At Carlson Agility, we typically write about agility equipment from the perspective of handlers and dog parents. Today, we want to mix it up a little bit and provide some insight from our furry friends. We’ve spent decades training and caring for dogs, and this is what we believe our dogs would tell us about agility training if only they could.
1. We Feel Better After Agility Training
While we dogs don’t know much about exercise, we know that after we jump and run around an agility course, we feel really good. Our muscles are warm, and our heart feels happier.
After we’ve dashed through the weave poles, carefully climbed up and down the teeter and a-frame and leaped through a tire jump, we feel ready to take on a day of napping on a large circular cushion strategically placed in a sunbeam. When we don’t use our agility equipment, we feel bored and sometimes we decide to bark a lot or chew on your leather sofa or even those nice new shoes you just bought for Cousin Athena’s wedding. If you use agility equipment with us, even for just 20 minutes each day, we will be happier and healthier and less likely to bark excessively or get into trouble.
2. Agility Equipment Is Interesting
Don’t get us wrong, we love going out for our daily walks. There are so many interesting things to smell and see and hear! We also love to play tug and fetch and find the stuffed Yoda (he is always hiding from us).
But using agility equipment makes us feel like those brave ancient dogs from long ago. When we crawl through an agility tunnel, we are really diving under a pile of leaves, chasing a sly fox. When we jump over agility jumps, we are dashing through the forest in search of a tasty rabbit supper.
Dashing around weave poles is just like navigating through trees in a forest. It’s fun, and once, when you left Animal Planet on and went to dinner (you should always stay home), we heard that agility training exercises all of the parts of our body as well as providing good exercise for our minds.
3. We Love To Compete, But We Don’t Have To
You may be unaware, but when you watch those dog agility competitions on TV, we’ve been paying attention and they look like a lot of fun. Those good dogs are having their best day ever, and we would love to train and train and train and become television dog agility stars.
However, we also will be perfectly happy just playing around our backyard agility course. Even if we never go to an agility competition, we will still have a blast using our agility equipment and we will be healthier and happier. Dog agility equipment can be a perfect option for backyard fun for any dog, even if our dog parents don’t want to train us for dog competitions.
4. Please Be Patient With Us & Have Fun
While we love the fun of using agility equipment and need the exercise, the biggest reason we love agility is that we get to spend time with our mommy or daddy or human brother or sister. Spending time with our humans is the best thing in the whole world, especially if they are having fun, too.
We know that sometimes, teaching us to use the a-frame or the dog walk or how to turn and move from one piece of agility equipment to another can be hard, but please be patient with us. We learn much faster when our humans are patient and provide us with love and praise. If you start to feel frustrated, we are happy to head inside, grab two or three treats and cuddle on the couch for a dose of much-needed TV time (as long as we aren’t watching shows about cats).
5. Small Dogs Love Agility Equipment, Too!
Small dogs are people, too! Well, maybe not people, but we are creatures that love agility training and using agility equipment. While we cannot handle full-size jumps or super tall a-frames, you can purchase us some mini agility equipment and we will have a blast.
Just about any size and breed of dog loves to use agility equipment, and the rescue dogs out there also wanted to let you know that using agility equipment can be a great way to increase the bond between them and their new family. When we find success on the dog agility course, this can give us confidence and spending quality time with our dog parents helps us feel safer and happier in our new forever home.
Need Agility Equipment? We Can Help! Now that you know that your dog wants to try out some dog agility training equipment, we can provide you with whatever items you might need. While our top-quality, handcrafted agility equipment can be used for competition training, our jumps, weave poles, dog tunnels and contact equipment also can provide your dog with tons of backyard fun. If you have any questions about our dog agility equipment, just click on the Contact tab on our homepage and fill out our quick contact form.
