# Malts & AGILITY!



## pinkpixie1588 (Oct 12, 2009)

Graduation from our Puppy Class with Leila was this past Tuesday and as a graduation gift, they give you a $20 gift certificate to be put toward another class/playgroup. I decided today we would give Agility a try, since it's priced by the class and if we didn't like it, I would still have some credit left to put toward small breed playgroup.

Anyway, Leila did really well! :chili: I was shocked. I'm partially convinced that Leila isn't the sharpest tool in the shed :innocent: but she sure likes to follow me. So, I go over jump, she goes over jump, etc. I put her in tunnel, then run over to other end, she runs through to get to me. She was a little slow at first, but she ended up doing really well by the end! 

Just wondering who else has tried agility. Do you think your dog likes agility or obedience more? Anyone tried Rally-O? Since Leila is not food motivated and sort of a busy body, it's hard to get her to focus and do what I want in an obedience setting. We're starting small breed obedience on April 15th, so we'll see how that goes, but so far I'm pleased with how she did in Agility. 

Looking forward to reading others' experiences


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## ilovemymaltese (Oct 9, 2008)

Gigi will start agility this summer or next year this time. She has shown an interest in it, although she's not the brightest crayon in the box either. :blush: We did obedience too for awhile but we liked things to go a little faster than the obedience classe. :thumbsup:


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

Sharpest tools ... brightest crayons ... :HistericalSmiley:

Whatever ya'll do, I'm sure you'll have a blast with your babies!!! :thumbsup:

HUGz! Jules


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## MandyMc65 (Jun 14, 2007)

We have done a little bit of everything. We took a Foundations for Agility class and man agility is a TON of work. It is soooo much fun, but there is a lot of foundations that need to be done to be able to really compete. We had a 6 week course, and 2 of the 5 people dropped out after week 3. 

Jax & I have also done some bits of Obedience, but not much b/c I find it too formal and no one here trains it the way I'd like.

We also have done Rally-O which I really like. Jax has his Rally Novice title in AKC Rally and has 2 legs toward his APDT Rally Level 1. We are hoping to get our 3rd leg and his RL1 title in June - if the place has a trial and move on to Level 2 for the October trial. 

APDT Rally is WAY more fun, challenging, difficult and interesting than AKC. APDT focuses on the dog/trainer relationship more than just scores, titles and doing everything perfect. Jax is incredibly smart and enjoys doing it. Kenzie would be great for agility, but unfortunately the closest place that I'd actually go to is about an hour away, so she's just going to have to deal with doing Rally-O!


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## Orla (Jul 5, 2009)

Thats great that she enjoyed it!

How old is Leila?
I believe dogs should not do agility until their bones are fully developed - I'm pretty sure of that but could be wrong.


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## iheartbisou (Feb 13, 2007)

I really wish they had something like that here...I would love to do that and I think Bisou would actually love it. It sounds like a lot of fun and a great bonding activity. Please take some photos of little Leila when/if you do the class.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

A Maltese should be jumping a bar on the ground or for a larger pup no more than 4 inches high until after a year of age. Contact obstacles should be lowered to reduce the impact. 
And, of course, any dog should be cleared by the vet before jumping their regular jump height. I won't let a dog jump normal height until they are a year old and have had hip x-rays and their knees are declared ok to jump by a veterinarian. Repetitive jumping is very hard on the joints. 
I think it is essential to start agility with a foundations class, not just getting on the equipment as quickly as possible. Knowing how to safely handle your dog is essential even if you are just doing it for fun and not competition.


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## revakb2 (Sep 8, 2006)

Bogie has been going to agility classes for about a year. I don't know if we will ever compete in agility because Bogie is in no hurry to do anything. To give you a clue, I run the course faster than Bogie, and I'm not in the greatest shape. He does love to go to classes though. We go to a Just for Fun Agility class, where no one cares too much how well the dog does. Most of us never plan to complete. I think training for agility is harder for the handler than the dog, or else I'm just a klutz and don't get it. I'm always confusing Bogie, but anyway it's fun. I think I'm going to try Rally. Maybe I can follow directions there better since it's in writing. lol


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