Once you’ve taught your precious pooch how to use every piece of dog agility equipment and he’s mastered each skill and mastered the basics of running an agility course, you may be just about ready for your first competition.
After you sign up for this contest, here are a few tips that will help you truly arrive at the event ready to compete.
1. Practice Multiple Course Configuration
You never know what the course will look like until you get to the event.
This is why it is important to set up your dog agility equipment in different ways to constantly challenge your dog. You can find many course maps online to give you some ideas of how a course might be set up, so just print out about 6-10 course configurations and practice.
Very rarely does a dog get a chance to set his paws on a course prior to the competition and sometimes just the handler or trainer is allowed a quick look at the course. Typically, you will know which pieces of agility equipment will be on the course and how many pieces, so you can practice using these pieces of dog training equipment. It is important that your dog can handle the equipment in any order and from any direction. For example, sometimes you might turn left into a jump and sometimes you might turn right into a jump, so be prepared for any possible situation.
2. Practice Start Line Stays
Often, we get so caught up teach a dog how to use dog agility equipment and dog training equipment, that we forget about start line stays. This simply means that a dog must sit and stay at the start line until it is time for their run to begin. Practicing start line stays is always a good idea, because dogs will be penalized for starting too soon and if they stay too long at the start, they lose valuable seconds of course time.
3. Practice Speed
Once you have mastered each and every piece of dog agility equipment and your dog understands how to run through an entire course, it is time to concentrate on speed. While an accurate, clean run is always a top goal, this means nothing if your dog is slow. Agility is all about speed, so in order to do well in competitions, your dog needs to be fast as well as accurate.
Also, it is wise to keep in mind that while this is a competition, they main purpose of this completion is to have fun. Dogs adore zipping through the course, so be sure to focus on the joy of this momentous occasion. After all, it probably wasn’t that long ago that your dog had to be coaxed through the tunnel with treats and stared at you blankly with his head cocked to one side as you encouraged him to jump through a tire. Now, he or she is able to run through an entire course of dog agility equipment at a real competition.
This is a huge accomplishment for both dog and handler, so provide plenty of praise for your pooch and don’t forget to pat yourself on the back as well.
4. Packing The Right Stuff
When you head to the competition, there are several things that you will need to bring with you. First, be sure that you have all the paperwork for the completion, including your height card, the judging schedule and so on.
You also need to bring a cooler with drinks and food for you, as well as bringing snacks or treats and water for your dog. At many dog agility competitions, food and drinks are available for sale for the humans, but that’s not always guaranteed, so be prepared.
Bring a blanket for your dog and perhaps a favorite toy and your dog’s crate if it is allowed. You also can bring a small tent or canopy to keep you and your dog cool during the event. At some contests, in addition to all the dog agility equipment, there are small kiddie pools where dogs can go to cool off. If this isn’t the case, consider bringing a squirt bottle of water or a spray fan to keep your dog cool. Don’t forget to pack sunblock and a hat for yourself.
In addition to having your dog master all of the dog training equipment and mastering the skill of becoming a handler, you also must learn all of the rules for your specific agility organization. For instance, many organizations do not allow dogs to run with collars and some have specific collar restrictions. You also might have to remove everything from your pockets as you are not allowed to carry treats or anything that makes noise during your dog’s run.
It can be a good idea to attend a dog agility completion once or twice simply as a spectator to get a feel for what really occurs at these events.
Also, if you belong to a dog agility club, consider attending your first competition with a club member who has some agility competition experience.
This person not only can provide helpful advice about using dog agility equipment, they also can help you ease into the world of competition.
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.
