Preparing For Agility Competitions
A favorite activity of mine in terms of dog training is dog agility as it is not only enjoyable, but it also keeps you fit at the same time.
Despite being harder than other training options, it is far more enjoyable. Firstly if you haven’t heard of dog agility it is a sport for dogs and owners. Due to this fact it has gained a wide following all over the world. Due to the enjoy ability of this activity it has gained widespread support in both the States and the UK. In a competition scenario there would be a main event with many different courses. With regards to a competition, the setup is that there is one event with multiple different courses. In the courses there are set number of obstacles. The average number of obstacles per course is 26. Your dog has to complete the course without getting any faults in the quickest time to win. To enable yourselves to win. You and the dog must complete the course without registering a fault. Sounding easy enough? Time for you to think again I feel.
There are certain obstacles included in the course which need much training to master. There are two different types of courses, there are jumping and there are agility courses. The two different types of course which exist are agility and jumping. Jumping courses are exactly what it says on the box, they are courses full of obstacles which your dog is to jump over, things like jumps (two stands which face each other that hold a pole, the pole stands about 4ft high) which your dog has to clear without knocking the pole down, there are weaves (the weave is a straight line of poles. In agility courses there are contact points on obstacles which your dog must touch with their paws. This requires a lot of dog agility training. For a dog to be able to do this successfully requires much training on the part of the dog, guided by the owner.
There is one crucial requirement which you must meet in order to compete - you must be a member of your respective countries kennel clun. The members of these clubs meet up once or twice a week and train together, they set up practice courses, or just do certain obstacles their dog needs practicing on. If you are a member of one of these clubs your training will be enhanced greatly as you can train in a professional environment with other dog owners.
Dog agility training is not allowed in a club before your dog is one year old. Most agility enthusiasts have some equipment at home so they can start their dog from as young as six weeks, of course the poles from the jumps lay on the ground, and they don’t make their dog do anything dangerous. There are companies such as Jax which make obstacles and also training obstacles.
A great deal of dog agility training must be done before you enter your first show. Your dog must be able to run a full course.
Whilst this may sound tiresome, it can actually be fun. It is all worth it for the end result of performing in front of hundreds of people though!
Despite being harder than other training options, it is far more enjoyable. Firstly if you haven’t heard of dog agility it is a sport for dogs and owners. Due to this fact it has gained a wide following all over the world. Due to the enjoy ability of this activity it has gained widespread support in both the States and the UK. In a competition scenario there would be a main event with many different courses. With regards to a competition, the setup is that there is one event with multiple different courses. In the courses there are set number of obstacles. The average number of obstacles per course is 26. Your dog has to complete the course without getting any faults in the quickest time to win. To enable yourselves to win. You and the dog must complete the course without registering a fault. Sounding easy enough? Time for you to think again I feel.
There are certain obstacles included in the course which need much training to master. There are two different types of courses, there are jumping and there are agility courses. The two different types of course which exist are agility and jumping. Jumping courses are exactly what it says on the box, they are courses full of obstacles which your dog is to jump over, things like jumps (two stands which face each other that hold a pole, the pole stands about 4ft high) which your dog has to clear without knocking the pole down, there are weaves (the weave is a straight line of poles. In agility courses there are contact points on obstacles which your dog must touch with their paws. This requires a lot of dog agility training. For a dog to be able to do this successfully requires much training on the part of the dog, guided by the owner.
There is one crucial requirement which you must meet in order to compete - you must be a member of your respective countries kennel clun. The members of these clubs meet up once or twice a week and train together, they set up practice courses, or just do certain obstacles their dog needs practicing on. If you are a member of one of these clubs your training will be enhanced greatly as you can train in a professional environment with other dog owners.
Dog agility training is not allowed in a club before your dog is one year old. Most agility enthusiasts have some equipment at home so they can start their dog from as young as six weeks, of course the poles from the jumps lay on the ground, and they don’t make their dog do anything dangerous. There are companies such as Jax which make obstacles and also training obstacles.
A great deal of dog agility training must be done before you enter your first show. Your dog must be able to run a full course.
Whilst this may sound tiresome, it can actually be fun. It is all worth it for the end result of performing in front of hundreds of people though!
