Agility training - is it possible with a sausage dog cross who isn’t the brightest?

[Springbuds38]

Hi all,
Just that really, he’s half dachshund half Jack Russell and whilst smart in some ways not so smart in others.
I’d love to get into agility, not so much competitions but as something for us to do together that could be really stimulating for him and rewarding for us both.

But given his breed/breeds is this just a pipe dream? Especially if he’s not the brightest? Am I wasting my time and should just stick to long country walks?

Bless him. Go to agility bet he would have a great time. I love watching the non conventional agility dogs at crufts.

Give it a go.
Start at home with a brush /mop handle resting on two tins of beans
Garden canes poked into the ground gor him to weave through
Low table / box for him to jump on and practise 'wait' before leaping of and jumping though DCs hoolahoop

We have a fun class near us and all sorts of dogs go. My dd has been taking our rough collie for about 4 years - he is absolutely hopeless and very, very slow but he enjoys meeting the other dogs and dd enjoys it too. You should give it a go.

You need to practise 'waits' first - use a mat on the ground and teach him 'wait' and also a release word.

@haggisaggis thanks that’s helpful as I’m not sure where to start

Sorry pressed send too soon there,

id meant to add, not that he’s ever deign to sit on mere ground, it’ll have to be a soft warm cushion 😂🤦‍♀️

This is adorable and just the sort of thing I’m looking for, doesn’t seem to be any near me but there are plenty of enclosed fields with all the equipment in to hire out for an hour or so.

We do hoopers and our dog absolutely loves it. I bought these hoops at home to practice in the early days and I use a chair as a barrel.

A trainer near us did a 2hr workshop to give a taster. Kinder on the joints and you also eventually handle from a distance.

Hoopers will be far more sensible for him https://www.caninehoopersuk.co.uk

Personally I would not do agility with a dachshund.

Totally agree with Hoopers also Scentwork . Daxies are awesome at that

Another thing to consider might be man trailing? Finding hidden people. I do it- my dog loves it, it's quite sociable and it's fascinating seeing how differently all the breeds do it! We have a couple of blind dogs in our group and they can do it as well as any of the others 😁😁

Agility trainer here. It depends a bit on his confirmation and back to leg ratio.

Any breed can do it but there are other things that can be more suited to his shape.

He won’t be thick - he’s part terrier 😉 He’ll need good motivation. I’ve trained lots of terriers, competed my terrier hound rescue to grade 5, qualifying for multiple national finals and have just started my 9 month old border terrier on basic skills.

I am going to say though go to a trainer or club who trains for completion. They are more likely to know the safety and technical aspects and how to build a dog to physically and mentally. I’ve seen horrific things at ‘fun’ agility. It all costs the same. All agility is fun. We’re learning very basic skills and doing lots of games and my pup is loving it. We’ve not been near any grown up kit and won’t for some time. She doesn’t know that though 😉

Completion - competition. Doesn’t mean you have to but the trainer knows their stuff as you won’t get far with an injured and/or demotivated dog.

I think you would be asking for trouble doing agility with any dog with a long back

I thought sausage dogs couldn’t go up/ down steps or jump because of back problems ? Sorry if this is a stupid question 😕

I'd give it a go. But as said up-thred, go with a competition trainer. Maybe look for someone who has small dogs.

I do agility with 2 dogs.

#1 will go competing as she's ace and loves it. She's also a very focused and serious dog.
#2 is there for the entertainment value, he's the class clown! He either runs off with the toy or runs mad through all the jumps.

I enjoy training with both- we have fun, that's the most important part of doing agility!

Firstly is agility something your dog wants to do or you. Some dogs enjoy it some it's not there thing. There are other sports like hoopers which is better as its not got the high jumps or twists in it. Google hoopers.

Give it a go with a decent trainer. Join Agilitynet group on FB, and ask for recommendations in your area.
Good luck 🍀