When you begin teaching your sweet pooch some dog agility skills, you’ll find that every piece of dog agility equipment presents some training challenges. In the case of the agility a-frame, many dogs are a bit nervous about this contact obstacle, but if you follow our handy tips for success, your dog will be enjoying the a-frame in no time at all.
1. Don’t Rush It
In many of our articles, we emphasize the idea of slowly introducing each piece of equipment to your dog. This is especially true with equipment such as the teeter, dog walk and agility a-frame. Dogs can be nervous about the elevation of these pieces of equipment, so give your dog time to sniff around and explore. If your dog seems nervous, you can even put on a leash and lead them up and down the a-frame, and feel free to coax your furry pal with a treat, if necessary.
2. Grab A Partner
We highly recommend that you use a helper the first time you teach the agility a-frame as well as the dog walk. Dogs can be a bit unsteady on these items at first and having someone stand on each side of the a-frame can help keep the dog steady and prevent falls. The a-frame is a bit more intimidating then the dog walk, as it features a sharper elevation with no flat plank in the middle, although it is wider than the dog walk, which definitely helps. It can be a bit scary for your dog once the reach the top of the A, and having a helper can make it a little less stressful.
3. Begin With A Mini Agility A-Frame
If you have a puppy or a small breed dog, you definitely will want to train using a miniature agility a-frame. But even with a larger dog, using a mini a-frame might be a good idea, particularly if you are working with a somewhat nervous dog. We sell miniature versions of all of our contact equipment, including the dog agility a-frame, dog walks, teeters and even pause tables.
4. Use Training Hoops
If you look at our selection, you will notice that the agility a-frame has a yellow-painted section and a green or blue-painted section. During a competition, dogs must make contact in those yellow sections. They will receive a lesser score if they leap onto the blue section. Of course, dogs often love to leap high onto the equipment so it’s imperative that you train them where to run on and off the a-frame.
We suggest using training hoops to help with this issue. It can be wise to use the hoops for a few weeks, an, later down the road, if you notice that your dog once again is leaping on the a-frame, put the hoops back on and re-train. While you obviously won’t see these hoops at a competition, using them for training can really help improve your dog’s accuracy with both the agility a-frame and the dog walk. The training hoops are made from sturdy PVC and slide under the base of each end of the a-frame or dog walk.
At Carlson Agility, we have several agility a-frame options. We have wooden eight-foot and 9-foot dog agility a-frames, as well as a four-foot miniature agility a-frame. We also have training hoops, and we recommend using our heavy-duty ground mat, which provides protection from damp or wet ground, thus preserving the life of your equipment.
In addition to the agility a-frame options, we also have teeters, dog walks, pause tables, weaves and every type of agility jump that you might need. Most of our items are available in full competition size as well as in mini sizes. If you aren’t sure which pieces to select first, consider purchasing on our handy starter kits and then just adding to your collection as your canine companion masters the starter kit items.
