• 05Aug

  Back It Up!

  Dog Agility Training No Comments

  Teaching a dog to walk backwards is easy and fun!  It’s also useful for several things, like stepping away from a swinging doors, improving foot dexterity, and just flat-out cute!

  I trained my dog to back up with his breakfast bowl.  I would hold the bowl and move it towards him, slowly, and he would back up to keep his eyes on it.  Eventually I could simply make the hand motion, without the bowl, and say back-back-back, and he’d shuffle along obligingly!

  Now, however, I want to take this trick to the next level, and retrain it to him using shaping instead of luring, and maybe add some low-level cavalettis. I think it’ll help him improve his dexterity even more! Here’s a great video of shaping a dog to walk backwards.

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility training

• 01Aug

  Yahoo!

  Dog Agility Training 2 Comments

  In class last night we set up a ‘yahoo’ – a last run of the night, using lots of obstacles in sequence. It was set up like the scribbled drawing on the right – I’m certainly no artist! (unlike Team Small Dog. Their courses always look amazing and awesome.) It was incredibly fun!!! Quick did pretty well, I think. He refused the tire, and I lost him after the A-frame – I have to be more careful to look back at him!  Otherwise, he bounded along beside me happily.

  We’re still not proficient enough at weaves to use the ones you can see set up in the middle, but to be honest, only one person in the whole class did it, so I didn’t feel bad at all! We had fun.

  Quick needs more work on his one-jump exercises. He knocks the bar a lot, but I’m sure we’ll get there!

  His rewards aren’t exciting him much, either! I use charlee bears because they’re easy and he likes them, but I can definitely tell a difference in his work ethic now that I’ve switched to only using charlee bears. He likes them, he does not love and adore them. Back to freeze-dried liver or something soft and smelly to mix in with the charlee bears, that way he’ll have a lottery experience, I think!

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility training

• 13Jul

  Get The Most Out Of Class!

  Dog Agility Training 2 Comments

  Recently someone asked me how to get the most out of their agility classes – this is the list I came up with! Do you have any other ideas?

  • Be on time for set up – and help set up! Most instructors require this, and it’s no fun when only one person comes in time to do set up and has to do it alone.
  • Put away your cellphone, and turn it to vibrate  Some dogs are frightened by loud cellphone tones.  This can turn a little disastrous on contacts, and you’ll focus better if you put it away for a bit
  • Listen to your instructor and use your crate: popup crates save the day in agility classes, since they’re not so heavy that dragging them around is backbreaking, and settling your dog in there while you’re listening to class instructions makes it easier to concentrate, instead of worrying about the other end of the leash.
  • Have things handy! Have your treats already prepared and safely stored in a treat bag, your leash where you can find it, and everything else you can need organized.  I just leave my trunk ready to go!
  • Bring the best treats and toys.  Sometimes, agility class is just so thrilling that dogs run off to see the sights and sniff the obstacles.  Help keep their attention with the nicest treats and toys.
  • Water I know I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but in almost every class I see a thirsty dog who is getting fussy.
  • Let loose! Don’t obsess about perfect. Perfect will come with practice!  Focus on getting your connection to your dog and having fun.
  • Do your homework! It benefits you and your dog immensely, and helps you get your money’s worth out of the class.  A five minute or less session once or twice a day is better than no practice – and actually is more fun for your dog than half-hour drills.
  • Set up a Distance Sometimes a bit of a distance between crates is a good thing.  For some dogs, it’s  a must!  Respect boundaries.
  • Bring a Chair Agility is full of ‘hurry up and wait’.  When you are waiting your turn with your dog crated, and are just watching, a chair can be a godsend.  I can’t sit on Quick’s crate without fear of crushing him and the crate, so a collapsible chair is handy.  It also holds all your ‘stuff’ while you are out on your turn!

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility training

• 11Jul

  Going Ahead by Leaps and Bounds!

  Dog Agility Training No Comments

  Quick did his very first jump chute!  Amazing, he went from just meeting a jump for the first time last week to doing three in a row, with curvy tunnels on both ends.  He loves, loves, LOVES sequencing.

  Sadly, I got too excited on his teeter and let him do too big a drop.  He got a little scared!  Fortunately, not scared enough to not love his teeter still, once I had lowered it again and softened the bump.  We will work on that a bit more, and I’ll remember to be patient.  Just because Quick loves motion doesn’t mean I can take him from a 6 to a 10 inch drop immediately.

  The first night of outdoor practice, and Quick fell off the dogwalk because a cricket startled him!  I was watching him out of the corner of my eye as he trotted along the plank, happy as a clam with his tail up, and a cricket chirped loudly off to his right.  He turned to look, and yep, there he goes, falling off the 36” dog walk!  He got back up, looking very surprised, and after belly rubs and a treat, we did the dogwalk again, with no further mishaps.  I’m very glad it didn’t scare him so badly we had to start all over.  That would have been hard!

  They’re really not kidding when they say you need a set of weaves at home! I’ve opting to get a set of stick in the grounds, because practice at class is just not enough for him to learn weave behavior.

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility training

• 05Jul

  Big Dog Contact

  Dog Agility Training 1 Comment

  Those of us with larger dogs know what a trial contacts can be.  Not only do our dogs have issues hitting the zones, but also falling off of dogwalks and teeters can be a real possibility!   How can you help your big baby to stay on the contacts?

  • Start your contact training on an A-frame or table.  Get them used to a surface that is wide and solid for their first forays into getting up on things.
  • Use tables on either side of your dogwalk to give ‘step off’ points for your dog to learn to mount and dismount.
  • Train the plank. Train a narrow plank at every opportunity, and jumping on and off a lowered dogwalk.  I go to the park and use the benches as well!
  • Reward with your outside hand that is, the hand on the side away from your dog.  When you turn in towards your dog when they’re on a contact, it can push them out, and off the obstacle.  This is especially common with larger dogs and herding breeds.  Reach in with your outside hand to reward on the plank, and be sure you are rewarding on the center of the plank.
  • Watch the plank, not your dog  Dogs look back at us when we look at them.  By looking at your dog on the plank, you’re asking for their attention.  Watch the plank and they will too.
  • Rubber contacts I hesitate to put this here only because if your dog becomes too dependent on them it can lead to issues.  However, I find that training a dog on rubber contacts until they are confident in their contact abilities to be helpful more than harmful, and as more and more venues rubber coat, this will become less of an issue.
  • Get over your own fears! This was a hard one for me.  I’ll admit, the times I’ve had Quick on a full-height dogwalk I’ve been nervous about it.  There’s no way I could catch him! I had to think to myself that, well, I’ve taught him the best I can, and now it’s up to him and I and our teamwork.   Quick hasn’t let me down when I’ve trusted him to complete something I taught him to do.  He hasn’t fallen uncontrollably.  He HAS slid off, but as soon as he starts to feel the slide, he jumps which is safer.

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility training

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