Max: What kind of personality does best for dog agility?
If I want a dog for dog agility, should I look for one that is laid back? Very outgoing? Somewhere in between?
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Answers and Views::
Answer by Camile
get one thats athletic
Answer by Larinda
Try to look for a very trainable, energetic dog that has the stamina to go through agility training. You need a dog that is also very loyal and friendly ( such as a pit-bull).
Answer by Kristen
You want a dog that is eager to please and loves to run and play with you. A dog that is very food or toy motivated and willing to do a lot for one piece of food is good. Too scared or shy isn't ideal, but neither is too happy going and boisterous. You want a happy medium of the two, a dog that has confidence enough to do scary obstacles, but not so much carelessness that they will do things like fly off the teeter. These last things aren't as important, because you can train your dog to have more confidence or to be more careful, but it is always important that you have a motivated dog. Dogs that are not eager to please you are really difficult to train in agility.
Answer by Mica
The dog with lots of Agility potential is outgoing, athletically built, food and/or toy motivated, confident and able to quickly bounce back after a stressful or climatic experience, intelligent (doesn’t have to be extreme), eager to please, and should love working with you. However, you could get the world’s best Agility dog, but without the proper training and raising, it could turn into the world’s worst. So a lot has to do with how you raise the puppy, how you train him/her, and the expertise of you and/or your agility instructor and mentor. Herding dogs such as Shetland Sheepdogs, Border Collies, Australian Shepherds etc. normally have most of these qualities (with the right training and raising), and are therefore the most popular Agility breeds. Papillons and Jack Russels are also very popular, but generally any dog with the right training and character qualities can do incredibly well. This book on Amazon (#ad) was incredibly helpful for me when I just started: The Beginner's Guide to Dog Agility as well as many of the books from Cleanrun and the Cleanrun dog agility magazine (worth every penny). Hope this helps, and have fun, Agility is such a blast!
As others have mentioned, any physically sound, confident, eager to please dog will do for your first Agility dog, a border collie (some mentioned that they knock bars, this almost always just means that the dog doesn’t know how to jump correctly, and lacks essential jumping skills and foundation work), anyways, a BC might be too much for you the first time, and it would be better to start with something a little less intense. You might even find the perfect one at your local shelter. Just let them know that you’re looking for a dog with Agility potential. Most shelters will either have, or quickly obtain these dogs.
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4Her4Life says
A lot depends on YOU – how far do you want to go in agility and how hard are you willing to work to get there? All breeds can succeed in agility if by success you mean having fun and earning a couple of titles. The dogs that represent the U.S. at international competitions are generally Border Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs, and Papillions and are generally WIRED – but they also have experienced, dedicated, driven handlers that can properly channel and deal with that energy.
If this is your first dog or your first experience in agility, I would recommend getting a dog with decent athletic ability, good structure, and healthy joints from the breed and with the personality that best fits the rest of your lifestyle. Then learn agility together. After you’ve trained and shown one dog, you’ll know more what style of running you prefer and how much drive you are willing to live with. One of my favorite agility dogs was a rather slow Labrador Retriever – we ran smart because we weren’t fast and she was 100% dependable to commit to an obstacle, hit her contact zone, hold her stay on the box, and never drop a bar, we were never going to make it to the AKC nationals or anything schnazy, but we absolutely had a blast and because our styles complimented each other we often did pretty well in competition, too (I recall one Border Collie we beat out for the state champion three years running at the state 4-H dog show, “Greg” always dropped a bar so even though he was four times as fast, our under-time but clean run took top honors).
Good luck.
Coley says
You want a smart, energetic, athletic dog. One that has a bit of stamina and is outgoing and friendly. Right along with those personality traits, you need a dog that is physically sound with good hips and knees. Many breeds and crosses do well in agility. Someone said Pit Bulls…while they can do well in agility, their dog aggression can make it where they cannot compete in training/ competitions at higher (off leash) levels. Unless you have firm control of the dog. But dog aggression is NOT tolerated in training classes. Breeds that tend to do well vary greatly. Anything from Dachshunds, Shelties, JRT, Corgis, Border Collies, ACD’s, German Shepherds, to a wide array of crosses. The herding breeds do tend to do the best. I ran by Cavs in a couple years of agility and they thoroughly enjoyed it and did well in their class.
Agility DawgMa says
I know the kind of pup I look for & want to train. I want the baddest puppy in the litter. The one that’s into everything. The super-outgoing one that shows no fear. I look for a pup that ventures off on it’s own to play & then comes back of it’s own accord to check in with you. I look for a pup that doesn’t want to keep it’s feet on the ground. One that naturally likes to climb & jump up.
Jenny says
you should look for one that is athletic. The dog needs to be trained so get one that is good with that. I would recommend a golden retriever or german shepard
J says
Outgoing and energetic, but very attentive and obedient. They have to be willing to listen to you no matter what manner of interesting people, dogs, and smells are around, but they also have to be comfortable in unfamiliar and public places.
Ɓɛɑʋʈifʋl Ɲiɡɦʈɱɑɾɛ says
Border Collies are excellent for agility. They have a lot of energy, very easy to train, intelligent and can be very loyal. Those factors work well for agility; the dog needs to have the stamina to cope with it, and be able to have a strong bond with their handler and the intelligence to follow commands.