Training for Agility!

[rubyandtazforever]

Hello,

I am new to this board.I am wanting to Train my Male Cairn(Taz) for agility.Does anyone have any good tips for training him??? I have a female Cairn that is already 2 years and so I have been training her and she does well.We have the equipment,we aren't planning on entering any shows,or anything but just want to train my cairns for agility.Like I said we aren't doing this for show,just want to train my Male the best possible way I can and make him the best.

Thanks for any help,

Sharon

Hope You Have A GREAT Day/Nite!

[Karen]

Hi Sharon,

Agility is lots of fun and great exercise for your dog. First you want to teach him some basic obedience commands since you'll need these in agility. Come, stay, sit, down. Many people use targeting while training so you may want to teach that as well. We also do training to teach the dog to watch our hands or follow our hands so when giving directions, they're paying attention.

There are many excellent books on training, you can find a class in your area, be sure and check out the instructor first. Many don't understand the terrier mentality so you may need to shop around.

I try to keep the training sessions short with my 2 guys. around 10 minutes each time so they leave wanting more. Be generous with the rewards, whether treat or praise. Always keep it fun for them.

When introducing a new dog to the equipment, you want to keep it very low and go in very small stages of advancement. For example start the dogwalk by just laying a board on the ground, eventually put it on a couple of cinder blocks so its about a foot off the ground, then gradually raise it or introduce a low dogwalk. Make sure he's very comfortable on it at each stage before proceeding further. Same with the aframe, lower it to around a foot high, and very slowly raise it, only when he's comfortable at each height and is performing it correctly and quickly.

For the weaves it depends on what you like and are comfortable with. My guys did much better with channel weaves than the weave-o-matic or just luring them with food around the poles. Some people don't like channels since they say the dog has to re-learn the footwork as they're moved closer.

Tunnels should be bunched up nice and short and gradually extended as the dog learns to go thru them. Have a friend hold the dog at one end with you at the other with a treat. The friend lets the dog go when you call him to come. After he's running thru the fully extended straight tunnel, then gradually start bending it. don't go too fast since the bends can confuse the dogs. The chute is similar. I start with no chute, just the barrel, add the chute but hold it open, also shorten it or bunch it up if possible so the dog has a very short chute to go thru. Gradually extend it and drop the fabric once the dog is comfortable with it.

The jumps should be started at the lowest height possible, or just lay the bar on the ground. Gradually raise them as the dog is more conditioned and gets to know what he's doing. There's a huge amount of information on teaching a dog to jump correctly. Many books are available on the subject on the web.

Remember to take your time, let them really learn each step of the way before advancing so they're confident and ready for the next step. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Karen Majka

Performance Events Committee Member

[bradl]

Wow, great info Karen. I love the name "weave-o-matic" -- sounds like a product from the fifities! The weave poles seem like an impossible obstacle to someone like me who knows nothing of agility. For some reason that is the obstacle that almost brings a tear to my eye when I see a dog tear through it at warp speed. Not sure why...it just seems so amazing to me. A quick google found a Corgi site with a discussion of weave poles that has a nice picture of 'weave-o-matic' -- seems it like it's no relation to the Flo-Bee at all! I'm guessing the chute method on the Corgi page is similar the the channel method you describe?

http://www.pembrokecorgi.org/Perf_weavepoles.html

[rubyandtazforever]

Hello,

Thanks Karen for the GREAT INFO!!!!!

Love it all!

I will remember all that you just said,or atleast I will try my very best.

Thanks,

Sharon

Hope You Have A GREAT Day/Nite!

Happy Thanksgiving As Well!

Will write more later!

[Karen]

<<I'm guessing the chute method on the Corgi page is similar the the channel method you describe?>>

Yes! I found that the channel or chute method worked much better for my cairns than other ways so I usually recommend that method. I think they understood what they were doing a little more. Morgan had been started with another method and had rather slow weaves at shows. Then a new instructor had us using the channel method and she started flying thru them. When I got Mac, I started him on the channel method from the beginning and he learned them very quickly.

Karen

PEC Member