My little baby graduated...AND FOUND A GREAT GAME

[juliefurry]

Well Holly graduated from puppy preschool today (sorry no pictures but they SHOULD post some on their website soon). Today we worked on healing and also stay. Anyway we also played on the agility stuff and Holly LOVED it! She was a little scared of the dog walk but she flew through the tunnels faster than the border collie puppy! She also did the a-frame (until she got to the top then got scared and we had to coax her the rest of the way). She loved agility though and it has got me wondering if maybe I don't have a future agility dog on my hands.

[Tracer Tong]

It could happen. Make sure it stays fun for you and him/her.

[Doberluv]

Congratulations on a job well done! Agility is a blast. I think the tunnel is a favorite for lots of dogs. Lyric loves that the best too. Glad she had so much fun. Just a suggestion for the scarier things....things she could fall off of like the dog walk or the teeter totter, it's a good idea to start out with a 2x6 or 2x8 on the ground, then put a pipe under it in the middle so it wobbles a little..just low to the ground. Then do mini bridges, just a foot or so off the ground. This is good for puppies for "puppy" agility. You don't want her to have a bad experience and they do fall sometimes. Everything has to be fun and not scary.

[juliefurry]

I hope to get her involved with something to keep her busy. I don't know with her being a berner if agility is the best option though. The trainer said as long as she has no problems that would be advanced by agility it shouldn't be a problem.

[Doberluv]

What's a berner?

[juliefurry]

Originally Posted by Doberluv

What's a berner?

a bernese mountain dog. Sorry I should have been more specific.

[juliefurry]

Originally Posted by Doberluv

Congratulations on a job well done! Agility is a blast. I think the tunnel is a favorite for lots of dogs. Lyric loves that the best too. Glad she had so much fun. Just a suggestion for the scarier things....things she could fall off of like the dog walk or the teeter totter, it's a good idea to start out with a 2x6 or 2x8 on the ground, then put a pipe under it in the middle so it wobbles a little..just low to the ground. Then do mini bridges, just a foot or so off the ground. This is good for puppies for "puppy" agility. You don't want her to have a bad experience and they do fall sometimes. Everything has to be fun and not scary.

All the dog walks and a-frames the puppies went on were miniaturized for the puppies (they have regular sized for adult dogs). Also we have to have a spotter anytime we took the dog on the dogwalk or a-frame. Holly slipped a couple times on the dogwalk but luckily didn't fall. The trainer told us a scary story of an adult dog that didn't understand basic obedience and went flying through their agility course fell and hurt himself so bad he can't do agility anymore.

[Dizzy]

There's no reason why she shouldn't have a go

My only concern would be to wait for her to have fully grown before doing any kind of jumping.

You want her bones and joints to be fully developed, and not stressed, so she doesn't get any joint problems in later life.

[Doberluv]

There's no reason why she shouldn't have a go

My only concern would be to wait for her to have fully grown before doing any kind of jumping.

You want her bones and joints to be fully developed, and not stressed, so she doesn't get any joint problems in later life.

Oh! Bernese mountain dog. Ah-ha!

Yes, She may not be as quick and agilie as some but it then again....you never know. And it could be fun. But Dizzy's right....the big jumps and hard turns with speed should be put on hold till she's older. I started Lyric at about 6 months and we jumped over the jumps for the toy breeds. LOL....about a foot off the ground. (Of course, at home, I couldn't keep him from leaping off the 4 steps I have on my porch or logs in the woods. lol) And we did weave poles but very slowly... that sort of thing, just to give him a start and some fun. Glad to hear your trainer is using puppy sized things and spotting, definitely a good idea. It seems they don't always know where their back legs are or what they're doing. (at least with my Dobe...what a clutzy puppy he was. LOL)