Aussiedoodles in Agility?

[Laura B.]

We are looking into getting a dog and I think I would like to compete with it in agility. Aussiedoodles look like the best option for us, but I have yet to meet one in person and did not see any at the agility competition we visited. Does anyone here have an aussiedoodle they compete with? Thanks. 

[Stella]

I don't know why I never notifications from this group! I've never seen an aussiedoodle do agility, but Australian shepherds are very popular agility dogs - if you can handle the barking and nipping that they do. I imagine and aussiedoodle would be a very smart, but very 'busy' dog requiring a tonne of exercise and training to harness that energy and those smarts!! There have been a couple recently for rehoming through the DRC.

[Laura B.]

Thanks, Stella. You are definitely right about the barking and nipping. :-) We got Zeke (our aussiedoodle) about 4 weeks ago and he certainly seems to be very smart and easy to train. He also appears to be very fast and agile. I tried to find one to adopt, but was not able to. 

[Kamela & Beckett]

Hi Laura! We have an almost 1 yr old Aussiedoodle. So glad to see someone on DK with another one! Stella is right, they are a very busy dog that need a good deal of mental stimulation and exercise, but we love our Beckett! We have taken him to several general obedience classes, but not started agility yet as we were advised not to run with him nor anything requiring jumping (like agility) until he was 14 months old and was completely done growing. We intend to start agility with him this fall. Oh as far as barking, Beckett only really barks when he wants another dog to play with him. He nipped as a puppy (as all do), but it is not a problem at all now. They have a tendency to want to herd, be sure to not let them herd you, children, etc. Beckett likes to herd our Mini Schnauzer but knows not to try that with people.

[Laura B.]

Hi Kamela! Beckett is adorable. I had also heard to wait until ~18 months to begin agility in earnest. Good to hear about the biting passing. Zeke has not attempted to herd yet, so we'll see. His mom is not from working lines (she is a mini-aussie). In our area there is a puppy agility class that gets them used to the equipment but takes it easy on their joints without jumps, so we might try that out in the future.

[Stella]

You can do agility foundation classes at any age, and it is good for them to learn the basic skills needed for agility. I would say once they have some basic obedience you can begin agility training. A good foundation class will introduce to the equipment and handling skills that you need. No jumping above the dogs wrist height for the first six months, then nothing above elbow height until they are done growing is a good rule of thumb, along with no tight turns, repetitive jumping or steep slopes on the contact equipment.