You might have found yourself looking for a way to really bond with your dog. Or maybe you just want to get outside and moving more. Maybe it’s that your dog really needs some more exercise and stimulation… Well agility might be what you’re looking for!
The problem is, when you are looking at an agility course with all the obstacles set out, you’ll probably be overwhelmed and not know how to start. We got you covered! The aim of agility competitions is to complete the course as quickly and as accurately as possible, for the handler to guide the dog along the right path and follow the right obstacles. But your goal should be for you and your dog to have as much fun as possible.
There are many approaches you can take to your agility training but we recommend starting small with just a few obstacles and be patient as you and your dog learn the basics of agility.
First of all, it would be beneficial to understand or know the basic obstacles you may come across. You can even think about your dog, all the obstacles and which ones would be easiest to learn first. If you would like to find some of this information on our website then you can visit then these two posts would be most helpful:
- Dog Leads and Agility Equipment for Training (Just the Agility Equipment sections)
- Our Agility Page
The first command that you train really depends on your dog. You would want to start off with the obstacle that your dog would probably find the easiest so you (and your dog) can get a feel for the sport. Generally, the agility jump is always a good first go-to as lots of dogs find this command simple. However, all dogs are different and it is up to you to decide what would be best to start off with.
It’s easy to think that the tunnel would be easiest to teach and in a lot of cases, its not. Some dogs would be so eager to just run through it and that’s great! But the question is, can you turn that action into a command? When training however, other (and a lot) of dogs will not be keen to go into this mysterious tunnel and they would be very hesitant, opting to go around it when you ask them to go through. Of course, there’s a way to get past this roadblock but we’ll discuss that another time.
A-Frames, Seesaws and Dog Walks we wouldn’t recommend starting with. To cut it shortly, its just because these are slightly more complicated for starting off with their contact zones. Weave Poles are debatably the hardest obstacle to get right and train, so we also would say this isn’t for starting.
What we’re saying is, agility Jumps and Pause Tables are probably your best options to start off with. Of course, keeping in mind that this can obviously differ depending on the dog.
To get your agility journey started, we recommend training an easier command first (in this case we’ll use ‘Agility Jumps’ as our example) and then as your dog and you get used to that, start adding different obstacles. Remember, don’t rush this – it will take some time and you probably won’t be running a full agility course with your dog in a few days.
When you’re learning these first commands, it’s a great idea to learn a bit more about agility handling yourself. Once your dog has learnt some commands and you are making a course for them, try walking the course by yourself first to get in your head the direction you’re going and the way you will run. Make sure to take it slow on your dog, they don’t need to be super speed, just have fun and do the obstacles the right way.
You obviously can’t do agility without the obstacles, right? But you don’t necessarily need top end equipment made for professional competitions. Simple equipment will do, the only aspect that is needed from that simple obstacle is ‘is it safe for my dog?’ and ‘does this pose a risk for them?’. Obviously, there is lots of risks in agility because an active sport but if you take the right safety measures first then you and your dog should be safe.
We recommend not doing an agility session for too long, if you see your dog getting tired, bored, distracted or frustrated, it might be time to take a break and continue another day. Before getting into your agility course, make sure your dog is warmed up, take them for a walk or get them to do a few ‘sit, down, sit, down etc’ or ‘sit, stand, sit, down etc’. Get them warmed up so that when they are running fast or completing jumps there is much less risk of injury.
If you don’t want to spend money on your agility course, then make it! Yep, you heard us right! You can simply use items found in your house to make obstacles! For example, use chairs for tunnels, cones or objects in a line for weave poles and books stacked in two different piles with a broom laying on top for a jump!
Agility is a sport meant for you and the dog to have loads of fun and bond with each other. Do it in the way you like! You don’t need to be super speed in your course, just have fun. Video yourself starting out and then as you continue your agility journey to see your progress! Have fun with this, even if you are not planning to go to competitions, agility can just be a fun activity for at home.
Notes:
- Please take caution in agility because there are risks and posibilites of injuries to both you and your dog. However, with precaution and the right safety measures these can be prevented or put to a much lower risk!
- If your dog is older or has some sort of medical problems, please assess with your vet if agility will be safe for them
- Make sure to not push your dog and not put jumps too high!
- This post does not go through the method to teach these commands but this will be discussed in a later post.
- Please check our blog and Agility page for more info!