Fun and Games for Your Min Pin

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Is your Min Pin driving you crazy? Running around the house, hiding stuff, digging up your begonias in the back yard? Biting your toes at 2:00 o’clock in the morning because he or she wants you to get up and play? “C’mon, c’mon - it must be time to get up!!”

That’s all pretty much normal Min Pin behavior - these little packages of dynamite often don’t seem to know when to stop - they’re on a 24/7 time warp that has only one speed - full ahead! But there are some things you can do to control that behavior, and some activities you can both get involved in that will channel some of that boundless energy and enthusiasm.

Any Min Pin owner knows that having lot of toys and games around is an essential element to owning one of these dogs - this is not a breed that’s content to lie around the backyard and watch you garden - they’re much more likely to bring you a sack of bulbs from the garage, dig the holes for you and show you how to run the rototiller! These are busy dogs, always active and interested and involved in whatever’s going on around them.

A large part of that interest and high energy level comes from their lively intelligence - which has to have something to do. Not only do these dogs need to be involved in every aspect of your life, but they need to have something to occupy their minds and active imaginations. Left to their own devices they’re quite capable of hatching an escape plan for all the dogs in the neighborhood, leading a charge on the Bastille or rearranging your landscaping diagram in the backyard to suit themselves.

At a minimum you need to provide your Min Pin with some physical activity everyday - and some mental stimulation that can afford an outlet for that sharp intelligence. A brisk daily walk or a game of Frisbee, fetch or tug-of-war in the backyard is a good start, but I have some more suggestions that will thrill your Min Pin and give you a chance to build an even tighter bond.

The first suggestion is to get involved in agility competitions. These are great contests for Min Pins - not only because they require thought and concentration, but also involve physical activity - giving your dog something to think about and do at the same time.

Agility competitions consist of a series of obstacles that your dog is required to negotiate in a specific amount of time. You (as your dog’s handler) can give an unlimited amount of commands or signals, but you can’t physically touch either your dog or the equipment. Originally very loosely taken from stadium jumping competitions for horses, this sport has evolved into a fast-paced, crowd-pleasing contest that’s one of the most rapidly growing dog sports around. (That’s world-wide, not just in the U.S.)

Depending on the organization that sponsors the event, either international rules or local rules can govern the contest, meaning the international rules tend to be more stringent in terms of speed and athletic requirements. It’s kind of like the difference of showing your Min Pin at an AKC-sponsored conformation show, or a local-type show - the local shows tend to be a little more flexible in judging contestants. But don’t let your Min Pin’s physical size bar you from any of these competitions - I’ve seen everything from a Chihuahua to a Newfoundland compete at these events - so size in this case definitely doesn’t matter!

There are a variety of obstacles featured at most of these competitions - while some differ from organization to organization - most events have these obstacles in common:

The A-Frame - literally a walkway shaped like an “A.” Your dog is required to go up one side of it and down the other - touching at each end a “contact zone” your dog must touch on his or her way over. The boards or material used to construct the A-frame are treated or covered in a material to add traction during wet weather.

The Dog Walk - sort of looks like a balance beam used in gymnastics, but it has a ramp on either end. (It’s also called a cat walk, but don’t call it that within hearing of your Min Pin!) Your dog must walk up the first ramp, across the walkway and down the second ramp - I say walk, but most dogs zoom through this obstacle at blazing speeds!

The See-Saw - also known as a teeter-totter (remember those?) - this is simply a board that has a pivot in the middle - your dog must hit the contact zone on the first side, walk over the middle of the see-saw - staying on the obstacle as it tilts to the other side, and hit the contact zone on the downside.

The Tunnel - There are usually two types of tunnels - the first is a pipe tunnel that is simply a large plastic tube (sort of like a giant Slinky covered in fabric) that’s laid at a 45 degree angle - your dog must enter the tunnel on one side and exit on the other. The other is a collapsed tunnel, which starts off the same as a pipe tunnel, but the exit is covered by fabric that has no support structure to make it round, so it kind of looks like a collapsed sock. Your dog must enter on the pipe side, and push his or her way through the fabric to exit.

The Pause Table - this can either be an actual table, or a box outlined on the grass, or even a sheet of plywood. Your dog must get on the obstacle, lie down for at least 5 seconds, and then go on to the next obstacle. (Easier said than done when they’re running against a clock!)

Weave Poles - This is a series of 6 or 12 poles set upright that your dog must “weave” back and forth between. This is often the hardest obstacle to teach, because the dog can’t miss a pole, and when they’re moving at speed, that’s easy to do. Min Pins have a big advantage here, because of their quickness and flexibility.

Tire or Hoop Jump - This is simply a large truck tire or a hoop suspended in mid-air that your dog must jump through as part of the course.

Various Other Types of Jumps - depending on the event coordinator, jumps can be similar to those you see at equestrian competitions - only a lot smaller, of course! They’re designed with safety in mind - i.e. the bars on the jumps are easily displaced, so if your dog crashes into one instead of going over the top, he or she won’t get hurt.

There are all levels of competitions - from novice to very experienced - there are even some competitions for puppies starting at around 4 to 5 months! Of course, those competitions are really more for fun, with a lot of fooling around and playful behavior, but they’re a good way to start a young dog on a discipline. At the entry or beginning levels the courses are usually very straightforward and uncomplicated - they’re more a test of your dog’s ability to complete the course in a required amount of time. But as your - and your dog’s - skill level increases, the courses become more challenging and complex - meaning you’ll need split-second timing and coordination between the two of you at the highest levels of competition.

Agility training can be a total blast - for both you and your dog - in many ways it’s the perfect type of competition for a Min Pin because it requires a dog that can think (which we all know Min Pins excel at!) as well as be physically agile (which goes without saying for Min Pins.) To get started in agility competitions, check with your state or local agility training clubs to find out where the next competition is being held, and for more information on agility trainers.

The other type of competition you may want to get involved in is Freestyle Frisbee competition (well, actually they prefer the term “disc dog competition” since “Frisbee” is a registered trademark - but you get the idea.) Put out of your mind a simple game of toss-and-catch Frisbee - the Freestyle event goes way beyond anything you’ve imagined a dog can do.

This event actually has its roots during a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds in August of 1974 - when a young college student jumped onto the field during the seventh-inning stretch and began tossing a Frisbee for his dog, named Ashley Whippet. The crowd was enthralled, watching this dog run around the field at about 35 miles per hour and leaping 9 feet in the air to catch the Frisbee. Announcer Joe Garagiola got into the act by announcing over the P.A. system the amazing feats performed by Ashley. From that humble beginning, the sport of Freestyle Frisbee was born.

Today, the event is a performance event - timed to between 90 seconds and 3 minutes, and choreographed to music that is played during the performance. Each “team” - meaning you and your dog - perform your routine for the judges, who award points on things like athleticism, number of jumps, difficulty and length of Frisbee throws.

If you ever have occasion to see a competition, you’ll be astounded at the maneuvers that these dogs complete - from back flips in mid-air (followed by catching the Frisbee) to running up their owner’s back and launching off into space in pursuit of a flying disc, to twirls and turns and rolls and somersaults - all perfectly choreographed to the music running in the background. It’s a treat to watch - and even more fun to participate in - but it’s also important to understand that the judging is very strict in terms of potential injury to the dog - if you ask your Min Pin to perform a task that could lead to serious injury - you’ll be disqualified and you won’t be asked back - so keep in mind that this event is supposed to be fun - not life threatening.

Min Pins do extremely well at both agility training and flying disc competitions - just two ways to get your darling involved in something that will keep him or her happy and healthy, and provide an outlet for all that energy!