If you are ready to get started with dog agility, the dog tunnel can be a great option for early training and it’s even safe for puppies. Of course, while we humans understand that there is a light at the end of the dog tunnel, your furry friend might be a bit hesitant at first about using this piece of dog agility equipment, so here are a few quick tips to make it easier.
- Sniff, Sniff, Sniff
Dogs can be a lot like children. Remember the first time you helped your toddler go down a slide or climb up onto playground equipment? Some love it right away, and some need a bit of coaxing and support. Well, it’s just the same with dogs and agility equipment. Some dogs will be interested in the dog tunnel right away and feel perfectly comfortable heading through the tunnel.
Your first step should be to just put the dog tunnel on the ground (or even in the living room) and let your dog sniff around. Then you can get down on all fours and show your dog how to look into the tunnel. If you fit, you can even get into the tunnel and demonstrate, but typically most people can only fit head and shoulders in the tunnel. At any rate, have some fun with it so that your dog sees that the tunnel is exciting and not something to be feared.
- Select An Assistant
Once your pup has had some time to sniff about, grab your assistant and have them sit at one end of the tunnel while you sit at the other end. Coax your dog into the tunnel and have your assistant tell them to “come,” and encourage them to go through to the other side.
Sometimes this works best if your dog’s favorite person in the whole world is at the other end of the tunnel. This person can show their face and enthusiastically call to the dog. This usually encourages even the most fearful of dogs to at least venture partway into the tunnel. If they get scared and retreat, just provide some much-needed love and be patient.
- Grab Some Treats
Treats, in general, should be used sparingly during agility training, but when you first start training with a dog tunnel, this can be a good time to make an exception. Grab a tiny training treat and have you or your assistant hold it at the exit end of the tunnel. Then encourage your pup to head through the dog tunnel to acquire this tasty morsel.
In some cases, you might want to show the dog the treat first and then guide them back to the start of the tunnel. Then have your assistant hold the treat as far into the tunnel as possible. As your dog enters the tunnel to get the treat, move the hand back so that the dog has to fully exit the tunnel. Once they have exited the tunnel, give them the treat, but also heap on some enthusiastic praise so that they associate a trip through the tunnel with making their human companions proud and pleased.
- Develop An Exit Strategy
Alright, so far, dog agility tunnels seem like one of the easiest pieces of dog agility equipment to teach, and you aren’t wrong. While getting them used to the tunnel and zipping through it is important, it’s what they do after they exit the tunnel that’s important especially if you intend to participate in dog agility competitions.
During competitions, dogs must dash through the tunnel and either exit to the right, the left or straight ahead depending on which obstacle is next. They look to the handler to determine which way to go, so you must train your dog to look for you as they exit the dog tunnel.
If you haven’t taught agility commands yet, you could simply teach them to look to you and give them a command to stay and sit. Eventually, you will want them to be able to move flawlessly in whatever direction you need and head to the next obstacle.
But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if you are teaching the tunnel as one of your first obstacles, the real exit strategy will have to wait. If you can simply train your dog to look for a command from you while exiting the tunnel, this will be a big help when you really dive deep into training with multiple obstacles.
Overwhelmed With Training? Create A Schedule
When you first get started with dog agility, you probably will just have two or three obstacles set up and this makes training fairly simple. But what happens when you have four, five or more obstacles and want to train new obstacles, yet ensure your dog doesn’t forget what already has been taught?
Create a schedule for each training session and check off each task as your dog moves through the agility routine. A training schedule might look like this:
- Warm Up & Stretches
Humans need to warm up before a workout or a sporting event and so do dogs. Warming up gets those muscles warm and prevents injuries. You could take a short walk around the block to burn off some energy and then engage in some stretching exercises before working on agility skills.
- Run the Course
Before you start to teach a new skill, have your dog run through a course with dog agility equipment they already have mastered. For instance, perhaps you’ve taught a basic agility dog jump, the dog tunnel and the tire jump. Have them run through this course two or three times to remind your dog what to do. It can be smart to switch up the order of each obstacle from day to day. Perhaps on Monday, you run jump, tunnel, jump, tire jump, while on Tuesday, you run tire jump, tunnel, jump, jump.
- Teach New Skills
For this third step in your practice session, introduce a new obstacle, such as the dog agility teeter or perhaps the pause table or maybe a bigger jump. Practice this skill several times and keep at it each day until your dog seems to have mastered the skill. Then add it to the course.
- Cool Down
Take a gentle walk around the yard or complete a few more stretching exercises to cool down and get ready for rest. Make sure there is always a water dish nearby so that your furry friend can grab a drink whenever they need one.
In general, these tasks should be completed in about 20 minutes. We recommend that you stick with short training sessions. Dogs have short attention spans, and too much exertion also could be a bad thing. A 20-minute workout once or twice each day is probably enough to keep the skills fresh in your dog’s mind without tiring your dog out and causing frustration.
Remember, it’s all about fun, so if you find yourself getting frustrated or your dog becoming confused or upset, stop the training session, give your dog some loving pats and come back again tomorrow. Even the most exciting activity can feel frustrating at times, so when that happens, save agility for another day.
At Carlson Agility, we can provide you with any type of dog agility equipment that you might need, including a dog tunnel, weave poles, jumps, teeters, pause tables, agility a-frames, agility dog walks and helpful training tools. All of our items are handmade using the finest components. If you have any questions about our products, don’t hesitate to send us an email at any time.
