my daughter is 9,and she really enjoys the doggy side of our lives, she does agility with a border collie, he is not hers just borrowed. she also does flyball with another dog not her just borrowed, she has for the last year been practising at junior handling,but i have a very strong willed male dog and she is a petite little girl and can find him to strong, she has not entered any competion in handling yet but i can tell the time is getting there,what type of dog would you think best for her, she is looking at papions and shelties,any one got any ideas are they ideal for her,i know of a pappion that does agility, when we sat down and talked about it, she said she would like a dog that could do the breed and agility and maybe flyball also , so i was wondering if anybody had any ideas.
thanks .

Most dogs would be happy to do agility and show but not all take the repetitiveness of flyball, my breed for instance will do it once and then set about finding where the balls are kept, not being able to see the point in running up and down endlessly catching a ball, when they can be unearth and despatched all in one go and it can then get on with something else.

If the lass is really set on flyball then may be a Sheltie would be a good choice.

what a about a toller (nova scotia duck tollling retriever)
small little dogs, great at flyball!

Not for showing though, think they are on the import register. Not that small either about 20" and may have a too strong a character for a young lady just starting out.

Hi, we have a toller, No longer on the import register, since summer 2002. There are quite a few champ shows have classes for the breed now although breed classes at open shows are still rare. The gundog club shows are including them though. Bitches can be smaller than dogs. Standard states 18 to 19 inches for bitches, one inch over or under allowed. our bitch is a shade over 17" a really manageable size. She loves showing. tollers are brilliant at agility and flyball, very fast. Hard to find a puppy quickly, may have to go on a waiting list.

Oh right, are they now rare breed? Only mentioned it because when juniors start they will want to do the local shows and most will not have classes for the NSDTR

Hi jackie, yes rare breed. There are about 8 or nine champ shows currently with classes and lots of local gundog open shows also, other than this they can go in avnsc gundog. classes are still small numerically, so with a good dog it is possible to have some nice wins some of the time, which is very encouraging, unlike popular large entry breeds where even with a decent dog you find yourself thrown out most of the time, which becomes demoralising eventually! Showing is only a small part though and tollers are very versatile from gundog training to search and rescue and agility as mentioned. Whats your breed?

Oh Jackie, losing your touch here...something you didn't know!  ;)

A Border Terrier would suit all your requirements.

They are just the right size for smaller children to junior handle, they excel at mini agility and I know particularly in the States are doing very well at flyball.

My daughter went right to the top in JH with our Border a few years ago.  The winner of a number of Mini Agility Finals was bred from similar lines to ours, so they can be real all round performers.

Jayne

Norwegian Buhund - there are a number of junior handlers in the breed whose parents have larger dogs. They can be trained in Obedience & love agility - depending on size, they are either mini or ordinary, sure you could train a youngster for flyball!!

Australian shepherds?  There are junior handlers out there doing very well - (Ice Queen for one!) - they like agility and obedience! (well,all apart from our Awful Aussies who think we should do what they want us to :D)

Margot

Aussies are easy to train, well behaved and very popular for junior handlers in a few disaplins!

Thats above is with the exception to margots and my perry!

Tollers are also good tho do need lots exercise and brain work

Shelties are good and so are border collies!

Rox

Just don't let Kealie know that Rox ;)

Margot

If she hasn't found that out then what planet is she on?! (I'm sure kealie knows just doesn't say anything!!!!!!!)

Ok another breed to sujest is a swedish valhund.  They are small (tho can be strong) breed, great and flybal and mini agility and good, smart little dogs!

Rox

Aussies are not bad, but they can also be stubborn and have a high drive to work, and most of them definitely have a mind of their own........ Not sure whether I would recommend them for a Junior just starting out or a first time dog owner......
My friend has a Toller, and he shows, has done agility and flyball, and now does some gundog training...... I would say he is very laid back and was easy to train.....
Also like the Border Terrier, they are very popular with Juniors at our Ringcraft and agility clubs.........
Gabrielle x

hello everybody mam said to wirte to let you know went to a show with mam on sunday and a toller was ther and the lady let me have a go at standing her and moving her, i liked her and the lady said that i would be abel to do flyball and agility if i got one.
mam know said that we need to find a pup or go on a waiting list so if you know of a breeder could you let me know plaese.
mam has emaled someone off this board and waiting for reply.
mam has asked me to also asks what group they show under and what should we look for inj apuppy.
thank you love Holly  xxx

tollers are a Gundog (sub-group retreiver)

I couldn't tell you what to look for but before you rush in to buying a toller really do some research on them.  You've seen one but as in all breeds you haven't seen them all.

Aussies are brilliants at agility and flyball and obediance, my male aussie cant do anything except misbehave!

Please take care and see as many as possible first

Rox

Ice queen is giving you good advice. Don't just go to one breeder, go & see as many as you can and get an idea for yourself of what you want from a puppy.
Good Luck

we are going to see a breeder after xmas and we have to go on a waiting list for nearly a year,
the lady that we met at the show on Sunday,is going to let Holly have a go at a open show next time we are there, and she has put us in touch with someone who does agility,and on the 4 january we are going to go and do some agility and flyball with this lady,and we have been in touch with a breeder, she has been very helpfull,and has given us loads of sites to have a look at, i have ordered 3 books and hopefully we will of made the correct choice.

Well done, looks like i didnt have to give you advice (so many people do need it tho!)

Good luck on your quest on your toller puppy and seeing many others.  Im sure it is the right breed for you.

Rox

Hi Hippychick,
                 As I said in an earlier post, my friend has a Toller, who she does various things with. Where in the country are you, because of you are nearby to us in the North West, you could come over and meet him, and see what you think.......
The registered breed club is run by a lady called Babs Harding, and her e-mail address is uk.toller@virgin.net
She is really nice and helpful, and will give you lots of advice, but I do know there is a long waiting list for Tollers whos' breeders are recommended by the breed club.....
Hope that helps.......
Gabrielle x

Hiya, my daughter is nearly 6, we have large munsterlanders and for the last year she has been showing him and taking him in to agility competitions. I know you probably won't want one of these as they are big but dont' get her a small dog just because she is a junior. Why not get her a collie of her own as she has experience. Parson Jack Russells are good small agility dogs, tollers are also good. Her is a list of some breeds. Hungarian Viszla - Cocker spaniel - australian shepherd - schnauzers  and poodles all do well and you can do all three sports with them.

Just reading though all the posts again and its mentions only certain brreds good for all disaplins.

All breeds can doo all disaplins, ok so not at the same level but a great dane can do agility (takes him foreva i will admit!)

The point im trying to make is that any breed of dog can be triand to do anything, Its best if you find a dog that you like and if you want to do more of one disaplin then an other then go for a breed more sutiable.

Im not getting at anyone in particular here i just feel that i need to get that off my chest:)

Rox

It's horses for courses, Ice Queen. If you know what you want a dog for, it makes sense to look for a dog which, firstly can be trained relatively easily to do what you want and secondly is the right size. If you want a guard dog, a Chi would guard you, but, due to its size, it wouldn't be very effective. If you want a dog to retrieve, you don't go out and buy a Husky. No doubt, given a good trainer & plenty of time, you could train it, but why make life hard for yourself, why not buy a retrieving breed in the first place? I like to show, but I would hate grooming, so I wouldn't consider a long coated breed. Some dogs are Masters of what they were bred for, others are Jack of all trades!!! If you want to show, do agility & flyball, you don't have to go out & buy 3 seperate breeds - you can buy a dog which can do all 3, probably won't hit  the heights in any of them but, wow, you could have some fun & you'd have a dog who enjoys life to the full.