If you took a poll of dog agility handlers and asked them which obstacle is the hardest to teach, the agility weave poles would definitely top the list. Why are these obstacles so difficult to teach?
Unlike other types of dog agility equipment, such as jumps and tunnels, weaves don’t really mimic any natural doggie instincts. A tunnel might mimic the ancient skill of tunneling under leaves to find prey and jumps mimic the days when dogs leapt over fallen logs and other debris to catch a rascally rabbit.
Weaves aren’t quite as instinctual. Sure, dogs had to navigate between trees in a forest, but these trees weren’t as precisely placed as the weave poles. So what’s a handler to do?
1. Wait To Train
Typically, dogs are not allowed to compete in agility contests until they are more than a year old. For instance, the American Kennel Club requires that dogs be at least 15 months old before competing. The USDAA requires that dogs be 18 months old, although there is a special Intro Program for dogs beginning at age 14 months.
While puppies have tons of energy, their bodies aren’t really ready for all of the rigors of agility, especially weave poles. Still, you can teach some very basic skills using mini agility equipment.
You can have them learn how to walk through a tunnel or perhaps jump or walk over a pole that is resting on the ground. Take the top off of a mini pause table and practice sit, stay and lay down on this flat board. Grab a buja board or wobble board and let your puppy work on balance. You can rest a plank on the ground and have them walk across it.
These are all safe activities, and as your dog reaches their first year, you might be able to start training with a bit of height, but talk to your vet about the best time to introduce each piece of equipment.
With weaves, the motion of going in and out through the weaves can be difficult for puppies, whose bodies aren’t really capable of bending this way. We highly recommend that you put off weave training until your dog is a bit older. It’s safer, and it’s easier to teach when dogs are older.
2. Don’t Over-Train
You might be tempted to spend a great deal of time practicing with dog agility weave poles, but this is typically not a great idea. This repetitive motion can be difficult for a dog’s body to handle, so it’s best to limit training times.
In general, we recommend that you end training sessions after 15 to 20 minutes, and that means you might only spend 5 minutes on weaves. It might seem like that’s not enough time, but dogs have short attention spans, and longer training sessions can be tough on their bodies.
While you might be tempted to spend hours with agility weave poles, four or five minutes can be your best bet. You could also schedule a quick morning session and another in the afternoon, but keep each session short. Again, with puppies, skip the weaves and you might also keep training times even short to accommodate those growing bodies and even shorter attention spans.
3. Start Slowly & Go 2×2
Dogs don’t just wake up one morning and instantly understand how to zip through weaves at high speed. They must be taught how the correct way to enter the weaves and the correct way to move through the agility weave poles.
When you start competing, you’ll notice that agility courses contain a weave set with 10 to 12 weave poles. But you certainly don’t have to start training with regulation equipment and 12 weaves.
With our training weaves, you can start out with the 2×2 training method and use just two weaves. This allows you to teach proper entry and how to get from the first weave to the second weave, which is often the most difficult part of training. After your pooch has master the 2×2, add two more poles and then two more and so on.
4. Use Training Guides
Training wires are a great option for beginning weavers. These snap to the agility weave poles and basically make it impossible for you dog to move in and out of the poles incorrectly or skip a pole or exit incorrectly.
Our training wires are made from sturdy PVC and are designed to pop off if dogs run into them or jump over them. This ensures your dog’s safety and prevents injury, which is always the most important factor with dog agility. After all, we’re just supposed to be having fun here.
5. Work On Accuracy, Then Speed
In general, this advice applies to all pieces of agility equipment and not just dog agility weave poles. During competitions, dogs are scored based upon accuracy and speed, but accuracy tends to be a bit more important in general.
As your dog becomes proficient with the dog agility weave poles, you can start to encourage a faster speed. Typically, though, accuracy is still more important, as injuries and strains can occur if you dog dashes too quickly in and out of these weaves, which leads us to the next point . . .
6. Think About Conditioning
Professional athletes don’t just focus on the skills of their game; they also condition all of the muscles in their bodies. For instance, a basketball player doesn’t practice shooting baskets. They condition their body with cardiovascular exercises, weight training and specialized exercises to target each muscle group.
This makes them stronger, and it also prevents injuries. Agility dogs are just the same. They need to practice agility skills, but their bodies also need conditioning exercises. For cardio, a brisk walk or a lively game of catch or tug can get that blood flowing.
Your approach to dog conditioning should be just like human conditioning. Start with a quick warm up with some basic muscles stretches and end with a cool down. Obviously you’ll have to move your dog into the proper positions, and using an exercise ball can be a great tool. For instance, your dog might rest their front paws or hind paws on the ball while stretching the rest of their body.
You also might use a buja board as a conditioning tool. This is a wobbly board that dogs stand on and work on balance. By attaining balance, they must use quite a few different muscles.
When working on the cardio, head to the local park and enjoy a brisk walk. We recommend walking on the grass or another soft surface, rather than the hard paved concrete as this can be tough on your dog’s paws. Some of our clients even use a dog treadmill, and this can be a great tool if you live in a climate where very cold or very hot weather is common and you need some indoor training.
Overall, the biggest takeaway about weaves is to just be patient. Before you know it, your pooch will be dashing through the weaves like a pro and having a blast. If you need dog agility weave poles, we’ve got’em. Just head to the Products tab and select Weave Poles. We also carry just about every piece of dog agility equipment that you might need, including mini agility equipment for small dogs and safe puppy training.
