all that glitters Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Are GSDs any good at agility or is it bad for their hips? I think Shyla would be fantastic at it later in life, she seems to love any challenge I give her, and if we excel at Obedience I will be wanting more! I know they can't jump or have extra pressure on their hips when they are growing, so at what age would one try agility on a GSD? I might buy one of those agility starter kits when shes old enough :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 (edited) Are GSDs any good at agility or is it bad for their hips? I think Shyla would be fantastic at it later in life, she seems to love any challenge I give her, and if we excel at Obedience I will be wanting more! I know they can't jump or have extra pressure on their hips when they are growing, so at what age would one try agility on a GSD? I might buy one of those agility starter kits when shes old enough :rolleyes: GSD's are good at everything lol!!!! and do well in agility. We were advised not to jump them until 12 months of age when their bones and joints are developed and with our boy, we began light jumps at 14 months. At just over 2 years old now, jumps are something he loves and has done well. We need now that he jumps on command to learn trialling him properly. Edited July 8, 2009 by Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incavale Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 GSD's are good at everything lol! Spot on. No strenuous exercise until at least 12 months of age. Get your dog's hips & elbows x-rayed by a vet who knows GSDs. have the results read by a competent specialist & have fun with your dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 There is some foundation work you can do for agility that doesn't involve equipment and can be done with a puppy - and will help with handling in agility later on and give them an idea of where their back end is (very important with a big dog). As others have mentioned, you should wait until at least 12 months before doing proper equipment. I have not seen any GSD trialling in Sydney since I have been competing. Some GSD people (including breeders) who I have talked to at obedience don't think that competitive agility is good for a GSD due to the speed and turning required, as they are a reasonably large and heavy dog and they worried about the impact on joints. One of them mentioned that courses have become faster and tighter and not as suitable/safe for large dogs in general. Diesel would be hopeless We have a play over the equipment at home when I have it out for the others, but he is more likely than the others to knock bars or just trash the jumps and doesn't have a good idea of where his back end is on equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 (edited) Kavik: I have not seen any GSD trialling in Sydney since I have been competing. There are none trialling down here either. One I started with a few years ago became unsound. I've seen one in Victoria that struggled to clear the jumps. I don't know where all these great GSD agility dogs are but I've never seen one and I've competed in 3 states. WA used to have a few but I've not been over there and don't know if there are any competing now. Get your dog's hips and elbows checked. I'd suggest X-Rays. Don't rush getting on to obstacles until growth plates are closed. Personally, I'd not want to see a GSD jumping full height until it was about 2 years old. Edited July 8, 2009 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 There is one GSD that I know of currently trialling in NSW & another that retired a few years ago. Both are/were nice steady agility dogs. I agree with PF, I would be waiting until at least 2yo before doing anything too serious as far as jumping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Paws Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I do agility with my gsd.We only started about 6 months ago and at this stage are just doing it for fun,don't think we'll ever trial.She quite enjoys it and so far had no real trouble with any pieces of equipment.NO,she's never going to be the fastest dog around but we enjoy it. I saw a pic of a gsd doing agility on a website recently but can't for the life of me remember where it was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) Edited July 9, 2009 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) A member at our club presently trials a GSD in agility. The dog is presently trialling in both excellent agility and jumping. Edited July 9, 2009 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vehs Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 no GSDs trialling? I guess they had to pull out because they just kept winning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiechick Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 There are none trialling down here either. One I started with a few years ago became unsound. I've seen one in Victoria that struggled to clear the jumps. I know the one in Vic. you are referring to and this one is the exception here rather than the rule - if you look at its structure you can see why. There are 2 others trialling in Vic. that are both running at Masters level, although one is a country dog, so don't see it all that often. The other one recently completed ADM, JDM and UD all in a matter of weeks and has no trouble clearing the jumps. I think there are less competing nowadays due the conformation that is considered desirable now, not all that conducive to jumping any more. The ones doing well here are more what I would consider the 'old type' GSD's, where the rear legs don't tuck under quite so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) There are none trialling down here either. One I started with a few years ago became unsound. I've seen one in Victoria that struggled to clear the jumps. I know the one in Vic. you are referring to and this one is the exception here rather than the rule - if you look at its structure you can see why. Yep, but that structure is what is now being bred. I think I saw that "old style" dog at Sale one year. I agree, it had no issues with jumping. Edited July 9, 2009 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitka Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) Yep, but that structure is what is now being bred. I think I saw that "old style" dog at Sale one year. I agree, it had no issues with jumping. The one I think your talking about is from a shelter, and there a local here. Edited July 9, 2009 by whitka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogs4Fun Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 The agility top team from WA used to be an all GSD team, so sound dogs can certainly be more than competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 The one I think your talking about is from a shelter, and there a local here. I think we are thinking of the same dog then whitka.. I was fairly certain it was registered as an Associate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I was having a think about it, and (at least with my guys anyway) I think it is a matter of body sensitivity. I wasn't rubbishing Diesel in my last post. He is the best of my dogs at heeling, straight close front, finish, SFE. He has no issues with things moving under his feet (like seesaw). He just doesn't care whether he is on/off something or whether there is a bar there he is supposed to jump. He is also the only one who likes to roughhouse with other dogs and Luke can crawl all over him. The Kelpies are much more aware of where things are, would not dream of running into something, very rarely drop bars, are more sensitive to things moving under their feet and respond quicker to body language/directional changes of handler. Thinking about the job they were bred to do, they are sensitive to handler 'pressure' on sheep and so respond similarly on agility course, and had to be aware of the flight zone bubble around sheep. I may be overthinking it but anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 The Kelpies are much more aware of where things are, would not dream of running into something, very rarely drop bars, are more sensitive to things moving under their feet and respond quicker to body language/directional changes of handler. It will be interesting to see if you still think this after competing for a while. While this may be true of your kelpie, I am not sure it is accurate from what I have seen. I would say that as a rule kelpies & BC's drop more bars than any other breed out there, many of them will run into things including uprights & handlers and b/c of the speed they are often moving at, their reaction times to cues can in some cases be slower than other breeds. Sorry to disagree, but I think drive & temperament come into it too, there are lines of dogs that have such drive they really don't care about running into things & I would probably put some lines of kelpies at the top of this list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 That is a good point and there is one BC I see regularly who is VERY fast but who drops bars often. At the moment Kaos has been pretty good and not often dropped bars in training or competition, but I guess he may once he picks up confidence and speed. I have seen him adjust himself in a comp when I didn't give him a good approach angle, it wasn't a pretty jump, but he did it and was careful not to knock the bar. He has taken me out once training in the backyard (my fault). Just looking at my dogs though, Diesel seems very clumsy in comparison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) The Kelpies are much more aware of where things are, would not dream of running into something, very rarely drop bars, are more sensitive to things moving under their feet and respond quicker to body language/directional changes of handler. It will be interesting to see if you still think this after competing for a while. While this may be true of your kelpie, I am not sure it is accurate from what I have seen. I would say that as a rule kelpies & BC's drop more bars than any other breed out there, many of them will run into things including uprights & handlers and b/c of the speed they are often moving at, their reaction times to cues can in some cases be slower than other breeds. Sorry to disagree, but I think drive & temperament come into it too, there are lines of dogs that have such drive they really don't care about running into things & I would probably put some lines of kelpies at the top of this list. ANY dog cued late to change direction may drop bars because they change position airborne. That said, some BCs and Kelpies (and dogs of other breeds) have very flat jumping styles and seem unconcerned by bar knocking. I can think of a couple of OES who really don't care either. You should check out the Whippet agility shots from their Nationals in the USA Vickie.. talk about daylight between dog and jump bar. Methinks Whippies don't like hitting stuff. Edited July 9, 2009 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiechick Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 The one I think your talking about is from a shelter, and there a local here. No, not the one I am talking about, it's a purebred from a registered breeder. And agree PF - the old style conformation is becoming a rarity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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