ijut in front of the others :-) At my first show I felt physically sick before my runs and expect I will next time as well but it was great fun and I really enjoyed my day - and this from someone who never, ever thought they would enter a show.

Enjoy your agility - it's great fun :-)

You are right about the selfconcious bit I had my fingers crossed the whole time that I wasn't going to trip up ( a speciality of mine !) or Mia was going to be the dog to rush of in wrong direction but she was great. I will just c what happens as we go .
I find it quite confusing after having done obedience I keep want to tell her to sit and wait and heel etc with verbal commands and handsignals apparently that is wrong for agility. Plus I have awful co ordination left and right what is that.
I think sense of humour and fitness must be high on the priority list , will keep  you posted how we go.

I have been doing agility for about 6 weeks now and really love it. My aussie pick the basics up very quickly and now has to learn the touch points. He really looks forward to going.

I have had several spectacularly embarrassing mishaps. My dog works alongside of me rather than ahead of me so I have to run really fast and I am not the greatest at remembering the course. If I make a wrong turn and then correct it immediately Harley is right there along side of me and I have been taken out at the knees several times, have demolished jumps by running into them but by far and away the most memorable mishap was at a demo our club was giving.

I was running one of my dogs and, as both he and I were total novices at the time, a lot of the work was on lead still. I was running full pelt and my trousers slipped down, I desperately tried to clutch on to them, hold the lead, not trip over the lead nor the dog and also try to control a very excited dog but gravity took over and my trousers ended up around my knees and any pretence of decorum was totally lost :-O

o Harley I am still laughing what a thing to happen. "note to must remember the braces"

Great - glad you are enjoying it.  I am lucky - my dog works away from me which is just as well because I would never keep up with her.  Yes I have gone through the self conscious bit too - I used to talk to my dog or myself through nerves until someone told me to stop wittering!  Now I am a little more confident and although I can't help the nerves before I start - mainly because I know Meg is likely to break her wait, I feel much more relaxed running. I just have to remain focussed myself and not forget which way to go.
My main problem tomorrow is sharing a car with a fox whiffy dog - she is sitting behind me now with an odd smell of fox poo, shampoo and tomato ketchup - which didn't really kill the smell. 

We had a really good day today at our 2nd ever show. Harley got a 17th place in agility, 16th in the helterskelter and 14th in the tunnel teaser so was over the moon - there were 4 other GRs doing agility today which was lovely to see :-)

Congratulations Harley that is excellent for your second show.  I didn't do so well today - knocked down a pole in agility, pulled her off a jump in the second agility round - but I did get a 6th place in jumping.  Another day tomorrow.

Well done and for you second show too. Onwards and upwards !

Furriefriends - you replied to my post instead of Harley's!  I shall reply to Harley now too so she sees your response.

Harley just read the thread again - properly - and saw the bit about your trousers!  Very funny and embarrassing - poor you.  Anyway just to show that you can go to shows and make a real hash of things - my last run today had Meg coming out of the tunnel to take the wrong jump.  I just stopped and called her over a couple of jumps but she knew that I had given up at that point - too hot and disappointed.  The judge called for me to put her over the last jump to stop the clock - would she do it!  No she hiked out of the ring and off into the undergrowth outside - I was mortified especially as she just wouldn't come back.  Something in there was too interesting. :-(

Whoops silly me thanks