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Dog Agility Training
One of my favorite activities is dog agility. It keeps you fit and
makes you feel good picking up those trophies at the end of each
competition.
Dog agility training is somewhat harder than other training options, but
I find it the most fun. Firstly if you haven’t heard of dog agility, it
is a sport for dogs and owners. It is extremely popular in the UK and
now there are reports of it happening in the USA and down under in
Australia. It comprises of a main event, of which there are lots of
different courses for your dog to run. In the courses there is a set
number of obstacles. 26 is the average. Your dog has to complete the
course without getting any faults in the quickest time to win. Sounds
easy? Think again.
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. 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 stand is around 4 ft. high) which your dog
has to clear without knocking the pole down. There are weaves (the
weave is a straight line of poles that can be 6, 8, or 12 poles in
length, your dog must weave through this) which your dog must not come
out of before the end. In agility courses, there are contact points on
obstacles which your dog must touch with their paws. This requires a lot
of training.
To run your dog in a show, you must be registered with the Scottish
Kennel Club (SKC) (or the AKC, the American Kennel Club if you are from
the USA) and be part of an agility club. 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.
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 lot of dog agility training must be done before you enter your first
show. Your dog must be able to run a full course.
Forgive me for making dog agility sound like hard grueling work, not the
fun it really is. It is spectacular. The people, the atmosphere, the
fun! The agility training is just what you have to endure to get there!
There are many various types of training aids available on the market
today in the way of dog training
collars. You can bet that the agility trainers are using one
of these aids.
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