Miniature Pinschers are well-known for their high energy, perpetually-in-motion personalities, and my girls are no exception. When my crew was about six months old I realized that I needed to find activities that cater to their active lifestyle. Paging through a dog catalog, I spotted an agility starter kit that included a tunnel, bar jump, and some weave poles. It looked interesting and fun so I ordered it. Maybe it would provide an outlet for my girls’ boundless energy.

Since it was summertime I was home every day and the girls and I would spend most of our time in the backyard. As soon as the agility set arrived I wasted no time setting up the equipment. No coaxing or training was needed for the tunnel. What puppy doesn’t love running through a tunnel?

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Aspen & Malibu

It was no surprise that the girls were good at clearing the bar jump that came with the set. Min Pins are natural jumpers and have the ability to leap incredibly high.  Being careful and using good judgement when encouraging my girls to jump over the bar, I kept it very close to the ground. After all, they were still puppies.

The weave poles were the only part of the set that I would need to teach. There are various ways to teach weave poles, but I was new to this sport and not familiar with any specific techniques. I used my own approach, one I call the Cheerio method. I taught my girls how to weave by luring them in and out of the poles with Cheerios. The girls picked up this new skill quickly and before long they were weaving through the six poles without needing the lure of Cheerios.

The following spring I was curious to see if there were any agility classes nearby. The closest facility was about forty-five minutes away. I wished it were closer, but decided to register for a beginner class anyway. Which Min Pin would be enrolled? Quest was too reactive to be in a class setting with other dogs and Aspen had recently experienced a health issue, so Malibu was the lucky dog.

I was excited to attend the first class and hoped that Malibu would not be reactive towards the other dogs. There were about five dogs in the class, including Malibu. The instructor began class with some targeting and focusing activities. I wanted to begin working on the agility equipment, but realized that I needed to be patient.

For the most part, Malibu was fine with the other dogs which was a huge relief. As long as I kept some distance between her and the other dogs, she did not seem to be stressed by the environment. I was disappointed when our time was up and looked forward to the next class.

That first class was the beginning of Malibu’s agility “career”. We have had ups and downs and made lifelong friendships with other agility enthusiasts that we have met along the way.

 

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Malibu and her best agility buddy, Charlie