Agility Training for Dogs Guide » Agility Obstacles

Teaching Ladder Obstacle to Your Agility Dog

ecoughlin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:37:28 +0000

One of the hardest agility dog obstacles to teach is the Dog Walk. It’s hard because dogs aren’t used to watching their feet. Start with a ladder that’s laid flat out on the ground to get them used to placing their feet in the right position. This video will demonstrate how to get started.

Dog Training Obstacles: The Ladder -- powered by eHow.com

Agility Dog Contact Obstacles Video

ecoughlin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:10:44 +0000

Contact points on an agility dog obstacle course is where a dog needs to touch the obstacle when running through the course during trials or competition. We can see them because they’re painted yellow on the obstacle but a dog doesn’t see them. You need to train your dog to see it by position on the obstacle rather than color. Here’s a video that clearly demonstrates how to teach your dog about contacts.

Introduce Contact Obstacles in Dog Agility Training -- powered by eHow.com

Teaching the Tire Jump to Your Agility Dog

ecoughlin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:49:43 +0000

Teaching your agility dog the tire jump obstacle can be challenging because the dog doesn’t see it as a jump and doesn’t understand what you want him or her to do when they get to it. First, use treats as a motivator to get them through the tire. Starting your dog at low heights and then increasing them as they learn to jump through the tire can help you avoid the problem of a dog walking under the obstacle to get the treat.

With larger dogs, you have to start them at regular height because of their size so this training video will give you a tip on how to make sure your dog goes through the tire rather than around it.

Dog Training Obstacles: The Tire -- powered by eHow.com

Help Your Dog Conquer Agility Obstacles

ecoughlin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:48:51 +0000

Once you’ve got your dog trained to respond to basic agility commands and hand signals, you need to teach them how to conquer the obstacles. All of them are challenging in different ways for different breeds of dogs. Champion agility dogs make it look so easy on TV as they go up, over and through the different obstacles but if you look at it from a dogs point of view, there are specific “fears” that have to be overcome before they can perform well.

Many agility dogs are hesitant to go through tunnels and chutes training because of the enclosed space and I found this article to have some very helpful tips on how to do it.

Dog Agility Training For Tunnels and Chutes
By Adam Fulford

In the world of dog agility training, there are a lot of different obstacles that you must train your dogs on. These range from climbing objects to jumps, as well as obedience objects. There are a wide variety of obstacles used in major competitions, and you must familiarize your dog with all of them if you want to win the event. One of the more difficult obstacles for large dogs to train with are the tunnels and chutes.

Some dogs, especially the naturally burrowing breeds like the terrier, are particularly good with these obstacles, but other dogs, particularly large dogs, do not like the enclosed space. Depending on the size of the chute, some dogs may not even be able to stand fully upright in the tube.

In order to get your dog used to the close quarters of this obstacle, many trainers will work first with a familiar object like a blanket. This also mimics the darkness present in longer tunnels. Have your dog stand or lie underneath a table, and drape the blanket over the sides. By repeating the process, they will eventually learn to be more calm when in close quarters, especially when it is dark.

The second thing you must do is to find a way to train your dog to go forward through the tunnel. Some dogs, especially those who have been trained to heel their owners, have difficulty with this change in procedure. By encouraging your dog to enter the chute and stay, then running down to the other end and encouraging them to come, they will eventually learn how to navigate this obstacle successfully without breaking their good habits of trailing their owner.

Another idea to try is to work with distances and viewpoints. One of the reasons that dogs are uncomfortable in the chute is that they cannot see their owner. If you tell your dog to sit and stay, and then move behind a tree or an object in a public park, then their behavior may tell you a lot about why they are unwilling to work on this particular object.

If your dog still shows a preference for going around, rather than through the tunnel, then consider putting a treat in the center of the tunnel to entice them to enter. Food will certainly get their attention! You may also want to work more with the blanket and table trick, and try some variations.

There are also tunnels with collapsed ends, and these are particularly difficult to get fearful dogs involved in. In general, it is best to work with open ended tunnels first to get them used to the idea, and then work with blankets and other short closings.

If they have difficulty with the closed chutes, then look at how they approach them.

Train your dog to approach the obstacle with their nose out, and their feet back, as they may be getting caught up because they are stepping on the materials.

Adam Fulford enjoys writing articles and screenplays, and has a production company to produce original documentaries (including information products) dramas for film, video, and Internet, covering a myriad of topics from dog agility events to wheelchair dancing.

Article Source: Dog Agility Training For Tunnels and Chutes.