But I know some people are upset with her because she works with young dogs.
That doesn't surprise me in the least. I've seen and heard the very same attitude several times. Though, I do think that people like Silvia and Gwyn are having a positive effect as more and more training classes are relaxing a little on introduction to agility.
xsara;1709 said:
That is my biggest regret! If puppies can run on their walks, why couldn't they run over a plank on the ground or through channel weaves far apart or over bars placed on the ground? It's the same thing!
I think you're absolutely right. With Ellie, our Border Collie, we decided from day one that she would lead us in her training. We wouldn't push her into jumping, but nor would we wrap her in cotton-wool if she wanted to. Basically, if she was curious about anything, we wanted (and still do) to encourage that as much as possible, by not preventing it. I think we have a much better and much more responsive six month old dog for it too.
As it turned out, there are several fallen trees along our daily walking route, and she quite quickly learned to to jump over them, after first scrambling over them. (She now runs ahead in great relish to hear the "over" command, to jump them.)
The way I saw it, she was more at risk from climbing the stairs in our house, which we also allowed her to do. I believe that we underestimate dogs much of the time. They are very capable of judging for themselves what is possible and what isn't. And, like us, they learn what is too difficult through failure. But, they remember that failure on the next attempt, and build upon it. So, as long as you're not physically forcing the dog to do anything, then it's as safe as taking the dog for a walk.
Regardless, I'm sure all here, particularly Jean, will be pleased to know that Silvia advocates teaching tricks to your dog above almost all else. There are just some people whose advice should be taken very seriously!
Enjoy...
