I am seriously considering agility training for Vino.  I am positive that he would love it and I am very interested in it myself.  Does anyone have suggestions about how we should prepare before starting training?  He is a very obedient boy, and aims to please.  There is an agility facility not far from my house, so I am thinking about going by to visit to see what it is like.

If you train one dog in agility... especially if you are a beginner... you are going to have your hands full and I would that you NOT attempt this with two "baby" (beginner) dogs.... because you yourself will be a beginner. Don't bite off more than you can chew, and run the risk of becoming frustrated, as much of the success with agility is for the handler to remain UP. I simply wouldn't do it.

Mocha is relatively new in your environment. Just love her, provide her with a warm, loving home... and give her a lot of attention. She won't feel slighted.

I train two nights a week (one private lesson... one class with other dogs...) and I have 3 other dogs who are not involved in agility. But I spend quality time with them every chance I get, and I don't think they feel slighted. I love ALL my dogs, but some are suited for some activities more so than others.

And yes... agility is VERY hard work. IMO much harder than obedience. Remember... whatever you train on the left must be trained just as successfully on the right... and it's not just about teaching the dog the obstacles.. it's about YOU learning how to communicate these twists and turns to your dog. So BOTH of you will be learning. It's fun... it's addicting... but it's hard work.  It's a big commitment if you plan to train to trial... it's expensive and time-consuming.  Bailey and I enter our first trial in three weeks.... it's a big AKC trial... and after having trained for over a year, I'm still nervous!

Ricky and I have been in agility training since he was 6 months old starting in the beginners class.  We did take a year off due to my work situation and tried flyball (he just didn't see the point in chasing a tennis ball).  We're back in agility training again and my little guy loves it.  He does get a case of the zoomies when we don't practice.  He just goes crazy running and takes any obstacle in his path.  But after he gets that out of his system, he is ready to work.  It's harder for me to learn agility than it is for him.  I highly recommend you look into this.  One of the best performing dogs nationwide right now is a rat terrier. 

I have taken  Fred to some JRTCA fun days and trials, I let him compete in what he likes, which is lure coursing and racing the best. He LOOOOOOVES it, he picked it up on his own prey instinct and it's good exercise. I talked to some of the nice folks who do JRT fun day's and they said Alice is more than welcome to come play and race and lure course or GTG, we just have to bring her. This may be a good option for some if you have dog fun day's in your area that offer terrier events.

I can't wait until Spanky is old enough to start "real" agility training with him,he's just 12 weeks. My husband has made "mini" agility A-frames, cat walks, etc for Spanky & I bought a "mini" tunnel for him, he loves it!  I also think he would love Flyball as he loves to chase his tennis ball. Either way we would have to drive 3 1/2 hours to a class .