kitkatswing Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Good morning all, My Jack Russell Maui is just a bundle of energy and at the moment loves nothing more then jumping on/over/around the couches and anything else he thinks is an obstacle. I have read that JRT's are brilliant agility dogs and was wondering when I could start training with him? I do realise you should encourage jumping when they are puppies (try stopping him, he does it when your not looking and then smiles at ya!) Ive look at getting those aglity poles (I think??) and that sort of thing... He will be four months old on the 27th, he is still a youngun but its very very smart. I am running out of tricks to teach him!! Id like to give him something new he can learn. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Not till he is 12 months old Their bones aren't fully developed yet and jumping in agility can ruin their joints. Why don't you take him to Obedience classes instead. Some clubs have mini and puppy proof agility courses that puppies can try. Mostly it's running through tunnels, hopping over little jumps, walking the beams and see saw... fun stuff like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) The first thing he'll need to learn is focus and control offlead around other dogs. Some JRTs can prove challenging in that regard. He shouldn't be on proper obstacles until he's at least 14 months old. At 4 months of age, his bones are still growing and I'd not be encouraging him to jump on and off things yet. I suggest you join a dog club to do obedience or pre-agility classes. ETA: Snap CW! Edited February 17, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkatswing Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thanks! Thats pretty much what I thought too about not doing anythign until he is older.. Heis pretty good off lead with other dogs around, he has a playmate next door (Corgi pup only 2 months older then Maui) that he regularly plays with. He comes when we ask him too if they are playing. I will have a look at puppy schools in the area but I dont think he honestly needs it. We are training him ourselves and he gets heaps of socialisaiton with other dogs through our network of family and friends. (Yes I know I know, people say puppy school is a must, but I dont think it is if you take the time do train him yourself).. He is so funny climbing all over the furniture in the backyard, the day he discovered he could do it he was so proud! I am still sometimes shocked at how smart he is and how quickly he picks things up.. We play in the front yard every day (backyard all concrete) and he already knows not to go on the road, no matter what. He knows he can only go on it when we are, or he is asked to. Its so much fun training him, he really loves it when he gets things right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 There are a lot of fun things you can do at home to prepare your dog's foundation for agility training later on. * Get a solid recall and sit stay * Get your dog enthusiastic about playing with toys. Tug is ideal (best if they also bring it back ), retrieving a ball is also good. * Get your dog to happily send ahead of you to its favourite toy * Shadow handling/circle work - to run with you on both left and right sides * Clicker training - tricks are great! Fun and useful for agility - hand touches, walking backwards, 'elephant trick' - good for rear end awareness * Walking on uneven surfaces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkatswing Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Any tips on how to get him to walk backwards?. That is the one I am getting stuck on at the moment!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I shaped it with the clicker (best to get them clicker savvy/operant first with simpler behaviours such as hand touches though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I will have a look at puppy schools in the area but I dont think he honestly needs it. We are training him ourselves and he gets heaps of socialisaiton with other dogs through our network of family and friends. (Yes I know I know, people say puppy school is a must, but I dont think it is if you take the time do train him yourself).. It will help developing focus in a highly distracting environment. That's something that can be a challenge with a little dog bred to work and think for himself. You don't need "puppy school" so much as obedience or pre-agility training. It starts the process of teaching your dog to work for reward in and around other dogs. No offence but unless your front yard is fenced, having him offlead out there is tragedy waiting to happen. Edited February 17, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkatswing Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 It will help developing focus in a highly distracting environment. That's something that can be a challenge with a little dog bred to work and think for himself. You don't need "puppy school" so much as obedience or pre-agility training. It starts the process of teaching your dog to work for reward in and around other dogs. We do this already in all different environments, we tend to take him everywhere we go and work on his training at each place. He did really well at the St Kilda Festival the other weekend! Lots of noise and people and still listened and did everything we asked him too. When he is a little older might see if there are any dogs parks in our area and see how he goes (we dont take him to those as he only recently had his last injection).. We only socialise him at the moment with dogs we know have been vax'ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) It will help developing focus in a highly distracting environment. That's something that can be a challenge with a little dog bred to work and think for himself. You don't need "puppy school" so much as obedience or pre-agility training. It starts the process of teaching your dog to work for reward in and around other dogs. We do this already in all different environments, we tend to take him everywhere we go and work on his training at each place. He did really well at the St Kilda Festival the other weekend! Lots of noise and people and still listened and did everything we asked him too. When he is a little older might see if there are any dogs parks in our area and see how he goes (we dont take him to those as he only recently had his last injection).. We only socialise him at the moment with dogs we know have been vax'ed. I'd not be rushing to dog parks. You can't control what other owners allow their dogs to do. That's not the case in a formal training environment for the most part. Don't forget he's still a baby. When he's a teenager you may find him far less willing to stick with you. Edited February 17, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkatswing Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Front yard isnt fenced. We have had no issues with him out there at all, he is never out there alone.. His recall is 100% and will Sit & Stay from a distance every time. He has also been training to sit when he sees a car. He wont run up to people... We only grab him if we see other dogs off lead... Some dogs that walk past are ok and Maui knows them well (neighbours).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkatswing Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 I'd not be rushing to dog parks. You can't control what other owners allow their dogs to do.That's not the case in a formal training environment for the most part. Don't forget he's still a baby. When he's a teenager you may find him far less willing to stick with you. That is what I am afraid of!! When he is a teenager.. May I ask what age he would hit his "teeange years" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) Any tips on how to get him to walk backwards?. That is the one I am getting stuck on at the moment!!!! How I taught one of my dogs to walk backward is placing a table parallel to the wall. Gave him enough space to walk through it but he can't turn around. First we walk through it a couple of time, and then I stood in the middle... so he has to stop and then back himself out... once he got comfortable doing that... I will stand at the other end and tell him to "back". I slowly removed the table away. With my girl... I just used capturing the behaviour. Every time she took a step back, I clicked and reward. She is smart enough to know what I want her to do. I will have a look at puppy schools in the area but I dont think he honestly needs it. We are training him ourselves and he gets heaps of socialisaiton with other dogs through our network of family and friends. (Yes I know I know, people say puppy school is a must, but I dont think it is if you take the time do train him yourself).. It will help developing focus in a highly distracting environment. That's something that can be a challenge with a little dog bred to work and think for himself. You don't need "puppy school" so much as obedience or pre-agility training. It starts the process of teaching your dog to work for reward in and around other dogs. No offence but unless your front yard is fenced, having him offlead out there is tragedy waiting to happen. I was thinking the same thing... they usually start having selective hearing at 6 months old... My 2 have solid recall and I don't trust them off leash in front of my house... but then again, my 2 have high prey drive. They will chase anything that moves... eg, cat, bird, lizards, roaches... Edited February 17, 2011 by CW EW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Front yard isnt fenced. We have had no issues with him out there at all, he is never out there alone.. His recall is 100% and will Sit & Stay from a distance every time. He has also been training to sit when he sees a car. He wont run up to people... We only grab him if we see other dogs off lead... Some dogs that walk past are ok and Maui knows them well (neighbours).. I'd still strongly recommend you keep a long line on him. All it takes is a cat, a dog or something interesting on the other side of the road and you may lose him to a car. Plenty of stories told here about that. He's a tiny baby now. When he's older, he may be more challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I'd not be rushing to dog parks. You can't control what other owners allow their dogs to do.That's not the case in a formal training environment for the most part. Don't forget he's still a baby. When he's a teenager you may find him far less willing to stick with you. That is what I am afraid of!! When he is a teenager.. May I ask what age he would hit his "teeange years" 7 months is pretty common to hit the "you're not the boss of ME" phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkatswing Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thank you for the hints on gettign him to walk backwards!!! Will see how we go this weekend with that one You are all right about the front yard, I must admit it has been something I worried about, but husband was adamant he could train Maui against it. (He has had many working dogs and JRT's before).... I would be devastated if anything happened to the pooch... I will look at other options... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I'm glad you have changed your mind about the front yard. Front yard isnt fenced. We have had no issues with him out there at all, he is never out there alone.. His recall is 100% and will Sit & Stay from a distance every time. 100% is only 100% till it fails. Being complacent is a good way to make it fail. 4 months is simply not old enough to have proofed every possible scenario (if that's EVER possible). In any case, sounds like you have been building an excellent foundation for when he hits his teenage months. Can we see pics? Video? He sounds like a great pup with a great future ps I train with a heap of amazing agility JRTs. As others have suggested, keep playing with him, working on his recall & teaching him tricks...a large part of agility is the relationship you have with your dogs & you are off to a great start Edited February 17, 2011 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkatswing Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 I have a thread in the photos section (will find links) with photos of him. I swear I must take a bazillian a day of him! Here is a thread with a few photos: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...=213605&hl= We are working on a new video of him doing all his tricks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 He sounds like a cutie! Well done getting him to train everywhere you go. It's one of those things a lot of people neglect, but it's the most important bit! I started my Vallhund in a pre-agility class when he was 8 months old. In retrospect, I think it was too early. He was a right handful at that age. He was intensely excited about most things out of the ordinary and I'd never taken him to a class before except puppy class for a few weeks when he was a baby. It was quite exhausting keeping his attention through an hour long class, even though most of what we were doing was just play. He started foundation agility a few months later and I soon discovered my reward system wasn't nearly as strong as I wanted it. As soon as I started relying on it more it all started to crumble. He didn't want to work with me all the time, which was truly shocking because he is such a little goer. Anyway, we are back at it now 6 months later and I'm really happy. He is much more mature and I think this is good for him. He is less easily distracted and he is much happier to work with me and just more emotionally balanced. Mind you, Vallhunds mature slowly and at 18 months he is about up to where Kivi was at in maturity at 10 months! So I guess if I had my time again I would do a few things. I would probably take him to obedience classes just to get used to the class environment. I'd make sure he was reliably working for any reward I offered regardless of distractions and that he could switch between rewards quite smoothly, and I would have started pre-agility when he was about 14 months old and was past the worst of the adolescent mayhem. Clicker training, rear end awareness, and self control exercises all stood us in good stead. Incidentally, I'm recently appreciating how shaping behaviours on random obstacles you come across in your travels together can be helpful. I think it makes them more adventurous, more comfortable interacting with new objects, and puts them in this nice positive state where they think training could happen any time and include any thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskedaway Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 We're also doing pre-agility classes with our Sibe - they basically just get them used to the equipment and being handled on the left/right. However at my club you HAVE to be at least in grade 1 obedience, so that your dog knows what a class situation is like. We started Akira at 9 months, and she loved the classes straight away. We had a few issues with adolescent mayhem at first but she's working better now at almost a year old. The jumps are at a height that Akira just steps over them, but they help us learn how to handle them with a jump and them learn how to do it properly, and our dog walk is just a plank of wood on the ground. It's all very controlled and they're not allowed to do anything that might damage their joints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now