Quote:
Originally Posted by lovemyyorkie101  I want to do Yorkie Agility with my yorkies. They are 12 week old littermates. How early should i start? How should i start training? How old should they be before they go to shows? Can they be neutered? Please answer these questions or give me any other information i need to know.
Thanks in advance
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Mother to :  Pip Pip Carter Cody Cooper Coast
Soon to be Mother to  Richlee |
Only conformation shows require your dog to be un-neutered and of course a purebred dog, registered with the organization under which the show is held. For example in the USA ; there is AKC, UKC, NAKC in Canada there is CKC UKC and NAKC. In Europe it is FCI.
The minimum age is usually 6mths prior to be able to show your dog.
But for performance sports of which agility is one, the dog does not need to be purebred or un-neutered and there are many many different organizations apart from the above that run performance events. So yes a neutered dog can enter and often does enter these sports.
As an earlier poster said you start with basic obedience skills, and that starts with teaching your pups to focus on you. As littermates, you might want to initially work one on one with them for short time periods. At 12 wks old, come reward, come reward, sit reward, focus reward, etc etc.
Agility is quite challenging on the dogs joints, so an experienced vet should be able to give you a good idea about the soundness of their structure. For example if either pup has LP 1 it probably is not a good idea to do agility with them But rally, obedience, dock diving, scent work are all very viable options.
I wish you luck and have fun with your pups