There are few obstacles that dogs enjoy more than dog agility jumps, but there’s no getting around the fact that jumping-related injuries can and do occur. Keeping your furry friend safe during training and competition is always foremost on every handler’s mind, but there are a few tips that can improve their safety.
1. Wait To Train
If you have a high-energy puppy on your hands, you might think that jump training is the perfect fit, but puppies and dog agility jumps aren’t a fantastic match. These little growing bodies aren’t really suited to jumping and, if you start too early, there’s a potential for muscle strains and sprains.
It’s best to save jump training until after your puppy has finished growing. In the meantime, there are plenty of other skills you can teach your little pup. For instance, you can work on obedience and pause table skills and incorporate distance training while using the pause table.
At Carlson Agility, we have mini agility pause tables that are ideal for puppy training. Our mini pause table is just 12 inches high, but if that seems too high for your puppy, simply remove the green tabletop and train right on the grass or even bring it inside for some rainy-day training.
Other obstacles that might be more suitable for puppy agility training include tunnels, which your puppy can walk slowly through. To make it easier, simply have a trusted friend at either end of the tunnel and coax your puppy through with a treat. The mini teeter and dog walk also can be good options for puppy training, With the dog walk, just be sure you are there to catch your puppy if he or she takes a misstep.
Basically, with puppies, you simply want to work on obedience skills and building trust and a strong bond between handler and dog. This will make agility training far easier when your dog is ready to proceed with dog agility jumps and other more challenging obstacles such as weaves and the a-frame.
2. Conditioning Is Crucial
Sometimes people focus only on teaching agility skills and not on other types of training and conditioning. Human athletes don’t simply focus on the skills of their sports, either. They run and lift weights and do special exercises to keep their muscles strong and healthy, and dogs need this too.
While humans often are resistant to exercise, dogs typically love any type of exercise and love just spending any time they can with their human companions so conditioning exercises won’t seem like a chore to your pooch.
A daily walk on uneven terrain is one way to increase muscle strength, and, of course, dogs love a walk. This is great cardiovascular exercise, as well, which increases their endurance on the agility course. It’s a good idea to have your dog slowly walk uphill and then slowly walk downhill, as this provides some great conditioning targeting many muscles.
Wobble boards or balance discs also can be a great way to improve balance and strengthen your dog’s core muscles. There are several options with these tools. They can sit on their hind quarters and rest their front paws on the board or disc.
They also can stand and put their front or back paws on the disc. Not only does this movement strengthen your dog’s muscles, it also prepares them to handle standing on a moving object, which will make teeter training a bit easier.
3. Warm Up
Before using dog agility jumps or training with any piece of equipment, it’s essential to warm up. This gets the blood flowing and loosens up the muscles, and this is one of the best ways to prevent injury.
If you’ve ever wondered why sweaty athletes go and sit on the sidelines and then add additional clothing when they already are hot, it’s because they are trying to keep those muscles warm and prevent injury. Your dog is just like you in that he or she also needs to warm up their muscles prior to training.
A brisk easy walk is a good option and just a few minutes is perfect. Additionally, after a walk, your dog will have burned off a bit of energy, which will make it easier for them to focus on their training. After your walk, you might do a few of those conditioning exercises, such as having them place their front paws on a raised surface or having them practice sit, stay, stand and circling left and right.
4. Stick To Commands
A dog agility jump is the most common obstacle you will find on an agility course. Typically, a course will have a teeter, an a-frame, weaves, a dog walk, a pause table, a tunnel, perhaps a chute and the rest of the obstacles will be different types of jumps.
Now, dogs love to jump, but it’s important for them to jump only on command. A really high energy dog might enjoy jumping so much that will jump over anything for fun, and this can lead to injuries.
For instance, perhaps your jumpy hound will decide to try to clear a fence. This could result in injury, so it’s best to ensure that you dog jumps only when you give the signal. In this way, you can control the jump environment and provide them with enough space for a clean, safe jump.
5. Research Your Jump Requirements
Every dog agility organization offers several categories for its dogs. Dogs are divided by height class, as well as age. For instance, small dogs don’t compete with larger dogs. Novice dogs and senior don’t compete at the same level as expert dogs compete.
Before you start training will full-size dog agility jumps, read up on the height regulations for your specific dog and ensure that you don’t practice using heights or distances that are longer or higher than what you’ll see on a course. You might be tempted to go higher or farther, but those guidelines were established with safety in mind, so it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Types Of Jumps
You will encounter a variety of jumps on an obstacle course, and the number and style depend on the organization with which you compete. Most courses will have quite a few double and triple jumps which force a dog to jump a longer distance, and most courses also will include a tire jump.
We have single, double and triple jumps, as well as tire jumps available here at Carlson Agility. We also have some unique jumps that not all organizations will use. For instance, we have a window jump that is commonly used in United Kennel Club competitions.
So, if you are planning on attending UKC agility contests, you might want to purchase one of these jumps. We also have obedience jumps for those who will be taking part in obedience competitions instead of or in addition to agility contests.
No matter what type of agility dog jump you might need, we’ve got here at Carlson Agility. We also have all other types of full-size and mini dog agility equipment, as well as some helpful training tools. If you aren’t sure which items to purchase first, consider one of our starter kits, which include three or four items to help you get started with agility training.
