So when is it time to start training on agility equipment for a young dog?

I often get asked ( or more pointedly perhaps NOT asked) about when is the right time to start 'proper' agility training. Equipment and stuff!

Here's the thing. It's complicated. There are very many issues and considerations involved. Here's a brain dump of my thoughts and considerations.

Factors to consider: 

• How is your puppy doing with growing? Are they a large breed with heavy bone? A lighter boned smaller dog? 
• Are your puppies growth plates closed or not? A dog's size will impact the time it takes growth plates to close. A smaller breed will be earlier, a larger breed later. Some Great Danes have been proven to not have closure in growth plates until close to three years old! And it's not just growth plates - after growth in terms of size and length of bones is completed the dog still takes more time to stretch and strengthen muscles, ligaments and tendons. The only way to conclusively confirm growth plate closure is x-ray. 
• Were they neutered or spayed before growth plate closure? 
• How is their base fitness, strength, muscle mass, stability, and movement looking? 
• Have they had any orthopedic or health concerns that may impact growth and physical maturity? 
• Even if their growth looks finished, and they have had no issues have you had regular checks by an experienced sports professional such as a animal physio or rehabilitation vet? 
• How is your communication and reinforcement strategies? Are you confident in this as a team? Is your young dog an eager learning who does not get stressed or frustrated? 
• Have you already taught important concepts like duration, movement patterns, interacting with items, holding stable positions, delayed reinforcement, circles to the left and right, nose or chin targets? 
• Have you already practiced training and skills in a variety of different environments with success? 
• Have you started practicing known skills with distractions like different dog's or people in the space? 

Basically is your dog physically and mentally ready, and are you as a learning team ready to tackle 'real' agility training. Spending time on these base skills with so very hugely pay off in the long run. I started Evo a little too early IMO on equipment, and in competition. I wish I had taken longer on our processes as a team that may have helped in the over-arousal we face in the ring. I also believe he wasn't physically completely mature until about 2 years 2 months or so. 

So an example. Flori is just over 8 months old at the time of writing this post. Here's a timeline of our focuses and progress, and what I imagine might happen over the next year or so.

2-3 months: 
 - Getting used to crates, the home environment and existing dogs, car travel
 - Learning the first food markers and taking food
 - Baby toy play
 - Socialization experiences and adventures
 - Cooperative care
 - First physio check
 - Starting visits to the hydrotherapist to get used to the environment

3-4 months: 
 - Socialization experiences and adventures
 - Cooperative care
 - More food markers, introducing toy markers
 - Stationing (base startline skill)
 - Introduction to equipment and surfaces for fitness work
 - Basic positions (sit, down, stand) and some movement skills (recall to heel, spin . twist etc.)
 - Adding more off lead adventures and hikes with other dogs.

4-5 months: 
 - Continued work on our communication and reinforcement tools, and starting applying these to lot's of different tricks and skills.
 - Adding to base fitness skills with movement between positions, sidestepping, foot pod work, etc.
 - Progressing stationing work to new places and adding distance and distractions.
 - First session (4 minutes total) wrapping a cone.

5-6 months: 
 - Second visit to the physio to check growth and progress, and given some more specific fitness exercises to start
 - Started hydrotherapy to add some strength and stability to wobble growing rear limbs and help ensure gait is fantastic.
 - Continuing learning and communication with trick work, and adding some delayed reinforcement and duration to known behaviors.

6-7 months: 
 - Adding a small amount of instability to stable positions in fitness, and adding experiences learning about cavaletti and the treadmill.
 - Asking for more behaviours in new places and new distractions like agility shows.
 - First tunnel (2 minute session).

8-9 months: 
 - Sits / waits recalls and adding distance and duration
 - Adding more toy marker cues as she becomes more reinforced by toy play
 - Taking it easy really as it's a very clear point in her growth where she's had a growth spurt and is taller and longer, but the muscles haven't caught up.

Planning ahead.... Keep in mind this will depend on many factors, and is not set in stone! 

9-10 months: 
 - Another physio check to check growth and progress in muscle strength and symmetry
 - Continuing hydro
 - Working on duration and distraction in waits and recalls, and stationing in different environments.
 - More work on foundation response to verbal markers and distractions, and toys as reinforcement
 - Solidifying her left and right, and applying this concept to a new situation (like left off a platform, right off a platform)
 - Contact base skill training

10-12 months: 
 - Likely to have her first season (OMG help me....)
 - Cone wrapping increasing understanding and adding distance and handler movement
 - Continuing to slightly progress fitness and strength, including hydro
 - More stationing, toy play, waits, recalls, and other known skills in different environments

12 - 14 months: 
 - Starting set point open jump work at low levels, and wrapping a wing (collection)
 - Baby tunnel games
 - Verbal cues under distraction in an agility context
 - Startline work around agility equipment
 - Delayed reinforcement around agility equipment
 - Slappy tappy past agility gear
 - Continuing contact base skills

14 - 16 months: 
 - Progressing single skill jump work, and tunnel skills plus more as above
 - Baby jump grids
 - Starting progress contact behaviour
 - Starting my 'ring routine' in training, and process at shows

16 - 18 months: 
 - Possibly a second season
 - Continuing single jump skill proofing, and increasing the bar
 - Starting weave work
 - Continuing tunnel and contact work
 - Starting my 'ring routine' in training, and process at shows

18 - 20 months: 
 - Progressing agility skills as above
 - Sequencing
 - Adding more delayed reinforcement strategies
 - Handling in a seminar

21 months: 
Ovariectomy or similar. I'm aiming for the middle point of her seasons.

22 months onwards: 
If all is going well then she will hopefully be competing and on my regular grown-up dog schedule of hydro, physio, fitness, training, walking and competition!

One day Florals!