If you’ve been teaching your dog how to use dog agility equipment and your canine companion has mastered several pieces of equipment, it’s probably time to think about setting up a dog obstacle course in your yard. Not sure how to begin? Take a look at our handy list of obstacle course tips.
1. Keep It Small At First
While you might have quite a few different pieces of dog agility equipment, it’s best to keep your dog obstacle course fairly empty at first. Consider placing just three pieces of equipment down at first. In the beginning, your main goal will be to simply teach your dog how to move from one piece of equipment to the next, and having too many items on your obstacle for dogs can be distracting and confusing.
Typically, people don’t set up a full dog obstacle course until they have taught their dog how to use each piece of equipment. Once your dog has mastered jumps, tunnels, contact equipment and so forth, that is a good time to think about creating a small version of an obstacle course for dogs. You might begin with a jump and then have your dog take on a piece of contact equipment, then a jump and then perhaps a tunnel. Then slowly add equipment as your dog masters the current set of equipment. Maybe add a new piece of contact equipment and then another jump and so on.
If you plan to compete, be sure to research the number of obstacles and type of obstacles typically placed on the competition courses. Every dog agility organization is unique, and while equipment may be similar, the number of pieces, height requirements and so forth vary between organizations.
2. Mix It Up
At first, you can keep your dog obstacle course equipment in the same order. However, once your dog becomes proficient with the order, it is wise to mix up the course order. After all, if you decide to compete, you never know what the course will look like until you arrive at your event. Your pooch should be able to handle any type of course configuration, so practice a myriad of different set ups.
3. Download Some Options
If you aren’t sure what an official obstacle course for dogs might look like, there are plenty of samples available online. Download several different options, print them out, and experiment with these configurations. Again, competition course configurations vary and you won’t know in advance, but these samples typically provide you with a reasonable idea of what to expect.
4. Feeling Cramped? Using Mini Equipment
While some of our clients have large yards, others are a bit more limited in space. However, you can set up an obstacle course for dogs in a smaller yard by simply using smaller equipment. We sell miniature versions of most of our dog agility equipment, and this can be a great option for a smaller yard or for rainy day or hot-weather training, as you can fit a few pieces of equipment into your family room, your basement or perhaps your garage. Our mini equipment also is ideal for smaller dogs and puppies, and dogs that are bit timid, as smaller equipment is less intimidating.
5. Focus On Accuracy, Then Work On Speed
When you first set up your obstacle course for dogs, your goal should be to focus on accurately moving from one piece of equipment to the next. Once your dog can complete many different dog obstacle course configurations with ease, then you can start working on speed. When you begin competing, dogs are judged on both speed and accuracy, but it’s often better to be a few seconds slower than another dog but highly accurate. At any rate, dog agility is really all about having fun with your wonderful dog, and competitions are a blast, so winning and losing is not always the focus.
If you need any type of agility equipment for your dog obstacle course, we have it here at Carlson Agility. This includes all types of jumps, tunnels, chutes, contact equipment and helpful training tools. Not sure which items to purchase first? Take a look at our handy agility starter kits, which can remove some of the guesswork.
Brad Carlson enjoys dog agility training. To find agility equipment or to find more about training equipment for dog agility equipment, please check out the Carlson-Agility.com website today, or if you have any questions, send us an email today.
