If you are just getting started with dog agility, you might be concerned about your skills as a handler. While the ability to teach each piece of equipment and teach your dog how to navigate an agility dog course is crucial, there are a few other characteristics that a great handler will possess, including the following.
1. Patience Is The Top Job Requirement
Dogs are wonderful and amazing creatures, but they don’t always do exactly what we expect. While your dog might seem like the ideal candidate for agility, it’s quite possible that your first forays onto the agility dog course might not go exactly how you plan. Your dog might be timid around the equipment or perhaps it will take longer than you think to teach each skill.
Always remember that it’s ok if things don’t go according to plan. Just take a deep breath, and remind yourself that agility is all about having fun and bonding with your special dog. Every day doesn’t have to be perfect, but it can always be fun and full of exercise and sometimes, that’s enough.
2. Listen To Your Dog
When it comes to dog agility, it’s always wise to expect the unexpected and be ready to change your handling and teaching strategies based upon your dog’s personality and inclinations. Handlers with multiple dogs see the truth of this statement all the time. While certain strategies might work well with one dog, they might not work at all with another dog.
3. Create A Flexible Plan
Creating lesson plans helps keep you focused, so before you and your dog ever walk out to your backyard to practice dog agility, sit down and craft a plan. Decide which pieces of dog agility equipment you wish to teach first, and how you wish to teach. Take notes after each session to help you adjust the plan, noting which strategies worked best and where you might have areas of concern. Just about every teacher will create a lesson plan, and a dog agility handler also needs to create these as well. Keep in mind that these plans don’t have to be followed to the letter. Being flexible is a huge part of dog agility and sometimes, with dogs, it’s best just to go with the flow during a training session.
4. Keep In Shape
dog agility can be a great way to keep your dog healthy and in shape, but it’s also a healthy activity for handlers. Handling is hard work, and it’s definitely physically challenging. If you want to have plenty of stamina for dog agility, it can be a good idea to spend some time working out in addition to the time you spend on the agility dog course. This could include a few walks during the day with your furry friend or perhaps working out at a local gym or at home.
5. Talk To Fellow Handlers
Those dogs on TV sure make zipping around an agility dog course look easy, don’t they? However, those dogs (and their handlers) invested many hours of time into this sport before they ever set foot at a competition. Training takes time, and it’s definitely not always easy. If you are stumped dealing with a training issue, consider talking to other handlers and asking them for advice. There are thousands of handlers out there and plenty of online communities and local agility clubs where you can mix and mingle with other handlers.
If you are ready to get started with dog agility, take a look at our selection of agility dog course equipment and select a piece or two with which to start training. We sell everything you might need for dog agility, including some helpful starter kits. All pieces of equipment are available a la carte, as well. We also have some helpful training tools and even mini agility equipment, which can be great for small or timid dogs as well as perfect for some indoor rainy day training. If you have any questions about any of our products, don’t hesitate to send us an email today.
