[passion4poodles]

Is there a differance between trying to find a pup for agility as apposed to confirmation? Would I be able to get a pup for either from say a breeder that does strictly show or strictly agility? What if any are the best variety for agility or water compatitions?

 

[Purple Poodle]

Well I have read several different opinions on that. A few say that show bred Poodles can not jump properly and Agility bred Poodles can not be shown.

So I really don't know, I guess I would look for someone who has Poodles and shows them in conformation AND agility.

I see a lot of Miniature Poodles in Agility and more so Standards in water trials.

 

[WonderPup]

Well the idea of a conformation show is to judge breeding stock. With that in mind, and know that a spoo is really a working dog, you *should* be able to get a poodle from a breeder who shows their dogs and does alot of winning AND still sucessfully compete in agility.

Thats not always the case though, which is a shame. Some breeders get caught up in the show dog game and forget that these dogs reguardless of which size you choose should be able to function in more ways than just in the conformation ring.

Maybe try and find a breeder who does multiple sports with their dogs, or who has bred dogs that have gone on to be sucessful in more than one ring. Lots of breeders have no interest in agility but that doesn't mean that a puppy from them wont. Evualate each puppy you consider individualy and you should be ok regaurdless of the accomplishments of the parents. I think it is easier to find a dog who can do obedience or agility than it is to find a show dog. Mostly what you need for performance events is attitude and a physicaly sound body. Things like coat and head shape and tail set don't matter as much like they do with a show dog who may eventauly be bred.

Of course, your health testing is important, especialy if your looking for a performance dog. You want to know that those legs and joints are likely to be ok.

 

[highhorse]

When a poodle has a good confirmation, it means that there is less likely to be strain put on different parts of the body by faults on another part. Poodles should be short bodied and square, ie as tall as long. A long body is less of a problem for an agility dog, so long as they have good hind quarters. I believe that temperament is more important than confirmation. You need your dog to be obedient but have enough confidence to tackle all the equipment and to keep on going without you close by their side. The main thing is that the dog should enjoy what they are doing.

Inca was in the show ring until she was 18 months old but, in my opinion, her temperament was more suited to agility. She always wanted to be doing and it was difficult to keep all 4 legs on the ground. Even when she saw the agility equipment for the first time, she was more than willing to tackle anything that was put in front of her. Coco, on the other hand, is more interested in sitting on knees, chasing balls and generally being loved. Two dogs, both happy in what they are doing!

 

[Purple Poodle]

Just an FYI its Confomation as in to conforam to the breed standard. Not Confirmation as a rite of initiation

I found an article online that talked about agility and Standard Poodles (I'll need to find it again) and it talked about how the dogs with low tail sets, laid back shoulders and a dog that was longer then tall did better at agility. So not every dog bred to standard can do agility. More so with Poodles as they were bred with a high head to see over brush and keep their heads above water when retrieving. Its rare to see Retrievers excel in agility its more of the Herding dogs who keep their heads down and low. Now that's not to say ALL herding dogs can do agility nor does it mean not ALL Poodles can not do agility.

 

[passion4poodles]

Just an FYI its Confomation as in to conforam to the breed standard. Not Confirmation as a rite of initiation

LOL little misspelling, I know that means to as closely as possible meet the standard. I am just in such a hurry sometimes that I don't spell check and if it does not show it is spelled wrong I don't look to see if it is lol! But thank you for the information others may not know the difference in the spelling. lol

 

[passion4poodles]

Are there alot of breeders out there for that do just agility? I know that in confOrmation lol, that a bite matters but in agility it does not and so on, I mean I don't want a dog with a totally messed up bite say way undershot or overshot, but like with my spoo Yanna, I was going to compete agility with her even though she had 3 perm k-9s that had to be removed, the dog is not faulted in agility for such things right? She would have been great at it, had her breeder cared enough to make sure the animals she bred were structurally sound, my first and BTW I got her from a "hobby" breeder. Didn't know better then but I do now. But she would have been great, so it would be possible to compete even with a flaw like the teeth?

 

[Purple Poodle]

Three leggers and Mutts can compete in agility Any dog of any height as long as they can jump the jumps and run the contact obstacles they can compete in agility.

:lol: I am one of the worst spellers out there but somethings just dig at me :bashful (2):

 

[passion4poodles]

Three leggers and Mutts can compete in agility Any dog of any height as long as they can jump the jumps and run the contact obstacles they can compete in agility.

:lol: I am one of the worst spellers out there but somethings just dig at me :bashful (2):

LOL!!!! That is funny, because I am usually like that with grammer with my kids lol, I just can not stand for them to use improper sentence structure and grammer when they are speaking to adults lol! Pet peeve I think. No worries lol. My spelling really does SUCK at times though so please bare with me lol.