Sad

[behinderhereyes]

I have been talking to people about agility and everyone I talked to thinks I am to dumb to understand what I am getting into. I love this compitision I want to do it so bad, someone told me that I will ruin my first dog if I do agility. I am not getting a dog till August. Do you think this is true?

[Chip's Mom]

You have almost a year before you are going to get a pup. Your pup may not even like agility. I just wouldn't worry about it until you are doing a sincere search for a pup.

[Dillydoodle]

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[Chip's Mom]

competition

Dillydoodle - well said and I agree completely.

[corgimom]

Originally Posted by Dillydoodle

i agree with Bonnie, not every puppy loves agility...just like when you have kids (one day) they may or maynot like sports, you can force them to do the sports but that doesnt mean they will like doing it. THe same thing with a dog, you can ask a corgi to do agility and many will do it but not every dog is cut out for it or loves it and why force a dog to do something it doesnt want to do. When i started obedience i told myself that my corgi needs to get to a certain point in obedience in order for us to have a well trained dog so he would be wonderful to be around and socialized etc. However,we continued on to competition obedience because he showed a love of working with me like that, this is the ONLY reason we continued to do it.

You did say that you would get the dog in august and then your parents would be the ones watching the dog while you are in school, As a pet dog that is a fine situation however if you plan to be seriously into agility etc, the training starts early ( you do a lot of basic training before they can even begin to really do the agility work) and that takes more than a few months to do- most dogs dont really do all of the agility work until they are over a year as the joints and bones in a puppy are not strong enough to withstand jumps and such that are requirements for agility. If you are going to be in school full time are your parents the ones who will be working with your corgi daily on the obedience? If you are looking for a pet, that is one thing, if you are looking for an agility dog star, you might want to wait until you are at a point in your life when you will be living with the dog full time and have the time for all the training, it takes a lot of time and work for you and them to learn everything needed in agility...just my opinion
Emile

Very good points Emilie, and I totally agree

[tandemgal]

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[Michael Romanos]

I probably have a different viewpoint to others with regard to Corgis in agility. So here goes:

1/ From info I received in 2005, Pembroke Corgis were dominant in agility among mini dogs in the USA in at least three of the four national organisations in the USA. At the 2006 world agility champs held in Europe, several Pem Corgis competed with distinction among the elite entrants.

2/ I would recommend that to assist in ensuring that you get a Pem Corgi suitable for agility, that you get a pup from known agility perforned parents (or at least one of the parents). There are no guarantees but this will help in obtaining a Corgi that might have enthusiasm for such a sport as agility, that has a 100 percent awareness level with their handler, can perform and be controlled off-lead well away from the handler.

3/ It is vitally important to get a pup which has excellent and strong bone structure and has the potential to be well muscled. The rigours of agility calls for this.

4/ It is important not to start a Corgi too early in their life in serious agility and to always treat them with some caution during their career in the sport, as Corgis have long backs and short legs which means that their centre of gravity is different than almost every other breed ( apart from breeds such as the Dachsies and Bassetts) and there is the danger of them getting back injuries and damage, which may not become apparant until much later in their lives.

5/ It is extra important for Corgis that are earmarked for agility as pups are given a complementary diet with an emphasis on vitaimns and calcuim so that bone growth is good and strong etc. Corgis in agility will need two-three small sessions a week in actual training with one lengthy ( one hour to 90 minutes) intensive training session per week and extra exercising and a more carefully monitored food intake.

6/ At some agility meetings a Corgi may be asked to compete in upwards of six events in a day and the meeting may be a two day affair. So both the handler and the Corgi need to be fit.

7/ It is very omportant to treat agility as a fun thing for both the handler and the Corgi otherwise Corgis in particular will quickly lose their enthusiasm or they will show displeasure in other ways. No matter how my Taylor performs I give him the 'full works' immediately after an event is completed. Agility has the bonus of being a great vehicle for bringing a Corgi and their owner, closer together - a greater bond - but the opposite could happen if the owner/handler allows it.

8/ Agility is a very social sport - much more so than conformation and obedience - for both Corgi and owner/family.

9/ Taking into account the article I researched and wrote on female versus male dogs in agility ability at the very top level ie champion status, a female will be a better choice than a male if a handler has designs on going that far.

[Dillydoodle]

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[Chip's Mom]

I probably have well over $2,000 in chip, he doesn't come from champion stock (althought I think he is pawsitively perfect) and he just turned 9 months old on the 11th.

[disraeli]

I thought Rhys would be a good agility dog - he's super smart and is a pretty good little athlete. But honestly, I think he's too hard-headed for agility.

Andy, however, is really fast and eager to please...I think she could be good at it.

So, yeah, it depends on your dog's personality.

[behinderhereyes]

That makes me feel so much better.

[Michael Romanos]

Dillydoodle- An agility handler must be as fit as the level of agility they are in and it also is very dependent on the type of dog that they have in agility. Corgis are a breed that usually run with their handlers (much like German Shepherds for example) - so the faster a handler can run, the greater potential has the Corgi. A slow handler - a slow Corgi.
I am in a club which has some of the top agility handlers in NZ and all these top performing handlers have one thing in common - speed,agility and fitness. I have seen alternatives at a slightly lower level ie the handler who runs little and directs a dog through a course as best they can, but these people are not going to reach the top in NZ conditions.
Taylor comes from show stock but there is more chances that a Corgi can adapt better to physical testing sports if his/her parentage also showed that ability. In fact it is not easy to get a pup from dogs proven in agility as the vast majority of dogs in agility have been "fixed.' Taylor cost me $500 plus $60 airfares and I have spent under $200 on vet bills ( he is 3.5 years old) and agility in relation to training expenses and meeting entry costs has so far cost me under $400. But I have not included travelling expenses here. So agility in NZ is not an expensive sport to be involved in. On wet grass surfaces i wear my old rugby football boots and studs for a non-slippery race around the course.

[Dillydoodle]

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