We are going to end our week of contact discussion with a video of the worst contact UPSIDE I’ve ever seen. It’s both funny and sad.
Why do YOU think this little dog did what he did? And what sorts of things can help in the future?
By the way, this video is in Italian. “Salto” (which the girl keeps repeating) means ‘jump’.
Tags: agility training, simply funny, videos
This is another really good video from ExpertVillage. Target training is an easy way to get your dog to do contacts reliably, since there is no ambiguity. Since dogs don’t understand the concept of the ‘yellow zone’, giving them something definite to touch teaches them exactly what you want! When you phase out the target, the dog learns that its’ the action of touching the ground you wanted at the end of the contact zone. Check out this post here for more on target training!
Tags: agility training, videos
Seeing such a big dog doing agility always makes me happy! It’s fun for all shapes and sizes and breeds, since the competition itself is beating the clock, and having fun with your dog. The dog is obviously having fun here- but watch out for that wagging tail, it could knock down an unwary handler!
Tags: dog breeds, videos
….goes up the big dogwalk! I hope you enjoy this video of Mixy the Chihuahua! I think he’s probably one third the size of my cat! (I have a fat cat). Never underestimate a small dog! What they lose in length of stride, they often make up for in precision. TDAA is a great organization for anyone with a smaller dog, since USDAA course times especially can be a bit hard to navigate with a smaller, ’slower’ dog (slow is subjective and relative). There, the courses are designed for small dogs, by small dog owners! Since teacups don’t need as much space between obstacles, the courses are about half-sized! What do you think of TDAA? Have we got any happy TDAA-ers here?
Tags: agility organizations, dog breeds, videos
Having one jump is great. Having multiple jumps is just over-the-top awesome! The standard bar jump is not only the ‘core’ of agility courses (you’ll see more of these than any other obstacles in a trial) but as you progress in your agility training, you’ll want to try these fun and challenging multi-jump exercises. We’ll show you how using more than one jump can take your agility training to new heights.
Speeding down a row. One of the arrangements you’ll find on courses and can practice at home is an equally spaced row of jumps. Send your dog down the line of at least four jumps. At the end of the jumps reward and praise your dog to encourage his drive. This series is fun for your dog, and good exercise! After practicing until you’re both comfortable, you can ask him to return down the line again, ahead of you, using a command like ‘go jump!’. This teaches your dog to run boldly ahead of you on command (distance work). Once he’s trained to run the row with drive, you can also add the challenge of interrupting his row jumping. While you run alongside him, call him out to you between jumps. This is challenging because once your dog is lov’n the row of jumps, he may not want to quickly stop and come. This is where having a good recall is important.
Squares, pivots, and figure eights, oh my! Another beneficial exercise is square pivoting. Set four jumps up in a square and stand in the center. Send your dog ahead of a jump (you stay in the center) and direct him to come to you in the center, over the jump again. Then send him over another jump. There are many additional exercises you can do with 4 jumps in a square. Try standing outside and sending him into the center, then calling him back out, or doing figure eights by standing in the corner between two jumps.
How many jumps are ideal? While training clubs need more, a home course will do fine with 4 jumps (sold here in a great portable set!), though 6 are even better. Both squares and rows need at least 4. Make certain you leave enough take-off and landing room for your dog between jumps!
What kind of jumps should I have on my home course? For the exercises listed above, a simple “bar jump ” is all you need. They’re easy to travel with, and can be easily moved around your course. To add more of a challenge to these jumps you can add wings to help your dog learn to work farther away from your side.
Tags: agility beginners, agility training, videos
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