While teaching dog agility skills to your furry friend is fun and an excellent way to provide exercise, not every dog is suited to agility training, and there are a few things you need to think about before training starts. If you wish to start agility lessons, here is some information that might help you get the most out of this experience.
Your dog's general energy level and physical condition also are important initial considerations. A dog that is easily tired by a walk or can only play briskly for 10-15 at a time might not be well suited to agility training. A dog that is partially blind or perhaps deaf or an amputee might still enjoy agility training, but some organizations do not allow these animals to compete. However, a dog in great condition with lots of playful energy can be the perfect candidate for agility training.
While puppies older than eight weeks can begin agility training at any time, they will need special mini equipment. This mini agility equipment is designed for both puppies as well as smaller breeds, and is much safer for puppies, whose bodies are still developing. Puppies love scampering about an agility course and investigating the equipment and this is fine, as long as they are well supervised. One great piece of equipment is the mini pause table, where puppies can learn to sit, stay and pause for several seconds at a time. Not only is this an important part of agility training, it is a great way to introduce general obedience skills. There are also mini dog walks, mini teeters, mini chutes and mini a-frames. You also can adjust most jumps to make them suitable for small dogs and puppies.
Another advantage of using the mini equipment is that it simply takes up less room. While a regular-sized dog walk, teeter, weaves and other items might not fit in your yard easily, the mini equipment can be a better fit. It also will take up less storage space if you need to keep it in your garage. In addition, mini equipment makes rainy day training a snap. Simple move some sofas out of the way and practice skills indoors. This can be an excellent way to continue training and burn off energy during inclement weather.
If you have ever watched a dog agility competition, you probably were amazed by the skills and speed of these animals and it certainly is impressive to see. However, these dogs have spent several years honing these skills, and while your dog will learn them, don't expect to hit the Grand Prix of Dog Agility in a matter of weeks. Time and plenty of patience is needed for training, and always remember this is supposed to be a fun activity for you and your dog. Start out slowly by learning one apparatus at time. You might begin with a jump, a tunnel or a pause table. A-frames and teeters can be a bit intimidating at first. Once you are doing well on one piece of equipment, add a new skill and so on.
Your first step to getting started is to acquire some quality dog agility equipment. For your dog agility course, you might consider beginning with a starter kit from Carlson Agility. These kits contain a few pieces of basic equipment. One kit, for instance, includes dog agility weaves and four agility jumps. Another kit contains two jumps and a dog agility tunnel. In addition to the many starter kits, Carlson Agility also sells individual pieces of equipment such as dog agility walks, A-frames, teeter totters, tire jumps and much more.
Your dog's general energy level and physical condition also are important initial considerations. A dog that is easily tired by a walk or can only play briskly for 10-15 at a time might not be well suited to agility training. A dog that is partially blind or perhaps deaf or an amputee might still enjoy agility training, but some organizations do not allow these animals to compete. However, a dog in great condition with lots of playful energy can be the perfect candidate for agility training.
While puppies older than eight weeks can begin agility training at any time, they will need special mini equipment. This mini agility equipment is designed for both puppies as well as smaller breeds, and is much safer for puppies, whose bodies are still developing. Puppies love scampering about an agility course and investigating the equipment and this is fine, as long as they are well supervised. One great piece of equipment is the mini pause table, where puppies can learn to sit, stay and pause for several seconds at a time. Not only is this an important part of agility training, it is a great way to introduce general obedience skills. There are also mini dog walks, mini teeters, mini chutes and mini a-frames. You also can adjust most jumps to make them suitable for small dogs and puppies.
Another advantage of using the mini equipment is that it simply takes up less room. While a regular-sized dog walk, teeter, weaves and other items might not fit in your yard easily, the mini equipment can be a better fit. It also will take up less storage space if you need to keep it in your garage. In addition, mini equipment makes rainy day training a snap. Simple move some sofas out of the way and practice skills indoors. This can be an excellent way to continue training and burn off energy during inclement weather.
If you have ever watched a dog agility competition, you probably were amazed by the skills and speed of these animals and it certainly is impressive to see. However, these dogs have spent several years honing these skills, and while your dog will learn them, don't expect to hit the Grand Prix of Dog Agility in a matter of weeks. Time and plenty of patience is needed for training, and always remember this is supposed to be a fun activity for you and your dog. Start out slowly by learning one apparatus at time. You might begin with a jump, a tunnel or a pause table. A-frames and teeters can be a bit intimidating at first. Once you are doing well on one piece of equipment, add a new skill and so on.
Your first step to getting started is to acquire some quality dog agility equipment. For your dog agility course, you might consider beginning with a starter kit from Carlson Agility. These kits contain a few pieces of basic equipment. One kit, for instance, includes dog agility weaves and four agility jumps. Another kit contains two jumps and a dog agility tunnel. In addition to the many starter kits, Carlson Agility also sells individual pieces of equipment such as dog agility walks, A-frames, teeter totters, tire jumps and much more.
About the Author:
Cheng Bernhardt loves dog agility training. To get further details about dog training equipment or to learn more about other equipment such as dog agility tunnels, please check out the Carlson-Agility.com website today.
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