After my first show dog Perry finished his championship, he was bored and needed another job. Someone suggested agility for him because he was so fast and we are hooked.
Agility with your dog is an amazing sport and it truly is a team sport build between handler and dog. However, I will be the first to tell you that agility with a schnauzer will test your will, especially a schnauzer with a mind of his own. Being a terrier schnauzers are extremely smart and can learn anything, the secret I have found is to make it fun all the time.
Currently I do agility with two of my Schnauzers and they have very different attitudes towards agility. One is extremely smart and will not tolerate the handler making mistakes. With that being said, he has been very successful and he loves the game of it all. The other one is blindly obedient and will follow me anywhere with any command. While he is not the fastest, we do well, because he will do exactly what I ask of him. Even with two different mind sets they both enjoy it greatly.
Once you attend an agility class/competition, you will be hooked. Many feel that you must breed for a performance dog, but I believe that all dogs will let you know what they like whether it is barn hunt, obedience or agility. You have to know your dogs and understand what they tell you. I have a new puppy bitch that has shown me performance promise since she was born, so we will head in that direction and groom her for agility. You have to know your dogs….and most important have fun!
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