Agility Drills for Dogs

Agility trials can be a lot of fun for both dogs and their humans. Whether you plan to actually compete in events or just play at home, running agility drills is an excellent way to be closer to your dog. With a little bit of creativity, you can set up your own challenging agility course at home. You can then change those agility obstacles around, setting up new challenges for your dog as he learns the basics of agility training and moves up the levels.

  1. Create Your Own Jumps

    • Jumps are a basic part of any agility course, and teaching your dog to jump can be a very enjoyable part of agility training. It is easy to set up your own jumps at home using common household objects, like milk crates, buckets and logs. After those obstacles are in place, you can test your dog's natural jumping ability. Some dogs will take to the jumps without any prodding, while others may need a bit of encouragement to get over those high hurdles. As with any other type of training, it is important to give your dog plenty of rewards and treats when he does a great job.

    Serpentine Course

    • A serpentine course is an excellent agility training drill, and you can construct a course at home. One of the easiest, and cheapest, ways to make a serpentine course for agility training is to buy a bunch of small PVC pipes at your local hardware store and mount them in coffee cans filled with sand. For dogs just starting with agility training, place those coffee cans far enough apart, so your dog can easily go through them. As your dog gets better at navigating those obstacles, you can make the serpentine course shorter and more challenging. Agility competition courses have the poles set one in front of the other, and each competitor must weave through the obstacle. Dog owners can set up a similar slalom course at home, or they can move the cans and poles around to create different obstacles dogs can use to build their agility and gain confidence.

    Crawl Through Tunnels

    • Anyone who has ever watched dog agility trials has seen those dogs running through tiny tunnels, and tunnel training can be an interesting agility drill to enjoy with your dog. You can purchase ready-made tunnels from a variety of sources, including pet stores and Internet retailers. Some dogs take to the tunnels right away, running through the obstacles with little or no guidance. Others may need some time to investigate the new objects before they start the drill. As always, encourage your dog to learn and grow by giving plenty of praise and treats when your dog does a great job.