Dog agility training is one of the most popular ways to keep your pet healthy and fit. It’s merely a canine sport to make pup alive. This sports training includes exercises like teeter-totter, tire jump, weave poles, pause table and much more. All these exercises are undertaken by pet handlers to make sports session safe and secure for the dog.
But before digging more in the exercises, you should know why this training is important and why your dog should try it:
Agility Training Will Incite Your Dog’s Natural Instincts
Wild dogs are innate hunters. Climbing steep slopes, running over a prey, jumping over fallen logs, squeezing through bushes are some of their prime natural instincts that they have, and it is very important to keep them alive. In dog training, time is the key principle. Faster the dog, the better and active he will be. This course is specially made to keep a dog active and help him in fulfilling his chasing desires.
It Is The Best Exercise A Dog Can Get
It is very important to make use of your dog’s excess energy and making him run from different obstacles will do the job. It will not only challenge his body but will also make your pooch mentally strong and active. Moreover, this exercise is helpful in making their muscles strong, to keep them fit, boost their endurance and helps them improve coordination.
It Will Also Help You Get In Shape
As a trainer, you’ll also have to run along with your dog, assist him on jumps, help him weaving through poles and this way, you and your pet will be competing with each other. So indirectly, you will also be doing hard workouts along with your dog.
It Will Strengthen The Bond Between You And Your Dog
These kinds of courses are made to let your pet play and compete with their trainers. As the dog in the training session completely relies on handler’s verbal and hand instructions, their trust will excel. Moreover, helping your pet doing tough exercises will help reinforce the bond.
Now when you know that agility training is very helpful, you might be pondering upon how to start it, which equipment you will need, and much more. To begin you’ll need these things:
- Weave poles
- Dogwalk
- Standard jumps
- Tunnel
- Tire table teeter board
- Pause table
Weave poles
Strike 10 to 15 ski poles or simple PVC pipes into the ground and you’re done. Allow your dog to pass through the poles. Also, make sure to maintain enough space between the poles so that your dog can safely pass through each.
Dogwalk
Always use a picnic bench or an open ground to take your dog on the walk, and make sure your dog is walking properly. If your pooch jumps on people or does notorious things while walking, here are few tips you can use to train him how to walk:
- Walk in front of your dog
- Always use a small dog leash
- Once your dog starts maintaining proper discipline, don’t forget to reward him
Standard jumps
Making a standard jump track is very easy. Just stack some cinderblocks at the top of one another, place strips of plywood on the top and command your dog to jump over that. Don’t forget to adjust the height of blocks as per your dog’s height. Moreover, if you don’t have any blocks or plywood, simply slide high-quality pine wood log in holes and it’s done.
Passing Through Tunnel
Buy an agile dog tunnel and let him crawl from them. Tunnels are made up of heavy duty PVC material to resist wear and tear. Basically, tunnels are of two types- practice tunnels and competition tunnels. Practice tunnels are simple to use and very affordable. Also, they are perfect for training every size of dogs. They are sturdy, heavy and indestructible. Competition tunnels can be used if you want a highly disciplined pet.
Tire jump
To help a dog master his jumps, tire jump is fun and sturdy obstacle. They are mostly used for agility trials and come in free size. Any size of dog can pass through it, be it your Labrador, Pug or any other. Moreover, if you want to save some money, you can DIY tire jump. Just take an old tire of a bike and hang it on the pole or at a tree branch. Also, don’t forget to hold the tire while making your dog jump through it. Otherwise, you will end up hurting him.
Teeterboards
Teeterboard is great for maintaining precision and balance in the dog. Although your pooch might find it difficult at his first attempt and may struggle walking on it, but after several attempts, he will understand it and will be fully prepared to work it out. You can build this board using some long pieces of board or any other robust board or PVC pipe.
How To Begin With Exercising Sessions
Being an amateur is not at all embarrassing; it’s just where you should begin. Once you have all the hurdles ready for your pet, bring him to the ground and start training. Just make sure that before you start, your pooch is following your basic commands like sit, lie, come, stay.
Begin the training and help your dog throughout the session. Make him crawl through the tunnels. But first, teach him how to do it. Make him jump through tires and other hurdles and praise him every time he gets it right.
Don’t rush, go slow at first and when your dog masters all commands, pick up the pace. Work on increasing his speed and accuracy. Your motto is not to hurt him, instead to make him active and stronger. Also, you should know- not every dog can become an expert instantly; you have to be patient and let your dog enjoy the session.