Hi, i am looking for an Agility class in the Bingley/Bradford/shipley/ area. I have a 8 month old dog that i think would really enjoy the training. Thanks :)

Look on agilitynet under clubs - you can put in your postcode and the nearest clubs are indicated :-)  Good luck it's a fantastic hobby, but be careful, it's addictive ;-)

http://www.agilitynet.co.uk/clutch/clubs.htm

Depending on the club and the dog you may be able to book on a starters course when your dog is 12 months old  (agility is too much strain for pups) ... it's a good idea to do some groundwork at 8 months - if you can find somewhere that will do puppy training - sort of pre agility it's a good idea, but the important things are a good wait, working on your left and right, turning to the left, the right and to go straight ahead....  good luck...

As Penny points out, your dog won't be able to train in agility until those bones have finished growing, so resign yourself to groundwork, rather than making problems later in life with hip problems.

Your dog will not be able to train on equipment until 12 months old but you can do foudation work now.

One of the best things you can teach is a good recall and also a wait,also try to get your dog interested in playing with a special toy.

The majority of agility dogs are taught to play with a tuggy but my dog much prefers his ball or mouse.

I also teach my dogs a go on before formal training and also use a wobble board to get them used to equipment moving.

For this I use an old cupbard door which I painted with sand added to the paint to give a good grip. Initially I lay it flat and just get the dog used to walking over it.
Only when the dog is happy to do this do I put a small fence post underneath to create a very  small type of seesaw,and I do mean very small,just a tilting action, Then I get the dog used to waking over this but if at any stage they become unhappy then the board is put back to being flat.

agility net is the best place to look for any info on clubs etc

Thats great, thanks for all the info. dont know how i missed agilitynet... thats exactly what i needed, thanks again :)