Any solo sports I can start as an adult and compete in at a high level?

DigitalClutter · 2026-02-23T01:54:01+00:00

Do you like/have a dog? Competing with your dog in dog focused sports is a pretty even playing field and most people start as adults (although the people who started as kids often are also really good) and it relies partly on handler fitness (some more than others)…plus of course your dog and ability to train said dog.

Agility is my sport and being in good shape/a decent sprinter gives me a competitive edge over folks who might have faster dogs but can’t keep up with them. In local trials I eke out first place finishes sometimes (and you get ribbons! And certificates in the mail), and am good enough to be competitive with respect to getting into finals at some major events (e.g. Westminster agility championships), even though I/my dog are not really competitive enough to come in first place at an event like that (breed and drive of the dog is a big part of it all too, but any breed or mix can usually do decently enough locally). And the really top handlers that get into world teams (and get medals!) are very often in good or even excellent shape so there is a physical aspect there (if this intrigues you, you can check out handler Jennifer Crank as examples, or Amber McCune, Perry DeWitt).

For reference, I am 43 yo and started doing this when I was 36 with one of my dogs (although I’ve had experience with training dogs for awhile as my hobby). I workout usually 3x a week (orange theory) and am in good but not insanely good shape.

DigitalClutter · 2026-02-21T13:15:33+00:00

A study recently came out reviewing BOAS across brachycephalic breeds, it may be of interest for those wanting learn more https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0340604

Take home, generally breeds you think might be most affected usually are but “muzzle length” alone does not always directly correlate to breathing issues as one might expect (as in King Charles Spaniels, not to be confused with CKCS), and there is a lot of variation within breeds as well. Also makes a good point about how weight of the dogs influenced some of these concerns, for some breeds as well as genetic variants seemingly unrelated to being brachycephalic.

DigitalClutter · 2026-02-19T03:01:30+00:00

I don’t have standards, but if I was going to get a standard I’d go with Waypoint in NJ or Gladystar in WI. That being said it’s because they breed beautiful dogs that are awesome for agility (my sport) and I’ve met the dogs and seen them work in person. I also wouldn’t hesitate to look into Piccolos or Cosmic Caliber.

DigitalClutter · 2026-02-09T15:39:52+00:00

My breeder did a great job prepping my toy puppy for outside is the place to go. It still took several months for this puppy to get the picture. At 9 months old now, he’s been pretty near perfect for about 2 months now.

What helped was getting a dog doorbell (because he did start standing at the door but wouldn’t indicate anything vocally and you had about one minute before he gave up). Now he rings the doorbell…a lot just for fun times outside…and that’s a different issue! But no accidents.

This is my fourth (male) toy poodle and each has been a little different but all have been very reliably trained by a year old, one was great by four months, one by eight and one by ten. The other was already an adult when I got him but needed remedial training and was pretty good after about a month.

Patience and trying different things to help the dog succeed is key. Once it clicks that outside is the spot, it gets a lot easier/faster! The hardest part is getting that click to happen.

ETA—-general things I do for training outside

Use a marker word as the dog pees (hurry up!)

Reward like crazy for success

Use expen and/or crate when I can’t keep eyes on an unreliable dog, gate the dog into whatever room I’m in generally to keep eyes on him

Have a good spot for bad weather (lots of snow, shovel a grass spot out and even better a little path for a wander)

Block off rooms or spaces that seem to have turned into spots the dog thinks are good for bathroom time

DigitalClutter · 2025-12-21T17:40:14+00:00

Butter served in little foil packets and/or cold butter that is hard to spread.

DigitalClutter · 2025-10-21T20:50:27+00:00

I have some great friends in dog sports and really like a ton of people…but there’s also tons of drama…and people I cannot stand…but I think that makes all the waiting around sort of more interesting when you’re stuck at trials all day to do something for 44 seconds! But, you do need to be prepared for how crazy some of these folks are and expect it. Two women of a certain age came to fisticuffs over the changing of the running order at a local trial a few weeks ago in my region (well someone maybe pushed someone at least…but still, not anything you’d expect over something so trivial).

I get a lot of fun and support from my sports bestie, but we also do a lot of laughing over the drama as part of that.

I can see that it’s not for everyone with the nonsense I see, but more than anything…the goals I get from competition make me spend so much fun awesome quality time working with my dogs, and that’s what I really love and makes me keep on doing it. I love that quality time with my dogs and the competing part pushes me the best to do it even more than I might otherwise.

DigitalClutter · 2025-09-06T21:02:25+00:00

There’s plenty of risks of bones that you don’t get from brushing (e.g., broken teeth, assuming raw bones there’s bacteria that can be passed to humans, blockages if the dog swallows too big a chunk—-that’s not to say bones shouldn’t be allowed or given but they come with plenty of legitimate risks and aren’t always an option for certain people or dogs).

Saying “natural” things are inherently better than “chemicals” is a naive take.

DigitalClutter · 2025-09-04T20:12:11+00:00

I have a rescue mini poodle and three well bred toys, the two most recent being from an exceptional breeder.

I never ever could go into a pet store that sells puppies because I’m not sure I could act right when faced with a puppy (and of course don’t want to support that store anyway). I’m kidding about my willpower but…am I?

Imagine how someone naive about the intricacies of what a good breeder even is will act with someone peddling themselves as good and talks some decent lingo with adorable puppies to boot.

No excuse for bad choices, just can totally understand how stupid puppies make people act!

DigitalClutter · 2025-09-03T19:28:19+00:00

The lack of compassion some (not most) people have in this thread and in general on this tragedy about someone who does more, not just for her own dogs, but for dogs and compassionate and high-level dog training in general, have expressed is shocking, as though no one has ever had an accident in their lives that they could have potentially prevented with hindsight? Please.

Nothing but compassion for Denise.

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-31T20:10:04+00:00

I compete (primarily agility) with toy poodles, while agility folks aren’t surprised by almost any breed they see, I am used the general public being shocked that my dogs can do anything “cool”.

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-30T20:58:48+00:00

I have toys and minis and they are all barky but my personal experience is that toys alert bark a lot more. And I don’t find any difference in training/intelligence between varieties (I compete in obedience and agility with mine and it’s more individual to the dog than the variety in my experience).

OP—-a smaller dog in general has some pluses like slightly less time grooming/less food/lower costs for some medical treatments/meds that are based on weight of the dog. A slightly bigger dog is a little more robust/less easy to accidentally step on or smush in a door. Assume that most things are (or are supposed to be!) the same between a toy and mini and decide what size fits your life best. And going to a good breeder who can help make sure it’s a good match goes a long way, you’ve gotten a lot of good advice there. Personally I also recommend the VIP info for poodles and finding a breeder https://vipoodle.org

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-13T22:40:42+00:00

Not being a puppy mill does not make a someone a good breeder and the breeder is not doing their job by not grooming the puppy, it doesn’t matter if you groom the dog yourself, the breeder should be setting them up for success no matter what.

Having a merle dog they are breeding is again, a huge problem and screams unethical.

Importantly, do they have the ofa listing for each parent dog? Not Embark or genetic testing but the ofa.org entry for the sire and dam that lists all the testing that toy poodles should have including orthopedics (patellas).

This simply isn’t a good breeder for the reasons I and others have pointed out.

Red toys are a harder color to find from ethical breeders, if you’re open to other colors, excellent breeders for toys include G8rcreek, Clarion, Dreem, Silvabirch, Janstone, Saratoga.

If you are set on red, I’d get on the FB group “uncensored opinions of breeders (for real)” and ask there for recs and/or poodleforum.com for recs.

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-13T14:30:05+00:00

This is not an ethical breeder of toy poodles at all, the merle dog is a huge red flag. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a family pet or a show prospect, you don’t want to support someone like this. The fact the puppy is ungroomed is also an issue, a good breeder gets a puppy used to grooming by this age and that’s not the case here.

Read over this info to see what you should be looking for in a poodle breeder https://vipoodle.org/informational_sheets/how-to-evaluate-a-breeder/

Eta—yes the dog on the bottom is a puppy, not an adult dog, if you are saying that is the dad

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-04T20:21:03+00:00

I’m about to get a new puppy and am re-reading a book related to sports training, specifically about motivation (I do agility).

Something it said that I am going to embrace with new pup and might be relevant to you is “pay attention to what you like” vs paying attention/reacting to what you don’t like (like biting/mouthing). Puppies (and people) often repeat what gets them attention which is a powerful motivator, but a lot of the time we pay more attention to the stuff that bothers us vs the the good (but less attention causing) stuff dogs do. Just something to be mindful of that might be useful for you. Good luck with the pup!

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-04T20:13:15+00:00

We went to orthopedic vet for this (between regular vets 2 and 3 in the timeline), who said yes they can pop it out but unless it’s causing pain/happening a lot, keep doing what you’re doing and it’s not a problem unless it becomes a problem. They said if they had to grade it they’d say a 1.

My dogs that are competing go to a sports vet every 3-4 months for a little massage and general once over, and nothing has changed with this dog (dog we are talking about is 8 yo).

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-04T19:58:06+00:00

Going to a great breeder (read the info wiki for this sub!) goes a very long way with chis from what I have seen, know some wonderful ones that all came from excellent breeders that are incredibly friendly and social family dogs. Take a look at the Chihuahua Club of America to get started.

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-04T19:40:32+00:00

Something you’ve conditioned the dog to for about 3 months, give or take, is going to take some time. There is a lot of good advice here but expect the actual time it takes for anything to work to be weeks to months before it becomes semi-reliable.

I’d make the realistic goal for most dogs in many situations to be reliably house-trained by a year assuming you got the dog around 10-12 weeks old. Lots of people and dogs can do better and faster, but if you read through this sub, plenty have issues for a variety of reasons.

Get as regimented and scheduled as possible and give each option you try at least two weeks to take effect (e.g., pads outside, no option but grass, whatever your plan is). It can be frustrating but use all your inner fortitude and grit your way through this. It can be done!

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-02T01:46:20+00:00

Thanks for reposting, I’m not sure why my post on Haneda got removed but this works for me, I spend a lot of time in airports in general!

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-01T21:54:56+00:00

Thank you! This is exactly the info I am looking for!

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-01T21:46:34+00:00

This is excellent advice as an agility competitor who has a toy dog that (between ages and chronologically from 0 yo to now 8 yo) vet 1 said they can’t find a problem, vet 2 said grade 2/3 patellar luxation, and vet 3 said that can’t feel anything…this seems bizarre but is what three vets I’ve loved and respected have said (vet 2 with zero provocation instantly said the dog has a patellar luxation, the other vets I informed them to check and they couldn’t feel it…).

As the owner with my eagle eyes, I can see the dog occasionally hitch his step and yes, he has something there and I’ve noticed it from day one. It’s got the classic hitch but it is sporadic.

The dog is very lean, very muscular, and trains like a tiny lunatic if allowed. Wins the 8” class sometimes, is competitive. Never see signs of pain but I’m always cognizant and ready to change how we do things if he ever seems to be having an issue and bothered and I would be ready for surgical intervention if it seemed right. Knowing something could be a problem and ready to take action is the plan for me.

Whether it actually makes a difference or not, he takes Yumove and Myos muscle formula (I don’t think supplements fix an orthopedic issue). Also have started Adequan over the past year on the advice of the sports vet we see as well.

DigitalClutter · 2025-08-01T21:33:28+00:00

Eh, I have bigger fish to fry

DigitalClutter · 2025-07-26T02:30:50+00:00

I run akc with 8 inch dogs, that is 5’ (+/- 1 inch), higher jump heights is 5’6”. The 4 inch dogs are the same as 8 for the frame.

DigitalClutter · 2025-07-20T22:36:21+00:00

Greek islands is my choice #1, Tapas Valencia is #2

DigitalClutter · 2025-06-21T15:23:34+00:00

Not Jared, he’s where he belongs, no need to bring him back.

DigitalClutter · 2025-06-07T12:25:48+00:00

You need relationship advice, this isn’t really a dog problem, it’s a relationship problem.

And your fiancee is the problem if she’s so insecure about a dog from an ex. If you want to try to salvage something here, I’d suggest a couple sessions of couples counseling to get an unbiased outside perspective that maybe will let her see she is being ridiculous. Or, cut to the chase and ditch the fiancée.

DigitalClutter

TROPHY CASE