By: Linda J Scopa

Read my articles on Training Tips in my local paper Inspiring Times.

We would like to introduce you to the sport of Dog Agility. You may have watched on Animal Planet dogs zooming through tunnels, flying over jumps, climbing A-Frames, through closed tunnels and whizzing through those weave poles. Agility is a sport in which you and your dog compete on a timed obstacle course. This great sport began a litter over 15 years ago and is among one of the fastest growing sports all around.

One of the important commands your dog needs to know is how to COME. All dogs must as always be properly socialized and get along good with other dogs and people. There should be no aggression in this sport. Basic obedience commands as sit, down and stay are also of importance. It is important not to jump young puppies as their bones are not fully formed and a permanent injury may result.

One of the most important tips to remember is to not rush your dog. It may seem like a simple thing for your dog to go over a jump, but this is unknown territory for your dog and you must respect it. If he is afraid and you force the issue you may ruin your dogs’ chances in agility. Think of it as you being afraid to get into a swimming pool because the water is cold and then once you are in you don’t want to get out. That is how agility is with the dogs. Once they are allowed to test the waters, they will never want to quit.

Here are some tips you can do at home to prepare your dog for agility. Go to the local hardware store and buy a four foot long, one inch PVC plastic pipe. Always practice a little obedience first with your dog so you have their attention and to warm up their muscles. Do not jump a dog before warmed up.

Set your pipe flat on the ground. If he wants to sniff it let him. Keep your dog on a four foot leash a buckle collar and just casually walk over the pipe with your dog, praise him like he did the best thing ever in the world.

Start using the word Jump. Soon you can run along side the jump and just have your dog jump over with the command Jump. Once you are sure he understands the word jump, try it try it without the leash. Never use a choke collar or a prong collar. In Agility we never use negative corrections. Never use the word “NO” when approaching equipment. Keep it fun. Once they have mastered the pipe on the ground you may raise it.

 

A simple way is to take 2 one gallon milk jugs,one for each end, cut a ½ circle off the top so your pipe may rest on the lip. You can add sand to sturdy them. Be sure the pipe can easily be knocked off to avoid injury.

 

Never push your dog to jump higher than recommended heights. Example: an 8 inch dog, jump at 4 inches, a 20 inch dog at 10 inches. Once you are in a class you will be guided by your instructor as towhat jump height you should jump. I recommend that any thing more than jumping should be trained to you by a professional trainer with experience and one that only uses positive reinforcement training.

Another easy thing to do at home is use a ladder, preferably wooden. This one shown is made out of PVC pipe. Again start slowly by putting the treats inside each rung and let your dog find them and follow to the end. It's ok if he pops out in the beginning, just continue using encouragement treats and lots of praise.

Once your dog is confident you may stand up and walk alongside him/her.

Tips From Buttercup:       Agility Jumps, Do YOU know them??

Let us first begin with a couple simple exercises.  

Exercise one:

Set your dog aside and get a partner.  Position a jump, set at 8 inches,  in front of you and step back from it about 5 feet, do you see the jump?  Now close your eyes.  The partner will spin you around three times and then lead to go over that jump, still with your eyes closed, and say jump when that person thinks you can clear the jump. Umm pretty tricky.  What did that feel like?  Did you listen to your partner and make the jump, or did you stumble a bit? If you made it without any hesitation on your end you have shown great trust in your partner. Did you look towards your partner with little ? or much guidance? Switch partners.

Exercise two: Still with your partner, this time no spinning and no eyes closed. This time just go toward the jump on your own.  In class my students don’t know I am going to do this , but as  you try to go over that jump, the other person  will walk in front of you, obviously blocking your view and knocking you off balance.

 Exercise three:  In my novice classes I have all my students get to eye level with the jumps to see the dogs view.  You will see this in trials that competitors will be eyeing up the jumps to see the angels.  Novice students need to learn this and sometimes an excellent student needs to be reminded.  

It may seem like a simple thing but your jumps are one of the most important pieces of equipment out on that field.  There are a variety of jumps you and your dogs will have to learn.  Starting with a single bar jump to a triple jump with wings.  

You must see what your dog is seeing and take in account how you are asking that dog to take that jump. Are you giving him a clear view?  Are you asking him to take it from the side, where all he can see is a single post?  Look at your jumps carefully. Do you know your agility jumps?

 

 Single Jump With Wings

Double Jump Side view

Note this is from the dogs view.  If you try to ask your dog to jump this jump without giving him a proper view, like asking him to take the jump from the side , she will probably go around it not seeing the jump at all.

 

 THE TRIPLE  

 

This is again from the dogs’ view.  The best advice is to give your dog enough running space to get to the jump, never cross in front of the dog when he is going to this jump, and then expect him to see it. Always give a clear view of the jump to your dog. Never do a blind cross before or after this jump. You are asking for them to drop a bar every time if you do.  There are plenty other of jumps to learn to cut corners on, the triple is not that jump.  

The Panel Jump This jump looks like a wall to your dog. It’s like asking you to close your eyes and trust someone to lead you.  This jump requires the most trust from your dog. Start with low heights and then work up to the proper height.

 

The Broad Jump           

 

Another jump that is difficult for your dog to calculate. At your dogs’ level this looks like a solid floor they walk up.  This is a distance jump which you can clearly see. Your dog however can not.  The best way to start with this jump is to put a regular single jump in the middle of it so they understand they have to go up. You may want to use a different command like Over or Big Jump. Slowly increase the width.  

This is a test. Can you identify what this is?  

A> B>  

Do you think your dog can?  

You may use what ever commands you want for jumps. There is no rule. Being consistent with the same command for the type of jump you are asking your dog to take , be it a hand signal, a body movement , or a verbal command, being consistent is the best training tool you can have with your dog.

Be Fun, Firm, and Consistent. Happy Training!

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