Agility Right from the Start: The ultimate training guide to America's fastest growing dog sport (Karen Pryor Clicker Book) Paperback – Illustrated, January 11, 2010

I am an Agility noob but a dog-trainer who is relatively versed in the positive reinforcement/clicker realm and I think this book is absolutely essential and invaluable for anyone wanting to REALLY do Agility. All the components necessary to be SOLID performers and LOVE doing it are taught to both humans and dogs alike in this book. It is very large and a bit daunting at first, but each step to teach first the foundation skills, then the skills needed to prevent the usual problems, then the equipment themselves, and then how to put it all together is ALL in here. Yes you can take a class, and yes there are lots of them out there,but most of them skip the basics before putting dogs on the equipment because they believe most people will get impatient with the "foundation":skills. But how do you get a dog to truly LOVE slamming that teeter-totter down, or really RACE around the ring? It's in here! If the dogs can't actually compete before they are 15 months old, what do you do to help them when they are pups? That is all in here too. I am literally reading it cover to cover, and every page is full of solid, useful information and advice. And even if you don't want to take it to competition level, the principles used about the RELATIONSHIP between dog and handler and how to foster it using the sport of Agility are spot-on IMHO.I can also use it to evaluate any class I take; this book is showing me what happens to the Agility performance when classes cut corners or skip steps, and by reading this book I will be more prepared to discuss and evaluate any additional training I receive.One last comment - buy the actual book, not the digital version, because being able to quickly flip back and forth between sections and being able to actually see what is going on in the photographs is more than worth the added cost. I read this in reviews before I bought my copy. I am REALLY glad I followed their advice, so I am repeating it to you, O reader of reviews. :)

I gave it five stars because it firstly arrived very quickly, it was loaded with a lot of wonderful information and looked like it was ideal for someone older than the 12 year old I got it for. It was for that reason I returned it. I hope that in the near future, when (and if) my niece and her puppy (miniature Australian shepherd) are a little better versed in this subject, that I will purchase this book for her then. It definitely shows the level of commitment needed to do this sport.

Love this book - it confirms so much that I have been working on and added to what I thought would be great ideas to do with my students. These gals have a great insight into things that would help you and your dog do agility. I find that it is probably tough for someone who has not had a class but not impossible if you already do training with your dog. Why? I think that some of the information is very obvious to someone who is doing agility. If you have never watched or worked a dog - I think somethings would be hard to visualize. I think once you can see agility from the dogs point of view I think you would be happy with this book. I recommend it to everyone I talk too. I took clicker training with Karen Pryor and see how much they use the method and how well they use it. I was extrememly impressed.Take a chance on this book. It is well work the money and the time.

Big and full of information! I love how before I got this book I had a mindset of how I wanted to train my dog, and on to reading-barely making in 30 pages I found that my ideas may not be the best. For example to practice weave polls, not the best idea to have to "guide" your dog through them, you need to send it in the right direction so you can run to the next obstacle because the dog doesn't need to be waiting on you. It gives you a guide to how to do it and which side you should always start your dog on and only go through 4 polls in the beginning, practice the entry point and then the next weave. My book came brand new and now it does not look like it with all the highlighting and writing in the margins. But this is a great book, it gave me a lot of information and something that I will be hanging on to for awhile.

Thoroughly explained, with plenty of background info so you can understand why the techniques were developed as they are, and so you can use them intelligently. Step by step instructions with b&w photos to show how it looks when done correctly. The photos, I have to add, are thoughtfully chosen to illustrate the exact moment and body language you're looking for as you train. I can't afford the time and cost to take a class in agility with my dog, but so far this book seems like truly the next best thing.

My class instructor used this for her textbook. The advice clearly stated and is solid. Personally found some of their understanding about dog psychology to somewhat over-simplified. I work with collie-dogs and find they are much smarter than the authors give dogs credit for-however that is neither here nore there. It's not enough to detract from their wonderful step by step approach. They definitely made me rethink and challenge my own existing training standards as well. It's well worth every penny and would strongly recommend it be read slowly to absorb all the nuances of the methods. I've been taking just a few pages a day and sometimes re-read some so that I can instill their methods when I work with the dogs.

If you're serious about learning to do agility with your dog, get this book! I wish I had it when I started doing agility with my first dog. My second dog is much more of a challenge and the techniques that are outlined in the first 100 pages of this book are already helping me be a better trainer and handler. My dog is already responding with better focus and understanding what she is supposed to do. The directions for training the desired behaviors are specific, easy to follow and can be done in your own backyard or living room without fancy equipment.

I have competed with other dog sports at high levels and I found this book to be too basic for me. A friend recommended Developing Handling Skills by Linda Mecklenburg and I found that to be much more thorough and detailed for my taste.