When to Start Training Leonbergers

I stand firm and fast on the 18 month minimum age for beginning agility classes. My reasons for waiting until this age don't really have to do with the jumping issue as with other things. Leos (and all giant dogs) grow at an amazing rate. If you begin to train a dog when it is 7 months of age your Leo is just heading into another major growth spurt. It is hard enough to teach a giant where their feet are in relation to the dog walk and teeter/totter when they are about the size they will be and are only filling out and not growing up and out. What the dogs learn one week is not the same as things will be the next week when they return to class and find that no part of their body is the same as it was the week before. This is frustrating at the least but also can result in dogs falling off of the equipment.Imagine you would feel if you started working on mastering something only to find that each time you returned to practice the equipment was made smaller and the place you put your feet or found a balance point was completely different than where you remembered it being.

The A-frame presents its own problem area because the dogs are coming down at an angle and this puts tremendous strain on the shoulders and elbows. Yes, I know, you will be working with the A-frame lowered in the beginning class, but what happens when you have finished that level and you are looking to enter the next class with your now 10 month old puppy. This is a large piece of equipment that takes muscle to raise and lower and others in the class will not appreciate the disruption each time you are ready to run your Leo and ask that the A-frame be lowered; yet if you allow a puppy that is not fully developed to use the equipment at the higher settings you will be exposing it to unnecessary risk.

I know that it is hard to wait for you puppy to fully develop but I urge you to be patient, please. No giant is ready to start working (yes, training in agility is work) before they are 18 to 24 months of age. Spend the time in between having fun (swimming, hiking, lots of new experiences) and working on obedience. Go out and get your CGC and socialize, socialize, socialize. Before you know it your puppy will be old enough to join the ranks of "agile Leos" and you will not be afraid that she will hurt herself. Agility is a tremendous dog sport because it requires brains as well as speed and coordination and I think that you and Willow will have a ball running in it. Keep busy and that time will come sooner than you think. In the meantime enjoy your Leo PUPPY, and then your Leo ADOLESCENT and resist the temptation to push too fast. These stages are far to brief as it is...

Bonnie Goodfriend - February 2002

Agility training requires both concentration and coordination. Puppies have neither. While there's nothing wrong with playing games and passing a pup through a tunnel a few times, training on the contact obstacles and weaves should wait until the dog can concentrate more.

As for coordination, imagine the following situation. You've been asked to walk a balance beam. After a couple of wobbly passes, you more or less get the hang of it, and are feeling pretty good about yourself. A week passes, then you're asked to do the balance beam again. You think, "no problem! I've got this down!" But you can't get your legs to work right and you wobble and wobble and it's like you've never done it before. Oh... did I mention that your right leg grew 2 inches since last week?

Training a Leo (or any puppy) while they're still growing subjects them (and you) to that kind of situation - and that kind of frustration. Agility is challenging enough! Then there's the obvious concern: all the stress that climbing, jumping, and weaving puts on growing joints.

I strongly encourage anyone who's considering agility for their Leo (or any giant breed, for that matter) to wait until your dog is *at least* one year old! Bonnie Goodfriend (who has the first titled Agile Leo in the US and who is a professional agility trainer) says to wait until they're at least 15 months old. This gives your dog enough time to grow into his/her body and strength, and develop the coordination and concentration required.

One last note: before you start jumping over 12", have your dog's hips and elbows X-rayed. That way you know if your dog is structurally sound enough to raise the height. (You can also send the results to the OFA to help us build an accurate database of Leo hip/elbow health!)

Hendy Lund - May 1999