What is Agility?

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Agility is a dog sport in which the handler directs the dog off lead around a course of obstacles against the clock. The fastest dog with the least amount of faults is the winner.

 

Training With us:

 

Good foundation training is hugely important for this type of training and we put lots of emphasis on this in the early days of training. This does mean that dogs see a limited amount of equipment in their first few months of training. We do not set up courses and allow you to just run around them, there is so much more to Agility than that!

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How old do dogs need to be?

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We run puppy agility foundations classes, puppies from 5 months old can attend and work on lots of foundation exercises such as wobble cushions, crate games, rear end awareness exercises, working with distractions, handling and directional skills on the flat (flatwork), drive for a toy and much more! Dogs should not start training at height on equipment or jumping any sort of height until they are 12 months old, this is to ensure the dog has fully developed before taking part in a demanding sport.

 

For general Agility foundations dogs need to be approx 10 months old before starting with us. We introduce dogs to the skills they need using a mixture of flatwork training and low level equipment. As dogs and handlers become more confident we introduce more equipment and height to jumps. You get out of training what you put into it and there are lots of skills you can practice at home without equipment.
 

Entry requirements:

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Adult Dogs starting agility are required to have a basic level of training which includes a wait whilst the handler moves away and a reliable recall as all training is done off lead. Dogs must be happy working around other dogs.  Agility is a sport and so dogs must be physically fit, not overweight and free from injury and illness to take part. Handlers need to be able to have good control of their dogs at all times.

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Most dogs can do agility and we have trained dogs as small as Chihuahuas to large dogs such as Labradoodles however very Large breeds and very small breeds or breeds with long backs may be better suited to Hoopers due to the impact on the dogs body. Please contact us for advice. Dogs with ongoing limitations such as hip dysplasia or luxating patella should not do Agility.