Before you start training your dog for agility, he or she should know and obey some basic commands for agility dog safety during training and competition. If they don’t know these commands, then this is a short lesson on how to do it.

Watch Me. This is important in agility training because the dog must watch you to know where to go and what to do next on the agility course. A good way to teach this command is to hold a treat in your fingers up near the bridge of your nose. When the dog makes eye contact with you, give him the treat.

Come! (Off leash recall) This is more difficult. Start with your dog on leash about 6 feet away and tell them to come using a treat as a reward. Next, try it in a secure area without a leash. Once the dog has mastered that, try it in an unsecured area. If you want to keep a long line on him or her in the unsecured area as insurance that they can’t run off, that’s fine. The idea is to practice this until you get them to “come” 100% of the time.

Sit. Have your dog stand next to you. Hold a treat above their nose and move it backward over their head while you are saying “sit” and pushing their back end to the ground. Once it hits the ground, let your dog have the treat.

Down. Put your dog in the sitting position and hold a treat at your dog’s nose level. Then move it down swiftly to ground and closer to the dog’s chest while saying your dog’s name and “down”. The dog should follow the treat down but you might have to push down on the dog’s shoulder at the same time. Don’t tell your dog “down” when you want him “off” something. Say “off”.

Stay. Put your dog on a leash and tell him or her to stay while your outstretched arm makes a sweeping motion towards his face. Then turn around, take a few steps and turn around again to see is he’s still in “stay” position. If he is, reward him with a treat. Try it again but increase the time he’s in stay position. Then try it again but increase the length from you that he’s in “stay” position.If he breaks his stay a lot or gets distracted, start over again until he can have a successful stay.

OK. This is the word you use to release your dog from a sit, down or stay position.

Once your dog has mastered all these basic dog commands, he or she is ready to train for agility.

Related posts:

1. Simple Commands Using Clicker Method
2. More Commands Your Agility Dog Should Learn
3. Go Out and Go Over Agility Commands

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