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  • Puppy Agility?

    Hey all Osiris and I had our second puppy class last night and I have to say, he was only half the heathen (term of endearment lol) that he was last week at the first class. The regular trainer was not there, she had to travel to Anchorage..7 hour drive..UGH. Anywhoo, she had her assistants there who are kids..well teenagers..that are in her 4-H for dog training. They are really wonderful girls who seem to know there stuff when it comes to training and handling. However, they had Osiris do the sea-saw and the A-frame (not sure what it is actually called) climb last night. He was able to do each one once after some coaxing and some yummy cheese bribes. My question though is this: should a 16 week old dane be doing those types of "obstacles"? The way our training classes do it is there are several stations set up, the rug on the ground as the "spot" they go to; a ball on a stick for "touch"; a walk around with distractions; a hunt game with a treat under one of 3 cups; a stool very low to the ground that they should step on with one or both front paws (is it ok for him to also do this?..it is about 4 inches high); as well as the sea-saw and the A-frame that I am concerned about. You do each station for about 3-5 minutes depending on class size and then move onto the next station. I just want to know if the Sea-saw and the A-frame are things I should not allow him to do so young and maybe just work on something else like his sit/stay or loose leash walking when we are at those stations? I know you shouldn't force exercise and that Dane pup's bones can be damaged by some types of exercise/training. Are the A-frame and sea-saw acceptable at this age since he only does it one time once a week? Thanks all and I apologize for the run on post

    Here he is all tuckered out after class
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  • #2
    I think a puppy can be introduced to agility concepts, but not in the way they're currently having you do. You have two things to think about here: his health and and his confidence.

    With a baby puppy, I would work on body awareness stuff. Teach him how to target your hand with his nose. Teach him to target with his paws. Teach him to put two front paws on a stool and pivot around it. Teach him to put all four paws on pods, or stand on a fit bone. Teach him that he has back legs, let him learn how to control his body.

    Long before he runs over a see saw he should learn how to walk over a wide, stable board. As he gets confident with that you can switch to a narrow board. You can teach him to stand on a wobble board to get used to the board moving. You can introduce low see saws once all of those skills are mastered.

    If you just rush ahead and do the see saw, what if a back leg slips and he falls off? What if he hurts himself? What if he lose his confidence over that type of obstacle? Same with A frame. There is a lot of ground work that puppies should learn first before worrying about the obstacles. The obstacles are just icing on the cake once all the other skills are in place.

    Any agility training in such a young puppy should be very basic, very fun, and with very low risk of injury. "Jumps" should be poles on the ground between standards, but honestly, i'd let him grow up a little bit before starting that stuff.
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    Peach, merle Great Dane
    Born July 7 2014
    Peach & Emily!

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    • #3
      Thank you so much for your reply! That is exactly what I was thinking. I do have to note and probably should have in the original thread that the sea saw is only about 8 inches off the ground at the middle highest point and as I led/bribed him, the trainer (or 4-H trainee) held the sea-saw in place as he got to the middle and she very slowly and gently guided it down as he went past the middle, so it didn't ever go fast or slam down what-so-ever. That being said, I still will not be doing these 2 obstacles anymore though. I am sure the girl just hasn't worked with danes before (very few in Alaska LOL) and doesn't know the recommendations/rules for danes and this type of training when they are puppies. Hindsight is always 20/20. Glad I asked though and to see that I was on track thinking I shouldn't have him do it again.
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      • #4
        You can work up to all that stuff, just don't rush the process! but I think there are lots of important puppy skills to Master first. Impulse control, body awareness, recalls, basic obedience skills like heeling, sits, stays, all of that stuff will be necessary if you decide to pursue agility.

        One piece of equipment I would introduce him to young is tunnels. Teach him how to do it now while he fits and it's easy and he can just keep doing it as he gets bigger. Teaching tunnels to a full grown nervous Dane was a nightmare keep tunnels short (squished together), straight, and make sure they are anchored with sand bags to protect his confidence.

        One last note, you mention bribing / luring him over obstacles. Every trainer is different, but ours won't let me bribe or lure for anything... it's all shaping and it's all the dog's choice. They start to learn to try things and offer behaviours. If we put a low stable plank out, Peach knows she should do something with it. She'll sniff it, walk around it, put a paw on it and then YES and reward. Every time she offers paw on the board we mark and reward. Then we wait until she offers 2 paws on the board to reward, and so on until all four feet on the board. Big party for that, and then wait for her to try something else, like taking steps, before more rewards. The issue with luring is that it takes the element of thought out of it for the dog, they're not making the choice to do the obstacles, and many dogs will follow lures into situations they normally wouldn't have the confidence for, then panic once they're in the middle of it, which can be traumatic for their confidence.

        You're gonna have fun with him! We run agility, it's a blast.
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        Peach, merle Great Dane
        Born July 7 2014
        Peach & Emily!

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        • #5
          I agree, you need to start agility with baby steps. In our first few classes we walked them over a big sheet of plywood with a book underneath, to get them used to instability. Also went through shortened tunnels and over very low jumps. We didn't see the teeter until at least 5 or 6 weeks in, it was low and had sandbags to stop it from banging. Even then most of the dogs were terrified of it at first.

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          • #6
            I agree with emeko and jrturk! Although I've never trained agility with my great dane, I am training my border collie X in agility. I would be very protective of your pup especially with the contact obstacles (A Frame, teeter, dog walk) and jumps! I wouldn't allow any jumps at all, personally. If you don't feel comfortable with something, just tell them you're going to skip it for now until you research more about it. Your dane's growing body is no joke! The others gave you great examples of things to work on. Most of all, enjoy your time training together! Lots of parties!!
            Last edited by NMDane; 02-06-2017, 08:11 PM. Reason: ETA: Typo
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            • #7
              Were the teeter & A frame set up at regular height?!?!
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              Fergus
              SC Dinnie Stone Guardian, CGC
              Eisen Shark
              C Shadows On The Sun, CGC

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              • #8
                Thank you so much for all the info! We will definitely introduce the tunnels and take your advice on bribing vs allowing the dog to offer behaviors. I don't much like the idea of bribing him a lot anyway because I do not want to have to rely on it later.
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                • #9
                  The teeter was about 8 inches high at the middle highest point. The middle of the A-frame was about hip height to me to roughly 3-ish feet high. I don't know what standard heights for either are so hope that answers your question.
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                  • #10
                    Thanks everyone for the suggestions and advice! I will not be allowing Osiris to do the teeter or the A-frame until he is much older. I will however do the flat plank on the ground with him as well as working on other basic commands at those 2 stations. Thanks again! Happy Monday all
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