Agility Training for Fun

Types

• Agility training breaks down into two different categories. The first category is obstacles. Your dog navigates through obstacles that include things like teeter-totters, ramps and tunnels. The second category is control training, where your dog needs to be obedient to your commands. One example of control training is convincing your dog to pause on a table for a full five seconds after he has become excited and eager to navigate the obstacles.

Time Frame

• While a dog may need to mature before it is capable of every activity involved in agility training, you can begin agility training with puppies when you first bring them home. Puppies have short attention spans, but they can benefit from starting with control training.

Equipment

• Setting up a dog agility course in your backyard only requires getting the right amount of equipment. A teeter-totter, a rigid or collapsible tunnel and a set of weave poles will get your dog off to a good start. Weave poles are a row of poles planted in the ground; you can train your dog to walk in and out between the poles. An A-frame that your dog will climb and then descend is another useful piece of dog agility equipment, as is a bar hurdle, which your dog will jump.

Benefits

• When you work on agility training with your dog, you are making it more responsive to your commands. You are also giving your dog a chance to be active and to use its mind, which prevents destructive or neurotic behavior. Agility training also has the benefit of giving you a closer bond with your dog, and it can give your time with it more purpose and direction.

Considerations

• The obstacles that you take your dog through should be appropriate for his size and his ability. Do not expect smaller dogs to perform the same jumps as larger dogs. Lower bar hurdles and pause tables for smaller dogs to prevent injury.