FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is my dog suitable for agility?
Any dog can do agility. It is advisable to wait until your dog is about one year old before you start training, as training with a growing dog could do damage to its bones.
With large, heavy dogs and long-backed dogs you need to be careful not to train too many high jumps. These dogs can still enjoy agility but with certain limits.
Does my dog need to be vaccinated?
For your own dog's and other dogs' safety, please make sure your dog is appropriately vaccinated and wormed.
What do I need to bring to training?
A plain, flat collar is advisable. Choke chains can be very dangerous if your dog happens to fall of the dogwalk or get caught in something. A normal, reasonably short lead is the best one to bring to training as retractable leads make it more difficult to control your dog. Please bring a lead even if your dog is very obedient as training in the obstacles is best done on a lead to avoid mistakes and disappointments in the long run.
You also need to bring something to reward your dog with. Treats (something tasty and smelly that your dog will love!) or a toy usually work best. If you are into clicker training, clickers also work really well in agility.
In order to keep the training area clean, please also bring poop bags.
When is the training on?
Markree Dog Agility Club trains every Sunday. The beginners class is on at 3.30 pm and the advanced at 2pm.
Are there any training dos and don'ts?
The short answer is YES, there are. Do not train if your dog is in heat, sick or injured. It may also be best to stay at home if you are having a bad day; if you are stressed, you are not likely to be focused on the training which will lead into frustration. It can also be very easy to take your frustation out on the dog. When in training, please respect other dogs and owners and give them room to perform their runs. Do not train unsupervised, especially if you are new to the sport as bad habits learned early on can be very hard to mend later.
Do train in all kinds of weather, especially if you want to start competing. You never know what kind of weather you will get on the big day, and if you and your dog are not used to training e.g. on wet days, you could be taken by surprise when the ground and equipment is wet. Be courteous and friendly to your fellow trainers. Do help beginners and answer their questions but be careful not to put them down.
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