Tap Your Dog's Skills With Agility Training
Training your dog for agility competitions is an excellent way to tap into her natural strengths. Use flexibility, energy, speed and instinct - things every dog already has - to help your dog build up her abilities. She'll be using all the skills and natural abilities she'd have used in the wild to protect her den, track food, and travel across rough terrain.
Just What Is Dog Agility Training?
Dog agility training is a kind of competition using a special course. In it, dogs must use skills like running, climbing, jumping and obstacle-avoidance. This is a team effort between the owner and the dog, with the dog performing most of the hard labor. Agility training is perfect for hunting or working breed dogs. The course must be run in a set period of time, with the fastest animal winning.
Agility trials are judged by professionals, and the winners receive prices. However, this is more than just a competition or form of training - it's also a popular and fun sport for owners and dogs alike.
How To Participate
To get involved, puppies must be nine months of age or older. Retirement usually happens when the dog is around eight years old, but health and fitness levels are the real factors that determine this.
Every dog breed is admitted, but it's important for your dog to have the right kind of personality. Dogs that would rather relax aren't as well suited for agility training as dogs with plenty of spare energy - this sport needs a lot of speed and vigor.
You're also looking for dogs that are consistently obedient to basic commands and which have a lot of trust in their owners. Otherwise, dogs may be reluctant to perform some challenges, including balancing on narrow beams or running through tunnels.
Dog Agility Training Benefits
Dog agility training enhances the basic, innate abilities of an animal. Dogs in these programs become more confident and alert, while improving skills like problem solving. Owners find that their communication abilities and their bonds with their dogs are strengthened by the process.
Agility training puts some real physical demands on a dog, improving endurance, coordination and fitness levels, as well as general behavior.
How Much Training Do Agility Dogs Need?
Most dogs need six to nine months of training every day if they're going to be ready for the harder parts of an agility competition. Dogs can be helped to prepare with games, including catch, tug of war and fetch. These games help strengthen the muscles the dog needs in agility work and communicate the idea that this is fun to do. Then, the dog can do more challenging exercises like distance and obstacle jumping, and can run through long tunnels. Over time, your dog will come to trust you intensely, and will really enjoy your training sessions.
There's even more to training your dog for agility competitions, but these are a few basic steps to get you started. They can help you find out whether you and your dog are ready for work of this kind.
Take a little time to check out the agility competitions nearby. Watching the process and checking out the kinds of challenges will enable you to imagine how your dog would do, and will give you a first hand look at what goes on.
