Beginner Agility 20th August 2025

PADS Beginners Agility Course is a 10-week course that focuses on teaching the foundation skills of dog agility. The aim of our course is to help you build a strong relationship with your dog in the form of a fun activity you can do together.

To participate in the Beginners Agility class, dogs need to be a minimum of 12 months of age. Your dog also needs to be physically up to the task. It’s safe to start with foundation exercises, but it’s recommended your dog has a health check before introducing obstacles if you have any concerns. To get the most out of our Beginners Agility class we recommend consistent attendance at class, and regular short and fun (5-10 minutes) training sessions at home between weekly classes.

For your dog to participate in the course they must be able to work off lead for short periods in a class environment and demonstrate basic obedience skills such a sit/stays and reliable recalls. It is expected all dogs will be comfortable resting in a crate between exercises. During the first few weeks of the course the instructors will be guiding you through several exercises and assessing your dog’s ability to participate in a class environment. If you have any concerns, please check in with our class coordinator and/or instructor.

If you are not sure if your dog is ready for the class, it is suggested that you attend our Saturday morning Skills and Fun class (minimum requirement of Skills and Fun is to have completed a basic obedience course) to check if your dog is suitable for the Beginners Agility class environment.

At PADS we use positive reinforcement rewards to train our dogs. Examples of rewards are food, toys, praise, and play/tricks. Please bring your dog’s favourite toy/items, and plenty (like 100!) of soft food rewards that your dog can easily chew and swallow, such as small chopped up chicken/dog food rolls. PADS do not permit check chains or chain type collars in classes.

Minimum handler age is 10 years. Handlers must wear closed in shoes in class. You are required to bring a crate for your dog to the beginners class. We ask that you use a flat or halti collar with a 4-6ft lead on your dog whilst attending class and that all dogs are crated between exercises. If you would like advice on buying a suitable crate we can certainly help.

A private PADS Beginners Agility Facebook group is provided for class participants. It contains detailed lesson notes for each week, useful articles, and videos. If you are on Facebook, please request to join our “PADS Beginners Agility” Facebook group. Visibility for the group will be opened 24 hours before commencement of the course. If you use a different name on your Facebook profile, please include it in your application or advise your class instructor on the first evening.

The cost is $120 for the 10-week course, plus yearly membership to the club ($30 single or $45 family). Class fees are non-refundable unless we receive written notice a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the class start date.

Beginners Agility classes are held at the PADS club grounds on a Wednesday evening between 7pm to 8.30pm. It is a requirement you arrive at 6.30pm to sign in, set up your dog’s crate, settle them in, and assist with class equipment setup. Pack up and leave is between 8.30 to 8.45 pm.

In the event of wet weather – we try to make a call as early as possible and post wet weather notices and cancellations on the Pine Agility Dog Sports Facebook group by 5.30pm on the evening of training.

Course communication will be done through the classes@pads.org.au email address, please feel free to use this address for class queries.

Our club and classes are run by volunteer instructors and committee members. It is hoped you will share the same passion and enjoyment of participating in fun activities with your dog as our volunteers do.