Dog Agility Training a Great Way to Tap Your Dogs Skills

Dog agility training is an excellent way to tap into your dog's natural strengths. You can utilize your dog's speed, flexibility, energy, and hunting instincts and more. It's a way for dogs to maintain their inherent abilities that they would have used in the wild to track down their food, protect their lairs and make their way across difficult and varying terrain.

What is dog agility training?

Dog agility training involves a special course that forces your dog to use certain skills, such as jumping, zig-zagging, climbing and running. It is a team effort involving dog and owner, although the dog does most of the heavy work. It is a special form of training that is suitable for the working and hunting breeds specifically. Dogs must make their way through the course in a set period of time. The faster dog wins.

The agility trials are professionally judged and rewarded with ribbons, cups and other prizes. It's more than training - it's a fun sport that is gaining in popularity.

What it takes to participate

To participate, puppies must be at least 9 months of age. Retirement from the competitions is generally around 8 years of age, but it depends on the dog's overall health and fitness levels.

All dog breeds are admitted, but its best if your dog has the personality to participate. Some dogs would rather relax while others have energy to spare. The more energy your dog has, the more suited he is to dog agility training because it requires significant output in both energy and speed.

Dogs that consistently obey the sit, stay, down and heel commands are ready to compete, however they must trust their owner. Otherwise, they will be reluctant to do some of the challenges like running through a tunnel or balancing across a narrow beam.

Benefits of Dog Agility Training

It enhances your dog's inherent abilities, the skills it wants to use. Your dog will become more alert, vigorous and confident. Your dog's problem-solving abilities will improve. It will reinforce the bond between you and your dog and perfect the communication skills between you.

It will put physical demands on your dog that will improve coordination, endurance and fitness levels as well as your dog's behavior in other areas of life.

How much training is required to enter agility competitions?

For most dogs, 6-9 months of daily training is necessary to prepare them for the more rigorous exercises in agility competitions. You can help your dog prepare by encouraging fun games like go fetch, tug of war and catch. This helps to build and strengthen muscles that will be needed for agility work. It will also show your dog that this type of work can be fun. Graduate to similar exercises such as jumping across distances and over obstacles, and running through increasingly longer tunnels. In time, your dog will come to trust your requests and look forward to these exercises.

There is so much more to dog agility training, but these steps will get you started and help you determine whether or not you and your dog are suited to this type of work.

Take time to visit the dog agility competitions near you. Watch the process and the types of challenges that dogs face. See how well they do and imagine your dog participating. This will give you a first-hand look at how they are run.

Talk to the participants, organizers and judges and they will be happy to answer your questions about dog agility training and competitions.