We are starting our Intro to Agility class next week and I would love some input on what all of you would be looking for in your first agility class.
I would really like to hear from those of you who would take the class for fun along with the agility addicts.

I personally liked classes that put you on some sort of equipment fairly quickly. I understand the concept of needing to keep dogs safe, but there was nothing more frustrating than a beginners class that wouldn't let you do more than teach targeting and walk on a flat board on the ground. I would want to be learning tunnels and small jump sequences. Low dog walks and A frames would be fun too. I would fall into the agility for fun category. And I also don't have dogs with any fear issues, so I never ran into a problem getting my guys to climb obstacles.

Personally, my favorite agility class was with a lady that hardly slowed me down at all. Granted they were usually private lessons so we didn't have to worry about other dogs or people too much. But I liked that she understood that I was there to have a good time with my dogs. It wasn't so much about training techniques as it was about building up the dog's confidence and building a bond between us. I've never seen Freddy more proud than when he'd hit the top of the A-frame. A lot of the other agility classes that I'd been to were all about how to get the nose targeting right, perfect contacts, etc. All great stuff when you are building up to competition, but very tedious for a person that just wants to run around with their dog.

Thanks Amanda,
That is exactly what I'm looking for. I suspect you aren't alone.
I'm in the process of trying to figure out a curriculum that gets the dogs doing things in that first class with out doing any damage if they choose to start competing.
Tunnels are a great thing I think. most dogs love them and the owners can watch the dogs doing tunnels all day. We can lower the A frame to a safe level for beginners but not the dog walk we have.
I think we are going to bring in a chute barrel and some jump standards.
The class I took Brenna to actually does a little timed course at the end and everyone loves it.
Anyone else have any experiences to share?
Any ideas or thought would be appreciated.

I agree with Amanda. I've had both ends - fun and technical - and to be honest I would much rather have a fun, active class. Tunnels, jumps, maybe the A-frame.

I've actually been playing hookie at my other class - it's just too technical and boring, and even though the teacher is a world champion handler, we've been doing jumps and nothing else (well, the tunnel ONCE - whoopee) for over a month. I picked up some good techniques but there's no motivation to continue. I much prefer my goofy, silly agility class where we have a laugh.

I teach for fun agility classes. I do use travel boards and introduce the concept of targeting just in case the people want to go on. But what I really like to do is teach some fun basic handling. Tunnels are taught the first week. Then we do jumps and intro to weave poles. I teach the concept of the crosses on the flat, FC, RC and the next week, we add one jump. The next week there is a small sequence. We do pin wheels and 180's and some jump chutes and the last week, I make up some bigger sequences that includes the handling that we learned. There is nothing more fun than handling your dog off leash through a course. We also introduce the tire and the chute and spend some time with weave poles in each class.

So true! If I had a class where all I did was send Roscoe through tunnels, I'd have a blast.

I would want the same thing as Amanda & Lizzie, but honestly, if Mia had us running patterns on the field with no obstacles & doing the 2on/2off practice for a few weeks, I'd probably have a better time than being on the equipment from day one with a grouch.

So I think I would have to say an upbeat instructor makes a difference, too. Someone who doesn't take agility or herself too seriously, even if she is serious about it.

I think the best beginner classes are those that provide fun for both dog and handler, and stress relationship-building with agility as the vehicle.

The majority of dogs in a beginner class are not going to go on to trial, or to trial regularly and advance to Elite levels.

I think obstacles should be taught very early on, I was putting my dogs on the contact zones of a low dog-walk and an almost-flat teeter when they were very very young. Tunnels are awesome fun for dogs. Jumps can be 4" or 8" but they're still jumps and dogs love to jump.

Most of all, I like to see handlers taught that agility is not just commanding your dog. The best trainer I ever had really worked at getting us to see things through the dog's eyes, and had us trying to understand things from the dog's perspective. She made us see that our dogs' reactions were 99.999% of the time based on our actions.

And I think it's really important to REWARD YOUR DOG a lot. We used to do "throw the dog a party" runs-- after every obstacle or two, we'd stop and give them praise and treats. Rewards work into the fun and the relationship aspects of training.

I've trialed dogs in agility and titled several, at fairly low levels. I now do agility with one of my dogs for fun, I don't enjoy trialing at all. So I'm a good student but I'm not in it for the ribbons, which gives me a different perspective sometimes.

For me, it depends on the age of the dog as beginner as younger beginner dogs are not going to be handling some of the same things as older beginner dogs as well as older 'older' beginner dogs.

For me, I have have all different ages of beginner dogs as well as the puppy down the road....

Sorry, not much help. Just my thoughts.