Any Pre-Agility Training Tips?

I just enrolled Freckles in a beginner agility class that will start on Oct. 24. I was wondering what training I might do to get a head start. I don't want to start him off doing something wrong that will then have to be corrected so I was just wondering if anyone who has completed a beginning course might have some training tips I could work on for the next few weeks before the class begins.
Thanks

 

When I started, we left the leashes on so obedience wasn't really an issue - but of course the better control you have, the better off you are. Besides that, you could start teaching him something like "touch" where he touches your hand or an object on command. Having him follow your hand is useful, too, but it's really easy with a food-motivated dog. And being able to get and hold his attention is valuable. Nala's biggest problem is staying focused.

But really, everything you need to know is taught in class. Our beginning class was spent working on obstacles one at a time - teaching the name, getting the dog to understand what to do with it, overcoming fears, etc. A lot of controlling an agility dog is up to the owner - being able to convey with body language where you want the dog to be and getting verbal commands out quick enough. In fact, I have seen some handlers running their dogs and their verbal commands are so late that the dog cannot possibly be paying any attention to them - the handlers might be surprised that they could be totally silent and do everything else the same and the dog would probably perform exactly the same.

Oh, you could also get him used to walking on different surfaces. If you have one of those old wooden straight ladders, lay it on the ground and have him walk through it - it will help him to start paying attention to where all four feet are. Walk him over wood things and plasticy things and maybe some wobbly things. Any new experiences like that will help him, but again it's not necessary.

I actually did nothing with Nala to get her ready, despite my best intentions. And I never practice with her at home, either. I'm just too lazy! But she does very well, I think, and usually when she messes up it is because I didn't hold up my end of the deal.

 

Jamiya,
Thanks for the tip on getting him use to walking on different surfaces. Freckles is still very insecure when encountering new experiences. I'll get some planks and get him use to walking on them. What about elevation a 2" X 12" plank about a foot off the ground?
I am anticipating a great deal of work to get him to go through a tunnel.so I may knock out the bottom of a plastic garbage can and see if he will venture thorugh it for a treat.

 

Yes, you can put a plank on top of cinder blocks or something like that. Just make sure that whatever you put him on is safe - having a dog fall off something does not help their confidence!

Nala LOVED tunnels, as long as she could see the end of them. If the tunnel was curved, she wouldn't go through. Even worse was the "chute" which is a sort of collapsed tunnel made of parachute material. As long as you held it open even if only an inch, she would go through. It took a long time before she'd go through it when it was totally collapsed. Ironically enough, I did nothing to help her. We hadn't done it for several weeks and one day we just tried it and she went through!

The seesaw is another one that dogs have problems with. They don't like that it moves, and they don't like the noisy BANG it makes when it falls. We taught that one a little bit at a time, by first holding on to it and slowly lowering it by hand and working up to the dog tipping it by themselves. If you watch a trial, some dogs just walk right over it and others get on their bellies and crawl slowly down it, LOL.

For tunnels, you can start with something as simple as a hula hoop. Bonnie won't even stick her head through a hula hoop.

The dog walk and A-frame are both pretty far off the ground, so dogs afraid of heights have trouble with those.

 

I would think that the hand trick would work great! IF the dog learned to follow your hand then you wouldn't have to give verbal commands. That would make it MUCH easier!

 

You guys are going to have so much fun in agility. Most dogs really enjoy it. What I love about the place we go to is its positive training. Were not to say "NO" to our dogs ever in agility as its always supposed to be associated with FUN. If they do something wrong, its just opps and try again. I like that. Food is good to use, mine are all chowhounds that will do anything for food. With one of my pooches I made the mistake of over-baiting her. So then she would watch my hand instead of where she was supposed to go. If using food, reward for each obstacle but then gradually cut back the food and use more praise. One thing that I first found hard was the fact that my dog would be very aware of my body language. I had to learn to be more conscious of how and where I was holding my body - a slight turn or bending over could throw a dog off track. Like Jamiya said they teach you everything you need to know. If you're really into agility, buying or making your own equipment to practice on at home can be really helpful. I think there are some sites about how to make your own stuff - pretty cool! Have fun! Let us know how it goes.

:y_the_best:

 

What we do now with our dogs and treats is that we sometimes give a treat, just to keep them interested. But we are also practicing for when we can't have treats on the course in the trials. So, we leave our treats to the side and just use praise during the course and when the dog is done we immediately run and get the treats.

Sams - you have to use body language and not just commands in agility. The dogs pick up on how your body is positioned, where your shoulders are facing, whether your arm is extended or not, where you are moving, etc. If you call out the name of an obstacle but your body is pointing the dog towards a different one, they will go to that one every time. It's really hard to see when you're the one out there handling the dog, but when you watch someone else it's obvious!

 

Hi All,

I have been thinking about starting Abbey is agility. I have read about quite a few shih tzu's that have enojoyed it. Abbey is always racing around our yard, diving of the deck, she kinda has her own little race track out there, and she really goes super FAST! She get's good distance/height on her jumps too!

Does anyone know what are the prerequisites for agility?
Abbey has not had any formal training, but she sits, stays and heels on command, and I am comfortable with her off leash at parks.

Thanks!

 

I'm sure all trainers are different, but it sounds like she has everything she needs to get started! How old is she? If she is still growing, you don't want her to jump much. But if she's full grown, go with it!

 

Jamiya,

Abbey is 16 months old today! I am not sure if she is full grown yet, she is 14 lbs and has been for the last 2 months, prior to that she was increasing in weight almost every month. I assume with age she may get a little wider, but not taller, I guess maybe she is full grown.

I am going to call one of the agility clubs and try to get Abbey in...