Ever since I have owned my dogs I have looked to somewhere to do agility with them and never found a place. I asked the local clubs and trainers but the closest place was a good hours drive away. I am absolutely THRILLED that I have finally found someone 15 minutes from my home who does proper agility training through a club! The worst thing is I drive past the place 3 times a week when I ride horses and I have never noticed it!

The other day my fiance's brother was over at the house and Trigger was so excited that he was jumping up against the security gate. They stay outside to calm down for a few minutes when people arrive because they get rather excited! I heard him yell for his wife and tell her to come quick and look at this...when I went over they were watching Trigger jump against the gate and said they cant believe a small dog has such strong little legs! He literally goes from a standing position to leaping right up to the middle of the gate! He is a very strong dog for his size and LOVES to run and chase things and I think this will be perfect for his needs. Sometimes I think one day he will jump so high at the fence that he will fly right over it!

Because we are in a complex, their only exercise is their daily walks and a small yard to chase a ball in etc. Trigger will do ANYTHING for a toy or a treat so I thought he might just love to learn some agility! He has the right motivation for it. So it set me to looking for someone to help again and im so glad i did! I figure it is also good to keep their brains stimulated and teach them as much as possible. He knows the basics of sit, stay, down, High Five and roll over so now it is time to put those little legs into gear too!

So im going to watch a session this weekend and introduce him to the others and after that we will start I might even start there adn then if possible. Taylor will be joining in after her motherly duties are finished in a few weeks and if she can be convinced that it is fun! She is not always easily "wooed" into these kind of things!

People often laugh at the thought of a Yorkie trying agility but Im sure he will have a great time :bounce:

Has anyone else ever tried agility with their Yorkie? I would love to know how they did!

it sounds like so much fun!!!

I did some agility with Cash for a little while, but I chose a terrible trainer and it turned into one of those classes where you go home without learning anything. One of the dogs kept attacking the trainer and she didn't know what to do - she just laughed it off.

Anyway, I think agility training is a great way to exercise your dogs, mentally and physically. If they can brace the seesaw and love learning, they'll do well. It just takes a lot of practice. For every hour you train in class, you have to train for at least an hour at home.

Good luck & enjoy!

Thanks I was wondering about the practise part!

The course is an 8 week beginners course after which there is an intermediate course for 8 weeks. After that has been completed the lessons are on an individual basis (money wise) and you can continue on as far as you want.

The training is held at a place where all the local trainers work from, almost like a club of different aspects. They also hold K9 police training there as far as i know. So perhaps if this trainer is no good (which is always a possibility!) there will others to work with.

For me, I dont need him to compete one day necessarily, (Although if he excels i think it would be great fun!) as long as his legs work and his brain is stimulated and I can see his happy smile on his face I will be thrilled! I think the social aspect will also be good, he loves to play. Tomorrow I am taking him through just to meet the trainer and watch her in action and assess her abilities and she says if we are happy there is a new class starting in June which we will join.

So hold thumbs it turns out to be a great place!

Marilize, did Cash enjoy it? of course he is a different dog with different likes and dislikes im sure but I was wondering if it was something he enjoyed regardless of the useless trainer.

That sounds like a nice setup. I think you'll be exposed to lots of different trainers and exercises, which will make this even better. You can always finish the first course and then move to another trainer if you aren't happy.

Cash really enjoyed it. So much so that I've been feeling terrible about not taking it up with him again. He loves the social interactions with other dogs. Cash has always absolutely loved training and learning new things, so the agility was really exciting. And because they get to run around and jump over and under things, Cash was in his element Talking about it makes me want to find a training centre here now, hehe. Maybe after Orio completed his obedience training (hopefully starting in June).

Agility is hard work because you have to control and excite your dog at the same time, but he'll love you for it

I am so disappointed because it poured with rain on saturday and all the classes were cancelled i have to wait until next weekend to go and see what it is all about

I took Trigger this weekend to meet the trainer and watch a session. She seems really great and competes her own dogs at SA Champ level.

Trigger was very well behaved. I took him alone because he tends to look to Taylor for security and I feel like he needs to start standing on his own 2 feet and being more independant. He greeted all the dogs with exceptional manners I was very proud!

We let him try out the bridge to see how he reacted to it and he was straight up, across and down the other side no problems! I had to giggle because there was a man with a border colie which just refused to go anywhere near the bridge yet my little Yorkie ran straight up!

The trainer has border collies and Australian shepherds and i was amazed to hear her say that she has always dreamed of owning a Yorkie and doing agility with it. Her friend has a yorkie and she claims it is her best agility dog.

we are hoping for good results! im in it for the fun and to teach him some focus. We are going to start in early June after i finish exams. It should be a one on one lesson or maybe with one other person which is wonderful.

Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! hope it goes well when you start!

Well done Trigger for being on your best behaviour Hope we get to hear all about your training when you start in June

This has been a LONG wait! i was meant to start in June and i cant even remember what happened! but tomorrow i start the training! I cant wait

And what made me even happier is that I opened my latest KUSA magazine and the trainer was top of her class in the championships! It really made me feel much better! ha ha! and the strange thing was that i hadnt spoken to her but the next day she emailed to ask if i still want to start so I took it as a good sign and agreed to begin tomorrow morning bright and early!

So my little boy gets spoiled today with a new toy and treats

Hope it went well

Oh it went GREAT!!!!! The trainer is so impressed with how he did - she has begged me to keep at it and take him to competitions one day when he is ready.

it was freezing cold so the poor little chap shivvered a lot but he had such fun! he went through the tunnel first time which she said even the big dogs refuse first time. Then she stretched it right out and he went through by himself I was so proud! and he popped over the jumps and walked across the plank without any fear. she couldnt believe it.

Then she trains them to stand on a tub with their front feet up and shuffle their back legs around the tub in order to strengthen their hind legs and he did it first time. the poles never bothered him either only problem was the tub was WAY too large for him! ha ha!

And i must say, i think trigger fell in love this weekend! a lady who turned out to be a vet brought her wire haired jack russel to watch because she wanted to join and Trigger fell in love. only thing was it was a boy! ha ha! She tells me her cousin has a male yorkie who loves to hump her dog...next thing is Trigger tried his luck! oh we laughed! said it has to be a yorkie thing! So next week Trigger and his love buddy might be training together which is good because he got really excited with the company and that is what we need!

Im so happy, he really needs this and i cant wait to get a little further

Clever boy Trigger Sounds like fun was had by all

Trigger is really enjoying his training Only problem we have is he gets a little shy until Spuddy arrives and he refuses to play tug or chase anything! At home heis obsesses with his tug and toys! So next week we have been asked to come early and get him excited early because he seems to just get going towards the end of the lesson. Truth be told i think he feels ill by the time he gets there. He still suffers badly with car sickness and after 2 pukes on a 15 minute trip i think he feels sick and doesnt want to work straight away. so to avoid this we will get there earlier next week!

And it's so cold at 8am in the morning and he cant wear a jersey and a harness so he shivers! Poor little chap!

But he is doing really well. does all the jumps, shoots the tunnel, runs the bridge and is currently learning "place" (involves him standing and moving around a small tub to strengthen his back legs) and "side" (which is to get them to change sides from left to right behind you on a course) while working on some discipline.

Practising at home is hard though because Miss Taylor interfers all the time!