While some of our clients simply view using dog agility equipment as a way to provide some fun exercise for their dogs, some clients definitely intend on entering competitions. If competition is in your future, you will need to learn how to navigate any dog agility course, and we have some tips to make this easier.
- Teach Each Obstacle Carefully
In the early days of dog agility training, your focus should always be on perfecting skills. While dogs must zip through courses quickly during a competition, they aren’t simply judged on speed, but also accuracy. In the beginning, it’s more important to worry about accuracy. Speed is something you can teach later on down the road.
This means you need to teach your dog the correct spot to enter and exit obstacles such as the agility dog walk, dog agility teeter and agility a-frame. They need to be able to clear jumps without knocking over poles. They need to sit, stay and lay down on the pause table for several seconds. They need to be able to move through the weave poles correctly and with ease.
Most importantly, they need to be able to accomplish all of this safely. When you teach for accuracy, your dog will be much safer on the course because they won’t simply leap onto a contact obstacle with no regard for position or pause before a jump or jump a bit too early. Teaching obstacles again and again will improve your dog’s muscle memory, which improves safety and makes movements automatic, and this will provide you with greater success on any dog agility course.
- Focus On Signals
When you are on any dog agility course, hand signals and verbal signals are the only options you have to guide your dog through a course, so you must develop clear signals for each obstacle as well as signals for turns.
We recommend that everyone involved with training use identical hand signals and verbal signals with your dog. This includes all obedience commands, as well. When everyone is on the same page, this makes training much easier for your dog.
Keep in mind that in addition to teaching various signals, you also must incorporate distance training into your routine. On any given dog agility course, dogs will be running the course unleashed with the handler at a distance, so you will need to practice all skills from a distance.
Distance training also provides an excellent way to improve obedience and keep your dog safe. If your dog obeys your commands off-leash with you a few feet away, they are less likely to rush out into a street or introduce themselves to another dog, which might or might not be friendly.
- Mix Up Your Backyard Course
When it comes to a dog agility course, you never know what to expect. Not only is every course configuration unique, but you often won’t know more than a few minutes ahead of time how obstacles will be placed on the course. For this reason, you need to change up the order of obstacles on your backyard course often.
The goal is for dogs to memorize how to use various pieces of dog agility equipment no matter where they are located. When a dog knows how to handle all of the obstacles with ease, all they have to do is follow your instructions and they can zip through the course safely, accurately and quickly.
- Read Up On Your Agility Organization’s Rules & Regulations
There are many dog agility organizations out there, and they each have unique rules and regulations. Fortunately, most of these organizations have plenty of information available online so that you can research all of the competition rules and regulations.
For instance, each organization has different classes or groupings for dogs based on factors such as age, height and experience level. Within these categories, there will be differing numbers of obstacles on each dog agility course. An expert dog that isn’t of senior age, for example, will probably have the highest number of obstacles on their courses and be required to finish courses in less time with more accuracy than an inexperienced or older dog.
Many organizations have similar categories and obstacles, but there are always a few differences. So, while an AKC dog agility course might have the same obstacles as a NADAC agility course, there could be differences in jump heights or course times. Whether you stick with one agility group or join several, you will be better prepared if you gather as much information as possible.
- Use Competition-Quality Dog Agility Equipment
If possible, it’s always best to use the same type of dog agility equipment as you will find on a dog agility course. At Carlson Agility, all of our equipment is designed with competition in mind. Our jumps, weave poles, dog tunnel and contact equipment are just what you will find at events held by AKC, NADAC, CPE and others. We even have some specialized pieces of dog agility equipment that you might find on a UKC course.
Each piece of our dog agility equipment is handmade using the highest quality components. Our agility equipment is suitable for backyard training, but our customers also include agility clubs, doggie daycares and kennels. We also offer mini agility equipment. Mini equipment offers the same quality and durability as full-sized agility equipment, but it is designed with smaller dogs in mind. You will find similar mini obstacles on official courses designed for smaller breeds.
- Attend Some Competitions As A Spectator
One of the best ways to get a real idea of how competitions work and what to expect is to simply attend a few competitions as a spectator. Go to a NADAC event and an AKC event or a CPE event and judge for yourself which organization best suits your inclinations. You will learn so much at these competitions including what items to bring and what to do during downtimes.
You can talk with participants and ask for advice or simply observe. For your first outing, it can be smart to leave your furry friend back home, but after you attend an event or two, bring your pooch to gauge how they behave and to get them used to the idea of being around large groups of people and dogs.
While every dog agility course is unique, if you practice and perfect each skill, your dog will be able to handle any piece of dog agility equipment no matter how it is set up on a competition course. If you have any questions about our dog agility equipment, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
