OK...I get to be first in the Agility threads. My Krieger is just coming on six months, and I've started some agility training with him. So far I'm just working on building his awareness of my body language and learning to follow my lead and watch my directions, so all I've been using is a tunnel and a single jump made out of pvc pipes. I have the side uprights, with the crossbar just sitting on the ground, so he isn't really "jumping", just getting used to going through the uprights.

So, my question: at what age is it ok to start raising that crossbar, even a little. I know in flyball, I won't be putting him over the jumps or have him turning on the box until he's at least a full year old, but I think that's a bit different...in flyball they are running full-out, and it can be hard on their growing joints. For practicing agility in the yard, it doesn't seem like it would be so much impact...he's not running full-tilt, especially because I keep re-directing him and turning him around, so he's not coming straight at the jump from any distance. What I'm doing is having him run beside me, then when I get beside the jump, I turn and direct him back through the uprights. I direct him between the tunnel and the jump, and vary the order, sometimes going from one to the other, sometimes immediately turning him around and back through the same obstacle, in both directions. Does this sound like it's ok? And to go back to the original question...how old should he be before I raise the crossbar even to a few inches? I want to work him to whatever level he can handle, but I don't want to risk any injuries to his growing frame.

By the way, Steve, your boy still impresses me every day...he's turning into a very handsome big man, and his personality and intelligence are really showing. His athletic ability...we-elllll...we'll have to wait until he figures out where his legs are before he can demonstrate that! He still has a bit of a "Bambi on ice" thing goin' on!

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Chris
"If Timmy had a Doberman, he wouldn't have gotten stuck in the well to begin with."

Excited to see him doing his work! My philosophy is with jumps nothing higher than he can walk over until about 18 months old. I know it really slows down being ready for the shows, but their hips are not finished developing until 24 months old, and too much jumping early on can create problems later. The exception in my mind is, a dog can always jump up and walk down a ramp, it is the front end that breaks down the fastest when they are always coming down on it. So I would start just walking height until about a year, then jumping up to a platform, and sometimes jumping low, and at 18months old start the real jumps at 24 inches.

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Steve
Dobes are like potato chips, you really can't have just one...