I was wondering what kinda of training is recomended for the first year or two for a puppy to be able to have the patience and discipline to take part in sport later on??? Our jackson it still very young and will be in puppy kindergarden in a couples of weeks but I don't know where to go from there!!!
Puppy K is a great place to start. When you're done with that, I'd enroll in a good Basic Obedience group class. I compete in flyball and dabble in rally, agility, and disc and here are a few things I think it's worth working on now.
Things your pup will need for any dogsport are:
The desire and ability to maintain attention to you in the face of all kinds of distractions.
Exellent socialization to people, places, and things. (Fearful, nervous, or aggressive dogs will have extreme difficulty performing in competition venues.)
A rock solid recall so that should something distract your dog you'll be able to get them back to you.
The ability to relax and chill out in a crate for somewhat extended periods of time. All dogsports require you to wait around a while before your dog works, so for safety and practical matters it makes sense to have a dog that is comfortable with being crated.
Some specific things that will make training in dogsports easier for you might be:
Paw target an object like a paper plate placed on the ground. Stationary targets are used often to teach agility contacts.
Nose target your hand/follow your hand. Moving targets (your hand) are useful for training many rally moves as well as getting your dog to follow you around an agility course.
Toy motivation or tugging with rules. If you can build value to a particular toy or tug item, you will have an easy reward that your dog is super enthusiastic to work for. Most flyball dogs run for a tug reward even though you can take food in the lanes because tug can encourage speed. Thrown toy rewards are used extensively in agility to build speed and drive. Other than flyball, you are not allowed to bring food in the ring, so having an alternative reward for your dog--tugging on the leash--when you've finished your round can be a powerful motivator for your dog.
The best thing you can do to prepare your pup for future competition is to work on relationship building skills. Anything you can do to create a relationship where your pup enjoys and wants to work for and with you will serve you well in future dogsports.