Thinking On Adding A Family Member!!

[Tâmara Vaz]

I was thinking on buying or adopting(can it be?) a dog for training and compete in sports like obedience and "sniffing"! As must of you know Laika is very reactive and I've been training her a lot, but I don't think we will be able to get in any kind of competitions.

I know that rules change, because its a different country. But... Can the dog be any race? Any size? Non-registered ?
And the part that most concerns me: There aren't training centers, dog parks around here, I would take her only on the competitions days to another city where would be lots of dogs, do you think I would be able to socialize her enough in regular places like pet shops and streets???

Thanks!!

 

[southerngirl]

From what I understand in the U.S yes a mutt or unregistered dog can participate, but I don't know about Brazil. There should be an official website that let's you know. Try searing dog agility rules or qualifications.
And good luck on finding the right dog.

 

[running_dog]

I know that rules change, because its a different country. But... Can the dog be any race? Any size? Non-registered ?

And the part that most concerns me: There aren't training centers, dog parks around here, I would take her only on the competitions days to another city where would be lots of dogs, do you think I would be able to socialize her enough in regular places like pet shops and streets???

Some dog breeds/types prefer to do different things so that should maybe be part of how you choose your dog too.

As long as the dog is "normal" I don't see why you shouldn't be able to socialise her enough in your local area, especially as you already have Laika. It'll probably go hyper from excitement the first few times it sees lots and lots of dogs together but from what I have seen of your training with Laika I think you could overcome that.

But if it really worries you why not adopt a slightly older pup or a young dog that has had a lot of opportunities to interact with other dogs already and is showing what kind of dog it is going to be? Tigerlily always said we should adopt a dog that is over a year old if we want to be sure it won't be dog aggressive, by then you'd have a good idea of whether there were going to be genetic territorial issues too. You don't need to have a dog from being a tiny pup in order to train it to be a really good worker.

 

[Evie]

In Australia there are no restrictions on breeds/cross-bred or purebred dogs in dog sports.

Obviously some breeds/types of dogs are going to be better at some sports than others, so picking the dog depending on it's type and drive will probably be easier once it's an adult if you're adopting