LIMITED TIME ONLY! We’re offering a new DVD! Foundation Training set starts at the ground and builds up to a ready-to-run agility partner! You’ll learn how to teach name recognition, focus, releases, touches, stays, crosses, flatwork, and many other invaluable agility skills! Available for a limited time only from Affordable Agility. Call (1-800-254-9441) or email us (sales@affordableagility.com) for availability.
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18Jan
Tags: Affordable Agility News, agility beginners, agility training
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10Jan
Dogwalk planks are 12” across and require great foot dexterity to navigate safely. If you begin teaching puppies and young dogs on the flat how to keep their paws under control (and under their bodies!) you will have a step ahead on safely navigating dogwalks and A-frames.Lay the ladder flat on the ground and coax or shape your dog to walk it. When they trot along the length of the ladder confidently, flip it onto its legs and ask the dog to walk that way, raising each foot high, like a football player.
Ladders teach the dog not only to be aware of their feet, but also to walk along a long, narrow length. By training your dog on a ladder, you are helping them learn how to run over a dogwalk beam.
After your dog has mastered ladders, start them on a plank on the ground, then on cinderblocks. Soon you’ll have a brilliant dogwalker!
Tags: agility safety, agility training
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03Jan
I understand that as your dog becomes more confident as as we become better handlers, that the dog’s speed will often increase. But aside from that, or in addition to that, can speed and drive be trained/encouraged? Thanks for your help! An Agility StudentDear Agility Student,
Yes, speed and drive can be trained and encouraged! Reward the fastest performances highly, and give lesser rewards for not-so-quick but still-good work. Your dog will catch on, unless they are VERY ‘soft’. Another trick is to speed up yourself! If you’re running, suddenly agility is WAY more fun. Be careful not to outrun your dog too far when they’re not ready for it- I’ve done that with mine and it makes him bail off the side of an A-frame – SO dangerous.You can also try varying your rewards – maybe different kinds of snacks, or new toys mixed in sometimes will get your dog revved!
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27Dec
Contact training is a necessary step in agility, both for your dogs’ safety and your sanity. Stopping on a contact can give you enough time to catch up, lead out, or find where you are on course! Training contact stops should be fun and rewarding for your dog, using a target to learn the behavior, and then fading the target. Pay attention to your dogs. Dogs may learn this behavior at different rates. It’s important not to bore them by drilling them in contacts, and it’s also important they feel that contacts are fun.REMEMBER: keep sessions very, very short, 1-2 minutes at most, since dogs burn out quickly on targets.
- Shape the dog to target with his nose or paw, whichever you prefer. Many handlers prefer the nose since it seems clearer to the dog that they MUST stop. Reward repetitive touches, or ‘holding’ the touch. Build value for touching enthusiastically!
- Practice targeting on stairs, and then fade the target itself, thus leaving your dog with a nose touch to ground behavior. Use any stairs you can, in different settings. Keep sessions short and highly rewarding.
- Begin practicing the targeting on contact behavior, again beginning with the target so your dog ‘gets it’, and then fading the target, leaving the dog with a nose touch to ground. Keep sessions short and highly rewarding! If at any time your dog’s behavior deteriorates, go back a bit in training, and work your way back up. Never take a good contact stop for granted.
- After the dogs are used to contact training, start them on proofing – so they know to stick it no matter WHAT you do!
If you prefer not to train a 2on2off for any reason, these contact zoners will help your dog learn not to ‘fly off’,
Tags: agility training
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19Dec
Q. My dogs is brilliant on training nights at the club. We can do quite advanced stuff, yet we are still in the beginners for competitions. We attended a competition yesterday and she behaved like a dog that didn’t know what agility was about! She ran up to the Judge for some attention, she ran out of the ring to see someone she knew, and she was s-l-o-w!How do I transfer her wonderful skills at training to a competition?
A. I think your dog just needs a bit more time to learn to work at trials – this is super common for beginner dogs! They get a little bit stressed because of the new atmosphere and their handlers’ jitters, and so they seem to ‘forget’ how to do agility, or go very slowly, or leave the ring altogether. Some things that might help you and your dog are (you can use all, or some, and please let me know if you think of any others! this is a pretty common problem.
- fun runs - go to a trial that offers ‘fun runs’, where you can bring a toy into the ring, or even treats, maybe – ask before you do treats!
- Enter one run at a competition, if possible. This will spare your dog the stresses of crating AND running.
- Bring your dog along (with permission from the trial hosts) and just crate and walk them at the trial. That will get them used to the atmosphere and crating and coming out with lots and lots of dogs!
- Train at another center, if possible, a few times
- Rent a ring with friends and stage your own trial! I like this one, since it allows you to have some of the atmosphere but in a super controlled way.
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