If your pooch could use a bit of exercise and you are searching for a fun way to burn off some steam, dog agility training equipment could be the perfect option. Agility training provides an amazing full-body workout for your dog and has many other benefits.
Dog Agility Gets Dogs (And Humans) Fit
While walks and playing fetch are great exercise options, dog agility training equipment truly provides an intense all over workout that strengthens muscles and provides aerobic activity.
Dogs that enjoy regular daily exercise aren’t just more physically fit; they also tend to exhibit fewer troublesome behaviors such as chewing on furniture and excessive barking. Often these issues are caused because dogs are bored or anxious. When you provide a great source of exercise, dogs are more content and relaxed and less likely to be destructive or noisy.
And, running around an obstacle course is a great source of exercise for those human companions, as well. These days, we all lead more sedentary lives, but a quick session of dog agility training will get your heart pumping and have a positive effect on your health.
Keep That Human-Dog Bond Strong
Dogs generally bond quickly with their human companions, but if you recently adopted a shy rescue dog, using agility dog training equipment can be a great way to forge a bond or strengthen a tenuous bond. Dogs love agility and they love to please, and great handlers provide a lot of praise during training sessions, which dogs also love.
You will learn a good deal about your dog’s unique personality, and they will learn about your personality and their level of trust will increase. Spending quality time together is the best way to improve your bond with your dog.
Dog agility training equipment also can be used to hone those obedience skills. Start with the pause table, and teach your dog how to sit, stay and lay down. Provide plenty of praise (and maybe a treat or two), and most dogs will be following commands fairly quickly.
What Types Of Dogs Benefit From Training?
Just about any healthy dog can benefit from dog agility. Sure, we all see those Australian shepherds and high-energy breeds zipping around the courses, just about any dog breed (and mutts) can enjoy agility.
We recommend that you talk with your vet first to ensure that agility might be a good fit. Often, lower energy dogs don’t enjoy agility and it also might not be a good fit for dog breeds prone to breathing issues.
As we stated earlier, we do have a full selection of mini agility equipment for sale, which is ideal for those smaller breeds as well as for puppy agility training. Mini equipment also can be a good fit for a nervous dog that might prefer the lower heights of the mini a-frame, dog walk, pause table and teeter.
A note about puppies: With very young dogs, keep agility training sessions very short and use mini equipment (which we sell on our website). It also is recommended that you avoid agility dog jumps until your puppy has stopped growing. Still, a puppy can use many pieces of agility dog training equipment safely as long as the handler is right there next to them.
Typically, young dogs are not eligible to compete on agility courses until after their first birthday, so there’s no rush to start using agility equipment with very young dogs. When you do start, consider working on obedience skills on the pause table, walking through a tunnel or perhaps standing on a buja board, also known as a wobble board. Low to the ground, this helps prepare dogs for equipment such as the teeter and improves a dog’s overall balance.
Should You Compete?
Competitions are a ton of fun, and we highly recommend that you check out a competition or two before taking the plunge into the competition circuit. If you do have a shy or anxious dog or perhaps a dog that doesn’t not get along well with other dogs, competitions might not be a great fit.
At Carlson Agility, we have customers that take part in many competitions every year and we have customers with no interest in competing at all. There’s absolutely no reason why you can’t simply enjoy agility just as backyard fun. If you do opt to compete all of our equipment is the same type of equipment you will find on competition courses.
What Agility Equipment Should You Buy First?
We get asked this question all the time, and it truly doesn’t matter which pieces of dog agility training equipment you purchase first. Many people will start with items such as a basic jump or two and perhaps the pause table because these obstacles tend to be fairly easy to teach, but there’s no hard or fast rule. Some people get started with trickier equipment such as weaves, the teeter or the a-frame.
You can get started by purchasing just a single piece of equipment, or you can take a look at our agility starter kits, which include a mix of obstacles. Then you can simply add additional pieces once your dog has mastered the obstacles in the starter kit.
No matter how you decide to begin, we have just about every piece of agility dog training equipment you might need, and we offer free shipping throughout the continental United States. Each piece of Carlson Agility equipment is durable, handmade and crafted from quality materials.
