Ok I have a theory that I would be grateful if people could give me their opinions of.

I own a 3 year old WSD called JC.  He was the runt of the litter and no one wanted him so I ended up with him.  He has always been a sensitive little soul.  I also own a 4 year old Sprollie called Kai.  The boys get on great and it has turned into a wonderful partnership.

I started doing agility with JC about 2 years ago, last year he had a cracking start to the year winning me out of elementary and starters by April and qualifying for the supadogs finals.  I then started taking Kai to agility who has taken to it really well.  Towards the end of last year and all of this year JC has now developed a fear of competition and gets really nervy about it and stressful. 

Right now to my theory; when I first started agility with JC only he came to training and competitions with me and I wonder whether he built up his confidence and that was why competition wasnt a problem for him.  Now that I have started to take Kai for the last year or so he has started to rely on Kai being there.  Kai is always in the car at training which is only about 100 yards away and JC is great at training, yet at a competition when we are in the ring Kai is in the van however far that happens to be and this is when the fear steps in. 

Do dogs rely on each other as it would certainly seem the case for me.  Another thing that makes me think I could be right, is that I left JC at home a couple of weeks with my husband and apparently he was really unconfident whilst out on a walk with my husband (my husband walks the dogs in the afternoon on a daily basis so its not him) the only thing missing was Kai. 

Sorry for the rambling postings but any opinions would be much appreciated.

Claire and the boys.

Yes, dogs do very much rely on each other. If they're always together then they will miss each other and it's likely JC will start to count on Kai being there - and be nervous when he's not.

My two borzoi litter brother are so attached to each other. When they were young I used to make an effort to train them seperately and exercise them seperately and could take one to a show with no problems. Now they're both neutered and retired they haven't been apart for years. I went to a local exemption show and thought I'd put Tchi in the ring, he was absolutely awful pulling to get to his brother standing outside the ring :rolleyes:

My young, home-bred collie Gem is a spooky wee thing but is very confident when out with the rest of the pack. I've had to work hard with her to make her almost as confident when out on her own. It just involves taking them out for walks, or out to play, seperately I'm afraid. if I'm short of time I walk all 4 dogs together then just take Gem on her own out to the park for 10 mins of ball fetching :)

yes definitly. i have a puppy who we are having a few problems with because she is relying on my other dog to much, could i just ask is the agility good, how often do you train and is it expensive, thanks

Dogs shouldn't do any agility (jumping) until they have a good level of obedience and have finished growing and preferably been hip scored.

i was just curious for when mags is fully grown, we were going to take del (who has  his gold good citizens and is very obedient)but left it when we found out he had a bad knee even tho the vet told us he was fine to still go. 

At my agility club they actually prefer the dogs to start as soon as they've had their jags. They don't jump anything - just run through wings and learn that anything that happens around the agility equipment is FUN FUN FUN :) They can learn all the basic commands, directions and contacts as puppies.

Re cost it varies hugely from club to club. The original one we started at was £15 membership and £22 per month, per dog. The one I go to now is £5 membership and £25 per quarter per dog. If you want to start agility it's best to look for a club now as often they will have huge waiting lists - I had to wait 2 years to get into one. I started looking for an aghiity club when Meg was 6 months, she was almost 3 when she finally got into one - and she'd had Gem who started at 12 weeks.

ok thankyou very much, well if anyone knows of any in the newcastle/ co durham area let me no. thanks

A - Z of clubs here with contact details :)

you will need to be on a list. go and look at the clubs first... go watch several training sessions to see how they are trained and how the dogs are treated..some stuff we experienced really is dreadful ..I don't know why clubs don't get inspected.

  A good club should give you a few training excersises you can work on at home in preperation to starting class.  It is better to drive a bigger distance to a club who will treat you and your dog with respect than go to one that will ruin your dog. Agility is fun but only when the dog is also finding it fun. 

Look for: No force no yelling, scruffing, choking, lifting poles to hit the dogs legs, threatening the dog with a pole, no telling you the dog is taking the p**** out of you. They are dogs and always try to please. If you see these methods being taught in clubs stay away.

Look up the shows near you go to see, see people you like and ask them where they train.

wow do some people really do that in there clubs. when people talked about cruelty at clubs i thought they just ment really shouting at the dog.

well hopefully it is rare!  those who do end up with dogs who will be slow and may well  not work well for them all that well so it backfires! Most clubs won't accept this but it is always best to make sure. You can ask what methods are used.

..oh and do make sure you look into this it is great fun..the dogs love it and so we people do to. You can take it to whatever level you like very low key fun or get very  competitive. There is something for everyone in agility.

I didn't realise how lucky I had been with the agility clubs in my area. That sounds terrible, I certainly wouldn't want to have anything to do with a club that treated dogs like that. It's meant to be FUN. I am sure if I had hit my dog with a pole he wouldn't want to go anywhere near one, let alone jump it for me & then come back to me for some more! I think perhaps anyone with first hand evidence should name & shame!

My GSD has a good level of obedience, he is 4 1/2 yrs old, does agility, but has not been hip scored, nor will he be. He has been castrated as he is a rescue, I know nothing of his parentage, so why on earth would I need to have his hip's x-rayed. He is fit, lean & absolutely adores agility, I am positive if he was in pain or uncomforatble I would know. I prefer to keep him fit & if & when he tells me otherwise I will re-consider. We both have fun & both enjoy the training, we are off now, infact.

A lot of dogs with very bad hip score even no hips at all can be fit and agile.  Knowing the hip status helps you ensure that the dog gets the suitable amount of work and exercise.

I know someone who had been doing agility with a Goldie for several years, but the dog was an unenthusiastic jumper.  They thought he was lazy, but on x-ray it turned out he virtually had no hips.  He was able to be kept comfortable until 14 on metacam in the end, but just suitable diet and exercise before arthritis set in.

Was he ok in every other aspect of life?
I've got a goldie that flatly refuses to jump full height jumps, although i know she can do it if she really wants to (jumping things when out) but when ot for a walk she can run for hours without any lameness, so i can't really justify putting her through an x ray when it could just be that shes lazy and stubborn!! :rolleyes:

perhaps she just doesn't enjoy it?  Opi could be a fantastic agility dog - she can easily clear full height and then some - but she simply doesn't enjoy doing it.  Out on walks I've seen her clear 3'+ high felled trees, but at home I'm lucky if I can persuade her to clear 18" high jumps.  She seems to get fed up at anything over 12", doesn't matter what motivation I give her.  I've stopped training her for agility now - jumping was the only thing she ever put gusto into and lately she's been getting less enthusiastic.

I know someone whose BC was not interested in full height and it would duck them and refuse to jump. I suggested a trip to the chiro and she was like a different dog afterwards........ Your dog could have a problem you are not aware of. Not being lame doesn't mean much. I have a dog here with HD that would still jump full height if I asked him to and not knock poles and he has never been lame but he still has HD and he only does anysize as we are both happier that way. He gets the same level of exercise as the other two but only trains and "competes" over little jumps. Personally I would get your dog checked out by a vet and a chiro and if the vet feels x-rays are necessary then they need to be done. I had sol scored before he started competing and he is fine but I will always get every future dog x-rayed before they enter the ring. I would rather know about any possible problem before it becomes a problem, at least then I can manage it in the best way for my dog :-) I am lucky in that my vet recommends that I take mine to a chiro every 6 months and totally agrees with them, not all of them do unfortunately but I would rather change vets than stop taking them as there are obvious benefits for the dogs! :-D

Hi Brainless

Thanks for the info, I don't think I have anything to worry about, Zak jumps with too much enthusiasm & very, very rarely knocks them. He never refuses & if you ever saw him, well when I say 'saw' you actually only have to listen to him! It's a wonderful feeling doing something with a dog who obviously enjoys every second. He tries to queue jump to get into the ring.

Certainly cant recommend agility enough to anyone although personally I dont like dogs starting until they are a year old and certainly we dont allow any younger into our club.  It does have a habit of taking over your life a little.....