Yorkie Agility
 

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 : :animal36Pip Pip :animal36Carter :animal36Cody :animal36 Cooper :animal36Coast
Soon to be Mother to :aimeeyork Richlee

Agility -- how fun! IMO, training should start young.... just remember the attention span of your puppy and do not push too hard. You want to ensure the training is fun and short sessions for your pup. And always stop on a positive note even if it means going back to a very basic command. In addition to basic training, I suggest focusing on target training. Here in one method using a clicker Target Training | Karen Pryor Clickertraining.

Even though they adjust the levels for our little babies I would recommend getting your vet's buy in based on your baby's individual needs (i.e., bone structure / muscle development) before starting any jumps, etc.

HAVE FUN!!!

Yes, they can be neutered. I don't know about the age to compete - we do it for fun and don't compete.

I would start with a puppy class and general training at this age. In order to properly do agility you have to have control of your dog - such as stay so that they wait to begin. You also have to have a good recall - even then a young dog will get the zoomies all over the place when you're trying to get them to follow a course.

One very important thing is no jumping till they are done growing - usually around a year old. Even though they jump on their own when playing, it's very different to jump on command. I would consult with your vet for guidance on when it would be proper to train for agility. With mine, we did general obediece till they were over a year old and then started with agility.

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