Had our first agility lesson in ages yestrday - sun was shining and we all LOVED it!! Bit rusty but hopefully we'll soon get back into the swing. Have to say I much prefer one to one lessons than classes so for now we'll stick to that.

Anyway a fe wquestions I thought of...

how do your dogs cope in the summer months with agility? both of mine suffer in the heat (Tess because she runs around so much!!) - I have been thinking of a coat to put on them but wondered what other people do?

Secondly I can';t ever see myself competing!! I love it but think I'd be way too nervous!! If I do decide to be brave and venture out any suggestions of shows I should start with? I live in Cambridgeshire

Thanks everyone

i always carry water for them and will seek shady spots for them to chill out in. the pink spots on their noses get sun creamed much to their disgust.
if i decide that they are laboured in any way then i dont carry on with the session.

when your in the ring its a different world, for me anyway. i cant even hear the buzz of the chatter, just me and my dog. the RVA one was my first show and i had a great time. looking forward to more :D

The reflective silver coats work wonders, Robinsons had some in the sale recently that were mesh too so let the air pass through - they do really work

My advice is dont use the towelling coats, most, if not all, are cool to the dog for the first couple of mins and then the water becomes warm and acts as another warm layer on the dogs coat! Have never used the reflective covers as mine are both ok, however I'm careful not to do too much when its too hot as I think they would both go until they dropped!

Diz gets quite sick in the heat even when not doing anything really and the silver coats work wonders - to keep them cooler you can use a towelling coat underneath as the water on the towel stays cool. However when the towelling coats are used on their own the water gets so hot in the sun they actually heat the dog up.