I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of what I should be looking for when I go to choose my new pup.  It's not for a fair few months yet but we are looking to get a bitch to work primarily in agility but also in obedience if she enjoys it.

Thanks
Jayne

If you are seriously competitive then no doubt you are looking for a BC/WSD.  The most sensible thing to do would be to go to proven, successful lines in order to maximise your chances, as you would do for any discipline.  I know several people who breed specifically for particular disciplines and they generally have no need to advertise. :D

For agility you would be looking for speed as prime factor.

hi there, we breed working border collies, as well as staffordshire bull terriers and have done obedience with both. although border collies excel at agility, most breeds are capable and can be trained to give it a go! our bull terriers are the old tyme, athletic type and they do well at this type of thing. look for a breeder who specialises in obedience if you go for a border collie, but personally I think its nice to see other breeds having a go!

I'm really glad you mentioned Staffys as I have wanted to do something like this with Gus for a while . Not at any kind of competition level but purely for stimulation.
I know he'd enjoy it but when you contact any clubs/classes as soon as you mention hes a Staffy they seem not so keen for you to go :o
Whereabouts are you ??

i know exactly what you mean! staffs have a bad name and its rather unfair! vote with your feet, and refuse to join the club unless they allow you to take your staff, if they dont, it is their loss.

When we were researching Staffords we found the East Anglian SBT Club who have loads of agility dogs, there is a website called clever staffords which shows what they can and have done, we have a few Staffords at our agility club that compete, they can do very well (when they listen :D ) as they are b****y fast!!!

Hi Lel,

Sal goes to a "training agility class"  ie an agility club that runs a beginners/young dogs course/class.

They don't jump high or do anything that puts strain on their joints it's Bromsgrove Agility they are really good.

I said Stafford they said "we don't care what breed as long as you want to enjoy it come along" and we did. Sal adores  it, however she does have a habit of legging it if anyone opens a packet of crisps but no problems otherwise.

Karen  

yep!! i totally agree! especially the athletic, leggier type of staff, they love obedience and agility work, and are naturally good at it. Our stud dog Conan can jump pretty much anything, he's very fast and he loves to do whatever you ask him to do, staffs are just such happy dogs arent they? I hope more clubs start to realise their potential.

THere are staffords who do well at open obedience, working trials and agility.  As all these sports are open to all breeds all well run clubs should have no problem accepting any breed of dog.

We are getting a black GSD (always wanted one and BF has finally said yes! :-) ) and was hoping that someone could give me some pointers as to which puppy to look for in the litter.  The nosy one, the mad one etc!

Hiya
A very good point was made to me that if you take the number of collies doing agility and then take the percentage of those that have qualified as senior agility dogs it will be a fairly small percentage compared to for example belgian shepherds there aren't many competing but the ones that do are damm good and the percentage is more than likely higher than that of collies.  People think in order to be competitive in agility get a collie but it's not true at all.

Choosing a pup:  My first two were rescues so I didn't get the choice.  So with my 3rd (a sheltie) I wanted something that would have the attitude for agility & obedience and the want to work.  So I picked the pup that was the bossiest, she stole the toys of the others and she tugged with me whereas the other two let go she fought for the toy.  She went to her first obedience show at 6 months and was just out of the placings, she's got bags of attitude isn't scared of anything and is the friendliest little thing.  Also with the GSDs getting a smaller lighter boned one may be better because they tend to do better than the bigger boned types.  A lot of the courses are quite tight and for the big dogs it's difficult to get the turns because of their long stride.

Gina

PS There is a staffie that's qualified for the circular knockout at Crufts I think, if he didn't qualify he was just out of the qualifying places, and it wasn't because he lacked speed but tended to have the odd pole down.

Hi

Thanks for that.  Our current GSD is just on the breed standard of 26 inches (male), and he is definitely not a show dog.  He is on the skinnier side and lightning fast.  So far we are doing well with him (only been going for about 12 weeks and he has already graduated into the competition class) and he is obviously the correct build.  We kind of fell into agility as something to keep him occupied (little monster) and have been bitten by the bug!   The breeder that we have found already has several of his previous pups competing in agility and obedience and doesn't breed the heavy, large 'show' dog.  I have already spoken to him about our intentions to compete and he seems to think that the dogs he produces should suit us.

I will definitely keep my eye out for the 'monster' pup (would need to be to put up with Ossie anyway :;) ).  We have first selection on the bitches I think anyway so it should be a bit easier!

Jayne

There are no guarantees when choosing a pup but personally I would look at the sire and dam to ensure that they had the attributes that I was seeking in an agility dog. I would also check hip and eye clearances on both sire and dam (no good having the perfect agility dog if its hips are bad). You're also looking for a lightish build and good angulation in the rear (but not excessive), and a nice amount of shoulder layback.

I like to choose as late as I can, so if you can get the breeder to let you choose at about 6 weeks or later then that's ideal IMO. Go for the pup that is the most playful with you, not necessarily the bully. You want one that is going to relate to you, as you will need this when training her. I always tell people to pick the one they like the most. You tend to get a 'feeling' about a pup and you should follow your instinct.

Karen

Thanks Karen

I have checked out the sire and dam and they both have (very) low hipscores themselves and going back up their lines.  The father has also had all the breed blood tests.  I have also spoken to some current owners from the same kennel and of the ones that have hip scored they have come back low so health wise I think that I have done as much as posssible.  Although there are no guarantees :-(

You spoke of shoulder layback - ????  Help!!!

Thanks
Jayne

Shoulder layback.

Well basically this is how far from the vertical the shoulder blades lie. When a dog is standing properly find the highest spot of the shoulder blade next to the spine. Then feel the point at which the shoulder blade meets the foreleg (point of shoulder). Draw an imaginary vertical line from the ground through the point of shoulder another between the point of shoulder and the highest point where the scapular meets the spine. The top angle between these 2 lines is the shoulder layback.

There is a link here that explains it better:

http://users.rcn.com/kschive/Fronts.html

As far as agility is concerned you want the dog to be flexible and to be able to extend its forelegs forward. Too little shoulder layback will not allow this. The other thing is that shoulders that are too upright reduce the ability of the front legs to absorb the body weight when jumping and can result in shoulder and elbow problems.

Karen