A Job for Maggie

Our miniature schnauzer Maggie needs a job. She is a ball of energy that needs to be put to work. She's pretty good with basic obedience, though her "stay" and "heel" could use some work, especially her "stay".

I would like to get her involved in a dog sport (gee...it almost sounds like I'm talking about a kid). I'm considering both agility and earthdog. I think she'd do well in both and enjoy both of them. I did agility for a little while with Bella before she got hip dysplasia. We never got to enter a show before it became too difficult for her. I had a lot of fun doing it (so did Bella) and I think Maggie would like it too.

As for earthdog, Maggie is our squirreler. That's like a mouser but with squirrels. She is small, too, and that's something that is needed in an earthdog.

Maggie is small and fast and smart--all things that would give her an advantage with both agility and earthdog. The advantages of doing earthdog with her are that it can be done with a minimal amount of equipment and a lot of training isn't necessary. The disadvantage is that there doesn't seem to be any group in Kentucky or Indiana that does it. The advantages of agility are that there are several groups in the Louisville area that do agility. The disadvantage is that it requires a lot of equipment and quite a bit more training.

What I would really like to do with her is dock jumping, but I don't think she's much of a water dog.