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The Secrets Of Training A Dog For Agility

Introduction & History If you find that Fido is becoming bored with merely walking or that he is becoming hyperactive, to the ruination of your furniture and slippers. If you, yourself are looking to increase your exercise, but want something more challenging than running on a treadmill at the gym, you should consider training Fido for agility. This is a sport that began in the 1970s and challenges dog and owner to complete an obstacle course in the shortest possible time. You may have watched it as a competition during dog shows, but it can just be done as a fun bonding activity for you and your dog.

Type of suitable dog Whilst in competition working and highly intelligent breeds such as Border Collies and Labradors tend to excel, basically any dog can be trained for agility. All that is required is that Fido is fit and healthy and is able to obey basic commands such as sit and stay. It’s even possible to begin training Fido as a puppy. However, because of the strain on the joints it’s best to wait until Fido is at least 8 months.

Equipment As this is an activity based around completing an obstacle course, it is essential that Fido is trained with the obstacles. The equipment generally consists of a tunnel, cones for weaving, an “A” frame, some jumps, possibly a see-saw and a table for the dog to pause on. Oh, and some space to set all the equipment out. If it’s too expensive or space is a problem there may be a club or classes in you neighbourhood. Failing that, obstacles can be improvised, for instance a sheet over a table can be a makeshift tunnel, and any table can be used as a pause table.

Procedure As with most things that are worth while, the training is a slow gradual process. It would be asking a lot of poor old Fido to be able to see an unfamiliar set of equipment, and then just go for it. Start slowly, perhaps with one obstacle, and some very low jumps. Allow Fido to walk around it and become familiar with it. This way it might be a little less intimidating. Be prepared to demonstrated the obstacle yourself, just until Fido gets the idea. Of course when Fido does it correctly give him lots of praise and treats to encourage him. Never punish him: this is supposed to a fun thing to do.

If you are interested in training your dog, for whatever reason, then you can find some qualified help here. There are some wonderful articles available specifically written to help you to train your dog to do anything. And this is information is not restricted to agility training. If your dog jumps, bites or just cries in the night, then there is something that you can do about it.

Monday, May 19th, 2008 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Dog training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.