Thinking of doing agility with my "show bred" lab. He is moderate. 3 years old. Hips OFA good and elbows normal. About 85 lbs.
Guess I am just wondering if he could get hurt because he is not a fieldy type lab? Anything I should watch out for in particular?
Thanks.

Ya need to watch out for them"purebred" silver mutts!!!!!:))]

If the hips are good and he has good hips and elbows behind him, go for it.
We xrayed an old 7 year old dog because she was letting out a yelp now and then. She had some arthritis on her spine but her hips were still as good as when she was OFAed at two. She still runs and plays, but has medicine for when the cold bothers her.
She is pure in the bench lines, American and English.

He is moderate, which is good. Perhaps consider taking him down below show weight to the weight at which Labs were shown 30 years ago. In other words, take him to a safe ATHLETIC, not weight-builder, level, where he has tuck up and maybe even a bit of a couple ribs showing at the defined waist when in summer coat. Learn about stretching and conditioning. There are show champions out there with many agility titles, and there was even one Ch. MACH MH who also did obedience (Kobe). Don't have him on a light food for doing agility, but get the weight down while you train him. It can be a good summer event, when he might be out of coat anyhow for the show ring. Have fun and stay safe!

I second the comments made previously about getting the weight down. How tall is he? It is more about the weight to height ratio than anything.

Other things you can do.. get him into condition with more swimming and walking. Watch what kind of surface you do agility training on. Something that is not slippery with good cushion is vital for the heavier dogs.
You can jump him a jump height lower than he measures if that may be best for him. That is the Preferred Class. He can even go for a Championship in that just like the MACH only at the lower jump height. Of course in training you can often practice even a couple of heights lower to not wear down the dog.

Take care when considering how you will ask him to perform his contacts. Asking a heavy fronted dog to do a 2 on 2 off is often very hard on them. There are many good methods for training running contacts particularly on the A-Frame , which is the steepest obstacle and IMHO the one that is the hardest on them as they get on it.. and get off.

Take time to teach him how to get on and turn on planks- rear leg awareness and coordination exercises before you ask him to balance on a teeter board or dogwalk.

Have FUN!!!
Kim S.

As long as you dog is in shape, by all means look into agility. Several of my conformation labs are doing quite well in agility. 2 of them are 9 years old and still going strong.
Mine love it

Kim,

What do you suggest for a contact training method on heavier fronted dogs? Rear toe on the contact (on the down or on both up and down?), or slow down for four on the floor, or a Hit It board, or what? I have known a lot of dogs with shoulder injuries, and the 2 on 2 off is by far the most popular method for most of my friends. Preventing those slow healing shoulder injuries would be a great thing. References would be great for most of the rest of us.

Thanks.
Charlotte

If he's got good clearances and structure he won't have any problems at all. He shouldn't have that extra 5-10 pounds that people like to put on their dogs for specialties, but he doesn't have to be starved. Even when you take him down to a pretty lean weight, be ready for people to tell you he needs to lose weight anyway! They are used to the BYB and field types that look like greyhounds, and that don't have any width across the back.

Mine slow a bit coming down the contact but I don't stop them. My girl is big boned and big in the front. Seems much easier for her to come right off then have to stop. Forunately they all have excellent contact behavior & I don't have to worry about them flying off.

I like Rachel Sanders method of teaching a running contact." Reliable Running A-Frames") The dog actually learns to run through the yellow zone on the A-Frame. She has a DVD out. It is taught off the A-Frame with a PVC box that you then put into a jump grid and eventually on the A-Frame itself.

I have taught the rear foot on for my Girl and she touches very low with her back feet on the bottom slat/ rest of body almost even with the ground.. but she is smaller and light.

For dealing with the approach.. if when you start your training you have the dog start right in front of the A-Frame( just inches from it..) instead of letting them get a running start.. you get two good things. One is it makes your dog use it's rear end more to power up the whole A-Frame and it is great conditioning.. Secondly if they learn to get on that way.. it may hold up once they do start running at it from a distance. You can also use hoops on the approach side to get them to duck slightly and avoid the flying slamming into the A-Frame wall ...

Thank you for all the suggestions! I really appreciate it!
He is at “athletic” weight now, although I only see his ribs when he is trotting, so he can most likely stand to lose a few pounds. I don’t keep him at the heavier specialty “show weight,” anyway.
I do need to learn about warming up, cooling down, stretching and conditioning. Will research that and ask the vet about that, also.
Kim, he’s not a tall dog – at the bottom of the standard for Labrador dogs. Very muscular, strong and balanced. We are training in an indoor riding ring with a polytrack surface – very cushioned and forgiving. When we practice at home (twice a week at most), it’s on grass.
I did not know that about competing with the height of the jumps being one level down, and will research that. He jumps 16” for Rally. We aren’t really doing jumps yet in agility class, except for a few drills at low height to teach the “mechanics” of how to jump. I never thought that would be something to teach a dog, but it sure has made a difference for my guy. Our instructor wants us to learn lots of handling stuff before she puts the rails up! We must be a sight running around the poles with no rails up! The dogs must think we are nuts.
I actually know what the 2 on and 2 off is! Our teacher is having my guy NOT do that on the A frame. She thinks that with his structure, he will be better off with not doing that. She also thinks we need to consider whether to do the 2 on and 2 off on the dog walk? Any thoughts on that? She shares my concern about safety for my dog, which is good.
We’ve done and continue to do lots of coordination and rear end awareness stuff. Just starting to do the dog walk.
We are not focusing on speed as much as the fundamentals and safety. My dog is loving it and is in a great hurry, though…..
“You know who…” I think I do! Points well taken!
We are just taking a foundations class now, but don't know about continuing, which is why I posted. I think we will continue...the foundations class ends next week.
All suggestions appreciated. Thank you!

Sounds like you have a good instructor to guide you. I would follow her lead.

I think Running Dogwalks are a challenge to train for a dog with any length to their stride , but they can be taught. I have only seen a few larger fast dogs that have truly reliable running dogwalks. Then there will be the issue of the dog exiting the Dogwalk ahead of you .. and if there is a turn after. I can usually meet my dog at the end of the A-Frame.. but the Dogwalk is so much longer and my dog gets so much further ahead. Dogs with running Dogwalks have to be taught how to turn off the end of the board with the handler behind... Another fun challenge!

Yes check into the AKC agility Preferred program. The dog can earn all the same titles as the regular jump height... just at a jump height lower.

Happy hurdling!
Kim Secter

I have enjoyed and continue to successfully compete with conformation bred dogs. The whole idea is to have fun with your dog no matter his skill level or yours. Definitely don't have extra weight if you are going to jump your dog or run him hard but a well built dog and proper conformation should make him do well and be sound in agility. In the 18 years I have done agility I have never had an injury to the dog, now me, that's another story :)

Hi Pete, It's wonderful that you are training your dog and having fun. I've come to see training as a spiritual practice because training has taught me to live in the moment and to observe carefully the feedback a dog gives me about the quality of my training.

Anyway, Susan Garrett (whose dogs have won agility world championship multiple times) just started a great online course for agility training, especially running and stopped contacts. The course looks fantastic because it breaks down all the training into component parts and because it also offers a whole library of exercises to develop flexibility and strength for agility. You also have access to coaching calls from Susan once a month to ask questions.

You can find a description of the course at www.runorstop.com. In addition to the course description and entry information at that site, you can find a video of her 10-Critical Keys to Success in running contacts. This video is free and contains a lot of excellent information good for training of any sort. I really wish I had time to take this course, but I'm already enrolled in another year long course of hers. I think you will find her upbeat and motivating to you as well as your dog.

Silvia Trkman also has an online course teaching agility. She has a lot of excellent demonstration videos on her site silviatrkman.net. Again her dogs have won world agility championships.

Both Silvia and Susan teach using positive reinforcement and pay particular attention to motivating the dog to enjoy the sport and the training.

I've also liked the workshops I've attended by Eva Bertilsson and Emelie Johnson Vegh who have an excellent manual Agility Right from the Start available at www.clickertraining.com.

Have fun with your dog! Kate

Thanks, Cindy, Kim and Kate!
I am familiar with Susan Garrett because of her YouTube video, "The Journey."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfXGD4hP1Ro
I always thought this video applied to just about everything I did with my dogs, even though at the point I first saw this,I had never even thought about attempting agility. Funny how things happen. More like, funny how our dogs guide us to new experiences and people that we never would have met or attempted without them.
I will check out the online stuff you suggested, Kate. Thank you.
Thanks to everyone who posted. I don't know much, if anything, about agility. Your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.
And Jill, thank you for the forum! Another example of how valuable this place is for sharing information, and learning!