What Age for Agility?

[astrobuckeye]

I was thinking of getting into agility because my Cara is very athletic and loves attention. She loves to run around and I think agility would be good for bonding, training, and staying fit.

The local agility club requires three levels of obedience class before you can enter classes, so I enrolled her in the Level One class. After Level Three you take the Good Citizen's Test.

My vet said to wait until the dog was a year old or more to take her jogging... so is agility the same? Or can I start on some stuff earlier and wait for the higher impact stuff.

Thanks!

[HurricaneBox]

You can start on some of the flat work now, such as the weave poles and the A frame, etc. You should avoid any jumping until after 18 months of age. Their bones and joints are not finished growing until then and any pounding can result in damage that will affect them later in life.

[astrobuckeye]

If she decides to jump stuff on her own is that okay or should I stop her?

There are some silt fences near where I walk her off leash, they are around 2 feet high and she likes to jump them sometimes. Not everyday just over and back sometimes.

I want her to enjoy walks and burn off energy but if this is damaging I'll stop her.

[Jan]

I would avoid any agility, including weave poles and A-Frames until your pup is 18 months old. That is when the growth plates close and the risk of damaging bones and joints is much less. A couple of jumps on your walk probably won't hurts, but I certainly wouldn't do more than that. Concentrate on your obedience. Work on doing this at a distance, like sits and stays as it will really help once you start agility.

Good luck!