Agility Training Your Dog and A Lasting Relationship
By investing the time, agility training a dog can be very exciting and entertaining for both you and your dog. It helps create a stronger bond between you and your dog which is essential for a lasting working relationship. There are an endless supply of types of events that you may choose to participate in with your dog, a great one is agility competitions.
Teaching your dog to compete in agility trials is the routine of training your dog to successfully navigate an obstacle course. If the teachings are successful, your dog should readily follow the course by only listening to and obeying your commands.
During a competition, the dogs are timed and to be successful must not create any errors and must complete the course with the fastest time. It takes a lot of practice for a dog to become accomplished at agility, and is quite gratifying for both the dog and his trainer. This exercise is great for young dogs as it allows them an acceptable outlet for the abundance of energy they appear to have.
Many experts endorse not beginning formal agility activities before your dog has reached the age of least one year old. Or, at least don't enter in any events before he is at least a year old. Many owners who are training their dogs to participate in agility events will build or purchase their own equipment to have at home, so that they can begin coaching the pup at an earlier age.
Purchasing your own agility equipment can be quite expensive, so many dog owners choose to develop their own training equipment. Instructions are readily available online and in books which are available either in your local library or bookstore.
Puppy owners need be cautious and watch your dog for any signs of injury when training puppies for agility since it may put undue strain on joints and bones which are not fully developed. It is also advisable to have your younger dogs examined by a veterinarian before starting any agility activities.
Your dog should also identify and obey simple obedience commands before beginning any agility or other formal type of training. Any sort of training will assist dog and owner to develop a better association between each other, allowing you to perform better together as the training progresses.
You should also address any behavior or combativeness issues your dog might have before beginning formal training such as agility. Your results will be less satisfying and take longer to accomplish if you are forced to address behavioral problems.
If you are serious about training your dog to compete in agility competitions you should consider enrolling your dog in an obedience class, at least to help teach him the basic commands. After completion of the class you may then continue to work the dog and improve upon the lessons he has learned.
By enrolling in an obedience class you will assist your dog in socialization skills and have a better behaved dog when in public and around other dogs. Many ill-mannered dogs want to fight especially when around other dogs of the same gender.
Its absolutely essential to remember regardless what style of training decide on, you and your dog should truly enjoy the experience. Spending the time with your dog one on one will greatly assist in forging the bond which will last a lifetime. Whether you want to compete with your dog or not, the benefits for both you and your dog are endless.
Excelling at Dog Agility - Book 2: Sequence Training (Excelling at Dog Agility)
Excelling at Dog Agility: Book 3 : Advanced Skills Training (Excelling at Dog Agility)
