Hi i was wonderig if anyone knew what small dog is best for agility? Is it a sheltie, papillon or toy poodle.
I also wondered if any one could help me with my dog agility problems, my lab x collie is constantly being nasty
to other dogs in his agility class, particually one, who is the same breed as him and stares at him which i think he senses and
when she walks past my dog has a go at her. I also wondered how i could speed him up going down the A-frame, a she seems
a bit concous of the steepness, but it is also only on the lowest height of steepness and the A-frames in shows are really steep!
HELP! Thank-you email me back on ahadaway_511@fsmail.net

The right breed for agility is the breed you most want to live with, the Shelties and Toy/Mini Poodles seem to do very well, have also seen some good Jack Russels, though they vary in size and inclination.  Plenty of welfare crosses on the circuit too if you would rather have a rescue.
The speed on the A Frame should come with time, better to learn in properly, and steady and then work on the speed, which is normally done with encouragement and reward, i.e toys or food at the end of the article

what about a westie, full of fun, eager to please, pretty fast on those short little legs. well mine is.

Hi Guest,

We see a lot of shelties and jack russells at agility events, both are very fast.  Although come to think of it, toy poodles and min shnauzers also do very well.  I wouldn't recommend a beagle - although they are good fun, they're a bit of a challenge!

We see owners carry 'squeezy' bottles of water round with them at agility training, and if the dogs 'start' they get a blast of cold water.  I suppose it gives them a shock without hurting them.

Sorry - got no suggestions with the A-frame.  My young beagle is a bit wary of the sea-saw as she's flown onto it a couple of times without realising it tips down, so now is a bit more cautious, but with time, she will get more confident - and maybe that's the best thing for your dog - just time and training.

sarah

i have seen the best agility courses run by border collies.  they are fantastic at this sport/game.  first though, before jumping into a new breed, try getting the ones you have perfected at it.  if you are having problems with one of your dogs, you ought to get that settled before getting a new puppy.  good luck.

regarding the a frame problem, i taught the dog that i teach agility, to go faster by treatingher when she went just slighlty faster then the previous time. this seemed to work. also as she is a very food orintated dog, i made sure there was no smell of food on the a frame, because she would stop and sniff it which was anoying when  i was waiting for her at the bottom!!
hope this helps, have fun